Tobacco products to face higher taxes

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has proposed that the Government increases the cost of tobacco for consumers in a bid to tackle the high number of smokers and passive smokers in Viet Nam. The proposal calls for a higher level of tax on all tobacco products and for the minimum price for cigarettes sold in duty free shops to be more tightly regulated. The MoH has set a number of targets to limit the harmful effects of tobacco from now up to 2020.

It aims to lower the rate of male smokers from 47.4 per cent to 39 per cent, and the number of young smokers (between the age of 15-24 years old) from 26 per cent to 18 per cent. They also hope to keep the ratio of women smokers under 1.4 per cent. The ministry also wants to slash the rate of people exposed to cigarettes smoke at healthcare centres from 24 to 14 per cent, and at educational institutions from 22 to 12 per cent. Currently the rate of passive smokers at work is 56 per cent, which the MoH hopes to reduce to 26 per cent.

Similarly, the ratio at restaurants will be pulled down to 50 per cent from 80 per cent and on public transportation to 16 from 34 per cent. MoH statistics rate Vietnamese males as the fifteenth highest smokers in the world. A survey in 2010 revealed that there were 15.3 million smokers in the country and about 8 million others are exposed to cigarettes smoke at work, with a staggering 47 million passive smokers at home.

The health ministry also reports 40,000 fatal cases relating to smoking in Viet Nam each year. Meanwhile the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated the figure will increase to 70,000 by 2030 if effective measures to reduce smokers are not applied.

Marlboro maker Altria 3Q profit falls on charges

Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc.'s third-quarter net income fell 44 percent on charges for a loss on early extinguishment of debt. But it sold more cigarettes at higher prices and expanded its industry-leading share of the U.S. market. Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc.'s third-quarter net income fell 44 percent on charges for a loss on early extinguishment of debt. But it sold more cigarettes at higher prices and expanded its industry-leading share of the U.S. market.

The owner of the nation's biggest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA, on Thursday reported net income of $657 million, or 32 cents per share, for the three-month period ended Sept. 30, down from $1.17 billion, or 57 cents a share, a year earlier. Earnings were impacted by previously announced plan to buy back $2 billion in debt, which resulted in a charge of $874 million in the third quarter. Adjusted earnings were 58 cents per share, matching Wall Street expectations.

The Richmond, Va.-based company said revenue, excluding excise taxes, rose about 3 percent to $4.46 billion as higher costs to promote its top-selling Marlboro brand were offset by higher prices and volumes. Analysts polled by FactSet expected revenue of $4.36 billion. Its shares slipped 9 cents to $32.04 in midday trading.

They are 12 percent below their 52-week peak of $36.29 in early August. Altria said cigarette volumes grew about 1 percent to 33.7 billion cigarettes compared with a year ago, compared with an estimated total industry volume decline of 3.5 percent. Volumes for its discount cigarette brands increased 14 percent, Marlboro saw gains of 1 percent and its other premium brands fell by about 8 percent. Its share of the U.S. retail market rose 1.2 percentage points to 49.9 percent.

Marlboro brand gained 1 percentage point of market share to end up with 42.7 percent of the U.S. market. In the year-ago quarter, Marlboro experienced one of the biggest U.S. market-share declines in at least four years. The company has introduced several new products with the Marlboro brand, often with lower promotional pricing.

They include special blends of both menthol and non-menthol cigarettes to try to keep the brand growing and steal smokers from its competitors. At the end of the quarter, Altria said it expanded Marlboro NXT - a cigarette that can be switched to menthol by crushing a capsule in the filter - into 27 states.

 "Marlboro's got a big reach, it appeals to a lot of adult smokers. It's proven that not just recently, but over decades," CEO Marty Barrington said in a conference call with investors. "It's a big brand, it's got a lot of room for a lot flavor segments, it's got room for a lot of adult smokers, and that's how we think about it." Altria still faces pressure in the current economy from less-expensive brands such as Pall Mall from Reynolds American Inc. and Maverick from Lorillard Inc. Marlboro sold for an average of $5.79 per pack during the third quarter, compared with an average of $4.24 per pack for the cheapest brand.

But Altria also saw volumes for its discount L&M brand grow this quarter. Like other tobacco companies, Altria is focusing on cigarette alternatives - such as cigars, snuff and chewing tobacco - for future sales growth because the decline in cigarette smoking is expected to continue. Volumes of its smokeless tobacco brands such as Copenhagen and Skoal rose nearly 6 percent compared with the year-ago period. For the quarter, the company's smokeless tobacco brands had 55.5 percent of the market, which is tiny compared with cigarettes.

 The timing of promotional shipments and other inventory changes drove volumes for its Black & Mild cigars down14 percent during the period, but its share of the U.S. retail market grew 0.8 percentage point to 30.1 percent. The company also owns wine and financial services businesses and holds a voting stake in brewer SABMiller. Altria has been forced to cut costs as tax hikes, smoking bans, health concerns and social stigma make the cigarette business tougher. After completing a $1.5 billion multi-year cost savings program last year, the company rolled out a plan to cut $400 million in "cigarette-related infrastructure costs" by the end of 2013 in advance of anticipated cigarette volume declines.

