Survey: smoking habits follow gender lines, highest rate of parent to child smoking was found in single mother households..

February 3, 2011 - A new study shows that smoking habits follow gender lines in the household. In other words: like father, like son; like mother, like daughter. If there is a smoker in the home then the children are more likely to smoke.

The British Household Panel Survey 1994-2002 data was used to examine the inter-generational implications of smoking habits. This new information may not be a huge surprise because it is at least loosely accepted that children mimic their parents, after all they are primary models for children. The results show just how much smoking habits are passed from parent to child, especially between the same gender, a very important discovery that has implications for anti-smoking campaigns.

Looking at the data of two parent homes where the father and mother smoked, the child of the same gender of the smoking parent has a higher likelihood of picking up their parents smoking habits. Smoking rates for sons was 24% and 23% for daughters, but this number drops to 12% for both genders if neither parent smokes. Parents can reduce the chances that their kids will smoke by quitting smoking themselves.

Of note, the highest rate of parent to child smoking was found in single mother households. Smoking habits are passed more significantly to sons than daughters in this case, but both percentages are higher than two parent smoking households. If there was any question that single parent households negatively impact children this is a good place to start. In single-parent households, mothers transmit their smoking habits to their children -- regardless of their gender. In this case, a son's likelihood of smoking if the mother smokes is 32%, and 28% for a daughter.

Reference: Rant Parents Pass Smoking Habits to Children by Gender, rantrave.com, 2/1/2011
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Star Scientifc - filed application with U.S. FDA for approval to market a moist-snuff product.

February 3, 2011 - Star Scientific, Inc. filed an application yesterday, February 2nd with the U.S. Food & Administration (FDA) for approval to market a moist-snuff product, Stonewall Moist-BDL™, as a modified-risk tobacco product (MRTP). The company believes that this is the first application filed with the FDA for approval of a tobacco product in a longstanding market segment. The data submitted in the application to the Center for Tobacco Products at FDA document TSNA levels in Stonewall Moist-BDL™ that are below limits of detection, or "BDL", by current standards of measure. Recent findings in the form of test results from an independent international laboratory validate the extraordinarily low levels in recently submitted samples of Stonewall Moist-BDL™, which the company believes are the lowest found anywhere in the world.

The company pointed out that this application is particularly significant in two ways.

First, moist snuff product sales accounted for roughly 75% of the total smokeless tobacco market in 2009. Moist snuff sales increased from 31,500 metric tons and $3.3 billion in 2004 to 37,990 metric tons and $4.64 billion in 2009 – an average annual growth rate of roughly 4%, and a 41% overall increase in sales over the six-year period. The moist snuff market segment has been well established for many decades, and is one of the oldest tobacco product categories in the United States.

Second, tobacco-specific nitrosamine (TSNA) levels among the moist snuff products with the largest sales volume in 2009 averaged over 10,000 parts per billion in comparison to TSNA levels in Stonewall Moist-BDL, which in initial testing were less than 20 parts per billion, a 99% reduction.

In its application the company requested that, upon approval of the application, it be allowed to show the levels of tobacco carcinogens on Stonewall Moist-BDL™ labeling and packaging. Draft guidance issued by the FDA in November 2009 stated that the agency expected to complete MRTP application approval processes in 360 days or less.

The company also submitted two applications for approval of dissolvable smokeless tobacco products in 2010: Ariva-BDL™ in February, and Stonewall-BDL™ in June. Less than two weeks remain until the one-year anniversary of Star's first modified risk application to the FDA. The company to date has not received a response from the Center for Tobacco Products on the status of either of the first two applications, or to an October 2010 letter from Paul L. Perito, Star's Chairman and President requesting a meeting to respond to any questions and learn about application status.
(Star Scientific - developed a moist snuff tobacco product that has extremely low levels of carcinogens -- even lower than snus products..)

