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Tobacco Money For MT Tribe Cut Off Following Audit  

State officials have stopped distributions of tobacco grant money to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians after an audit revealed problems with the tribe's accounting practices.

The Montana Department of Health and Human Services audit says lax oversight and record keeping allowed for "potential abuse" of a $180,000 annual tobacco use prevention grant.

Half the money was for tobacco programs for the tribe's 4,300 members scattered across Montana and surrounding states and provinces. The remainder was for similar programs for American Indians in Great Falls and Billings.

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• FDA Gets an Earful 

A desire for clarity on tobacco regulations already put in place by the federal Food & Drug Administration (FDA), including advertising limitations and just what products are included in the ban of most flavored cigarettes, were among the key subjects discussed during the agency's tobacco stakeholder listening sessions, held by the FDA in September. While many attendees were pleased to know their concerns would be heard, they also were less than satisfied by the lack of answers.

Some people were disturbed by the fact that the FDA didn't respond to commentary during the sessions, said Norm Sharp, president of the Cigar Association of America Inc., Washington. He described his own reaction as "not satisfied, but not dissatisfied."

"I just didn't think that given their lack of knowledge about the industry and the newness of their organization, and the need to meet these tight deadlines, I just didn't expect there to be anything beyond a listening session," he told CSP Daily News.

Thomas Briant, executive director of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets Inc. (NATO), Minneapolis, attended both of the sessions (one for manufacturers and the other for retailers, importers and distributors), as well as a media briefing. He said that one of the major concerns discussed was the ban on color advertising on tobacco products in retail stores, "which violates the constitutional protection afforded to free speech." (Current litigation from tobacco manufacturers and a NATO retailer challenges the ban.)

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Cash needed to curb Indigenous smoking  

The Heart Foundation is calling for the financial support of the Federal Government to help lower the smoking rate in Aboriginal communities.

About 50 per cent of Indigenous people smoke in Australia, compared with the national average smoking rate of 19 per cent.

The foundation is today launching a new strategy focused on education and intervention programs to bring down the Indigenous smoking rate.

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• Smoking Bans' Effects on Heart Disease Risks -- IOM Report Releases Oct. 15 

Secondhand-Smoke Exposure and Cardiovascular Effects: Making Sense of the Evidence, a new report from the Institute of Medicine, provides a comprehensive evaluation of studies exploring the impacts of smoking bans in the United States and abroad and the relationship between secondhand smoke and heart disease. Based on this review, the report offers conclusions about the effectiveness of smoke-free policies. The report will be released with a one-hour public briefing.

Details:

11 a.m. to noon EDT Thursday, Oct. 15, Room 201 of the National Academies Keck Center

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Smoking fee spurs workers to quit  

Chatham County employee James Putney is on his way to becoming smoke-free after 40 years of lighting up.

After attending three of four smoking cessation classes, he is down from 20 to two cigarettes a day, Putney said.

The county's plan to start charging employees who smoke an extra $20 per paycheck for health insurance also helped his fight.

"It's a great incentive to get people to quit," Putney said, "especially with the way the economy is."

Putney's success so far is something county officials are hoping to emulate with their push to get employees to kick the habit.

Of the county's 139 admitted smokers, 115 signed up for the four free sessions. The remaining 24 will pay the fee.

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DANIELS: Ban second hand smoke 

Walking to class is becoming a life-or-death adventure as the dangers of secondhand smoke are becoming more of a priority to Oregonians, with college campuses and parks going smoke-free. . . .

While it's a person's right to choose to smoke, it is also a person's right to choose not to smoke. It is unfair to for a person to inhale secondhand smoke when they have chosen not to do it firsthand. Some people suffer from severe asthma or respiratory problems, so while inhaling secondhand smoke has been proven to be dangerous in a healthy non-smoker, it is especially risky for those with serious health problems.

So how do we solve this problem? Should we support one person's freedom while ignoring another's? No. What it comes down to is health. The concerns and major health issues linked to secondhand smoking are prominent issues, and the health of the citizens should be the city's main concern. Thus, the best solution is to designate certain areas for smoking that are well-ventilated so as not to affect the health of those who choose not to smoke.

So, while you may still be able to smoke in Portland public parks, stay away from playgrounds. The next time you reach into your pocket to light up a cigarette, think first. Think about what you are doing to the environment, other people, children and animals. Think about what you are doing to yourself the next time you reach for that cigarette. Is it worth it? You decide.

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EDITORIAL: Coughing up more evidence 

In the debate over smoking in public, many arguments have been trotted out. But for sheer simplicity, it's hard to beat good old cause-and-effect.

Research published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology has drawn one of the most direct correlations yet between smoking bans and better health. Scientists examined data from more than dozen places in the United States, Canada and Europe where smoking bans had been enacted. The findings: Where smoking bans were in effect, the percentage of heart attacks dropped significantly. . . . These people so enamored with the concept of private property are overlooking the ultimate in private property -- our own bodies.

And in the same way that we wouldn't tolerate total strangers dousing our front lawns with gasoline, we shouldn't tolerate tobacco users who nonchalantly fill our noses, throats and lungs with secondhand smoke that the Environmental Protection Agency rightly identifies as a Class A carcinogen.

Some might read this and infer that we're not on the side of smokers. But in the big scheme of things, we are on their side. We want them to live longer and to be healthier.

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LETTER: Smoking ban 

Tobacco taxes bring in a large sum of money to help maintain our state. Our tobacco companies employ people who need their jobs to survive, and the list goes on and on.

I'm sure Oliver is a nonsmoker, which he has a right to be, but what about the smoker who does not have the right to smoke in certain places? I'm aware smoking causes health problems and deaths, but so do cars, trains, planes, etc., and they are not banned.