The company said that plan remains on track. Altria also reaffirmed its full-year adjusted earnings guidance in the range of between $2.19 and $2.23 per share. Analysts expect earnings of $2.21 per share. During the latest quarter, the company said it repurchased 7.7 million shares for a total cost of about $262 million as part of its previously announced $1 billion share buyback program, which was expanded by $500 million in a board vote earlier this week.

It has about $550 million remaining in the expanded program, which it expects to complete by the end of the second quarter of 2013. No. 2 cigarette maker Reynolds American said Tuesday its third-quarter profit grew nearly 7 percent as higher prices and smokeless tobacco gains helped offset a nearly 7 percent decline in the number of cigarettes it sold. And Lorillard Inc., the nation's third-biggest tobacco company, said Wednesday its third-quarter net income rose 6 percent, as higher prices helped offset a decline of about 2 percent in its cigarette volumes.

AUSTRALIA PENSION FUND REVIEWING TOBACCO STAKE

The Australian government's pension fund for public servants said Thursday it was reviewing its investment in tobacco shares following the passage of plain packaging laws in a bid to curb smoking. The Future Fund, which manages some Aus$80 billion in retirement savings for government workers, said its board had requested a review of tobacco holdings worth Aus219 million in the light of Canberra's new anti-smoking policies.

"We think it's important, particularly given the responsibility for managing such a large pool of capital for the long term, that we take a careful, methodical and considered approach to these kinds of issues," said Future Fund managing director Mark Burgess. "This work has been started and will include consideration of the cost and implications of exclusion." Tobacco products in Australia will have to be sold in drab, uniform khaki packaging with graphic health warnings from December 1 after smoking giants lost a High Court challenge to the measures in August.

The fund has come under growing pressure to dump the shares after it was revealed in the Senate last week that new stock worth almost Aus$40 million was being bought at the same time the new policies were being pushed through. Health groups and the left-wing Greens party have described the investment as inconsistent with public values. The Australian government estimates there are 15,000 deaths nationally each year from tobacco-related illnesses and that smoking costs more than Aus$30 billion a year in healthcare and lost productivity.

The Future Fund has holdings in major firms including British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco, Japan Tobacco Inc and Philip Morris -- all of whom were parties to the High Court challenge to Australia's plain packet plan. It has previously jettisoned holdings on ethical grounds, selling off its stock in 10 defence companies that manufactured cluster munitions and land-mines in 2011. Similar moves against tobacco firms were taken by the Norwegian government's pension fund in 2010.

Walpole Health Board divided on tobacco age issue

The Board of Health will consider raising the local age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21 years old after hearing a local pediatrician’s impassioned plea. The board voted unanimously to open up Walpole’s tobacco regulations for change and will hold a public hearing on Jan. 8 before they make any decisions. Though they agreed to get public input first, the board is divided on the issue. Chairman Bill Morris already gave his support to Dr. Lester Hartman, the Westwood physician who approached the board earlier this month.

Hartman is asking all Boston suburbs to consider raising the age from 18 to 21 to protect children from smoking’s harmful effects. Though they’re adults legally, 18-year-olds are still children in that their brains and bodies are still developing. Morris agreed with Hartman’s case. Board members Lisa Procaccini and Claire Wolfram think 18-year-olds should still be allowed to purchase tobacco. “It’s not that I think they should be smoking. I just think, they’re adults,” Procaccini said. “They’re going to smoke if they want to smoke.

That law isn’t going to change that.” Wolfram didn’t see how upping the age in Walpole would reduce teen smoking, another reason Hartman is pushing for 21-year-olds to be able to buy cigarettes. “I don’t think we should bother with this,” Wolfram said. Board member Carol Johnson indicated she would support increasing the age, while fellow board member Richard Bringhurst said he had mixed feelings on the issue.

“I’m obviously opposed to anything that stunts growth,” said Bringhurst, also a doctor. “I think I am concerned about the economic impact on small businesses.” The Board of Health will have the final say on changing the age. In 2010, the board voted to ban the sale of cigarettes and tobacco in pharmacies. So far, only two towns have upped the allowable age. Needham first raised it to 21 and then amended it to 19. In July, Belmont raised their age to 19. Hartman is hoping for a domino effect amongst Boston suburbs that will force the state to take notice.

Aggressive Tobacco Pricing to Come

Altria Group recently lowered the price on some of its tobacco products, growing its total cigarette market share. Reynolds American and Lorillard will also drop cigarette cost in an effort to gain back market share, Dow Jones Newswire reports. Lorillard and Reynolds American both pointed to a competitor (Altria, although not specifically named) for the recent influx of cigarette promotions.

Currently, Altria has around half of the U.S. tobacco market. Analysts wonder if this competitive pricing trend will hurt earnings growth in the near future. Both Lorillard and Reynolds American only registered small bumps in third-quarter earnings, while Altria reported a 3% profit jump. Thomas Mullarkey, an analyst with Morningstar, predicted aggressive pricing will commence for the next two to four quarters, but that it will taper off in the long term.

