Cigarette Companies Encouraged to Stop Alleged False Advertising

Cigarettes are neither healthy nor eco-friendly, despite what advertising campaigns may claim.

The Reynolds American tobacco company has relaunched their magazine advertisements for their acclaimed “eco-friendly” Natural American Spirit cigarettes and have targeted women, choosing to run the ads in the pages of Elle, Lucky and Marie Claire.

The ad campaign is both deceptive and dangerous, according to the Washington D.C.-based Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK), which has called upon Reynolds American to stop what CTFK calls false advertising.

More than 400,000 U.S. deaths are attributed to smoking each year, and more than 7,000 chemicals -- several hundred of them toxic -- are emitted into the environment through cigarette smoke, according to the CTFK.

On a global scale, at least 5.6 trillion cigarettes are discarded into the environment annually, according to researchers in an issue of Tobacco Control funded by Legacy, published earlier 2011.

The Ocean Conservancy’s annual International Coastal Cleanup says it picked up more than two million discarded cigarettes in 2010.

The company that manufactures North American cigarettes, the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, has faced numerous counts of legal action by government agencies. As of 2010, Santa Fe is required to add a disclaimer stating, “Organic tobacco does NOT mean a safer cigarette.”

Ind.'s health priorities target obesity, tobacco

Indiana health officials are targeting infant mortality, obesity, tobacco use and other health priorities in a new five-year plan aimed at improving the health of Hoosiers.
The plan released Monday also focuses on assuring food safety, cutting health care-related infections, and reducing the burdens of viral hepatitis and HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

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Fort Wayne-Allen County Health Officer Dr. Deborah McMahan says that if Indiana can achieve the six priorities and make key improvements to its health systems, it will significantly impact health in Indiana. She helped lead the panel that developed the plan. The committee also included representatives from health professionals, state agencies, health care facilities, academics, not-for-profits, and community and business leaders.

Imperial Tobacco sales rise but volumes fall

Emerging market demand boosts sales, but volumes fall as developed markets remain weak

--Weak Spanish trading likely to hit full-year operating profit by up to GBP70 million

--Global cigarette brand volumes rise 2%

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LONDON - Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (IMT.LN) said Tuesday emerging market demand boosted tobacco sales, but the maker of Gauloises Blondes and Davidoff cigarettes nonetheless recorded a fall in overall volumes as the slowdown in mature markets continued.

Imperial is focused on building its position in developing economies such as Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia to offset a weaker performance in developed markets where consumers are struggling with tough economic conditions.

Smokers in developed markets are switching to low-cost brands in the face of dented discretionary income as governments impose austerity measures such as tax hikes and public spending cuts to rein in borrowing.

The Bristol, England-based company has offset soft volumes with price rises which have helped maintain and build margins in markets like Western Europe and the U.S., where volumes are either in long-term decline or at best flat.

The world's fourth-largest global tobacco group by revenue said Tuesday it is trading in line with expectations and posted a 2% rise in tobacco sales in the nine months to June 30 on a constant currency basis. Sales were hit by falling tobacco prices in a difficult Spanish market in May and June, but total sales excluding Spain rose 4%. The company said the continued challenging economic environment in Spain is likely to hit full-year operating profit from the country by up to GBP70 million, which is better than previous forecasts of a GBP110 million hit.

Total stick volumes, or cigarette and fine cut tobacco combined, fell 2% in the nine-month period.

Still, Imperial, which sells its products in over 160 countries, said combined volumes of its global strategic cigarette brands grew 2%.

Davidoff volumes rose 6%, boosted by sales in Taiwan, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and Russia, while Gauloises Blondes volumes were up 1%. However, demand for West cigarettes in Eastern Europe was offset by declines in Poland and Turkey.

JPS cigarette volumes rose 15% boosted by trading in Australia, Germany and U.K.

Fine cut tobacco volumes rose 4%, while Cuban cigar volumes rose 1% and snus -- a smokeless tobacco product popular in Sweden and Norway -- saw volumes increase 26%.

"We are well placed to build on our sales growth momentum in the remainder of the year," said Chief Executive Alison Cooper.

Public smoking ban among proposals for tobacco law

Guyana is closer to strict laws on tobacco use, which now include proposals for a ban on public smoking and controls on advertising.

