Tobacco.org

Pennsylvania Department of Health Applauds New Federal Anti-Tobacco Law 

The Pennsylvania Department of Health today commended President Barack Obama for signing the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which gives the Federal Drug Administration, or FDA, the authority to regulate tobacco.

"This is a great day for the health of all Americans," said Secretary of Health Everette James. . . .

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death. According to a recent study, approximately 20,000 Pennsylvania adults die annually from smoking-related causes and the health care costs associated with smoking-related illnesses are staggering. According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, annual healthcare costs directly caused by smoking amount to $5.19 billion for Pennsylvania annually.

Currently, nearly 21 percent of adults in Pennsylvania smoke. In addition, 18 percent of Pennsylvania's high school students smoke, while 18,400 kids under the age of 18 become new, daily smokers in Pennsylvania every year.

The average smoker makes between five and eight quit attempts before being successful, and those who have support are more likely to succeed. For information about the state's cessation resources, call Pennsylvania's Free Quitline, available 24 hours a day, at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669), or visit www.determinedtoquit.com. A Spanish-language version of the site is at www.estoydecidido.com.

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Obama signs law on tobacco products 

The Food and Drug Administration now has the authority to regulate tobacco products, under a law that President Barack Obama signed Monday at a Rose Garden ceremony.

With children onstage and sprinkled among audience members, and with the new playground for the presidential daughters in the distance, Obama said the new law would curtail the "constant, insidious" advertising that tobacco companies targeted to kids.

He pointed out that nearly 90 percent of smokers start before age 18.

"I know; I was one of those teenagers," Obama said in his speech. . . .

Obama, who's struggled with his own addition to cigarettes, ignored a question from the press gallery after the ceremony as he was shaking visitors' hands.

"Mr. President, how difficult has your struggle been with smoking?" CNN's Dan Lothian asked.

Obama glanced up, then turned away.

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EDITORIAL: Tobacco, Public Health, and the FDA 

Importantly, the act will also allow regulation of so-called modified risk tobacco products, which are typically identified by terms on the package such as "light," "low," or "mild." The use of such terms will no longer be permitted unless the product has been shown to significantly reduce harm. Warning labels on cigarette packages will be made more graphic and will require the use of color. Tobacco companies may no longer sponsor sporting events.

For the first time in almost 40 years, state and local governments will be allowed to regulate the marketing of tobacco, establishing restrictions that may be more rigorous than those of the FDA. In addition, the act requires that the 1996 Tobacco Rule, which was put in place by Commissioner Kessler and deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, must be reinstated. . . .

The total annual health care expenditures caused by smoking run to $96 billion.4 Along with other critical prevention goals, such as controlling obesity and increasing levels of physical activity, the elimination of cigarette smoking is central to improving the health of our citizens and mitigating the growth of health care costs.

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 comes at a propitious moment in U.S. history. We strongly support the FDA's new leaders and urge them to implement the act aggressively. As a medical journal, we are committed to eliminating the public health threat tobacco represents to American society and the world.

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Tough Anti-Smoking Law Puts Consumers' Health First  

Pick up a pack of cigarettes in Brazil, and you'll see a photograph of a tiny fetus, a gangrene-infected foot, a cadaver with a hole in the throat, or one of several other images warning of smoking-related risks.

Only a handful of countries require such stark photographic warnings. But thanks to sweeping legislation recently passed by Congress and signed by President Obama today, the United States is about to join the club. The Food and Drug Administration will have two years to develop "color graphic labels" for all cigarettes sold in the country. And that's just one of dozens of changes the tobacco industry faces. . . .

The bill reserves some of its most explicit language for labels, which will have to cover 50 percent of the front and back of a pack. The word WARNING will have to be printed in capital letters in 17-point font. And rather than gingerly alerting smokers to potential health consequences, new labels will cut to the point. Among the approved phrases: "cigarettes cause cancer" and "smoking can kill you."

Tobacco companies shouldn't have much trouble meeting that last requirement. They've been making bigger labels in the United States for years and shipping them out of the country to nations that have long done more to inform smokers of their risks.

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Cuban cigars could become hand-rolled headache 

the American trade embargo of the communist island, he sent out his press secretary to stock up on 1,000 to ensure that his personal supply was well supplied.

