tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72761569935428412342024-03-13T11:19:50.664+02:00History of cigarettes.Origin of cigarettes. Tobacco articles. Tobacco facts. And all about...Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.comBlogger361125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-24149108210756768682013-01-28T17:20:00.002+02:002013-01-28T17:20:48.396+02:00Altria’s Earnings Rely On Better Pricing For Smokes <div class="artRel">
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Altria is scheduled to announce its fourth quarter earnings on
January 25. The U.S.-based tobacco company posted strong results in the
third quarter with 2% y-o-y growth in both revenues and gross margin.
For the nine months ended September 2012, revenues and gross margin were
up 4% and 9% y-o-y respectively. Revenue growth was led (in absolute
terms) by smokeable products (up 2.1% y-o-y), followed by smokeless
products (up 2.6% y-o-y). Revenue growth in both the segments was driven
by higher list prices and higher <em>reported</em> shipment volume,
partially offset by higher promotional investments and higher volume
growth in discount brands. Effective cost management due to the ongoing
cost reduction program added to the effect of higher list prices to push
operating margins higher for the company.</div>
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<a href="http://cigarettesreporter.com/altria-launch-tobaccofree-nicotine-product/">Altria</a> faces a declining market for cigarettes in the U.S. and is increasingly relying on its <a href="http://cigarettesreporter.com/marlboro-cigarette-development/">Marlboro</a>
brand that holds more than 40% of the market and pricing to drive
revenue growth. The smokeless products segment on the other hand is
performing quite well, and we believe that this division has the
potential to drive overall growth in medium-long term.Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-25614983904412327032013-01-25T16:03:00.003+02:002013-01-25T16:03:58.966+02:00Just the Facts on Smoking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://favim.com/orig/201106/28/cigarettes-ciggs-cigs-fashion-girl-hair-Favim.com-87047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://favim.com/orig/201106/28/cigarettes-ciggs-cigs-fashion-girl-hair-Favim.com-87047.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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We applaud Judge Gladys Kessler’s ruling ordering tobacco companies to
publish corrective statements that say they lied to us about the dangers
of smoking and that clearly state the deadly health effects of smoking.
These statements are not “forced public confessions,” just the
indisputable truth. </div>
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The statements will also correct public misconceptions about the health
benefits of “low tar” and <a href="http://cigarettesreporter.com/light-cigarettes-regular-cigarettes/">“light” cigarettes.</a> Smoking kills, on average,
1,200 Americans a day. We think that it is shameful that Big Tobacco
has been concealing the dangers of smoking for decades. </div>
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In the United States, smoking kills more people than AIDS, alcohol, car
accidents, murders, suicide, drugs and fires combined, according to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/">The New York Times</a>. It’s time the
American public heard that sobering fact from the companies that have
profited from the loss of life. It’s not easy to tell the truth when
you’re Big Tobacco, but the time to do so is now. </div>
Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-90857617710700663772013-01-10T16:03:00.000+02:002013-01-10T16:03:12.962+02:00Kim Jong Un loves comic books and foreign cigarettes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img.news.sina.com/U47P5029T2D546480F24DT20130109120433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="http://img.news.sina.com/U47P5029T2D546480F24DT20130109120433.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
(DPRK), has largely been a mystery to the whole world. His personal life
was rarely reported in the country’s official media, but S.Korean media
has dished out some fun facts about him as a person.<br />
For one thing, Kim Jong Un seems to be a devoted reader of Japanese comics, according to a former classmate of his.<br />
“He liked comics especially Japanese manga.”<br />
Classmates
said he is also an avid skier and a computer-game player, and fanatical
about basketball — particularly the fortunes of the Chicago Bulls.<br />
Kim is also crazy about James Bond, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Jackie Chan movies.<br />
Also,
pictures released by KCNA show Kim Jong Un enjoying a cigarette moments
after the launch of its rocket Wednesday morning, reports .<br />
It’s
not the first time Kim has been pictured with a cigarette by KCNA, with
footage of him visiting a gymnasium earlier this year sparking
controversy for showing him using gym equipment with cigarette in hand.<br />
Kenji Fujimoto, Kim Jong Il’s former sushi chef, was reported to have said that Kim Jong Un began to smoke <a data-mce-href="http://cigarettezoom.com/miley-cyrus-and-liam-hemsworth-start-2013-with-cigarettes/" href="http://cigarettezoom.com/miley-cyrus-and-liam-hemsworth-start-2013-with-cigarettes/">cigarettes</a> and drink liquor when he was around 15.<br />
According
to reports, Fujimoto said Kim Jong Un was “one who loves to smoke,”
adding that he likes to smoke Yves Saint Laurent, among others.Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-38562309597004173742013-01-03T16:24:00.001+02:002013-01-03T16:24:44.802+02:00Just what is third-hand smoke?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.statepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/4.23Smoke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.statepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/4.23Smoke.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Smoking is bad for your health. And <a href="http://cigarettesreporter.com/effects-secondhand-smoke/">second-hand smoke</a> - the cloud of
cigarette exhaust that we inhale when those around us are smoking - is
nearly as dangerous.<br />
<br />
But what about third-hand smoke? Chances are you've never heard of
this concept before, but it "could have some dangerous health
consequences," said Greta Roberts Broneil, assistant director of health for the town of Stratford.<br />
<br />
Third-hand smoke refers to the chemicals in smoke that stick around
long after a cigarette is extinguished. They linger on clothes, in hair,
on skin, in carpets and blankets, and on walls, toys and any number of
surfaces.<br />
<br />
In an effort to inform the public about this little-known concept,
Stratford is launching a third-hand-smoke awareness campaign after the
start of the new year, according to <a href="http://ctpost.com/">CTPost.com</a>. The program aims to help people, particularly
children, limit their exposure to these chemicals, which can include
nicotine, arsenic and lead.<br />
<br />
It's not exactly clear how dangerous third-hand smoke is, but health
experts said it makes sense that smoke residue can be unhealthy if
inhaled or ingested. Broneil said children are particularly vulnerable
to third-hand smoke as they're more apt to crawl or roll around on the
floor and put toys and other items in their mouths<br />
<br />
The American Cancer Society has said that no cancer risks from
third-hand smoke have been measured, but the health effects of these
