NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — The maker of Skoal and Copenhagen smokeless tobacco has agreed to pay $5 million to the family of a man who died of mouth cancer in what is believed to be the first wrongful-death settlement won from a chewing tobacco company.
A legal expert said the case could open the door for more lawsuits against makers of chewing tobacco, an industry that drew fewer legal battles during the 1990s than cigarette manufacturers.
U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. will pay the award to the family of Bobby Hill of Canton, N.C., who began chewing tobacco at 13. He died in 2003 at 42.
Attorney Antonio Ponvert III, who represented Hill's relatives, told The Associated Press about the agreement Tuesday. Regulatory documents confirmed the deal.
Steven Callahan, a spokesman for Altria, which acquired U.S. Smokeless Tobacco last year, said the company admitted no liability and does not make any health claims about its products.
Ponvert and Mark Gottlieb, director of the Tobacco Products Liability Project at Northeastern University in Boston, both said the Hill family settlement is the first case of its kind.
Gottlieb predicted more lawsuits targeting smokeless tobacco would follow, calling the settlement "a wake-up call" to plaintiffs' attorneys "that there are a lot of victims of smokeless tobacco use out there, and it's possible these cases can be successful."
Smokeless tobacco companies managed to fend off most previous lawsuits. In the past, lawyers focused more on cigarette makers because of stronger evidence to back up their claims, even though smokeless tobacco is harmful as well, Gottlieb said.
"So this is an unusual instance and runs counter to what had been the sort of the playbook for tobacco litigation," Gottlieb said. The settlement shows that "perhaps there is a new strategy afoot in terms of dealing with some of these types of cases."
But, Gottlieb added, Altria may have simply concluded it was cheaper to settle than risk a larger award at trial.
Callahan said the case involved unique circumstances because it was a settlement offer made before Altria acquired the company.
"And we have no intention of settling cases like this in the future," he said.
Ponvert said his case was bolstered by previously undisclosed letters from the 1980s that the company sent to minors thanking them for their business and offering free samples. The company even sent a can opener to one child to help open the chewing tobacco, he said.
"It was just this unbelievable trail of incredibly damning documents," Ponvert said.
The family's case also was stronger because Hill was a longtime user of chewing tobacco who did not drink or smoke cigarettes, factors tobacco companies point to as causing the cancer, Ponvert said.
Hill's wife, Kelly, filed the lawsuit in 2005 after her husband died of cancer of the tongue, Ponvert said.
Through her attorney, she declined to comment.
Hill had multiple surgeries to remove his tongue. Mouth cancer victims typically lose parts of their mouth, either through surgery or because the tissue wastes away.
"It's a really sad and a really gruesome way to die," Ponvert said.
For many years, smokeless tobacco has carried warning labels. Rules that took effect in June require larger labels listing the risks of chewing tobacco, including cancer, gum disease and tooth loss, and stating that smokeless tobacco is not a safe alternative to cigarettes.
The Altria spokesman said the company supported legislation enacted last year that allowed the FDA to regulate tobacco and required the larger warning labels.
U.S. Smokeless Tobacco was headquartered in Greenwich before being acquired by Altria, which is also the parent of Phillip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker.
Best info and news about tobacco world!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Consumers choose price over branding in tobacco
Andrew Lansley may want to rethink his support of putting cigarettes in plain packs after The Grocer's annual Top Products survey revealed that price - far more than bright shiny packaging - determines purchasing decisions.
The overall tobacco category grew by 3.8% in value for the year to 2 October, helped by increases in both duty and VAT, but within that there was staggering growth for some of the lower-priced brands, while the most recognisable such as Marlboro, Benson & Hedges and Regal all suffered significant losses.
Imperial Tobacco's budget John Player Special Blue variant experienced by far the strongest growth of any grocery product sold this year up a massive 173.1% to £209.4m.
Rival JTI also enjoyed massive success for its low price brand, Sterling, with King Size up 67.1% and Superkings up 37.9%.
In stark contrast, premium cigarette brands all lost sales Marlboro Gold was down 2.4%, Benson & Hedges Gold was down 4.3% and Regal was down 11.3%. Overall, 632 million fewer cigarettes were sold but this was more than made up for by a 19.5% increase in the sale of roll-your-own tobacco, which smashed through the £1bn barrier with total sales of £1.14bn.
The figures suggest that price is the key factor for smokers in the current economic climate and will cast further doubt over the need for government to introduce plain packaging.
"Making all tobacco products available in the same, easy-to-copy generic plain packaging would potentially lead to a significant increase in counterfeit product," said Imperial Tobacco head of marketing Steve Brock. "Governments need to ask themselves whether they want tobacco products to be sold by a responsible, legitimate business or by organised crime gangs who have no regard for any regulation."
Elsewhere in Top Products, pet food has also had an excellent year, with volume and value sales up 13.3% and 4.4% respectively on the back of consumers trading up to more premium products for their pets.
Now worth £1.6bn, the category owes much to new first-placed Whiskas pouch's strong performance. The Mars product's 12.6% value increase added £19m to sales, boosting them to £169.8m.
Another category that posted strong growth was sports and energy drinks, with sales up £112m to £827.6m, driven by impressive Lucozade performances. Just one brand in this category, Powerade, failed to record value growth.
Cheese also had a good year. Despite constant promotions, particularly on Cheddar, value sales rose £12.7m. Of the big brands, Cathedral City saw its sales rise 8% to £208.7m and Dairylea's were up 5.2% to £106m. Reduced fat brand Low Low, which launched in mainland UK last April, got off to a great start, with sales up by 847.2% to £10.3m.
Other standout brands included Danone Activia, which was up by £22.2m to £237.6m and knocked Müller Corner into second place in yoghurts and desserts. Meanwhile, Kingsmill stood out in a struggling bread category as the only bread brand in value growth, with sales up 7.3% to £358.4m.
The overall tobacco category grew by 3.8% in value for the year to 2 October, helped by increases in both duty and VAT, but within that there was staggering growth for some of the lower-priced brands, while the most recognisable such as Marlboro, Benson & Hedges and Regal all suffered significant losses.
Imperial Tobacco's budget John Player Special Blue variant experienced by far the strongest growth of any grocery product sold this year up a massive 173.1% to £209.4m.
Rival JTI also enjoyed massive success for its low price brand, Sterling, with King Size up 67.1% and Superkings up 37.9%.
In stark contrast, premium cigarette brands all lost sales Marlboro Gold was down 2.4%, Benson & Hedges Gold was down 4.3% and Regal was down 11.3%. Overall, 632 million fewer cigarettes were sold but this was more than made up for by a 19.5% increase in the sale of roll-your-own tobacco, which smashed through the £1bn barrier with total sales of £1.14bn.
The figures suggest that price is the key factor for smokers in the current economic climate and will cast further doubt over the need for government to introduce plain packaging.
"Making all tobacco products available in the same, easy-to-copy generic plain packaging would potentially lead to a significant increase in counterfeit product," said Imperial Tobacco head of marketing Steve Brock. "Governments need to ask themselves whether they want tobacco products to be sold by a responsible, legitimate business or by organised crime gangs who have no regard for any regulation."
Elsewhere in Top Products, pet food has also had an excellent year, with volume and value sales up 13.3% and 4.4% respectively on the back of consumers trading up to more premium products for their pets.
Now worth £1.6bn, the category owes much to new first-placed Whiskas pouch's strong performance. The Mars product's 12.6% value increase added £19m to sales, boosting them to £169.8m.
Another category that posted strong growth was sports and energy drinks, with sales up £112m to £827.6m, driven by impressive Lucozade performances. Just one brand in this category, Powerade, failed to record value growth.
Cheese also had a good year. Despite constant promotions, particularly on Cheddar, value sales rose £12.7m. Of the big brands, Cathedral City saw its sales rise 8% to £208.7m and Dairylea's were up 5.2% to £106m. Reduced fat brand Low Low, which launched in mainland UK last April, got off to a great start, with sales up by 847.2% to £10.3m.
Other standout brands included Danone Activia, which was up by £22.2m to £237.6m and knocked Müller Corner into second place in yoghurts and desserts. Meanwhile, Kingsmill stood out in a struggling bread category as the only bread brand in value growth, with sales up 7.3% to £358.4m.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Cigarette-Smuggling Gangs Sap Lithuania Budget, Spark Crackdown
A man in a black wetsuit straps nine boxes to his body in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, wades into the Nemunas River and swims 200 yards to Lithuania and the European Union.
He drops his cargo as officers close in and 4,500 packs of cigarettes sink to the bottom of the river, according to photographs from the state Border Guard Service. The authorities aren’t always so successful, with the government estimating 110 million packs are smuggled into the country each year, costing it 500 million litai ($193 million) in lost taxes.
Lithuania declared war on smuggling to boost revenue in the 2011 budget under review tomorrow after the deficit swelled to 9.2 percent of economic output during the global recession. The so-called grey economy has grown to 30 percent of gross domestic product as people look for bargains and gangs flood the country with untaxed tobacco, alcohol and fuel from Russia and Belarus.
“Everyone must realize that by smoking illegal cigarettes you not only harm your health as it says on the pack but you also harm your parents and your children,” Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said Nov. 9 in an interview with Ziniu Radijas. “You take away money from the school your children attend or you take away money from the pension your parents get.”
Baltic neighbors Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia experienced the world’s deepest recessions last year. All three border on Russia, while Latvia and Lithuania also share frontiers with Belarus, making them a gateway into the EU.
Prison Sentences
Lithuania plans to collect an additional 1.2 billion litai next year, or about 1 percent of GDP, by curbing illicit activity, according to the draft budget. The government has pledged to cut the deficit to the EU limit of 3 percent of GDP by 2012.
The government on Nov. 17 approved tougher penalties for smugglers, replacing fines with prison sentences of as much as eight years. Lithuania also plans to increase spending on customs enforcement by 15 percent next year, including 8 million litai to install X-ray scanners at border crossings.
The crackdown is fueling tensions. One smuggler was killed and two officers injured in a June shootout. Last month, a border patrolman found a rag doll hanged from a wooden cross stuck in his driveway less than two weeks after his sauna was set on fire, according to the Border Guard Service.
Targeting smuggling may be the easiest avenue left to rein in the deficit after the government implemented austerity measures equal to 14 percent of GDP in the past two years, said Vilija Tauraite, a Vilnius-based economist at SEB AB, the second-biggest bank in the Baltic countries.
“Fighting smuggling is a rather realistic and effective measure, given how widespread the illegal imports are,” Tauraite said. “The illegally imported fuel, tobacco products and alcohol are no secret to anyone living in Lithuania.”
Excise Taxes
The growth in smuggling led to faltering excise-tax income, the second-biggest source of state budget revenue after the value-added tax. Consumption of taxed cigarettes fell 53 percent from a year earlier in the first nine months of the year, according to the Finance Ministry, which missed its revenue target for the excise category by 8.3 percent in the period.
“Alcohol and tobacco consumption are falling,” said Violeta Klyviene, chief Baltic economist at Copenhagen-based Danske Bank A/S. “This doesn’t mean people resolved to healthier lifestyles, but rather shows booming smuggling.”
Tomas, from Klaipeda, Lithuania’s third-largest city, says he buys illegal cigarettes at half price, saving about 180 litai a month, “a very substantial sum” compared with his monthly income of 1,200 litai from self-employment.
“Nobody in my family buys cigarettes from a shop,” said Tomas, 26, who asked to be identified by his first name because buying smuggled goods is a crime. “I don’t remember the last time I filled up my tank at a gas station. You simply pre-order and get Russian products delivered in a day or two.”
‘No Easy Solution’
Forty-nine percent of the cigarettes smoked in Lithuania this year carried foreign-language, mostly Russian, warning labels, according to the Lithuanian Free Market Institute, a Vilnius-based researcher whose motto is “If you don’t create a free market, a black market will emerge.”
In every country the smokers smoke almost the same cigarette brand, starting from well known Winston cigarettes or Pall Mall cigarettes.
The grey economies of the three Baltic states are the biggest in the EU behind Romania and Bulgaria, according to Friedrich Schneider, a professor at Austria’s Johannes Kepler University of Linz, who studies illegal economies.
The shadow economy accounts for about 30 percent of GDP in Lithuania and Estonia and 27 percent in Latvia, Schneider estimates. The EU average is 20 percent.
The growing reliance on smuggled goods makes people more tolerant of the grey economy, raising concern the crackdown won’t work, said Jekaterina Rojaka, a Vilnius-based economist at DnB Nord Bank, the Baltic unit of DnB NOR ASA. About 64 percent of Lithuanians approve of buying smuggled goods, according to a survey of 1,009 people conducted July 28-Aug. 6 by local pollster Spinter Tyrimai.
“There’s no easy solution,” Rojaka said. “To succeed with the plan, the state will have to stitch up the borders and fight.”
He drops his cargo as officers close in and 4,500 packs of cigarettes sink to the bottom of the river, according to photographs from the state Border Guard Service. The authorities aren’t always so successful, with the government estimating 110 million packs are smuggled into the country each year, costing it 500 million litai ($193 million) in lost taxes.
Lithuania declared war on smuggling to boost revenue in the 2011 budget under review tomorrow after the deficit swelled to 9.2 percent of economic output during the global recession. The so-called grey economy has grown to 30 percent of gross domestic product as people look for bargains and gangs flood the country with untaxed tobacco, alcohol and fuel from Russia and Belarus.
