Tobacco News

High school tobacco use and drinking declined between 2009 and 2011, but it’s still easy for Vermont teens to get booze when they want it. Those are among the results of the 2011 Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which was released Wednesday during a news conference at the Statehouse.

Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Harry Chen and Vermont Education Commissioner Armando Vilaseca said they were heartened by the decline in drinking and by a drop in cigarette smoking, which they attributed to broad community prevention work and teens making the right choices.
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At Halloween and all year-long, kid-friendly flavors, colorful packaging and scheming marketing campaigns target young people, while masking the harmful tendencies of tobacco.

Believe it or not tobacco companies are still selling candy-flavored tobacco products. Even though candy flavored cigarettes have been banned by the FDA, our local youth are still trying flavored cigars, cigarillos and smokeless tobacco products.
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Teens: Cigarette smoking may be declining among the general population, but news from the American Cancer Society says that teenage girls aren’t so quick to kick the habit. In fact, young women today are out-puffing their male classmates. Although the number of teen smokers has dropped in recent years, the decrease has not been equal among boys and girls. Four years ago, smoking by high school seniors of both sexes was about even. Twenty-eight percent of the seniors smoked. Now 16 percent of senior boys smoke while 20 percent of senior girls light up. Ream more »

Illegal tobacco sales to minors have fallen to their lowest level on record in California.

Sixteen years ago, teens were able to buy tobacco products 37 percent of the time. State health officials say that’s dropped to 5.6 percent this year.

The prevalence of adult smoking, meantime, is just under 12 percent, the second-lowest in the nation.
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Wide variation in sales rates was seen across cities within the county. Lompoc had the highest rate of illegal tobacco sales to minors at 31%. Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria, Guadalupe, and unincorporated parts of the county also exceeded the state rate of sales to minors. Solvang and Buellton had no sales of tobacco to minors, and Santa Maria sales rates were comparable to the state average.
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According to a recent study conducted by a charity society, children are more and more tempted to try smoking these days. With increasing peer pressure, children are trying such evils every day and then gradually becoming addicted to them. They try these things merely to get a taste of being in the `in’ group of the class. They don’t realize they are putting their lives into jeopardy by initiating to try these things.
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East Noble students were charged with theft and cited for tobacco possession by a minor in separate incidents reported Friday.

A 14-year-old girl from Kendallville was charged Tuesday with theft at East Noble Middle School following an investigation on Sept. 6, reported East Noble resource officer Sgt. John Dixon on Friday. The case was forwarded to Noble County juvenile probation.
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The Middlesex County Substance Abuse Action Council is teaming up with a production company to shoot a video intended to discourage teens from smoking.

Filming on the video begins Saturday at Agogliatti Field in Portland at 9 a.m.

Portions of the video will also be shot at the Typhoon Restaurant on Main Street in downtown Middletown and at a private home in Middletown, as well as in Portland. Ream more »

If Friday evening’s events are any indication, Enid retailers are getting the message about not selling tobacco to minors.

Kara Savage, a regional prevention coordinator for PreventionWorkz, and two youths visited 16 Enid stores Friday evening and were unable to purchase tobacco at any of them.

“I think all the times we’ve done this, it’s finally getting through to them,” Savage said.
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A HIGHLAND shop that sold cigarettes to an under-age “customer” has been hit by two fixed penalties of £200.
Highland Council’s Trading Standards department issued the two notices after a test-purchase exercise undertaken across the Highlands that involved the use of a young volunteer.
The £200 penalties, which were new sanctions introduced by Scottish legislation earlier this year, were issued to the shop assistant who made the illegal sale and to the company operating the shop premises in the Badenoch and Strathspey area. Ream more »