Tobacco News

A new study has found that smokers who find out they have cancer may experience more pain than cancer patients who are nonsmokers, reports CNN Health.

After a survey was conducted that included 224 cancer patients with several different diagnoses, researchers asked each one about pain severity, distress from pain, and how pain affected their everyday life. The results showed that cancer patients who smoked experienced much more severe pain than those who never smoked or were ex-smokers. Ream more »

Massachusetts ranks 37th in the nation when it comes to funding anti-tobacco efforts, and tobacco control specialists in Berkshire County — where the smoking rate is above the statewide average — say the state’s financial strain is impacting smoking cessation and prevention efforts.

“This is the life we live now,” said Joan Rubel, project coordinator of the Northern Berkshire Tobacco-Free Community Partnership at Berkshire AHEC. “I think what’s in place in the state is an infrastructure at a very low level of tobacco cessation and prevention work.”
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Bihar government has set up a state tobacco control cell in view of the growing number of deaths due to tobacco-related diseases. National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP), which has brought positive impact in other states, will be implemented both in letter and spirit in the state soon.

The government decision to set up a cell follows publication of a report in TOI highlighting virtual non-implementation of the smoking ban in Bihar.
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On Thursday, Health Minister Nicola Roxon announced that the subsidized nicotine patches will be available under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from February 1 to make smokers give up smoking.

“Cancer scars the lives of too many Australians and we know that reducing the smoking rate is one of the most effective ways to reduce the rate of death from this terrible disease”, said Ms. Roxon.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers assigned to the Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection (SENTRI) at the Stanton Street international bridge revoked the SENTRI privileges of an El Paso man after finding contraband hidden in his vehicle Monday afternoon. Ream more »

Hebert’s appointment is effective immediately, according to a Louisiana State Police news release.
He replaces Murphy Painter, who resigned under fire in August while under investigation for stalking and sexually harassing a former employee.
“The office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control is a critical regulatory agency and it is important that we are receptive to consumers and industry,” Hebert said. Ream more »

I’m a smoker. These days, the guilt carried with saying those words is embarrassing, like admitting to wetting the bed, perhaps, or acknowledging that you used to steal bikes as a child. But I’m a smoker nonetheless.

When I first heard about the Food and Drug Administration’s new proposed changes to cigarette packs, I was appalled. The changes involve covering the top half of cigarette packs with pictures of diseased lungs and corpses. That’s right: pictures of actual corpses.
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Tobacco Free Hall County has announced the winners of the 2010 “Be Smart, Don’t Start” Art Contest.

The contest spotlights young people not starting to use tobacco, which has been a focus of Tobacco Free Hall County for five years.

Kathleen Sebelius, federal secretary of health and human services, recently announced that youths not starting tobacco use is now one of the federal government’s primary objectives in the national fight against tobacco. Ream more »

As the third-largest population among the 20-odd countries still resisting ratification of the World Health Organization’s 2003 Convention on Tobacco Control (after the United States — notoriously allergic to joining international conventions of any kind — and Indonesia), Argentina is very much in the sights of the global anti-smoking campaign — it thus might or might not be a coincidence that this city was chosen for the sessions of the WHO study group on regulating tobacco products from Monday until yesterday.
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Fewer people have tried to give up smoking in England during the recession than did so before, research suggests.

Although it can be an expensive habit, experts say some people rely on smoking during hard times.

In 2007 – before the recession – about 32% of smokers said they had tried to quit within the past three months.
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