Forty-seven years later, as his successor begins to relax the blockade, tobacco companies are lining up to fight for the rights to cigars not sold or owned legally in the States since JFK's stash ran out.

Gordon Mott, the executive editor of Cigar Afficionado magazine, said that his readers were watching President Obama's overtures to Cuba with interest. "If the trade embargo is lifted, anyone who's a cigar connoisseur in this country will know about it," he said.

American smokers could soon have the chance to buy Cuban.

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REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT THE SIGNING OF THE FAMILY SMOKING PREVENTION AND TOBACCO CONTROL ACT  

You know, the legislation I'm signing today represents change that's been decades in the making. Since at least the middle of the last century, we've known about the harmful and often deadly effects of tobacco products. More than 400,000 Americans now die of tobacco-related illnesses each year, making it the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. More than 8 million Americans suffer from at least one serious illness caused by smoking. And these health problems cost us all more than $100 billion a year.

What's even worse are the effects on our children. One out of every five children in our country are now current smokers by the time they leave high school. Think about that statistic: One out of every five children in our country are now current smokers by the time they leave high school. Each day, 1,000 young people under the age of 18 become new, regular, daily smokers. And almost 90 percent of all smokers began at or before their 18th birthday.

I know -- I was one of these teenagers, and so I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when it's been with you for a long time. And I also know that kids today don't just start smoking for no reason. They're aggressively targeted as customers by the tobacco industry. They're exposed to a constant and insidious barrage of advertising where they live, where they learn, and where they play. Most insidiously, they are offered products with flavorings that mask the taste of tobacco and make it even more tempting.

We've known about this for decades, but despite the best efforts and good progress made by so many leaders and advocates with us today, the tobacco industry and its special interest lobbying have generally won the day up on the Hill. When Henry Waxman first brought tobacco CEOs before Congress in 1994, they famously denied that tobacco was deadly, nicotine was addictive, or that their companies marketed to children. And they spent millions upon millions in lobbying and advertising to fight back every attempt to expose these denials as lies.

Fifteen years later, their campaign has finally failed. . . .

When Henry Waxman opened that first hearing back in '94 on tobacco with the industry CEOs, he began by quoting an ancient proverb: "A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."

Our journey for change is far from over. But with the package of -- passage of the kids tobacco legislation that I'm about to sign, we're taking another big and very important step -- a step that will save lives and dollars. So I want to thank not only the members of Congress who are up on stage, but also all the members of Congress in the audience and all the health advocates that fought so long for this to happen. We hope you feel good about the extraordinary service that you've rendered this country. Thank you very much. Let's go sign the bill. (Applause.)

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When Henry Waxman opened that first hearing back in '94 on tobacco with the industry CEOs, he began by quoting an ancient proverb: 'A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.'
President Barack Obama.

Obama Refers to His Own Smoking Habit as He Signs Bill 

There are fewer touchier questions inside the White House than this: Is Mr. Obama still smoking? One administration official declined to answer on Monday, but pointed out that the president spoke in the present tense, “I know how difficult it can be to break this habit,” as opposed to, “I know how difficult it was to break this habit.” . . .

As Mr. Obama shook hands with the people on hand for the outdoor ceremony, he wandered near an assembled group of reporters. Dan Lothian, a correspondent for CNN, asked, “Mr. President, how difficult has your struggle been with smoking?”

The president – standing a couple feet away – did not reply to the questions. On the campaign trail last year, Mr. Obama publicly discussed his repeated attempts to quit smoking.

A few minutes later, a similar question came up at the daily White House press briefing. Robert Gibbs, the president’s press secretary and close adviser, demurred when asked directly if Mr. Obama was still smoking.

“I haven’t probed any deeper than the statements that I’ve given you over the past several days,” Mr. Gibbs said. “As he has told me, it’s something that he continues to struggle with as somebody like millions of Americans have.”

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Obama signs tough anti-smoking law aimed at teens 

Reporting from Washington -- Invoking his own personal experience as a teenage smoker, President Obama today predicted that a tough new law cracking down on cigarette marketers will help young people make the choice not to take up the habit with which he has struggled for years.

As he signed the measure into law in a Rose Garden ceremony this afternoon, Obama said it would help stem the "constant and insidious barrage of advertising" that draws millions of teenagers every year into a lifelong struggle to quit.

