Teen Smokers Become Adult Smokers

A new study from Sweden reveals that having low peer status in adolescence is a strong risk factor for regular and heavy smoking in adulthood. Researchers from Stockholm University in Sweden used a large database that followed the lives of more than 15 000 Swedes, mainly from the Stockholm area, from birth to middle age. The researchers isolated 2 329 people who were interviewed once at age 13 about peer status at school and again at age 32 about their smoking habits. The results indicate that the lower a young person's status is among his or her school peers, the more likely that person is to become a regular (less than 20 cigarettes per day) or heavy (20+ cigarettes) smoker in adulthood.

Smoking Ban and Tobacco Use, Montgomery County

Montgomery County leaders are considering tightening restrictions on tobacco use again, this time with a smoking ban on any property owned or leased by county government. The ban—proposed by Councilwoman Nancy Floreen—would apply to the land around recreation centers and county buildings, for example, but not bus shelters and sidewalks, The Examiner reported. Floreen, a breast cancer survivor, will announce more details at a news conference Thursday timed to coincide with the Great American Smokeout, which the American Cancer Society holds to try to cut into the nation’s 44 million smokers.

Mills County Plan to Quit Smoking

Sheri Bowen wants Mills County to be healthier. The Mills County Public Health administrator is encouraging residents that smoke cigarettes to use the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout as a starting point for quitting. “ We're asking folks to consider stopping smoking,” she said. Bowen said some residents plan to quit on the Smokeout date, Nov. 15, while others are using the day to focus on a “quit date.”

Teenagers Prefer Flavored Tobacco

On a day when trick- or- treaters and candy reign supreme, Tobacco Free Florida is warning parents to pay attention to candy flavored cigars and snuff, which it says are being marketed to teens. One in three high school students reports they have tried smoking cigarettes at least once. Teen smoking level mirrors those of adults; just under one in five. That’s down from 27 percent 15 years ago when the state started its anti-smoking campaign. Now SWAT, or Students Working Against Tobacco, say they are being targeted once again through flavored tobacco. “For instance this orange tootsie roll flavor kind of looks like this cigar right here”, says Matthew Goodson, Students Working Against Tobacco. Reporter: “So you think this is an obvious attempt to market to kids?” Goodson: “I definitely agree. I definitely think so”. Students say the flavored cigars are popular on high school campus. “Maybe the smoking of cigarettes are down, but you see a lot of people smoking “blacks”, chewing tobacco”, says a local high school junior.

Cigars Taxed, Senators Smokers

More than a dozen lobbyists for retailers and tobacco companies argued Tuesday before state senators considering whether to seek an estimated $15 million or more in improved tax collections by changing how cigars are taxed. The Department of Revenue testified before the Tax Collection Technology Subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee that 7-23 percent of tobacco sold in the state is not taxed as required by law. That’s because cigars are usually sold separately, unlike cigarettes and chewing tobacco, which come in packages that carry a tax stamp.

Tobacco Sales in Iceland Increased

Sales in loose tobacco in Iceland have increased by 34 percent during the first nine months of this year compared to the same period last year, according to data from the State Alcohol and Tobacco Company of Iceland (ÁTVR). At the same time, sales in cigarettes, the price of which has risen to over ISK 1,000 (USD 8, EUR 6.30), have decreased. Arnþór Indriðason, staff member at tobacco store Björk, says a lot of his customers have started to roll their own cigarettes over the last year since the price of a pack of cigarettes increased.

Tobacco-Free Campus, Virginia Cigarette Smokers

In my 20 or so years of life, I have never once smoked a cigarette. Scientific research has compiled mountains of evidence suggesting cigarette smoking is bad for one’s health. Although this is the case and I personally do not smoke cigarettes, I would never tell someone they could not smoke cigarettes, as long as they were of legal age. However, the government does not share my philosophy. On Sep. 12, the assistant secretary of health at the U.S. Department of Human Services, Howard Koh, announced the launch of a tobacco-free college campus initiative.

