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Although a majority of smokers want to quit smoking, many delay making a plan to quit until the last minute, according to a recent American Cancer Society online survey of people who say they want to. Twenty-two percent of smokers surveyed planned to quit within 24 hours, while 30 percent said they planned to quit within a week or two. The American Cancer Society stresses the importance of planning ahead to quit smoking as research shows that preparing for quitting by allowing enough time to get nicotine replacement therapy, and planning how to deal with cravings and tempting situations, greatly increases the likelihood of succeeding. The Society encourages smokers to use the annual occasion of the Great American Smokeout® on November 19 as a date to make a plan to quit, or to plan in advance and quit smoking that day.
The survey, conducted via the Great American Smokeout Web site (www.cancer.org/GreatAmericans) also found that 76 percent of smokers surveyed did not know that they could receive free help
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Purdue University's West Lafayette campus will become smoke free except in limited areas beginning July 1.
The campus-wide policy was announced Thursday (Nov 19) - coinciding with the 33rd annual Great American Smokeout - following input from faculty, staff and students. The new policy will limit smoking to limited designated campus areas and will prohibit smoking in all vehicles owned or leased by Purdue.
"Following feedback from a campus-wide survey as well as meetings with severalcampus groups, we modified the proposed policy from one that called for a total ban to one that will allow smoking in a few areas," said Al Diaz, executive vice president for business and finance, treasurer. The responsibility for choosing those areas will fall to Diaz.
we Hoosiers smoke too much.
According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey published last week, more than 26 percent of Hoosiers smoked in 2008. We're No. 2 in the nation, only behind West Virginia. Indiana was ranked sixth in 2007. Nationally, 20.6 percent of Americans light up, so clearly, Indiana has much work to do to catch up with the rest of the nation.
We suppose it could be argued the recession, with its anxiety- and stress-inducing pangs of uncertainty, is driving the numbers upward, but Indiana has always had high smoking rates no matter what phase of the economy.
We need to do a better job with existing tools to snuff smoking.
One of those, a ban on workplace smoking, was enacted in Delaware County in 2006 after nearly a decade of debate.
What's needed now is a comprehensive statewide measure that prohibits smoking at the workplace and in public places such as restaurants.
Contrary to popular belief, hookah smoking is not a safe alternative to cigarette smoking. . . .
The concern of many experts is that hookah smoking is just a gateway to cigarette smoking much as cigarette smoking is a gateway to other drugs. . . .
A dream come true for Big Tobacco. And since the majority of hookah bars are popping up near college campuses, the tobacco industry indirectly scores the young users they have so tirelessly preyed upon for so many years.
The frontal lobe of the brain is not fully developed until the mid-20s. This part of the brain is responsible for judgment, impulse control, initiation and spontaneity. When one considers that some of the most frequent visitors of hookah bars don't yet have a fully formed frontal lobe, you have a recipe for poor choices and addiction.
A peer-reviewed study published in Pediatrics, the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, points to another concern with hookah use: the spread of infectious diseases
It is disheartening that the leaders of Indianapolis are hesitating to pass the smoking ban in public establishments. . . . who will pick up the tab of those sick from smoke exposure who are uninsured and either choose to smoke or opt to expose others to their smoking? The answer is, every taxpayer.
On a recent visit to Ireland, a country at the top of the list with the number of bars per square mile, I discovered this country had banned smoking in taverns. The taverns were crowded and people didn't mind stepping outside for a smoke. People were enjoying the music, beer and hospitality. Indiana, step up to the plate and be progressive for once.
Illegal sales of tobacco products are costing our nation and states billions in lost revenue. Increases in federal and state government excise taxes have created an explosion of illegal tobacco product sales over the Internet, and such purchases are evading federal, state and local taxes.
How is this happening? Remote sellers typically sell untaxed or low-taxed cigarettes over the Internet or by mail or telephone to consumers without paying the taxes owed to the states. Indiana is losing significant tax revenue because of this illegal practice, and consumers are often unaware that they are personally liable for any applicable unpaid taxes.
Fortunately, there is a potential solution in the Senate known as the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009. This legislation closes a number of gaps in federal law regulating "remote" or "delivery" sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products and prevents anyone underage from obtaining tobacco products remotely.
In 2000 there were only about 40 domestic Internet sellers of cigarettes, but by 2006 there were more than 770 Web sites selling cigarettes to U.S. smokers, and nearly half of these sites were based outside the United States. . . .'
I encourage our U.S. senators, Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh, to support and co-sponsor the Pact Act of 2009 because it is an important opportunity to further protect the legitimate channels of distribution for cigarettes and smokeless tobacco in Indiana.
It is safe to say Hoosiers do not look forward to the release of national health rankings with quite the same eagerness folks in Florida and Texas harbor for the weekly round of football polls.
The latest survey, covering one of our several "strong" categories, is out. We ought to be more than disappointed to be number two.
Consistently in the top 10 year after year, Indiana trailed only West Virginia in the percentage of adults using cigarettes in 2008, according to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. . . .
The Indiana General Assembly couldn't muster the willpower this past session to join the 26 states with comprehensive smoking bans, but Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, vows to renew his push next year.
The City-County Council is close to mustering enough votes to join more than 300 cities with total smoking prohibitions; but sadly, Mayor Greg Ballard says he would veto such a measure for the sake of local business. His stance ignores ample evidence that going smoke-free is not hazardous to the health of bars and eateries.
We do know that smoking -- and, critically important, secondhand smoke -- are killers. And that we arm them, as individuals, as communities and as governments.
Watch your back, West Virginia. Indiana is now No. 2 -- and gaining -- when it comes to smoking.
