Tobacco.org

• Smokers priced out of the habit  

CIGARETTES would cost more than $20 for a packet of 30 and come in plain wrapping under a radical proposal being considered by the Federal Government to fund a massive preventive health program.

The cigarette tax hike and ban on all remaining forms of tobacco advertising have been included in the Federal Government's yet-to-be-released Preventative Health Taskforce report.

The report, being examined by Health Minister Nicola Roxon, urges the Federal Government to slash smoking rates in the next decade to 9 per cent of the adult population, cutting the number of people 14 and older who smoke daily from 3 million to 2 million.

Under the changes cigarette packets would be generic with larger graphic health warnings . . .

The plan has been strongly backed by anti-smoking organisations such as the Public Health Association, the Cancer Council and the National Heart Foundation but has alarmed cigarette companies, which are claiming such changes could be unlawful.

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• Illegal cigarette trade has plenty of puff  

RIGHT in the middle of Australia's biggest city, you can walk into a shop and buy an illegal packet of under-the-counter cigarettes for $7.

Apart from being much cheaper than the mainstream brands, which sell for about $13 a packet, they don't have any of those confronting health warnings.

The ready availability of illegal cigarettes, which are understood to be in stock near many housing commission estates around the country, runs counter to a blizzard of government policies designed to discourage smoking. These include a NSW government ban on smoking in cars carrying children that started this week. . . .

Inner-Sydney resident Les Shearman has been trying for years to expose the illegal cigarette trade because of his concern about its impact on his friends' health. He believes the ready availability of cheap cigarettes is a major factor in their excessive smoking.

The Weekend Australian accompanied Mr Shearman while he purchased an illegal packet from Broadway Tobacco, located on one of the city's busiest thoroughfares. It took only seconds for him to purchase the pack from the woman behind the counter. No questions. No fuss.

"They are incredibly easy to get," he said. . . .

"If it is so easy for the likes of you and me to find a shop selling illegal cigarettes, why is it so difficult for the Australian Federal Police to find them?" Professor Chapman said.

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EDITORIAL: Welcome action  

A BAN ON the display of tobacco products and other in-store advertising has been imposed and will, hopefully, lead to a reduction in the incidence of smoking by children and young persons. . . .

Recent research discovered that under-aged persons were being allowed to buy cigarettes from vending machines at 40 per cent of all outlets. To counteract that, the machines will now have to be operated by tokens and will have to be placed under the control of a staff member. Fines of up to €3,000 can be imposed for breaches of this and other regulations.

Price has always been the single most important factor in determining whether - and how much - children smoke. Most users go on to develop a nicotine addiction between the ages of 14 and 18 years. Price is also a major factor in encouraging users to quit the habit. Here too, the Government has been active. The price of 20 cigarettes was pushed up by 75 cent within the past year and it may rise again in the next budget.

The cost to the health services of treating tobacco-related illnesses has been estimated at €1 billion. That is a great deal of money and it could be used productively elsewhere. More important than money, however, is the 6,000 deaths a year caused by nicotine and the tens of thousands of addicts whose lives are blighted by poor health. Young women are now more likely to smoke than young men. They find it harder to quit. If these laws protect members of a new generation from death by lung cancer they will be fully vindicated.

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Public backs removal of ciggie machines in pubs 

A majority of adults believe cigarette vending machines in pubs should be abolished, a survey said today.

A poll by YouGov for Cancer Research UK found that 75 per cent of respondents were in favour of getting rid of the machines and 70 per cent want tobacco products out of sight in shops.

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• Ireland first to ban tobacco advertising 

Ireland will become the first country in the EU to remove all tobacco advertising from retail outlets tomorrow.

The changes mean that all tobacco products in shops are stored out of view, within a closed container or dispenser, only accessible by retail staff. A sign must be shown to advise that tobacco products are sold at the premises.

Retail staff may use a pictorial list to inform a customer aged over 18 who wishes to buy tobacco products as to the products that are available.

Self-service vending machines will be prohibited except in licensed premises and registered clubs.

All retailers of tobacco products must register with the Office of Tobacco Control.

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• Ireland leads way on tobacco ads 

A complete ban on tobacco adverts in shops comes into force on Wednesday.

Seven years after it was first mooted, Ireland will become the first country in Europe to introduce the blanket ban. The Office of Tobacco Control (OTC) said it was a pioneering move aimed at protecting children, with offenders facing fines of 3,000 euro or six months in prison.