Australia and Tobacco Companies Rights

Australia did not violate tobacco companies' intellectual property rights by forcing them to sell cigarettes in plain packets, Australia's highest court said on Friday, killing off any domestic challenge to the plain-packet ruling. Australia's highest court in August dismissed a challenge by international cigarette companies to tough anti-tobacco marketing laws in a major test case that means from December 1, cigarettes and tobacco products must be sold in plain green packets with graphic health warnings, such as pictures of mouth cancer and other smoking-related illnesses.

Hookah Smoking Health Risks

People who smoke both cigarettes and waterpipes – dual users – lack sufficient knowledge about the risks of tobacco smoking and are at considerable risk for dependence and tobacco-related diseases, such as cancer, heart disease and stroke later in life, according to findings of a new study by Virginia Commonwealth University. The study, the first of its kind to assess trends in cigarette and waterpipe tobacco smoke based on long-term data, reveals few users perceive dangers of waterpipe tobacco. A common misconception about waterpipe smoking is that it is not as harmful as cigarette smoking.

Illegal Cigarettes Sales, Waterford Tobacco

Waterford has topped the figures for illegal cigarettes according to statistics released by the Irish Tobacco Manufacturers Advisory Committee (ITMAC). The research showed that 44.5% of the cigarettes in Waterford were non Irish duty paid (NIDP), the highest percentage in the country and well above the average of 29.8%. The figures, which were collected and compiled by MS Intelligence for the second quarter of 2012, show that the average of 29.8% is well above the average from the same period last year which was only 23.8%.

Smoking Ban in Restaurant Positive Results

In countries in Europe where there is a restaurant smoking ban, young people were 35 percent less likely to smoke regularly, U.S. researchers say. Mike Vuolo, an assistant professor of sociology at Purdue University who conducted the research when he was at the University of Minnesota, used data of self-reported cigarette use of people ages 15-24 in the original 15 EU countries.

Illegal Cigarettes Sale to Teenagers

A HOLBEACH shop has been caught selling illegal cigarettes and alcohol to underage teenagers. Police raided Liudwal, in High Street, Holbeach, after receiving intelligence that smuggled cigarettes were on sale to customers. During the raid a total of 720 foreign brand non-UK duty paid cigarettes were discovered.

Smoking Warnings Enlarged on Cigarette Packages

Recently, the US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to give a green signal to large warning labels on the packaging of the cigarettes. While refusing the large warning signs, the Court said that the Federal Government has failed to provide adequate documents. Judge Janice Rogers Brown informed, “The First Amendment requires the government not only to state a substantial interest justifying a regulation on commercial speech, but also to show that its regulation directly advances that goal”.

Tobacco Use Dropped, Teen Smokers in Kentucky

Fewer teens are smoking these days — which is welcome news for many health advocates. A recent report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says current tobacco use and cigarette smoking dropped for middle and high school students nationally from 2000 to 2011. Among middle school students, current tobacco use dtropped from 14.9 percent to 7.1 percent, and current cigarette use dropped from 10.7 percent to 4.3 percent. Among high schoolers, tobacco use dropped from 34.4 percent to 23.2 percent, and cigarette smoking dropped from 27.9 percent to 15.8 percent. While the report didn’t break down the statistics by state, Kentucky consistently ranks at or near the top for tobacco use in surveys. In the 2011 Kentucky Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 24 percent of high school students reported smoking cigarettes at least once during the 30 days before the survey, and 17 percent reported using chewing tobacco, snuff or dip.

Proposed Smoking Ban, Madison County

The Madison County Board of Supervisors amended its proposed smoking ban this morning to exclude county parks and forest land. A public hearing on the proposed law — which will apply to cigarettes, cigars and pipes as well as chewing tobacco — will be held at 10:45 .am. Sept. 11 in the Board of Supervisors chambers in Wampsville.