“Everyone must realize that by smoking illegal cigarettes you not only harm your health as it says on the pack but you also harm your parents and your children,” Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said Nov. 9 in an interview with Ziniu Radijas. “You take away money from the school your children attend or you take away money from the pension your parents get.”
Baltic neighbors Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia experienced the world’s deepest recessions last year. All three border on Russia, while Latvia and Lithuania also share frontiers with Belarus, making them a gateway into the EU.
Prison Sentences
Lithuania plans to collect an additional 1.2 billion litai next year, or about 1 percent of GDP, by curbing illicit activity, according to the draft budget. The government has pledged to cut the deficit to the EU limit of 3 percent of GDP by 2012.
The government on Nov. 17 approved tougher penalties for smugglers, replacing fines with prison sentences of as much as eight years. Lithuania also plans to increase spending on customs enforcement by 15 percent next year, including 8 million litai to install X-ray scanners at border crossings.
The crackdown is fueling tensions. One smuggler was killed and two officers injured in a June shootout. Last month, a border patrolman found a rag doll hanged from a wooden cross stuck in his driveway less than two weeks after his sauna was set on fire, according to the Border Guard Service.
Targeting smuggling may be the easiest avenue left to rein in the deficit after the government implemented austerity measures equal to 14 percent of GDP in the past two years, said Vilija Tauraite, a Vilnius-based economist at SEB AB, the second-biggest bank in the Baltic countries.
“Fighting smuggling is a rather realistic and effective measure, given how widespread the illegal imports are,” Tauraite said. “The illegally imported fuel, tobacco products and alcohol are no secret to anyone living in Lithuania.”
Excise Taxes
The growth in smuggling led to faltering excise-tax income, the second-biggest source of state budget revenue after the value-added tax. Consumption of taxed cigarettes fell 53 percent from a year earlier in the first nine months of the year, according to the Finance Ministry, which missed its revenue target for the excise category by 8.3 percent in the period.
“Alcohol and tobacco consumption are falling,” said Violeta Klyviene, chief Baltic economist at Copenhagen-based Danske Bank A/S. “This doesn’t mean people resolved to healthier lifestyles, but rather shows booming smuggling.”
Tomas, from Klaipeda, Lithuania’s third-largest city, says he buys illegal cigarettes at half price, saving about 180 litai a month, “a very substantial sum” compared with his monthly income of 1,200 litai from self-employment.
“Nobody in my family buys cigarettes from a shop,” said Tomas, 26, who asked to be identified by his first name because buying smuggled goods is a crime. “I don’t remember the last time I filled up my tank at a gas station. You simply pre-order and get Russian products delivered in a day or two.”
‘No Easy Solution’
Forty-nine percent of the cigarettes smoked in Lithuania this year carried foreign-language, mostly Russian, warning labels, according to the Lithuanian Free Market Institute, a Vilnius-based researcher whose motto is “If you don’t create a free market, a black market will emerge.”
In every country the smokers smoke almost the same cigarette brand, starting from well known Winston cigarettes or Pall Mall cigarettes.
The grey economies of the three Baltic states are the biggest in the EU behind Romania and Bulgaria, according to Friedrich Schneider, a professor at Austria’s Johannes Kepler University of Linz, who studies illegal economies.
The shadow economy accounts for about 30 percent of GDP in Lithuania and Estonia and 27 percent in Latvia, Schneider estimates. The EU average is 20 percent.
The growing reliance on smuggled goods makes people more tolerant of the grey economy, raising concern the crackdown won’t work, said Jekaterina Rojaka, a Vilnius-based economist at DnB Nord Bank, the Baltic unit of DnB NOR ASA. About 64 percent of Lithuanians approve of buying smuggled goods, according to a survey of 1,009 people conducted July 28-Aug. 6 by local pollster Spinter Tyrimai.
“There’s no easy solution,” Rojaka said. “To succeed with the plan, the state will have to stitch up the borders and fight.”
Cigarette, bidi cos win a year’s reprieve on warnings
Giving in to the demand of the tobacco industry, the government on Tuesday decided to retain the existing pictorial warnings on cigarette and bidi packages for one more year. The decision taken at a meeting of the Cabinet comes a week after tobacco majors like ITC and Godfrey Phillips India (GPI) stopped production due to uncertainty.
The Cabinet has decided to retain the current pictorial warnings for one more year, after which it will be reviewed in December 2011, sources said. The existing pictorial warnings —a scorpion on bidipacks and a cancer-affected lung on cigarette packs — were to be replaced by a canceraffected mouth, from December 1 after a notification by the ministry of health and family welfare in May this year. Such warnings are to be rotated every year.
Reacting to the government’s decision, Tobacco Institute of India director Udayan Lall said: “We will abide by the decision the government has taken.”
Godfrey Phillips India (GPI) vicepresident marketing Neeta Kapur said the company will start production of cigarettes at its two units in India “within a couple of days” . An ITC spokesperson said, “We have heard this from the media and can comment only after seeing the notification.”
Tobacco companies, which were under an impression that the timeline for ‘mouth cancer’ warning would get pushed back, had made representations to the health ministry requesting for increasing the number of years for implementing particular pictograms from existing one year to two to three years at least. They reasoned out that existing cigarette stock lying with the retailers could not be withdrawn and re-manufactured and this may account to huge losses to them. There are many tobacco manufacturer which are worried for the tobacco industry for example, there is R.J. Reynolds , the producer of Camel cigarettes or Philip Morris , producer of Marlboro cigarettes.
The manufacturers requested that they be first allowed to sell the previous stock and that if the new warning must come into effect then its duration should be increased to two or three years so that companies do not need to print new packets every year.
The Cabinet has decided to retain the current pictorial warnings for one more year, after which it will be reviewed in December 2011, sources said. The existing pictorial warnings —a scorpion on bidipacks and a cancer-affected lung on cigarette packs — were to be replaced by a canceraffected mouth, from December 1 after a notification by the ministry of health and family welfare in May this year. Such warnings are to be rotated every year.
Reacting to the government’s decision, Tobacco Institute of India director Udayan Lall said: “We will abide by the decision the government has taken.”
Godfrey Phillips India (GPI) vicepresident marketing Neeta Kapur said the company will start production of cigarettes at its two units in India “within a couple of days” . An ITC spokesperson said, “We have heard this from the media and can comment only after seeing the notification.”
Tobacco companies, which were under an impression that the timeline for ‘mouth cancer’ warning would get pushed back, had made representations to the health ministry requesting for increasing the number of years for implementing particular pictograms from existing one year to two to three years at least. They reasoned out that existing cigarette stock lying with the retailers could not be withdrawn and re-manufactured and this may account to huge losses to them. There are many tobacco manufacturer which are worried for the tobacco industry for example, there is R.J. Reynolds , the producer of Camel cigarettes or Philip Morris , producer of Marlboro cigarettes.
The manufacturers requested that they be first allowed to sell the previous stock and that if the new warning must come into effect then its duration should be increased to two or three years so that companies do not need to print new packets every year.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Sauk County tops tobacco watchdog’s list
A state program that surveyed 65 Wisconsin communities says Sauk County retailers were most likely to sell tobacco products to minors.
"I have been doing these investigations for five or six years and have never seen numbers this high," said Jeff Melby, assistant coordinator of the South Central Wisconsin Tobacco Free Coalition.
Melby performs compliance checks for Wisconsin Wins, a state Department of Health Services program that seeks to reduce youth access to tobacco and tobacco-related products. Underage volunteers working with the group walk into businesses and try to purchase tobacco products.
Wisconsin Wins reports that 10 of 32 Sauk County businesses surveyed - about 31 percent - illegally sold tobacco to the volunteers. That was the highest rate out of the 65 communities surveyed statewide during the same time period.
Melby released year-to-date figures Thursday showing that 27 of the 72 businesses he has surveyed throughout all of 2010 sold to minors.
"That's not good," Melby said.
He said some clerks are not aware of less common tobacco products, such as snus - a pouch that users slide under their lip - or dissolvable strips.
"I think they are not watching those sales as carefully," Melby said. "We actually had a situation where a volunteer was trying to purchase snus and one clerk in Sauk County was not even sure that qualified as a tobacco product."
A high rate of turnover at gas stations and convenience stores in the tourism-based Wisconsin Dells could play a role in Sauk County's high numbers of illegal sales, Melby said, adding that employees who are new on the job may not know state requirements when it comes to checking identification.
Melby said greater education and enforcement should help increase compliance with the law.
He also said he would like to see more law enforcement agencies join in the compliance checks and issue citations.
In Reedsburg this summer, Police Chief Tim Becker announced that five sellers who failed compliance checks would receive citations.
The Wisconsin Wins surveys are not scientific, but are intended as educational tools, said Beth Kaplan, spokeswoman for the state Department of Health Services.
She said the state also conducts scientific surveys as part of a federal program called Synar. States must have non-compliance rates of less than 20 percent to qualify for certain federal funding. Just over 7 percent of Wisconsin businesses surveyed in the Synar program in 2009 failed their compliance tests.
"I have been doing these investigations for five or six years and have never seen numbers this high," said Jeff Melby, assistant coordinator of the South Central Wisconsin Tobacco Free Coalition.
Melby performs compliance checks for Wisconsin Wins, a state Department of Health Services program that seeks to reduce youth access to tobacco and tobacco-related products. Underage volunteers working with the group walk into businesses and try to purchase tobacco products.
Wisconsin Wins reports that 10 of 32 Sauk County businesses surveyed - about 31 percent - illegally sold tobacco to the volunteers. That was the highest rate out of the 65 communities surveyed statewide during the same time period.
Melby released year-to-date figures Thursday showing that 27 of the 72 businesses he has surveyed throughout all of 2010 sold to minors.
"That's not good," Melby said.
He said some clerks are not aware of less common tobacco products, such as snus - a pouch that users slide under their lip - or dissolvable strips.
"I think they are not watching those sales as carefully," Melby said. "We actually had a situation where a volunteer was trying to purchase snus and one clerk in Sauk County was not even sure that qualified as a tobacco product."
A high rate of turnover at gas stations and convenience stores in the tourism-based Wisconsin Dells could play a role in Sauk County's high numbers of illegal sales, Melby said, adding that employees who are new on the job may not know state requirements when it comes to checking identification.
Melby said greater education and enforcement should help increase compliance with the law.
He also said he would like to see more law enforcement agencies join in the compliance checks and issue citations.
In Reedsburg this summer, Police Chief Tim Becker announced that five sellers who failed compliance checks would receive citations.
The Wisconsin Wins surveys are not scientific, but are intended as educational tools, said Beth Kaplan, spokeswoman for the state Department of Health Services.
She said the state also conducts scientific surveys as part of a federal program called Synar. States must have non-compliance rates of less than 20 percent to qualify for certain federal funding. Just over 7 percent of Wisconsin businesses surveyed in the Synar program in 2009 failed their compliance tests.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
170 countries agree to control use of tobacco additives
More than 170 countries unanimously agreed at a World Health Organization conference that ended Saturday to strengthen controls on the use of menthol and other types of additives in tobacco products.
It is the first time the signatories of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control have discussed regulations on tobacco additives, which critics say can make cigarettes more attractive to consumers, and as a result increase the damage to health.
The agreement to reinforce regulations to ban or limit their use is not legally binding. But Japan, which is the largest donor to the budget for the global tobacco treaty secretariat, is likely to face pressure to proactively take measures in line with the accord.
The treaty’s 172 signatories reached the agreement at the fourth session of the Conference of the Parties held Nov. 15 to 20 in Punta del Este, Uruguay.
According to sources close to the conference, subject to the regulations includes ink and pigments in the papers used to wrap tobacco and additives used to sweeten tobacco products.
The signatories also agreed to promote anti-smoking education and reinforce steps aimed at decreasing the demand for cigarettes.
Regulations on electronic cigarettes were also discussed but conference participants failed to reach a consensus. Some countries were opposed to including products that do not use tobacco leaves in the tobacco control.
The issue will be discussed again at the next Conference of the Parties to be held in South Korea in the latter half of 2012, the sources said.
The WHO estimates that some 5.4 million people die every year from the health damage from tobacco. If no measures are taken to curb smoking, the death toll could rise to more than 8 million in 2030, according to the public health arm of the United Nations.
It is the first time the signatories of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control have discussed regulations on tobacco additives, which critics say can make cigarettes more attractive to consumers, and as a result increase the damage to health.
The agreement to reinforce regulations to ban or limit their use is not legally binding. But Japan, which is the largest donor to the budget for the global tobacco treaty secretariat, is likely to face pressure to proactively take measures in line with the accord.
The treaty’s 172 signatories reached the agreement at the fourth session of the Conference of the Parties held Nov. 15 to 20 in Punta del Este, Uruguay.
According to sources close to the conference, subject to the regulations includes ink and pigments in the papers used to wrap tobacco and additives used to sweeten tobacco products.
The signatories also agreed to promote anti-smoking education and reinforce steps aimed at decreasing the demand for cigarettes.
Regulations on electronic cigarettes were also discussed but conference participants failed to reach a consensus. Some countries were opposed to including products that do not use tobacco leaves in the tobacco control.
