Tobacco.org

Tobacco ban 'won't hit business' 

Plans to ban tobacco displays in shops in England and Wales can be implemented without harming small businesses, the new health secretary has said.

Andy Burnham promised MPs he would "find that balance" between cutting smoking among youngsters and minimising the impact on shopkeepers.

But Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said the results of similar schemes in Canada were mixed.

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Nicotine gum before quitting smoking not helpful  

Starting nicotine gum, while reducing the number of cigarettes smoked by half at 4 weeks before a target date for quitting smoking is no more effective than beginning nicotine replacement on the quit date without tapering off beforehand, according to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Dr. Jean-Francois Etter, of the University of Geneva, Switzerland and colleagues studied 314 adults who smoked at least 15 cigarettes per day (an average of 23.7 cigarettes per day).

About half of the subjects were assigned to use nicotine polacrilex gum (Nicorette) 4 weeks before and 8 weeks after their target quit date and to reduce the number of cigarettes they smoked by half before the quit date. The other subjects were assigned to use the same nicotine gum for 8 weeks beginning on their quit date and instructed to quit smoking abruptly.

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Alcohol Consumption, Cigarette Smoking, and the Risk of Recurrent Acute and Chronic Pancreatitis 

Conclusions Very heavy alcohol consumption and smoking are independent risks for CP. A minority of patients with pancreatitis currently seen at US referral centers report very heavy drinking.

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Tobacco Curbs Clear Senate as 10-Year Fight Nears End (Update2)  

The Senate voted to give U.S. drug regulators power to restrict tobacco products, bringing a decade-old fight over supervising the $80-billion-a-year industry near an end.

The 79-17 vote followed House approval of a similar measure April 2. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House may accept the changes made by the Senate and send the legislation “right on” to President Barack Obama for his signature. Obama, who publicly swore off smoking last year, backed regulation as a senator.

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Longitudinal Tracking of Left Ventricular Mass Over the Adult Life Course. Clinical Correlates of Short- and Long-Term Change in the Framingham Offspring Study  

Conclusions--Our longitudinal observations on a large community-based sample identified higher blood pressure, excess adiposity, smoking, and diabetes mellitus as fundamental determinants of LV mass tracking over the adult life course. These observations are consistent with the notion that maintenance of optimal levels of these risk factors in midlife will reduce the burden of LV hypertrophy, and possibly heart failure, in older age.

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Ark senators vote for bill to regulate tobacco 

U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln says legislation that passed the Senate today will restrict tobacco companies from targeting children.

Lincoln and Sen. Mark Pryor, both D-Ark., voted with the majority as the Senate passed 79-17 the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

LINCOLN PRESS RELEASE; Washington – U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln said the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, passed by the Senate today by a vote of 79 to17, will implement much-needed marketing restrictions on tobacco companies that target children.

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AMA Cheers Senate Passage of Historic Tobacco Regulation Bill 

"The AMA cheers Senate passage of legislation that will for the first time allow the FDA to strongly regulate cigarettes and other tobacco products. Passage of this historic legislation by both the House and Senate is a victory for public health over Big Tobacco.

"More than 400,000 Americans die needlessly every year as a direct result of tobacco use. The actions resulting from this landmark legislation may make people think twice before picking up a cigarette. The sad truth is that tobacco-related deaths are the number one preventable cause of death in the U.S. Physicians are working not only to treat diseases like cancer that result from tobacco use, but to prevent them from occurring in the first place.

"Passage of this legislation represents an important break from the past, as it signifies broad acceptance that nicotine is a drug harmful to people's health. Tobacco companies will now have to disclose ingredients and use stronger warning labels.

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Senators Lugar and Bayh Vote to Protect America's Kids from Tobacco 

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids applauds U.S. Senators Evan Bayh and Richard Lugar for voting today to approve historic legislation that gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco products, including the authority to crack down on tobacco marketing and sales to kids. The U.S. Senate approved the bipartisan bill 79 to 17. The House has approved similar legislation, and Congress is expected to quickly send a final bill to President Obama, who is eager to sign it into law. Both Indiana senators also co-sponsored the bill and voted against every effort to weaken or delay the bill.

"Senators Lugar and Bayh have been leaders in this historic effort to protect our children from tobacco addiction and save lives,"

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BK teens on tobacco road  

More teens in Brooklyn use tobacco than in any borough, according to a federal lawmaker promoting legislation he hopes will help young lungs curb the harmful habit.