The Tobacco Control Bill, now in draft form is in line with the requirements contained in the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Illegal hookah bar raided

A team of Zone I deputy commissioner of police striking force got a tip-off on Tuesday on a hookah bar operating without adhering to the norms laid by city police commissioner's notification. Working on that information, the officials raided Seven Days restaurant in R3 mall on Memnagar Road on Tuesday afternoon.

"We found that the owner and manager had flouted norms such as having separate areas for smoking and dining and registration of the visitors. Finding such irregularities, we have sealed the premises and have informed other agencies about the raid. We have arrested Sachin Joshi, the manager of the eatery, from the premises," said a senior Zone I police official.

Recently a 13-year-old child died after falling from the roofs of a hookah bar in Surat. City police officials have cracked whip on the illegal hookah bars and have instructed the staff members to keep an eye on bars admitting the minors. The raid came after almost a year as the last raid was conducted at Sola in 2010 where a total of seven persons were arrested for flouting norms.

Fairfield woman bit firefighter outside hookah lounge

An out-of-control woman allegedly bit a firefighter as he helped police detain her following a domestic dispute at the Casablanca Hookah Lounge on Post Road Friday, police said.
Lucy J. Hazledine, 43, of Grasmere Avenue got into an argument with her boyfriend at the hookah lounge, who then left, police said. However, Hazledine followed him outside and after catching up to him, allegedly ripped his shirt, scratched him and tried to bite him on the face, police said.
When officers arrived on the scene, she kicked, screamed and refused to be handcuffed, police said. During the scuffle, Hazledine allegedly bit a firefighter while he was assisting EMS personnel.
"She was so out of control she began to sweat and breathe heavily," said Sgt. Suzanne Lussier, a Fairfield police spokeswoman. Lussier added that EMS personnel had to secure Hazledine with cloth wraps around her wrists for her own safety.
Hazledine also tried to bite a second firefighter's finger but she only managed to put a tear in his surgical glove, according to police.

Customs seize over six million smuggled cigarettes

OVER SIX MILLION cigarettes, declared to customs as “packaging material”, were seized in Co Louth yesterday evening.
A Revenue Customs Service operation which spanned two days followed the movements of a container which arrived at Dublin port from Belgium yesterday. The 6.4 million cigarettes seized were marked as ‘Palace’ and ‘Capital’ brands. Customs and gardai seized them at a premises in Collon, Co Louth and it is estimated that they would have been worth €2.7m if sold. That constituted a potential loss of €2.1m in tax to the Exchequer.
Three men, one with an address in Dublin and two with addresses in Co Louth, have been arrested. They are still being held at Dundalk Garda station. Two commercial vehicles and a curtain-sided trailer were also seized.
Yesterday evening’s seizure brings the number of cigarettes seized in the State this year to 70 million – with a street value of around €24m.

Will gruesome photos on cigarette packs work?

I see where they're now planning to put gruesome photos of diseased lungs, a man exhaling smoke through a hole in his throat, even a corpse on packages of cigarettes.

It should be enough to make a smoker want to quit.

However, whether or not it will work is questionable.

After all, it's hard to believe that any reasonably intelligent smoker today doesn't already know that smoking is "hazardous" to his or her life.

The labels have been proclaiming for years that cigarettes not only cause lung cancer but also increase the risk of heart disease, emphysema, bronchitis and a number of other life-threatening illnesses.

However, like the proverbial ostrich hiding its head in the sand, many smokers choose to believe that the warnings don't apply to them.

Of course, it's not easy to quit. I know from experience.

But, at least back in the late 1930s, when my childhood pal Mickey and I lit our first cigarette behind the garage of my home in Bergenfield – a Chesterfield I had swiped from dad's pack – there were no warnings on the packs.

Oh, we were told that smoking would "stunt our growth," but we didn't take that seriously.

Parents told kids stuff like that all the time.

However, I didn't really care much for that first cigarette.

It wasn't until a few years later, during World War II, that I really began to smoke. Everybody did.

Heck, you never saw a picture of anybody in the movies without a cigarette dangling from their lips; and radio commercials extolled the pleasures, and even the benefits, of smoking.

Now, I'm not usually a believer in "conspiracy theories," but I've often thought that, knowingly or not, the government cooperated with the tobacco industry during World War II in a program that was intended to hook an entire generation on cigarettes.