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HABERMAN: New York City's In-Your-Face Antismoking Campaign  

Before too long, you may be forced to stare at a photo of blackened lungs, oozing decay, every time you go to the bodega for a quart of milk. We're trying to figure out where under the heading of quality of life to file this bit of news.

The photo is the latest idea from the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, part of its nonstop campaign to acquaint the citizenry with the wickedness of smoking. Show smokers right there at the checkout counter how much gunk coats their lungs and maybe they will reconsider plunking down that Hamilton for a pack of cigarettes. That's the theory.

You might have thought that by now, even the most benighted smoker must know that the habit is destructive, no matter how satisfying in the short term. We've only had decades of government warnings on cigarette packs . . .

Well before the government first ordered those warnings, in 1964, cigarettes were routinely referred to as cancer sticks and coffin nails. Those were not intended as phrases of affection. . . .

The thing is, though, that despite his department's estimate that a million New Yorkers continue to smoke, most of us don't. Yet under the proposed new regulations, anyone who goes to the corner store will have to look at blackened lungs and possibly more. An assistant health commissioner, Sarah B. Perl, was quoted in The Daily News as saying that people are going to see what cancer of the mouth and the throat look like.

Really now, is it necessary to be subjected to such photos when all you want is a carton of orange juice? . . .

Why stop with cigarettes?

Why not require pictures of morbidly obese people at candy counters

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The Greenville News editorial: New federal tobacco regulations not necessary  

President Barack Obama recently signed new, sweeping tobacco regulations. The new rules have been long sought by anti-smoking advocates but they're heavy handed, constitutionally suspect and simply unnecessary. . . .

The fact remains that onerous new regulations are not needed. Smoking already is in decline nationwide, not because of federal intervention but thanks to individuals making healthy choices.

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Health commissioner Thomas Farley wants to post grim anti-smoking signs anywhere cigarettes are sold 

The health department wants to serve up something new at your corner bodega - a fresh slice of blackened lung.

The grisly image is one of several new anti-smoking ads - as big as 3 feet by 3 feet - that new Health Commissioner Thomas Farley wants to post at the cash registers of every store in the city that sells cigarettes.

"You're going to see the grim realities of what it means to smoke," said Assistant Health Commissioner Sarah Perl."You're going to see what a blackened lung looks like. You're going to see what mouth cancer looks like. You're going to see what it looks like when you have throat cancer."

Health officials say the first-in-the-nation plan would counteract the big cigarette ads in bodega windows and at convenience store checkout counters.

The signs would feature stark warnings like "SMOKING KILLS" - translated into different languages - and pictures of smoke-damaged bodies.

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VIDEO: Graphic Warnings In Store For City Smokers 

"In the same way they see the tobacco industry's imagery, we want them to see our imagery which is the real imagery. You smoke a cigarette you are not going to end up in on a mountaintop in the snow," said Assistant City Health Department Commissioner Sarah Perl.

Health officials say they've already been able to cut city smoking rates by nearly 30 percent through aggressive tactics from implementing the smoking ban in most public spaces to their hard-hitting anti-smoking ad campaigns.

The new signs would include information on how to quit, but they wouldn't be subtle. The smallest sign would be a foot and a half by a foot and a half in size, with the largest being three feet square.

At the Civic Deli, just a few blocks away from the Health Department, shop owners say placing something in front of their register that could be as large as three feet by three feet might be a bit much. It could block off their candy and energy bar displays. They say they are not worried other prominent warnings would be a danger to their business. In fact, they say it could be a good thing.

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• Public Opinion Sought For New Anti-Smoking Measure  

The Board of Health wants to introduce a new anti-smoking amendment, but they wants the the public's opinion first.

New Yorkers are being called upon to give their opinion in a public hearing on July 30 on a new Health Code amendment that would put graphic anti-smoking warnings wherever tobacco products are sold. The warnings would include images depicting the adverse health effects of smoking and information on how to quit.

The measure, which is expected to be voted on in September, would require tobacco retailers to display these "point-of-sale warnings and cessations messages" wherever tobacco products are displayed and at the point of purchase is made, such as a cash register.

According to the Health Department, these displays will force the customer to see the health effects of smoking and visually contemplate their tobacco purchase. They say the signage also promotes a greater understanding of the toll tobacco takes on the body and encourage current smokers to quit.

"While the tobacco industry spends billions of dollars every year to glamorize smoking, we will show New Yorkers the harsh realities," Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley, stated, "These warning signs will help persuade smokers to quit and show children why they shouldn't start smoking."

