Tobacco.org

Adverse Economic Effects of Smoking Bans Discounted  

Banning smoking in bars and restaurants in the Twin Cities did not appear to have a negative effect on the businesses, researchers found.

In fact, after clean indoor air policies went into effect in Minneapolis and St. Paul, there was a significant 3% to 4% increase in restaurant employment in both cities (P<0.05), according to Elizabeth Klein, PhD, MPH, of Ohio State University College of Public Health in Columbus, and colleagues.

There was also a significant 5% to 6% increase in bar employment in Minneapolis (P<0.05), but no increase -- or decrease -- in St. Paul, the researchers reported in the July/August issue of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.

"The clean indoor air policies continue to yield the best protection against workplace exposure to environmental tobacco smoke for bar and restaurant employees," wrote the authors, one of whom is a vice president for ClearWay Minnesota, a nonprofit organization that aims to reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke in that state.

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New Tobacco Regulations and FDA Rules Take Effect June 22 

Starting tomorrow (June 22), new regulations and FDA rules authorized by the Family Smoking and Prevention Act will further limit the tobacco industry's ability to deceive consumers with misleading marketing and labeling that imply "light," "mild" or "low-tar" cigarettes are safer, as well as other practices that make products more appealing to youth. The Act, which was overwhelmingly approved by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama one year ago, grants the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco products.

"It is not surprising that Marlboro Lights are the most popular brand in the nation. Decades of clever packaging, branding and other misinformation are intended to suggest that some tobacco products are not as harmful as others. The fact that they will no longer be available under that name is significant," said David Willoughby, CEO of ClearWay Minnesota(SM). "The anniversary of the law and new regulations offer a good reminder that tobacco use is still one of our most significant health concerns, costing Minnesota nearly $2 billion a year in health care costs. These changes are a step in the right direction."

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Governor Signs Act to Protect Youth From New Tobacco Products (DOC) 

Today Minnesota’s leading health groups applauded Governor Tim Pawlenty for taking another step to protect youth from harmful tobacco products. This afternoon, the Governor signed into law the Tobacco Modernization and Compliance Act of 2010, which updates Minnesota laws to address new generations of tobacco products.

Effective August 1, 2010, these changes apply existing state tobacco taxes and regulations to new smokeless tobacco products, which attract young customers because they are low-cost, come in candy flavors and sometimes resemble mints and breath strips.

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• Governor Signs Act to Protect Youth From New Tobacco Products  

Today Minnesota's leading health groups applauded Governor Tim Pawlenty for taking another step to protect youth from harmful tobacco products. This afternoon, the Governor signed into law the Tobacco Modernization and Compliance Act of 2010, which updates Minnesota laws to address new generations of tobacco products.

Effective August 1, 2010, these changes apply existing state tobacco taxes and regulations to new smokeless tobacco products, which attract young customers because they are low-cost, come in candy flavors and sometimes resemble mints and breath strips. Specifically, the Tobacco Modernization and Compliance Act of 2010:

* Expands the definition of tobacco products to include any product that contains tobacco and is intended for human consumption

* Requires all tobacco products to be sold behind the counter so they are not easily accessible to youth

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Editorial - Tobacco industry still thriving - at young people's expense 

Representatives of ClearWay Minnesota, an independent, non-profit organization that was funded through the state’s 1998 settlement with the tobacco companies, visited the Echo Press last Wednesday. ClearWay recently began a new campaign, “Unfiltered: A Revealing Look at Today’s Tobacco Industry,” that contains sobering news: The tobacco industry hasn’t gone away. It’s hard at work luring new customers – many of them young people younger than 18 – and keeping those who are already using tobacco hooked. . . .

So what can be done to snuff out this problem? ClearWay is proposing more aggressive legislation to close loopholes that tobacco companies are using to peddle their products to children. It’s called the “Tobacco Modernization and Compliance Act of 2010.” The act would classify “little cigars” as what they really are – cigarettes. This would subject the cigars to the existing regulations that apply to cigarettes, such as tax stamping.

The act would also ensure that new tobacco products are covered under existing regulations, such as not allowing them to be sold on the counter next to candy and gum. It would prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to youth.

