Tobacco.org

Tobacco ban praised at conference 

After months of intense debate, the moment has arrived. Thursday, the start of the campus-wide tobacco ban, coinciding with the 34th Great American Smokeout, is finally here.

At a news conference Thursday, members of the Tobacco-Free Campus Task Force highlighted some of the implementation and treatment plans, while encouraging tobacco users to quit.

Thursday is a historical day for UK, said UK President Lee Todd, and the plan puts students, staff and faculty first.

Co-chair of the task force Ellen Hahn said between Nov. 11 and Nov. 17, 1,282 UK employees were anonymously surveyed, in which 26 percent said they would be more likely to quit using tobacco because of this policy. In the same survey, 76 percent said the policy would reduce secondhand smoke, and more than 50 percent said the policy would help them quit using, Hahn said.

From Sept. 10 through Nov. 13, 667 students were surveyed. Around 34 percent said the policy would reduce their tobacco use, and 27 percent said they would quit in the next 30 days at that time.

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A Transdermal Nicotine Patch Is Not Effective for Postoperative Pain Management in Smokers: A Pilot Dose-Ranging Study 

BACKGROUND: Nicotine has an antinociceptive effect in animal models. The analgesic effect in humans has been examined, but studies have had mixed results. . . .

CONCLUSIONS: Transdermal nicotine, 5-15 mg, failed to relieve postoperative pain or reduce opioid use in smokers.

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ClearWay Minnesota Board Approves $1.8 Million for Research Grants 

At its Board Meeting on Nov. 18, the Board of Directors of ClearWay Minnesota approved five grants for new research on topics ranging from cigarette replacement products to commercial tobacco use in Minnesota's American Indian communities. ClearWay Minnesota will award more than $1.8 million to Minnesota researchers through these grants.

"These new grant awards show our continuing commitment to the innovative research that shapes our work to reduce tobacco's harm," said David Willoughby, Chief Executive Officer at ClearWay Minnesota. "This significant investment in research will pay healthy dividends for Minnesotans well into the future."

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LCA Releases 5th National Report Card on Lung Cancer 

Today, Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) released its annual National Report Card on Lung Cancer, an overall assessment of efforts to reduce lung cancer's mortality.

2009 marks the 5th-year of the release of the National Report Card on Lung Cancer, issued each November during Lung Cancer Awareness Month. The Report Card is distributed to media outlets, health reporters, public health leaders, and Congress and other elected officials.

The 2009 Report Card notes slight improvements in the grades from last year's assessment.

"It is important to note progress - and I am happy to report that we have seen slight upticks in the grades this year, specifically in the area of Clinical Trials and Overall Federal Commitment to improving the federal response to lung cancer," said Laurie Fenton Ambrose, LCA President & CEO.

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EDITORIAL: Coffin nails: State smoking worst  

Sadly, West Virginia has America's worst rate of deadly cigarette smoking and exposure to dangerous second-hand smoke inside homes. That's the finding of a Centers for Disease Control survey released last week. A CDC announcement said:

"Among states, smoking prevalence was highest in West Virginia (26.6 percent), Indiana (26.1 percent) and Kentucky (25.3 percent). ... Home exposure [to second-hand smoke] varied widely from 3 percent of adults exposed in their homes in Arizona to 10.1 and 10.6 percent, respectively, in Mississippi and West Virginia." . . .

Nicotine is as addictive as heroin. Tobacco companies are basically drug pushers, because their profits depend on getting young Americans hooked, then reaping revenue from them for years - with little concern for health damage they suffer.

Today, the American Cancer Society will hold its yearly Great American Smokeout, urging hooked people to overcome their craving for cigarettes. It isn't easy. Personal courage and willpower are required to fight off the deadly habit. But we urge West Virginia's excessive number of smokers to be brave and break free.

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Recent Decline in U.S. Smoking Prevalence Stalls  

The United States likely will fall well short of the Healthy People 2010 objective of reducing to less than 12 percent the prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults.