 Reynolds American will keep pricing stable on Camel and Pall Mall, while promoting specific brands and styles, and offering certain geographical areas different price points. Meanwhile, Lorillard said it would not be closing the gap too much between premium Newport and its competition. “The cost of business has been raised, not by us, by our competitor,” said Murray Kessler, CEO/chairman of Lorillard. “We're not trying to get more aggressive by reducing prices below them.”

Chancellor to address state summit on tobacco-free campuses

University of Wisconsin-Stout Chancellor Charles W. Sorensen will deliver the keynote address at a conference Tuesday intended to help other colleges and universities in Wisconsin implement tobacco-free policies. Sorensen will describe UW-Stout’s journey to become the only public four-year campus in the UW System with a comprehensive tobacco-free policy at the Summit on Tobacco-Free Campuses sponsored by the American Lung Association at Monona Terrace in Madison. “I am honored to be asked to talk about the subject of tobacco-free campuses, which I am passionate about,” Sorensen said.

“I believe we have learned some things at UW-Stout that could help other state universities follow our path in providing a healthier campus environment for students, faculty and staff.” UW-Stout students voted 1,176-718 in an April 2009 advisory referendum to ban smoking on campus. Students voted in another advisory referendum in April 2010 to ban the use of all tobacco products on campus. Sorensen accepted the results of those referendums, and the tobacco-free policy went into effect Sept. 1, 2010. At least 825 campuses across the country are smoke-free, including about 15 in Wisconsin, mainly technical colleges.

UW-Baraboo/Sauk County is the only other UW System institution on the list. Sorensen will tell the summit that the tobacco-free policy has been embraced by students, faculty and staff during its first two years and has dramatically changed the culture of tobacco use at UW-Stout. “No one has to walk through clouds of tobacco smoke to get into or leave a building,” Sorensen said. “We have cut the use of tobacco on campus significantly and continue to make progress in fully implementing the policy.” The policy sends an important message to students, faculty and staff about the dangers of using any form of tobacco, he added.

 “There is very good evidence that a policy like this will help prevent some people from becoming smokers and may help others to quit,” he said. “This policy will save lives.” Also speaking will be Doug Mell, UW-Stout executive director of communications and external relations and chairman of the Tobacco-Free Campus Policy Implementation Committee. Mell will describe the communications and other efforts the university has used to implement the policy.

 Those efforts were bolstered recently after the university received a $1,500 grant from the American Lung Association. Other scheduled speakers include Susan Uttech, director of the state Bureau of Community Health Promotion; Sue Swan, executive director of the American Lung Association in Wisconsin; Dustin Hinton, a vice president for United Healthcare; and Kathy Staats, program director for “Spark,” the campus-tobacco effort of the state American Lung Association.

Should people be allowed to smoke in cars?

Scientists say that smoking in cars creates dangerous levels of pollution - and it should be banned. It means that any child sitting in the back of a car while someone smokes breaths in high levels of smoke - which is really bad for them. At moment, smoking in cars is not against the law in the UK. But what do you think? Should smoking in cars be banned? Is it fair that passengers have to breath in other people's smoke?

Drivers' smoking give passengers high levels of secondhand smoke

Smoking tobacco while driving might seem harmless. But smoking drivers are subjecting themselves—and their passengers—to extremely unhealthy levels of air pollution, say scientists. The study, conducted by British researchers and due to be published in the journal Tobacco Control, was the largest of its kind and examined more than 100 car trips made by 17 drivers, 14 of whom were smokers.

Thirty-four of the trips were smoke-free and averaged about 7.4 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3), well below the 25 μg/m3 safe level as recommended by the United Nations' World Health Organization. But in trips with smoking drivers, scientists found interior pollution averaged 85 μg/m3. The levels of particulates in the car's interior varied according to the number of cigarettes smoked and the length of the trip. But the study says that peak levels of pollution averaged about 385 μg/m3 for trips with smokers.

And on one occasion, scientists found a reading as high as 880 μg/m3. What's more, even with the cars' air conditioning on or the windows open for ventilation, passengers were still exposed to air pollution levels that exceeded WHO's guidelines. "Children are likely to be at greater risk from [secondhand smoke] exposure due to their faster breathing rates, less developed immune system and their inability to move away from the source in many home and car settings," wrote the study authors. Several states, including Arkansas, California, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, and Maryland, and countries have banned or are considering banning drivers smoking in private cars.

How e-cigarettes can reduce the harm caused by smoking

This month is Stoptober, a £6m Department of Health campaign to help people to quit smoking within 28 days. Health experts believe that if they can achieve that they are five times more likely to quit the habit for good. Persuading people to stop smoking is what anti-tobacco groups describe as the holy grail.

Yet next week, there will be what amounts to an official acknowledgment that sometimes it is simply impossible to persuade some smokers to quit so, instead, there needs to be harm reduction. The ‘nudge’ approach, which the government promotes as an effective method of changing people’s behaviour.