Cigarettes Packs Warnings will be Replaced, Korea News

Photos of body parts afflicted by smoking related diseases will replace the current written warning on cigarette packs from as early as next year. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Monday that it was seeking to revise the National Health Promotion Law to curb the nation’s high incidence of smoking. Currently cigarette packs have the warning labels on them because tobacco growers and cigarette companies are strongly against the adoption of photos or other graphic warnings. The photographs will be put on cigarette packs to show the physical damage caused by smoking _ a measure currently used in over 40 countries including the United States, Britain, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Tobacco Stores Banned to Sell Cigs

Four London variety stores and a Strathroy retailer are barred from selling tobacco for six months after they were convicted for the second time of selling tobacco products to minors. The London stores under prohibition are OK Variety on Hale St., Beckworth Mini Mart on Beckworth Ave., Hasty Market on Belmont Dr. and Dundas Convenience on Dundas St. McRobert Fuels Ltd. on Egremont Dr. in Strathroy also is prohibited from selling any form of tobacco for six months.

Ex Smokers Smoke E-Cigarettes

Electronic cigarettes are picking up steam -- and not surprisingly, especially among smokers. That is the main message that comes from a new study in the American Journal of Public Health. About 40% of individuals reported they had heard of e-cigarettes, and awareness was highest among smokers. What's more, smokers seem to be among the most likely to use e-cigarettes.

Contraband Cigarettes In Kenya

Authorities are sounding alarm over increased sale of counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes in Kenya. Kenya Anti-Counterfeit Agency says cigarettes are rapidly becoming the most illegally traded product in the region, while health experts warn a health crisis could be looming. “Cigarettes themselves are dangerous but the counterfeit ones are more dangerous,” says Vincent Kimosop, executive director of International Institute for Legislative Affairs, who actively fight growth of the contraband in Kenya.

Smoking Vaccineand Nicotine Addiction

Smokers could one day be immunized against nicotine so they gain no pleasure from the habit, according to researchers in the US. They have devised a vaccine that floods the body with an antibody to assault nicotine entering the body. A study in mice, published in Science Translational Medicine, showed levels of the chemical in the brain were reduced by 85% after vaccination. Years of research are still needed before it could be tested on people. However, lead researcher Prof Ronald Crystal is convinced there will be benefits.

Beaumont Became Smoke-Free Campus

Beaumont Hospital will become a tobacco-free campus from tomorrow – 4 July – as the hospital moves to create a healthy, clean and safer environment for patients, staff and visitors. The move to go tobacco free across the campus follows extensive work by a multidisciplinary steering committee and working groups. The policy was designed in response to the ongoing concern about the harmful effects of tobacco use and smoking in a healthcare environment. According to a statement released by Beaumont in advance of the change, "the HSE Corporate Plan (2008-2011) recognizes the need for a shift towards prevention and better self care in respect of tobacco. Research and experience shows that this requires ongoing health awareness, illness prevention and health promotion initiatives as well as population health strategies.

Low-Tar Cigs and Secondhand Smoking Harmful

China's health authorities used a report published by the Ministry of Health on Wednesday to reiterate that low-tar cigarettes do not reduce harm caused by smoking and that more than 3 million Chinese will die annually from smoking by 2050 if no measures are taken. The majority of the public has the misconception that "low tar equals low harm," according to the report. It also said that cigarettes with added Chinese herbal medicine were equally harmful to health as ordinary cigarettes. According to the report, three-quarters of Chinese are not fully aware of the harm caused by smoking, and two-thirds do not know about the danger of being exposed to secondhand smoking. China is the largest tobacco producing and consuming country in the world, with more than 300 million smokers and another 740 million people suffering from secondhand smoking.

Ban on Tobacco Smoking in Jamaica

A proposed regulation, which will form part of the anticipated tobacco law, will see the banning of smoking at sporting venues, including Sabina Park and the National Stadium. The extent of the ban will depend on how public spaces are defined, according to Chief Medical Officer Dr Eva Lewis-Fuller, who took part in a Gleaner Editors’ Forum on tobacco, held at the newspaper’s central Kingston offices last week. “Some countries define an enclosed space, as any space that has two boundaries; it could be one wall and a roof or two walls,” Lewis-Fuller explained. “Therefore, the grandstand at the stadium would be defined as an enclosed space because it has a roof coming over and you have the back wall. The National Arena is definitely an enclosed space and grandstand at Sabina Park; they too can be defined as enclosed spaces because they have a roof covering and they have a back wall,” she added.

