Increasing tobacco taxes is a proven strategy to reduce smoking and other tobacco use, especially among children. Studies show that every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces youth smoking by seven percent and overall cigarette consumption by about four percent. A 61-cent increase in the federal cigarette tax will prevent nearly two million kids from starting to smoke, help more than one million adult smokers quit, prevent nearly 900,000 smoking-caused deaths and produce $44 billion in long-term health care savings by reducing tobacco-caused health care costs.

Higher tobacco taxes are a win-win-win solution for the country — a health win that will reduce tobacco use and save lives, a financial win that will raise revenue to help fund the SCHIP program and reduce tobacco-caused health care costs, and a political win that is popular with voters. Polling conducted for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids found that more than two-thirds of all voters support a significant increase in the federal cigarette tax to provide health care coverage to uninsured children.

This support is evident among virtually every political and demographic subgroup of voters across the country, with large majorities of Democrats, Republicans and Independents, men and women, and urban and rural voters supporting the cigarette tax to fund children’s health care.

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, killing more than 400,000 people and costing more than $96 billion in health care bills each year. Currently, 20 percent of high school students smoke and more than 1,000 kids become new regular smokers every day.

We urge Congress to pass this important legislation without delay. It will expand health care coverage for America’s children while helping to reduce tobacco use and save lives.

By: Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids – Wed, 01/14/2009 – 15:59

For the first time, The TRUTH is using chair lifts as a marketing tool. Funny cartoon strips featuring talking cigarettes can now be found on chair safety bars at the resort. “Skiers spend about ten minutes on the lift between runs,” says David Neville, marketing coordinator for The TRUTH. “We’re using this downtime to educate youth about the dangers of tobacco.”

Monday nights are The TRUTH night all season long. Skiers get half-price night skiing on Mondays by printing a coupon from the www.FightTheUgly.com. Night skiers can also drop by a booth at the terrain park and enter to win prizes like an anti-tobacco snowboard or iPod.

More than 230,000 Utahns continue to use tobacco and more than 1,100 die annually as a result of their own smoking.

By: Utah Department Of Health – Thu, 01/15/2009 – 14:25

“If we’re going to make Baltimore a healthier city, we should not permit the sale of 50 cent-cigars that appeal to young people because of their low cost and fruity flavors,” said Mayor Sheila Dixon. “This is a common sense approach to the serious public health problem of tobacco use.”

On May 28, 2008, the Baltimore City Health Department issued a proposed regulation requiring that cheap cigars be sold in packs of five in non-tobacco retail establishments. Public comments were accepted through July 1, 2008. Following an extensive review of documents submitted, the Health Department determined that the sale of cheap, individually sold cigars represents a public health hazard and nuisance and is within the authority of the Health Commissioner to regulate. The Commissioner of Health is issuing final regulations today to take effect October 1, 2009.

Mayor Dixon also announced that the Administration will pursue legislation in the City Council to make the legal approach to cheap cigars consistent with existing law on cigarettes. The measures provide enforcement mechanisms and penalties stronger than what the Commissioner of Health can accomplish by regulation alone.

The regulation and proposed city council legislation do not apply to cigars with a wholesale price of more than $2 or a retail price of more than $2.50. Additionally, the regulation does not apply to cigars sold in tobacco establishments.

“The logic of requiring cheap cigars to be sold five to a pack is the same as the logic that requires cigarettes to be sold 20 to a pack,” said Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, Commissioner of Health. “In fact, it makes sense for policy to stop favoring cheap cigars, which is fueling the interest of young people in these products.”

By: Baltimore Department Of Health – Thu, 01/15/2009 – 14:31

The researchers found that of low-income families, those containing a household head or spouse who smoked cigarettes were at about 6 percent higher risk for being “food insecure” — not always able to put enough food on the table.

Such families purchase, on average, 10 packs of cigarettes per week, spending around $33.70 — enough to add two pounds of ground beef, two pounds of chicken breasts, 64 ounces of fresh orange juice and 10 pounds of frozen vegetables to the weekly menu, at current supermarket prices.