The issue will be discussed again at the next Conference of the Parties to be held in South Korea in the latter half of 2012, the sources said.
The WHO estimates that some 5.4 million people die every year from the health damage from tobacco. If no measures are taken to curb smoking, the death toll could rise to more than 8 million in 2030, according to the public health arm of the United Nations.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Prison officer took $5K in bribes, gave tobacco to Rochester inmates
A 53-year-old Minnesota woman has admitted that, while working as a federal correctional officer, she took thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for supplying inmates with tobacco.
Former officer Cheryl Wheeler pleaded guilty in federal court in Minneapolis last week to bribery of a public official. Wheeler, who worked at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, admitted receiving about $5,000 from the families of two inmates from mid-2009 until February. She then provided tobacco for the two inmates.
Smoking products, whether they be cigarettes, cigars, pipes, lighters or smokeless tobacco, are banned in the Federal Medical Center. Visitors also cannot bring tobacco products to the center, which provides specialized medical and mental health services to male offenders.
Wheeler faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Sentencing has yet to be scheduled.
Former officer Cheryl Wheeler pleaded guilty in federal court in Minneapolis last week to bribery of a public official. Wheeler, who worked at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, admitted receiving about $5,000 from the families of two inmates from mid-2009 until February. She then provided tobacco for the two inmates.
Smoking products, whether they be cigarettes, cigars, pipes, lighters or smokeless tobacco, are banned in the Federal Medical Center. Visitors also cannot bring tobacco products to the center, which provides specialized medical and mental health services to male offenders.
Wheeler faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Sentencing has yet to be scheduled.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Businesses fail tobacco compliance
PLAINVILLE — Three business failed compliance checks Wednesday for sales of tobacco products to underage patrons.
The police department and staff members of the state’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Tobacco Prevention and Enforcement Program conducted the checks, visiting 16 businesses in town.
An underage youth employed by the program entered each establishment trying to buy tobacco products.
Thirteen clerks asked for identification, three did not. It is illegal to sell tobacco products to those under age 18.The offending clerks were each fined $200. The Cigarette Dealer License Holder of those establishments will be referred to the state Department of Revenue Services for additional sanctions.
The businesses charged with selling tobacco products to minors are Petra Mini Mart (Valero), 67 East Main St., Paul’s Getty, 301 East St. and Plainville Citgo, 383 New Britain Ave.
The police department and staff members of the state’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Tobacco Prevention and Enforcement Program conducted the checks, visiting 16 businesses in town.
An underage youth employed by the program entered each establishment trying to buy tobacco products.
Thirteen clerks asked for identification, three did not. It is illegal to sell tobacco products to those under age 18.The offending clerks were each fined $200. The Cigarette Dealer License Holder of those establishments will be referred to the state Department of Revenue Services for additional sanctions.
The businesses charged with selling tobacco products to minors are Petra Mini Mart (Valero), 67 East Main St., Paul’s Getty, 301 East St. and Plainville Citgo, 383 New Britain Ave.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is a leader in the fight to reduce tobacco use and its devastating consequences in the United States and around the world.
The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids estimates that more Montanans die each year from smoking than from car accidents, alcohol, drugs, AIDS, suicide, and murders.
At current smoking levels, 18,000 Montana youth who are alive today will die prematurely from smoking-related diseases.
And without the last 10 years of tobacco use prevention in Montana, we would have at least 22,000 more adults who smoke and more than 23,000 of our kids would have grown up to be smokers.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has documented that comprehensive, evidence-based tobacco use prevention programs like the Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program (MTUPP) help reduce tobacco use.
MTUPP’s community-based programs reach over 95% of Montanans and provide the foundation for reducing and preventing tobacco addiction in Montana.
Gallatin County's community-based program (Gallatin County Tobacco Use Preventon Program) provides extensive support for and implementation of the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act, the free Montana Tobacco Quit Line, reACT/SpeakOUT (our teen-led youth empowerment movement to educate teens about the industry’s tactics to addict youth), and extensive local media outreach.
The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids estimates that more Montanans die each year from smoking than from car accidents, alcohol, drugs, AIDS, suicide, and murders.
At current smoking levels, 18,000 Montana youth who are alive today will die prematurely from smoking-related diseases.
And without the last 10 years of tobacco use prevention in Montana, we would have at least 22,000 more adults who smoke and more than 23,000 of our kids would have grown up to be smokers.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has documented that comprehensive, evidence-based tobacco use prevention programs like the Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program (MTUPP) help reduce tobacco use.
MTUPP’s community-based programs reach over 95% of Montanans and provide the foundation for reducing and preventing tobacco addiction in Montana.
Gallatin County's community-based program (Gallatin County Tobacco Use Preventon Program) provides extensive support for and implementation of the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act, the free Montana Tobacco Quit Line, reACT/SpeakOUT (our teen-led youth empowerment movement to educate teens about the industry’s tactics to addict youth), and extensive local media outreach.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
China Kangtai Cactus Biotech Inc. (CKGT.OB) Poised To Commence Testing Equipment for the In-House Manufacturing of Cigarettes
HARBIN, China, Nov 01, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- China Kangtai Cactus Biotech Inc. /quotes/comstock/11k!ckgt (CKGT 1.21, +0.01, +0.83%) , a vertically integrated grower, developer, manufacturer and marketer of a variety of cactus-based products in China, announced today that it is ready to commence the pre-production stage of testing the equipment for the in-house manufacturing of their own cigarettes starting November 2010.
Pursuant to a definitive asset purchase agreement signed on June 28, 2010, CKGT made an acquisition that includes certain real property and all improvements thereon, all equipment and fixtures used in connection with the Seller's operations, as well as, the established brands attached thereto located in Guangdong province and Macao for a price of RMB (Renminbi) 35 million (approximately USD $5.1 million).
Pursuant to a definitive asset purchase agreement signed on June 28, 2010, CKGT made an acquisition that includes certain real property and all improvements thereon, all equipment and fixtures used in connection with the Seller's operations, as well as, the established brands attached thereto located in Guangdong province and Macao for a price of RMB (Renminbi) 35 million (approximately USD $5.1 million).
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Cigarette maker Lorillard third quarter net income rises on higher sales
In this file photo made Dec. 8, 2009, Newport cigarettes, a Lorillard Inc. brand, are seen on display at Costco in Mountain View, Calif. Cigarette maker Lorillard says its net income rose more than 16 percent as it sold more cigarettes at higher prices. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)
RICHMOND, Va. - Cigarette maker Lorillard Inc. said Monday its net income rose more than 16 per cent as it sold more cigarettes at higher prices, beating Wall Street expectations and bucking the trend of declining cigarette volumes.
The maker of Newport, Maverick and True cigarettes reported net income of $274 million, or $1.81 per share, for the period ended Sept. 30. That's up from $235 million, or $1.44 per share, a year ago. Analysts expected $1.64 per share. Lorillard's earnings were helped by 14 cents per share because of a lower number of shares.
The nation's third-biggest tobacco company said revenue excluding excises taxes increased 12.6 per cent to $1.07 billion. Analysts expected sales of $1.01 billion.
Lorillard is "having an outstanding year and as always we will stay focused on growing our business profitably, while at the same time navigating the many external issues that face our industry," chief executive Murray Kessler, who took over in mid-September, said in a conference call with investors.
Lorillard's shares rose $1.29, or about 1.5 per cent, to $85.34 in early trading Monday.
Lorillard, based in Greensboro, N.C., said its cigarette volume grew 5.8 per cent to more than 10 billion cigarettes on gains of 2.9 per cent from its Newport menthol brand and increases of about 30 per cent for its lower-priced brands such as Maverick.
Last week, rivals Reynolds American Inc., producer of Camel cigarettes and Altria Group Inc., producer of Marlboro cigarettes both reported selling fewer cigarettes.
The weak economy and high unemployment have caused many smokers to trade down to cheaper brands during the recession in a bid to save money. Lorillard's Maverick discount brand and Reynolds American Inc.'s Pall Mall cigarettes have been among the beneficiaries.
Most tobacco companies have been raising prices to keep profits up as the recession and declining demand cut into cigarette sales. Tax increases, smoking bans, health concerns and social stigma also have made the cigarette business tougher.
The company's market share increased 1 point during the quarter to 12.9 per cent of the U.S. market. Newport's share of the menthol market grew 0.9 points to 35.9 per cent of the market.
Despite the Food and Drug Administration's ongoing study of the public health impact of menthol, the segment is stronger than regular cigarettes in a shrinking market. Lorillard's top competitors have ramped up efforts to grab some of those sales.
Lorillard, the oldest continuously operating U.S. tobacco company, spun off from Loews Corp. in 2008. It is the last of the country's top tobacco companies to report its third-quarter results.
Last week, Altria, owner of the nation's biggest cigarette maker — Philip Morris USA — said its net income rose 28 per cent to $1.13 billion, partly because its costs fell and it enjoyed a tax benefit but also because higher cigarette prices more than made up for selling fewer smokes. Its volumes declined 2.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, No. 2 Reynolds American said higher prices on cigarettes helped lift its third-quarter net income up five per cent to $362 million, even though it sold fewer smokes than a year earlier. The number of cigarettes the company sold fell 2.6 per cent.
RICHMOND, Va. - Cigarette maker Lorillard Inc. said Monday its net income rose more than 16 per cent as it sold more cigarettes at higher prices, beating Wall Street expectations and bucking the trend of declining cigarette volumes.
The maker of Newport, Maverick and True cigarettes reported net income of $274 million, or $1.81 per share, for the period ended Sept. 30. That's up from $235 million, or $1.44 per share, a year ago. Analysts expected $1.64 per share. Lorillard's earnings were helped by 14 cents per share because of a lower number of shares.
The nation's third-biggest tobacco company said revenue excluding excises taxes increased 12.6 per cent to $1.07 billion. Analysts expected sales of $1.01 billion.
Lorillard is "having an outstanding year and as always we will stay focused on growing our business profitably, while at the same time navigating the many external issues that face our industry," chief executive Murray Kessler, who took over in mid-September, said in a conference call with investors.
Lorillard's shares rose $1.29, or about 1.5 per cent, to $85.34 in early trading Monday.
Lorillard, based in Greensboro, N.C., said its cigarette volume grew 5.8 per cent to more than 10 billion cigarettes on gains of 2.9 per cent from its Newport menthol brand and increases of about 30 per cent for its lower-priced brands such as Maverick.
Last week, rivals Reynolds American Inc., producer of Camel cigarettes and Altria Group Inc., producer of Marlboro cigarettes both reported selling fewer cigarettes.
The weak economy and high unemployment have caused many smokers to trade down to cheaper brands during the recession in a bid to save money. Lorillard's Maverick discount brand and Reynolds American Inc.'s Pall Mall cigarettes have been among the beneficiaries.
Most tobacco companies have been raising prices to keep profits up as the recession and declining demand cut into cigarette sales. Tax increases, smoking bans, health concerns and social stigma also have made the cigarette business tougher.
The company's market share increased 1 point during the quarter to 12.9 per cent of the U.S. market. Newport's share of the menthol market grew 0.9 points to 35.9 per cent of the market.
Despite the Food and Drug Administration's ongoing study of the public health impact of menthol, the segment is stronger than regular cigarettes in a shrinking market. Lorillard's top competitors have ramped up efforts to grab some of those sales.
Lorillard, the oldest continuously operating U.S. tobacco company, spun off from Loews Corp. in 2008. It is the last of the country's top tobacco companies to report its third-quarter results.
Last week, Altria, owner of the nation's biggest cigarette maker — Philip Morris USA — said its net income rose 28 per cent to $1.13 billion, partly because its costs fell and it enjoyed a tax benefit but also because higher cigarette prices more than made up for selling fewer smokes. Its volumes declined 2.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, No. 2 Reynolds American said higher prices on cigarettes helped lift its third-quarter net income up five per cent to $362 million, even though it sold fewer smokes than a year earlier. The number of cigarettes the company sold fell 2.6 per cent.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Postal Service set to enforce tobacco ban
The U. S. Postal Service will institute its ban on the mailing of almost all tobacco products June 29, the agency said in a set of rules that appear to leave Seneca Nation businesses with no loopholes for mailing their tax-free cigarettes.
“Nonmailable cigarettes and smokeless tobacco deposited in the mail are subject to seizure and forfeiture,” the rules say. “Senders of nonmailable cigarettes or smokeless tobacco are subject to criminal fines, imprisonment and civil penalties.”
Under the Prevent All Cigarette
“It’s going to cost us a lot of jobs and a lot of revenue, not only on the reservation but in the surrounding communities.” J. C. Seneca, Seneca tribal councillor
Trafficking Act, which Congress passed and President Obama signed earlier this year, the mailing of almost all tobacco products must be banned.
The rules spelled out by the Postal Service, based on that legislation and released last week, provide for only narrow exceptions.
Tobacco companies can ship products to each other “for business purposes,” or to state or federal agen-
cies “for regulatory purposes.”
Adults can infrequently send lightweight tobacco packages to each other, and intrastate shipments within Alaska and Hawaii are allowed.
Tobacco companies can send cigarettes to adults for consumer testing purposes, and federal agencies can ship tobacco products for public health purposes.
The Senecas, who have built big businesses on the sale of tax-free cigarettes through the U. S. mail, do not believe there is any wiggle room in the regulations that would allow them to continue mailing cigarettes.
