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Ariz. court rules against using kids program funds 

The Legislature's attempt to help balance the state budget by using interest on a children's program's tobacco-tax funding violated a constitutional protection for voter-approved laws, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Friday.

The unanimous ruling came down in favor of the board of First Things First - an early childhood development and health program - in its March 30 lawsuit to block the transfer of $7 million of interest. . . .

The First Things First lawsuit contended that the transfer was unconstitutional because the First Things First program was established by voter approval of a 2006 ballot measure.

Legislative lawyers acknowledged that the tobacco-tax funding itself was protected but said the interest earned on the funding was not.

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UW-CTRI Staff Rose From the (Cigarette) Ashes at National Conference in Phoenix  

UW-CTRI employees and partners presented research findings June 10-12 in Phoenix as part of the National Conference on Tobacco or Health. Below is a list of UW-CTRI presenters and topics:

* Michael Fiore and Bruce Christiansen: "The 2008 PHS Practice Guidelines on Smoking Cessation: Opportunities and Challenges to Further Progress in Smoking Cessation," invited 90-minute sub-plenary presentation.

* Lezli Redmond, Robert Adsit, Vicki Stauffer, Michael Fiore: "Changing Practice, Changing Systems, Changing Lives: The UW-CTRI Outreach Program," 30-minute presentation.

* Paula Keller, Bruce Christiansen, Jill Lackey, Lezli Redmond, Cheryl McIlquham, Michael Fiore: "Increasing Consumer Demand for Tobacco-Dependence Treatment Among Medicaid Enrollees," 30-minute presentation.

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Overview: National Conference on Tobacco or Health, Phoenix, 2009 

The 2009 conference will be held at the Phoenix Convention Center, 100 N. 3rd Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85004.

Conference Purpose

The purpose of the National Conference on Tobacco or Health is to help improve and sustain the effectiveness and reach of tobacco control programs and activities in the United States.

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Former Arizona official to attend tobacco bill signing 

After receiving an invitation from the White House, former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods will attend a Rose Garden signing ceremony on Monday.

President Barack Obama is set to sign into law the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. Approved by Congress earlier this month, it increases federal regulation of tobacco products and imposes new restrictions on tobacco advertising.

"I'm honored President Obama offered me a chance to attend this important bill signing ceremony," Woods said. "For too long tobacco companies have used deceptive practices in producing and marketing cigarettes. It was a long, hard battle against Big Tobacco, but I think this is the final victory. This bill finally enacts the reforms we negotiated in 1996 and will be an important tool in the fight to regulate tobacco products and advertising." . . .

Woods plans to twitter during his visit at http://twitter.com/GrantWoods.

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Ariz. bill would ban smoking with minor in vehicle 

It would be against the law in Arizona to smoke in vehicles in which a child is riding under a bill advancing in the Legislature.

A Senate committee on Wednesday approved the bill, which now goes to the full Senate after a legal review and party caucus briefings.

The bill is intended to reduce children's exposure to second-hand smoke, which is regarded as a health threat to children.

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BOWER: Prevention track against smoking right way to go 

Suddenly in Arizona, quitting the deadly addiction of smoking is the thing to do. As we heard last week, Arizona had the largest drop in the country in smoking prevalence - more than 20 percent - putting us seventh in the nation.

We can all breathe a little easier now; or can we?

The bulk of the credit goes to the voters of Arizona. In 2006, voters set the stage to push Arizona forward by passing the Smoke-Free Arizona initiative and voting to increase taxes on tobacco. And now in only a few years, we are seeing dramatic results.

Despite this tremendous progress, tobacco remains the No. 1 cause of preventable death in Arizona and causes a whole range of health issues. From cancer to heart attack and stroke, lung disease and premature aging, tobacco still has an impact on our everyday lives.

And, for the budget-minded, tobacco creates unneeded stress on our health-care systems, driving up costs for everyone. . . .

As shocking as it may sound, Arizona was one of the last states to offer a smoking-cessation benefit to those on state Medicaid. Now, members of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System can get real help when trying to quit tobacco. . . .

The culture shift that has occurred among the larger population groups in Arizona still lags among many minority groups. The state has taken tremendous leaps toward engaging communities and local organizations during the past year, but more work is ahead. These initiatives are geared to attack the problem within the community, at the most basic level; and over time, these initiatives will help to close this disparity gap.

The "Venomocity.com" ad campaign geared toward teens is cutting edge for youth prevention; new efforts are in place to engage long-term smokers at the local level; and a host of small policy changes are all taking effect. And, on Tuesday, Arizona will host the National Conference on Tobacco or Health, the nation's largest tobacco-policy conference.

What does this all mean? Simply put, Arizona once again is stepping out as a national leader in tobacco control, and we need to keep leading the way.

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Tax disincentive helps smokers quit 

The results are in. Since Arizona voters decided in 2006 to tax cigarettes much more heavily and to ban smoking in most indoor public spaces, some 170,000 Arizonans have quit smoking.

