Tobacco retail display ban proposed for Canberra - The Australian Capital Territory (ACT)..

March 8, 2008 - Tobacco retail display ban proposed for Canberra - The Australian Capital Territory (ACT).. ( Canberra is the Capital City of the Commonwealth of Australia and is located in the northern part of the ACT.) The ACT Health Minister Katy Gallagher has introduced a bill in the Legislative Assembly which will give Canberra the toughest restrictions on tobacco sales in the country. The Tobacco Amendment Bill requires retailers to keep cigarette products below the counter or in draws where they cannot be seen. The bill also bans the sale of flavoured cigarettes and split packs. Ms Gallagher told the Assembly, the move to ban the display of tobacco products puts the ACT at the forefront of anti-smoking legislation. "The point-of-purchase display is one of the last remaining ways tobacco companies are able to display there wares," she said. "Storing tobacco out of sight will prevent people, particularly children, being able to see tobacco. "Research shows that the point of sale display acts to promote and normalise smoking. The Territory will be the first to send a message that it is not normal." See related news briefs: Further evidence that tobacco advertising in stores undermines attempts to stop smoking.. The Australian State of Tasmania has already agreed such a ban, though that is not due to come into force for another three years - "Please get tobacco out of our kids faces," - Dr. Harley Stanton (elected as President of the Asia-Pacific Association for the Control of Tobacco). We were plesantly surprised to learn that in Tasmania a law went into effect January 1, 2008 banning smoking in cars when children are on board. Smokers who flout the laws will risk fines, although not immediately. Health and Human Services Minister Lara Giddings said there would be a three month education period, after which the laws would be strictly enforced. See related news briefs: Why the Hesitation?? - Ontario must ban smoking in cars when children are present.. Click on image to enlarge.. Read more...

Star Scientific gets Maine lawmakers to repeal a ban enacted last September 20, 2007 on the sale of a tobacco lozenge product known as hard snuff..

March 7, 2008 - Star Scientific gets Maine lawmakers to repeal a ban enacted last September 20, 2007 on the sale of a tobacco lozenge product known as hard snuff.. Star Scientific's tobacco lozenges - Ariva® and Stonewall® Dissolvable Smokeless Tobacco Products. The Senate on Wednesday gave its final approval to the emergency bill and sent it to Gov. John Baldacci for his signature. The ban on selling or giving away hard snuff was passed last year as part of a broader anti-tobacco bill. In the meantime, lawmakers were told they had made a mistake. Star Scientific says the products are widely used by smokers to wean them from tobacco dependence. They also say their products are packaged so they are not attractive to minors. The ban on tobacco products took effect last September 20th. If you go to the web site for Ariva and Stonewall not a word is mentioned about weaning a person from smoking. Star recommends that the lozenges be used as a substitute for smoking when you can't smoke. Stonewall is recommended for heavy smokers (more than one pack per day) it contains approximately 4.0mg of nicotine and comes in 3-flavors: wintergreen, natural and Java blends. Ariva is recommended for smokers and contains approximately 1.5mg of nicotine and comes in one flavor: wintergreen blend. Testifying in favor of lifting the ban were Scott Ballin, VP American Heart Association, Dr. Brad Rodu, Professor Oral Pathology, University of Louisville and a nurse from the Cancer Centers of North Carolina, Pamela Harlan Brown. Emergency measure! "Emergency" bills take effect the instant they're signed into law. Where's the Anti-Tobacco People?? Lifting the ban on tobacco containing lozenges is a set back for Maine's health promotion efforts. In 2007 Maine ranked No. 1 for the sixth year in a row in funding programs to protect children from tobacco. Where was Dr. Dora Anne Mills (MD,MPH) the Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention when big tobacco came calling?? Read more...

Why the Hesitation?? - Ontario must ban smoking in cars when children are present..