The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) will publish draft guidance on harm reduction and will evaluate the use of pharmaceutical products, like zyban, that are licensed to help people cut down, behavioural support and counselling, self-help techniques and nicotine-replacement products, including nicotine patches and electronic cigarettes.

Over $100 worth of cigarettes stolen

A man who first tried to buy two cartons of cigarettes failed in that effort and then stole them at a Cookeville store on Thursday, police said. It happened about 8:30 on Thursday morning at the Food Lion store on E. Spring St., says a report by Cookeville Police Officer Cary Matheney. The man placed two cartons of Marlboros, valued at $106, on the store checkout counter and gave the clerk a check, the officer’s report says.

But the check was rejected when the clerk tried to process the purchase, and she then handed the check back to the man, who took it and walked out the door. The clerk then walked away from the checkout area, leaving the two cartons of cigarettes on the counter. The man was just outside the store’s doors by this time, and he turned around, the report says.

“After seeing the cigarettes at the checkout, he walked up to the register, grabbed the merchandise, and left without paying.” He was described as a white male, about five feet nine inches tall, weighing about 175 pounds, and having a thin beard and reddish brown hair. He was wearing a green jacket, blue jeans, and a tan hat with a logo in the center, the report says.

138 traders compounded for selling loose cigarettes

A total of 138 traders were compounded RM500 each for selling loose cigarettes during a two-day operation mounted by the Health Ministry on Sept 27 and 28. Director-General of Health Datuk Seri Dr Hasan Abdul Rahman said those who failed to pay the compounds would be charged in court and fined up to RM10,000 or jailed up to two years upon conviction.

“The ministry has received numerous complaints about traders selling loose cigarettes, especially to teenagers and schoolchildren. “Hence, we have carried out a national-level enforcement operation under the Tobacco Product Regulations 2004 for two days, which began on Sept 27. “The operation focused on the enforcement of Regulation 9, which prohibits the sales of loose cigarettes,” he said in a statement here yesterday.

Dr Hasan said 2,202 premises nationwide, including retail shops, mini markets, restaurants and food stalls, were inspected throughout the operation. He said four traders were also issued with compounds for selling illegal cigarettes. “A total of 141 packs of illegal cigarettes were also seized from them,” he said. Dr Hasan said the ministry would continue carrying out the enforcement activities to control the sales of tobacco products and to protect the public from the dangers of secondhand smoke.

Sacramento wants to ban outdoor marijuana gardens

Sacramento wants to ban outdoor medical marijuana gardens, saying the pot farms are a magnet for crime. The City Council voted Tuesday to draft an ordinance prohibiting outdoor marijuana grows. Deputy Police Chief Dana Matthes says the outdoor gardens are leading to crime, including a recent incident in which a homeowner fired gunshots at intruders in his backyard crop.

The Sacramento Bee says the council also voted to keep restrictions on medical marijuana dispensaries. The pot shops cannot operate within 1,000 feet of other dispensaries, 300 feet of residences and 600 feet of schools and parks. There are 17 marijuana dispensaries in Sacramento. The city has a moratorium on dispensaries following a series of federal crackdowns.

Smoke-free park zones in Kingman Ok'd

Brianna Brown, the president of the Kingman Youth Coalition Beating Up Teen Tobacco, made one last argument for a full ban on smoking in city parks Tuesday, but City Council voted to stick with a pilot program for smoke-free zones instead. "The pilot program is a really good start," said Councilwoman Erin Cochran. Hopefully it's the only action Council needs to take, she added. The program, which will continue to be implemented in the parks, consists of smoke-free zones in areas where people gather, such as the bleachers and playgrounds at Centennial Park.

Cigarette butt receptacles, many with signs attached that say, "Help keep our parks clean and smoke free," have gone up at Centennial, Walleck Ranch and Southside parks. But several Council members said enforcement concerns remain. Months ago, members of the coalition stood before the dais at City Complex holding several bags of cigarette butts. They had picked them up from local parks earlier that day. With the bags near bursting, the group asked Council to ban smoking in all local parks. Council members were unwilling to do so and instead directed Parks and Recreation Department staff to look into creating some type of smoke-free zone pilot program.

"Thank you for hearing our voice," Brown said. The coalition is thankful for the pilot program and feels it's a step in the right direction, with its butt receptacles and nonsmoking areas, but it does not address the issue of secondhand smoke, which is not safe in any form, she said. On top of the dangers presented by secondhand smoke, when children see adults smoking in the parks, they see it as acceptable behavior, she said.

A smidgen more than 26 percent of all people who live in Mohave County smoke cigarettes, according to the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In many ways, the program is more about compromise than it is about enforcing rules. Consideration is the only thing that's going to make this program work because there's no real way to enforce the zones, said Councilman Richard Anderson. There's self-enforcement, but that can create some uncomfortable situations, he added.