The number of adult smokers in Arizona dropped by nearly 20 percent since 2007, the sharpest decline in the nation. The number of Arizonans 18 and older who smoke dropped to 16 percent.

All this from a study released Wednesday by the American Lung Association of Arizona, according to Capitol Media Services.

The group's president, Bill Pfeifer, told Capitol Media that the major reason for the decline in smoking was that voters in 2006 agreed to impose some of the toughest anti-smoking measures in the nation.

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Ariz. drop in smoking is largest in nation 

The number of adult Arizonans who smoke dropped by nearly 20 percent since 2007,, according to a new report being released today.

That decline is the sharpest in the nation, said Bill Pfeifer, president of the American Lung Association of Arizona, which released the survey.

The study, based on monthly telephone surveys, shows the percentage of Arizonans 18 and older who smoke dropped to about 16 percent.

In human terms, it translates into 170,000 people who no longer are smoking.

Pfeifer said a 1994 voter-approved tax on tobacco to fund anti-smoking programs is paying off.

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• UA Researchers Look to Stem the Growth of Tobacco Use Worldwide 

Sunday is the World Health Organization's World No Tobacco Day.

The focus of WHO's campaign this year is the effectiveness of warning labels in getting people to stop smoking and using other forms of tobacco. Since warning labels first appeared on cigarette packs more than 40 years ago, Americans have generally taken these warnings to heart.

In the rest of the world, it's a different story, especially in developing countries where smoking and other tobacco use is on the rise.

"Warnings are fine and make sense in Western countries," said Mark Nichter, a Regents' Professor of anthropology at The University of Arizona. "But we're doing something different."

Nichter and two colleagues – his wife, Mimi Nichter, an associate professor of anthropology, and Myra Muramoto, an associate professor of family and community medicine – have been trying to stem the growing tide of smoking and other tobacco use in two of the most populated countries in the world, India and Indonesia.

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Arizona Shows More Than a 20% Drop in Smoking Rates 

New information from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2008, shows that the rate of smoking among adults in Arizona has dropped significantly -- more than four percentage points representing a 20.7 percent decrease in prevalence equating to 170,000 Arizonans who quit smoking since 2007. The rate of smoking in one year dropped from 19.8 percent to 15.7 percent.

Bill Pfeifer, TRUST Commission Chairman said, "This is a historic drop in smoking prevalence for Arizona."

This decrease, the single largest decline in tobacco use in any state in the U.S. during the past year, moves Arizona from ranking 26th in the nation for smoking prevalence to 7th.

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ATS: Early Maternal Smoking Increases Smoking Risk For Kids  

Action Points

* Explain to interested patients that there is evidence that smoking during pregnancy predisposes children to become smokers.

* Note that this study suggests that smoking in the early years of a child's life also plays an important role.

* Note that this study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

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Kids More Apt to Smoke If Mom Did While Pregnant  

Smoking while pregnant "biologically primes" the unborn child to become a regular smoker as a teen and young adult, according to a theory put forth by University of Arizona researchers.

"Somehow smoke is changing the brain chemistry," said the lead researcher, Dr. Roni Grad, an associate professor of clinical pediatrics at the university.

"If you are exposed to smoking prenatally or in the early years of life, you are much more likely to be a chronic smoker at the age of 22," Grad said.

In fact, these children are four times more likely to become regular smokers, according to the research, which was to be presented May 19 at the American Thoracic Society's international conference in San Diego.

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• Children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy and early childhood more likely to smoke as adults 

Children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy and their early childhood years may be predisposed to take up smoking as teens and young adults, compounding the physical damage they sustained from the smoke exposure.

"It is well-known that maternal smoking influences a developing fetus in myriad ways, contributing to low birth weight, premature birth and a host of other health problems after birth," said Roni Grad, M.D., associate professor of clinical pediatrics at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. "Previous studies have suggested that maternal smoking during pregnancy may increase the risk of the offspring becoming regular smokers as adults, but the impact of postnatal cigarette smoke exposure was hard to differentiate from prenatal exposure."

The study results will be presented on Tuesday, May 19, at the American Thoracic Society's 105th International Conference in San Diego.

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Experience - Tavassoli v. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company 

Client(s): R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

Representation: Tavassoli v. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

Lead Practice(s): Product Liability & Tort Litigation

Summary: Steve Geise and Ashlie Case represented R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in this smoking and health action filed in the District of Arizona. They won an order largely dismissing the plaintiff's complaint, which was followed by an order striking the plaintiff's first amended complaint. Following the plaintiff's deposition, he moved to dismiss the case with prejudice.

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Experience - Strang v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (Arizona 2008) 

Representation: Strang v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (Arizona 2008)

Lead Practice(s): Class Action and Multidistrict Product Liability Litigation

Summary: Trial counsel for R.J. Reynolds in 40-count wrongful death action. Trial court awarded defendants complete summary judgment.

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