March 7, 2008 - Why the Hesitation?? - Ontario must ban smoking in cars when children are present.. The Premier Dalton McGuinty announced the Ontario government plans to introduce legislation in the spring session (begins March 17, 2008)to ban smoking in cars where young children are present. The premier is concerned that he must ensure his citizens the appropriate balance between the rights of individuals, the right to exercise personal freedoms and liberties, and Ontario's collective responsibility as a society to protect the interests of our most vulnerable. When a parent brings a child into this world they want the very best for their child. Dr. Suzanne Strasberg, board chair of the Ontario Medical Association, said the concentration of smoke in cars can be up to 60 times greater than the concentration of smoke in a room inside a house. The risks to children from exposure to second-hand smoke include respiratory illnesses, middle ear disease, lower respiratory tract infections, sudden infant death syndrome and increased risk cancer and heart disease in adulthood. Surveys of smokers have found that 90% would support a ban on smoking in cars when children are present. It's a no-brainer - Get the Legislation Passed and Enforce It.. Some related news briefs: Vehicles Most Dangerous Space for Second-Hand Smoke Levels..
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Dangers of hookah (waterpipe) smoking - Harvard Mental Health Letter..

March 6, 2008 - Dangers of hookah (waterpipe) smoking - Harvard Mental Health Letter.. A new fad among college students and other young people—smoking from a hookah—is raising public health concerns. The centuries-old tradition of smoking from a hookah, or waterpipe, is widely perceived to be less harmful and addictive than smoking cigarettes or other forms of tobacco. Yet a number of studies suggest that hookah smoking may be just as addictive and perhaps even more harmful because of the way people smoke while using a waterpipe. Researchers have found that hookah smokers inhale more often and for longer periods than typical cigarette smokers. Scientists estimate that by puffing longer and in greater volume, a waterpipe smoker inhales the equivalent of 100 cigarettes or more during a single waterpipe session. Some related news brief: Pipe dreams: With more hookah bars popping up, experts warn about the potential dangers of tobacco.. Click on image to enlarge..
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Tobacco a threat to pregnant women and children in developing world..

March 6, 2008 - Tobacco a threat to pregnant women and children in developing world.. An NIH study indicates that rates of tobacco use during pregnancy, as well as exposure of pregnant women and their young children to secondhand smoke, are significant threats to health in several low and middle-income countries. This study is the first to examine pregnant women's tobacco use, second-hand smoke exposure and attitudes toward women's tobacco use in multiple developing countries. The study was conducted by an international team of investigators, The researchers conducted this investigative survey in nine developing nations to get a preliminary look at the magnitude of the problem. The researchers found as many as 18 percent of pregnant women currently smoked cigarettes, up to one-third used smokeless tobacco, and as many of half were regularly exposed to secondhand smoke in the nations studied. Uruguay and Argentina had the highest levels of smoking during pregnancy across all ten study sites (18 percent and 10 percent respectively). In the Indian sites, one-third of all pregnant women used smokeless tobacco in Orissa and about twenty percent of pregnant women in Karnataka were often exposed to secondhand smoke. The highest levels of secondhand smoke exposure were found in Pakistan, where about half of all pregnant women and their young children were frequently or always exposed to secondhand smoke. About one in ten pregnant women at the site in Pakistan reported that they had tried cigarette smoking. Lead study author - lead author Michele Bloch, M.D., Ph.D., of NCI's Tobacco Control Research Branch. Findings of study will appear in the April 2008 issue. Amer. J. Public Health. Click on image to enlarge.. Read more...

Council unanimously approves Quakertown, PA parks smoking ban..

March 6, 2008 - Lighting a pipe, cigar or cigarette in a Quakertown park could cost you up to $600 or 30 days in jail. Borough council voted unanimously Wednesday to ban smoking in all town parks and those are the penalties for getting caught with a lit stogie or the like. The ban goes into effect immediately at all parks, including Memorial, Main Street and Cedar Grove. Police will likely issue warnings until signs are up specifying smoking is a no-no and word on the new law spreads. Councilman Ed Scholl, a cancer activist, said the right of people to breathe clean air at the parks outweighs the rights of those who want to smoke in public places. “I have to side with the rights of the whole community,” said Scholl. Borough manager and Police Chief Scott McElree said the ban will help combat rampant cigarette butt littering at the parks. Quakertown Council bans smoking in parks by, CHRISTOPHER RUVO The Intelligencer, 3/6/2008) Tobacco companies are test marketing a smokeless, spitless Swedish type product called SNUS in the U.S. with very little success. It comes in pouches - like tea-bags that you place in one specific place in your mouth and suck on it for around 30 minutes. We're sure you can imagine the massive problem that results from SNUS litter. Read more...

