Tobacco.org

Frequently Asked Questions (PDF) 

1. I thought the powerful Tavern League of Wisconsin could have defeated the smoking ban again this year. Why did the TLW compromise if they could have killed the bill again?

We could not have killed the bill. Last session there were 18 authors of the bill this year there were 34 authors. Unlike last session, Governor Doyle took the unprecedented step of including an extreme smoking ban in his state budget bill. He had us in a very difficult position – either compromise or risk passage of his smoking ban in the budget. Governor Doyle’s bill would have taken effect August 1st and allowed local governments to ban outdoor smoking and fine business owners up to $500 for violations. Based on that information the TLW Board of Directors unanimously agreed to seek a compromise which would include three main provisions. 1. A year long phase in, 2. Pre-emption of local smoking ordinances, and 3. Lower fines. The compromise accomplished that objective. Some members have said we should have fought to the bitter end. Our objective was to defeat the smoking ban and when that became unachievable we tried as best we could to do what was in the best interest of the Membership.

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In fairness to the tavern league 

In a way I do understand why the tavern league caved in. This is probably the weakest anti-smoking law in the nation. The fine is minimal for the taverns and there is no threat of loss of license to the taverns. I understand. From the Tavern League.

Our objective was to defeat the smoking ban and when that became unachievable we tried as best we could to do what was in the best interest of the Membership.

While I agree under the recent political climate that the ban was inevitable I disagree with their reasons for caving in. For one thing if the ban would have been effective immediately the obvious economic ramifications would be obvious before the next elections. It is common knowledge that the effects of a smoking ban for bar owners are the worst in the winter. So the effects will not take effect until after the next election cycle. The tavern league conceded to the ban. What they do not realize that with that concession that the anti-smoking activist will whittle it down from there. . . .

The bottom line is if the Tavern League would have held the line and brought up the fact that there was no time for public opinion there was no fair hearing. It was all decided within 24 hours behind closed doors. This alone would have been enough to sway public opinion. If they would have fought hard against i being put in the budget would have exposed Doyle for the political activist that he is.

The bottom line is that the tavern league betrayed their constituents. I for one am looking for a tavern league that has a long term goal. Not one that caves in to the political whims of the temporary.

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Thank Anbumani Ramadoss? 

Anbumani Ramadoss, former health minister is out in the cold. Unsung! Unlamented! But there are two things for which the maverick minister will long be remembered: the zeal with which he fought the All India Institute of Medical Sciences director Dr P Venugopal and the equal zeal with which he campaigned against tobacco consumption. If the first showed him at his petty best, the second showed a surprisingly public-spirited side that few expect to see in our political class.

While his almost personal vendetta with Venugopal has been forgotten by all save, perhaps, Venugopal and Ramadoss, his other legacy, the battle against tobacco consumption, lives on. “The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones”, lamented Mark Antony in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. But for once the bard was wrong! Sometimes the good does live on, as in the case of Ramadoss.

The former minister is far from dead even if both he and his party are on the verge of political extinction. But starting today, coincidentally, ‘World No Tobacco Day’, the fight against smoking has got added ammunition: mandatory pictorial health warnings on cigarette packs. The decision comes after three years of vacillation and more recently, attempts to dilute the warnings, and is a blow to the tobacco lobby. . . .

“My father had been doubtful anyway ... And my mother was too ill with her interminable bronchitis. As I carried old Dr Robinson’s prescription to the chemist the following morning...I vowed I would never smoke.” Hopefully, in time no child will have to choose the hard way like John Major and improbable as it might seem, we have to thank Ramadoss for it!

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'World No-Tobacco Day' observed in Delhi 

Rallies, colourful parades by children of various schools, public lectures and awareness programmes marked the 'World No-Tobacco Day' in the national capital on Sunday.

The Directorate of Health and Family Welfare of the government of Delhi and Heart Care Foundation of India jointly organised a 'perfect health parade' to observe the day.

Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia flagged off the rally in which representatives from Delhi government, MCD, NDMC and a number of NGOs took part. Tableaux depicting anti-tobacco messages were the highlight of the parade in which school- children and college students were present in large numbers.