According to a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, or MMWR, article released Nov. 13, the proportion of U.S. adults who were cigarette smokers declined from 24.1 percent in 1998 to 19.8 percent in 2007. However, the figure increased to 20.6 percent in 2008.

The CDC said in the MMWR article that none of the states are funding tobacco control programs at levels the agency has recommended. CDC officials said funding at recommended levels is needed to continue and improve tobacco control programs, especially to reach populations that have disproportionately high rates of smoking. . . .

The AAFP's tobacco cessation program, Ask and Act, encourages members to ask their patients about tobacco use and to then act to help them quit. Through the Ask and Act program, AAFP members have access to a variety of resources to help patients quit using tobacco,

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• Cigarette butts toxic to fish, say researchers 

Cigarette butts are toxic to fish and should be labeled as toxic hazardous waste, U.S. researchers say.

Scientists at San Diego State University say that a single cigarette butt containing a small amount of unburnt tobacco is enough to contaminate a litre of water and kill half of the fish swimming in it.

"Based on this new research, we believe that cigarettes should be considered toxic waste and new requirements need to be established for how they are disposed," Tom Novotny, a public health professor at San Diego State University, said in a statement.

The researchers tested the toxicity of the tobacco on fresh and saltwater fish: fathead minnows and top smelt — two species that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency typically uses in pollution studies.

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• Smoke Gets In Your Imac: Smoking Near Apple Computers Creates Biohazard, Voids Warranty 

Did you know, that smoking isn't good for your computer, either? It's true, at least according to Apple. Two readers in different parts of the country claim that their Applecare warranties were voided due to secondhand smoke. Both readers appealed their cases up to the office of God Steve Jobs himself. Both lost. . . .

Dena [from Jobs' office] did advise me that nicotine is on OSHA's list of hazardous substances and Apple would not require an employee to repair anything deemed hazardous to their health. However, OSHA also lists calcium carbonate (found in calcium tablets), isopropyl alcohol (used to clean wounds), chlorine (used in swimming pools), hydrogen peroxide (also used to clean wounds), sucrose (a sugar), talc (as in powder), etc... as hazardous substances.

...

Dena set up an appointment at the same Apple store. They told me that they would take pictures of the computer - both inside and out before determining whether to proceed and that if the only problem was the optical drive, they'd probably just replace it. Dena called me earlier this week to deliver the "bad news." She said that the computer is beyond economical repair due to tar from cigarette smoke! She said the hard drive is about to fail, the optical drive has failed and it isn't feasible to repair the computer under the warranty. This computer is less than 2 years old! Only one person in my household smokes - one 21 year old college student. She said that I can get it repaired elsewhere at my expense. I asked why my warranty didn't cover the repair and was told it's an OSHA violation.

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• Smoking can make H1N1 effects worse  

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has named groups of people at a high risk of developing serious complications from H1N1 Influenza.

In keeping with the last two subpopulation releases which were focused on pregnant women and breastfeeding moms, the Sedgwick County Health Department will continue to send monthly releases focused on different subgroups.

Currently, one of the highest-priority groups consists of persons with chronic respiratory conditions.

These types of conditions, including asthma and heart disease, often arise from smoking.

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How smoking can ruin your Mac 

However, I am embalmed in a curious sympathy after reading a report from The Consumerist concerning two Mac users whose AppleCare warranties appear to have been voided due to the presence of cigarette smoke in their homes.

One, named Derek, recounts the tale of his overheating black MacBook. He took it into the Apple store in Jordan Creek, West Des Moines.

He told The Consumerist: "Today, April, 28, 2008, the Apple store called and informed me that due to the computer having been used in a house where there was smoking, that has voided the warranty and they refuse to work on the machine, due to 'health risks of secondhand smoke.'"

He continued: "Nowhere in your AppleCare terms of service can I find anything mentioning being used in a smoking environment as voiding the warranty." . . .

Then along came Ruth, who took her son's iMac to an authorized repair center. After five days, they apparently told her they couldn't work on it because it was contaminated with cigarette smoke and was therefore a bio-hazard.

When Ruth appealed to Jobs' office, she said she was told by someone named Dena that nicotine was on OSHA's list of hazardous substances. . . .

