Tobacco News

Annual government funding for tobacco control is just several hundred thousand yuan for each province on the Chinese mainland, far below what’s needed and much less than the amounts provided in other countries, anti-smoking experts said.
In the United States, hundreds of millions of dollars are allocated annually for tobacco control research and projects, said Jonathan Samet, chairman of the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Ream more »

The Tooele City Planning Commission gave an affirmative nod to a new ordinance that restricts the location of smoke shops in Tooele at their meeting Wednesday evening.

After a brief public hearing, the planning commission voted 6-1 to advance the ordinance to the city council with a favorable recommendation. The 30-page zoning ordinance bans any new tobacco shops within 1,500 feet of any school, park, recreational facility, youth center, library, church, other tobacco store, residential area or area zoned for residential use. The ordinance also forbids any such shops on Vine Street.
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Public health officials are disappointed with new findings that show there has been no significant change in tobacco usage among teenagers during the past few years. The Minnesota Department of Health survey shows that among high schoolers tobacco use remains stagnant, at around 26 percent.

Pete Rode of the Department’s Center for Health Statistics said current tobacco trends among teens could be partly related to the lack of new policy initiatives. Messaging could be one factor. Rode said there have been no significant tobacco taxes or anti-smoking ordinances passed in the last few years. Higher tobacco taxes in particular are often associated with a drop in tobacco use.
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Insurance companies have put forward a proposal to charge a higher premium for covering smokers as a new form of motivator for individuals to quit their cigarette habit.
WalMart is among the organizations spearheading this effort to make it more expensive for smokers to obtain health insurance coverage. However, whether or not it is right for medical insurance to make this choice is just as important as whether or not people will actually take control over their own health risks and stop their smoking habit. Ream more »

Repeated pleas to derail, or at least delay, sending a smoking restrictions proposal to Hannibal voters next April went up in smoke Tuesday night when the city council approved allowing the matter appear on the ballot by a 4-3 vote.
Tuesday’s vote was closer than when the measure came up for a first reading on Nov. 15. That vote wound up 5-2. Switching camps Tuesday night was Councilman Barry Louderman, who indicated prior to the vote he is not opposed to a smoking ban. Ream more »

‘Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non-Smoker Health Law’ was passed by the federal cabinet in 2002. Through this law, smoking was prohibited at all public places, including hotels, restaurants and cafes, and restrictions were placed on tobacco advertising as well as on the sale of tobacco to minors. A resolution against smoking shisha in restaurants and public places was also passed by the Sindh Assembly earlier this year.
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Big-tobacco companies have been losing battles for years as smokers have been run out of bars and restaurants across America as well as heavy taxes that help fund anti-smoking programs. The anti-tobacco marketing appear to have helped make smoking uncool, with less than 20% of American adults smoking last year, part of a “decades-long decline” as the Wall Street Journal puts it.
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Patrons of Oceanside’s Civic Center library who step outside for a breath of fresh air will no longer be confronted with clouds of cigarette smoke under a proposal by Mayor Jim Wood.
Wood wants to ban smoking in the city’s Civic Center complex, which includes the library, City Hall and an open air plaza and fountain.
“Everybody hangs out around the fountain out there and the library,” said Wood, a nonsmoker. “It’s kind of a congregation of smokers.” Ream more »

The Tobacco Control Cell has sent an explanation notice to a tobacco giant for getting published advertisements in national dailies and magazines in violation of anti-tobacco rules.
The letter bearing signature of Director General, Tobacco Control Cell, Dr Assad Hafeez directed the Philip Morris International Pakistan to submit a written reply in seven day of the receipt of this letter under the relevant law, says a press statement on Saturday. Ream more »

Sale and consumption of tobacco and related products is on the rise in the state, posing a serious problem for children who are the most vulnerable. To nip the problem in the bud, the state unit of National Tobacco Control Programme had brought it to the notice of chief minister Tarun Gogoi, who appealed to all concerned to stop sale of such products within 100 yards of educational institutes.

According to the recent findings of the global adult tobacco survey (GATS), Assam has about 40 per cent of the overall prevalence of tobacco use. Ream more »