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Amazon.com: Global Tobacco Control: Power, Policy, Governance and Transfer 

The first major book by political scientists explaining global tobacco control policy. It identifies a history of minimal tobacco control then charts the extent to which governments have regulated tobacco in the modern era. It identifies major policy change from the post-war period and uses theories of public policy to help explain the change.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is an excellent case study in which the authors provide a thorough account of global tobacco control issues using political and public policy analysis. The book is clearly written, accessible and will be of great interest to students of politics, policy analysis and public health."

- Rob Baggott, Professor, Health Policy Research Unit, De Montfort University, UK

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Professor’s new book takes political, cultural look at tobacco policies  

West Virginia University political science Professor Donley Studlar has published a new book that evaluates tobacco policies around the world.

"Global Tobacco Control: Power, Policy, Governance and Transfer," explores the history of the tobacco industry and major concerns in the market.

The book focuses on the gap between policy problems in the industry and government response across the globe, in addition to the vast changes in the system over the past 60 years, Studlar said.

"Smoking is a very culturally and economically embedded practice in many countries. One of the most remarkable things is how much change there has been," he said. "While policies still vary in Western, industrialized countries, there's been a convergence of policies as information has diffused concerning the dangers of cigarette smoking, as well as how different countries have dealt with them."

Studlar said the modern view on smoking in the United States has contributed to economic shifts in the marketplace.

"In the 1950s, cigarette smoking was just normal and no one really objected to the situation. Today, smoking is denormalized, and there are restrictions on tobacco," he said. "What we're trying to do in this book is explore that shift - how it came about and the differences across countries."

"Smoking is usually thought of as a public health issue, but it's also a very political issue, and the fact that it is perceived differently in different countries indicates that."

Smoking is the number one cause of preventable death in the world, but many countries do not possess any laws regulating smoking, he said.

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• PAHO Report Urges Higher Tobacco Taxes, Bans on Advertising  

A growing number of countries in the Americas are adopting effective measures to reduce consumption of tobacco and exposure to secondhand smoke. But a new report from the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) recommends further measures, particularly increases in tobacco taxes and bans on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship.

The new Tobacco Control Report for the Region of the Americas summarizes progress in countries’ implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the world’s first international public health treaty, which requires States Parties to apply a series of policies and measures aimed at reducing tobacco consumption and protecting people from secondhand smoke. The treaty has been in force since 2005.

Of 35 countries in the Americas, 29 have ratified the FCTC, most recently, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Kitts and Nevis.

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Illinois Tobacco-Free Communities grant assist in checking Smoke-Free Act compliance  

Local government officials announced a collaborative effort to enforce the Smoke-Free Illinois Act within the community. The Peoria City/County Health Department is providing Illinois Tobacco-Free Communities Grant funds to support coordination of local law enforcement efforts to conduct Smoke-Free Act compliance checks in public places where smoking is prohibited.

The Smoke-Free Illinois Act prohibits smoking in virtually all public places in order to reduce exposure to second hand smoke.

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Bid to filter out the glamour from cigs 

PARENTS in South Tyneside are being urged to help protect children from starting to smoke by backing a new campaign calling for plain tobacco packaging.

The Plain Packs Protect campaign is being launched by health campaigners Fresh, aimed at banning the kind of glitzy packaging which can attract youngsters.

Kids as young as nine in the region have been reported as starting smoking, and colourfully eye-catching and increasingly innovative packs of cigarettes can act as ‘silent salesmen’.

The campaign comes after the Gazette revealed last week that the overall cost of smoking-related hospital admissions in the borough has risen to £3.9m annually.

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Editorial: N.J. should restore funds for anti-smoking programs to save lives, cut healthcare costs 

Here's a suggestion for the state Legislature's #8220;to do" list: Restore the state's commitment to anti-smoking programs that have the potential to save lives and healthcare costs.

The recent report "Up in Smoke" from the American Cancer Society found the state has raised about $5 billion in tobacco revenues over the last five years, yet has spent just 0.08 percent of that on programs to help smokers quit.

The vast sum stems from New Jersey's taxes on tobacco products, including a $2.70 levy on each pack of cigarettes, as well as revenue from a 1998 settlement with big tobacco companies that lied for decades about the dangers of smoking. The money distributed annually to 46 states was intended for investment in tobacco-control efforts . . .

If taxes the state already collects on tobacco products are not enough to pay for the comprehensive programs and outreach, the Legislature must consider increasing those taxes.

Increasing the cost may convince smokers who are on the fence that it's time to stop; the extra revenue certainly will aid those who have made up their minds and just need some help to quit.

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WILLIAMS: Tobacco ban wouldn't be most effective step 

According to researchers, more than 1 in 5 high school and middle school students are passengers in cars while others are smoking. (One caveat: In the case of the high school students, the study did not determine if they were in cars with their parents or their peers.)

The study, based on national surveys in schools, and released by the CDC Monday, reports that more than 22 percent of teens and preteens were exposed to secondhand smoke in cars in 2009. That's the latest year that data are available, according to the Associated Press, but we doubt it has changed much, except perhaps to rise. . . .

Smoking is a bad habit. Smokers know it. But turning smokers into criminals isn't the answer. Raising cigarette prices has been somewhat effective, although that has created a black-market trade that will only get worse.

Attempts at prohibition didn't work with alcohol. And let's be honest: It hasn't worked with drugs. Why would we expect it to work with tobacco?