residual chemicals are "an active area of research."Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-44985469049440765822012-12-19T13:23:00.002+02:002012-12-19T13:23:25.729+02:00Low nicotine cigarettes would reduce smoking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.drugfree.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/cigarette-pile-Oct.-31-2011-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="http://www.drugfree.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/cigarette-pile-Oct.-31-2011-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Introducing a low tax category for very <a href="http://cigarettesreporter.com/eva-cigarettes/">low nicotine content cigarettes</a> would rapidly reduce smoking rates to much lower levels,
according to a public health medicine specialist.<br />
In his study, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, End Smoking
NZ Trust chairman Murray Laugesen found that imposing less tax on
denicotinised, or denic, cigarettes would reduce consumption of normal,
addictive cigarettes.<br />
A two-tier excise policy would be kinder to smokers, allowing them to
select and smoke a mix of expensive addictive cigarettes and low-cost
denics to control smoking costs, reduce cravings and help people quit, according <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/">NZ Herald</a>.<br />
"A lower tax rate classification for denics would make it politically
easier to increase the price of (addictive cigarettes) and thereby
reduce smoking more rapidly to much lower levels," Dr Laugesen
concluded.<br />
He said all cigarettes generate toxic chemicals in the smoke
regardless of nicotine content, but reducing the degree of addiction
would make success easier for the one third of smokers who attempt to
quite each year.<br />
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"Denic smoke being as toxic as (addictive cigarette) smoke but less
addictive would merit an excise rate set and held at say 80 per cent of
the 2012 rate, creating price incentives for smokers to switch from
their their current ... brands, and for manufacturers and importers to
make or sell denic cigarettes.<br />
"Sale of denic cigarettes wherever (addictive cigarettes) are sold would
provide an escape product for addicted smokers facing higher prices
each January over the next four years."<br />
He said denics could succeed in New Zealand because smokers would not be asked to quit smoking, only to smoke less nicotine.Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-4571517665869849782012-12-10T16:20:00.001+02:002012-12-10T16:20:33.795+02:00Council ready for law on new smoking bans S<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://media2.kshb.com//photo/2012/01/10/smoking_20120110050851_640_480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://media2.kshb.com//photo/2012/01/10/smoking_20120110050851_640_480.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
DUBBO ratepayers will save money and perhaps live longer and
healthier lives when state enforcement of smoke-free outdoor public
places starts next month.<br />
From
January 7, smokers will risk fines of up to $550 if they light up at
the entrance to shopping centres, hotels, schools and other prohibited
areas.<br />
The law that NSW Health officers will enforce will eclipse a
well-intended but "reasonably toothless" non-smoking policy introduced
by Dubbo City Council in 2005 for all its facilities, according to <a href="http://www.dailyliberal.com.au/">Daily Liberal</a>.<br />
It had been
responsible for advertising the pioneering policy - a cost of about
$10,000 to ratepayers - but now the duty will lie with the government
department.<br />
The savings are just one reason why council community
services director David Dwyer has welcomed the imminent introduction of
the reforms.<br />
"Certainly in the long-term you pay less for
smoking-related diseases, not just in smokers, but also passive
smokers," Mr Dwyer said.<br />
"Hopefully it will encourage people not
to take up smoking, and they can use their money for something else like
gym fees, private health insurance or kids' education."<br />
The
council and its counterparts across the state received notification of
the amendments to the Smoke-free Environment Act 2000 last week.<br />
In
a letter, chief health officer Kerry Chant said the changes to the act
would outlaw <a href="http://www.smokersnews.net/australias-disgusting-cigarette-packs-headache-sellers/">smoking</a> at a number of public facilities including
playgrounds, swimming pools, sports grounds and public transport stops
and stations.<br />
Some of those had already been the subject of
council policy, but Mr Dwyer said the "big one" for everyone would be
the ban on smoking within four metres of a pedestrian entrance to or
exit from a public building.<br />
There was a long list of types of buildings covered by the act and it was likely to have ramifications at Dubbo.Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-66016910500603842502012-12-04T10:41:00.001+02:002012-12-04T10:41:58.402+02:00'Hiding' Cigarettes in Stores Might Keep Kids From Smoking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.oggicronaca.it/wp-content/uploads/adolescenti_bere_fumo-I.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://www.oggicronaca.it/wp-content/uploads/adolescenti_bere_fumo-I.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
U.S. teens are much less likely to buy cigarettes if they are hidden from view, new research suggests.<br />
<br />
The study tracked the purchases of a group of adolescents as they
"shopped" in several different virtual convenience stores that contained
different cigarette sale scenarios. Some stores featured open displays
of tobacco products for sale, while others strategically hid their
cigarettes behind a cabinet. Similarly, cigarette advertising was either
prominent, hidden or banned.<br />
<br />
"Studies show that because tobacco displays and ads are so common in
stores, they may give kids the false perception that <a href="http://www.smokersnews.net/cigarette-consumption-drops-as-teenagers-getting-hookah-ed-on-smoking/">smoking cigarettes</a>
is a common behavior," explained study author Annice Kim, a research
public health analyst with the public health policy research program at
RTI International in Durham, N.C. "Tobacco displays also influence
adults to purchase cigarettes when they had not planned to, which may
make it harder for current smokers to quit and may even influence recent
quitters to relapse."<br />
<br />
Passage of the U.S. Tobacco Control Act in 2009 gave states and local
governments the legal means to tackle the issue by allowing them to
restrict various aspects of cigarette advertising strategy and
placement, informs <a href="http://www.healthday.com/">Health Day</a>.<br />
<br />
"[So] banning the visible display of tobacco products is one option
that states are considering," along the lines of current bans already in
place in both Canada and Australia, Kim said.Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-64350527570759586542012-11-25T20:30:00.001+02:002012-11-25T20:30:17.624+02:00Cape Breton could face public smoking ban<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.drugfreehomes.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/smoking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.drugfreehomes.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/smoking.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
The Cape Breton Regional Municipality is looking into a new by-law