"The people of Delhi will have to be freed of all diseases. For this, we will have to carry out massive public awareness drives," Walia said on the occasion.

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Brutal Gallery: A World of Cigarette Warning Pictures  

The WHO is out today with the latest call for cigarette packs to carry “pictorial warnings.”

The agency says pictures can have a greater effect than words alone in reducing smoking rates. But only a handful of countries require the warning photos.

The WHO posted this page with photo warnings from cigarette packs around the world. Here’s a sampling; it’s a bit graphic.

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New tobacco warnings may take a month 

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare notification, all packaging of tobacco products must carry pictorial warnings with effect from Sunday, but experts here say it may take a month for them to actually appear on the shelves.

"Strictly according to the law, you should not have any of the old stock being sold from May 31 itself, but at least we can be assured that the manufacturing of the old packaging will stop," Dr. S. Mittal, senior consultant for the WHO Tobacco Free Initiative in West Bengal, said on Sunday.

The tobacco industry has stated that it has inventory to clear, which may take about a month, but if any packet is manufactured after May 31 without the pictorial warning, both the manufacturer and seller would be liable for prosecution, Dr. Mittal added.

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Govt committed to ensuring Tobacco-free environment: Minister 

Minister for Health Mir Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani said Sunday the government was committed to providing Tobacco free environment at public places including government and private offices, restaurants, airports, railways stations. He was addressing at a seminar held to mark World No Tobacco Day jointly oraganised by Health Ministry and World Health Organization here.

The minister said all railway stations would be smoke‑free from July 1. After PIA, Pakistan Railways would be second public transport organization to become tobacco free, he added.

He said from January 1, 2010, all cigarette packs and the outlets would carry pictorial warnings. " We realize that with low literacy, people need to be pictorially warned of the health risks of smoking," he added.

The minister said that no tobacco company would be allowed to offer free goods, cash rebates, or discounts as a marketing incentive to cigarette buyers from July 1.

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• Landmark decisions for tobacco control 

The government reduced the tobacco industry to the size of a pygmy here Sunday by announcing immediate rollback of the controversial Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) on Designated Smoking Areas (DSAs) and making the printing of pictorial health warnings on cigarette packs and outers mandatory with effect from January 1, 2010.

The government also prohibited the tobacco companies from offering free giveaways, cash rebates or discounts as a marketing incentive. It also announced to make Pakistan Railways smoke-free from July 1, 2009.

Minister for Health Mir Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani made these surprise announcements at a seminar organised in connection with World No-Tobacco Day 2009 (WNTD) here on Sunday. By doing so, the government not only added a golden chapter to the history of tobacco control efforts in Pakistan but also regained its lost glory in the international health community, which felt the pinch of the country's pro-tobacco industry posture just as much as anti-tobacco campaigners at home. . . .

Jakhrani also announced that all railway trains will be smoke-free from July 1, 2009.

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Immediate implementation of anti-smoking laws demanded 

Speakers at a symposium Saturday urged the government to enforce the anti-smoking laws in letter and spirit in order to protect people from the tobacco-related diseases.

The symposium was orgainsed by the NWFP chapter of the Pakistan Chest Society (PCS) at Lady Reading Hospital in connection with the 'World No Tobacco Day' being observed across the globe today (Sunday) to highlight the hazards of smoking.

Speaking on the occasion, Health Services Director Dr Fazle Qayyum, who is also the focal person for the tobacco control in the NWFP, said that presently around 2.2 million people in the country were smoking tobacco in various forms, while 1,200 new persons of the age 6-15 start smoking in Pakistan, which, he termed, an alarming trend.

He said they had to cut the tobacco demand by increasing awareness about the ill-effects of its use and impose heavy taxes on cigarette manufacturing companies. "Promotion of tobacco is promotion of diseases which is a violation of basic human rights," he added. . . .

He said that a multi-sectoral, integrated and coordinated approach should be adopted to save the young generation from the onslaught of tobacco industry's advertisement campaign.

