GAINESVILLE, FL -- 05/16/09 -- The FDA and other special interest health organizations may want to ban e-cigarettes as quickly as possible, but according to E-Cigarettes National they may not realize what they are getting themselves into.
A quick glance at the comments and reviews on news articles concerning e-cigarettes reveals an overwhelming support base for the e-cigarette. Forums, comments, and product reviews have resulted in a massive following of the products, with most people claiming that they have either stopped using tobacco cigarettes in favor of their "e-cig" or that they have drastically reduced their smoking habits.
Many comment that they feel better after using their e-cigarette, while others say that the product is a great concept, just not for them. Success stories are prominent, all the while the FDA and American Legacy Foundation state that there is no evidence that the products actually help smokers quit the habit.
Commenter "ready to fight" on an article on Associated Content says, "I have had enough of the government dictating my life. If the FDA bans e-cigs I will not accept it and I will fight the ban by any means possible (peacefully). Believe me when I say we have not even begun to fight and the fat lady is not singing."
On the same article, Joe Piscapo is of a similar mindset: "If they ban electronic cigarettes, I feel that people will start to freak out, myself included. There are so many smokers who made the switch and are completely happy, breathe better, feel better, and no longer smoke tobacco cigarettes."
On NBCbayarea.com, xtobacco smoker is a little more critical of the FDA, saying, "have it, love it, highly suggest it to anyone who wants to stop smoking tobacco and still 'smoke'… can even work your way down to 0 nicotine. Smoked for 15 years, I can't even stand the smell of regular tobacco. FDA will find something wrong with it… if you enjoy it the FDA will say it is not good for you."
With comments like these, it is unclear at this point what will happen to e-cigarettes. If the FDA bans them, smokers have lost the battle, but what about the war?
пятница, 29 мая 2009 г.
вторник, 26 мая 2009 г.
Big Tobacco Lures Young Smokers With Menthol Cigarettes
Tobacco companies are manipulating menthol levels in cigarettes to appeal to newer, younger smokers, part of a deliberate strategy to get younger people, particularly African-Americans, hooked, a new study contends.
Menthol makes cigarettes more palatable to the novice smoker.
"If anything, menthol is being used as a candy to help the toxin go down," said Dr. Gregory Connolly, senior author of a paper being published in the September issue of the American Journal of Public Health. "If we let the industry go ahead and willy-nilly design the product the way they want to, it's going to lead to the premature death of millions and millions of Americans. Our research says we have to go after this."
A bill pending in Congress would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration power to regulate menthol and other additives in cigarettes.
"This study provides evidence of one of the many ways tobacco companies manipulate the ingredients in cigarettes in an effort to entice and addict new consumers," John R. Seffrin, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society, said in a news release. "Legislation in Congress would give the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products and put an end to tobacco industry practices that prey upon children and blatantly mislead adults. The bill would end the marketing of tobacco products to children, force companies for the first time to disclose the ingredients in their products and allow the FDA to regulate all tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, based on science."
Menthol itself is not addictive, but it can ease the "delivery" of nicotine, which is highly addictive. More than 70 percent of African-American smokers use menthol cigarettes, compared with about 30 percent of white smokers. It's unclear if menthol cigarettes are more harmful than "regular" cigarettes, the study authors said.
Connolly and his colleagues looked at internal tobacco-industry documents which showed that companies researched how menthol levels could affect sales among different demographic groups. Cigarettes with milder menthol levels appeal to younger smokers.
Then they measured menthol levels in mentholated cigarettes, which proliferated after the signing of the Master Settlement Agreement in 1998, the historic settlement between tobacco companies and 46 U.S. states. Newport had the lowest levels of menthol, while traditional Kool cigarettes the highest, the researchers said.
Last, they looked at an existing survey of smoking in the general U.S. population.
"We found that, once again, menthol was the predominant brand smoked by African-American teens, and they smoked it at higher rates than older African-Americans," said Connolly, who is professor of the practice of public health and director of the Tobacco Control Research Program at the Harvard School of Public Health. "Surprisingly, we found that Caucasian teens smoked menthol at higher rates than expected, indicating that hip-hop was moving into the suburbs."
The deliberate manipulation of menthol levels was accompanied by more focused advertising of mentholated cigarettes (advertising for non-mentholated brands fell) and the introduction of new brands such as Marlboro Milds in 2000, the researchers said.