Oh, the publicized motive was patriotic…you know, an unselfish effort by the tobacco industry to see that cigarettes were available to the nation's servicemen and women wherever they were.

They were even included with C-rations. Or, if you were overseas, you could buy a pack for only a nickel.

More than 16 million served in the U.S armed forces during World War II and, when that war ended, it's fair to say that a majority of those returning were addicted to nicotine.

The fact that cigarette sales reached an all-time high in the years that followed supports that claim.

The first official report on the dangers of smoking was issued by the surgeon general in 1964.

Protecting local youth from flavored tobacco

The Sarasota County Commission took a bold step last week by unanimously passing a resolution urging local vendors to cease the sale and marketing of all candy-flavored tobacco products.

The resolution also urges residents not to purchase or use candy-flavored tobacco products in Sarasota County. Moved by the testimony of three youths, the commissioners approved stronger enforcement against tobacco-use near playgrounds at parks, in order to reduce children's exposure to secondhand smoke.

This is a big victory for the Sarasota County youths who are part of a Florida organization, Students Working Against Tobacco.

Comprised of middle and high school students, the members of 12 SWAT Clubs in Sarasota County passionately work to enlighten their peers and the community by counteracting pro-tobacco messages glamorizing tobacco use. Affecting policy change is part of their plan to work toward a tobacco-free future.

Under the federal Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, the sale of cigarettes containing certain flavors — other than menthol — is illegal.

The law does not prevent the sale of menthol cigarettes or flavored tobacco products such as cigars, hookah or "snus," a type of smokeless, spitless tobacco similar to snuff.

Because not all flavored-tobacco products are illegal, support for the county resolution is imperative for protecting our youths.

Cabarrus parks outlaw tobacco

Jairo Angeles loves taking his wife, Lyneth, and their nearly 1-year-old daughter, Ailine, to Frank Liske Park on Stough Road in Concord.

"We come here because of the healthy air," Angeles, 28, of Concord said.

The last thing he'd want is someone smoking near them, he said.

Angeles said he's happy that Cabarrus County has banned all tobacco products from its parks through an ordinance that took effect Friday.

Having someone smoke near his daughter wouldn't be good for her at all, Angeles said. "It wouldn't be good for me," he said.

County officials said the ban is intended to free parks of harmful second-hand smoke and exposure to discarded cigarettes and other tobacco products, which children and pets can find on the ground.

Most of the 250 cigarette butts discovered during a recent litter cleanup at Frank Liske Park were near children's playgrounds, Cabarrus County Parks Director Londa Strong said.

The ban includes cigars, smoking tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco and other forms of tobacco.

Someone who refuses to extinguish a cigarette or other tobacco product when asked to by a parks worker risks a $50 citation.

Policies governing smoking in public parks vary across the region.

Mooresville banned smoking in its parks last fall, Mooresville Recreation Director Wanda McKenzie said.

Smokers can still light up in Mecklenburg County-run parks, a spokesman said. Smoking also is allowed in Huntersville parks, said Huntersville Parks and Recreation Director Michael Jaycocks.

Cindy England of Harrisburg said she, too, is glad smoking is no longer allowed in Cabarrus County parks.

"I wouldn't like people smoking around me," England, 48, said as she guided her granddaughter, Cayla England, 2, on a swing at Frank Liske Park last week. "I like to come to a clean park, a clear park.".

Cabarrus County, meanwhile, is working to develop a policy that would require half of all snacks and beverages in its parks' vending machines and concession stands to be healthy.

Healthy foods have no more than 200 calories and no more than 30 percent calories from fat, except for nuts and seeds, county officials said. Healthy foods have no trans fats and get no more than 35 percent of their total weight from sugar and caloric sweeteners. They have less than 360 milligrams of sodium per serving.

Healthy beverage options include water, nonfat or 1 percent-fat milk, diet soft drinks and 100 percent fruit or vegetable juices with no added sugars, artificial flavors or colors.

The county's parks department received a grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation to buy two refrigerated display coolers for the concession stands at Frank Liske Park and Camp T.N. Spencer Park to provide the healthier food options.

Vending machines at those parks and at North Cabarrus Park also would have to meet the 50 percent healthy requirement.