Some related Star Scientific news briefs:
Star Scientific, Inc. - U.S. patent office grants request to re-examine patents (2)..;
Star Scientific - developed a moist snuff tobacco product that has extremely low levels of carcinogens -- even lower than snus products..;
Star Scientific - date for oral arguments in patent infringement lawsuit set..;
Star Scientific - U.S. patent Patent and Trademark Office To Consider Reopening Patent Examination..;
Star Scientific asks FDA to certify Ariva-BDL lozenges as less harmful than traditional forms of tobacco..;
Star Scientific - Star Scientific q1 2010 financial report..;
Star Scientific - continue incurring losses on its smokeless-tobacco products..;
Star Scientific asks FDA to certify lozenge less harmful..;
Star Scientific denied new trial in patent infringement - files appeal..;
Star Scientific - NASDAQ trading symbol changed to CIGX..;
Star Scientific - new product (in 2010) to help adult smokers maintain a nicotine-free metabolism..;
Star Scientific - will use its low-nitrosamine tobacco curing process to formulate smokeless tobacco dissolvable smokeless products..
Star Scientific - q2 2009 report..;
Star Scientific - Filing patent for zero-nitrosamine tobacco curing process..;
Star Scientific - 2008 annual report/Stonewall vs other OTC NRTs..;
Star Scientific Corporate Study Stonewall Lozenge in NRT..;
Star Scientific Files Third Quarter Financial Report..;
Star Scientific wants to augment sales of their tobacco lozenges..;
Star Scientific , second quarter 2008, sales down 23.6%..;
Star Scientific Applauds Recent State Legislation - Banning Smoking in Cars with Children..

The Stonewall Lozenge..
Click on image to enlarge..
Stonewall Hard Snuff Packaging - front..



Click on image to enlarge..
Stonewall Hard Snuff Packaging - back..



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New York City Council votes to ban smoking in parks, beaches and other outdoor public places..

February 3, 2011 - New York City on Wednesday, February 2nd moved a step closer to ban smoking in parks, beaches and other outdoor public spaces, amid grumbling that the city government may have gone too far in its war on salt, fat and smoke. The city council voted 36 to 12 in favor of the smoking restrictions, extending an existing ban on smoking in restaurants and bars.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said he would sign the bill, and it would come into effect 90 days later.

Directly relate news brief:
New York City - tomorrow is the day, ban on smoking in parks, beaches, marinas, boardwalks and pedestrian plazas should pass..

The bill would leave enforcement to the city Parks department, which said it would give a warning before issuing a $50 fine. Police would not enforce the ban.

The ban includes boardwalks and pedestrian plazas such as the one in busy Times Square, where the city provides tables and chairs.

Next - California - will new governor now pass the ban on smoking at state beaches and parks.

Reference: New York City Council votes to ban smoking in parks by Basil Katz (Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Greg McCune), Reuters, 2/2/2011.
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New York City - tomorrow is the day, ban on smoking in parks, beaches, marinas, boardwalks and pedestrian plazas should pass..

February 2, 2011 - The New York City Council is slated Wednesday afternoon, February 2nd to approve a ban on smoking in parks, beaches, marinas, boardwalks and pedestrian plazas like Times Square. The legislation marks the most ambitious expansion of the city’s anti-smoking laws since Mayor Michael Bloomberg convinced the city lawmakers to approve a ban on smoking in indoor workplaces and park playgrounds in 2003. (NYC Smoking Ban Debuts Smoking Ban Affects Bars, Nightclubs by Justine Blau, CBS News, 3/30/2003) If passed, as expected, the law will take effect 90 days after the mayor signs it into law.

When this legislation is passed, all New Yorkers will be able to enjoy a walk in the park or a day at the beach without having to inhale secondhand smoke,” said Speaker Christine Quinn when she and the mayor unveiled the proposed legislation in September. ”This bill will save lives and make New York City a healthier place to live.”

Background:

January 8, 2011 - New York City - expects vote soon on smoking at beaches and park..

October 15, 2010 - New York City - City Council moves one step closer to extending smoking ban to parks and beaches..

August 24, 2010 - Mayor Bloomberg’s anti-smoking crusade could be coming to a city park or public beach near you, a plan plenty of people say crosses the line, reports CBS 2′s Dave Carlin. CBS 2 has learned that Mayor Bloomberg is looking at a possible smoking ban for all city parks and public beaches. The new measure would widen the current smoking ban – in bars, subways, buildings, playgrounds and other public places – to include some 29,000 acres of park land and 14 miles of beaches. (New York City - Mayor Bloomberg still mulling over smoking ban at NYC parks, beaches..)

July 7, 2010 - Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said on Tuesday, July 6th that he was leaning toward seeking a ban on smoking at city parks and beaches. See Background below on October 1, 2009 the mayor indicated he was pushing ahead to get this done.
Mr. Bloomberg said the ban made sense because it would cut the health risks of secondhand smoke and reduce littering. (New York City - Mayor Bloomberg still considering smoking ban in parks and beaches.. - Get It Done Already!!)