 He offered a piece of advice for those who plan to enforce the zones on their own when they see someone smoking in a smoke-free area: "Be kind. Be gentle." Councilman Larry Carver seemed concerned with enforcement as well. He wondered what type of reception people will receive when they tell someone smoking in a smoke-free area to stop. The program could create conflict and have negative consequences if people aren't careful. For Cochran, it came down to people coexisting. "People need to respect each other," she said.

Smoking ban has potential to affect smoke shops’ business

When Expressions owner Angela Lanza first heard of the proposed ban on smoking in public places in Orange County, she was not surprised. But she is against the ban, and said there is no need to limit smoking more than it already has been. “There are better things to worry (about) other than smoking outside,” said Lanza, whose East Franklin Street store sells tobacco products. The ban was proposed by the Orange County Board of Health in September, and aims to extend an existing ban on smoking to cover any public place in the county.

cigarettesonline.noahblog.com - cigarettes online in packs and cartons.

If implemented, smokers could not light up anymore in places such as parks, government grounds, sidewalks and retail stores. Despite the proposed ban, most tobacco shop workers are confident their businesses will not suffer. “Customers like socializing and smoking their hand-rolled tobacco in the little area outside our door,” Lanza said. “I’m sure they will still come and hang out just the same.” R.J. Crumpler, manager of the West Franklin Street store Hazmat, said he does not feel pressured by the ban. 

“I’m not worried about business because most of what we’re selling is for in-home use,” Crumpler said. Larry Webster, who works at Smoke Rings and said he likes to smoke, agreed. “If the ban’s underlying tone is gonna get rid of smoke shops, I don’t believe that it’s gonna fly,” he said. “I’d definitely want my big name on capital letters on the front page to petition the ban.” Stacy Shelp, spokeswoman for the Orange County Health Department, said the ban would be implemented after educating the public about the new rule, posting signs, removing ashtrays and coordinating with different enforcement agencies.

According to a recent survey of local officials by the board, more than 90 percent of respondents support the proposed ban. On Oct. 24, the board will discuss and vote on the proposed ban on what has long been one of North Carolina’s most important industries. The tobacco industry has an economic impact of more than $7 billion in North Carolina. North Carolina also accounts for about 38 percent of the total jobs in the U.S. tobacco industry, according to the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Travis Maynor, a Chapel Hill resident and smoker, said he thinks the proposed ban is ridiculous. “I understand prohibiting smoking in certain areas, like in front of business properties,” he said. “But this ban has too much control.” Chapel Hill resident John Hansen, who is a regular customer at Expressions, said the ban would not stop his consumption. “The ban is a terrible idea,” Hansen said. “Nothing can make me more supportive.”

County revisits smoking ban idea

Steuben County officials will go back and take a look at the “unintended consequences” of a proposed ban on tobacco use on county property. The county Legislature’s Human Services, Health and Education Committee agreed Wednesday to study the issue more, at the request of the full Legislature 10 days ago. Deputy Steuben County Administrator Jack Wheeler said lawmakers still intend to enact a law banning tobacco use, but will now reconsider some of the “unintended consequences” of an outright ban on all county-owned or county-leased property, as the law was originally drafted.

The most notable concern is the potential effect of the law in county-run parks. Steuben County owns Mayo Park at Boyd’s Corner and Hornby Park in Hornby. Birdseye Hollow Park in Bradford and Kanakadea Park in Hornellsville are leased by the county. Kanakadea Park also is a popular campground. “Yeah, I think a ban in Kanakadea would have an effect,” said county Public Works Department Commissioner Vincent Spagnoletti, whose department maintains the four parks. A ban might drive away regular park or campground users from places where tobacco use isn’t much of an issue, he feels.

Also, a rigid county-wide ban would prevent smoking in all DPW vehicles. Currently, the DPW is flexible with truck drivers, Spagnoletti said. The drivers typically are out by themselves, sometimes plowing and sanding for long overtime shifts during winter storms. They also tend to drive the same truck most of the time. So irritating co-workers isn’t much of a problem, Spagnoletti said. He just asks the drivers to be considerate. Current rules in Steuben County prohibit smoking within 50 feet of the entrances to county office buildings in Bath and Corning.

Municipal smoking bands have gathered steam in recent years, with the Southern Tier Tobacco Awareness Community Partnership pushing for them. Chemung County does not have a ban, but the City of Elmira – the site of county offices – keeps tobacco users 25 feet away from building entrances, according to www.tobaccofreenys.org. Yates and Allegany counties also prohibit smoking near county building entrances. Outright bans have been adopted in Ontario, Schuyler and Seneca counties.

Teen smoking linked to earlier death

Teenagers who smoke are more likely to die of heart disease decades down the line, even if they quit by the time they're middle-aged, researchers have found. Still, the worst off were people who started smoking in adolescence and kept up the habit their entire lives. They were twice as likely to die early as were non-smokers, according to findings published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. "The risks are cumulative," said David Batty, who worked on the new study at University College London.

