Tobacco.org

• Three in 10 Chinese Adults Smoke 

Three in 10 Chinese said they smoke regularly (25%) or occasionally (5%), according to Gallup surveys conducted shortly after China's ban on smoking in public places took effect last May. This translates to roughly 320 million adults -- or more than the entire population of the United States -- and underscores the potential health crisis China faces as it tries to reduce an estimated 1 million smoking-related deaths each year in its country.

Recent studies show that about 3,000 Chinese are dying each day from smoking-related diseases, and that the number could rise to 8,000 per day by 2050. Chinese men's smoking habits place their health disproportionately at risk. Gallup surveys find about 6 in 10 Chinese men say they smoke at least occasionally, while 3% of Chinese women say they do.

Smoking Widespread Across Much of Asia

China may account for one-third of the world's smokers, but its smoking rate ranks second in Asia. Indonesians are the most likely in the region to say they smoke at least occasionally. . . .

The ubiquity of smoking throughout China's culture, coupled with the country's financial stake in the tobacco industry as the world's largest tobacco producers and consumers, fuel doubts among health experts and the media about the potential effectiveness of the nearly year-old ban. Persuading hundreds of millions of Chinese smokers to quit and preventing young Chinese from picking up the habit will likely require public education, time, and compliance with existing bans.

The World Health Organization (WHO) rates China's compliance with bans on various types of advertising of tobacco a 5 out of 10, where 0 is "low compliance."

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• Poll: Most Ukrainians back law on smoke-free environments 

Most Ukrainian citizens support the adoption of a law prohibiting smoking in a number of public places such as in catering, cultural and sports establishments, according to a study conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) at the request of Quirk Global Strategies.

The poll shows that 84% of respondents support the adoption of this law.

Regionally, this figure is the following - 88% in the country's eastern and northern regions and 78% in the western regions.

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What’s okay to advertise on TV? 

Cigarettes, gambling, payday loans, abortion providers, prescription drugs and debt finance solutions should not be allowed to be advertised on television, say the majority of British adults, but other potentially controversial subjects, such as alcoholic drinks, political parties, fast food and laser surgery providers should be allowed to advertise in this way, our poll on the issue has found.

* 79% say that cigarettes shouldn't be allowed to be advertised on television

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DHHR Report: Tobacco use down among W.Va. youth  

According to a report released recently by the Department of Health and Human Resources, more West Virginia Youths are choosing to abstain from tobacco use.

"For decades, tobacco use was a rite of passage for teens in West Virginia, but a new report released by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Health Statistics Center indicates that more kids are choosing to be tobacco-free," the DHHR said in a released statement.

The report analyzes data from the 2007 and 2009 Youth Tobacco Survey and compares data from previous years, detailing the use of tobacco, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, cigars and popes for middle school and high school students.

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• HERMAN: Are state employees not fessing up to tobacco use? 

Last year, Texas lawmakers had a good idea (hey, one out of a bazillion isn't bad). The idea, converted into law, is a "tobacco cessation" program for state workers and retirees, including higher health insurance premiums for tobacco users and coverage for tobacco cessation drugs. It went into effect Jan. 1. State employees and retirees had from Nov. 7 to Dec. 9 to report if they or any family members covered by the plan are tobacco users (defined as using tobacco products more than five times in the previous three months). The additional monthly premium for tobacco users is $30 per person, with a maximum of $90 per family.

(Best footnote on the Employees Retirement System Q-and-A about the program: "The charge for a child is the same regardless of how many children in the household use tobacco." Sure, junior, go ahead and light up. We're already paying for your sister.)

So what we have is a self-reporting system. That always goes well, doesn't it? Please raise your hand if you want to pay more.

Last year, the Legislative Budget Board -- working with a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 18 percent of adult Texans use tobacco products -- guesstimated there are 74,150 tobacco users covered by the state health plan. ERS board members were told at an August meeting the agency "will depend on members to certify that they use tobacco. A special campaign will be conducted this fall to communicate the tobacco information."

The special campaign was held, and the sign-ups began. But somehow, as of mid-January, only 20,460 state employees or retirees or their covered dependents were signed up. That's 53,690 short of the projection. . . .

I like the A to Q12, which asks, "What if my doctor says I can't quit?" Lucky you. You can keep enjoying tobacco without paying the additional premium if you can find a doc to declare you have "an uncontrolled health factor, such as nicotine addiction." . . .

So please, dear state employees, fess up if you use tobacco. Don't make us have to come around and take photos outside the front door during smoke breaks.

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Town seeks comments on smoke-free bylaw  

EMC News - Are you fuming because of the proposed no-smoking bylaw or because of your exposure to second-hand smoke? Either way the Town of Smiths Falls wants to hear from you.

An online public survey was launched by the Town of Smiths Falls on Jan. 20 that asks for the public's response to councillor Shawn Pankow's proposal to ban smoking in front of buildings, in parks and other public areas. Niki McKernan, assistant planner for the town, said the surveys are yielding some great comments from the public, but no clear consensus on the issue before Council.

"In six days we've had almost 60 responses," McKernan reported.

The online survey will be available until Feb. 24 at www.smithsfalls.ca. On the home page click on the 'Take Our Survey' button in the top left.

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Half of all smokers hiding their habit from family or friends, says poll  

More than half of all smokers hide the true extent of their habit from partners, family or friends.

A study found that social stigma and the 2007 smoking ban have created an "army of secret smokers". It means 57% of those lighting up are not telling the whole truth about their habit to loved ones.

The top excuses used for going for a cigarette include walking the dog, going out to see a friend or nipping to the shop.

The Co-operative Pharmacy poll found a third of the 2,000 people questioned lit up less often since the smoking ban came into force and four out of five smokers wanted to give up.

