Hookah smoking popular among college crowd..

September 6, 2008 - The first random sample of U.S. university students to address hookah smoking, showed 265, or 41 percent, out of a group of 647 students at University of Pittsburgh have smoked tobacco from a hookah (water pipe, sheesha, shisha, narghile). Also, 173 students -- nearly 88 percent of the 198 people who took part said they intend to do so again. The portion of respondents who have smoked cigarettes at least once, 39.6 percent, was virtually the same as hookah smokers.

"I'd say the most surprising [finding] is that the proportion who ever used [hookahs] is every bit as common as cigarette use," said Dr. Brian Primack, lead author. Perhaps more troublesome, though, was the finding that 35.4 percent of those who had smoked tobacco in a hookah had never smoked a cigarette.

Primack said: "[Hookahs] are reaching a group of young people who otherwise would have been nicotine- and tobacco-naive." 78.8 percent of the surveyed group that said it has smoked water pipes in the past year thought the devices were less addictive than cigarettes.

Paper: Primack BA, Sidani J, Agarwal AA, Shadel WG, Donny EC, Eissenberg TE
Prevalence of and Associations with Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking among U.S. University Students. Ann Behav Med 2008 Aug 22, ABSTRACT.

Reference: UPMC study shows smoking water pipes is popular with college crowd by Pohla Smith, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/5/2008.

Related news briefs: Hookahs on college campuses becoming growing public health issue.. Other related news briefs: Some related news briefs: April 8, 2008, March 6, 2008, March 4, 2008, December 29, 2007, December 28, 2007, December 27, 2007, December 19, 2007, November 7, 2007 and October 25, 2007.




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Boston To Ban Drugstore Tobacco Sales..

September 5, 2008 - Boston health regulators today gave initial approval to sweeping new tobacco control rules that would ban cigarette sales at Boston drugstores and on college campuses. The rules would also stamp out smoking on the patios of restaurants and bars with outside service; tobacco use has been banned inside since 2003. After a five-year grace period the city would shutter cigar bars, swank salons catering to tobacco connoisseurs, which were exempt from the earlier regulation.

The Boston Health Commission approved the new tobacco control rules 4-0 after an hour long hearing. The public will now get to comment, both in writing and at a public hearing that will be scheduled later.

The campaign is to further reduce cigarette smoking in the Boston area, especially among young people and the poor. Just like San Francisco, the city decided to target sales at the 74 pharmacies in Boston because stocking tobacco, the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., is incompatible with the mission of a drug store. The measure are opposed by drug store chains and tobacco companies, which argue the rules unfairly limit businesses' right to sell a legal product.

Reference: Cigarette sales ban receives initial okay from Boston board by Stephen Smith and David Abel, Boston Globe Staff, 9/5/2008.

Click on image to enlarge..



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Altria in advanced talks to buy UST, Inc..

September 5, 2008 - Cigarette company Altria Group Inc.^** is in advanced talks to buy Skoal and Copenhagen smokeless tobacco maker UST Inc, the world's leading moist smokeless tobacco (MST) manufacturer, a source familiar with the discussions told Reuters on Friday. (UST Inc. is a holding company for its principal subsidiaries: United States Smokeless Tobacco Company and International Wine & Spirits Ltd) The New York Times reported that a deal worth more than $10 billion could be announced on Monday, 9/8/2008 or even sooner. The source could not confirm the price or say when a deal might be announced.

Back in February 4, 2004 the buyout was predicted: With organic (internal) development in the smokeless tobacco arena failing look for Philip Morris USA to expand through acquisitions.. Then the following day Altria (Philip Morris USA) - UST Deal Debate - Analysts differ on possible acquisition of smokeless tobacco company..

Reference: Altria in advance talks to buy UST, Inc.,

** - Altria owns approximately 28.5% of SABMiller (South African Breweries - Miller) plc.
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Cigarette Graphic Warnings Most Cover Most of Package..

