Tobacco.org

The “Sunny Side” of Spring for truth®  

Throughout the month of April and May, new elements from the truth® youth smoking prevention campaign will roll out online, on television, and in movie theaters. The latest truth® campaign, called the “Sunny Side of truth® ”, launched in January 2008; the campaign aims to shine a light on some of the activities of Big Tobacco and the health consequences of tobacco use by satirically pointing out some of the “hidden positives” associated with tobacco.

“We know that today’s media-savvy teens look to TV, the Internet and popular entertainment to keep up with friends and get their daily information,” remarked Cheryl G. Healton

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Councilman proposes smoking ban at Wilkes-Barre playgrounds 

Councilman Bill Barrett wants smoking prohibited at city playgrounds, a ban that other local communities have passed or plan to implement.

Barrett invited Melissa Rehrig, youth and school health coordinator for Steps to a Healthier Pa. Luzerne County, to a council meeting Thursday at 6 p.m. to discuss prohibiting smoking at playgrounds to prevent children's exposure to secondhand smoke.

Barrett learned of the organization after a co-worker at Luzerne County Community College complained about someone smoking in the playground area at Kirby Park and throwing butts in the mulch. He wants Pennsylvania to have a state law like California, which prohibits smoking in all playgrounds.

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South Asia news, business and economy from India and Pakistan 

As if a crippling medical manpower crunch - with just one doctor currently available for every 10,000 Indians - wasn't bad enough, India is also poised to hold a whopping 60% of the world's heart disease patients by 2010, according to a recent study by the British journal The Lancet.

The groundbreaking study, conducted by a team of researchers led by Dr Denis Xavier of St John's National Academy of Health Sciences in Bangalore, studied 21,000 heart attack patients admitted to 89 hospitals in 50 cities across the country. It found that while the cardiac risk factors in India - excessive tobacco consumption, high lipid levels in the blood due to fat-rich diets and hypertension - weren't dissimilar to those in other nations, what disadvantaged Indians further was the time it took for them to access medical help. . . .

India is also home to 12% of the world's smokers and will witness 930,000 deaths in 2010, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study estimates that India has about 120 million smokers who will contribute to deaths mainly from tuberculosis, heart disease and cancer.

Oncologist Dr Swati Chopra stresses that smoking exacerbates the risk of heart attack as elevated nicotine levels spike the body's bad cholesterol or LDL making the blood stickier and the arteries harder. "This enhances the blood's chances to clot more readily. Sticky blood flowing through hardened arteries can lead to the formation of a clot and block an artery. A blocked artery in the brain," informs the expert, "can trigger a brain stroke which may lead to paralysis or even death."

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ClearWay Minnesota(SM) Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary of Settlement 

Tomorrow marks the 10-year anniversary of Minnesota's historic settlement with the tobacco industry. The settlement and the trial leading up to it made national headlines for exposing millions of tobacco industry documents and for creating ClearWay Minnesota, an independent nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to eliminating the harm tobacco causes Minnesotans.

Funded with 3 percent of the settlement, ClearWay Minnesota has achieved significant milestones during the past decade, including comprehensive cessation services for all Minnesotans, a strong statewide smoke-free law and a nationally respected research program. ClearWay Minnesota remains the only organization of its kind in the country.

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FOX 2's Andrea Isom Reports on the Smoking Ban 

It could soon be "lights out" for smokers in bars and restaurants across the state. The Senate has just passed a bill that would ban smoking in the workplace. The House passed a similar bill last year, and the governor says she'll sign it.

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Despite exemption, prisons to ban smoking  

Iowa's prisons will become tobacco-free in early January even though state lawmakers exempted the institutions in a new law that bans smoking in most public places.

Prison officials are concerned about rising health care costs for inmates and believe banning smoking will help reduce those bills, said Fred Scaletta, prison spokesman.

Tobacco historically has been an important part of inmate culture. In the past decade, however, there has been a trend toward eliminating smoking in the nation's prisons.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons, with more than 200,000 inmates in 114 facilities, has been smoke-free since 2004, said spokesman Mike Truman. Surveys have shown a majority of the 50 state prison systems are either tobacco-free or have partial smoking bans.

Some observers in Iowa, though, are worried about repercussions from a smoking ban.