“Certainly anybody in this business has to be very aware” of the regulations, said J. C. Seneca, a Seneca tribal councillor and co-chairman of the Seneca Nation’s Foreign Relations Committee. “You don’t want to be held to penalties or charges.”
Opponents of the Senecas’ tax-free cigarette sales are happy with the rules.
“The Postal Service is taking this seriously and trying to do what the law says,” said Eric Lindblom, director of policy research at the Campaign for Tobacco- Free Kids.
Lindblom said he was particularly encouraged that rules allow only a very narrow loophole allowing individuals to mail small quantities of tobacco to each other.
Under the rules, anyone receiving such a package will have to go to a post office to pick it up—meaning postal officials will be able to tell if that person is old enough to buy cigarettes.
In addition to banning the mailing of most tobacco products, the new law requires online cigarette sellers to:
• Pay all federal, state, local or tribal tobacco taxes and affix tax stamps before delivering any tobacco products to any customer.
• Register with the state where they are based and make periodic reports to state tax-collection officials.
• Check the age and ID of customers when they purchase tobacco and when the tobacco products are delivered.
Seneca said the Postal Service regulations are one of several steps that have to take place as the law is implemented. The Department of Justice and its Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also are involved.
Meanwhile, the Seneca Nation Council has authorized $250,000 in funding to the Seneca Free Trade Association to pursue legal action aimed at stopping the law from being implemented, Seneca said.
With any legal action in its formative stages, the Senecas are bracing for a radical change to an industry that has made some of its tribal entrepreneurs wealthy, while providing jobs to many others. The tribe at first said its tobacco entrepreneurs employed 1,000, but later, without explanation, boosted that figure to 3,000.
“It’s going to cost us a lot of jobs and a lot of revenue, not only on the reservation but in the surrounding communities,” Seneca said of the new law.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Crack down on stores selling tobacco to minors
By Shirley Manzo
I lost my dear dad to lung cancer due to cigarettes. He became addicted at age 12. It breaks my heart to know that in 2010, there are stores in my city that are making cigarettes and other tobacco products readily available for youth.
Earlier this year our coalition, the Azusa Youth Against Smoking, targeted 48 tobacco retailers in Azusa to identify how many were willing to sell to minors without asking for proper identification. Guess what? Twenty retailers out of 48 were willing to sell smokes to minors. That's an alarming rate of 41.7 percent.
I don't think 5 percent, 10 percent or even 15 percent is an acceptable number, but almost half of our city's tobacco retailers are illegally selling tobacco products to our kids. This is shocking!
Our coalition has been encouraging the city to adopt a tough ordinance that would crack down on tobacco retailers selling to minors. In response, the City Council passed a toothless, unenforceable law that won't keep one child in Azusa from becoming addicted to cigarettes.
That ordinance includes fines for those retailers who willfully sell to minors, but it does not require enforcement or compliance checks. Without compliance checks retailers are free to continue selling to children.
Our coalition wants the city to require an annual permit that requires tobacco retailers to obtain a license to sell tobacco, and include an annual fee that would raise funds to pay for an enforcement officer.
Financial deterrents through fines and penalties, including the suspension and revocation of the license, are what make retailers pay attention and follow the law. Using this approach, as dozens of other cities in Los Angeles county already do, really works.
Apparently the city staff doesn't think keeping kids from buying cigarettes is important. One staffer said, "the PD doesn't have time." Another staffer said the city wants to "avoid imposing another fee" on business. These statements don't stand up under examination.
Azusa businesses have not come out in opposition to a strong ordinance, and the Azusa PD does have time if funds are available to pay the officers. A license fee could be that funding source.
Clearly, we believe something more should be done. And so do 500 petition signers.
Two hundred children become addicted to tobacco in our state every day, joining the nearly 4 million current smokers in California. How many more kids have to become addicted before our city leaders step up and do their job?
Shirley Manzo has lived in Azusa for 45 years and is the chair of Azusa Youth Against Smoking, a local coalition of residents, parents, volunteers, students and community organizations committed to protecting the youth of Azusa from the dangers of tobacco use.
I lost my dear dad to lung cancer due to cigarettes. He became addicted at age 12. It breaks my heart to know that in 2010, there are stores in my city that are making cigarettes and other tobacco products readily available for youth.
Earlier this year our coalition, the Azusa Youth Against Smoking, targeted 48 tobacco retailers in Azusa to identify how many were willing to sell to minors without asking for proper identification. Guess what? Twenty retailers out of 48 were willing to sell smokes to minors. That's an alarming rate of 41.7 percent.
I don't think 5 percent, 10 percent or even 15 percent is an acceptable number, but almost half of our city's tobacco retailers are illegally selling tobacco products to our kids. This is shocking!
Our coalition has been encouraging the city to adopt a tough ordinance that would crack down on tobacco retailers selling to minors. In response, the City Council passed a toothless, unenforceable law that won't keep one child in Azusa from becoming addicted to cigarettes.
That ordinance includes fines for those retailers who willfully sell to minors, but it does not require enforcement or compliance checks. Without compliance checks retailers are free to continue selling to children.
Our coalition wants the city to require an annual permit that requires tobacco retailers to obtain a license to sell tobacco, and include an annual fee that would raise funds to pay for an enforcement officer.
Financial deterrents through fines and penalties, including the suspension and revocation of the license, are what make retailers pay attention and follow the law. Using this approach, as dozens of other cities in Los Angeles county already do, really works.
Apparently the city staff doesn't think keeping kids from buying cigarettes is important. One staffer said, "the PD doesn't have time." Another staffer said the city wants to "avoid imposing another fee" on business. These statements don't stand up under examination.
Azusa businesses have not come out in opposition to a strong ordinance, and the Azusa PD does have time if funds are available to pay the officers. A license fee could be that funding source.
Clearly, we believe something more should be done. And so do 500 petition signers.
Two hundred children become addicted to tobacco in our state every day, joining the nearly 4 million current smokers in California. How many more kids have to become addicted before our city leaders step up and do their job?
Shirley Manzo has lived in Azusa for 45 years and is the chair of Azusa Youth Against Smoking, a local coalition of residents, parents, volunteers, students and community organizations committed to protecting the youth of Azusa from the dangers of tobacco use.
Monday, June 21, 2010
New limits on mailing tobacco to take effect soon
New restrictions on mailing tobacco products are about to take effect.
Under a law signed by President Barack Obama in March, limits will be placed on individuals mailing cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco and smokeless tobacco.
The rules take effect June 29, the Postal Service announced on Thursday.
Mailing these products entirely within the states of Alaska and Hawaii will still be permitted and cigars will still be allowed in the mail.
In addition, the law will still allow mail shipments of tobacco products between businesses in the tobacco industry and mailings to individuals will be permitted for testing or public health purposes.
Individuals will be allowed to send small shipments of tobacco products occasionally, but only via Express Mail and the age of the recipient must be verified, meaning that — other than APO and FPO destinations — they will have to collect the shipment at a postal facility.
Under a law signed by President Barack Obama in March, limits will be placed on individuals mailing cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco and smokeless tobacco.
The rules take effect June 29, the Postal Service announced on Thursday.
Mailing these products entirely within the states of Alaska and Hawaii will still be permitted and cigars will still be allowed in the mail.
In addition, the law will still allow mail shipments of tobacco products between businesses in the tobacco industry and mailings to individuals will be permitted for testing or public health purposes.
Individuals will be allowed to send small shipments of tobacco products occasionally, but only via Express Mail and the age of the recipient must be verified, meaning that — other than APO and FPO destinations — they will have to collect the shipment at a postal facility.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Walgreen Suit Over San Francisco Tobacco Ban Revived
Walgreen Co., the largest U.S. drugstore chain, can proceed with a lawsuit challenging San Francisco’s first-in-the-nation law banning sales of tobacco products in some pharmacies, a California appeals court ruled.
The ordinance, passed in 2008 on the premise that drugstore cigarette sales convey tacit approval of smoking, barred tobacco sales at drugstores. The law doesn’t apply to grocery and warehouse stores, including Safeway Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp., that also have pharmacies.
Today’s ruling reversed a San Francisco judge’s decision to dismiss Walgreen’s case. A state appeals court in San Francisco said there’s no rational basis to believe that the message conveyed to consumers by tobacco sales at Walgreen is any different than that from sales at supermarkets or big-box stores.
“We’ve always felt that in order for us to compete on a level playing field, any regulation like that should apply to all pharmacies and retailers with pharmacies equally,” Michael Polzin, a Walgreen spokesman, said in a phone interview.
Walgreen, which claims the city’s law is anticompetitive, can challenge whether the rule violates equal protection rights under the law, the appeals court said in today’s ruling.
San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera “will continue to defend efforts by city officials to protect public health,” Matt Dorsey, Herrera’s spokesman, said in an e-mail. “San Francisco has a legitimate and compelling policy rationale to restrict drugstores from selling cigarettes, which are by far our leading cause of preventable death.”
The law, the first such city ordinance in the country, went into effect in October 2008. Walgreen expected to lose about 9 percent of its non-pharmacy sales in San Francisco to competitors as a result of losing customers because of the rule, said Daniel Kolkey, a Walgreen’s attorney, said at the time.
The ordinance, passed in 2008 on the premise that drugstore cigarette sales convey tacit approval of smoking, barred tobacco sales at drugstores. The law doesn’t apply to grocery and warehouse stores, including Safeway Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp., that also have pharmacies.
Today’s ruling reversed a San Francisco judge’s decision to dismiss Walgreen’s case. A state appeals court in San Francisco said there’s no rational basis to believe that the message conveyed to consumers by tobacco sales at Walgreen is any different than that from sales at supermarkets or big-box stores.
“We’ve always felt that in order for us to compete on a level playing field, any regulation like that should apply to all pharmacies and retailers with pharmacies equally,” Michael Polzin, a Walgreen spokesman, said in a phone interview.
Walgreen, which claims the city’s law is anticompetitive, can challenge whether the rule violates equal protection rights under the law, the appeals court said in today’s ruling.
San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera “will continue to defend efforts by city officials to protect public health,” Matt Dorsey, Herrera’s spokesman, said in an e-mail. “San Francisco has a legitimate and compelling policy rationale to restrict drugstores from selling cigarettes, which are by far our leading cause of preventable death.”
The law, the first such city ordinance in the country, went into effect in October 2008. Walgreen expected to lose about 9 percent of its non-pharmacy sales in San Francisco to competitors as a result of losing customers because of the rule, said Daniel Kolkey, a Walgreen’s attorney, said at the time.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Cigarette To Blame For Fatal Fire
Smoking in bed was the cause of a fire that claimed the life of a Taunton woman early Monday morning, according to State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan and Taunton Fire Chief Ronald Nastri.The fire at 1205 Burt St. was discovered at about 4 a.m. when a resident came home from work. The victim, a woman, was found in the kitchen.
Officials said the fire started in a bedroom, and the said the battery had been removed from the smoke alarm in the home."While the number of fire deaths in Massachusetts has been steadily declining, smoking remains the leading cause of fire deaths here and across the nation.
Fire standard compliant cigarettes are helping to reduce fire deaths, but cannot prevent every smoking-ignited fire," Coan said."I urge each and every resident to test their smoke alarms today, and if you can’t recall the last time you changed the batteries, today might be a good time to do so," Nastri said.The victim's name has not been released.
Officials said the fire started in a bedroom, and the said the battery had been removed from the smoke alarm in the home."While the number of fire deaths in Massachusetts has been steadily declining, smoking remains the leading cause of fire deaths here and across the nation.
Fire standard compliant cigarettes are helping to reduce fire deaths, but cannot prevent every smoking-ignited fire," Coan said."I urge each and every resident to test their smoke alarms today, and if you can’t recall the last time you changed the batteries, today might be a good time to do so," Nastri said.The victim's name has not been released.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Study Looks at Test Marketing of New Tobacco Products in Indianapolis
A study of the promotion in the Indianapolis area of R.J. Reynolds' new dissolvable tobacco products found that they are being marketed to current smokers who continue to puff away, but may be looking for an alternative source of nicotine when they can’t light up.
Current smokers who also use dissolvable tobacco may be in effect “doubling up,” said Dr. Laura Romito¸ Clinical Associate Professor of Oral Biology in the IU School of Dentistry’s Department of Oral Biology. They appear to be smoking the same number of cigarettes they smoked in the past and using the new dissolvable products when they are in situations where they can’t smoke.
Given the health risks associated with tobacco, that raises concerns, Romito said.
Tobacco companies view Indianapolis as a good test market for new tobacco products, Romito noted, because of Indiana’s high rate of tobacco use and differing tobacco tastes among Hoosiers.
Dissolvable tobacco products aren’t just new products, they are – as their manufacturer, R.J. Reynolds Co. put it – an evolution in tobacco, Romito said. The dissolvable tobacco simply dissolves in the mouth so that tobacco users no longer have to contend with odor, smoke, spit, or litter.
The dissolvable products are branded as Camel Sticks, Camel Orbs and Camel Strips to denote their three different forms: a toothpick-like stick, a lozenge and an edible strip.
The candy-like appearance of Camel Orbs has led to concerns among health experts who are concerned the products may be attractive to youngsters and lead to early experimentation with tobacco or accidental poisoning among children.
