Low nicotine cigarettes would reduce smoking

Introducing a low tax category for very low nicotine content cigarettes would rapidly reduce smoking rates to much lower levels, according to a public health medicine specialist.
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.
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 NZ Herald.
"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.
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.

"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.
"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."
He said denics could succeed in New Zealand because smokers would not be asked to quit smoking, only to smoke less nicotine.

Council ready for law on new smoking bans S

DUBBO ratepayers will save money and perhaps live longer and healthier lives when state enforcement of smoke-free outdoor public places starts next month.
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.
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 Daily Liberal.
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.
The savings are just one reason why council community services director David Dwyer has welcomed the imminent introduction of the reforms.
"Certainly in the long-term you pay less for smoking-related diseases, not just in smokers, but also passive smokers," Mr Dwyer said.
"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."
The council and its counterparts across the state received notification of the amendments to the Smoke-free Environment Act 2000 last week.
In a letter, chief health officer Kerry Chant said the changes to the act would outlaw smoking at a number of public facilities including playgrounds, swimming pools, sports grounds and public transport stops and stations.
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.
There was a long list of types of buildings covered by the act and it was likely to have ramifications at Dubbo.

'Hiding' Cigarettes in Stores Might Keep Kids From Smoking

U.S. teens are much less likely to buy cigarettes if they are hidden from view, new research suggests.

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.

"Studies show that because tobacco displays and ads are so common in stores, they may give kids the false perception that smoking cigarettes 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."

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 Health Day.

"[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.

Cape Breton could face public smoking ban

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.

Coun. Clarence Prince is leading the push to take the smoking ban one step further.

"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.

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.

Prince said he doesn't agree.

"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.

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 smoking around children.

"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."

He said the ban might help him personally.

"It'd cut down on my smoking, let's put it that way. I'm in the process of giving them up anyway."

Prince said enforcing the by-law would be difficult, but that it would be still be worth making it official.

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 CBCNEWS.

Cost of Cigarettes May Be Increasing in Kentucky

Smokers could soon be paying more for their cigarettes in Kentucky.

The Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform endorsed a proposal to raise the cigarette tax to one dollar a pack from the current 60 cents.

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.

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.

The panel's recommendations could be presented to Governor Beshear as soon as next month, informs Tristate.

Help low-income smokers quit

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.

 Products like nicotine gum and the patch can help ease people off tobacco, but can cost up to $370 for a 12-week supply.

 For the doctors, it's simple math — pay to help people stop smoking today and save millions in the health care budget tomorrow.

 The government says it will look at what other provinces do before making a decision, says CBCNEWS.

Toronto won't licence hookah parlours

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 CBC News.

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.

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.

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.

The licensing division's report estimated there are approximately 80 restaurants, bars and cafes that offer hookah in Toronto.

Toronto Public Health has laid charges against 25 establishments for providing tobacco shisha since 2010.
But some owners of establishments which offer water pipe smoking say there are already enough regulations in place.