that would ban people from smoking outside municipal rinks, parks,
playgrounds and trails.<br />
<br />
Coun. Clarence Prince is leading the push to take the smoking ban one step further.<br />
<br />
"We're asking you to consider the health of others while you're out
there and please don't smoke in those spots that children are
available," he said.<br />
<br />
CBRM staff was asked to look into the public smoking issue and they
came back this week with a recommendation against a ban saying there was
a lack of community concern and it would be hard to enforce.<br />
<br />
Prince said he doesn't agree.<br />
<br />
"It is certainly a public concern because we have a high cancer rate in the CBRM, which we're not too proud off," he said.<br />
<br />
Staff has been asked to review their position and write up a draft
by-law. Cliff Barron from North Sydney is a smoker, but he said people
shouldn't be <a href="http://cigarettesreporter.com/quebec-budget-sin-taxes-increasing/">smoking</a> around children.<br />
<br />
"Well, I think it should be in effect, especially around rinks, where
there's so many children. It's not a good policy to see kids all
surrounded here with grown-ups smoking outside."<br />
<br />
He said the ban might help him personally.<br />
<br />
"It'd cut down on my smoking, let's put it that way. I'm in the process of giving them up anyway."<br />
<br />
Prince said enforcing the by-law would be difficult, but that it would be still be worth making it official.<br />
<br />
With the report now back in the hands of CBRM staff, it'll be a few
months before smokers find out whether or not they'll be allowed to
continue lighting up in public places, says <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/">CBCNEWS</a>.Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-32521518517856184462012-11-21T16:44:00.001+02:002012-11-21T16:44:26.170+02:00Cost of Cigarettes May Be Increasing in Kentucky<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://tristatehomepage.com/images/Multi_Media/tristatehomepage/nxd_media/img/jpg/2010_06/0c628654-40ac-0344-1d55-7945b9b03a89/510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://tristatehomepage.com/images/Multi_Media/tristatehomepage/nxd_media/img/jpg/2010_06/0c628654-40ac-0344-1d55-7945b9b03a89/510.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Smokers could soon be paying more for their cigarettes in Kentucky.<br /><br />The
Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform endorsed a proposal to raise the
<a href="http://www.tobaccocampaign.com/switzerland-to-raise-tobacco-tax-in-2013">cigarette tax</a> to one dollar a pack from the current 60 cents.<br /><br />Governor
Steve Beshear appointed the tax panel earlier this year to recommend a
simpler tax code that would generate enough revenue to meet state needs
even during recessions.<br /><br />Members of the group have ruled out some
less popular proposals, including implementation of a 6 percent tax on
groceries, and also reinstating an estate tax in Kentucky.<br /><br />The panel's recommendations could be presented to Governor Beshear as soon as next month, informs <a href="http://tristatehomepage.com/">Tristate</a>. Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-61787152968805656292012-11-10T23:09:00.002+02:002012-11-10T23:09:40.194+02:00Help low-income smokers quit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5sccUeQH3q5eQNjbey-8sZ51j-hHWu_iBcjYOoquwtaH6P0W3U7OuZEo2b_4cNf48qDMPGzSSZLNfitSLeOivEBnnrk6WfyGrX-OMdH4SYPPa87cFgsP2SxU9P8yloE7MvFFDUSb2GUg/s1600/nicotine-patch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5sccUeQH3q5eQNjbey-8sZ51j-hHWu_iBcjYOoquwtaH6P0W3U7OuZEo2b_4cNf48qDMPGzSSZLNfitSLeOivEBnnrk6WfyGrX-OMdH4SYPPa87cFgsP2SxU9P8yloE7MvFFDUSb2GUg/s1600/nicotine-patch.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
The Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association is recommending the
province offer low-income smokers free prescription and over-the-counter
drugs to help them quit.<br />
<br />
Products like nicotine gum and the <a href="http://www.mydiscountcigarette.net/info/antidepressant-patch-stop-smoking">patch</a> can help ease people off tobacco, but can cost up to $370 for a 12-week supply.<br />
<br />
For the doctors, it's simple math — pay to help people stop smoking today and save millions in the health care budget tomorrow.<br />
<br />
The government says it will look at what other provinces do before making a decision, says <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/">CBCNEWS</a>.Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-81168706716149805342012-11-06T09:57:00.001+02:002012-11-06T09:57:36.858+02:00Toronto won't licence hookah parlours<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_iwzlICW_zLxC9d7LGY8fnqKrrFa2XYmzjtn4cDSducPR2I1nmfgzY45st9ivylz7hWK4ROrLELoga42Ia7j59ZIb3l62u-TLfaRHuuufJrJVePh674UKpPkr2cfgsVwSp2HmNoR0Sk/s1600/shisha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_iwzlICW_zLxC9d7LGY8fnqKrrFa2XYmzjtn4cDSducPR2I1nmfgzY45st9ivylz7hWK4ROrLELoga42Ia7j59ZIb3l62u-TLfaRHuuufJrJVePh674UKpPkr2cfgsVwSp2HmNoR0Sk/s1600/shisha.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Committee members weren't satisfied Friday with a staff report that
recommended giving out licenses as a way to regulate the growing number
of water pipe smoking businesses — or hookah bars — in Toronto, informs <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/">CBC News</a>.<br />
<br />
Hookah, also known as shisha, narghile or goza, comes in either
tobacco or herbal form and is smoked through a water pipe that heats the
substance with charcoal and cools the smoke in a water chamber before
it is inhaled through a hose and mouthpiece.<br />
<br />
Smoking in enclosed public and work spaces was banned by the
Smoke-Free Ontario Act in 2006, making it illegal for hookah lounges to
serve tobacco shisha indoors. The smoking ban doesn't cover non-tobacco
herbal shisha that hookah establishments offer in a variety of fruity
flavours.<br />
<br />
The report's proposed rules would have required hookah bars to retain
ingredient lists and packaging to prove that the shisha they offer is
tobacco free. They would also have had to maintain proper ventilation to
address air quality concerns over shisha smoke and burning charcoal
from the hookah pipe.<br />
<br />
The licensing division's report estimated there are approximately 80 restaurants, bars and cafes that offer hookah in Toronto.<br />
<br />
Toronto Public Health has laid charges against 25 establishments for providing <a href="http://www.tobaccocampaign.com/smoke-hookah">tobacco shisha</a> since 2010.<br />
But some owners of establishments which offer water pipe smoking say there are already enough regulations in place.Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-11904755470517575522012-10-26T15:10:00.002+03:002012-10-26T15:10:36.008+03:00TTPD seeking suspects in tobacco store armed robbery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJiypiGZ16zOh8uGi5ukyw-N17CPlzkFzUiDcuDFf259GOvfxWO3iCTf3MRP9uPO72puLJSG3ts9qV3sQ44lipkVtp8jNBWYk5FCGnueEZYHKxjvOGEZ5jyZjYokTMnf0JWNA9Ld3M_-k/s1600/suspects+in+tobacco+store.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJiypiGZ16zOh8uGi5ukyw-N17CPlzkFzUiDcuDFf259GOvfxWO3iCTf3MRP9uPO72puLJSG3ts9qV3sQ44lipkVtp8jNBWYk5FCGnueEZYHKxjvOGEZ5jyZjYokTMnf0JWNA9Ld3M_-k/s320/suspects+in+tobacco+store.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Texarkana, Texas police are searching for the gunmen in the robbery of a tobacco store Wednesday night.
