Tobacco.org

EDITORIAL: But me no 'butts' about your DNA  

While Foster's is not particularly interested in taking a position on dog poop left on Cheney properties, we are interested stopping the disgusting habit of discarded cigarettes.

Why is it that, despite decades of anti-liter campaigns, all too many smokers continue to believe their discarded butts somehow evaporate in thin air before they can liter the ground.

Of course, we are not about to involve the DNA butt police, as been done in the case of DNA and dog poop. But, we will use this opportunity to ask smokers who still liter the back doors of businesses, the sidewalks of our cities and our beautiful beaches to clean up their act.

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EDITORIAL: The price of a smoke 

It is a moot point if raising the price of tobacco products will stop smokers from risking their health.

For addicts the past rise in the price has never been a deterrent even though one would accept that logic calls for a rethink seeing as how a person is paying that much more to damage his or her health. The 200 per cent heft in the tax across the GCC that has now on the verge of being implemented may well have the required impact and even if it does sober up a 10th of the smoking population to stubbing out their habit it will have been worth it.

Despite the desire to stop thousands succumb to the pleasure of the cigarette and then feel guilty about it. A tangible price hike like this goes well beyond the cosmetic and can hit the average budget thereby calling for a change in lifestyle. . . .

In the end it is the individual who has to decide whether the expense is worth the flirtation with danger. By the token it is also necessary to clarify the myths that surround smoking. All smoking is bad. No smoking device is safer than the other. There is no such thing as not inhaling.

And only one in a thousand smokers can control their intake at two or three sticks a day. For the rest giving up is a temporary thing beaten only by the tiny span of cutting down.

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EDITORIAL: Smoking ban debate might benefit from a compromise 

The Evansville City Council has before it a long-sought amendment to its public smoking ban; it would add a prohibition against smoking at bars, restaurants and Casino Aztar inside the city. . . .

If there is a compromise to be had, it might be to allow smoking on the casino's gambling floors only. Shaw has said Aztar took smoking off a gambling floor, but that it underperformed by 50 percent.

Look, if a council majority is opposed to any toughening of the ordinance, this issue will die for another year, and that would be unfortunate. But if a compromise might sway some members, then that approach might be worth the gamble.

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EDITORIAL: Our View: As the smoke clears in Alexandria, a positive result 

ALEXANDRIA'S BAN on smoking and the use of other tobacco products has had a pronounced effect on the air quality in a dozen bars and gaming establishments, a new study shows. The study found that air samples taken inside the facilities were 36 times cleaner and had a reduction of 97 percent of particulate matter, compared with samples taken before the ban was enacted on Jan. 1. The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living, which worked with the city on its ordinance, released the results, as analyzed by the LSU Health Sciences Center's School of Public Health.

WE THINK: Clean air speaks for itself, and Dr. David Holcombe, medical director for Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Region 6, added the exclamation point. "From a public health standpoint, this" -- he said, pointing to the pre-ban toxin levels displayed on a chart -- "causes cancer, and this" -- pointing to the levels new study -- "doesn't."

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EDITORIAL: Our view: Smoke ban offers bars opportunity  

The statewide smoking ban has been a long time coming for state Rep. Charlie Brown and its other supporters, and their recently achieved but not-quite-complete ban is perhaps the Waterloo of their opponents.

But the partial ban requires continued vigilance. Two of the exemptions in the new law — exempting casinos and various private social groups — are understandable, but still unfortunate. The 18-month transition phase for bars, though, seems unnecessarily long.

Brown was being magnanimous when he said that “realistically, bars are not going to be able to do this overnight.”

But it isn’t clear why not. There’s nothing special that needs to be done — no special renovations, facility upgrades, technology to be purchased. It is, literally, something that can be done overnight.

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EDITORIAL: Avoid last season’s chaos at tobacco auction floors 

The 2012 tobacco selling season starts on February 15 with indications that a bigger crop volume will be auctioned at the sales floors this season. The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board, which is the regulatory authority, forecasts that over 150 million kg of flue-cured tobacco will be sold against 131 million kg sold last season. Indeed, an increase by over 20 million kg calls for celebration given that production had tumbled to less than 100 million kg a few years ago, largely because farmers were still settling at their new farms following the land reform. While we are excited about the growth in production, we remain cautious about the ability of the auction floors to handle the volume. The chaos that marked last season's selling period is still fresh in the memories of many people. . . .

Farmer organisations should also play a role in educating farmers on preparing for the auction floors, in terms of grading, baling, quality and pricing so that farmers do not always believe buyers are only there to rip them off.

Let us do everything possible that encourages tobacco production. Farmers and contractors do their part to grow the crop and likewise we would expect the buyers, TIMB and the auction floors to do everything possible to encourage the continued production of tobacco.

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EDITORIAL: What Bill of Rights? 

The Obama administration was back in court Wednesday, trying to convince a judge that tobacco companies should be required to put large, gruesome, graphic photos on cigarette packs to show that the habit kills smokers and their babies. . . .

Mr. Obama once taught constitutional law. But apparently the government he leads can't be bothered by the faded words of dead 18th-century males like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, who sought to protect Americans from the incursions of a tyrannical state.

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• EDITORIAL: Fine anyone who smokes in hospital  

In the aftermath of a fire caused by a patient at Glenfield Hospital, we believe that anyone caught attempting to light a cigarette inside the premises should face an immediate fine or a criminal prosecution.