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22nd "World No Tobacco Day"  

May 31 is the 22nd "World No Tobacco Day". This year's campaign is focusing on cutting down smoking by making the public more aware of associated risks. Activities are being held to mark the day in some of China's major cities.

The main activity in China on World No Tobacco Day is encouraging smokers to stop smoking for one hour. Smokers are also being called on to join programs to help them kick the habit.

The major Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are hosting camps for smokers, inviting them to experience quitting smoking with the help of science, and learning effective methods based on medical advice.

Figures show only 3 percent of smokers succeed in quitting by self-control. Experts say medical guidance is an effective way to quit smoking.

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Tobacco health warnings will be strictly implemented: Delhi government 

Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia Friday said that tobacco health warnings will be strictly implemented in the state.

"Packaging industries will also be warned to follow the guidelines of the government by May 31. We are committed to make Delhi a smoke-free by the end of 2009," said Walia, while releasing a short film "Tobacco: Threat to Life & Development" on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, observed at the India Habitat Centre here.

She said in order to make Delhi smoke-free, a number of schemes have been launched by the government. The Smoke-free Delhi by 2009 project will implemented in collaboration with Bloomberg Initiative which is a group of renowned international organisations including the World Health Organisation (WHO), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, World Lung Foundation, Centre for Disease Control, US and John Hopkins School of Public Health, US.

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Tobacco-free trains initiative launched 

The Tobacco Control Cell of the Ministry of Health launched the tobacco-free trains initiative in connection with its various ongoing activities for World No-Tobacco Day.

Launched in collaboration with the World Health Organisation and the Ministry of Railways, the initiative will lead to stringent measures being taken to prohibit smoking inside trains.

Divisional Superintendent Railways Jalaluddin Khan has declared all the 104 stations falling under his jurisdiction as tobacco-free.

"The Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non-Smokers Health Ordinance will be implemented in letter and spirit, and no one would be allowed to smoke inside the trains," Jalauddin pledged while speaking at a ceremony held at the Rawalpindi Railway Station here on Friday to mark the launching of the initiative. "Stern action will be taken against violators. Internal orders to this effect have already been circulated," he informed.

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Tobacco may claim 1b lives in 21st century 

In Pakistan, an estimated 40% males and 9% females are smokers and the percentage is increasing day by day while about 100,000 people die due to tobacco-related diseases such as cancers, heart attacks, strokes and many other serious diseases every year in Pakistan.

"Young people are aggressively targeted by the tobacco industry which spends billions of dollars each year marketing its products. Through advertising and promotional campaigns, including the use of carefully crafted package designs, the tobacco industry continues to divert attention from the deadly effects of its products," said Head of Community Medicine at Islamabad Medical & Dental College Dr Muhammad Ashraf Chaudhry while talking to 'The News' in connection with World No Tobacco Day 2009 which is being observed today (on May 31) around the globe.

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TOTO: Butt out, AMA 

Its new campaign, dubbed "Which Movie Studios Will Cause the Most Youth to Start Smoking This summer?" plans to "shame" studios from making movies featuring characters who smoke.

Well, OK. How about studios remove characters who maim, torture and kill others? Or those who disrespect their parents?

Where do you draw the line?

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No butts about it  

Hoping to focus an anti-tobacco message at Santa Monica's youth, a number of Los Angeles organizations have banded together to present the first ever World No Tobacco Day Text-2-Quit event, set to take place this Saturday on the eve of World No Tobacco Day.

Organized by BREATHE LA, a historic Los Angeles air quality and lung health advocacy organization, and by 4-U-N-I Teens Helping Teens Quit Smoking, a teen-to-teen anti-smoking program rooted in local high schools and supported financially by BREATHE LA, the event will bring together tobacco prevention organizations, health professionals and young people to spread awareness about the dangers of tobacco use.

The event will provide games, prizes and other youth-oriented activities, but with an important twist: participants will be challenged to send as many text messages -- discouraging use of tobacco products -- as they can while completing other lighthearted tasks such as playing ping-pong.

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