Officers were called to the Tobacco Store in the 2800 block of New Boston Road just before 9 p.m., where they were told that two armed, masked gunmen had just robbed the store.<br />
<br />
The employees say they were approached inside the store by the two men, who demanded money. One was wearing a black ski mask, black hat and a light-colored jacket. The other was wearing a black hat, black mask and a blue shirt. After taking the clerks to a back room, the gunmen fled on foot. No one was injured.Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-54644584582003414072012-10-26T15:08:00.000+03:002012-10-26T15:08:11.513+03:00Smartphone Apps Encouraging Young People to Smoke<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_y1T7lNmG4kSd6WzdlFANXzUN5bjto27a0CY3PJGqZa_CQWnDXPAqmOMY96eKU03R86YvpZN7pZ_ICENjVoniiXpKcs0wAJ9KfetLBiuAdPckfKIqEmTn0DuWI1ZHUkU8JS2tHvCx10/s1600/People+to+Smoke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_y1T7lNmG4kSd6WzdlFANXzUN5bjto27a0CY3PJGqZa_CQWnDXPAqmOMY96eKU03R86YvpZN7pZ_ICENjVoniiXpKcs0wAJ9KfetLBiuAdPckfKIqEmTn0DuWI1ZHUkU8JS2tHvCx10/s320/People+to+Smoke.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Public health officials say tobacco companies are circumventing a worldwide ban on youth-targeted advertising by marketing smartphone applications, or "apps," designed to entice young people to smoke.
Armando Peruga is program manager for the World Health Organization’s Tobacco-Free Initiative. He says there is a popular new type of software that's proliferating in Internet app stores and being downloaded to young peoples' mobile devices and smartphones. These mobile apps glorify smoking and encourage children to use tobacco products. Peruga describes one such app he recently discovered online.<br />
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“I was taken aback by a game that’s called “Puff, Puff, Pass,” which is an application that’s a cartoon came where the user must click on game characters to order them to smoke and pass the <a href="http://cigarettesman.bravesites.com/">cigarette</a> to the other characters. And the user collects points if he or she continues passing cigarettes in the same sequence at a fast pace. Obviously, that can only be directed at younger kids," said Peruga.
Billions of people now have smartphones, and a large percentage of them are children. In a study conducted by Australian researchers, who searched application stores using key words such as “smoke,” “cigarette,” and “cigar,” investigators found more than 100 related applications.<br />
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The apps included not just games and social utilities, but more direct pitches promoting specific brands of tobacco products and providing information about where those products could be purchased.
Peruga notes that often, the names of the apps are misleading.
“These apps, the study identified about 107, of these pro-smoking apps are classified under names such as health and fitness and just games which can be very misleading, and anyone can access [them] - especially young kids," he said.
The authors believe the distribution of pro-smoking smartphone applications violates the World Health Organization Convention on Tobacco Control, which bans all advertising and promotion of tobacco products in the media in countries that are signatories to the treaty.
An article on the proliferation of pro-tobacco smartphone apps is published in the journal Tobacco Control.Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-10346527592687670982012-10-26T15:05:00.003+03:002012-10-26T15:05:58.874+03:00Within 20 minutes, heavy secondhand smoke may affect breathing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLwIRwBYe1jBijz6zcJn4PzhU3n6KyUj88P-4ZcSV3vAixKdO0rktgs9onFRr6Z0_kdXf9XUtuv7niRqaQr50n3kPZw8TXElI7L5IF1yLCqjlQ6QMHON69XHZ7NG-lFe2WY-PSMVZ1p1k/s1600/heavy+secondhand+smoke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLwIRwBYe1jBijz6zcJn4PzhU3n6KyUj88P-4ZcSV3vAixKdO0rktgs9onFRr6Z0_kdXf9XUtuv7niRqaQr50n3kPZw8TXElI7L5IF1yLCqjlQ6QMHON69XHZ7NG-lFe2WY-PSMVZ1p1k/s320/heavy+secondhand+smoke.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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People exposed to heavy concentrations of secondhand smoke in confined spaces, such as bars and cars, experience impaired breathing and airway restriction within 20 minutes, according to a small new study.
"Bars and cars are places where high concentrations of fine particles usually occur because of smoking," said Dr. Panagiotis Behrakis, of the University of Athens, in Greece, in a news release from the American College of Chest Physicians.<br />
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"Nonsmokers are then forced to inhale extreme amounts of particulates directly into their lungs. The observed short-term effects of secondhand smoke tell us that even a short exposure is indeed harmful for normal airways."
In conducting the study, researchers from the University of Athens, the Hellenic Cancer Society in Greece and the Harvard School of Public Health exposed 15 healthy people to high concentrations of secondhand smoke for 20 minutes.<br />
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The participants were exposed to the smoke in a chamber to mimic exposure to secondhand smoke in confined spaces.
During the exposure, the researchers assessed the participants' total respiratory impedance, resistance and reactance. They found the effects of short-term exposure to concentrated secondhand smoke are immediate and significant.<br />
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The study was presented recently at the American College of Chest Physicians' annual meeting in Atlanta.
Data and conclusions presented at meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-84447310263382396742012-10-26T15:04:00.004+03:002012-10-26T15:04:58.205+03:00DeKalb bans smoking in parks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9uwdhCCoFrvmhh6yHFguZITGKTID5drIjnI6FNFB-PvQkA0Ph6utYx9egeJgBNhMN7EaRs_u7EcNkKVo9PPT73UIKTkMQbrtpz-8LcIecxSIvJS0850mmrRE1RTk2MPnHsRoR0X6Sals/s1600/smoking+in+parks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9uwdhCCoFrvmhh6yHFguZITGKTID5drIjnI6FNFB-PvQkA0Ph6utYx9egeJgBNhMN7EaRs_u7EcNkKVo9PPT73UIKTkMQbrtpz-8LcIecxSIvJS0850mmrRE1RTk2MPnHsRoR0X6Sals/s320/smoking+in+parks.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
No more puffing away in DeKalb County parks.
A year after snuffing out an effort at a ban in all public places, the County Commission Tuesday approved banning smoking from playgrounds, parks and service lines such as for ATMs, effective Wednesday.
But smokers still will be able to light up in bars and strip clubs — the source of last year’s controversy.