"The product itself stands outside the law, and industry is exploiting that, tailoring their brands to specific groups and integrating that with what marketing they have left and, unfortunately, they're being successful," Connolly said. "The outcome should be regulation of menthol by the FDA. It's the one hole."
The study authors also argued that this industry practice is a violation of the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), which prohibits companies from marketing directly or indirectly to youths.
The new study was funded by The American Legacy Foundation (formed in the wake of the MSA) and the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
David Sylvia, a spokesman for cigarette maker Philip Morris USA, said: "We don't believe that this study's hypothesis or conclusions are supported by the facts cited in the study. In fact, we disagree with their conclusion that menthol levels in our products were manipulated to gain market share among adolescents, and are unable to find any evidence supporting that conclusion within this study.
"This study almost exclusively relies on information about young adults who are legal-aged smokers who are at or above the legal age of smoking," he added.
Menthol makes cigarettes more palatable to the novice smoker.
"If anything, menthol is being used as a candy to help the toxin go down," said Dr. Gregory Connolly, senior author of a paper being published in the September issue of the American Journal of Public Health. "If we let the industry go ahead and willy-nilly design the product the way they want to, it's going to lead to the premature death of millions and millions of Americans. Our research says we have to go after this."
A bill pending in Congress would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration power to regulate menthol and other additives in cigarettes.
"This study provides evidence of one of the many ways tobacco companies manipulate the ingredients in cigarettes in an effort to entice and addict new consumers," John R. Seffrin, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society, said in a news release. "Legislation in Congress would give the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products and put an end to tobacco industry practices that prey upon children and blatantly mislead adults. The bill would end the marketing of tobacco products to children, force companies for the first time to disclose the ingredients in their products and allow the FDA to regulate all tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, based on science."
Menthol itself is not addictive, but it can ease the "delivery" of nicotine, which is highly addictive. More than 70 percent of African-American smokers use menthol cigarettes, compared with about 30 percent of white smokers. It's unclear if menthol cigarettes are more harmful than "regular" cigarettes, the study authors said.
Connolly and his colleagues looked at internal tobacco-industry documents which showed that companies researched how menthol levels could affect sales among different demographic groups. Cigarettes with milder menthol levels appeal to younger smokers.
Then they measured menthol levels in mentholated cigarettes, which proliferated after the signing of the Master Settlement Agreement in 1998, the historic settlement between tobacco companies and 46 U.S. states. Newport had the lowest levels of menthol, while traditional Kool cigarettes the highest, the researchers said.
Last, they looked at an existing survey of smoking in the general U.S. population.
"We found that, once again, menthol was the predominant brand smoked by African-American teens, and they smoked it at higher rates than older African-Americans," said Connolly, who is professor of the practice of public health and director of the Tobacco Control Research Program at the Harvard School of Public Health. "Surprisingly, we found that Caucasian teens smoked menthol at higher rates than expected, indicating that hip-hop was moving into the suburbs."
The deliberate manipulation of menthol levels was accompanied by more focused advertising of mentholated cigarettes (advertising for non-mentholated brands fell) and the introduction of new brands such as Marlboro Milds in 2000, the researchers said.
"The product itself stands outside the law, and industry is exploiting that, tailoring their brands to specific groups and integrating that with what marketing they have left and, unfortunately, they're being successful," Connolly said. "The outcome should be regulation of menthol by the FDA. It's the one hole."
The study authors also argued that this industry practice is a violation of the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), which prohibits companies from marketing directly or indirectly to youths.
The new study was funded by The American Legacy Foundation (formed in the wake of the MSA) and the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
David Sylvia, a spokesman for cigarette maker Philip Morris USA, said: "We don't believe that this study's hypothesis or conclusions are supported by the facts cited in the study. In fact, we disagree with their conclusion that menthol levels in our products were manipulated to gain market share among adolescents, and are unable to find any evidence supporting that conclusion within this study.
"This study almost exclusively relies on information about young adults who are legal-aged smokers who are at or above the legal age of smoking," he added.
четверг, 21 мая 2009 г.