September 5, 2008 - Health Canada set out to find out whether increasing the warning size from the current level - 50 percent of the panel's surface - to 75, 90 or 100 percent of cigarette packages would have a greater effect on smokers. After interviewing 730 adult smokers, 306 teen smokers and 440 teens who are likely to start smoking, the firm found that warnings need to cover at least 90 percent of the package for the negative messages about smoking to achieve "substantial" and "significant" effects on most indicators.

Melodie Tilson, an expert in tobacco packaging and the director of policy for the Non-Smokers' Rights Association, said this is the most important finding. "What really stood out is going from 90 percent to 100 percent made a huge difference," said Tilson, characterizing the move to plain packaging and "eliminating the ability of the industry to promote smoking" as the "logical next step in tobacco control." André Calantzopoulos, the Chief Operating Officer of Philip Morris International (PMI), has stated that PMI is strongly opposed to generic packaging. (London, Tobacco Conference, 6/27/2008 - TW)

These results build on research released earlier this year, conducted by Environics on behalf of Health Canada, which found that the current graphic health warnings on cigarette packages covering half the pack are failing to encourage the majority of smokers to quit. (Impact of graphic anti-smoking photos burning out by Sarah Schmidt, Canwest News Service, 7/4/2008)

Reference: Cigarette packs need to have horrific graphics to deter teens: research by Sarah Schmidt, Canwest News Service, 9/3/2008.

Countries which have picture based cigarette health warnings from
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Also, from the Globalink Multimedia Center: World Tobacco-Control Image Database.

Some related news briefs: Britain to put picture warnings on ALL tobacco products.. and Horror photos go on New Zealand cigarette packs...

Click on image to enlarge.. TobaccoWatch.org



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Canada - Introduction of Tobacco Stamp to combat contraband ..

September 5, 2008 - The Canadian federal government on Thursday, 9/4/2008 unveiled a new prototype of an excise duty stamp designed to help authorities spot contraband tobacco products. The stamp, which was designed and produced by the Canadian Bank Note Co. and SICPA Product Security SA, contains overt and covert security features much like the identifiers stamped on money. Illegal possession of tobacco products without this stamp will be a criminal offense punishable by law. The Canada Revenue Agency will meet with industry and government stakeholders before rolling out the stamp in early 2010.

Trafficking in illegal tobacco provides cheap cigarettes, which encourages smoking, discourage quitting, increase average daily consumption, prompts relapse, and encourage youth initiation. Tobacco smuggling undermines the potential effectiveness of higher tobacco taxes reducing government revenues and encouraging adults to continue smoke and children to start smoking cigarettes. The availability of low-cost illegal cigarettes has particular implications for vulnerable populations such as young people and the economically disadvantaged. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in April, 2008 said the underground cigarette industry costs the federal government as much as $2 billion in lost tax revenue per year.


A recent report, Contraband Cigarettes in Ontario by the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit finds that almost one-third of cigarettes currently purchased in Ontario are illegal. The Physicians for a Smoke-free Canada has shown that the contraband cigarette problem is most extensive in Ontario and Quebec. A private study by Imperial Tobacco has estimated that these two provinces account for 96.5% of all contraband purchases in Canada. Income from contraband tobacco can be reinvested to support other crime activities, to finance drug trafficking in Canada and to purchase illegal weapons.

A previous legislative response to the proliferation of contraband tobacco in Canada was to reduce taxes on legal tobacco in order to lower the price of cigarettes and thus discourage contraband production and distribution. - A Very Strange Move..

References: Revenue agency introduces new tobacco stamp to combat contraband, The Canadian Press, 9/4/2008; New security stamp aims to extinguish contraband tobacco sales, CBC News, 9/4/2008; Letter to Prime Minister Harper on Contraband Tobacco, Canadian Center for Addiction and Mental Health, 1/24/2008 and Contraband tobacco in Canada, BizAims.com, 7/30/2008.

Related news brief:Canada tobacco firms admit aiding smuggling..

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