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FdL County tobacco group commended  

The Fond du Lac County Tobacco Control Coalition was commended when the Wisconsin Cancer Council hosted its annual meeting recently at the DoubleTree Hotel in Madison.

During the annual meeting, state legislators and regional organizations were recognized for the work they have done to help control the incidence of cancer in Wisconsin.

The Fond du Lac County Tobacco Control Coalition was recognized for its work over the last 20 years.

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Cigarette Companies Use Color, Rather than Words, To Convey Message 

Even without words like 'light' on the packaging, many of the people we showed the new packaging to still perceived the lighter or brighter colors to be lower in nicotine, tar, or tobacco, and less harmful.

"Certain colors do elicit certain responses, feelings, emotions", said Tom Neal, Director of Brand Development at Kinziegreen in Wausau. He says with the tobacco already so heavily regulated, they're using the methods that are allowed as effectively as possible. "As the color scheme goes from darker towards lighter, you're seeing they're trying to say to the consumer the things they can't really say with words."

So while cigarette companies won't be able to say 'mild', 'light', or 'ultra-light', by using a cool, calming blue, an energetic orange, or even a natural, healthy light green, would-be customers are getting the message. That's something that has health officials concerned.

"They're trying to make the consumer believe that they are getting a healthier product as a result of the packaging.", said Renee Trowbridge, a public health educator for Marathon County. "They are doing a very good job of making it appealing."

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Anti-smoking funds cut  

Although Wisconsin taxpayers are paying more for cigarettes, programs aimed at curbing smoking are getting cut.

State Rep. Kim Hixson, D-Whitewater, Rep. Chuck Benedict, D-Beloit, and Sen. Judy Robson, D-Beloit, are co-sponsoring a bill moving through the legislature that would restore some of the funding to tobacco-related programs like the statewide Quit Line.

"At a time when both the state and federal cigarette taxes have increased substantially, more smokers are wanting to quit and it is very difficult to do it on their own," Robson said. "They need a plan and they need support. The type of phone counseling and medications offered by the Quit Line have shown great success in helping people quit. Unfortunately, funding has been cut for these important services."

Robson said all options need to be considered to restore some of the funding cuts, and said that Assembly Bill 381 was a starting point. It has been referred to the Joint Finance Committee.

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• Smoking Keeps Its Grip on Urban Poor  

A full 42 percent of people in Milwaukee's poorest neighborhoods smoke -- more than twice the national U.S. average -- sacrificing $9 on a pack of cigarettes even while most of the households reported earning less than $15,000 a year.

Even more troubling is the fact that a large number of these low-income smokers hold beliefs that make them less likely to quit, according to ongoing research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Over the past 40 years or so, the overall smoking rate in the United States has decreased to about 20 percent, but those gains have taken place largely among people with resources, namely money and education, said Bruce Christiansen, an associate scientist with the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention in Madison, who is one of the researchers on what's known as the "ZIP Code" project.

"With public health, we got 80 percent of the people who were going to quit smoking to quit smoking. That's great, but the next 20 percent is going to be tough," added Dr. Jay Brooks, chairman of hematology/oncology at Ochsner Health System in New Orleans. "Smoking tends to be a disease of poverty and lack of education. Thirty years ago, 50 percent of the population smoked and now we're down to roughly 25 percent. What we have left is a very select group of people."

That select group includes people with mental health issues, which, according to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA), smoke 44 percent of all cigarettes.

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[W]e got 80 percent of the people who were going to quit smoking to quit smoking. That's great, but the next 20 percent is going to be tough. Smoking tends to be a disease of poverty and lack of education. Thirty years ago, 50 percent of the population smoked and now we're down to roughly 25 percent. What we have left is a very select group of people.
Dr. Jay Brooks, chairman of hematology/oncology at Ochsner Health System in New Orleans.

Study of smoking among the poor reveals striking findings 

In some of Milwaukee's poorest neighborhoods, nearly half of all adults are addicted to cigarettes, despite the fact that prices are nearing $9 a pack while many household incomes are below $15,000.

A Wisconsin research project has revealed some surprising misconceptions that may reinforce tobacco's hold on the poor.

Dr. Bruce Christiansen of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (CTRI) set out to discover attitudes about smoking among a group of low-income people in Milwaukee, Wisconsin's largest city.

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VIDEO: Saving Lives with Fire Safe Cigarettes  

Can cigarettes be safe? A new design in the cigarette itself may be able to answer that question. on October first, Wisconsin became the latest state to require retailers to sell "fire safe cigarettes."