Tobacco Taxes - 2003 Public Acts Chapter 294
2003 Tennessee Public Acts Chapter 294 requires the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Revenue to develop and make available for public inspection a Directory listing all Tobacco Product Manufacturers, along with their Brand Families, that are eligible to sell cigarettes (including roll-your-own) in Tennessee. Specifically, these are the Tobacco Product Manufacturers that have provided current and accurate certifications conforming to the requirements of Public Chapter 294, and in the case of Non-Participating Manufacturers, have made all required escrow payments and satisfied any outstanding final judgments, including interest thereon, pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated 47-31-103. Section 3 (c) of Public Chapter 294 provides that it shall be unlawful for any person (1) to affix a stamp to a package or other container of cigarettes of a tobacco product manufacturer or Brand Family not included in the Directory, and (2) to sell, offer or possess for sale, in this state, or import for personal consumption in this state, Cigarettes of a Tobacco Product manufacturer or Brand Family not included in the Directory. Any Cigarettes that have been sold, offered for sale or possessed for sale, in this state, or imported for personal consumption in this state, in violation of Section 3 (c) shall be deemed contraband under Public Chapter and shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture.
The Commissioner shall update the Directory as necessary in order to correct mistakes and to add or remove a Tobacco Product Manufacturer or Brand Family to keep the Directory in conformity with the requirements of Public Chapter 294.
The listing of any company in this Directory does not constitute a waiver of any rights the State of Tennessee may have to seek payment under the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement or into a Non-Participating Manufacturer qualified escrow fund from the responsible manufacturer, to remove a company name or Brand Family from the Directory and to take whatever other legal action.
The Commissioner shall update the Directory as necessary in order to correct mistakes and to add or remove a Tobacco Product Manufacturer or Brand Family to keep the Directory in conformity with the requirements of Public Chapter 294.
The listing of any company in this Directory does not constitute a waiver of any rights the State of Tennessee may have to seek payment under the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement or into a Non-Participating Manufacturer qualified escrow fund from the responsible manufacturer, to remove a company name or Brand Family from the Directory and to take whatever other legal action.
четверг, 14 мая 2009 г.
UK cigarettes 'not spiked': Industry denies use of genetically-altered tobacco leaves
The Tobacco Manufacturers' Association said leaves from the altered plant were not used in Britain, where cigarettes are not blended as they are in the US.
The statement followed claims on Tuesday by the head of the American Food and Drug Administration that Brown and Williamson (a company owned by British American Tobacco) had genetically altered tobacco plants, called Y-1, to double the nicotine content. The chairman of Brown and Williamson is due to give evidence to the congressional hearing today, when he is expected to deny many of the points made by the FDA chief, David Kessler.
Mr Kessler told a congressional hearing on the tobacco industry that Brown and Williamson had grown the plants secretly in Brazil. He also claimed that some cigarette brands were 'spiked' with ammonia to double the amount of nicotine that entered a smoker's bloodstream. The association rejected this claim yesterday.
If the FDA can show that companies deliberately set out to manipulate nicotine content, this could strengthen its hand in calling for tobacco to be regulated as a drug - a move that could lead to a ban on cigarettes.
But a BAT Industries spokesman said: 'This is an agency with an agenda - and that is to acquire jurisdiction over tobacco so it can regulate it out of existence.'
BAT said the Y-1 tobacco plant was developed by the US Department of Agriculture in the search for a tobacco for low-tar cigarettes. Brown and Williamson continued development when the US Government stopped.
A spokesman for BAT said yesterday that Y-1 was a blending tool that delivered the same nicotine as products it replaced.
The statement followed claims on Tuesday by the head of the American Food and Drug Administration that Brown and Williamson (a company owned by British American Tobacco) had genetically altered tobacco plants, called Y-1, to double the nicotine content. The chairman of Brown and Williamson is due to give evidence to the congressional hearing today, when he is expected to deny many of the points made by the FDA chief, David Kessler.
Mr Kessler told a congressional hearing on the tobacco industry that Brown and Williamson had grown the plants secretly in Brazil. He also claimed that some cigarette brands were 'spiked' with ammonia to double the amount of nicotine that entered a smoker's bloodstream. The association rejected this claim yesterday.
If the FDA can show that companies deliberately set out to manipulate nicotine content, this could strengthen its hand in calling for tobacco to be regulated as a drug - a move that could lead to a ban on cigarettes.