Cigarette Consumption Control, the University of Indonesia

Without a concerted effort to control cigarette consumption, Indonesia will likely fail to achieve the so-called “demographic dividend” which is expected to materialize between 2020 and 2030, an analyst said. Abdillah Ahsan, a researcher from the University of Indonesia (UI) School of Economics Demographic Institute, said that increased cigarette consumption could tamper with the Indonesian population’s quality of life.

Children Suffer Health Damage, Parents Smoking

Children whose parents smoke could suffer irreversible damage to their health well into adulthood, a new study has found. Researchers say those exposed to their parents' smoking have less elasticity in their arteries, an early indicator of poor cardiovascular health. The Menzies Research Institute Tasmania is involved in the international study, the first to look at the long-term effects of parental smoking on children's blood vessel health. "It seems to have a direct effect," research fellow Dr Seana Gall told reporters on Wednesday. "The chemicals in cigarette smoke interact with the lining of the blood vessels and that seems to be causing an inability of them to expand and contract properly.

Smoking Trend Among Pregnant Women

A new report shows that more than one in five pregnant white women smoke cigarettes. That's significantly higher than use among other races. Hispanic women were less likely than their peers to use alcohol or smoke while pregnant. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration conducted the 10-year study on the habits of pregnant women. The government agency says the use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs while pregnant is especially risky to unborn children. The agency is using the data to promote awareness.

Smoke-Free Places - Post Offices and Banks

After public places, government offices, the post offices and banks too have been declared tobacco free in the Kashmir Valley, where several hundred persons, including employees and doctors, were fined for violating the ban during the past few months. Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Amir Ali in the office of Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, said Chief Post Master General (CPMG) Jammu and Kashmir, John Samuel has declared all the Post Offices and Administrative Offices in the state as 'Tobacco-free'.

Stricter Laws on Cigarette Machines and Ads

Smoking is set to be banned at the Western Wall and other communal spots in Israel after the country's legislators approved new rules on lighting up in public. The legislation, which includes stricter rules on cigarette machines and advertising, as well as a ban on smoking at bus and train stations, was backed by the Knesset health committee. The new rules mean that after a 30 - day window Israelis will be unable to smoke in public places including concert venues, swimming pools and near hospital entrances, while smokers will be designated no more than 25 per cent of the room in bars and restaurants.

Public Smoking Laws, Secondhand Smoke

Drive by any downtown restaurant or bar on a busy night, and you'll see a group of customers near the entrance smoking. Stop into a pharmacy to pick up some cold medicine and you might see someone buying a pack of cigarettes. Go to an event in a private club and people sitting at the next table might be lighting up. Those scenarios would end if the city's Health Board adopts new public rules proposed for Haverhill. The board is considering regulations aimed at protecting the public from second-hand cigarette smoke by limiting where people can light up. Health Board member Peter Carbone said the new regulations are a work in progress and he expects changes once the board begins to gather public input and holds public hearings. He said the board announced its plans to stiffen smoking rules at its March meeting and will discuss a draft of the proposed new regulations May 8.

Counterfeit Cigarettes Packs

A bitter row is growing over Government moves to strip cigarette packets of branding. Health campaigners welcomed plans for plain packaging on tobacco products in a bid to cut smoking, but opponents claimed the proposals would lead to increased smuggling and job losses. As the Government prepared to launch a public consultation on Monday, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: "Health ministers across the UK have a responsibility to look closely at initiatives that might encourage smokers to quit and stop young people from taking up smoking in the first place. "Through the forthcoming consultation we want to hear as many views as possible about whether tobacco packing should remain unchanged, plain packaging should be adopted or a different option should be considered."