The study appears in the July/August issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion.

Brian Armour, Ph.D., led the researchers, who analyzed data from the 2001 Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a long-term study of U.S. men, women, and children and families. They looked at the connection between smoking and the lack of consistent and dependable access to nutritious food, while controlling for other socioeconomic factors and behavioral health choices.

The choice between smoking and having more food might seem like a no-brainer, but this is not the case, said Terry Pechacek, associate director of science for the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “Smoking is an addiction that gets established in adolescence, before individuals fully understand the long-term implications of their behavior,” he said. “Poor families suffer the long-term health impact.”

The results did not surprise Sonia Duffy, a research investigator for the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and University of Michigan Schools of Nursing and Medicine. “Our research has shown that poor health behaviors do cluster together,” said Duffy, who was unaffiliated with the new study. However, she said that the study does not consider whether people in the study also suffered from depression, which is common in lower socioeconomic populations and could correlate with smoking.

“Providing access to smoking cessation services will help people quit,” Armour said. “The most important things are the health benefits associated with quitting, and a byproduct might be to free up funds to end food insecurity.”

By: Health Behavior News Service – Tue, 07/08/2008 – 13:50

The Cambridge Filter Method is a machine-based test method that “smokes” cigarettes according to a standard protocol. At the time the FTC issued its guidance, most public health officials believed that reducing the amount of “tar” produced by a cigarette could reduce a smoker’s risk of lung cancer. The Commission believed that giving consumers uniform, standardized information about tar and nicotine yields of cigarettes would help them make informed decisions about the cigarettes they smoked.

Today, however, the scientific consensus is that machine-based measurements of tar and nicotine yields based on the Cambridge Filter Method do not provide meaningful information on the amounts of tar and nicotine smokers receive from cigarettes or on the relative amounts of tar and nicotine they are likely to receive from smoking different brands of cigarettes. The primary reason for this is smoker compensation – that is, smokers alter their smoking behavior in order to obtain the necessary nicotine dosage. Compensation, and changes over the years in cigarette design to facilitate compensation, can have significant effects on the amount of tar and nicotine smokers get from cigarettes.

The proposal can be found on the FTC’s Web site as a link to this press release. It will be published soon in the Federal Register, and the comment period will end 30 days thereafter. Interested parties are invited to submit comments. Comments must be received no later than August 12, 2008. Comments filed in paper form should reference “Cigarette Test Method, [P944509]” in the text and on the envelope. Send two copies to: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 (Annex L), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Comments filed electronically should be submitted via the Web-based form at

https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-CigaretteTestMethod.

The Commission vote authorizing the publication of the Federal Register Notice was 4-0. (FTC File No. P944509. The staff contacts are Rosemary Rosso and Shira Modell, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 202-326-2174 or 202-326-3116.)

MEDIA CONTACT:
Frank Dorman
202-326-2674
(FYI Cigarette Testing )
(FTC File No. P944509)

By: FTC Office of Public Affairs – Wed, 07/09/2008 – 10:40

If the guidance were to be withdrawn, advertisers would no longer be able to use terms such as “FTC Method” or other phrases that state or imply FTC endorsement or approval of the Cambridge Filter Method or other machine-based test methods.

Misleading Results?

The Commission is considering rescinding the guidance in light of criticism that the machine-measured yields determined by the Cambridge Filter Method may be misleading to individual consumers who rely on the yields as indicators of the amount of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide they actually will get from smoking a particular cigarette.

The current yields tend to be relatively poor indicators of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide exposure and do not provide a good basis for comparison among cigarettes, according to the Commission.

Solicitation of Public Comments

Interested parties are invited to submit comments on or before August 12, 2008. Comments should refer to “Cigarette Test Method, [P944509]” and should be mailed or delivered, with two complete copies, to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 (Annex L), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. Comments can also be filed electronically via the Web-based form at https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-CigaretteTestMethod.

A news release and a notice to be published in the Federal Register appear at the FTC web site.

Congressional Efforts to Bar Test

On July 8, Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N. J.) issued a statement in response to the FTC announcement.

