January 7, 2011 - SILVER SPRING, Md., Jan. 7, 2011 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced it is issuing its first warning letters to retailers for the illegal sale of tobacco products to minors in violation of the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act). Using state inspectors who have been commissioned by the agency, the FDA visited 493 different retail establishments in Mississippi over the past three months and issued 25 warnings.
Background:Mississippi was the first state to participate in the FDA's State Enforcement Program, which got underway in the summer of 2010 and is designed to help enforce many provisions of the Tobacco Control Act and implementing regulations. The FDA established the program in 2010 and currently a total of 15 states have been awarded contracts to carry out inspections. A list of retail establishments found to be in violation of the law, as well as those which have been inspected and where no violations were observed, can now be found on the FDA's website.
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act) (Public Law 111-31; 123 Stat. 1776) was enacted on June 22, 2009, providing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with the authority to regulate tobacco products in order to protect the public health generally, and to prevent and reduce tobacco use by minors. In enacting the Tobacco Control Act, Congress found, among other things, that the use of tobacco products by children is a pediatric disease and virtually all new users of tobacco products are under the minimum legal age to purchase such products (sections 2(1) and (4) of the Tobacco Control Act).
FDA’s goals for the enforcement of the requirements established by the Tobacco Control Act and applicable advertising and promotion regulations are to prevent the sale and distribution of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to children and adolescents, and to reduce exposure to marketing efforts that entice children and adolescents to start smoking.
FDA has the authority to take enforcement action against violative tobacco products and against persons who violate the requirements established by the Tobacco Control Act and applicable regulations. FDA may utilize several enforcement tools, including but not limited to, the following which are discussed further below: Warning Letters, civil money penalties, no-tobacco-sale orders, seizures, injunctions, and/or criminal prosecutions.
Warning Letters issued by the FDA are generally posted on FDA’s website, which is accessible to the public. The FDA posts resulting Warning Letters on a weekly basis. The most recent Warning Letters are posted at: http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/default.htm#recent. Inspected retail outlets where no violations were observed is updated and posted monthly.
Enforcement Action Plan for Promotion and Advertising Restrictions - October 2010
"Retailers play a role in protecting our kids from becoming the next generation of Americans to die prematurely from tobacco-related disease," said Lawrence R. Deyton, M.S.P.H., M.D., director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products. "We are providing retail establishments with the information needed to comply with the law. However, if inspectors identify violations, the FDA will take swift actions to protect young people."
Rules which limit the sale, distribution and marketing of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to protect the health of children and adolescents took effect on June 22, 2010. And, in order to help enforce these rules, the FDA awarded contracts to 15 states to assist in inspecting retail establishments that sell cigarettes and/or smokeless tobacco products.
During these compliance check inspections, officials are observing whether the retailers comply with various aspects of the law, including whether the retailer:
sells a tobacco product to a minor; requests proper identification; sells prohibited flavored cigarettes or individual cigarettes; and has self-service displays, like vending machines, which can be accessed by minors.
In fiscal year 2011-2012, the FDA plans to award enforcement contracts to all states and U.S. territories to assist with enforcement of the Tobacco Control Act.
To report a violation, call the FDA Center for Tobacco Products call center at 1-877-287-1373 or go to their website at http://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/default.htm.
Media Inquiries: Jeffrey Ventura, 301-796-2807, jeffrey.ventura@fda.hhs.gov; Consumer Inquiries: 877.CTP.1373
Reference: FDA Inspects Retailers in Miss.; Issues Warning Letters for Illegal Tobacco Sales to Minors, SOURCE U.S. Food and Drug Administration, PRNewswire.com, 1/7/2011. Read more...
January 6, 2011 - A team of scientists led by the Smoking Control Unit of the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) in Barcelona, Spain, concludes that tighter controls coincide with curbed tobacco consumption and reduced exposure to second-hand smoke.
Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said yesterday, January 5th the ministry would amend the 
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January 7, 2011 - A majority of Kentuckians favor a statewide smoking ban in public places such as restaurants, stores and offices, according to a poll released Thursday, January 6th by anti-smoking activists.
January 7, 2011 - Great Neck has banned smoking on public sidewalks in front of business and other areas on Middle Neck Road. Mayor Ralph J. Kreitzman said the ban, approved on Tuesday, January 4th was enacted after officials got complaints about smokers standing outside stores in the village.
January 6, 2011 - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has lost an adviser to the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) as well as its number two official.
A member of the TPSAC, a key tobacco-advisory committee for the Food and Drug Administration, who faced criticism from the industry says he stepped down because he can be more helpful to the agency as an outsider. Gregory N. Connolly, a Harvard School of Public Health professor and tobacco researcher, said that he resigned about three weeks ago for "personal reasons" and because he could be "more effective off the committee than on it".
Furthermore, FDA Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein, 41 years old, the FDA's number two official, is leaving the agency after a busy 21-month tenure that included clashes with drug and device makers over tougher regulation. He is taking the top public-health job for the state of Maryland, a spokesman for Maryland's governor said, with an announcement scheduled for Wednesday. 
January 6, 2011 - According to an 
Focus News Agency..
January 6, 2011 - Rumen Petkov, the first Interior Minister in the 2005-2009 government of the three-way coalition led by the Bulgarian Socialist Party, resigned from his post on April 13, 2008, after a series of scandals sparked allegations of corruption and mafia connections in his department.
January 6, 2011 - As part of a plea arrangement entered this morning in Wake County (North Carolina) Superior Court, two South Carolina cigarette distributors agreed to pay $6.5 million in restitution and fines to settle a protracted and complicated tax fraud case that could have resulted in prison time.
January 6, 2011 - Philip Morris International Inc. today, January 5th announced that it would no longer pursue its intention to acquire Productora Tabacalera de Colombia, Protabaco Ltda. While approval to proceed with the acquisition was granted by the Superintendent of Industry and Trade of Colombia in October 2010, the approval was subject to several significant conditions and constraints that ultimately proved to be too burdensome.
January 5, 2011 - Tenants at Kingsbury Plaza, an apartment building in River North, had a New Year's resolution made for them by management firm The Habitat Co. this year: Quit smoking. Or move. Kingsbury opened three years ago. Today, about 15 percent of its tenants are smokers. Last fall, a survey at the 420-unit building, which is 96 percent occupied, showed a concern about second-hand smoke. Penalties at Kingsbury will include a $350 fine for a first violation and eviction for the second violation.
January 5, 2011 - Anti-smoking groups renewed their push for a $1-a-pack increase in the state’s cigarette tax on Monday, January 3rd pointing to research showing that the state would see $377 million in new revenue the first year of the tax increase.
January 5, 2011 - A vote on a controversial ordinance that would ban the use of tobacco in Raleigh's parks has been delayed two weeks until the City Council has more details. In its first meeting of 2011, the City Council considered a measure that was recommended unanimously by a city parks board. It forbids smoking and the use of other tobacco products in any city parks facilities, including greenways and state parks such as Moore Square that are operated by the city.
A sentence in this article has continued to bother us. We believe it's a comment from Paula Snowden, chief executive for The Quit Group, which runs Quitline. Here's the comment: 
From your neighboring country - Australia. Here's a comment from Professor Ian Olver, CEO of Cancer Council Australia..
January 4, 2011 - Star Scientific, Inc. reports that it has successfully developed a moist snuff tobacco product that has extremely low levels of carcinogens -- much lower than any snuff products currently in the marketplace. 