The person behind the blaze faces no charges as there was 'no intent' to cause a fire, say police.

However, this patient did decide to smoke in a building which has a strict no-smoking policy.

We believe we will not be alone in the view that some sort of action must be taken in future.

The smoker showed no regard for the hospital's rules, caused damage which will cost the NHS money and showed no respect for the staff and fellow patients on the ward - people who suffer from respiratory problems. . . .

We believe this incident creates an opportunity to set down a marker and, in future, if someone smokes in a hospital they should, at the very least, face a very hefty fine.

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OUR VIEW: Statewide smoking ban likely to have little local impact  

Smoking bans have to balance carefully their accompanying health and economic consequences. Vorhees noted in her ruling the commissioners have done that.

Bans on smoking in public places protect employees and patrons from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke.

For smokers addicted to tobacco -- about a quarter of the population -- the places where they are able to light up are dwindling. The addiction to a legal product is powerful and not easily overcome, despite lawmakers trying to legislate good health.

We hope the same governments that ban smoking will also offer more programs and opportunities to help those who are addicted and want to quit.

That's necessary and fair, too.

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• EDITORIAL: A good-enough smoking ban  

After years of stalling, the Indiana General Assembly and the Indianapolis City-County Council both took important steps forward this week on enacting comprehensive workplace smoking bans.

But there's always a hang-up it seems between taking incremental steps forward and actually accomplishing the goal of clearing the air in all restaurants, nearly all bars and most other workplaces.

In Indianapolis, that hang-up is Mayor Greg Ballard, who has long made clear his opposition to including American Legion halls and other veterans clubs in the ban.

Democrats who control the council ignored the mayor's objections Monday night when they pushed through an ordinance that would force private clubs to choose between admitting children and allowing members to smoke inside the club. Ballard is likely to veto . . .

The key point for all sides to remember is that when it comes to private clubs we're talking about relatively small numbers in a state of 6.6 million people. Is it important to protect workers, including those who work in service clubs, from smoking? Yes. Should children be shielded from secondhand smoke? Of course. But lawmaking is the art of the possible, and the possible in this instance may require anti-smoking forces to accept the less than perfect for the sake of protecting the health of most Hoosiers.

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EDITORIAL: New York state's tobacco tax strays from target  

New York is among the most aggressive in its efforts, prohibiting smoking in public places and raising taxes to make the purchase of each pack painful. Yet with all that money coming in, the state continues to cut back on the amount it spends on this effort. Most of the money from those taxes and from a settlement with the tobacco industry has always gone to other causes, but, in recent years, the state had diverted even more.

It's not too much to expect the Cuomo administration to maintain spending levels on anti-smoking efforts, especially when they pay off in the long run by reducing the amount everyone has to pay in increased health-care costs.

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EDITORIAL: State buildings smoking ban overdue 

As unpleasant as a ban on smoking outside state office buildings will be for some Delawareans, the twofold benefit is irresistible.

The rise in residents' quitting a dangerous health habit directly linked to their tobacco addiction will continue.

And the residual benefits of slowing the growth of a $1 billion health care tab -- almost 40 percent of the state's budget -- created by smoking workers, retirees and Medicaid recipients can be aggressively attacked.

Making government campuses smoke-free removes the state's dubious role as an enabler of a habit that is both unhealthy and "will heavily burden future generations of taxpayers."

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• EDITORIAL: Smoking deaths 

The health ministry is drawing up a plan to halve the smoking rate in Japan from 23.4 percent in 2009 to 10 percent. Unfortunately, the plan is tucked into a long-range health promotion plan from 2013 to 2022.

Considering that the percentage of smokers stood at 38.2 percent among men and 10.9 percent among women in 2009, according to the health ministry's own statistics, one wonders what the slow, cautious approach is all about?

Quite simply, it is too little too late. . . .

The treatment and care of smoking-related diseases is an issue that affects everyone. We all pay for it in some way. As Japan has one of the highest life expectancy rates of any country in the world, one wonders how much higher it would be if the government were to take the leading cause of preventable deaths seriously.

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Our Opinion: Tobacco-Free off To Promising Start 

Emory’s tobacco-free policy has been in place since the first of the year, but now with students back on campus, the effects of the policy can be seen on a wider scale. So far, it appears that the policy will work smoothly within the Emory community and that the impact of the policy will be a positive one.

We have noticed that students have been taking advantage of the temporary smoking zone near the library and that there have been fewer smokers on campus overall.

Additionally, we have taken note of instances around campus where an individual has suggested that someone who is smoking relocate to a smoking zone.

Accessibility to the University’s smoking cessation programs is wide, which is important for those looking to quit by the time Emory becomes completely tobacco free in the fall. These programs, however, would be better publicized using methods beyond bulk emails to the Emory community.

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EDITORIAL: Bylaw officers are busy enough  

Under the guise of protecting residents from second-hand smoke indoors and out, Ottawa health officials have proposed a wide-ranging — and potentially expensive — solution to a problem that largely doesn’t exist.

Public health officials want to create smoke-free spaces at more than 1,000 city parks and four beaches, as well as more patios and city facilities. The regulations would be enforced with fines, although Linda Anderson, the city’s chief of bylaw and regulatory services, noted that the department expects a high level of voluntary compliance.

Which raises the question, why, then, is a bylaw needed at all? Along with a bylaw comes the cost of sending out bylaw officers — who already have their hands more than full — to enforce it. . . .

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