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A new report shows fewer Iowans are buying cigarettes, but the percentage of young people using tobacco has leveled off. The 2009 Tobacco Control Progress Report was compiled by researchers at the University of Northern Iowa.
It shows cigarette consumption in the state dropped 52% from 2006 to 2009. Cathy Callaway, chair of the Iowa Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Commission, gives credit to the buck-a-pack hike in the cigarette excise tax in 2007 and the 2008 Smokefree Air Act. The news is offset by very slight changes in tobacco use among young people.
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Iowans are smoking less, though young people continue to be at risk for starting. That's according to a report released today by the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH).
Conducted by the University of Northern Iowa's Center for Behavioral Research, the 2009 Tobacco Control Progress Report shows that Iowa and the state health department have made a number of advances in reducing smoking since 2000. Most recently, the report finds there has been a dramatic decrease in cigarette consumption in Iowa. Data from the Iowa Department of Revenue show that cigarette sales in Iowa remained steady from 2000 to 2006. Since that time, however, per capita consumption of cigarettes has plummeted from 112 to 54 in 2009.
"The fact that Iowans are smoking half as many cigarettes now is clearly attributable to the $1 cigarette excise tax in 2007 and the 2008 Smokefree Air Act," said Cathy Callaway, chair of the Iowa Tobacco Use Prevention & Control Commission. "The importance of policies like these in improving health and saving lives cannot be underestimated." . . .
Data from more than 60 sources were reviewed in producing the Iowa 2009 Tobacco Progress Report. For more information, visit http://www.idph.state.ia.us/tobacco and look under "Tobacco Program Evaluations and Progress Reports."
Despite decreases in adult smoking, more Iowans are asking for help in quitting.
The number of calls to Iowa’s helpline for quitting tobacco use skyrocketed in late December and January.
The 5,284 calls to Quitline Iowa (1-800-QUIT-NOW) exceeded the total received during the same period last year by nearly 36 percent.
“Frankly, we’re very surprised by these numbers,” Iowa Department of Public Health Director Tom Newton said. “Iowa has seen a 22 percent decrease in adult smoking since 2006. A smaller pool of smokers should mean fewer calls to Quitline Iowa, not more.
“Whether it’s the economy or some other factor, these numbers clearly show that Iowans appreciate and need this valuable public health service,” Newton said.
A new report shows Iowa’s smoking ban has already led to a decrease in hospitalizations for cardiovascular diseases.
According to the report from the University of Iowa and Iowa Department of Public Health, the largest drop was in coronary heart disease, which showed an average 24 percent reduction in hospital admissions since the Smokefree Air Act was implemented in 2008.
That represents 2,324 fewer Iowans with the condition — the single greatest cause of death in the United States — compared to the three preceding years.
“That’s a lot of dollars, too, if you think about it in that way,” said Christopher Squier, a lead author of the report. . . .
The report was presented Thursday by the American Cancer Society at a legislative breakfast in Des Moines.
Now, nearly a year has passed, and two of our Quad-City casinos offer one useful way to measure the smoking exemption’s impact on gambling revenue. . . .
This year, with both facilities boasting new amenities and grand openings, we’ve seen revenue at smoke-free Jumer’s almost catch up with the Isle-Bettendorf. . . .
many other factors come in to play: Location, customer experiences, hotel amenities and entertainment. And that’s what we argued when Iowa lawmakers caved in and allowed the smoking exemption. Many factors influence a casino success.
Our figures affirm that Iowa cannot claim the smoking exemption among them.
Sadly, this fact from the Centers for Disease Control still remains: Secondhand smoke can harm anyone who inhales it, whether they work in a casino or a neighborhood tavern.
So Iowa lawmakers didn’t protect their precious casino revenue stream. They simply endangered workers and customers.
If Iowa lawmakers still insist on a smoking ban, drop the phony partial ban and apply it everywhere.
The report, titled "A Broken Promise to Our Children," concluded that state governments had reduced spending by 15 percent, to $567 million, for smoking prevention and cessation programs in the fiscal year that ended in September. . . .
Despite the lip service that Iowa Gov. Chet Culver has given to efforts to curb smoking, as well as his successful push to add $1 per package to the state's cigarette tax, the report noted only one state, North Dakota, has smoking prevention and cessation programs at the level recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The report says tobacco companies spend $20 on marketing for every $1 that states spend on anti-smoking efforts. . . .
It's truly a case of pay now or pay much more later.
Ten people were cited after a tobacco compliance check by Waterloo Police officers.
The checks were conducted between Nov. 25-Dec. 15 on Waterloo businesses that hold tobacco sales permits.
Eighty-five businesses were checked and of those, 10 persons sold tobacco products to an underage person.