“The best action at this point is to move in gradual steps,” said the health board director, Dr. Elizabeth Ford, who pushed for the ban.<br />
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“Having our playgrounds and parks safe is at least a first step in protecting in our entire community.”
The move sees DeKalb following much smaller communities such as Alpharetta, Roswell and Marietta that have banned <a href="http://www.freetobacco.info/world-tobacco-news/noisy-smoking-area-closed-after-complaints/">outdoor smoking</a> in their jurisdictions.
DeKalb had been a leader in the quest to limit where people can smoke. In 2003, the county adopted an ordinance that bans smoking in all enclosed workplaces but exempts bars and restaurants where people under 18 cannot work or enter.<br />
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Georgia adopted a statewide version of that law, the Smokefree Air Act, two years later.
Last year, though, supporters and opponents battled for five months about whether to expand that ban.
Supporters argued that second-hand smoke costs every DeKalb household $548 in direct health care costs each year.
Opponents, including owners of eight adult clubs and 20 other nightclubs, worried they would lose business if customers couldn’t smoke. Some clubs sit just a few miles from Fulton and Gwinnett counties, which do not ban smoking in bars.<br />
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No one spoke against this year’s effort, which focused on the less-controversial effort of stopping smoking in parks. In the wake of that move, some commissioners said they may revisit a ban in clubs.
“We are still not protecting the employees and servers in clubs and bars,” said Commissioner Jeff Rader, who tried unsuccessfully last year to give club owners two years before a ban would take effect so there would be time to convince neighboring communities to adopt similar bans.
Other leaders said they want to focus on the success of finally expanding the ban to an area they believe most of the community supports.
“I want us to focus on the gradual steps it takes,” Commissioner Larry Johnson said. “We are moving in the right direction.”Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-34214295179436922992012-10-26T14:55:00.001+03:002012-10-26T14:55:15.965+03:00Medical marijuana law sends unhealthy message to teens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjqAQQCPKv8NqdzuzVfyC_FLEKhRnutpc6gfBe19j9v8dv7LWvJsIvdXTN-SOvvqiAWaW1cBKBHwbDfy55SpJ-NG47mkpNHBGToQtzkDEuwlNytIdBukrpiZ4VJ7rSodilMhVS0aa6LY/s1600/Medical+marijuana+law.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjqAQQCPKv8NqdzuzVfyC_FLEKhRnutpc6gfBe19j9v8dv7LWvJsIvdXTN-SOvvqiAWaW1cBKBHwbDfy55SpJ-NG47mkpNHBGToQtzkDEuwlNytIdBukrpiZ4VJ7rSodilMhVS0aa6LY/s320/Medical+marijuana+law.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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As a high school teacher for more than 30 years, mostly spent as a health teacher, I have some insight as to how the teen brain works when it comes to taking risks. I would like to explain why I strongly believe that passing Question 3, the <a href="http://www.tobacco-news.net/marijuana-law-reform-largely-ignored-during-election-cycle/">medical marijuana law</a>, would lead to more teen marijuana use.<br />
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The onset of risky behavior is usually accompanied by some form of justification. It is hard for kids to be self-destructive without it. “I may try drugs,” one might say, “but I’ll never do as many as she does.”
In 2008, when Massachusetts decriminalized marijuana, the intent may have been to unclog the courts. But the byproduct was more teen acceptance and use.<br />
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I got this feedback from almost every health teacher I spoke with.
Medical marijuana may have uses. Our problem with the drug isn’t the patients who seek it out on the black market for treatment, but the increasing number of teens who use it to deal with their emotional lives at a time when they should be developing coping skills.<br />
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When the drinking age in this state was lowered to 18, statistics showed that virtually everything bad about alcohol and teens went up, from dropouts to accidents. I know that a medical marijuana bill does not make the drug “legal,” but every voter should think about the message it would send to teenagers.Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-6891947732587165352012-10-26T14:54:00.000+03:002012-10-26T14:54:16.063+03:00Employee shot at medical marijuana dispensary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-gUDvAxyDVJ5fJMo2rblRUkp0h0M5JRpnJqg2UwSezkyZlxWSyCnUh2IB2ul-_vU7d7usY3jTa23wDx-ZjWbr_Aggy1gN7blIlPULMHIys9NQMaHlbBZAXsX_28ZxHC1O3UuTWonlDQw/s1600/marijuana+dispensary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-gUDvAxyDVJ5fJMo2rblRUkp0h0M5JRpnJqg2UwSezkyZlxWSyCnUh2IB2ul-_vU7d7usY3jTa23wDx-ZjWbr_Aggy1gN7blIlPULMHIys9NQMaHlbBZAXsX_28ZxHC1O3UuTWonlDQw/s1600/marijuana+dispensary.jpg" /></a></div>
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Police are looking for multiple suspects who shot an employee at a medical marijuana dispensary in Tempe on Thursday night.
Tempe Police say a group ranging from three to six men entered the AzGoGreen Co-op near Southern Avenue and College Avenue around 7 p.m. and confronted an employee.<br />
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The suspects hit and then shot the employee and fled on foot.
Officials say the victim, described as a male in his 30s, has been hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.
Lt. Mike Horn says police are still investigating the suspects' motives and it does not appear they removed any property.<br />
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Horn says the business opened recently and is the subject of a police and Drug Enforcement Administration investigation.
Horn says police believe the business is operating outside of Arizona's voter-approved medical <a href="http://www.cigarettesflavours.com/smoking-marijuana/local-authorities-warn-against-legalizing-marijuana/">marijuana law</a>.Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-83794944801766439292012-10-18T14:31:00.003+03:002012-10-18T14:31:49.137+03:00Tobacco Quit Line expands benefits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwzpMlZmceTbsRI0IL0I_bmG5RhPatONRQmVLTJi3BdpMTI4ouK5gr7CFHcUhW45ZktpwCNKftGKV7O3kjS6DAnYl68ZsuXYlQ6QPKd7qmu1HdgLRhdaV5ImdfTlx5tFgy34BN9eb8LI/s1600/Tobacco+Quit+Line.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwzpMlZmceTbsRI0IL0I_bmG5RhPatONRQmVLTJi3BdpMTI4ouK5gr7CFHcUhW45ZktpwCNKftGKV7O3kjS6DAnYl68ZsuXYlQ6QPKd7qmu1HdgLRhdaV5ImdfTlx5tFgy34BN9eb8LI/s320/Tobacco+Quit+Line.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) Montana Tobacco Quit Line has expanded its cessation benefits to help Montanans quit using tobacco.