“Big Tobacco has relied on the FTC’s flawed testing method to mislead smokers into thinking these cigarettes deliver less tar and nicotine,” he said. “In reality, some so-called ‘light’ and ‘low-tar’ cigarettes can actually be more harmful for smokers. Tobacco companies should not be able to hide behind the federal government to deceptively market their deadly products.”

Lautenberg introduced legislation in March 2008 to prohibit the use of the FTC Test Method to market cigarettes as “light” or “low-tar.” The proposed “Truth in Cigarette Labeling Act of 2008” (S. 2685), which was reported favorably by the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on May 15, is similar to a measure introduced by Lautenberg in 2006 that failed to become law.

This posting was written by Jeffrey May, Editor of CCH Trade Regulation Reporter Via Trade Regulation Talk http://traderegulation.blogspot.com/

By: – Wed, 07/09/2008 – 10:42

“These numbers, along with more than 1,200 questions and comments from the public, indicate a strong interest among Iowans in following the new law,” said IDPH Director Tom Newton. “Education is the key to compliance. Even after the law goes into effect, we will continue to focus on educating the public.”

Signed by Governor Culver on April 15, the Smokefree Air Act is aimed at protecting the health of employees by prohibiting smoking in nearly all workplaces in Iowa, including restaurants and bars. Enforcement of the new law will be accompanied by a strong educational component, including personally contacting businesses that have received a complaint, compliance check site visits by local law enforcement, and fines after other efforts have failed.

To ensure that Iowans know everything they need to know to comply with the new law, www.IowaSmokefreeAir.gov includes a variety of resources for business owners and the public. There visitors will find: business-specific fact sheets; downloadable “no smoking” signs; a Frequently Asked Questions document; and links to the Smokefree Air Act and accompanying Administrative Rules. Beginning July 1, a feature will be added to allow the public to register complaints.

In addition to providing the public with information about the new law, IDPH is also actively seeking public comment on the Administrative Rules. The comment period lasts through Aug. 22.

By: Iowa Department Of Public Health – Wed, 07/09/2008 – 13:53

Researchers found that more than half of Alaskan Eskimo adults smoke, their level of physical activity has decreased from traditional levels, and their intake of saturated and trans fats, rather than heart-healthy omega 3 fatty acids (found in fish), has increased.

“Traditionally, American Eskimos have not had much cardiovascular disease, but more recent population surveys have shown that cardiovascular disease is increasing in this population,” said Mary J. Roman, M.D., lead author of the study. “We sought to confirm this increase and determine whether it was related to the things that cause coronary heart disease in other populations or something else.”

In the Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives (GOCADAN) study, researchers examined extensive medical histories, dietary surveys, blood analyses and ultrasound images of carotid arteries of more than 1,200 Eskimo adults (average age 42) in Alaskan villages to determine if signs of atherosclerosis – fatty plaque buildup – were present before symptoms occurred.

“Carotid arteries are the major arteries taking blood up to the brain,” said Roman, a professor of medicine in the cardiology division at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, N.Y. “We looked for thickening of the lining of the arteries, called intimal-medial thickness, and whether there was evidence of plaque or fatty buildup, known as atherosclerosis.

“Since atherosclerosis is a systemic disease, if you see it in one artery of the body, there is a high likelihood that it is also present in the coronary arteries, or the heart,” Roman said.

Researchers found that the thickness of the lining of the carotid arteries was not much different in Alaskan Eskimos than in other population groups; however, Alaskan Eskimos’ rates of atherosclerosis were from 50 percent to 150 percent higher than those of the general U.S. population under the age of 65 depending on age and gender.

Traditionally, Eskimos eat a diet high in heart-healthy omega 3 fatty acids found in fish.

“However, the data in this report suggest that Alaskan Eskimos may have negated the protective effects of omega-3 fatty acids by increased rates of smoking, decreased physical activity, and increased intake of saturated and trans fats,” Roman said.

“In our study, 63 percent of Alaskan men and 57 percent of Alaskan Eskimo women were current smokers. That’s astronomical — three times to five times higher than rates in the U.S. population as measured in some recent studies.”