In a field study conducted last January, five undergraduate IUPUI students surveyed how the products were being marketed and where they were being sold in Marion and surrounding counties. They audited a wide variety of advertising media and point-of-purchase displays.
Most of the Camel dissolvable products were being sold in gas stations and convenience stores, with smaller amounts sold in grocery stores, drug stores, tobacco shops and liquor stores.
The students also surveyed about 300 people, including 100 dental hygiene patients, 100 School of Dentistry dental hygiene students, and 100 business school students at IUPUI.
According to the results, few had heard of the new products or knew anything about them, while only three percent had tried them. Most of the respondents didn’t believe the products would be safer to use than cigarettes and only 17 percent thought they would help people quit smoking.
Advertising used to promote the products appeared relatively low-key and not particularly attractive to young people, Romito said.
“What we gleaned from the field study was that so far the new products are not well known to consumers, even when they are smokers,” she said, and sales of the products appeared slow.
Current smokers who also use dissolvable tobacco may be in effect “doubling up,” said Dr. Laura Romito¸ Clinical Associate Professor of Oral Biology in the IU School of Dentistry’s Department of Oral Biology. They appear to be smoking the same number of cigarettes they smoked in the past and using the new dissolvable products when they are in situations where they can’t smoke.
Given the health risks associated with tobacco, that raises concerns, Romito said.
Tobacco companies view Indianapolis as a good test market for new tobacco products, Romito noted, because of Indiana’s high rate of tobacco use and differing tobacco tastes among Hoosiers.
Dissolvable tobacco products aren’t just new products, they are – as their manufacturer, R.J. Reynolds Co. put it – an evolution in tobacco, Romito said. The dissolvable tobacco simply dissolves in the mouth so that tobacco users no longer have to contend with odor, smoke, spit, or litter.
The dissolvable products are branded as Camel Sticks, Camel Orbs and Camel Strips to denote their three different forms: a toothpick-like stick, a lozenge and an edible strip.
The candy-like appearance of Camel Orbs has led to concerns among health experts who are concerned the products may be attractive to youngsters and lead to early experimentation with tobacco or accidental poisoning among children.
In a field study conducted last January, five undergraduate IUPUI students surveyed how the products were being marketed and where they were being sold in Marion and surrounding counties. They audited a wide variety of advertising media and point-of-purchase displays.
Most of the Camel dissolvable products were being sold in gas stations and convenience stores, with smaller amounts sold in grocery stores, drug stores, tobacco shops and liquor stores.
The students also surveyed about 300 people, including 100 dental hygiene patients, 100 School of Dentistry dental hygiene students, and 100 business school students at IUPUI.
According to the results, few had heard of the new products or knew anything about them, while only three percent had tried them. Most of the respondents didn’t believe the products would be safer to use than cigarettes and only 17 percent thought they would help people quit smoking.
Advertising used to promote the products appeared relatively low-key and not particularly attractive to young people, Romito said.
“What we gleaned from the field study was that so far the new products are not well known to consumers, even when they are smokers,” she said, and sales of the products appeared slow.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Altria to pay $971 million in taxes, interest to IRS
Reuters) - Altria Group Inc (MO.N) said it will pay $971 million in taxes and interests to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to settle a dispute over the company's tax returns for the years 2000 through 2003.
About $946 million of the payment is related to certain leveraged leasing transactions entered into by Altria's wholly owned unit, Philip Morris Capital Corp, in the 1996 through 2003 taxable years.
The maker of Marlboro cigarettes and Skoal smokeless tobacco will make the payment in the third quarter, it said in a regulatory filing.
The largest U.S. tobacco company said will not revise its 2010 earnings outlook as a result of these matters, it said.
Shares of the company closed at $20.12 in regular session on the New York Stock Exchange.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Ban underage smoking
World No Tobacco Day is observed every year on May 31, but Pakistan has a long way to go to end the fight against smoking. Currently, 25 million people in Pakistan are smokers according to the Ministry of Health. In an interview to a local daily, the Director-General, Tobacco Control Cell Yusuf Khan stated that over 1,200 children under the age of 18 begin smoking every day in Pakistan.
Although a new ad campaign has been launched which discourages the sale of cigarettes to underage smokers, but whether or not this campaign makes an impact is yet to be seen. One such ad campaign was posted outside a paan khoka/cabin, but when I spoke to the paan wala, he obviously didn’t know much about it. When asked if he does sell cigarettes to underage smokers, he reponded by saying that he hasn’t come across such a case but he would certainly think about it in the future. It is a known fact that children can easily purchase tobacco products from anywhere without any repercussions.
The onus isn’t on the Pakistan Tobacco Company, it lies with the government. By just putting up stickers and posters asking people to not sell tobacco products to underage children is not the solution, the campaign has to be pursued aggressively, with large fines on anyone who does so otherwise.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Octroi collection from tobacco products is on the rise in city
The percentage of octroi collection from tobacco products like cigarettes and Gutkha in the overall octroi collection of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has shown a gradual rise over the last few years with a negligible decline in 2009-10.The average figure of octroi collection from tobacco products in last two years, which stands over whopping Rs 14 crore annually, implies towards the bulk arrival of tobacco products in the city limits in proportion to meet the the growing demand.
Octroi can be a key indicator for assessing the import of tobacco products in the city limits, which otherwise can be difficult to measure as tobacco companies found unwilling to share these kind of database.Cigarettes, cigars and piped tobacco received huge demand within city markets during last few years as octroi collection from these products formed the major chunk of total octroi.
The civic body, which had charged seven per cent octroi on these items for last couple of years, generated revenue worth Rs 13.47 crore and Rs 13.89 crore in 2008-09 and last fiscal respectively.Next to it was the Gutkha, scented tobacco and Pan Masala, rated by health experts as the most danger form of tobacco products.
The statistics, available with the PMC octroi department, show that the country have imported cigarettes and cigars also have considerable demand in the city.
Despite measures at government level and by NGOs to spread mass awareness about the ill effects of tobacco intake, the ‘silent killer’ seems to be difficult to get eradicated as a habit.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Frequently asked Questions About Smoking and Smoking Cessation Solutions
Smoking cessation solutions can help you a great deal even if you have abused your body with years of heavy smoking. A lot of the damage caused by smoking can be undone by smoking cessation products that are available in the form of patches and pills. Some of the frequently asked questions about smoking and smoking cessation products have been answered in this article.
Q - Smoking cessation leads to weight gain. How can I stay slim after quitting smoking cigarettes ?
A - Excess weight is the least of your problems if you are a smoker. Smoking damages your health much more than excess weight does. You can lose weight by eating healthy, exercising more and changing your lifestyle. Do not use smoking to control your weight.
Q - Is it healthier to substitute ‘light’ cigarettes for regular ones?
A - ‘Light’ cigarettes are mot much better than the regular variety. The amount of tar, carbon monoxide and nicotine is about the same, regardless of the kind of cigarette you choose. Complete smoking cessation is the only healthy alternative to cigarettes.
Q - Will I ever achieve normal health after quitting smoking?
A - Yes, you will. You can reverse the damage done to your body by quitting smoking. The benefits of smoking cessation occur within 30 minutes after you have smoked your last cigarette and continue for years. After a few hours of quitting smoking your blood pressure returns to normal levels. Carbon monoxide levels in your body drop and the supply of oxygen in your bloodstream goes up. Within a couple of days of smoking cessation, your nerve endings begin the process of recovery. You regain your sense of taste and smell and your lung functioning returns to normal levels.
Q - What is the best smoking cessation method?
A - There’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ when it comes to smoking cessation methods. A technique that may work for you may not work for somebody else and vice versa. Some people, for instance, are able to go cold turkey and never look back. But others may find it tough to stick to smoking cessation through sheer willpower alone. Most individuals find it easier to stop smoking with the help of smoking cessation pills, patches and other external aids. You may need to experiment a bit before identifying the best smoking cessation treatment for you.
Q - How can I get my teenage kid to quit?
A - Cigarettes and tobacco products are some of the most heavily advertised products today, and usually focus on attracting young people. Peer pressure too plays an important role in hooking teenagers to smoking. If your teen’s friends smoke, he or she is likely to do so too. Make sure you enlighten your kid to the health hazards of smoking but do not try and pressurize your youngster into quitting. Let them develop awareness about this dangerous habit so that they quit by themselves. Early anti-smoking awareness works better than trying to get them to quit after they are hooked.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Philip Morris Ordered to Pay $8 Million to Widow of Chain Smoker
A U.S. jury has awarded the widow of a chain smoker $8 million in damages: That's $3 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Her lawsuit sought $130 million.
The victory may energize other lawsuits against tobacco companies that knowingly manipulated and sold products designed to addict customers even while it killed them. Interestingly, many of Big Tobacco's historical actions (corruption, deception, bribery, etc.) are now routinely practiced by Big Pharma, which also sells toxic chemicals that kill people.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Oz woman used car’s cigarette lighter to recharge her failing heart
Melbourne, May 24 (ANI): An Australian woman, who underwent a heart transplant, is said to have used her car’s cigarette lighter to recharge her old failing heart as she drove along.Anne Britten, 43, a mother of two from Wee Waa, was born with her heart on the right side, a condition complicated by her other organs being out of place or facing about.
She had been on the transplant list for “three years, three months and six days” revealed her husband Robert, and she had survived the past two years on her failing old heart thanks to a mechanical enhancement - the Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD).When it required recharging, Britten would, while driving, calmly plug its lead into the car’s cigarette lighter.
In an Australia-first operation performed on Mother’s Day by the St Vincent’s Hospital cardiac transplant team led by Dr Paul Jansz, Britten received a donor heart that was fitted to her left side.
“I’m feeling good,” she said.
“It hasn’t really hit yet. It might when we eventually go home and walk down our main street and it takes two hours because everyone will be pulling me up talking to me.
“The boys have never known me not sick. They’re going to be in for rude shock,” she added about her two children Stephen, 16 and Blake, 14.
Hailing from Manilla - the same town as Fiona Coote, Australia’s youngest heart-transplant recipient - Britten said the prospect of leading a normal and lengthy life is a “bit like pressing the restart button”.“It’s a Mother’s Day present that’s going to be hard to top. Breakfast in bed is just not going to cut it,” Robert stated.
Dr Jansz said the operation was possible only due to the sustaining effect of the LVAD. Before receiving it, Britten was “down to 56kg and deteriorating rapidly”.Dr Jansz said NSW was the only state without government funding for lifesaving mechanical assist devices. (ANI)
Friday, May 21, 2010
Over 17M Filipinos are smokers, study shows
MANILA, Philippines—About 17.3 million Filipinos aged 15 years old and above are tobacco smokers with at least 13.8 million smoking daily, the Philippine Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) showed.
The survey is the first study on the prevalence of smoking in the country, Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral said Thursday.
Of the 9,705 individuals from rural and urban areas aged 15 years and older (representing 61.3 million Filipinos) polled in 2009, 28.3 percent (representing 17.3 million Filipinos) were tobacco smokers. About 22.5 percent (or 13.8 million Filipinos) of the total number of smokers, smoked every day, the study showed.
This despite that 94 percent of the surveyed smokers said they were aware smoking causes serious illness such as lung cancer, heart attack and stroke.
The GATS is a standardized global survey for monitoring adult tobacco use and tracking key tobacco control indicators. The Philippine GATS is a project of the DoH with the National Statistics Office as its field implementing agency. Technical support was provided by the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Of the daily smokers 18 to 34 years old, the average age they began to puff on a cigarette was 17.4, the study found.
Almost half of those surveyed, 48.8 percent, said they were exposed to cigarette smoke at home and 54 percent said that someone smokes at least monthly in their homes.
The survey found that 55.3 percent or 28 million Filipinos who used public transport were exposed to second hand smoking, followed by Filipinos who work indoors, 13.9 percent; and those who visited government buildings, 25.5 percent.
Despite the ban against advertisements of tobacco use and smoking, the survey found that about 75 percent of Filipinos notice more and find enticing cigarettes advertisements.
“With the results, we aim to have cigarette manufacturers to put graphic health warnings on half of the packaging of their products, enforce the ban on tobacco advertisements, and work for 100 percent smoke free environments—at homes, public places and indoors,” said Cabral.
“In Germany, Finland and the US, second hand smoke is classified as a Class A carcinogen grouped with asbestos and Radon that mere exposure to it means serious public hazard. Filipinos should be made aware of this, especially those who are smoking at home because not only are you encouraging future smokers, you expose your family to cancer,” said Doctor Susan Mercado, regional adviser of WHO Tobacco Free initiative.
Tobacco is an addiction that can be prevented if there is good implementation of laws coupled with a cessation intervention program to assist those who want to quit smoking, such as those installed in Singapore where only nine percent of the population smoke.
Doctor Soe Nyunt-U, WHO Representative in the Philippines, said that the Philippines, which is among the top 14 countries with high prevalence of tobacco use, must reduce by 10 percent the number of smokers in the country over the next five years.
To do this, he said there is a need for a clear legislation mandating manufacturers to put graphic health warnings on cigarette packs, instead of textual warnings that are less effective in making smokers quit or enforcing warning of the ill effects of tobacco among the young who wanted to try smoking.
He said that by September 2008, the Philippines, as a signatory of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), should have passed the law on picture-based warnings on tobacco products.