Education would be a more worthy effort, if we spent as much time ― and funding ― on discussion as we spend trying to dictate individual behavior.

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Put the brakes on tobacco, 

MIDLAND - Nancy Bell, a public health nurse with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, and Bourgeois Motors sales manager Adam Moreau are encouraging local cigarette smokers to quit the habit and enter the provincial Driven to Quit challenge. The deadline to enter online at www.driventoquit.ca is Feb. 29. Participants must remain tobacco free through the month of March for a chance to win a 2012 Ford Fusion or Edge.

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ENOCHS: IN RESPONSE: Smoking issue a political football  

On Saturday, Dr. Ray Nicholson, Vanderburgh County health officer, wrote a Community Comment in this newspaper and stated that owners of smoking establishments are more interested in profit than people.

He wrote: "Their claims are made in the name of freedom of choice, when it is, in fact, perceived financial gain." The state of Indiana and the U.S. government are "in fact" profiting from the sale and use of cigarettes to the tune of roughly $2 per pack. . . .

Bans and stigmatizing individuals may make nonsmokers feel self-righteous and "pro-active," but they do nothing to help smokers want to quit. In fact, they make many smokers angry and want to continue smoking just to spite them. As a former smoker myself, none of their actions or taunts made me want to quit; they in fact kept me smoking for many more years.

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HORNER: Guest Viewpoint: Anti-smoking funds should be increased, not slashed 

The New York State Tobacco Control Program has been working for years with one hand tied behind its back because of inadequate funding and seen some success in spite of it. Now, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has included a $5 million cut to the program in his 2012-13 proposed state budget.

There are many things that seem unfair about the ongoing cuts to this vital program.

It's unfair that the governor proposes cutting anti-tobacco programs. After all, the state raises lots of money from tobacco revenues and Cuomo has proposed increasing the tax on loose tobacco (a good idea). As a result, more people will want to quit smoking because of higher prices, but they'll have fewer resources to help them do it.

It's unfair that smokers pay into the state's coffers in the form of the highest cigarette tax in the nation ($4.35 per pack), to the tune of $1.5 billion this year, but get little in terms of services when they want to quit.

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100 years ago: Law against cigarette sales spelled out  

From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Feb. 8, 1912: . . .

* "Who is selling cigarettes in Lawrence? Following a brief item in the Journal-World concerning the selling of cigarettes in Lawrence a number of Lawrence dealers in tobacco have come out with very emphatic statements that they are not law transgressors. They are Griggs, Hilliard and Carroll and 'Swede' Wilson's pool hall. The protest against the violation of the cigarette law does not apply alone to the High School boys who can be seen smoking them almost any morning coming from the High School, but against any one buying such a contraband article in Kansas. The law is very strict on the matter. It reads 'Sale of cigarettes prohibited . . .

This is the law on the matter and yet any day in Lawrence boys much under age may be seen walking up and down Massachusetts puffing a cigarette."

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Tobacco stars in television horror tales 

Television propaganda that graphically communicates the serious harm caused by tobacco use was likely to be effective with smokers in low- to middle-income countries and could be readily translated and adapted for local use, according to a story in The Hindu.

This was one of the key findings of a recent survey conducted in 10 countries where the non government organisation, World Lung Foundation, was working as part of the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Smoke.

However, the survey noted that the effectiveness of advertisements with complex medical terms or metaphors, or those that featured personal testimonials was more variable.

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Indiana dithers as tobacco burns 

Visitors to Indianapolis over the past week likely saw celebrities, professional athletes, a thriving downtown and a colossal Super Bowl Village.

They also saw a lot of Hoosiers who smoke.

When the American Lung Association recently graded the states on tobacco use, Indiana received an F.

There is one thing the state is doing better - keeping kids from tobacco products, police said. But tobacco-free advocates say the best thing that could happen for Indiana's health, a statewide smoking ban, is tied up in the General Assembly.

What is the State of Tobacco Control, as the American Lung Association calls its annual report, in Indiana?

The organization said that nationwide, tobacco-control advocates have seen a frustrating mix of backsliding and progress. But little of that progress was seen in Indiana, according to the report released last month.

Scored in four categories, Indiana's highest grade - on its cigarette tax - was a D. The state charges $1 per pack of 20.

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Tobacco ban in Pittsfield may broaden  

City health officials are considering a ban on tobacco sales at stores with pharmacies, one of several proposals aimed at keeping youths from buying cigarettes and other tobacco-related products.

The Board of Health is reviewing the potential revisions to its tobacco control regulations, put forth by Tri-Town Health Department director James J. Wilusz. The board will further discuss the changes at its March meeting and eventually at a public hearing before taking a vote, according to Dr. Philip Adamo, chairman of the five-member panel.

Tri-Town, the primary public health agency for Lee, Lenox and Stockbridge, administers the state-funded, local tobacco awareness program to nine other communities, including Pittsfield, North Adams and Great Barrington. Aside from Pittsfield and North Adams, the four other municipalities will formally receive the proposed revisions to their tobacco regulations over the next two months, according to Wilusz.

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"It's About a Billion Lives" Symposium Celebrates Tobacco Research and Education at UCSF  

Join us on Friday, February 3, 2012, 8:00 AM – 12:30 PM in Cole Hall for our annual symposium. This event is open to the entire campus community and the public. The presentations are designed for a broad audience. There will be a free light breakfast before the presentations, which start at 8:30.

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