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Smoking vote puffs nearer  

The 2008 smoking ban vote has brought in about half the number of voters the 2005 smoking ban did in early voting.

About 7,200 voters showed up at the polls in Amarillo this week and last to vote on banning smoking in most public places. More than 14,000 people voted early on the 2005 ban, which failed by about 550 votes.

The last chance to vote will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.

Some voters appear not to understand who can vote on whether to curb public smoking.

"I don't want people to be disappointed," said Randall County Clerk Sue Bartolino, whose office is running the election for the city of Amarillo. "If they live in Amarillo and are registered, then they can vote."

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Outdoor smoking at restaurants: Is a ban too much? 

A proposal to ban smoking in outdoor seating areas at Portland restaurants triggered a debate Thursday on the competing rights of individuals.

On one side were representatives of health organizations who argued that diners and workers should not be subjected to secondhand smoke in public restaurants.

On the other were people, including some business owners, who said the ordinance would go too far in limiting the choices made by businesses and individuals.

The City Council's Health and Recreation Committee is considering a proposal to expand the city's 10-year-old smoking ban for restaurants and bars. The restrictions have since become state law.

The latest proposal would prohibit smoking in outdoor seating areas where food is served, though to what extent has not been decided. One proposed amendment would apply the restriction only when the outdoor areas are being used for dining.

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Florida spending money to fight smoking 

Florida's revamped anti-smoking campaign is starting to move into high-gear. Lawmakers had gutted the program's budget in recent years, but in 2006 voters forced the program back into relevancy. They approved a constitutional amendment to require the Legislature to put 15 percent of the state's tobacco settlement dollars into the program each year. Now the state anti-smoking campaign will start airing student-produced commercials and begin offering free nicotine patches

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Iowa prisons to ban smoking 

Iowa's prisons are going smoke-free, despite an exemption from the state's new statewide smoking ban.

Prison spokesman Fred Scaletta says officials are concerned about the rising cost of health care for inmates and banning smoking will cut those bills.

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Maine's largest city considers bans on outdoor smoking 

PORTLAND, Maine--Maine's largest city is trying to decide whether to ban smoking at outdoor cafes.

Residents gave an earful Thursday night to the city's Health and Recreation Committee, which is considering a proposal to ban smoking in outdoor seating areas where food is served.

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• Mich. Senate passes smoking ban bill 

A statewide ban moved a step closer to reality Thursday when the Michigan Senate voted to prohibit smoking in all bars, restaurants and workplaces.

"Hot damn, you're kidding me," said Grand Traverse County Commissioner Herb Lemcool when he heard of the vote. Lemcool has tried and failed for years to get the county board to ban smoking in public places. "That is awesome. This is great news."

Lemcool said legislation that bans smoking is needed to protect employees who don't smoke from dangerous exposure to secondhand smoke.

The 25-12 Senate vote, a major development in efforts to enact a smoking ban in the state, came after a Democratic senator asked to discharge legislation from a committee where bills traditionally have gone to die.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, allowed a vote despite personally opposing the bill.

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Officials set smoking ordinance hearing 

The second public hearing on the county-wide smoking ordinance has been set. It will be held May 27 at 7 p.m. in the Peru High School auditorium.

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Michigan Senate OKs ban on smoking in bars, restaurants 

An anti-smoking bill that appeared to be going nowhere took a surprise turn Thursday in the Senate when 25 lawmakers voted for a ban on smoking in Michigan's bars, restaurants and workplaces.

The bill returns to the House, which has been waiting since December for the Senate to act. The House could send the bill as early as next week to Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who backs the smoking prohibition in part because it could have a positive influence on youngsters. Studies have shown teenagers are less likely to take up smoking in communities with bans.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, who allowed the Senate to vote despite personally opposing the measure, called it a "blatant overreach" of government into private affairs.

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Plan would limit smoking at Palomar 

Walking across the Palomar College main campus can seem like a stroll backward in time, to an era of prevalent and loosely restricted smoking.

But students who have pushed for two years to keep the clouds of secondhand smoke limited to a few outdoor areas have cleared a major hurdle, despite objections from faculty and staff labor groups.

If approved by the community college district board of trustees, the proposal would make five designated smoking areas the only places on campus where it is permissible to light up.

The proposed policy was approved on a 13-5 vote of the college's Strategic Planning Council this week.

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