October 1, 2009 - The mayor initially hedged when Health Commissioner Thomas Farley proposed the ban last month, saying enforcement would be difficult. But now Mayor Bloomberg says he's pushing ahead with a controversial plan to ban smoking at city parks and beaches, after earlier saying it needed more study. (New York City - Mayor Bloomberg pushing ahead to ban smoking in city parks and beaches..)

September 14, 2009 - The city’s health commissioner, Dr. Thomas A. Farley, announced on Monday, September 14, 2009 that the Bloomberg administration would seek to ban smoking in city parks and beaches. (New York City - may ban smoking in parks and beaches...

Studies have shown that outdoor tobacco smoke levels can be as high as secondhand smoke levels indoors and there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke, Quinn and officials in the mayor’s health department have argued. But opponents of the legislation have accused the mayor and the council of infringing on their rights and have disputed the level of risk associated with secondhand smoke.

City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. proposed compromise legislation that would carve out areas of parks and beaches where people could smoke. But his legislation appeared unlikely to win the day. “It still has a lot of support,” Vallone said. “I’m disappointed leadership chose to move the original bill and not my compromise.”

The passage of the latest anti-smoking bill is a major coup for Dr. Thomas Farley, the city’s health commissioner. He persuaded an initially reluctant Bloomberg to move forward with the legislation last year. “Cigarettes kill some 7,500 New Yorkers every year, and thousands more suffer smoking-related strokes, heart attacks, lung diseases and cancers,” Farley said last September. “New York City’s Smoke Free Air Act has greatly reduced the harm that cigarettes cause to nonsmokers. By expanding the act to cover parks and beaches, we can reduce the toll even further.”

Reference: City Council Readies New Smoking Ban by Michael Howard Saul, The Wall Street Journal, 2/2/2011.

NYC directly related:
New York City - expects vote soon on smoking at beaches and park..;
New York City - . U.S. Court rejects NYC law for shops to have anti-smoking signs..;
New York City - suing tobacco company in Washington State..;
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg gives $500,000 to defend anti-smoking laws in Uruguay..;
New York City - decreases in tobacco related disease..;
New York City - smoking-related deaths drop by 17% in 8-years..;
New York City - does it the RIGHT WAY, bans most forms of flavored tobacco products..;
New York City - City Council moves one step closer to extending smoking ban to parks and beaches..;
New York City - Poospatuck Reservation stores (2) caught selling cigarettes to bootleggers..;
New York City - smoking ban enforced, club fined and closed for letting patrons smoke inside..:
New York City - Mayor Bloomberg still mulling over smoking ban at NYC parks, beaches..;
New York City - Department of Health cracking down on smoking at outside areas at bars and other places....;
New York City - more on the anti-smoking signs lawsuit against Department of Health..;
New York City - Mayor Bloomberg still considering smoking ban in parks and beaches.. - Get It Done Already!!;
Big tobacco companies file lawsuit contesting NY City's anti-smoking signs..;
New York City - federal judge rejects plaintiffs attempt to stop the law that blocks the sale of flavored tobacco products..;
New York City - moving closer to closing a nighclub that flouted smoking ban..;
New York City - VIDEO: starting March 1, 2010 stores, anti-smoking signs..;
NYC Lawsuit against Online Cigarette Vendor Dismissed..;
NY City - smokers kicking the addiction and living longer than ever..;
NY City Council not backing down as US Smokeless Tobacco files lawsuit against city..;
New York City - ban on flavored tobacco products becomes law..;
New York City bans the sale of flavored tobacco products..;
New York City - Mayor Bloomberg pushing ahead to ban smoking in city parks and beaches..;
New York City - all retailers selling tobacco will be required to post warning signs..;
New York City - to ask public opinion - smoking graphic warning signs; New York City - proposed pictorial warning signs to show the sickness and suffering caused by tobacco use.;
New York City - may ban smoking in parks and beaches..;
New York City - can't sue Internet cigarette retailers for lost taxes..;
New CDC Chief Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH..;
New York City Council ban candy-flavored tobacco, smoking outside of hospitals..;
New York - city and state officials back off plans to crack down on cigarette black market..;
New York City - nonsmokers exposed to cigarette smoke..;
New York City - cigarettes more than $10- a- pack..;
NYC can move forward with reservation cigarette lawsuit..;
Michael Rubens Bloomberg - ELF Award winner 2008;
NYC sues reservation smoke shops over bootlegging..;
NYC Fights Smoking With Reality Images in Matchbooks..;
NY City Can Proceed With Lawsuits Against 10 Online Cigarette Vendors..;
NYC Warns Parents of Smoking Lawsuits...
(NY City) Read more...