Nearly a third of all teen tobacco users citywide reside in Brooklyn, which has 25,000 teen smokers and 7,300 users of smokeless tobacco, according to Sen. Charles Schumer. Brooklyn’s teen smoking numbers represent a staggering 33 percent of teen smokers citywide, he noted.

In order to combat the problem, Schumer announced last week that he is pushing legislation that will prevent tobacco companies from targeting underage smokers with advertisements and products.

“With thousands of children in Brooklyn addicted to cigarettes and tobacco companies coming up with new, creative ways to target even more children, the time to act is now,” Schumer said in a statement to this paper.

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WHEATON: Obama, FDA All Set to Protect Children From Cigarettes  

The White House sent out a press release this afternoon letting the world know the world is once again safe for children. Why? Because, after 14 years, the Food and Drug Administration will get its mitts on tobacco regulation. . . .

What bugs me is that we're supposed to believe that cigarettes really will kill you if you so much as look at them -- or stand next to someone who looks at them. I'm as big a libertarian as the next guy, but if that's the case, then the government should put its money where its mouth is and come right out and make them illegal. . . .

What would happen to New York City if it could no longer count on smokers to shell out $10 for a pack of cigarettes?

Here's a great idea for any and all government bodies. Legalize heroin and cocaine. Pray that everyone gets hooked. Then slap them both with sin taxes! (And whine about the evils of marketing while you're doing it.)

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Tobacco Bill's Big Winner: Philip Morris?  

You might expect tobacco companies to oppose the legislation, and you wouldn't be wrong: Lorillard Inc., the third-largest tobacco manufacturer, issued a statement saying "Congress should not be burdening the FDA with a new responsibility over a multibillion-dollar industry when it is failing presently to preserve its core mission."

But the largest tobacco manufacturer in the country, Philip Morris USA - a division of Altria Inc. and the home of the popular Marlboro brand - largely supports the bill. The company's spokesperson, Bill Phelps, told NPR it "will create a framework for the pursuit of tobacco products that are less harmful than conventional cigarettes."

Lorillard, Reynolds American Inc. and other tobacco companies have an explanation for why Philip Morris is supporting a bill that would mean stronger regulations on its products: They say the legislation will pave the way for the company to cement its dominant position in the market, because the regulations will make it harder for companies to market smaller brands or introduce new products.

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Senators Snowe and Collins Vote to Protect America's Kids from Tobacco 

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids applauds U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins for voting today to approve historic legislation that gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco products, including the authority to crack down on tobacco marketing and sales to kids. The U.S. Senate approved the bipartisan bill 79 to 17. The House has approved similar legislation, and Congress is expected to quickly send a final bill to President Obama, who is eager to sign it into law.

Senators Snowe and Collins are both co-sponsors of this legislation and longtime leaders in the fight to give the FDA authority over tobacco products. During Senate debate on the bill, they have voted against every effort to weaken or delay the bill.

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LAUTENBERG, LONGTIME SENATE LEADER ON ANTI-TOBACCO EFFORTS, HAILS PASSAGE OF FDA TOBACCO BILL  

Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), a longtime Senate leader in the fight against Big Tobacco, today hailed the historic passage of the FDA tobacco bill. The bill would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate the sale and distribution of tobacco products, and prevent cigarette makers from targeting children in their advertising and marketing and making false claims to the public.

"This Congress and President Obama are determined to protect our kids from the dangers of smoking - and today's victory shows that," Sen. Lautenberg said. "For too long, Big Tobacco and their powerful lobbyists had free rein to hide the real dangers of tobacco and target our kids as the next generation of smokers. Today's victory was decades in the making, but we will not rest until this bill is signed into law."

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US Senate OKs Tobacco Regulation by FDA; Enactment Seen Soon 

The Food and Drug Administration will soon oversee the marketing and production of cigarettes, after the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation Thursday giving the agency the authority to regulate tobacco products.

The House passed a similar bill in April. To save time, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the House will take up the Senate measure and send it on to President Barack Obama, rather than negotiate a compromise between the two versions.

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EDROSO: Death of the Kool? Senate Passes Tobacco Control "Family" Bill 

The bill, which -- as is traditional with nanny-state provisions -- carries the won't-somebody-please-think-of-the-children name The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, passed 79 votes to 17, with only one Democratic senator against. (She is from North Carolina.) "It is actually a bipartisan bill," John Coryn (R -Texas) told the New York Times.

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