But a BAT Industries spokesman said: 'This is an agency with an agenda - and that is to acquire jurisdiction over tobacco so it can regulate it out of existence.'
BAT said the Y-1 tobacco plant was developed by the US Department of Agriculture in the search for a tobacco for low-tar cigarettes. Brown and Williamson continued development when the US Government stopped.
A spokesman for BAT said yesterday that Y-1 was a blending tool that delivered the same nicotine as products it replaced.
понедельник, 11 мая 2009 г.
How cigarettes calm you down
The calming neurological effects of nicotine have been demonstrated in a group of non-smokers during anger provocation. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Behavioral and Brain Functions suggest that nicotine may alter the activity of brain areas that are involved in the inhibition of negative emotions such as anger.
Jean Gehricke led a team of researchers from the University of California who studied the effect of nicotine patches on the subjects' tendency to retaliate in response to anger provocation. The subjects played a computer game and could see a video screen of another player who they believed to be their opponent, although, in fact, they were playing alone. After each round, the victor could give his opponent a burst of unpleasant noise – at a duration and volume set by the winner. In some of the subjects, nicotine was associated with a reduced tendency to retaliate, even after provocation by the 'opponent'.
According to Gehricke, "Participants who showed nicotine-induced changes in anger task performance also showed changes in brain metabolism. Nicotine-induced reductions in length of retaliation were associated with changes in brain metabolism in response to nicotine in brain areas responsible for orienting, planning and processing of emotional stimuli."
The authors say that their findings support the idea that people of an angry disposition are more susceptible to nicotine's effects, and are therefore more likely to become addicted to cigarettes. They conclude, "Novel behavioural treatments that affect the cortical and limbic brain areas, like anger management training, may aid smoking cessation efforts in anger provoking situations that increase withdrawal and tobacco cravings."
Jean Gehricke led a team of researchers from the University of California who studied the effect of nicotine patches on the subjects' tendency to retaliate in response to anger provocation. The subjects played a computer game and could see a video screen of another player who they believed to be their opponent, although, in fact, they were playing alone. After each round, the victor could give his opponent a burst of unpleasant noise – at a duration and volume set by the winner. In some of the subjects, nicotine was associated with a reduced tendency to retaliate, even after provocation by the 'opponent'.
According to Gehricke, "Participants who showed nicotine-induced changes in anger task performance also showed changes in brain metabolism. Nicotine-induced reductions in length of retaliation were associated with changes in brain metabolism in response to nicotine in brain areas responsible for orienting, planning and processing of emotional stimuli."
The authors say that their findings support the idea that people of an angry disposition are more susceptible to nicotine's effects, and are therefore more likely to become addicted to cigarettes. They conclude, "Novel behavioural treatments that affect the cortical and limbic brain areas, like anger management training, may aid smoking cessation efforts in anger provoking situations that increase withdrawal and tobacco cravings."
четверг, 7 мая 2009 г.
понедельник, 4 мая 2009 г.
How Cigarettes Calm You Down
ScienceDaily (Apr. 25, 2009) — The calming neurological effects of nicotine have been demonstrated in a group of non-smokers during anger provocation. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Behavioral and Brain Functions suggest that nicotine may alter the activity of brain areas that are involved in the inhibition of negative emotions such as anger.
Jean Gehricke led a team of researchers from the University of California who studied the effect of nicotine patches on the subjects' tendency to retaliate in response to anger provocation. The subjects played a computer game and could see a video screen of another player who they believed to be their opponent, although, in fact, they were playing alone. After each round, the victor could give his opponent a burst of unpleasant noise – at a duration and volume set by the winner. In some of the subjects, nicotine was associated with a reduced tendency to retaliate, even after provocation by the 'opponent'.
According to Gehricke, "Participants who showed nicotine-induced changes in anger task performance also showed changes in brain metabolism. Nicotine-induced reductions in length of retaliation were associated with changes in brain metabolism in response to nicotine in brain areas responsible for orienting, planning and processing of emotional stimuli".
The authors say that their findings support the idea that people of an angry disposition are more susceptible to nicotine's effects, and are therefore more likely to become addicted to cigarettes. They conclude, "Novel behavioral treatments that affect the cortical and limbic brain areas, like anger management training, may aid smoking cessation efforts in anger provoking situations that increase withdrawal and tobacco cravings".
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