“We are against a very strong industry that will use all its resources to prevent legislative advance of this measures, such as the ratification of the FCTC. The manufacturers can comply with these because the products they export to to Thailand, for example, include picture-based health messages on the bad effects of smoking. But they would not do that because they know that it is an effective measure to reduce those who would attempt to smoke and make smokers quit as seen in other countries,” said Soe.
Doctor Maricar Limpin, executive director of non-profit Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Aliance Philippines (FCAP), said there should be strict enforcement of the ban on tobacco ads, which promote smoking among the youth.
“Those ads on sari-sari stores are supposedly banned by 2007. These glamorous ads is playing a big role in the continuous perception of smoking as something ‘in’ or ‘cool’ and lures the youth to try it,” said Limpin.
Limpin challenged the next president to institute measures to reduce the number of Filipino smokers and to pass relevant laws such as the imposition of a uniform taxation scheme on sin products that would discourage smokers from lighting cigarettes.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
A side effect of smoking – a tasteless food
According to the Health of Ukraine, "a new experiment designed to determine the effect of smoking on the human body, showed that the use of nicotine decreases the sensitivity of taste receptors located in the mouth in humans. A study conducted by the Greek experts, lies in the electrical stimulation of the taste threshold. It was attended by 62 people, among whom there were 28 smokers and 34 non-smoking party. If you use electricity in humans there is a metallic taste in the mouth. The degree of sensitivity was determined by the number of current, which needed a man to get a taste sensation.
The study showed that fans tobacco taste sensitivity was worse than non-smokers. At the next stage of the study of the endoscopic method were carried out measurements of taste receptors, so-called mushroom papillae. It turned out that the adherents of habit receptors have a flattened shape and reduced blood supply, which causes a weakening of taste sensitivity.
According to Pavlidis Pavlos, lead author of the study from the University of Thessalonica. Aristotle, the study showed that taste sensitivity in smokers and non-smokers is significantly different, but nicotine can adversely affect the taste buds.
As previously reported, 12.06.2009, the U.S. Senate adopted a bill establishing additional restrictions on the companies that produce tobacco products in the field of advertising their products and possible control of the oversight bodies. Legislators believe that such innovations would reduce the influence of tobacco advertising on youth, as well as savings of $ 100 billion a year on medical services that are available adherents of habit.
According to statistics, in the United States more than 45 million smokers. Each year, the disease caused by smoking, claiming the lives of 400 thousand people. In recent years the number of smokers in the United States is gradually decreasing due to improved awareness of the relationship of smoking and lung cancer.
Electronic Cigarettes Vaporize The Need For Tobacco
Word has been spreading like wildfire about an innovative new product called the e cigarettes. If you haven't heard about this intriguing new way to both receive nicotine and simulate the very act of smoking itself, it's a fascinating cigarette alternative that isn't just hot air. We had the opportunity to discuss the so-called 'e-cig' with a New York based provider of the product, Electronic Cigarettes Inc. who offer everything you need to know about e cigarettes.
Their representatives explain: "Through the use of micro-atomizing technology the user enjoys a tar-free, tobacco-free, odorless nicotine vapor, which very closely mimics the experience and feel of smoking. It's non-imposing vapor can be used virtually anywhere, without a worry of residual odors or secondhand smoke. It's a simple device that poses no hurdles to operate; it really has opened a world of possibilities for smokers everywhere..."
Their representatives explain: "Through the use of micro-atomizing technology the user enjoys a tar-free, tobacco-free, odorless nicotine vapor, which very closely mimics the experience and feel of smoking. It's non-imposing vapor can be used virtually anywhere, without a worry of residual odors or secondhand smoke. It's a simple device that poses no hurdles to operate; it really has opened a world of possibilities for smokers everywhere..."
User-friendly aspects, such as a highly-sensitive micro sensor contained within the unit that allows you to precisely control the size and intensity of each drag, make it a truly interesting experience. You also possess the ability to control the level of nicotine and flavors of your refill cartridges. You can even opt for a nicotine-free vapor; it's all up to you.
"Having been a smoker for the better part of twenty years, I have seen a lot of alternatives to smoking, but the electric cigarette is by far the only one that I have ever tried and chosen to stick with. It's such a pleasure to use because everything I wasn't fond of about smoking, is completely absent here. And my husband isn't complaining either!" -Margarette of PA, who has in the past year made the transition from cigarette to e-cig.
Nicotine vapor is only picking up speed at this point in a world of smokers, and electronic cigarettes Inc. is not unaware of this rapid trend:"We see the same reaction every time a person experiences an electronic cigarette for the first time.. a combination of awe and a feeling of "where has this been for the last decade?". Preference to the e-cig over smoking, even from veteran smokers, is the consistent result and we are dedicated to enabling people to be a part of this revolution that's taking place."
Monday, May 10, 2010
CONTROLLED PRESCRIPTION DRUGS VERSUS MEDICAL MARIJUANA
The National debate concerning the legalization of marijuana and, especially, of medical marijuana, continues to rage not just within the general public, but also including special groups of people like mothers and Baby Boomers. Within the Facebook community the groups such as “Moms for Marijuana” and “Baby Boomers for Medical Marijuana” have as their primary goal educating people, challenging the preconceived ideas and battling ignorance with the only effective weapon against it – Knowledge.
I worked in addictions for almost 10 years, and my addiction medicine experience encompasses general drug-addiction clinics, methadone maintenance programs and “detox” and “rehab” departments of a general hospital. I am also certified by the American Society of Addiction Medicine since 2004. My addiction medicine education and experience unequivocally indicate that it is a gross scientific fallacy to classify marijuana in the same group with heroin and cocaine. It is also my opinion that marijuana is much safer than alcohol and most controlled prescription drugs. However, when such an “unorthodox” opinion is expressed, people have the right to know what exactly it is based on.
Let’s begin with the known fact that there has never been one single case of a fatality associated with marijuana use, and it has been used by humans for over 10,000 years for both medicinal and recreational purposes. How many substances do we know that fit this characterization? Not many, I assure you, especially when we look among substances used as medicine or even for recreational purposes. Even such over-the-counter remedies as Aspirin and Tylenol can produce severe organ damage and fatal outcomes when the “toxic” dose of these substances is ingested. But there are no known cases of fatal marijuana intoxication because amazingly, the cannabinoid receptors, as opposed to opiate receptors, for example, are quite scarce in close proximity to the vital centers in the brain stem, the centers responsible for breathing and circulation. With marijuana use sleep will supervene long before any dangerously “toxic” effects can take place.
Now let’s look at such dangerous consequences of alcohol, heroin and controlled prescription drugs as physical dependence and associated physical withdrawal syndrome. No one will venture to deny that alcohol, opiates, barbiturates and benzodiazepines produce severe physical dependence with (frequently life-long) methadone maintenance therapy that becomes necessary for opiate addicts and the well-known cycles of the “revolving doors” of “detoxes” and “rehabs” for benzodiazepine addicts. In fact, the benzodiazepine/methadone combination is so dangerous that some physicians (who are, thankfully, in the minority) seriously believe that such a combination is more dangerous than heroin itself, and will deny methadone maintenance to patients using those substances. As we know, benzodiazepine withdrawal is very similar to alcohol withdrawal, and it is characterized by hallucinations, severe anxiety, seizures and even death. Opiate withdrawal is generally not life-threatening, but it sure is brutal. It is easy to see why I so strenuously object to current DEA classification system, and urge my colleagues do the same. It makes no scientific sense at all to classify the substance like marijuana which has neither a documented physical withdrawal, nor any fatalities associated with its use as Schedule I (which totally ignores the remarkable medicinal properties of Cannabis Sativa, but this is another matter), while classifying Codeine as Schedule III and benzodiazepines as Schedule IV. What better ally could I wish for than the American Medical Association itself which now not only recognizes the medicinal properties of the Cannabis plant, but also urges the Government to change its classification from Schedule I drug, while the Canadian veterans already won the right to have this natural remedy paid for by their government!
Let’s look more closely at the main argument that the marijuana “opponents” offered (at least until very recently) as their “trump card” objection to the legalization of that substance. This objection is based upon the so-called “gateway drug” theory that basically states that, even if marijuana is not dangerous in itself, it serves as a “gateway drug” to the use of other, much more dangerous substances. This “theory” is by now discredited by the science of addiction medicine as invalid. Here are the reasons why. There is no “cause and effect” relationship between a substance use and a subsequent addiction to another substance. Most of us have tasted alcohol, consumed caffeinated beverages, eaten sweet foods or even smoked cigarettes, but we have not “progressed” to being cocaine or heroin addicts as a result. As Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook explains, most people who are addicted to anything became addicted not because they had used some “gateway” drug, but because they are somehow genetically prone to this or that particular addiction, such as alcoholism, for example. People don’t become alcoholics because they may have smoked a joint that “led” them to alcohol abuse, they are alcoholics because they have a genetic predisposition to become dependent on that particular substance. The opiate addicts whom I treated for many years began their addiction careers not because they were exposed to marijuana, but either as a result of a primary exposure to heroin, or as a result of opiates having been prescribed to them by medical professionals. Here we deal with yet another aspect of this story – the substance’s addiction liability, or the percentage of people who develop an addiction-spectrum disorder after an exposure to a particular substance. Marijuana has an addiction liability of 3%, compared with 10% for alcohol, 18% for cocaine, up to 21% for opiates, and between 50 and 75% for nicotine. This is why even our President has such trouble quitting cigarettes out of all the substances that he had “tried” while a young man. This constitutes yet another big reason why the classification of marijuana as the Schedule I substance is nothing short of ridiculous. It was recently discovered that the same brain centers become activated when a person is craving sugar and cocaine. Are we now to consider sugar as a “gateway drug” to cocaine? Well, this would follow if the so-called “gateway drug” theory were valid. But it is not valid. A colleague whom I befriended on Facebook brought up an interesting question; he pointed out that most patients in “detoxes” and “rehabs” smoke cigarettes, and this is very true. This alone would invalidate the “gateway drug” theory in my opinion.
I believe that we, as medical professionals, should not be puppets to the DEA and its outdated and scientifically faulty scheduling classifications. Without brave doctors, and nurses, and researchers who are not afraid to stand up and proclaim the scientific truths we would never have legalized medical marijuana in one single State. Let me point out something more: if marijuana had even a fraction of the dangers caused by alcohol, we would not be having this conversation at all. But we ARE having this conversation, and it is a necessary conversation, just as it was a necessary conversation during the days long passed, when the courageous thinkers of those days asserted, often sacrificing their own safety, that the EARTH IS NOT FLAT.
I worked in addictions for almost 10 years, and my addiction medicine experience encompasses general drug-addiction clinics, methadone maintenance programs and “detox” and “rehab” departments of a general hospital. I am also certified by the American Society of Addiction Medicine since 2004. My addiction medicine education and experience unequivocally indicate that it is a gross scientific fallacy to classify marijuana in the same group with heroin and cocaine. It is also my opinion that marijuana is much safer than alcohol and most controlled prescription drugs. However, when such an “unorthodox” opinion is expressed, people have the right to know what exactly it is based on.
Let’s begin with the known fact that there has never been one single case of a fatality associated with marijuana use, and it has been used by humans for over 10,000 years for both medicinal and recreational purposes. How many substances do we know that fit this characterization? Not many, I assure you, especially when we look among substances used as medicine or even for recreational purposes. Even such over-the-counter remedies as Aspirin and Tylenol can produce severe organ damage and fatal outcomes when the “toxic” dose of these substances is ingested. But there are no known cases of fatal marijuana intoxication because amazingly, the cannabinoid receptors, as opposed to opiate receptors, for example, are quite scarce in close proximity to the vital centers in the brain stem, the centers responsible for breathing and circulation. With marijuana use sleep will supervene long before any dangerously “toxic” effects can take place.
Now let’s look at such dangerous consequences of alcohol, heroin and controlled prescription drugs as physical dependence and associated physical withdrawal syndrome. No one will venture to deny that alcohol, opiates, barbiturates and benzodiazepines produce severe physical dependence with (frequently life-long) methadone maintenance therapy that becomes necessary for opiate addicts and the well-known cycles of the “revolving doors” of “detoxes” and “rehabs” for benzodiazepine addicts. In fact, the benzodiazepine/methadone combination is so dangerous that some physicians (who are, thankfully, in the minority) seriously believe that such a combination is more dangerous than heroin itself, and will deny methadone maintenance to patients using those substances. As we know, benzodiazepine withdrawal is very similar to alcohol withdrawal, and it is characterized by hallucinations, severe anxiety, seizures and even death. Opiate withdrawal is generally not life-threatening, but it sure is brutal. It is easy to see why I so strenuously object to current DEA classification system, and urge my colleagues do the same. It makes no scientific sense at all to classify the substance like marijuana which has neither a documented physical withdrawal, nor any fatalities associated with its use as Schedule I (which totally ignores the remarkable medicinal properties of Cannabis Sativa, but this is another matter), while classifying Codeine as Schedule III and benzodiazepines as Schedule IV. What better ally could I wish for than the American Medical Association itself which now not only recognizes the medicinal properties of the Cannabis plant, but also urges the Government to change its classification from Schedule I drug, while the Canadian veterans already won the right to have this natural remedy paid for by their government!