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• One-a-day smokers 'feel they quit' 

Some 51 per cent of people in a poll do not consider themselves smokers even though they have one cigarette a day

More than half of smokers who light up once a day believe they have quit, according to a poll.

Some 51% do not consider themselves smokers even though they have one a day, while one in eight (13%) believe they have given up but still admit to smoking the "odd one".

More than half (57%) of all smokers said they keep their habit a secret from family and friends, most often their partner, followed by their children, friends or parents. . . .

The survey of 2,000 smokers also found one in 12 are prevented from smoking in their own home.

Around 80% of smokers want to quit although a third say they have smoked less since the smoking ban in public places was brought in in 2007. . . .

Fiona Caplan-Dean, clinical services manager at the Co-operative Pharmacy, which carried out the survey, said: "The smoking ban in public places has had a major effect on the health of the nation with a significant number of people giving up, but many smokers now try to keep their habit secret from their partner, children, friends and family.

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One Cigarette per Day, I’m Not a Smoker!  

It has been recently revealed according to a poll, that those people who smoke merely one cigarette in a day tend to think they aren’t smokers at all. They tend to think they have overcome their smoking habit and that one simple ‘idly pidly’ cigarette per day will not harm them.

There are as many as 51% people who feel that that they aren’t smokers if they are hooked to the once cigarette per day habit. They can even manage to keep this habit a secret because it’s just one smoke in 24 hours, and they can get that time off from friends and family, so that no one finds out. . . .

"The smoking ban in public places has had a major effect on the health of the nation with a significant number of people giving up, but many smokers now try to keep their habit secret from their partner, children, friends and family”, revealed Fiona Caplan-Dean, from Co-operative pharmacy, who took this survey.

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Casper City Council gauges support for public smoking ban 

The Casper City Council will determine today whether there is enough support among members to propose a public smoking ban.

Mayor Kenyne Schlager said she scheduled the discussion to poll council opinions.

“I want to make sure I’m not the only person that is interested in hearing the presentation,” she said. “If I’m the only one, I would take it off the agenda.”

Schlager said the discussion about creating an ordinance is tentatively scheduled for a Feb. 13 work session.

No ordinance has been prepared yet and details would be discussed in February.

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Smoke-free parks idea gains favour  

Cigarettes could be stubbed out of Hamilton playgrounds and parks under a new smoke-free policy to be considered by the council in August.

A Waikato coalition group working against smoking, known as Chances, and the Waikato Bay of Plenty Cancer Society are also urging the city council to enforce a non-smoking rule across parks, playgrounds and bus shelters after unprecedented public support.

The calls coincide with a proposal from Auckland health heads to the Auckland Council to comply with the Cancer Society's request to restrict cigarette or tobacco smoking in its open spaces, parks, sports fields and playgrounds, as well as in malls and pedestrian areas.

A survey of 111 residents at Hamilton Lake and Innes Common playgrounds, the city bus station and Waikato University in mid-2011 found 94% wanted children's playgrounds to be smoke-free.

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Trends—Public ≈ on Smoking and Anti-Smoking Policies 

This article traces public opinion toward tobacco use and anti-smoking legislation over time. Public views on the health effects of tobacco use have changed such that now a majority of individuals believe that smoking and secondhand smoke are harmful. While the public tends to blame the smoker for health problems, there is strong support for restrictions on tobacco advertising, although support is lower in tobacco-producing states. Generally, the public has become more supportive of smoking restrictions in various public domains, although there are important differences across states depending on tobacco production. Evidence suggests that trends in opinion toward tobacco use and anti-smoking legislation have coincided with the decline in smoking prevalence and the increase in anti-smoking policies and public health awareness reports at the federal, state, and local levels.

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• Public opinion lights the fire for politicians to adopt anti-smoking bans 

Citizens aren't just blowing smoke when it comes to anti-tobacco legislation--and they tend to copy what neighboring states do, new research shows.

In adopting anti-smoking bans, public opinion is much more important than originally thought, said University of Michigan School of Public Health researcher and lead study author Julianna Pacheco. The closer a person lives to a state that has enacted smoking bans the likelier it is for that person to support smoking bans. Eventually, politicians respond by enacting bans in those home states.

"Democratic responsiveness is alive and well at the state level," said Pacheco, who is also a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar.

"We've always thought that public opinion was important for state policy making, but this is the first paper to empirically test the causal relationship between opinion and policy over time," Pacheco said. "Furthermore, this paper suggests that public opinion is the driving force behind why policies often spread across neighboring states."

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City survey shows support for ban on smoking in parks  

Cigarettes could be stubbed out of Hamilton playgrounds and parks under a new smokefree policy to be considered by the council in August.

A Waikato coalition group working against smoking, known as Chances, and the Waikato Bay of Plenty Cancer Society are also urging the city council to enforce a non-smoking rule across parks, playgrounds and bus shelters after unprecedented public support.

The calls coincide with a proposal from Auckland health bosses to the Auckland Council to comply with the Cancer Society's request to restrict cigarette or tobacco smoking in its open spaces, parks, sports fields and playgrounds, as well as in malls and pedestrian areas.

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Poll shows 70% support for smoking ban 

A new poll issued by anti-smoking advocates Tuesday showed 70 percent support among Hoosiers for a statewide smoking ban covering most workplaces, including restaurants and bars.

In the poll of 500 likely voters, 27 percent opposed such a law, and 3 percent were unsure. Support levels varied only slightly across political affiliation.

The Indiana Campaign for Smokefree Air, a coalition of health-oriented organizations, released the poll, which was conducted Saturday through Monday by Public Opinion Strategies.

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