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Several anti-smoking bills fail in Tennessee House Agriculture committees 

A proposal that would prohibit smoking within 25 yards of a hospital was among several that failed in House Agriculture committees and are likely dead for the session.

The measure sponsored by Rep. Johnny Shaw, a Bolivar Democrat, failed 9-6 in the Agriculture Committee on Tuesday, while the others either failed or were taken off notice in an earlier subcommittee.

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• Recalcitrant Bavarians fight pub smoking ban 

Bavaria's anti-smoking legislation was intended as the toughest in all of Germany when it was introduced at the beginning of the year, but putting it into effect has produced paradoxical results.

Pubs across the country's largest state have sidestepped the law by reconstituting themselves as "smokers' clubs".

Munich administrative official Wilfried Blume-Beyerle has called on Environment Minister Otmar Bernhard to find a way to ban these "associations for evading the law", as he calls them.

Blume-Beyerle puts the number of smokers' clubs in the state capital at 700, of some 2,000 registered pubs.

In picturesque Nuremberg, some 220 of 700 corner pubs and beer bars have changed their status, according to city official Hartmut Frommer.

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Rehoboth Proposed Smoking Ban  

Rehoboth Beach residents aren't supporting the proposed smoking ban in the resort town. That's according to a new local poll.

A smoking ban for the beach, boardwalk and local parks has already been proposed in neighboring Bethany Beach.

But 78-percent of the polled Rehoboth residents say they don't want the ban.

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Understanding teen attitudes critical to quit message 

Teen attitudes to smoking need to be re-examined if anti-smoking health campaigns are to be effective, according to Hunter researchers.

Researchers from the Centre for Health Research and Psycho-oncology (CHeRP) have reviewed 78 international studies, drawing some important conclusions about adolescent smoking and peer pressure, sales-to-minor laws, and young people's views on nicotine addiction. Flora Tzelepis from CHeRP said the review concentrated on information from focus groups and interviews with young people.

"In relation to peer pressure, teenagers rarely identify bullying or teasing as coercive factors that lead to smoking," Ms Tzelepis said. "The desire to fit in with the group is far more influential and pervasive and this is what needs to be tackled in education programs rather than the simplistic 'Just say no' type of message.

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RESA VIII presents anti-tobacco gear to local high school baseball teams  

RESA III Tobacco Prevention Program is distributing baseball gear to all high school baseball teams throughout the Eastern Panhandle. The Keyser High RAZE Crew assisted Donna Kuhn, RESA VIII Tobacco Prevention Specialist with the presentation of the gear to the Keyser High Junior Varsity baseball team. Members of the Divisions youth-led anti-tobacco program, RAZE, in conjunction with the Division's spit tobacco Cessation Program Save Face distributed personalized baseball scorebooks highlighting tobacco facts.

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Retailers fuming over new law regulating display of tobacco 

Denis Castonguay is all lit up about a provincial law he thinks is silly, prohibiting him from displaying cigarettes in his store, Den's Smoke Shop.

The law kicks in at the end of May and forces owners such as Castonguay to purchase shelf covers hiding the brands away, to avoid tempting customers into making an impulse buy.

He has ordered a wall cover with individual flip-up covers, at a cost of $400. But he is worried it won't be in on time for the deadline.

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Cigars & Smokeless Tobacco 

Offering smokers new alternatives has been a stepping stone for huge growth in the OTP segment. The category as a whole has been showing big numbers, but MST, in particular, has been leading a bold charge in the c-store industry.

Retailers are eager to capitalize on the profits OTP offers. Of the 77 key decision makers to participate in the CSD Brand Preference Study, 65% reported they were working closely with OTP suppliers and communicated with three or more companies in the past 60 days. However, 10% reported no sales presentation in the past two months.

Communication is crucial especially as the stakes get higher. A USB study on smokeless products showed that MST alone enjoyed a sales boost of 8%, reaching a peak of unforeseen sales that have continued to rise since 2004.

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RJR adds test cities 

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. is taking its Camel Snus marketing tour to the country's biggest consumer markets in May.

The company said yesterday that it is expanding the test markets for the smokeless product from eight to 17 metropolitan areas.

The new markets are Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York City, Oakland/San Francisco and Seattle. Camel Snus is the first snus product by a U.S. tobacco manufacturer introduced into those markets. . . .

"Every new city RJR picked has a clean-air law," said Matthew Myers, the president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "This is about RJR doing everything they can to keep people from quitting."

Godshall said that persuading smokers to try a new smokeless-tobacco product isn't easy.

"Although smokeless tobacco is just as addictive as cigarettes, and should not be used by those who are not addicted to nicotine, cigarettes are about 100 times deadlier than smokeless-tobacco products," he said.

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Spartanburg Could Go Smoke Free 

Today the Spartanburg City Council plans to hold a workshop to discuss a possible smoking ban.

Spartanburg is the next upstate city that could decide to go smoke- free by banning smoking in bars, restaurants, and public buildings.

One of this area's most popular restaurant chains, Fatz Café already decided to go smoke free.

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Reynolds expands snus test to N.Y., other cities  

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co is expanding the test of its Camel snus smokeless tobacco product to the largest U.S. markets, including New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles, a spokesman said on Tuesday.

The expansion is the latest sign that R. J. Reynolds, a unit of Reynolds American Inc, sees a U.S. future for snus, a refrigerated smokeless and spitless tobacco product with roots in Sweden.

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Risk of cervical cancer higher among women who smoke 

Munich - Smoking increases the risk of cervical cancer, according to the professional association of gynaecologists. An infection caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) could more easily lead to cancer of the cervix in a woman who smokes than in a non-smoker, the Munich-based association said.

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SEPP apartments go smoke-free 

Tobacco Free Broome will hold a celebration Monday to mark SEPP's decision to go smoke-free.

The event is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday in the Marian Apartment building complex on Hooper Road in Endwell. SEPP (Serving the Elderly through Project Planning) recently decided to have its buildings become smoke-free.

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Shiner International Announces $7.2 Million in New Coated Film and BOPP Tobacco Film Contracts 

Shiner International, Inc. , an emerging global leader in the anti- counterfeiting and advanced packaging industry, today announced it has entered into a number of domestic and international contracts to supply 2,200 tons of coated and BOPP tobacco film at an approximate value of $7.2 million.

For the fiscal year-ended Dec. 31, 2007, Shiner reported that total coated film revenue grew 37 percent to $13.2 million, while BOPP tobacco film revenue grew nearly 49 percent to $11.8 million during the same period. With the addition of these new contract wins, the company remains on pace to generate continued growth in both the coated film and BOPP tobacco film business segments during 2008.

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SMOKE BAN A SUCCESS 

The great stub out in the town centre has been hailed a success after the smoking ban came into effect on July 1 with only nine complaints about smoking on smoke-free premise.

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LETTER: Smokers are selfish 

Opponents of this law have shown just how selfish and inconsiderate some smokers can be. Saying it should be up to the owners of bars or restaurants to decide whether to allow smoking is just as ridiculous as saying it should be up to the owner of an automobile to decide if the car is to be driven while drunk. Second-hand cigarette smoke kills . . .

Cigarettes kill more people than heroin, cocaine and meth combined. Instead of whining about a few minor restrictions, nicotine junkies should just be thankful they're not being herded off to prison like other addicts.

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