Furthermore, the act would fund a state feasibility study to determine the best way to collect taxes and fees on all tobacco products, which would increase collections and reduce evasions.

The act, in our view, is a commonsense solution to a preventable health problem that continues to drive up healthcare costs and take countless lives every day.

Citizens should be outraged by the tobacco industry’s latest tactics to increase their profits at the expense of young people’s health. They should be deeply concerned that Minnesota’s laws have not kept up with the rapidly changing tobacco products market. They should support the Tobbaco Modernization and Compliance Act.

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Report: Big Tobacco still targets kids 

The brightly colored boxes and flip-top containers promise cherry, chocolate, mint and grape flavors. What they deliver are highly addictive, kid-attracting, disease-inducing tobacco in the form of mini-cigars.

That is according to a report released by ClearWay Minnesota and the Association for Nonsmokers - Minnesota, two nonprofit organizations dedicated to a smoke-free state.

Unfiltered, the first report of its kind, was released Wednesday and calls the tobacco companies out for alleged continued advertising to kids and teens.

The flavored mini-cigars out-maneuver laws that prohibit cigarette companies from mixing child-friendly flavors into their products. Mini-cigars are the same size as cigarettes, come in similar packaging, but are exempt from the laws simply because they are have tobacco in their wrapping, making them cigars, not cigarettes.

"People think it isn't an issue anymore," said Mike Sheldon, communications manager with ClearWay. "They are aggressively marketing to capture a new generation of smokers."

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10 Ways to Expose Tobacco Marketing in Your Community (PDF) 

Share the Report Through Your Website and Other Communication Channels. 2. Promote the Interactive Website: unfilteredmn.org. 4. Submit a Letter to the Editor. 5. Notify Your Local Media About the Report and Your Outreach Activities.6. Give Presentations to Community Groups. 7. Share the Report With Your Elected Leaders. . . .

10. Host a “Truth In Pink” Girls’ Night Out. The tobacco industry has long marketed smoking to women as a way to be sexy, skinny and glamorous. In recent years, Camel No. 9 cigarettes took these false promises to the next level when it launched with Sex and the City-style girls’ night out parties across the country. Here’s your chance to take back girls’ night and expose one of the ways the tobacco industry targets women:

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UNFILTERED: A REVEALING LOOK AT TODAY’S TOBACCO INDUSTRY - Executive Summary (PDF) 

Arguably, no other business in history has better adapted to changing markets and increasing restrictions. Its ingenuity and resilience in the face of a shrinking domestic market—and its willingness to mine new markets in the developing world—help explain how tobacco companies have overcome the decades-long health campaign against them. Specifically, they spend $12.8 billion in the U.S. each year to …

Make tobacco a part of our culture

Attract and retain customers through target marketing

Use public relations to buffer lawsuits and health claims

Promote new products

Create new markets worldwide

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Minnesota group finds flavored cigs among youth-aimed tobacco marketing tactics  

Seeking to cut Minnesota's smoking rate further, ClearWay Minnesota released an "Unfiltered" report Wednesday to expose the tobacco industry's latest strategies for attracting and retaining customers.

Even as they spend millions on youth prevention and quit-smoking campaigns, the tobacco companies find new ways to entice young people, said David Willoughby, chief executive officer of ClearWay, which was created through the 1998 settlement of Minnesota's lawsuit against the tobacco industry.

The report offered examples: Cigarette product placement has emerged in video games. Smokeless tobacco products skirt community restrictions on marketing and cigarette usage. Flavors are added to cigarettes to entice new, young smokers.

"Smell them," said Willoughby, holding a reddish pack of strawberry-flavored cigarettes. "You'd be surprised what they smell like."

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• ClearWay Minnesota(SM) Shines a Spotlight on a Reinvented Tobacco Industry  

How does an industry that sells deadly, addictive products remain one of the leading consumer product industries in the world? The answer includes new products, savvy marketing and expensive public image campaigns. ClearWay Minnesota today released Unfiltered: A Revealing Look at Today's Tobacco Industry, a campaign that shines a light on how the tobacco industry has continued to evolve and thrive, despite billion dollar settlements designed to change the way the industry did business in the last decade.