Cuban cigar sales rose 7 percent to $402 million in 2007..

March 4, 2008 - Cuban cigar sales rose 7 percent to $402 million in 2007.. The Cuban cigar company Habanos is owned jointly by the Cuban government and Altadis SA, which was recently acquired by the Imperial Tobacco Group. Cuban cigars comprise 80 percent of the world cigar market -- not counting the United States, which has had a trade embargo banning Cuban products since 1962. Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland and Cuba's domestic market remained top consumers of Cuban cigars last year, while sales in Canada fell 7 percent as stricter anti-smoking laws took hold, anos Vice President Manuel Garcia said. The company does not reveal how many individual cigars it sells a year, but the total is believed to be between 150 million and 160 million. Garcia spoke at the 10th annual Habanos Festival in Havana. Altadis, the manufacturer of Fortuna, Gitanes and Ducados cigarette brands, is also the world's leading cigar distributor of cigars through its 50-50 venture with the Cuban state. Imperial Tobacco Gets Approval to Sell Brands in U.S.. Click on image to enlarge..
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Horror photos go on New Zealand cigarette packs..

March 4, 2008 - Horror photos go on New Zealand cigarette packs.. Wellington - Cigarette packs bearing horror photographs of diseased lungs, gangrenous toes and rotting teeth went on sale in New Zealand Thursday (2/28/2008) as the latest move in a government anti-smoking campaign. The pictures are similar to those used on packets in other countries which have been credited with encouraging smokers to quit. 'We make no apology for these ugly, graphic photos,' said Associate Health Minister Damien O'Connor. 'They're designed to shock people into realising that smoking kills and causes a wide range of serious illnesses.' Nearly 600,000 New Zealanders out of a total population of 4.2 million smoke and officials say 5,000 die from smoking-related illnesses every year. Professor Janet Hoek, College of Business Massey University, says media cover has focused on smokers’ response to the images. “However, a key purpose of the pictorial warning labels – known as PWLs – is to deter young people from taking up smoking and to display smoking as abnormal behaviour. Some related News Briefs: Thailand Discouraging Tobacco Use - Horrific Images on the Packaging.. and Britain to put picture warnings on ALL tobacco products... Read more...

Ohio youth are using cigars and smokeless tobacco products and it is a continuously growing problem..

March 4, 2008 - Other tobacco products (OTP) include non-cigarette forms of tobacco like cigars, smokeless tobacco, and hookah tobacco. While high school students have decreased their use of cigarettes, they have not decreased their use of smokeless tobacco or cigars. These products come in candy flavors and kid-friendly packaging and are often displayed in convenience stores near candy and snacks. The tobacco industry spends over $2 million a day promoting smoking and chewing tobacco to Ohioans, even in places kids go, like convenience stores. Columbus is the test market for Camel Snus marketed by RJ Reynolds. Young African Americans, Appalachian Ohioans, and young males are especially at risk. Little cigar use is especially high among young, African-American males, and smokeless use is a special problem for males in Appalachian Ohio. Among males 18 to 24, over 37% use some form of tobacco product other than cigarettes.In 2007, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco sent mailers to smokers in Ohio encouraging them to use smokeless tobacco when in smoke-free public places. When legislators increased the cigarette tax in 2003 and 2005, they failed to also raise the OTP tax which covers non-cigarette forms of tobacco. Investing in Tobacco-Free Youth: Protect children, Save lives, Reduce health-care costs by A. Presutti, Ohio.com, 3/3/2008) Related news briefs: A study from the University of Georgia, School of Journalism found that smokeless tobacco advertising is on the increase. Dean Krugman, the lead author, is concerned about the test marketing of Marlboro and Camel branded smokeless products which will have an instant appeal to youth; Philip Morris' Black & Mild is the most popular brand of cigars for smokers 12 and older. Nearly a quarter of 18- to 24-year-old blacks in the Baltimore smoke B&M cigars, Experience of a High School Student Using Camel SNUS and Cigarette retail marketing practices increase the likelihood of youth smoking.. . (TobaccoWatch.org)- Incomplete..
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A Few More Facts About SNUS products and Marlboro MST in the U.S..

