Tobacco.org

Jolly Good Smoke 

Stogies on Grand (961 Grand Ave., St. Paul) and Lewis Pipes and Tobacco (527 Marquette Ave., Minneapolis) evoke completely different feelings upon entrance.

Stogies’ quaint Grand Avenue storefront leads into a labyrinthine store filled with laughter and smoke, while Lewis’ massive skyscraper hat sits over a clean one-room shop. The men who own these stores, on the other hand, look quite similar — tall, broad and worried around the eyes.

The wrinkles that crease their faces are in no small part due to the stress of working in an industry constantly teetering on the brink — “… really the only industry that could vanish, poof, at the whim of a Congress session,” as Lewis Tobaco owner Rich Lewis puts it. . . .

Many tobacco enthusiasts also malign the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which gives the president full regulatory power over the tobacco industry.

“Too many kids have been grabbing cheap cigars, Swishers and Dutch Masters, scraping out the middle and filling them with marijuana. You might have heard of it — it’s called ‘blunting,’” Wolk said.

In an effort to stop the illegal activity, the newer bill would also effectively put stores like Stogies out business.

This year will mark the 40th anniversary of Lewis’ tenure at his family’s tobacco shop, and he has seen business grind to a near halt as higher taxes are passed and stricter smoking restrictions are enacted. . . .

Make sure to keep tamping the ash down as you smoke, and the bowl should puff all the way down without a problem.

Remember to keep it an occasional celebration, and enjoy!

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Local legislators oppose state smoking ban exemption  

In Jan. 2011, State Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights, introduced legislation that would amend the Smoke-Free Illinois Act.

The legislation would allow municipalities the choice to offer smoking licenses to eligible establishments.

According to the Smoke-Free Illinois Act, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2008, smoking in virtually all public places and workplaces is prohibited, including educational institutions, restaurants and bars.

Even if this legislation was to pass, DeKalb Mayor Kris Povlsen said he would not be in favor of offering licenses.

"It's probably the most irresponsible piece of legislation introduced by a legislator," Povlsen said.

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MWCC Looks to Enforce Smoking Policy 

This past year Salem State, Northern Essex Community College, Bristol Community College and some of the other statewide community colleges went to a totally smoke free policy. The Mount is not a smoke free campus, even though as one enters the main gates a large sign reads that it is. Why is this and what’s being done about the current policies?

In September 2011 President Daniel Asquino and Ann McDonald, the Executive Vice President of Mount Wachusett Community College, were joined by the director of Human Resources and the Chief of Police to discuss implementing a bona fide smoke free campus policy. Some of the signs on campus read that this is a smoke free campus, but in reality it currently is not.

The subject of a smoke free college is now being formally reevaluated. Ann McDonald, the Executive Vice President of Mount Wachusett Community College, and others are working on reviewing the MWCC smoking policy. This executive team is negotiating with employees and the faculty union, with an eye towards implementing a change beginning the fall 2012 school year.

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• Fallin's executive order douses OU's designated smoking areas 

Gov. Mary Fallin signed an executive order placing a ban on tobacco use on all state-owned and state-leased property, she announced during Monday's State of the State address. The ban supersedes OU's policy that was approved last month. (Marcin Rutowski/The Daily)

Fallin's order bans use of all tobacco products on “all properties owned, leased or contracted” by the State of Oklahoma, according to the executive order. OU will submit a tobacco policy to the OU Board of Regents that is in line with Fallin's decision, OU spokeswoman Catherine Bishop said in an email.

This means the university will be unable to provide the designated smoking areas that were approved in January by the regents because Fallin's order will not allow tobacco use anywhere on state-owned or state-leased property. The designated smoking areas were going to be placed at Lloyd Noble Center and part of the Dale Hall parking lot, according to the university's new tobacco ban policy.

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Killing the killer 

To create awareness among the youth, the World Lung Foundation (WLF) in association with Hans Raj College organised inter-college declamation contest themed on anti-tobacco. DUSFI, a joint venture of Delhi University, Delhi Police and WLF-South Asia (WLF-SA) now covers 83 colleges of Delhi University (DU).

Till now, 27 hoardings at all entry/exit points to North Campus indicating entry to tobacco free zones and 199 boards at the entry/exit points to the college/department of DU indicating 'No smoking zone' have been placed. In 67 colleges, dedicated Nodal Officers (NO's) from 56 colleges and in about 38 colleges, tobacco free brigade (TFB) members have been appointed.