What is the science of all this? And what might be the appropriate commercial response? Should Apple place a clear disclaimer referring to secondhand smoke in the AppleCare terms? Or should Microsoft make a new Laptop Hunter ad in which a very attractive, happy person says, "I'm not cool enough and I smoke, so I would never be able to get a Mac fixed"?

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Fewer Ohioans lighting up; funding woes cause future worry 

Confronted with a public smoking ban, higher sin taxes and more anti-smoking efforts, fewer Ohioans are lighting up.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 20.2 percent of Ohioans smoked in 2008, a 7.5 percent decline from 2001, when Ohio ranked fourth in the country for smokers. The CDC data goes back to 1998, when the smoking rate was 26.2.

Ohio now has the 17th-highest rate of smokers, according to the study. The CDC reports 21.5 percent of men in Ohio smoked and 19 percent of women.

But there are fears those numbers could rise again.

In 2008, the state cut funding for the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation, which funded community anti-smoking initiatives after the state received its share of a settlement with tobacco companies. The foundation began in 2000 with a $40 million budget.

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Even Smokers Support Bans at Work 

Most smokers around the world support workplace smoking bans, according to a new study.

Researchers surveyed more than 3,500 employees who smoke and more than 1,400 employers (smokers and nonsmokers) in the United States and 13 other countries. They found that 74 percent of employees who smoke and 87 percent of employers said the workplace should be smoke-free.

"Although there was widespread variation among countries, overall the results demonstrate global support for workplace smoking bans," lead author Michael Halpern, a senior fellow at RTI International, said in a news release. "This study shows support for additional programs and policies to increase those bans and assist employees with smoking cessation."

Support for workplace smoking bans was greatest in India (85 percent) and Japan (75 percent), and much lower in Germany (33 percent) and Poland (37 percent).

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Toddlers, Obese Kids Suffer Most From Smoke 

Secondhand smoke harms the cardiovascular health of children, especially toddlers and obese youngsters, U.S. researchers say.

Their study of 52 toddlers (aged 2 to 5) and 107 adolescents (aged 9 to 18) found an association between the amount of secondhand smoke exposure and a marker of vascular injury in toddlers. This link was two times greater in obese toddlers, the study authors noted.

Toddlers exposed to secondhand smoke showed a 30 percent reduction in circulating vascular endothelial progenitor cells, which are cells that are involved in the repair and maintenance of blood vessels.

The researchers also found that obese adolescents exposed to secondhand smoke had twice the evidence of vascular injury compared to normal-weight adolescents.

Despite having similar reported home settings, toddlers were four times more likely than adolescents to be exposed to secondhand smoke, the study authors added.

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Report claims fewer Ohioans are lighting up  

Confronted with a public smoking ban, higher sin taxes and more anti-smoking efforts, fewer Ohioans are lighting up.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 20.2 percent of Ohioans smoked in 2008, a 7.5 percent decline from 2001, when Ohio ranked fourth in the country for smokers. The CDC data goes back to 1998, when the smoking rate was 26.2.

Ohio now has the 17th-highest rate of smokers, according to the study. The CDC reports that 21.5 percent of men in Ohio smoked and 19 percent of women.

But some fear those numbers could rise again.

In 2008, the state cut funding for the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation, which funded community anti-smoking initiatives after the state received its share of a settlement with tobacco companies. The foundation began in 2000 with a $40 million budget.

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Predictors of smoking relapse by duration of abstinence: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey  

Aim To explore predictors of smoking relapse and how predictors vary according to duration of abstinence. . . .

Findings Relapse was associated with lower abstinence self-efficacy and a higher frequency of urges to smoke, but only after the first month or so of quitting. Both these measures mediated relationships between perceived benefits of smoking and relapse. Perceived costs of smoking and benefits of quitting were unrelated to relapse.

Conclusions Challenging perceived benefits of smoking may be an effective way to increase abstinence self-efficacy and reduce frequency of urges to smoke (particularly after the initial weeks of quitting), in order to reduce subsequent relapse risk.

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