According the American Heart Association, in 2005, 23.9 percent of U.S. men and 18.1 percent of U.S. women were current cigarette smokers.

Even with a heart-healthy diet and exercise, smoking is a powerful and overwhelming stimulus for developing atherosclerosis, Roman said.

“This study is important because it is an observational, epidemiological look at a population that heretofore has not been studied in this manner,” she said. “It also shows that all the effort we’ve put, as a nation, into promoting the negative effects of smoking have not penetrated this population.”

Roman said the study is patterned after other research looking at risk factors, prevalence and incidence of cardiovascular disease among American Indians.

“Lifestyle changes among American Indians are prompting an increase in diabetes prevalence and higher rates of traditional heart disease risk factors, she said. “This seems to be happening among Alaskan Eskimos as well.”

By: American Heart Association – Fri, 07/11/2008 – 14:00

Youth Peer Leaders from the Middlesex-London Health Unit’s Youth Action Alliance, the One Life Crew will join 70 other youth leaders from across southwestern Ontario today at Sarnia’s Bayfest music festival as part of a greater effort to encourage youth to Breathe Easy, Rock Hard. While spreading the word about second-hand smoke, even at outdoor events, the group will also be asking those who attend to sign postcards urging broadcaster MuchMusic, to not show new music videos that feature tobacco use.

“When youth see their favourite musicians and artists smoking on stage or in videos, it gives the mistaken impression that smoking is cool,” says Miriam Cummings, Peer Leader with the One Life Crew. “The reality is that smoking leads to serious health problems including heart and lung disease and cancer. By taking videos that depict smoking off the air, MuchMusic could show itself as a real leader in the effort to keep young people smoke-free.”

At 1:00 p.m. this afternoon, members of the One Life Crew will join other peer leaders outside the main Bayfest concert gates, where they will encourage youth to participate in games, hand out prizes and provide information about the tobacco industry and the products it sells. This is also where concertgoers will have the opportunity to sign the post cards that will be sent to MuchMusic in the fall.

While organizers hope to collect 1,000 signatures by the time musical performer Fergie hits the stage this afternoon, the Breathe Easy, Rock Hard campaign doesn’t end at Bayfest. The goal is to continue gathering signatures across the region over the course of the summer sending 10,000 signed postcards to MuchMusic this fall.

Like its counterparts in other health unit jurisdictions, the One Life Crew hopes the broadcaster will hear its message and stop showing new videos with tobacco use by December 31, 2009.

By: Middlesex-London Health Unit – Fri, 07/11/2008 – 14:02

New York City cigarettes are now the priciest in the nation, costing a pack-a-day smoker at least $3,000 a year. The Health Department’s June campaign showed smokers how many daily necessities or seemingly unattainable luxuries can be bought with this savings, from daycare and laundry to a vacation or a shopping spree.

“Most smokers want to quit,” said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, NYC Health Commissioner. “And the extra push of a higher price results in many smokers stopping smoking forever. Thanks to this measure, tens of thousands of New Yorkers will live healthier lives.”

Increasing the price of cigarettes has proven to be the most effective way to motivate New Yorkers to quit. Tax increases in 2002 contributed to a five year 21% drop in adult smoking and a 52% drop in smoking among New York City public high school students, as announced earlier this year. The new state tax increase of $1.25 is expected to cut the number of smokers significantly and to save tens of thousands of lives.

Five Tips to Make Quitting Easier

1. Prepare yourself. Make a list of the reasons for quitting and plan for situations that may tempt you to smoke.

2. Pick a “quit date.” Get rid of ashtrays and lighters, and all cigarettes.

3. Make your home and car smoke-free. It is healthier for others and will help you resist smoking.

4. Get support and encouragement. Tell your family, friends, and co-workers that you are quitting and ask for their support. If you use medicines to quit, you can double or triple your chances of success.

5. Find a “quit buddy.” Ask a smoker to quit with you, or find someone who has already quit who you can talk to for support.

By: New York City Health Department – Sat, 07/12/2008 – 03:53