G.R. Khatri, President, WLF-SA, says, "Male smokers have decreased from 18.3 per cent in 2008 to 15.7 per cent in 2010 and amongst female, from 3.2 per cent in 2008 it has come down to 2.8 per cent in 2010. It is the youth that is being targeted by the tobacco companies and this is the age in which one takes to tobacco."

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KELLY: Blowing Smoke 

Being a hookah owner, I was honestly more than a little skeptical about going to a hookah bar to smoke. I expected to be ripped off with the price and given a crappy setup to smoke on. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong during my visit to Friend’s Cafe. The food was reasonably priced, with a 10-percent discount given if you plan to smoke while you are there. On top of that, you can’t beat $2 mixed drinks (Mon. – Thurs., from 6-9 p.m.) which were pretty generous on the alcohol. . . .

To finish out this week’s column, I would like to just take a moment and respond to a few questions that I got from readers last week about the health concerns related to smoking hookah. Obviously, smoking anything is not something that your doctor is going to recommend you do (unless of course you happen to live in California), but smoking hookah is very different than smoking other tobacco products like cigarettes. Shisha is just tobacco leaves and molasses ­— no rat poison, no fiberglass shards, no other hazardous chemicals that were originally designed to kill other organisms. Furthermore, no studies have positively linked hookah smoking and cancer. So while it isn’t going to make you healthier, smoking hookah is not nearly as deadly as other tobacco products. As I said last week, I will never claim to be an expert in this subject, but causal use causes less damage to one’s body than a night of heavy drinking. To top it off, hookah smoking isn’t addictive like cigarettes can be, so you can smoke as much or as little as you please.

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Smoke-Free environment - OHSIM - The University of Sydney 

Thank you to all staff, students and affiliates who provided feedback on the University's proposal to move towards a smoke-free campus. There was very strong support for the University to restrict smoking on campus in order to promote a healthy, smoke-free environment.

The Smoke-Free Environment policy was approved by Senate on 5 December 2011 and is effective from Monday, 30 January 2012. The new policy bans smoking on all University campuses, except for within designated smoking areas.

The University of Sydney Union, as a sign of good will and in support of the policy, ceased their sale of cigarettes on campus in October last year.

Where are the designated smoking areas?

Below are campus maps which depict the designated smoking areas. Click on the campus map which applies to you:

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• Sydney street magazine sparks interest of Cancer Council tobacco advertising watchdog, ASH 

IT has been many years since tobacco advertising was banned in Australia, which is why multiple images of people smoking and multiple editorial references to smoking in street magazine, The Spitpress 07, have peaked the interest of Cancer Council-affiliated action group, ASH.

Based around the ``editorial theme of smoke”, The Spitpress 07 magazine contains the word smoke in six headlines of its 48 pages. The cover image is a man with a pipe in his mouth. The vox pop question is ``Why do you smoke?”.

One article is about a photographer who shoots women smoking, and comes with the headline ``Come on kids, die young”.

Another article features artwork, with the headline ``Inhale the pain’’ with artwork named ``Smoke gets in your eyes’’ and ``Breath in the fumes”.

A cooking article refers to switching off domestic smoke alarms.

The magazine is bulk-dropped around the inner city and Sydney Uni, NSW Uni, through Bondi, Randwick, Darlinghurst, Glebe and Newtown.

ASH spokesman Stafford Sanders said a tobacco company’s marketing department could not have better-designed an association of smoking with youth culture.

ASH has referred the magazine to state and federal health departments to investigate any potential breach of Tobacco Advertising Prohibition laws.

``Our concern is that the whole theme appears to be smoking,’’ Mr Sanders said.

``The magazine has been found where it could easily be read by children, whatever the intentions of the publishers.”

Managing editor of The Spitpress, Tym Yee, said there were no funds from the tobacco industry in The Spitpress.

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Smoking ban stirs Syd Uni students 

SYDNEY University is the latest in a growing number to cut down smoking on its campuses.

It recently released a draft "smoke-free environments policy" to extend existing bans to 10m from buildings, prohibit smoking in outdoor and drinking areas and also phase out the sale of cigarettes on campus.

Campuses include Camperdown/Darlington and Rozelle.

Health Science student Ali Saeed said it's a student's right to smoke anywhere outdoors.

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University of Sydney launches smoke-free campus  

In a major step to ensure the health and wellbeing of its staff, students and visitors, the University has introduced a new smoke-free policy for all its campuses.

The new policy, which comes into operation today, follows an extensive period of consultation and feedback during 2011. Surveys of staff and students showed an overwhelming level of support for the proposed changes.

The University of Sydney Union (USU) moved quickly to underline its support for the proposal when it ceased the sale of cigarettes at all USU outlets last October.