More than 26 percent of all Hoosier adults smoked in 2008, according to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Indiana was sixth the previous year, but it has puffed past the national median of 20.6 percent -- not exactly something to celebrate.
"It saddens me tremendously," said state Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, who sponsored legislation last spring for a comprehensive smoke-free workplace law. "I knew we were up there, but I didn't know we had inched our way up to No. 2. We need to turn that around."
Indiana has ranked in the top 10 in recent years for smoking prevalence. The difference between sixth and second is not statistically significant, and the top 10 clump closely together, said Karla Sneegas, executive director of Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation. . . .
Experts recommend three measures to address a high rate of smokers: Passing a statewide, comprehensive smoke-free law, increasing state taxes and increasing the amount of money for tobacco prevention efforts.
"It's a trifecta," said Danny McGoldrick, vice president for research at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "When you put those three things together, that's when you have the biggest impact."
Many of the states that have the lowest smoking rates -- California, Arizona and New Jersey -- are those that have been the most aggressive about indoor smoking laws and about state taxes that drive up the cost of cigarettes, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, the CDC's director.
The Indiana Public Health Association wants the smoking ban in Kokomo strengthened and extended to all of Howard County.
Michelle Lindley with the Indiana Public Health Association and Shirley DuBois with Smoke Free Kokomo asked members of the Howard County Board of Health Monday to support the effort.
Kokomo banned smoking in public buildings in 2006, but the ordinance -- approved by the Kokomo Common Council -- included exemptions for taverns and restaurants that cater to those over the age of 21.
Lindley said three studies published since 2006 by the Surgeon General, Institute of Medicine and the World Health Organization outlined the dangers of second-hand smoke.
The Indianapolis mayor is now taking a stand against a new smoking ban.
Mayor Greg Ballard appeared on Eyewitness News Sunrise saying he'll veto a ban if it's passed by the City-County Council.
When asked if he would veto the ban, Ballard responded, "Depending on what the version is, but any version that I think they're currently contemplating right now, yes."
Why did the city's proposed workplace smoking ban fail?
A particularly crushing blow fell a couple of hours before the City-County Council's vote Monday night. That's when Mayor Greg Ballard walked into a closed-door meeting with council Republicans and made clear he didn't want the ordinance to land on his desk.
Until that point, the mayor had been missing in action from the monthslong debate about the smoking ordinance. He hadn't shared his views with his constituents or the media. He hadn't held a news conference or issued a statement on one of the biggest council debates of the year. He hadn't even met with the ordinance's authors.
Instead, he played the role of squishy politician, avoiding a stand on the issue as long as he could. Then, in another political move, he tried to influence the outcome in a private meeting -- a meeting the mayor's office confirmed only after sources leaked the news.
John Cochran, one of Ballard's top advisers, confirmed that the mayor met with fellow Republicans on the 25th floor of the City-County Building just before Monday's council meeting. . . .
Ballard could have been a leader. He could have played a key role in the debate. He could have stood up for the men and women who work in the city's smoke-filled bars.
Instead, he played politics.
A renewed effort to toughen Indianapolis' anti-smoking ordinance could put Mayor Greg Ballard in a tough position.
The City-County Council voted Monday night to put the ban, which would add bars, bowling alleys and private clubs to the current ban passed in 2005, back under consideration.
Two weeks ago, it was tabled when it didn't get the 15 votes needed to either pass or fail.
Shortly before the vote, Ballard urged Republican council members to vote no on expanding the ban to save him from issuing a veto, despite the fact that he pledged support for smoke-free work places during his election campaign, 6News' Norman Cox reported.
After a setback last month that put its future in question, a proposal to ban smoking in most Indianapolis workplaces will return to the City-County Council in a few weeks.
A 16-12 council vote Monday brought the measure out of limbo, reinvigorating a heated, months-long battle pitting public health against personal freedoms. The proposed ban, which would strengthen an existing ordinance to include venues such as bars and bowling alleys, is scheduled to go before the council at its Nov. 30 meeting.
That would set up a potential showdown between the council and Mayor Greg Ballard, who has said he opposes expansion of the existing ban and made clear to council Republicans before the initial vote that he didn't want the ordinance to land on his desk.
Though lead sponsors admit they face a battle to get the measure passed, it could pick up support from some council members who previously voted against it.
A proposal to ban smoking in most Indianapolis workplaces will return to the City-County Council for a vote later this month.
The council voted 16-12 tonight to overrule an Oct. 26 vote to table the proposal, which would strengthen an existing ban to include venues such as bars and bowling alleys. It now is scheduled to go before the council at its Nov. 30 meeting.
If the proposal had remained tabled, its prospects of getting another vote would have been uncertain. Democrat Joanne Sanders challenged the legality of the decision to table the measure at last month's meeting because the 14-13vote was indecisive.
Supporters of the ban said Monday's move bolsters their hope that the city can pass a nearly comprehensive workplace smoking ban.
"It keeps us alive and in the game," said Tim Filler of the Smoke Free Indy coalition.
The question on many minds these days is, what’s up with Purdue’s proposed campus-wide smoking ban? To me, it’s just showing a dog (Purdue and secondhand-smoke opponents) that’s all bark and no bite. . . .
Let’s be honest, though: how many of you secondhand-smoke-on-campus complainers actually inhale smoke and not just the scent left behind from a cigarette? Don’t know the difference? Well, smoke is defined as a visually present cloud of gas particles produced from burning something; scent is the residual smell the dissipated smoke leaves behind.
Do you know how fast smoke dissipates in the open, outside air? . . .
The long and short of it is the University can’t back up the proposed (or current) policy with enforcement, and policy advocates can’t legitimately back up their secondhand smoke claims. Both entities should stop blowing smoke instead of trying to demonize actual smoke-blowing.