Anti-Smoking Advertisements Have Positive Result

The Tips from Former Smokers ad campaign was launched by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office on Smoking and Health on March 19. The commercials profile former smokers and others who have been affected by second-hand smoking. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says just two weeks after the ads started running, the Tips from Former Smokers campaign caused the quit line's numbers to spike from 14,000 per week to more than 34,000. The graphic ads depict real people living with the after-effects of tobacco-related diseases.

Tobacco-Free Outdoor Places, Lewisboro Smoking Legislation

Recently, the Lewisboro Town Board unanimously agreed to implement an ordinance that stands to benefit all of their residents and the environment. The ordinance will call for “tobacco-free zones” in parks, playgrounds and picnic areas. I applaud the board for passing an ordinance that serves to protect the health of its residents. Let’s be clear; this ordinance is not about “nannying,” it’s about health preservation. Throughout New York State, tobacco-free outdoor areas have become a growing trend over the past two years.

Tobacco Sales Season

The 2012 tobacco-selling season and cheapest Monte Carlo cigarettes smoking opened in Harare yesterday with the price averaging US$4 per kilogramme. The bulk of the crop was bought for more than US$ 4per kg, a price that many farmers feel was fair while the industry expressed satisfaction with the quality of the leaf. Most farmers at all the four auction floors expressed satisfaction at the state of the infrastructure and the service they were getting. Boka Tobacco Auction Floors, Millennium Tobacco Floors, Tobacco Sales Floor and Premier Tobacco Floor are the licensed floors. Farmers said they were happy with the ablution, water and health facilities. Marondera farmer Mrs Faith Chibare said farmers were now being treated in a decent way.

Altria Group Launches Tobacco Rights Site

Altria Group Inc.'s tobacco operating companies launched a "Citizens for Tobacco Rights" Web site last week. The new site is geared toward "adult tobacco consumers who are interested in information and advocacy on tobacco-related public policy issues," according to a company statement. "Philip Morris USA, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company and John Middleton believe that it is important for adult tobacco consumers to make their voices heard on issues that affect them." According to the company, the new site, Citizens for Tobacco Rights, offers adult consumers information, tools and resources to help them "get informed, involved and active on tobacco issues."

New Plan to Ban Smoking in Public

Smoking could be banned in children’s playparks in Cumbria after the county council called on all districts to consider it. The health and wellbeing scrutiny committee made the call after hearing market research showed 70 per cent of people supported a ban on smoking in playgrounds. The research also indicated three quarters of those asked agreed children had the right not to be exposed to second-hand smoke outdoors. Councillor Bill Wearing, chairman of the committee, has raised the issue in the past and said he was in favour of a voluntary ban. “I’ve already come out in favour of a ban on smoking in children’s play areas – it’s clear that people find it socially unacceptable,” he said.

Tobacco Smuggling Seized in Belfast

Police seized 20,000 illegal cigarettes during raids in Belfast on Thursday morning. The cigarettes, which are worth around £4,500 in unpaid excise duty and VAT, were uncovered at a house and car in east Belfast. In a separate search carried out at the same time in the south of the city, officers seized a further 500 illicit discount Glamour cigarettes. The raids were carried out as part of a joint operation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the PSNI. John Whiting, Assistant Director Criminal Investigation for HMRC said: "Tobacco smuggling is organised criminality on a global scale and robs the taxpayer of millions each year in unpaid duty and VAT."

Civil Society Support Anti-Tobacco Legislation

The civil society organizations and medical practitioners announced all out support to the government of Khyber Pakthunkhwa for its endeavour to make necessary legislation against smokeless tobacco (naswar) and demanded strict laws against its use and selling to protect people from its dangerous health hazards. Dr Liaqat Ali, a general medical practitioner and Chest Specialist told APP that one of the causes of lung, stomach and mouth cancer is the use of naswar, which is also contributing to bronchitis, kidney, heart and other diseases.