"If you smoke across a life course, you're at much higher risk than if you just smoked around the college years," he told Reuters Health. "The positive message is, it's never too late to stop." Past research has linked early smoking to future heart disease and cancer. But those studies relied on middle-aged people remembering if and how much they smoked when they were younger - which isn't always a reliable technique, researchers said. Instead, Batty and his colleagues used data from an ongoing study of men who started college at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts between 1916 and 1950 and reported their cigarette use on school health exams.

They were then sent follow-up surveys related to smoking in the 1960s, '70s and '80s. The new study included over 28,000 men, about 10,000 of whom reported smoking as undergrads. Almost half of the participants died during an average follow-up of 53 years. Men who reported smoking on both their college physical and follow-up questionnaires were twice as likely to die as those who never smoked. In comparison, Harvard alums who smoked as teenagers but then quit were at a 29-percent increased risk of early death. Risks were higher for smoking-related cancers and heart disease, in particular.

"The good news is, for people who are able to quit, this is going to have profound effects on their health," said Dr. Michael Siegel, a tobacco control researcher from the Boston University School of Public Health. "For people who did quit smoking during the follow-up period, their risk of death dropped greatly. It doesn't quite go back to (non-smokers' risk), but it is significantly less," Siegel, who wasn't involved in the new research, told Reuters Health. But, he added, the study also "shows the tremendous negative consequences if we don't get people to quit." Siegel emphasized the importance of quit call lines as well as anti-smoking media campaigns. "We can't lose sight of all the current smokers out there and the fact that smoking cessation rates are really very low," he said. About three percent of smokers quit every year, Siegel said.

Anti-Smoking Law Will Save Lives

LAST week Senate passed the smoking control bill which had dragged on for more than two years. The bill was first tabled in parliament in June 2010, by Dr. Richard Sezibera, the then Health Minister, seeking to restrict smoking in public places, among other things. The house passed the bill unanimously.

The bill is timely and will help check the vice of public smoking, which not only endangers the health of smokers but also puts non-smokers at risk of contracting diseases associated with passive smoking. Documented health research shows that smoking is a health hazard for smokers and non-smokers who innocently become victims of passive smoking. Lung cancer has been linked to tobacco smoking.

Even at the national level, the health problems as a result of smoking take a toll on a country's labour force leading to low productivity. Smoking in public is unacceptable and many countries have moved to make this habit costly for those who do it. However it has a challenge of enforcement. Unless there are streamlined enforcement measures, implementation of the bill will be a big challenge.

The anti-smoking bill prohibits smoking in public areas like; office buildings, court premises, factories, cinema halls, theatres, hospitals, clinics, restaurants, hotels and bars among other places. There is a general consensus that public smoking should be stumped out but the success will depend on the enforcement mechanisms.

Smoking ban challenge rejected

The state Court of Appeals has rejected a former Macomb County bar owner's bid to have Michigan's smoking ban declared unconstitutional. In an opinion Thursday, the court ruled that because Boyd Cottrell's Warren bar went out of business, and he has no plans to open another, his attempt to halt the Macomb County Health Department from enforcing the ban on cigarette smoking in public places is moot.

The health department, in oral arguments before the appeals court, pointed out that it could no longer seek to sanction Cottrell for violating the smoking ban because his bar is closed. "Defendant is now out of business — accordingly, enjoining the ban's enforcement would not provide him any relief," the appeals court wrote. "Moreover, because the defendant has no plans to reopen, the continued enforcement of the smoking ban will not continue to affect him in a collateral way." But Cottrell's attorney, Theodore S. Andris, said Friday the battle isn't over. "I'm not done with this litigation," he said.

"This should be condemned as unconstitutional. Why is secondhand smoke in a casino OK, but not in a mom-and-pop bar? It defies logic." Andris could challenge the ruling in the state Supreme Court, but said he hasn't decided if he'll go that route. Cottrell, who owned Sporty O'Toole's, challenged the smoking ban last year in Macomb County Circuit Court. The law, which took effect May 1, 2010, bans smoking in all enclosed indoor bars and restaurants and on outdoor patios of establishments serving food and drinks.

Gambling floors at casinos are exempt. Andris has argued that the law unfairly restricted Cottrell's Mound Road bar, which offered food, drinks and state lottery games. The Michigan Department of Community Health previously said Cottrell's bar was a licensed food service establishment that has lottery machines and Detroit's casinos are licensed for gaming under the Michigan Gaming Control and Revenue Act. Cottrell was cited twice in 2010 for allowing patrons to smoke inside his bar.

Tobacco Giant Strikes Flu Vaccine Deal

Vaccines firm Medicago and Philip Morris Products (PMP) inked a $4.5 million up-front deal giving the latter an exclusive license to develop, commercialize, and manufacture Medicago’s pandemic and seasonal influenza vaccines in China. The firm separately licensed from PMP a portfolio of plant-based protein development technologies. PMP is a subsidiary of tobacco giant Philip Morris International, which holds a 40% stake in Medicago through its Philip Morris Investments operation.