Let’s look more closely at the main argument that the marijuana “opponents” offered (at least until very recently) as their “trump card” objection to the legalization of that substance. This objection is based upon the so-called “gateway drug” theory that basically states that, even if marijuana is not dangerous in itself, it serves as a “gateway drug” to the use of other, much more dangerous substances. This “theory” is by now discredited by the science of addiction medicine as invalid. Here are the reasons why. There is no “cause and effect” relationship between a substance use and a subsequent addiction to another substance. Most of us have tasted alcohol, consumed caffeinated beverages, eaten sweet foods or even smoked cigarettes, but we have not “progressed” to being cocaine or heroin addicts as a result. As Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook explains, most people who are addicted to anything became addicted not because they had used some “gateway” drug, but because they are somehow genetically prone to this or that particular addiction, such as alcoholism, for example. People don’t become alcoholics because they may have smoked a joint that “led” them to alcohol abuse, they are alcoholics because they have a genetic predisposition to become dependent on that particular substance. The opiate addicts whom I treated for many years began their addiction careers not because they were exposed to marijuana, but either as a result of a primary exposure to heroin, or as a result of opiates having been prescribed to them by medical professionals. Here we deal with yet another aspect of this story – the substance’s addiction liability, or the percentage of people who develop an addiction-spectrum disorder after an exposure to a particular substance. Marijuana has an addiction liability of 3%, compared with 10% for alcohol, 18% for cocaine, up to 21% for opiates, and between 50 and 75% for nicotine. This is why even our President has such trouble quitting cigarettes out of all the substances that he had “tried” while a young man. This constitutes yet another big reason why the classification of marijuana as the Schedule I substance is nothing short of ridiculous. It was recently discovered that the same brain centers become activated when a person is craving sugar and cocaine. Are we now to consider sugar as a “gateway drug” to cocaine? Well, this would follow if the so-called “gateway drug” theory were valid. But it is not valid. A colleague whom I befriended on Facebook brought up an interesting question; he pointed out that most patients in “detoxes” and “rehabs” smoke cigarettes, and this is very true. This alone would invalidate the “gateway drug” theory in my opinion.
I believe that we, as medical professionals, should not be puppets to the DEA and its outdated and scientifically faulty scheduling classifications. Without brave doctors, and nurses, and researchers who are not afraid to stand up and proclaim the scientific truths we would never have legalized medical marijuana in one single State. Let me point out something more: if marijuana had even a fraction of the dangers caused by alcohol, we would not be having this conversation at all. But we ARE having this conversation, and it is a necessary conversation, just as it was a necessary conversation during the days long passed, when the courageous thinkers of those days asserted, often sacrificing their own safety, that the EARTH IS NOT FLAT.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Smoking mums likely to have obese kids
Children of women who smoked during pregnancy are more likely to be obese in their teenage years, a new study has found.
Researchers found that those who were exposed to cigarette smoke while in the womb had significantly higher quantities of fat than their non-exposed peers later in life.
These teenagers had a third more fat around their internal organs and 26 per cent more fat directly under the skin.
According Zdenka Pausova, one of the study's two principal investigators, the findings provide another reason for expectant mothers to give up smoking.
"We believe that maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy plays an important role in the foetal programming of obesity," dailymail.co.uk quoted her as saying.
"Although we do not know the exact mechanisms, we know that nicotine in cigarette smoke, for example, sets into the baby's body and stays there in higher quantities and for longer than in the mother's. Animal studies suggest that nicotine given prenatally could influence certain parts of the brain, including those that control how much and what we eat and how well we burn calories," she added.
Researchers found that those who were exposed to cigarette smoke while in the womb had significantly higher quantities of fat than their non-exposed peers later in life.
These teenagers had a third more fat around their internal organs and 26 per cent more fat directly under the skin.
According Zdenka Pausova, one of the study's two principal investigators, the findings provide another reason for expectant mothers to give up smoking.
"We believe that maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy plays an important role in the foetal programming of obesity," dailymail.co.uk quoted her as saying.
"Although we do not know the exact mechanisms, we know that nicotine in cigarette smoke, for example, sets into the baby's body and stays there in higher quantities and for longer than in the mother's. Animal studies suggest that nicotine given prenatally could influence certain parts of the brain, including those that control how much and what we eat and how well we burn calories," she added.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Need to inform women about risks of tobacco
New Delhi, April 26 (IANS) With women comprising about 20 percent of the world’s more than one billion tobacco users, the health ministry Monday called for creating awareness among women about the risks of using tobacco.
“The tobacco industry is now focusing on women as it needs to recruit new users to replace the nearly half of current users who will die prematurely from tobacco-related diseases,” Ministry of Health and Family Welfare joint secretary Jagdish Kaur said.
“The tobacco industry is now focusing on women as it needs to recruit new users to replace the nearly half of current users who will die prematurely from tobacco-related diseases,” Ministry of Health and Family Welfare joint secretary Jagdish Kaur said.
Kaur said tobacco use is very high in India — 57 percent of men and 10.8 percent of women are tobacco users. Furthermore, 8.4 percent of pregnant women in India use tobacco and the percentage is increasing.
“Since the tobacco industry across the globe is targeting women consumers, it is important to create awareness among women about the risks like reduction in fertility, irregularity in menstrual cycle, early menopause, and various types of cancer,” said Sumita Gupta, president of the awareness wing of the Indian Cancer Society.
The Indian Cancer Society organised a skit competition ‘Gender and Tobacco’ Monday addressing the dangers related to smoking in women. A total of 17 schools from the capital participated.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Several States Attempt to Ban E-Cigarettes - Review Specialist Outraged
News reports state that several States are attempting to ban the sales of electronic smoking devices, or "electronic cigarettes," as most people call them, and it has one e-cigarette review specialist outraged. Andy Gray, a long-time smoker who made the switch to electronic cigarettes, has been blogging about the topic of smokeless cigarettes for over six months, and in
the process has become a major voice in the e-cigarette movement. His blog and product reviews are read by thousands of people each day, and Gray has become a respected soundboard for people looking to make the switch to a greener alternative to traditional cigarettes.
"I'm absolutely outraged that most people don't seem to understand what this movement is all about. I have read many publications and quotes from people attempting to ban sales of electronic cigarette devices and one is just more uneducated than the other," stated Gray. Gray points out the following associated press release:
"ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Anti-smoking advocates are going after tobacco strips that dissolve in the mouth and battery-operated e-cigarettes that deliver puffs of nicotine vapor.
They rally Wednesday at the Capitol for a ban on the sale of the products to youth.
A bill from Democratic Sen. Scott Dibble of Minneapolis would prohibit retailers from selling the products to minors. They also couldn't display the products next to candy or gum, and "little cigars" would be classified as cigarettes and regulated more stringently."
"I don't know of one single electronic cigarette company on the planet that markets or sells their products to 'youth,'" continued Gray. "Never once in my studies, reviews, and interaction with the makers of these alternatives to traditional, harmful-to-the-environment cigarettes have I had an inkling that these companies were promoting their products to minors. I don't know what is going on in Minnesota, perhaps there was an isolated incident I don't know about, but as far as my research shows, not one company has crossed that line," added Gray.
Smoking is obviously harmful to the health of not only the individual who smokes, but also to others who are unfortunate enough to inhale second hand smoke. The odor from cigarettes also remains in people's clothing, and most people will agree it is an unpleasant smell. Electronic cigarettes are not marketed as a healthier alternative by most companies, as there still remains the component of nicotine in the process, which obviously is harmful. However, smoking an electronic version of a cigarette has many advantages.
* No smell or ash
* Several flavors and levels of nicotine
* No tar, no tobacco
* No lingering cloud of smoke
* A huge savings in comparison to traditional cigarettes - up to a 75% savings
* Safe to smoke almost anywhere
* No damage to the environment - traditional cigarettes create garbage
Many States are trying to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes, and of course, Big Tobacco is not happy giving up it's revenues. The Chicago Tribune recently reported that the State of Illinois is trying to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes, citing the lack of approval by the Food & Drug Administration.
"If there are things that are (FDA-)approved to help people curb the habit of smoking, I'm all for it," said sponsoring Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan. "Whatever the FDA approves, we will approve."
Lobbyists on both sides of this argument have been active in voicing their opinion in Illinois and other States facing the same issue.
"I'm not trying to create a controversy, nor am I trying to insinuate that electronic cigarettes are completely safe. I am all for the regulation and proper manufacturing of electronic cigarettes. Obviously, if that happens, this innovation will help the environment and go a long way to helping people live healthier lives. I just hope in the meantime everyone who is battling on both sides of this argument come to understand just exactly how these devices work, as well as weight the pro's and con's of their impact on society before making a fast judgment," concluded Gray.
the process has become a major voice in the e-cigarette movement. His blog and product reviews are read by thousands of people each day, and Gray has become a respected soundboard for people looking to make the switch to a greener alternative to traditional cigarettes.
"I'm absolutely outraged that most people don't seem to understand what this movement is all about. I have read many publications and quotes from people attempting to ban sales of electronic cigarette devices and one is just more uneducated than the other," stated Gray. Gray points out the following associated press release:
"ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Anti-smoking advocates are going after tobacco strips that dissolve in the mouth and battery-operated e-cigarettes that deliver puffs of nicotine vapor.
They rally Wednesday at the Capitol for a ban on the sale of the products to youth.
A bill from Democratic Sen. Scott Dibble of Minneapolis would prohibit retailers from selling the products to minors. They also couldn't display the products next to candy or gum, and "little cigars" would be classified as cigarettes and regulated more stringently."
"I don't know of one single electronic cigarette company on the planet that markets or sells their products to 'youth,'" continued Gray. "Never once in my studies, reviews, and interaction with the makers of these alternatives to traditional, harmful-to-the-environment cigarettes have I had an inkling that these companies were promoting their products to minors. I don't know what is going on in Minnesota, perhaps there was an isolated incident I don't know about, but as far as my research shows, not one company has crossed that line," added Gray.
Smoking is obviously harmful to the health of not only the individual who smokes, but also to others who are unfortunate enough to inhale second hand smoke. The odor from cigarettes also remains in people's clothing, and most people will agree it is an unpleasant smell. Electronic cigarettes are not marketed as a healthier alternative by most companies, as there still remains the component of nicotine in the process, which obviously is harmful. However, smoking an electronic version of a cigarette has many advantages.
* No smell or ash
* Several flavors and levels of nicotine
* No tar, no tobacco
* No lingering cloud of smoke
* A huge savings in comparison to traditional cigarettes - up to a 75% savings
* Safe to smoke almost anywhere
* No damage to the environment - traditional cigarettes create garbage
Many States are trying to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes, and of course, Big Tobacco is not happy giving up it's revenues. The Chicago Tribune recently reported that the State of Illinois is trying to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes, citing the lack of approval by the Food & Drug Administration.
"If there are things that are (FDA-)approved to help people curb the habit of smoking, I'm all for it," said sponsoring Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan. "Whatever the FDA approves, we will approve."
Lobbyists on both sides of this argument have been active in voicing their opinion in Illinois and other States facing the same issue.
"I'm not trying to create a controversy, nor am I trying to insinuate that electronic cigarettes are completely safe. I am all for the regulation and proper manufacturing of electronic cigarettes. Obviously, if that happens, this innovation will help the environment and go a long way to helping people live healthier lives. I just hope in the meantime everyone who is battling on both sides of this argument come to understand just exactly how these devices work, as well as weight the pro's and con's of their impact on society before making a fast judgment," concluded Gray.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Man fined $1.3M for tobacco
A 23-year-old Moncton man who got caught in Salisbury with a truckload of more than two million illegal cigarettes has been ordered to pay fines totalling $1,330,600, at a rate of $200 per month.
Trevor Howie Dow appeared in Moncton Provincial Court yesterday in connection with the seizure of more than two million contraband tobacco cigarettes (10,800 cartons).
Dow was arrested on June 4, 2008, by Caledonia RCMP along with Commercial Vehicle Enforcement and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Court was told that his vehicle was stopped for a motor vehicle infraction in the Salisbury area.
During the search, RCMP found 10,800 cartons of illegal cigarettes.
He pleaded guilty yesterday to violating federal and provincial laws. He was ordered to pay a fine of $367,200 under the Federal Excise Act, $962,400 under the provincial Tobacco Tax Act and a $1,000 fine also under the Provincial Tobacco Tax Act.
Judge Jolene Richard said the fines are predetermined and agreed with counsel's recommendation that Dow be permitted to pay a minimum of $200 per month toward his fines.
Defence counsel Scott Fowler said that it would take many years to pay the fines at a rate of $200 per month.
A maximum of five years was mentioned but there was no definitive answer on how long he would have to keep up on his payments of $200 per month.
Judge Richard ordered Dow to reappear in one year's time with his income tax forms and other financial statements so his ability to pay the fines would be reassessed. The monthly payments are based on an individual's income and ability to pay.
Trevor Howie Dow appeared in Moncton Provincial Court yesterday in connection with the seizure of more than two million contraband tobacco cigarettes (10,800 cartons).
Dow was arrested on June 4, 2008, by Caledonia RCMP along with Commercial Vehicle Enforcement and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Court was told that his vehicle was stopped for a motor vehicle infraction in the Salisbury area.