"The tobacco industry hasn't gone away," said David Willoughby, Chief Executive Officer of ClearWay Minnesota. "Don't be fooled - just because you may not see cigarette ads any more, it doesn't mean this industry isn't hard at work to lure new customers and keep those who are already hooked. It's more important than ever to highlight this continuing problem and the tobacco industry as its root cause."

The tobacco industry spends $12.8 billion annually to market its products nationwide, with nearly $200 million spent in Minnesota alone. And the consequences are devastating . . .

The full report is available at www.unfilteredmn.org, a new interactive website designed to expose the tobacco industry's practices by inviting Minnesotans to post comments, upload photos and share examples of tobacco marketing they find in their communities and throughout the state.

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ClearWay Minnesota Board Approves $1.8 Million for Research Grants 

At its Board Meeting on Nov. 18, the Board of Directors of ClearWay Minnesota approved five grants for new research on topics ranging from cigarette replacement products to commercial tobacco use in Minnesota's American Indian communities. ClearWay Minnesota will award more than $1.8 million to Minnesota researchers through these grants.

"These new grant awards show our continuing commitment to the innovative research that shapes our work to reduce tobacco's harm," said David Willoughby, Chief Executive Officer at ClearWay Minnesota. "This significant investment in research will pay healthy dividends for Minnesotans well into the future."

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First-Time Father-to-Be Quits Smoking, Wins $5,000 in The QuitCash Challenge(TM) 

2009 has been a monumental year for Doug Dawson. Motivation of first-time fatherhood paired with "moneyvation," from QUITPLAN Services' QuitCash Challenge, helped the 31-year-old Columbia Heights man quit a 17-year smoking habit and win The Challenge. Nearly 2,000 Minnesotans, including Doug, attempted to quit tobacco use during October for a chance to win the $5,000 grand prize.

On Thursday, November 19, the day of the 34th annual Great American Smokeout, QUITPLAN Services will celebrate Doug's success in quitting smoking with a celebration event at the Mall of America in Bloomington. In addition to Doug's $5,000 grand prize, another contest participant will receive a $2,000 Mall of America gift card and two others will receive $1,000 Gander Mountain gift cards. . . .

"We were delighted to learn that Doug had used The QuitCash Challenge and QUITPLAN Services to help him and his family stay tobacco-free," said David Willoughby, Chief Executive Officer at ClearWay Minnesota(SM), the nonprofit organization that administers QUITPLAN Services. "We encourage Minnesota tobacco users looking to quit to use QUITPLAN Services any time of the year to achieve success."

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ClearWay: battling for your heart, mind, lungs and life  

If it was based solely on choice, would cigarette companies annually spend $200 million in advertising just in the state of Minnesota? No, of course not. It is because they are locked in a mortal battle for the minds and lungs of the populous. Undeniably, whether or not the majority of individuals currently partake in the habitual practice of smoking, is the result of the infiltration, influence and acceptance of propaganda either for or against smoking. In this state, the propaganda stream derives from tobacco companies or, from their nemesis, ClearWay Minnesota.

ClearWay headway

Without finances for massive media blitzes afforded the voluminous pockets of big tobacco, representatives of the anti-smoking outfit recently dropped by the Advocate Tribune so to reach out to Minnesotans and inform of them of both the progress of Clearway and of what can they can expect in the near future from the cigarette producers.

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ClearWay Minnesota(SM) Board Approves New Officers 

Today ClearWay Minnesota's Board of Directors approved new officers, introduced new Board Members and thanked outgoing members for their service to the organization. David Fisher, Principal of law firm The General Counsel, Ltd., was elected as the new Board Chair. The full roster of Board Officers elected today includes:

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ClearWay Minnesota(SM) Adds New Director of Research 

ClearWay Minnesota announced today that Dr. Raymond Boyle, Ph.D., M.P.H., will be the new Director of Research for the organization. Dr. Boyle has training in Health Education and Epidemiology from the University of Oregon and the University of Minnesota.

"We are very excited about this new addition to ClearWay Minnesota and our research department," said David Willoughby, Chief Executive Officer of ClearWay Minnesota. "Dr. Boyle is well respected in his work on tobacco control and will help us continue to achieve our goals of reducing the harm of tobacco in Minnesota."

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