We own a small business, a bar and grill, which allows smoking. About 75 percent of our customers smoke. As of Dec. 1 of this year, the smoking ban will go into effect, which will destroy our business and probably force us to close our doors after 23 years.

The people of Virginia had no say in the ban on smoking; politics did. Why wasn't there a vote on this issue? . . .

We as a business pay taxes to our city. If we close, the city loses money, people are out of work, and another small business is gone for good. Oliver may not smoke, but he needs to realize what tobacco means in Virginia.

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Study in Spain and Romania confirms radon as second leading cause of lung cancer 

Exposure to radon gas in homes is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, according to a study carried out by researchers from the University of Cantabria and the Babes-Bolyai University in Romania. The team has studied data on exposure to this element in a uranium mining area in Transylvania and in an area of granite in Torrelodones, Madrid.

Numerous studies worldwide have shown that radon, a natural radioactive gas that seeps into homes in some regions, is the second leading factor (after smoking) in causing people to develop lung cancer. This has now also been confirmed by a study carried out in Torrelodones, Madrid, and Stei, in Romania, by researchers from the University of Cantabria and the Romanian Babes-Bolyai University, and which has been published recently in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

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A consistent decline in heart attack rates following the implementation of smoking bans 

Strongly enforced legislation to restrict smoking produces rapid and substantial reductions in community rates of heart attack, according to a meta-analysis published today in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association.(1) The analysis pooled 13 studies from regions in North America, Italy, Scotland and Ireland and, despite their geographical range, found a consistent reduced risk of hospitalisation for heart attack (acute myocardial infarction, AMI) of 17% (ie, a relative risk for AMI of 0.83) at 12 months following implementation of the law. The investigators added that this benefit "grows with time", reaching a gain of "about 36%" in three years.

The study was designed to determine the "consistent" effect of smoking bans on AMI rates in communities, and was therefore concerned with both the direct and second-hand effects of smoking. Several studies have shown that the effects of second-hand smoke on many biological mediators associated with AMI risk occur rapidly and are nearly as large as those from direct smoking. For example, a study reported last year showed that passive exposure to second-hand smoke in as short a time as 24 hours led to "sustained vascular injury" characterised by reduced endothelial function and activity of endothelial progenitor cells.(2) According to the American Heart Association's Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2009 Update, non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke at home or at work have a 25-30% increased risk of developing heart disease.

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Heart attack rates drop after smoking bans, continue downward over time 

One year after passing smoking bans, communities in North America and Europe had 17 percent fewer heart attacks compared to communities without smoking restrictions, and the number of heart attacks kept decreasing with time, according to a report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

The report is a meta-analysis of 13 studies in which researchers examined changes in heart attack rates after smoking bans were enacted in communities in the United States, Canada and Europe. The researchers found that heart attack rates started to drop immediately following implementation of the law, reaching 17 percent after one year, then continuing to decline over time, with about a 36 percent drop three years after enacting the restrictions.

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Autoimmune condition, especially combined with smoking and oral contraceptive use, massively increases risk of stroke and heart attack in young women 

Autoimmune condition, especially combined with smoking and oral contraceptive use, massively increases risk of stroke and heart attack in young women

The autoimmune condition antiphospholipid syndrome mainly affects young women. An Article published Online First and in the November edition of the Lancet Neurology shows that women with a particular subtype of antibody called lupus anticoagulant (LA) have a more than 40-fold increased risk of stroke and 5-fold increased risk of heart attack compared with the general population (of young women). Smoking and oral contraceptive use increase the risk of these events even more. The Article is written by Dr Rolf Urbanus and Dr Philip de Groot, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Netherlands, together with colleagues from the Leiden University Medical Centre.

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VIDEO: American Cancer Society Seeks To Join Smoking Ban Lawsuit  

The American Cancer Society says if South Dakota restaurants and bars go smoke free, it will mean a reduction in lung cancer, heart disease and asthma. . . .

The trial to decide the future of South Dakota's smoking ban will begin October 26th in Fort Pierre.

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Editorial: GOP dilemma 

It's easy to see why Senate Republicans in Harrisburg are upset with worthy last-minute budget changes by House Democrats after the two sides had reached an accord.

House Democrats now want to replace two unpopular taxes with a tax on cigars and the extraction of natural gas. But Republican opposition suggests a link to campaign money from tobacco and energy companies. . . . House Democrats instead proposed to tax cigars and smokeless tobacco, two ideas with broad public support everywhere but in the Senate GOP. Could this be because the tobacco industry donated more than $415,000 to political candidates and their committees in Pennsylvania in 2008 - 81 percent of it to Republicans?

Lobbyists for tobacco giant Altria reportedly persuaded legislative leaders to tax cigarillos but not big cigars. Altria owns cigar-making plants in Limerick and King of Prussia.

That may help explain why Pennsylvania is the only state without a tax on smokeless tobacco, and one of only two (Florida is the other) without a tax on cigars.

It may also explain why when deals get cut in a smoke-filled room, fat cigars remain tax free.

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The Upside of Outside Smoking at Work 

Today's idea: Lest we go too far in banning outdoor smoking, consider how it promotes cross-departmental camaraderie at work, a columnist suggests.

Work * What's next? "Who Moved My Marlboros?" "Seven Habits of Highly Effective Chimneys"? In his Financial Times column, Michael Skapinker doesn't quite propose a new line of management books. But, frowning at New York's move to ban smoking at beaches and parks, and wondering where this all could lead, the London-based nonsmoker says consider what smokers clustered out at sidewalk entrances or in parking lots contribute to our workplaces -- "apart from killing two people a day," that is.

"They form a particular subculture," Skapinker reasons. "Forced into each other's company, they seem a more congenial bunch than most people at work."

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