For a limited time only, DPHHS has added a second choice to its Nicotine Replacement Therapy to include a two-week supply of nicotine gum or lozenges.<br />
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This offer will complement the four-week supply of nicotine patches already provided to Quit Line clients.
This is important because research has found that combining the nicotine patch with nicotine gum/lozenges increases success rates by 15 percent.
“We’ve increased the offering because evidence shows that this improves outcomes,” said DPHHS Director Anna Whiting Sorrell.<br />
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“Using both patches and gum offers relief to people who experience particularly strong cravings when quitting tobacco.”
The Quit Line has helped 62,000 people to date, and according to the American Lung Association, is in the top 10 of all state quit lines based on services offered.<br />
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The Montana Quit Line phone lines are available Monday to Thursday 7 am. to 9 pm., Friday 7 am. to 7 pm., and Saturday and Sunday 8 am. to 4:30 pm.
Stacy Campbell, of the Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program, urges Montanans who want to quit using tobacco products to make that call today. “There’s no time like the present,” Campbell said. “Montana is fortunate to have this type of support to help people quit smoking.”Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-12254758567528347552012-10-18T14:30:00.001+03:002012-10-18T14:30:25.914+03:00Student Government Association passes campus-wide tobacco ban on to Faculty Senate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Tempers flared at Tuesday’s Student Government Association meeting as tobacco users and tobacco free students, faculty and staff gathered at an open forum meeting to discuss a campus wide tobacco ban.
After two hours of debate from both sides of the issue, the SGA voted 11 - 7 to pass a resolution supporting a campus-wide ban on all tobacco products. The proposal will now go to the Faculty Senate, where it may be revised, and then it will go to the Board of Governors who will make the final decision on its passage.
Student Body President Ray Harrell Jr. said he wanted senators to set aside their own opinions on this controversial issue, and consider their constituents.
“The executive branch, as well as the Senate, is voted upon and represents the student body,” Harrell said.<br />
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“We are there to represent their voice. This isn’t a movement from my organization. This is a grassroots movement that has been developing since before I got here.”
The Assessment Day Tobacco Survey Report data from April 2012 showed Marshall students resoundingly favored a change in Marshall’s tobacco policies. Three hundred and sixty four students responded to the survey, 71 percent of which supported all of Marshall’s campus grounds and parking to be smoke-free. Seventy four percent of the faculty members who filled out a similar survey supported a smoke-free campus. Harrell said these results have a 95 percent level of confidence, and have a margin of A joint committee involving representatives of the President’s Office, Student Affairs, Housing and Residence life, Student Health and the student body president, drafted the proposal now supported by the Senate.<br />
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The proposal involved a campus wide ban of tobacco products including <a href="http://ordercigarettes.posterous.com/">cigarettes</a>, e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco, dip, pipes, cigars, cigarillos, hookah or water pipe smoking, snus and snuff both indoors and outdoors.
Student Health Education Specialist Amy Saunders and Piyali Dasgupta, associate professor of pharmacology, physiology and toxicology at the Joan C. Edward School of Medicine, were the first people to speak, and subsequently field questions from concerned students.
Saunders said the ban is supposed to promote a healthy environment for both tobacco and non-tobacco users alike on Marshall’s campus. Saunders also said the campus would save money and time because clean up crews would no longer have to spend an average of four hours a day cleaning tobacco products off of campus.<br />
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“We have to keep this place beautiful,” Saunders said. “We’re not trying to tell people how to live, we’re trying to promote a safe environment for everyone.”
Dasgupta said emerging research shows that all forms of nicotine can be harmful to the user, and many times those around the user, which was why a ban of all tobacco use should be supported.
A student gallery then posed questions on how the ban was to be implemented, enforced, and the effects that would follow its passage.
During this period, Dasgupta, Saunders, Harrell and several senators explained that, according to the American Nonsmoker’s Rights Foundation, Marshall would follow 814 other universities in banning tobacco if this proposal passes the Board of Governors.
Harrell said enforcement would be carried out through the Office of Student Health, but that eventually the culture of the university would reflect that smoking on campus just is not acceptable and self regulation would occur.
Several attendees were not happy with the proposal, and expressed their frustration during a round of speeches from members of the gallery.<br />
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Wittlee Retton, junior public communications major, said a total ban on campus was unnecessary, and the senate should opt for designated smoking areas on campus before moving toward the full ban.
“The senate should take baby steps here, not just jump to the total ban,” Retton said. “You have to boil the water slowly.”
Nick Chancey, senate parliamentarian, said he was torn on the issue.
“I hate smoking,” Chancey said “I don’t think it’s the university’s place to ban it.”
The issue is now out of the SGA’s hands, and moves to the Faculty Senate where it may undergo changes before reaching the Board of Governors. The Board of Governors will then have the final decision as to whether a change to Marshall’s tobacco policy is enacted.Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-40275754055057500402012-10-18T14:29:00.000+03:002012-10-18T14:29:00.731+03:00Huntington campus could become not so tobacco-friendly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In an open forum hosted by the Student Government Association Tuesday afternoon, academic college senators voted 11-7 in support of a campus-wide ban on the use of tobacco products. A committee comprised of representatives from the President’s Office, Student Affairs, Residence Life, Student Health and the student body president, drafted a proposal of the ban. The proposal took into account multiple surveys involving students and faculty and the opinions represented pointed overwhelming to the approval of a smoke-free campus.<br />
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The survey results are undeniable with regard to the preference of a “smoke-free” campus—in the student surveys presented on the 2011 and 2012 on-campus assessment days, students supported the idea of having a smoke-free campus, with 73 percent support among 398 students who responded in 2011 and 71 percent support among 364 students who responded this year. Further, 74 percent of 370 faculty members sampled prefer a smoke-free campus.<br />
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Additionally, responses confirmed that both student and faculty are bothered by the smell of smoke, are bothered to see the remains of used tobacco products on campus, are bothered by cigarette-smoking on campus and are for the most part, tobacco-free themselves.
So it seems as though the students and faculty who have offered a view would prefer a “smoke-free” campus. But the resolution passed by the SGA prohibits the use of all varieties of tobacco products, not limited to those that produce smoke.<br />
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Looking at just the facts, the use of dip and snuff is not explicitly mentioned in the surveys, aside from the negative reaction to remains left by dip. This aspect leaves some room to question whether or not the all-encompassing ban on tobacco products outlined in the proposal is representative of faculty and student opinion.