As part of the flu vaccines deal, Medicago will receive $7.5 million in development milestones on top of its $4.5 million initial fee from PMP, plus future royalty payments on sales in China of seasonal or pandemic flu vaccines based on Medicago technologies. Under terms of the plant technologies deal, Medicago will make a $0.7 million payment to PMP, plus royalties on future sales of products that utilize the technologies, which include tools and methods for generating proteins in plants that the firm says will complement its existing technology platform.

Medicago is exploiting its virus-like particle (VLP) and plant-based expression technologies to develop vaccines and therapeutic proteins against infectious diseases. The firm’s internal pipeline is headed by a VLP-based pandemic H5N1 flu vaccine, which has completed Phase II trials and has been authorized for emergency use. A quadrivalent seasonal flu vaccine is approaching Phase II development.

Development of the pandemic vaccine is supported by a $21 million Department of Defense grant, and a PATH award is supporting further development of the firm’s influenza vaccines. Last month Medicago and partner The Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) were given regulatory go-ahead to start a Phase I trial evaluating an H5N1 influenza VLP vaccine combined with IDRI’s glucopyranosyl lipid A adjuvant.

Putin: quit smoking and drinking, watch the World Cup

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Vladimir Putin has been holding forth about what Russia will gain by investing billions of dollars in preparations for the 2018 World Cup. Apart from boosting investment in infrastructure, the football will have a positive impact on the health of the nation by encouraging people to quit smoking and drinking and play sports instead. Or so he says.

The Russian president was talking up the advantages of hosting World Cup at the weekend as football supremo Sepp Blatter arrived in Moscow to reveal the 11 cities in European Russia that FIFA has selected to host the football matches. The World Cup would promote healthy living in Russia by inspiring more young people to play sport, Putin told Russian television on Saturday.

“Once infected by sport they will give up alcohol and tobacco,” he said. “We have recently been giving more and more attention to sports programs and this is important bearing in mind our demographic programmes.” Russia has seen a serious fall in its population since the collapse of the Soviet Union that will have dire consequences for the economy if not reversed. Many demographic experts cite widespread smoking and alcohol abuse in Russia as the main cause of the demographic decline. Government efforts to address the problem, including advertising campaigns and draconian increases in alcohol and tobacco taxes, appear to be having results.

After falling from 148.7m to 141.9m between 1991 and 2009, the population inched up by 100,000 in 2011. It’s conceivable that hosting the prestigious World Cup will encourage healthy living in Russia not to mention the feel-good-factor that, demographers say, motivates people to have bigger families. But for all its hidden benefits, the event will be hugely expensive. Meeting Blatter at the weekend, Russia’s sports minister Vitaly Mutko said preparations for the football would cost about Rbs600bn ($19bn) – almost double earlier estimates. The government would foot 50 per cent of the bill itself and tap private investors for the rest, he said. Russian companies are already under pressure to help pay for the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 and will probably have to cough up for the World Cup as well.

Some investors see the football as an opportunity and are competing to pay for facilities. Leonid Fedun, the vice president of Lukoil, has won a bid to hold the World Cup semi-finals at the new stadium he is building for his Spartak football club in Moscow. Fedun’s project beat competition from VTB, the Russian bank, which is funding a new stadium for the Dinamo team in Moscow, according to Vedomosti, the Russian business daily. That’s Moscow. Less prosperous cities in Russia’s regions selected by FIFA (including Kazan, Sochi, Ekaterinburg, Samara, Saransk, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Volgograd and Kaliningrad) have even more to gain from hosting the events.

Putin spared some kind words for cities left off FIFA’s list. “Sadly this happens. But we will try to ensure that training centers are located in these cities and relaxation centers for sportsmen so that world champions playing in the competition will visit anyway.” Not much comfort there for Sergei Galitsky the billionaire general director of Russian food retailer Magnit. He had hoped the €200m stadium he is building for his Krasnodar football club, in southern Russia, would make it onto FIFA’s list. Galitsky told Vedomosti he would press on regardless with the stadium project out of love for football. He’ll also continue to support the new football school he has founded in Krasnodar to train future Russian champions. If successful they could be a bigger boost for Russian health programmes than the World Cup. Let’s hope Galitsky gets some thanks.

DACC to offer smoking-cessation class

Danville Area Community College will offer a class aimed at helping smokers kick the habit. The American Lung Association's Freedom from Smoking program be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 9, 16, 23, 30 and 31 and Nov. 6, 13 and 20 at the Bremer Center on DACC's campus, 2000 E. Main St. The class costs $50, and registration is capped at 15 participants. The program incorporates group sessions, practical counseling from trained facilitators and support from peers to assist people who are ready to quit smoking for good.

The sessions will guide participants through the entire quitting process from thinking seriously about quitting to staying smoke-free. Nicotine replacement therapy will be available to increase participants chances of success. DACC is offering the program as part of its tobacco-free initiative. The college's tobacco-free policy, which took effect Aug. 1, prohibits the consumption of tobacco or tobacco products on the campus. Tobacco is defined as "any lighted or unlighted cigarette, cigar, pipe, bidi, clove cigarette and any other smoking product or products that appear to be a cigarette.

