Tobacco News

You’ve probably heard of the Great American Smokeout. Taking place the third Thursday every November, the Smokeout is a date when tobacco users everywhere are encouraged to quit for a day.

While there is nothing magic about the third Thursday of November, former smokers will tell you that there is something to the idea of setting a specific date to quit.

For Eric Mathis, that date was Oct. 7 of this year – the day that he married his sweetheart, Tracy. Ream more »

The smokers of the British Columbia (BC) are seeking help to quit smoking by calling telephonic help lines. A program called the Province’s smoking cessation was launched on 30th of September 2011, to help smokers in quitting smoke. As per the program, the smokers can get themselves registered with the Medical Services Plan to experience the benefits of the program.

The government has invested as many as $3 million to help smokers quit smoking. A number of plans are also run by the government in which smokers are encouraged to quit smoke. Ream more »

The alarming spread of illegal contraband cigarettes is to blame for hundreds of job losses in the retail sector this year, reports the Kilkenny Advertiser.

Worldwide contraband tobacco is detrimental to society, robbing governments of valuable tax dollars, harming retailer profitability and illegally putting tobacco products in the hands of underage consumers. Ream more »

Today 45 million Americans are being asked to stop smoking for one day with the hopes that they`ll quit altogether. And to help, St. Mary`s High School students were spreading anti-tobacco messages.

Tobacco remains the leading preventable cause of death in North Dakota. Many hope that will soon change if smokers stop lighting up in honor of the Great American Smokeout.

These students know the serious consequences of smoking.
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Carried out by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, it uses data from Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, which has tracked more than 10,000 children since 2004.

The institute’s LSAC manager, Ben Edwards, said alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking were related to the age of the mother and women were not heeding health warnings.
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Ernakulam, the first smoke-free tourism destination in the country continues to have people smoking in public places. Also, the promise by the authorities, to initiate strict measures against selling tobacco products in common places, has not been fulfilled. Social activists said that such initiatives limit themselves to words and are not put in to action.
Since, smoking in public places is banned, the defaulters should be fined properly but this doesn’t seem to be happening, the activists added. Ream more »

Tobacco use among the mentally ill far outstrips use by other groups. The findings, released this month in a report, “A Hidden Epidemic: Tobacco Use and Mental Illness,” by the nonprofit Legacy put the rate at almost double that in the general population.

It doesn’t have to be. Virginia banned tobacco use for patients and staff in its 16 state psychiatric facilities in 2008. The smoking ban, implemented by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services was precipitated by Executive Order No. 41 issued by former Gov. Tim Kaine in 2006. Ream more »

I am a former smoker. I hate the odor of tobacco smoke. I will not go to anyplace that allows smoking. I am fully aware of the dangers of smoking and of secondhand smoke. However, I believe that an overreaching government is much more dangerous.

How can it be right that government can dictate whether or not a private business can allow customers to use a legal product in their premises? No one is forced to frequent or to work in a business that allows smoking. Each of us can choose where we wish to spend our time and our hard-earned income. Ream more »

Students from schools and colleges across the state will together read a pledge titled Tambaku matlab Khallas (Tobacco means The End) on Children’s Day on Monday. The pledge reading ceremony will kickstart a huge campaign against tobacco consumption by the youth.

A circular dated November 11 issued by the state’s higher and technical education department, has directed all educational institutes to carry out a collective reading of the anti-tobacco pledge on November 14. Ream more »

Barnstable was the first town on Cape Cod to ban smoking in restaurants, and it is poised to be the first to consider the ban of tobacco products at pharmacies and stores with pharmacies in them. Board of Health Chairman Dr. Wayne Miller told his colleagues this week that he would like to consider similar regulations to the ones adopted by the Boston Public Health Commission.

“I believe this board has always been proactive in tobacco health issues, so I would like us to consider this,” he said at the close of the Nov. 8 meeting. Ream more »