Subsequent decisions on behalf of the Faculty Senate and the Board of Governors will determine the outcome of the ban, but as it stands there are, perhaps, some smoke and mirrors at work.Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-59653084338393066852012-10-18T14:27:00.002+03:002012-10-18T14:27:35.128+03:00Snus: an export ban and EU tobacco rules<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It is a smokeless form of oral tobacco very popular in Sweden but snus has been banned under EU law since 1992.
The product is a mixture of ground tobacco leaves, salt and water that is normally packed in small sachets, which are placed behind the upper lip. Snus can also contain flavouring.
The product is banned under the EU’s <a href="http://www.freetobacco.info/smokeless-news/smokeless-tobacco-eu-dogma-or-dialogue/">Tobacco Product Regulation</a> Directive that defines tobacco for oral use as “all products for oral use, except those intended to be smoked or chewed”.<br />
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Snus is not chewed.
Sweden negotiated an exemption from the sales ban on snus when it joined the EU in 1995. The exemption was granted on condition that the product would not be sold in other EU markets.
The Swedish Government has tried to get the export ban lifted claiming it went contrary to the free trade principle for a product that was less problematic health-wise than smoked tobacco.
In 2004, Swedish-based international manufacturer Swedish Match – the company that triggered the John Dalli investigation – had challenged the export ban but the European Court of Justice turned down its case.<br />
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Swedish Match is one of the world’s leading companies in the area of niche tobacco products and last year made an operating profit of more than €400 million.
This context is important to understand the seriousness of the allegations made in the John Dalli case, as the EU Commission was in the process of reviewing its tobacco legislation this year.<br />
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Two years ago the EU Commission started a consultation process to review the tobacco directive and the Swedish Government used the occasion to argue against the snus ban.
It would have been up to Mr Dalli, as EU Health and Consumer Commissioner, to propose lifting the ban or confirming it.
Until today, snus remains a Swedish peculiarity with big political implications.Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-582616903869422232012-10-18T14:13:00.001+03:002012-10-18T14:13:16.353+03:00Medical marijuana dispensary clears final hurdle to begin selling in New Jersey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Medical marijuana can now be sold legally in New Jersey’s first-ever state-sanctioned dispensary.
Garden State regulators granted the Greenleaf Compassion Center a permit to begin selling pot Monday, ending a long political battle that forced terminally ill patients to wait years for a drug available legally in 17 other states.<br />
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"This permit marks a significant step forward in the implementation of New Jersey's Medicinal Marijuana Program,” New Jersey Health Commissioner Mary O’Dowd said Monday, following a final state inspection of the facility in Montclair.
That facility — and the larger movement to legalize medical marijuana dispensaries — has faced a number of obstacles since then-Gov. Jon Corzine signed a medical <a href="http://www.tobacco-news.net/gubernatorial-candidates-differ-on-marijuana-decriminalization/">marijuana bill</a> into law in January 2010.<br />
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The law was originally intended to go into effect that summer, but the election of Gov. Chris Christie brought delays as the Republican and state Health Department took steps to limit federal prosecution and craft a set of strict regulations.
The Greenleaf site — granted permission to start growing in April — was issued an occupancy certificate late because of issues with an air conditioner, according to reports.Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-56940606134105472722012-10-18T14:11:00.001+03:002012-10-18T14:11:50.720+03:00Upcoming Referendums Threaten Cigar Rights<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you’re concerned about the tyranny of the majority—and cigar smokers should be since we are the minority—then there is no greater danger than the referendum, that popularity contest that bypasses the legislative process for a quick “yea” or “nay” headcount.
We don’t have anything like it at the national level (be thankful for that), but state and local governments often employ referendums to enact policies. California is a national leader in policy-by-referendum (and also a leader in individual liberty abuses).<br />
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Some of you will recall when, in early June, Californians headed to the polls to vote on Prop. 29, a measure that would have increased already-high cigar taxes in the Golden State by a whopping 73%, crushed cigar shops statewide, and paved the way for similar tax hikes in other states. While that measure was ultimately defeated by a razor-thin margin, the referendum threat looms large for <a href="http://www.cigarettesflavours.com/cigar-club/yet-another-reason-to-join-cigar-rights-of-america/">cigar smokers</a> in California and beyond.<br />
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That threat is very real right now in North Dakota and Missouri, two states that are taking advantage of the upcoming election to enable their citizens to vote away cigar rights. In North Dakota, a statewide smoking ban with no exemption for cigar shops is at stake. The outlook is bleak, according to the NBC affiliate in Bismarck, which is projecting a solid 62% to 35% split in favor of the law that would criminalize indoor smoking in virtually all “public” places.<br />
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“CRA will be spreading the word through shop owners like Todd Pryor of Great Plains Smoke Shop that this referendum is an affront to small business, property rights, and the patrons his shop serves,” said J. Glynn Loope, executive director of Cigar Rights of America.
Meanwhile, in Missouri, Prop. B will increase the state tax on cigars by 15% if passed. We’re told the increased revenue will be earmarked for education and smoking cessation programs, but critics point to the ability of politicians to re-appropriate the funds.<br />
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“CRA stands with state legislators like Missouri State Senator Jim Lembke of St. Louis, who opposes the tobacco tax increase,” said Loope.
In an “Action Alert” email, Loope re-emphasizes the threat of tyranny of the majority: “If you’re in Missouri or North Dakota, rally your cigar brethren for the November 6 election to defeat these measures…Both referendums need to be soundly defeated, but it is a very challenging task. It’s simple math, which is why our opponents like referendums. There are more of them than us.”Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-525053167485015472012-10-08T14:22:00.000+03:002012-10-08T14:22:13.811+03:00Henry Ford and Beaumont health systems to ban employee smoking during workday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Starting in January, employees at Henry Ford Health System and Beaumont Health System won't be allowed to smoke offsite during their shifts, not even during the lunch hour.
The two giant health care systems will be the first in southeast Michigan to implement a tobacco-free workday policy. The new rule also applies to volunteers, contractors and vendors.
The two major employers unveiled this tougher anti-smoking policy on Friday along with plans to ban the hiring of people who use tobacco products, starting Jan. 1.
Henry Ford executives said in an e-mail Friday that even the smell of smoke on employees can be harmful to patients.<br />
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"First, second and even thirdhand smoke can lead to harmful health reactions and outcomes," three of Henry Ford's top executives told employees.