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While the tobacco industry spends billions of dollars every year to glamorize smoking, we will show New Yorkers the harsh realities. These warning signs will help persuade smokers to quit and show children why they shouldn't start smoking.
NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley, on the Board of Health proposal to put graphic anti-smoking warnings wherever tobacco products are sold.

RALSTON: You smoke? Blame corporate evil 

California public health authorities for years have spent many millions of dollars on television commercials that are supposed to help people quit smoking. Perhaps that is better than spending income from tobacco lawsuit settlements - and taxes intended for that purpose - on completely unrelated government programs, as is the case in many states. The curious thing about almost all of these commercials is that they provide no guidance whatsoever about how to stop smoking. Smokers watching these commercials would not know if anyone involved with public health in California cares if they live or die.

These commercials use actors as stock villains to present a different message: The only reason that anyone smokes is because tobacco companies are evil - as are, by implication, all corporations. No one is responsible for his own smoking. The cause is corporate conspiracy. No one simply smokes because it provides mental or physical stimulation or because they like the taste. . . .

The lesson here is, if you want to stop smoking, don't curse the tobacco companies or even the government. Just stop smoking.

It is unfortunate that you will not get any help from government ads. Politicians will continue eagerly to take your tobacco tax dollars and spend them elsewhere to best serve their political careers.

A political approach to public health inevitably places politics ahead of health. Instead we need an environment that allows the best science to inform the decisions of each of us as physicians and patients. We need to look after our own health and defend our right to conduct our individual lives.

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Some smokers doubt law will work  

Some local cigarette smokers doubt a new anti-smoking bill signed Monday by President Barack Obama will have its intended effect of keeping teenagers away from tobacco.

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act calls for limiting tobacco advertising that could attract young people, banning candy and fruit flavors in tobacco products and requiring large graphic warnings on tobacco products.

However, some cigarette smokers interviewed Monday said these changes would not have affected their decision to light up their first cigarettes as teenagers.

“If people want to smoke, they’re going to smoke, regardless of advertising,” said Curtis Player of Martinsville, a smoker since age 18.

“When I was growing up, we didn’t have flavored cigarettes, and everybody still smoked,” Player said. “I never paid attention to advertising... Being around smoking, that’s what did it.”

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Anti-Tobacco Bill Signing Has Nixon Parallels // Both Bills Backed by Big Tobacco; Are They Both Anti-Health? 

It is a matter of record that all of the major tobacco companies fought for the 1970 bill which banned cigarette commercials on radio and televisions, says Banzhaf, whose earlier ruling was responsible for this seemingly contradictory behavior.

In 1967 Banzhaf, then a young attorney fresh out of law school, obtained a ruling under the FCC's "Fairness Doctrine" which required broadcasters -- for the first time --to provide free time for antismoking messages. . . .

The result, notes Banzhaf, was that the end of cigarette commercials led to such a drastic reduction in antismoking messages that the decline in cigarette consumption was reversed, and millions of Americans took up or resumed smoking -- a clear public health tragedy.

The bill signed today was not only very heavily backed by Philip Morris; it is well known that major portions of it were in fact written by America's largest and most powerful tobacco company. This led many critics to doubt whether the bill will prove any more successful in saving lives than the one Nixon signed.

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• Inspired by a Children’s Game, Santa Monica Fights Smoking 

Although the amount of money devoted to antismoking campaigns is a fleck in an ashtray compared with the billions spent by Big Tobacco, the ads that try to unsell cigarettes strive to be every bit as creative as those on the other side -- or perhaps more so, given how much more difficult it is to break a habit than form one, particularly when a product contains addictive ingredients.

For instance, the American Legacy Foundation, whose ads seek to disclose the “Truth” about smoking to teenagers and young adults, is bringing out a campaign that carries the theme “Do you have what it takes to be a tobacco executive?” . . .

the New York City Department of Health has garnered attention for an aggressive campaign to fight smoking. And the New York State Department of Health is running ads that urge consumers to ask supermarkets to end their sales of tobacco products.

Another local campaign of note is coming from Santa Monica, Calif., which has long been in the vanguard in the battle against cigarettes. The campaign, which carries the theme “Smoking doesn’t belong here,” adapts the children’s game of “One of these things is not like the others” to remind residents and visitors to obey the city’s far-reaching no-smoking laws. . . .

A brainstorming session yielded the idea to borrow from “Sesame Street” the learning game of “one of these is out of place” as the basis of the campaign, Mr. Burke says.

“In talking about the visuals, the patterns of shapes,” he adds, “we came up with matching them up with the iconic Santa Monica references.”

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