"I know," Obama said. "I was one of those teenagers. I know how difficult it is."

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VIDEO: Obama SignsTobacco Bill  

Clove cigarettes are officially history. So are "light" cigarettes and your favorite Marlboro billboard next to KinderCare. . . .

Before we consign the tobacco bill to history, however, let's take a quick look back at the House floor debate that gave us the words from Republican Steve Buyer of Indiana, never-before spoken in the history of Congress: "Go ahead and you smoke your lettuce!"

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• Inspired by a Children’s Game, Santa Monica Fights Smoking 

Although the amount of money devoted to antismoking campaigns is a fleck in an ashtray compared with the billions spent by Big Tobacco, the ads that try to unsell cigarettes strive to be every bit as creative as those on the other side -- or perhaps more so, given how much more difficult it is to break a habit than form one, particularly when a product contains addictive ingredients.

For instance, the American Legacy Foundation, whose ads seek to disclose the “Truth” about smoking to teenagers and young adults, is bringing out a campaign that carries the theme “Do you have what it takes to be a tobacco executive?” . . .

the New York City Department of Health has garnered attention for an aggressive campaign to fight smoking. And the New York State Department of Health is running ads that urge consumers to ask supermarkets to end their sales of tobacco products.

Another local campaign of note is coming from Santa Monica, Calif., which has long been in the vanguard in the battle against cigarettes. The campaign, which carries the theme “Smoking doesn’t belong here,” adapts the children’s game of “One of these things is not like the others” to remind residents and visitors to obey the city’s far-reaching no-smoking laws. . . .

A brainstorming session yielded the idea to borrow from “Sesame Street” the learning game of “one of these is out of place” as the basis of the campaign, Mr. Burke says.

“In talking about the visuals, the patterns of shapes,” he adds, “we came up with matching them up with the iconic Santa Monica references.”

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LETTER: 'What is more tragic' 

The South Dakota state Legislature in its infinite wisdom has decreed that come July 1, failure by a driver to wear a seat belt will be a primary offense. Also that same day, depending on the success of the current petition drive to refer the smoking ban, all businesses open to the public now will be smoke-free, once again courtesy of the Legislature. . . .

What is more tragic? The person who willingly, through his or her own choice, decides to not wear a seat belt or willingly decides to work or frequent an establishment that allows its patrons to smoke, or the innocent baby who has no choice in the matter and who is torn from its mother's womb piece by piece by the abortionist's suction machine?

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Petitions filed to put SD smoking ban to vote  

Casino owners and others opposed to expanding the state's smoking ban filed petitions Monday that could have enough signatures to require a public vote on the issue.

The law passed earlier this year by the South Dakota Legislature would ban smoking in bars, casinos in historic Deadwood and video lottery establishments. It extends a ban that has outlawed smoking in workplaces and most public areas since 2002.

The expansion is scheduled to take effect July 1. But the start date would be delayed until after next year's election if opponents have enough signatures to call for a vote.

Petitions with an estimated 25,000 signatures were submitted to Secretary of State Chris Nelson by a coalition representing bars and gambling establishments. If the documents contain at least 16,776 valid signatures, the smoking ban will go on the November 2010 ballot for a statewide vote.

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Citizens group to submit petitions today  

Larry Mann, coordinator of the petition drive to refer HB 1240, said that petitions will be submitted to the Secretary of State's Office at 11 a.m. today.

HB 1240 expanded South Dakota's smoking ban statute and repealed exemptions for liquor retailers, video lottery establishments and Deadwood Gaming establishments.

According to Mann, a coalition of four organizations decided to refer the measure to a vote of the public. The coalition includes: Deadwood Gaming Association, Licensed Beverage Dealers of South Dakota, Music and Vending Association of South Dakota and Video Lottery Establishments of South Dakota.

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Smoking ban opponents file signatures to take law to vote  

Petitions bearing an estimated 25,000 signatures have been filed to refer a South Dakota law that would ban smoking in bars, restaurants and casinos to a public vote.

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烟草专卖局:烟草税上调暂不影响零售价 

根据财政部和税务总局近日下发的通知，官方不仅在烟产品生产环节调整了计税价格，提高了消费税税率，在批发环节还加征了一道从价税，税率为百分之五。

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