Henry Ford and Beaumont join a growing list of hospital systems that have taken an aggressive stance against smoking.
In June, the Detroit Medical Center said it would no longer hire people who use tobacco products. Others that have adopted this policy in Michigan include Oakwood Healthcare System in Dearborn, Crittenton Hospital Medical Center in Rochester and the Lansing-based Sparrow Health System.<br />
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But most employers do not forbid employees from lighting up a cigarette offsite during their workday. One exception: Grand Rapids-based Spectrum Health, the largest employer in west Michigan with more than 18,000 employees, has had a tobacco-free workday policy since 2007.
Eric Bacigal, director of employee health, safety and wellness for Henry Ford, said it was contradictory for the hospital system to tell its patients not to smoke while its employees smelled of smoke.
He acknowledged smokers do have rights but described the new policies as a "responsibility and obligation."<br />
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Employees can smoke before and after their shifts but cannot come into work smelling of smoke from tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco and e-cigarettes.
"We are not trying to dictate behaviors outside of the workplace," Bacigal said.
Employees caught violating the policy will face disciplinary action, including firing, if they continue to ignore the rule, Bacigal said.
In 2007, Henry Ford and Beaumont banned smoking by employees inside and outside of their facilities.
To implement the hiring ban, job applicants at Henry Ford and Beaumont will be screened for signs of nicotine.<br />
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The new policy does not apply to contract workers, only people hired directly by the health care systems.
Henry Ford, based in Detroit, employs about 24,000 workers at six hospitals and numerous health care centers. Royal Oak-based Beaumont has more than 14,000 employees and is Oakland County's largest employer.
Both hospital systems will provide free smoking-cessation classes, counseling and anti-smoking medications to their employees.
They also plan to offer local residents free smoking-cessation classes and counseling and discounted anti-smoking medications.
Hospitals are not the only employers taking aim at smokers. At the start of this month, Oakland Community College banned smoking on its five campuses.Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276156993542841234.post-86310291651265541292012-10-08T14:17:00.000+03:002012-10-08T14:17:19.133+03:00CMC smokers and Little Sugar Creek Greenway collide<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It’s Sunday morning in midtown Charlotte, and the Little Sugar Creek Greenway is filling up. Runners run, bikers bike. In a grassy stretch along Kings Drive, an outdoor yoga class planks and downward dogs.
“Make friends with your neighbors,” a greenway sign beckons.
Ten minutes down the trail, however, that message becomes a trickier task.
Here, under a small bridge near the main entrance to Carolinas Medical Center, smokers smoke. A lot.
For about 20 paces of shade beneath Medical Center Drive, Charlotte’s health-conscious and not-so-muches squeeze into the same county-owned space.<br />
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Neither is particularly happy with the arrangement.
“Generally, I hold my breath when I come through there,” says Collette Nagy, a Charlotte writer who biked under the bridge late Sunday morning, her dog Pepper riding in a knapsack on her back.
“But I feel sorry for them. I wish they’d get unhooked. I don’t think verbal abuse will help.”
The smokers gather on the greenway due to a policy by CMC, which towers over Little Sugar Creek as it trickles toward Freedom Park. Smoking is banned everywhere on the sprawling hospital campus. Workers can’t smoke in their cars. Hospital visitors must leave the property to light up.<br />
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“We’re a health care provider,” says Kevin McCarthy, CMC’s manager of media relations. “We do not encourage patently unhealthy activity.”
So the smokers gather along the creek throughout the day and well into the night. The hospital posts a “smoke patrol” to make sure they stay under the bridge while they puff.
“Trolls of the 21st century,” says one of them, Kendrick Archie of Charlotte, as he pulls on his Pall Mall.
The faces in the shade change quickly. One cigarette, maybe two, a little visiting with the other smokers, then it’s back up a walkway to the hospital waiting rooms and bedside chairs.
Cigarette butts and discarded packs mark the passage.<br />
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CMC sends clean-up crews throughout the day, says Anthony Jennings, who was policing the area Sunday morning.
Smokers have devised their own ashtray, dumping the cigarette butts in a trough where the concrete slope beneath the bridge meets the border of the greenway. But that accounts for only part of the refuse.
“Where are the butts going? They’re going in the water,” says Donnie Beatty of Charlotte, who believes another area should be set aside for him and other smokers.
“You don’t have to worry about beavers building dams. You’ve got cigarette butts.”
At times, there’s very little room for all the humanity to squeeze through. Around noon, about 10 smokers and their children were sitting or standing around the bridge, as a surge of greenway users – many with their children – dodged and weaved around them.<br />
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There were near collisions and some frowns. Even in the open air, the smoke under the bridge can be thick.
Mecklenburg Parks and Recreation Director Jim Harges says the county is considering a smoking ban for all its parks and greenways, including Little Sugar Creek. The bridge, and its occasional gauntlet of smokers, is a reason why.
“We try to have as many of our places where people can have a healthy experience,” Harges says. “If you run or bike through a cloud of smoke, it’s not a good thing.”
What makes this more than a saga of good lungs vs. bad are some of the stories of the smokers themselves.
Sheila Miller, still in her hospital patient togs as she toked upstream of the bridge, said she spent Saturday night at the hospital after being beaten up.
Michelle Girvin of Fort Lawn, S.C., looked exhausted after catching a few hours of sleep each night in her father’s hospital room. She sat alone under the bridge and said she doesn’t feel safe coming there in the dark for her final smoke of the day.<br />
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Eric Furr of Mount Pleasant, S.C., has been in Charlotte for weeks with his wife, whom he says was airlifted to CMC after a car accident and is not doing well. He estimates he makes five trips to the bridge each day.
On Sunday, looking drawn and tired, he came twice in an hour.
“It’s not ideal,” says Tressy McLean-Hickey, a Charlotte social worker who walked by Furr and the others while pushing a stroller carrying her 9-month-old son, Wyatt.
“You can see the looks on their faces and know that they’re not going through the best of times.”
Marion Lockley of Laurinburg and his family were at CMC to visit his injured brother.<br />
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He and wife Shelly sat under the bridge and smoked as his two kids danced between them and the creek. Smoke swirled around them. Two mallards paddled close by. Bikes and strollers and pounding feet entered the shade then disappeared into the sunlight pushing against both sides of the bridge.
“I’m not one of those people who’s going to smoke in somebody’s face,” he says. “But I don’t like to be in this situation because you’ve got all these folks, running and biking through here.
“This is a very strange place to smoke.”Olikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17018639622295173225noreply@blogger.com0