The Smoke-Free Environment Policy 2012 was approved by the University Senate at its meeting on 5 December 2011 and is effective from today.

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Smoking officially banned at Sydney University  

SMOKING is officially banned on Sydney University campuses.

The university confirmed a new smoke-free policy for all its campuses, which came into operation today.

According to the university, the decision came after consultation and feedback during 2011 with surveys of staff and students showing an ``overwhelming level of support for the proposed changes.''

IS THE BAN UNFAIR? Tell us in the comments section below

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Health officials fret as hookah grows in popularity  

As more hookah lounges open, health officials said they are worried users do not fully understand the risks associated with the pastime.

Cafe Hookah, which is set to open in College Park, Md., this month, will be the second hookah bar in the city. The cafe's owner, 29-year-old Abid Khan, said he chose to open the establishment because the "niche was available."

"I think that it will be unique in the sense that - aside from making money - it's run by young people that actually care about the students," he said.

Hookah tobacco contains many of the same harmful chemicals found in cigarettes and can cause similar long-term health effects, such as mouth cancer, lung cancer and cancer of the trachea, Shell said.

"Hookahs are flavored and put in a nice setting when you are sitting and relaxing ... But that kind of socially attractive setting is really the vehicle for delivering a really potent dose of tobacco and carbon monoxide and other chemicals, too," Shell said.

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Campaign Promotes a Smoke-Free UC 

UC President Mark G. Yudof announced that the UC system will launch an official campaign to make all 10 UC campuses smoke-free by 2014.

Yudof formally announced the decision to prohibit smoking in a letter addressing all UC chancellors last month. In October, a subcommittee of the UC Occupational Wellness Forum proposed banning cigarettes as well as all other tobacco-related goods such as smokeless e-cigarettes and other nicotine products. In addition, all advertising for tobacco will be prohibited on all university-owned and leased facilities.

Currently, five UC medical centers and 586 other college campuses nationwide are smoke-free.

In the letter announcing his decision, Yudof said smoke-free campuses would prevent nonsmoking students from suffering the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, ultimately benefiting all students.

“As a national leader in health care and environmental practices, the University of California is ready to demonstrate leadership in reducing tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke by creating a smoke-free environment on all of our campuses,” Yudof said in the letter.

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Respiratory Symptoms After Smoking Cessation among College Students  

Data on respiratory symptoms after smoking cessation are available for mature adults, but for young adults these data are limited to observational studies. This retrospective analysis of smoking cessation trials addresses the gap. A cohort of 18- to 24-year-olds without chronic respiratory illness was developed from 2 randomized trials of behavioral interventions versus standard care to promote smoking cessation. This secondary analysis was performed to determine whether short-term respiratory health improvements occurred among those who achieved smoking cessation for 2 weeks or more. Self-reported respiratory symptoms were assessed at baseline and last follow-up. The sample numbered 327, 60% smoked 5–10 cigarettes a day and 56% smoked for 1–5 years. Abstinence periods among those achieving cessation ranged from 2 to 78 weeks. The mean overall baseline respiratory symptom score was 14.3, standard deviation (SD)=11.5. Respiratory symptoms for those achieving cessation were mean=13.3, SD=11.2, decreasing to mean=3.8, SD=5.9 symptom days at the last follow-up. Baseline symptoms for those who continued smoking were mean=14.6, SD=11.6, decreasing to mean=10.3, SD=10.3 at follow-up. Five fewer respiratory symptom days per week were noted for those who stopped smoking (mean=5.2, SD=1.5, P<0.0001). Smoking cessation is associated with reduced respiratory symptoms. Feedback of short-term health consequences may be relevant to younger populations who may perceive smoking hazards as in the distant future.

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• Coughing and Other Respiratory Symptoms Improve Within Weeks of Smoking Cessation 

a new study shows that 18- to 24-year olds who stop smoking for at least two weeks report substantially fewer respiratory symptoms, especially coughing. The study findings are detailed in Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The article is available online.

Karen Calabro, DrPH and Alexander Prokhorov, MD, PhD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, compared self-reported respiratory symptoms among two groups of college students who participated in programs designed to motivate them to stop smoking. One group achieved smoking cessation for two weeks or longer and the other group failed to stop smoking. More than half of the students smoked 5-10 cigarettes a day and had smoked for 1-5 years.

"That the benefit of stopping smoking starts in days to weeks-not years or decades-is important. Now health care providers can counsel young smokers that their breathing can feel better soon after they stop. This can help to motivate young adults to stop smoking before the severe damage is done," says Harold Farber, MD, MSPH, Editor of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology and Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Pulmonology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.

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