This also includes smokeless or spit tobacco also known as dip, chew, snuff or snus, in any form." Officials decided to go tobacco-free out of respect for others and the environment and to be consistent with the college's mission. According to the World Health Organization, quitting smoking is one of the best things people can do to improve their overall health.

Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death. According to the American Lung Association, tobacco-related diseases kill 438,000 Americans annually and smoking is responsible for approximately one in five deaths in the U.S. Also, between 1997 and 2001, cigarette smoking cost the economy over $167 billion in annual health care costs and lost productivity.

Let students decide smoking policy

I’m Nick Brewer, an economics major here at MWSU and a non-smoker. That being stated, a smoke free-campus robs students of possibly the most valuable lesson college has taught me; opportunity cost. That life is full of choices and tradeoffs between goods and services. These past four years have been a safe place to experiment with those choices and tradeoffs with less dire consequences than in the real world. The traditional student comes to college to live alone for the first time. Finally, personal freedom triumphs over paternalism.

 I, the scholar of MWSU, am finally able to make choices on my own (Freedom) as opposed to some authority making that decision for me. (Paternalism) I came to college to experience less paternalism and more personal freedom. Not to have mommy western slap a no-no stick out of my hand. MWSU is not for children and it is not an equitable practice prohibit an activity that students are willing and able to participate in. I took part in that “Scholarly Research” Dr. Suzanne Kissock claims supports her smoke free campus. The study that claims “student majority indorses it.” (smoke-free campus)

That survey/study, which I participated in, would be a shame to any statistician. According to that survey, I support a smoke-free campus. ”Why” you ask? The free tee-shirt. Not from my ardent opposition to smoking on campus. As for Dr. William Russell statement that a new tobacco policy “allows us to make it easier for people to engage in healthy behaviors,” I say: “Say what you mean, and mean what you say.”

 You aren’t suggesting we “make it easier for people to engage in healthy behaviors,” as if we are being done a favor, students will be forced into a particular way of life that they may not have chosen themselves. Lastly, I am surprised this article didn’t bring up the Murphy/Eder smokers. This has been the only viable argument in this whole discussion because it brings up the negative externality presented when smoking close to buildings and brings John Stuart Mill’s “harm principle” into the argument. As my rebuttal to this point I make a very simple observation; if you don’t want people smoking by the doors, don’t put the cigarette dispensers by the doors.

Ledge Light to host tobacco information meeting

The Ledge Light Health District, 216 Broad St., will be one of four satellite locations statewide offering a free interactive tobacco information meeting and webinar from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Oct. 16.

 Hosted by the Wheeler Clinic’s Connecticut Clearinghouse, the webinar will be conducted by the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services as part of the Connecticut Merchant Education Campaign. It will highlight the results of Connecticut’s tobacco compliance operations, provide updates on how retailers can continue to follow the law, and offer opportunities for participants to ask questions.

SD prison tobacco ban substantially burdens Native American inmates’ religious rights

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the South Dakota prison system’s ban on tobacco in religious ceremonies substantially burdens Native American inmates’ religious rights. Chief Judge Karen Schreier ruled that even if state officials had asserted a compelling governmental interest, they did not prove that the complete ban was the least restrictive means available to further that governmental interest. Schreier said in her ruling that inmates and officials should meet and propose an appropriate, narrowly tailored injunction, which should include revisions to the tobacco policy for inmates practicing the Lakota religion.

She cited cases involving prisons in Missouri, Texas and Pennsylvania that allowed their inmates to use tobacco for religious purposes in ceremonies. “This widespread allowance of tobacco in prisons lends substantial credence to plaintiffs’ position that less restrictive alternatives to a complete ban on the use of tobacco in Lakota religious ceremonies is possible,” Schreier wrote. James Moore, the officials’ attorney, said he was reading through the ruling and was not yet ready to comment.

The inmates’ attorney, Pamela Bollweg, did not immediately return voice mail and email messages. Inmates Blaine Brings Plenty and Clayton Creek in their 2009 federal lawsuit against the South Dakota Department of Corrections contended that the policy was discriminatory. The state said ceremonial tobacco inside the state penitentiary was becoming increasingly abused, and the policy was not overly restrictive because it allowed other botanicals such as red willow bark to be burned.

The Justice Department, in a brief filed in July, said the state’s position ran contrary to the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and U.S. Supreme Court precedent. The South Dakota prison system went tobacco-free in 2000 but made an exception for tobacco used in Native American ceremonies. Officials in October 2009 eliminated that exemption, saying tobacco was being sold or bartered and inmates had been caught separating it from their pipe mixtures and prayer ties.

Members of prison-based Native American Council of Tribes sued, arguing that for Native American prayer to be effective, it must be embodied in tobacco and offered within a ceremonial framework. Brings Plenty and Creek in their suit said the policy change violated their U.S. constitutional rights ensuring that no prisoner be penalized or discriminated against for their religious beliefs or practices. Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.