India - despite govt ban, sale and advertising of tobacco products is rampant around educational institutions..

February 2, 2011 - According to a provision in the Cigarettes and other tobacco products Act, 2003 (COPTA), sale and advertisement of tobacco and related products are banned within 100 meters of educational institutes and airports.

PUNE: A series of raids by India's Food and Drug Administration has revealed that the idea of tobacco-free campus has remained only on paper. (PUNE - formerly called Poona, also known as Punya-Nagari, is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai.)

An alarming number of vendors were found selling cigarettes and other tobacco products outside schools and colleges across seven divisions of the state. Topping the chart were college campuses in Nagpur, Aurangabad and Pune. Of the over 1,800 shops inspected, more than 1,300 were found selling tobacco within the restricted zone. "Total 1,405 educational institutions across seven divisions of the state were inspected. Of the 1,837 shops and vendors checked, 1,343 were found selling tobacco products within the prohibited zone. A total fine of Rs 2.12 lakh was collected," said C B Pawar, joint commissioner (food) and nodal officer of the FDA.

The move follows a letter from the Union (India) ministry of health and family welfare to the state government on the issue. Under the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, selling tobacco products within 100 yards of school and college premises is prohibited. The ministry now wants the state government to enforce it vigorously.

The move assumes significance as India has the highest rate of oral cancer in the world which is mostly caused due to consumption of tobacco. "It has been found that there is an increased trend of tobacco habits among students. By permitting sale of tobacco outside educational institutions alongside candies and soft drinks, young people gets this misleading message that tobacco in any form is normal, benign and socially acceptable. This reflects an alarming situation and calls for urgent anti-tobacco and tobacco cessation measures," says cancer surgeon Rakesh Neve of the Ruby Hall's cancer centre.

"Vendors close to educational institutions need to stop selling tobacco products, failing which they will have to shift elsewhere," said senior food inspector from Pune Mohan Kembalkar.

Reference: Despite govt ban, sale of tobacco rampant around schools, colleges, Umesh Isalkar, Thde Times of India, 1/31/2011.

India - some related news briefs:
^*India - foreign cigarette companies could soon find it harder to sell their products..;
^*Maharashtra, India - collecting fines from anti-tobacco drive..;
^*India - health ministry formulating policy that is smokeless tobacco specific..;
^*India - celebs shy away from endorsing tobacco and liquor..;
^*Mumbai, India - students campaign to spread word on the dangers of tobacco products..;
^*India - cigarette/bidis companies resume tobacco production..;
^*India - will delay for a year the use of scarier pictorial warnings on cigarette and bidi packs..;
^*India - cigarettes and bidis manufacturers halt production seek clarification on pictorial health warnings..;
^*India - Tobacco Board warns farmers against planting unauthorized crop..;
^*India - revised pictorial warnings on tobacco products will be implemented from December 1, 2010..;
^*India - captions with pictorial warnings should use local languages..:
^*India - pictorial warning will appear on every tobacco pack sold from June 1, 2010..;
^*India - government set to ban foreign direct investment in tobacco..;
^*India - despite tobacco control measure in place - tobacco sales increase..;
^*India - still confusion pictorial warnings on cigarette packs..;
^*Mumbai, India - NGO activists want closure of hookah bars..;
^*India - gutkha and bidi companies NOT pictorial warnings..;
^*India - cigarette packs with pictorial warnings are here..; ^*India - NO graphic pictorial warnings yet..;
^*India - Still no pictorial warnings on cigarette packs..;
^*India - pictorial warning on cigarettes and tobacco products effective May 31, 2009..;
^*India - pictorial warning on cigarettes and tobacco products will be implemented from May 31 - no doubts about it..;
^*India - will pictorial or graphic health warnings be implemented from May 30, 2009..;
^*India - placing pictorial warnings on tobacco products delayed again... Read more...