Restrictions on Smoking Cigarettes, Sri Lanka

An expert said yesterday Sri Lanka had the potential to introduce legislation calling for the total ban on tobacco consumption by those born after 2000. Singapore National University Professor A.J. Berrick told a seminar on tobacco consumption that academics had submitted a research paper on the possibility of stopping tobacco consumption altogether by restricting the access to tobacco by individuals born after 2000. Deputy Solicitor General Vijitha Malalgoda said there were practical difficulties in introducing such legislation but said it was a step in the right direction as it could make a significant impact on the reduction of tobacco consumption in the country.

Smoke-Free campus in USM

The University of Southern Mississippi started its new smoking policy Tuesday on its Hattiesburg campus. The policy bans tobacco use inside all university buildings, facilities and vehicles. Advertisement, distribution and sale of tobacco products and discount OK cigarettes are also banned from the campus and all publications. Littering of tobacco-related products is also prohibited. Violators could face fines or other disciplinary action. The stricter smoking policy does not affect the Gulf Park campus, but will soon change.

Smoking Ban Could Affects Business

A local smoke shop owner worries the state-wide smoking ban could eventually kill his business. Pipes, cigars, and ashtrays line the walls of Riegel's Pipe and Tobacco in Fort Wayne. Riegel's started as a saloon and cigar store back in 1874. Owner Al Riegel jumped from one location to another downtown, but in 1969 landed at today's infamous South Calhoun Street location. Now Riegel's has three locations across Fort Wayne: one in Covington Plaza, one in Georgetown Square and one at 624 S. Calhoun. Despite the success, the future of this family-owned business is a bit hazy.

Tobacco Lawsuit can Go Ahead

The Ontario Superior Court has rejected an application by a group of foreign tobacco companies seeking to have Ontario’s $50-billion lawsuit against them dismissed on the basis the court does not have jurisdiction over them. The group of companies, referred to in Justice Barbara A. Conway’s Jan. 4 decision as the “Jurisdiction Challenging Defendants” are seven of the foreign defendants. In a statement released Jan. 6, Ontario Attorney General John Gerretsen said, “We are pleased with the court’s decision which paves the way for Ontario’s lawsuit to continue.”

E-Cigarette - Concerns About Its Safety

Researchers from the Center for Global Tobacco Control at the Harvard School of Public Health are suggesting that electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) adversely affect users’ airways, thus raising concern about the safety of these products. But we here at ACSH remain baffled as to why these studies continue to ignore the relative dangers of actual smoking. The current study, published in the journal Chest, provided 30 so-called “healthy” smokers with e-cigarettes, the electronic devices that deliver a dose of nicotine in a vaporized liquid, thereby eliminating the dangerous combustion products of cigarette smoke. After five minutes of using an e-cigarette, the participants’ lungs showed signs of airway constriction and “inflammation,” researchers found.

Hospital - Tobacco-Free Place

Included in many folks New Year's resolutions is quitting smoking and now the University of Arizona Medical Center is joining in. On January first, you will no longer be allowed to smoke on the hospital premises. It's an effort to create a tobacco-free places. "People will not be able to smoke discount Marshal cigarettes anywhere on our premises including our clinics our hospitals or any office areas," says Charlotte Fick, Director of Human Resources. The previous rules were you needed to be 20-30 feet away from the building, but now you can't even smoke in the parking lot. Visitors, patients and employees will have to leave the hospital altogether.

Rising Tobacco Prices Cause Changes in West Bank

Mustafa Jum'a, who runs a coffee shop in Ramallah in the West Bank, began to worry about his business as the prices for hookah smoke rise due to an extra tariff imposed on tobacco. Israeli authorities suddenly raised import tariffs on tobacco, a move the Palestinians have to follow because of the Paris Economic Protocol signed with Israel in 1994, which states the two must have bond import tariffs in the light with the unified customs framework. The rise has caused a reduction of customers, said Jum'a, adding most of his customers are public employees that used to come to the coffee shop twice or three times a day. "(They) now come here only once, if not every other day," he said. The hookah price in Jum'a's coffee shop has risen from seven shekels (around 1.8 U.S. dollars) to 12 shekels (3.4 dollars). He made money when hookah smokers order tea, coffee or other drink, so now he makes less profit due to the reduction of customers.