March 3, 2008 - Ad support for Grand Prix snus will be POP (point-of-purchase displays) with the tagline "Freedom to snus,” handled by Milk, So. Norwalk, Conn. R.J. Reynolds will be aggressively expanding Camel Snus its new smokeless tobacco brand, into a total of 17 markets this year. The company teamed up with Gyro Advertising, Philadelphia, on a campaign with the tagline “Pleasure for where ever, whenever” to promote the product. Philip Morris is broadening distribution of Marlboro Moist Smokeless Tobacco after testing it in Atlanta last October. Lorillard, maker of No. 1 menthol cigarette Newport, partnered with Swedish Match to test its smokeless entry, Triumph snus, in Ohio and Georgia this year. But even smokeless tobacco is not guaranteed to be safe. According to a study conducted by the Karolinska Institute, a Swedish medical university, people that use snus are twice as likely to develop pancreatic cancer as people who don’t smoke or use smokeless tobacco. (Liggett Goes Smokeless by Mike Beirne, Brandweek, 2/29/2008) Read more...

Reynolds American Subsidiary to Receive Payment Following Gallaher Joint-Venture Termination..

March 2, 2008 - Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) announced today (February 21, 2008) that R.J. Reynolds Tobacco C.V. (RJR), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of RAI, will receive a payment of euro 265.0 million (approximately $387.6 million) from Gallaher Limited (Gallaher), a JT International (JTI) Group company, resulting from the termination of the joint-venture agreement between RJR and a Gallaher affiliate. In 2002 US tobacco firm RJR formed Reynolds-Gallaher International to give the manufacturer access to cigarette sales in most countries in the European Union. It was scheduled to run through 2012 but in May 2007, as a result of the acquisition of Gallaher Group by Japan Tobacco, it was announced that this joint-venture would cease in November 2007. The joint venture marketed American- blend cigarettes primarily in Italy, France and Spain. (Gallaher brands include Benson & Hedges, Silk Cut, Mayfair, Kensitas Club, Amber Leaf and Hamlet Cigars. Japan Tobacco became the sole owner of the Gallaher Group on 18 April 2007, in the largest ever foreign acquisition in Japanese history. ( Reynolds to receive nearly $388 million to settle demise of joint international venture by Richard Craver, Winston-Salem Journal, 2/21/2008) Gallaher Sweden is part of JT International, a subsidiary of Japan Tobacco, Inc. (JT), the world's third largest international manufacturer of tobacco products. The JT Group's total tobacco net sales amount to USD 37.4 billion (US $1 = ¥118.05) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007. With headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, JTI is present in over 60 markets with 23,000 employees, and sales activities in more than 120 countries. In Sweden JTI is the market leader within cigarettes with brands including Camel, Blend, Right, Level, LD, Benson & Hedges and John silver. Gallaher Snus brands include Gustavus, LD and Level. British American Tobacco (BAT) was manufacturing Camel Snus in Sweden for RJR. Be the 1st to know: Now the same process is being used to manufacture Camel Snus in Winston Salem, North Carolina. (TobaccoWatch.org)
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New York's DeCicco Family Supermarkets no longer sell tobacco products..

March 2, 2008 - Beginning March 1, 2008 the DeCicco Family Supermarkets in Eastern New York State, will no longer sell tobacco products in any of its six stores, including those in Pelham, Bronxville, Scarsdale, Jefferson Valley and New City. The family’s Ardsley store has been tobacco-free since its opening a year and a half ago, serving as a trial run for the other locations.

“I think it’s great,” said Dr. Joshua Lipsman, the Westchester County health commissioner. “It’s small in the global scheme of things, but extraordinary in the fight against the biggest public health problem we face and that is responsible for a third of all deaths.”

The DeCicco family’s decision comes after a similar step by Wegmans Food Markets, of Rochester, which last month announced it would no longer sell tobacco products at its 70 stores.

Reference: Food Market Chain Halts Tobacco Sales by Juli S. Charkes, The New York Times, 3/2/2008.

Two other stores in Southeast New York State no longer sell tobacco products. North Brewster Deli & Market owned by Sal Zuccaro and Rocky's Millwood Deli in Westchester County owned by Greg Santone.
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