The Ponca Economic Development Corporation (PEDCO) opened its first tobacco outlet in Carter Lake, Iowa Dec. 5. PEDCO is the economic development arm of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and Ponca Smoke Signals is PEDCO's first retail venture.
Ponca Smoke Signals sells quality Native American tobacco products at discount pricing via a convenient drive-thru facility. The store currently carries more than 40 varieties of cigarettes from Native tobacco manufacturers. Unlike a typical tobacco retail store, the venture will fill a rapidly growing market niche for discount tobacco products.
Ponca Smoke Signals provides the tribe with income to support valuable programs and new employment opportunities at competitive wages. The store is on tribal trust land and the tobacco products are sold without the usual state tax mark up.
ARNOLDS PARK, Iowa -- Improper disposal of smoking materials is to blame for a fire that caused moderate smoke damage and minimal structural damage to an Arnolds Park restaurant Tuesday night.
At 8:10 p.m. Arnolds Park/Okoboji Fire and Rescue responded to Mineral City Restaurant, 28 Ackley St. . . ..
The restaurant was open at the time of the fire, but patrons and employees evacuated the building safely. No injuries were reported.
The inside of the restaurant sustained mild smoke damage and the outside minimal structural damage. Basement apartments sustained moderate smoke damage. Total damage is estimated at $5,000.
A investigation revealed that the fire was caused by improper disposal of smoking materials.
Small business owners in Iowa are standing against the smoking ban, trying to get it overturned. It's something many have been working for since the ban went into effect.
In West Burlington, bar owner Larry Duncan spent 500 days and tens of thousands of dollars to have his day in court, which he had on Tuesday. Now a judge will hear his appeal against the state of Iowa.
Duncan says it's not about his own desire to smoke but to choose how he runs his business.
"A 4th grader could read the constitution and know this law is not constitutional. It's not fair and equitable for everybody."
Which is why the owner of Otis Campbell's Bar and Grill says he's standing up, for those small business owners who can't afford to. Duncan has waged a nearly two year long battle with the state, hoping to have his day in court to plead his case.
Whether the state took an improper route to nab the admitted smoking ban violator is just one of several arguments Des Moines County District Court Judge Mary Ann Brown will consider before ruling whether the smoking ban violates the U.S. and Iowa constitutions.
Though the hearing lasted just two hours Tuesday morning, with the arguments largely made up of the written briefs the attorneys previously submitted to the judge, the owner of Otis Campbell's Bar and Grill said he'd take what he could get.
"I'm grateful that it got this far now," Duncan said after the trial. "I believe in the system."
Brown asked few questions during the hearing but thanked the attorneys at the end of their arguments. She did not offer a time frame for making a decision but said it will be "as quickly as we can."
WATERLOO - Black Hawk County has been warned by state health officials to enforce a smoking ban on courthouse grounds.
The Iowa Department of Public Health has received complaints about violations of the Iowa Smokefree Air Act near the courthouse entrance. In a letter to county officials, the agency warned the county could be subject to fines for future violations.
Building Maintenance Supervisor Louis Cutwright said it was unclear whether those apparently violating the law were employees, who could be subject to disciplinary action, or members of the public doing business at the courthouse.
A group of downtown business owners in Iowa City wants to move panhandlers farther away and make an open air mall smoke-free from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. . . .
The group also wants the city to ban smoking in the open air mall, saying it would reduce loitering outside their stores and keep sidewalk cafe patrons from enduring nearby smoking. By allowing smoking after 10 p.m., bar patrons could smoke outside after the cafes had closed.
Copper Creek Golf Club in Pleasant Hill has been hit with a 30-day suspension of its retail cigarette/tobacco permit.
“We’ve received a letter from the attorney general’s office stating that the Copper Creek golf course clubhouse had a second violation for selling tobacco to minors,” Joni Haag, city clerk and finance director, said at the Oct. 27 meeting of the Pleasant Hill City Council. “Rather than paying a $1,500 fine, they would rather serve a 30-day suspension, which is their privilege.”
The suspension will run from Nov. 15 to Dec. 14.
Copper Creek Golf Club’s second violation occurred in late June.
In response to Jason Todtz' rebuttal to Harkins' letter "Smoke not welcome here" on Oct. 26, I support Todtz' right to freedom of speech, his right to work, or not to work, in any business or occupation, his right to frequent, or not, establishments open to the public. I even support a smoking ban in government buildings where the public must go.
However, I do not support the notion that he, nor anyone else, including our government, has a right to tell private business owners that they cannot allow legal activities within their premises. That is what the Iowa smoking ban has done. If I were Todtz, I would be very concerned about the repercussions of this type of legislation.