During the search, RCMP found 10,800 cartons of illegal cigarettes.
He pleaded guilty yesterday to violating federal and provincial laws. He was ordered to pay a fine of $367,200 under the Federal Excise Act, $962,400 under the provincial Tobacco Tax Act and a $1,000 fine also under the Provincial Tobacco Tax Act.
Judge Jolene Richard said the fines are predetermined and agreed with counsel's recommendation that Dow be permitted to pay a minimum of $200 per month toward his fines.
Defence counsel Scott Fowler said that it would take many years to pay the fines at a rate of $200 per month.
A maximum of five years was mentioned but there was no definitive answer on how long he would have to keep up on his payments of $200 per month.
Judge Richard ordered Dow to reappear in one year's time with his income tax forms and other financial statements so his ability to pay the fines would be reassessed. The monthly payments are based on an individual's income and ability to pay.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Indian tax collection to occur later this year
The state is taking steps toward collecting taxes later this year on cigarettes sold by Indian enterprises to non-Indians, a spokesman for Gov. David Paterson says.
Paterson said during his state budget address on Jan. 19 that he would move forward with an initiative to start collecting the taxes in about six months, after a public comment period.
That public comment period is now taking place, Paterson spokesman Morgan Hook said. After that, the state Department of Tax and Finance will review the comments, he said.
“And then we will enforce,” Hook said.
Paterson’s plan is to put regulations in place to enforce an existing law that calls for tobacco-product distributors to sell the products only if a tax is paid. Coupons would be provided to tribal leaders to allow Indians to purchase tax-free cigarettes.
On Dec. 15, 2008, Paterson stopped by Utica to sign that bill into law. A court injunction followed, and the state backed off the plan.
Hook said the state is appealing, while also attempting to start enforcing the law. When asked for a timeline for the enforcement, Hook said it should happen by the end of the year.
An aspect of the overall effort to collect the taxes had a day in court last week.
The state Court of Appeals heard arguments Thursday regarding Seneca and Cayuga counties’ attempts to enforce the state tax law, according to Madison County Attorney S. John Campanie.
Campanie said Madison and Oneida counties are missing out on millions of dollars per year due to the lack of enforcement on the law.
“The time for equivocating is over,” Campanie said in a news release. “The state can and must take action to immediately collect these revenues to the benefit of New Yorkers statewide.”
Oneida Nation spokesman Mark Emery said in an e-mailed statement that the Oneidas already collect their own taxes for government programs and services for the Oneidas. If the state attempts to collect the tax, it would just result in “more costly litigation,” he said.
“The Nation continues to believe that government-to-government discussions are the best way for Indian nations and states to solve the complex issues confronting them, like the collection of cigarette taxes from non-Indians shopping at Indian-owned stores,” Emery said.
Paterson said during his state budget address on Jan. 19 that he would move forward with an initiative to start collecting the taxes in about six months, after a public comment period.
That public comment period is now taking place, Paterson spokesman Morgan Hook said. After that, the state Department of Tax and Finance will review the comments, he said.
“And then we will enforce,” Hook said.
Paterson’s plan is to put regulations in place to enforce an existing law that calls for tobacco-product distributors to sell the products only if a tax is paid. Coupons would be provided to tribal leaders to allow Indians to purchase tax-free cigarettes.
On Dec. 15, 2008, Paterson stopped by Utica to sign that bill into law. A court injunction followed, and the state backed off the plan.
Hook said the state is appealing, while also attempting to start enforcing the law. When asked for a timeline for the enforcement, Hook said it should happen by the end of the year.
An aspect of the overall effort to collect the taxes had a day in court last week.
The state Court of Appeals heard arguments Thursday regarding Seneca and Cayuga counties’ attempts to enforce the state tax law, according to Madison County Attorney S. John Campanie.
Campanie said Madison and Oneida counties are missing out on millions of dollars per year due to the lack of enforcement on the law.
“The time for equivocating is over,” Campanie said in a news release. “The state can and must take action to immediately collect these revenues to the benefit of New Yorkers statewide.”
Oneida Nation spokesman Mark Emery said in an e-mailed statement that the Oneidas already collect their own taxes for government programs and services for the Oneidas. If the state attempts to collect the tax, it would just result in “more costly litigation,” he said.
“The Nation continues to believe that government-to-government discussions are the best way for Indian nations and states to solve the complex issues confronting them, like the collection of cigarette taxes from non-Indians shopping at Indian-owned stores,” Emery said.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Editorial: Govt’s Blind Eye to Smoking Hurts Indonesia's Youth
Adam Aliyyi is only 15 years old. He is a high school student, but he is already hooked on a deadly drug. Like millions of other young men and women in Indonesia, Adam is a smoker and he has been since he was 11.
It is crime that the government allows the cigarette industry free reign to target young people like Adam through advertising and sponsoring concerts and events at schools. As Adam freely acknowledges, he lit up because he saw his idols at such events doing the same and because cigarettes were handed out free.
Indonesia has one of the most lax regulations in the world when it comes to promoting cigarettes. Tobacco companies have become masters at targeting the young because they are easily influenced, and once hooked, they become lifelong customers.
A survey by the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) in 2007 revealed that almost half of teenagers polled had taken up smoking because of advertising. The study also found that tobacco companies had sponsored 1,350 youth-oriented events from January to October in 2007.
Not only are cigarettes harmful to our health and a exert a huge social cost on the nation, they are the doorway to hard drugs. This has been proven beyond a shadow of doubt as once children are addicted to cigarettes, they often move to harder drugs.
If we, as a nation, do not take a hard-line stance against cigarettes, we risk losing an entire generation to drugs. The entire world has moved against smoking. In most developed countries, tobacco advertising has been totally banned and cigarettes made prohibitively expensive.
In Indonesia, however, a child can buy cigarettes by the stick for as little as Rp 5,000 (54 cents).
There can be no arguments against banning cigarette ads and stopping the spread of this corrosive vice. The government has argued for years that moving against tobacco companies could affect the livelihoods of millions of farmers, and tax revenues would fall. But it has been proven that tobacco farmers would rather plant other crops when given a chance, and every year, the country spends more than Rp 100 trillion on tobacco-related health problems, three times more than the income the government earns from tobacco revenues.
We fully understand the reasoning behind Muhammadiyah’s fatwa last week declaring smoking haram, or forbidden, given the health risks. The government can no longer push off the decision to ban tobacco advertising and making it difficult and expensive for young people to buy cigarettes.
We must look beyond the short-term losses in tax revenue and look at the long-term health and future of the nation. It is unacceptable that in this day and age, when the health and social risks of smoking have been fully proven, we continue to allow our young to expose themselves to his deadly killer.
It is crime that the government allows the cigarette industry free reign to target young people like Adam through advertising and sponsoring concerts and events at schools. As Adam freely acknowledges, he lit up because he saw his idols at such events doing the same and because cigarettes were handed out free.
Indonesia has one of the most lax regulations in the world when it comes to promoting cigarettes. Tobacco companies have become masters at targeting the young because they are easily influenced, and once hooked, they become lifelong customers.
A survey by the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) in 2007 revealed that almost half of teenagers polled had taken up smoking because of advertising. The study also found that tobacco companies had sponsored 1,350 youth-oriented events from January to October in 2007.
Not only are cigarettes harmful to our health and a exert a huge social cost on the nation, they are the doorway to hard drugs. This has been proven beyond a shadow of doubt as once children are addicted to cigarettes, they often move to harder drugs.
If we, as a nation, do not take a hard-line stance against cigarettes, we risk losing an entire generation to drugs. The entire world has moved against smoking. In most developed countries, tobacco advertising has been totally banned and cigarettes made prohibitively expensive.
In Indonesia, however, a child can buy cigarettes by the stick for as little as Rp 5,000 (54 cents).
There can be no arguments against banning cigarette ads and stopping the spread of this corrosive vice. The government has argued for years that moving against tobacco companies could affect the livelihoods of millions of farmers, and tax revenues would fall. But it has been proven that tobacco farmers would rather plant other crops when given a chance, and every year, the country spends more than Rp 100 trillion on tobacco-related health problems, three times more than the income the government earns from tobacco revenues.
We fully understand the reasoning behind Muhammadiyah’s fatwa last week declaring smoking haram, or forbidden, given the health risks. The government can no longer push off the decision to ban tobacco advertising and making it difficult and expensive for young people to buy cigarettes.
We must look beyond the short-term losses in tax revenue and look at the long-term health and future of the nation. It is unacceptable that in this day and age, when the health and social risks of smoking have been fully proven, we continue to allow our young to expose themselves to his deadly killer.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Prisoner slips from Texas unit to get cigarettes
A convicted burglar slipped out of his prison unit to buy cigarettes, then returned unnoticed a short time later, authorities said, leading to a contraband search and further criticism of Texas prison security.
"It might be funny if it weren't so absurd," said state Sen. John Whitmire of Houston, chairman of a committee that oversees the prison system. "People shopping at a Walmart shouldn't have to worry that the person standing next to them in line is supposed to be in a prison."
Policies regarding trusties and how they are supervised are being reviewed, prison system spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said.
Authorities at the Central Unit in Sugar Land used security video from a Walmart to confirm that Skyler Steddum, 19, was at the store. Steddum returned unnoticed to the fenceless trusty unit, the Austin American-Statesman reported Tuesday.
The Central Unit is now undergoing a search for contraband, including cigarettes, prison officials say. Its camp, outside the main prison yard, houses about 300 minimum-security convicts.
John Moriarty, inspector general for the Department of Criminal Justice, says Steddum slipped out on Feb. 23. Investigators did not learn of his quick trip, allegedly one of dozens made by Steddum in recent months, until Friday night when another inmate snitched on him.
"He bought smokeless tobacco and cigarettes. I don't know how much," Moriarity said.
Steddum is serving four years for home burglary and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in Nueces County.
It was the latest security breach in Texas prisons since officials promised improved security in late 2008, after a death row convict used a smuggled cell phone to make threatening calls to Whitmire.
"The fact that Walmart has better security cameras than our prisons, well, this whole situation begs a whole lot of questions," the senator said.
"It might be funny if it weren't so absurd," said state Sen. John Whitmire of Houston, chairman of a committee that oversees the prison system. "People shopping at a Walmart shouldn't have to worry that the person standing next to them in line is supposed to be in a prison."
Policies regarding trusties and how they are supervised are being reviewed, prison system spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said.
Authorities at the Central Unit in Sugar Land used security video from a Walmart to confirm that Skyler Steddum, 19, was at the store. Steddum returned unnoticed to the fenceless trusty unit, the Austin American-Statesman reported Tuesday.
The Central Unit is now undergoing a search for contraband, including cigarettes, prison officials say. Its camp, outside the main prison yard, houses about 300 minimum-security convicts.
John Moriarty, inspector general for the Department of Criminal Justice, says Steddum slipped out on Feb. 23. Investigators did not learn of his quick trip, allegedly one of dozens made by Steddum in recent months, until Friday night when another inmate snitched on him.
"He bought smokeless tobacco and cigarettes. I don't know how much," Moriarity said.
Steddum is serving four years for home burglary and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in Nueces County.
It was the latest security breach in Texas prisons since officials promised improved security in late 2008, after a death row convict used a smuggled cell phone to make threatening calls to Whitmire.
"The fact that Walmart has better security cameras than our prisons, well, this whole situation begs a whole lot of questions," the senator said.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Tobacco smuggler spared jail
A SMUGGLER who crammed almost 1,000lbs of hand-rolling tobacco and 28,000 cigarettes into a people-carrier has been spared jail.
Officers from HM Revenue & Customs found the vehicle's roof-box filled with cigarettes and tobacco was hidden under blankets when Karl Hansen was stopped at Poole Ferry Port, Dorset.
The 47-year-old was given a six-months prison sentence, which was suspended for two years, when he appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court.
The tiler was stopped by customs officers on October 3 last year as he drove a Chrysler Grand Voyager into Dorset after arriving from Cherbourg, France.
Hansen, of Kennedy Gardens, Billingham, pleaded guilty to evading around £71,000 in excise duty.
He was also given a three-month curfew between the hours of 9pm and 7am. The judge also ordered that the vehicle be forfeited under a deprivation order and awarded £250 costs.
The Recorder, Mr Francis Abbott, warned Hansen he would be sent to prison if he did it again.
He said: "If the cigarettes had been allowed through, the Government would be short-changed and the money has to come out of everyone else's pockets."
Officers from HM Revenue & Customs found the vehicle's roof-box filled with cigarettes and tobacco was hidden under blankets when Karl Hansen was stopped at Poole Ferry Port, Dorset.
The 47-year-old was given a six-months prison sentence, which was suspended for two years, when he appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court.
The tiler was stopped by customs officers on October 3 last year as he drove a Chrysler Grand Voyager into Dorset after arriving from Cherbourg, France.
Hansen, of Kennedy Gardens, Billingham, pleaded guilty to evading around £71,000 in excise duty.
He was also given a three-month curfew between the hours of 9pm and 7am. The judge also ordered that the vehicle be forfeited under a deprivation order and awarded £250 costs.
The Recorder, Mr Francis Abbott, warned Hansen he would be sent to prison if he did it again.
He said: "If the cigarettes had been allowed through, the Government would be short-changed and the money has to come out of everyone else's pockets."
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