You can tell if the pack contains fire safe cigarettes by the markings on the box. FSC stands for fire safe cigarettes. They are designed to snuff themselves out if left unattended. Smokers like Rick Schwantes likes the idea. "I've fallen asleep a couple of times with a lit cigarette, but I woke up in time. I've been lucky, yeah. So you think it's a good idea? Yes I do."

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VIDEO: Fire-safe Cigarettes will be Required in Wisconsin 

After Wisconsin stores sell all their regular cigarettes, the new law requires they only restock their shelves with fire-safe cigarettes. The cigarettes go out when the smoker sets them down for more than a minute.

The only cigarettes you'll find on Mileage Gas Station's shelves are fire-safe cigarettes.

William Olson has been smoking since 16 years old, and he's not happy about the new law.

"I don't like them. You sit there, you light them up, and if you're doing something and you turn around and they're out," said Olson.

The Fire Department says that's the point since more than 20% of fires start because of unattended smoking materials.

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• Wisconsin is next-to-last state to require fire-safe cigarettes  

Wisconsin has become the next-to-last state to require so-called fire-safe cigarettes.

Gov. Jim Doyle signed the bill a year-and-a-half ago and the law took effect on Oct. 1. . . .

Sen. Judy Robson, D-Beloit, tried for five years to require fire-safe cigarettes, soon after New York became the first state to mandate it.

Now, every state but Wyoming has similar laws on the books although some won’t actually take effect until next year or 2011.

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Fire-safe cigarettes in stores  

In a nutshell, the new cigarettes don't burn as well as the old ones - which is good, if you want to prevent accidental fires, bad if you have to keep flicking your Bic.

Since Oct. 1, when Wisconsin became the 49th state with a fire-safe law, distributors have been required to purvey only the new variety of smokes.

They're not fire-proof, supporters of the law acknowledge, but they are less likely to continue burning when left unattended.

According to the state Department of Commerce, manufacturers typically wrap fire-safe cigarettes with two or three bands of less porous paper that act as "speed bumps."

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• Taxes drive tobacco users to Illinois border 

While Ahmad, Mussina and the other Wisconsin merchants suffer financially, the tax increases have significantly boosted the revenue of a cash-strapped state, and probably are deterring a lot of smoking.

The retailers say price increases won't stop smokers, but researchers say otherwise, and the potential savings in health care costs are enormous.

On average, according to University of Illinois at Chicago economist Frank J. Chaloupka, every 10% increase in cigarette prices reduces demand by about 4%.

That would suggest that reduced overall smoking accounts for a significant portion - perhaps more than half - of the decrease in cigarette sales following Wisconsin's tax increases.

There's no data yet on the effects of the most recent increase, which took effect Sept. 1. But tax collections before and after the $10-a-carton boost on Jan. 1, 2008, show a dramatic impact.

From fiscal 2007 to fiscal 2009, revenue to the state nearly doubled, to $551 million. But cigarette sales fell by 19% - from 38.5 million cartons in fiscal 2007 to 31.1 million in fiscal 2009.

That's more than a billion fewer cigarettes sold here, and Chaloupka believes most weren't replaced with smokes bought elsewhere.

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• State cuts Tobacco Quit Line funding despite tax increases 

Starting Thursday, smokers with health insurance who call the state Quit Line for help kicking their habit will get less help, the result of a 55 percent cut in state funding to smoking cessation and anti-smoking programs.

In spite of soaring state cigarette taxes, the Quit Line's funding was slashed by two-thirds - from $3.7 million a year to $1.2 million - as part of the broad cuts implemented in the 2009-11 budget signed by Gov. Jim Doyle to help solve the state's massive deficit. Total funding for anti-tobacco programs was cut from $15.3 million a year to $6.9 million.

The cuts follow a 75-cent increase in the cigarette tax on Sept. 1 that brought the state tax to $2.52 per pack, and also follows a $1-per-pack increase in 2008 - moves made to help solve budget deficits.

Maureen Busalacchi, executive director of SmokeFree Wisconsin, said more resources are needed by smokers motivated to quit by both the tax increase and a state smoking ban on bars and restaurants going into effect on July 5, 2010.

"When people need the resources most, we'll be least able to help them," Busalacchi said.

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Letter: Smokeless trip  

I recently returned from an eight-day trip to the twin cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minn., where smoking in public places is not allowed. It was a delight to enter a restaurant or bar and not be saturated in secondhand smoke.

The fact that every venue we entered was filled to capacity demonstrates that the nonsmoking law didn't hamper any customers from enjoying these places. We made a side trip to Wisconsin but returned to Minnesota to eat when we could not find a restaurant with a nonsmoking regulation.

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Anti-smoking info campaign targets minorities  

A statewide anti-smoking campaign aimed at minorities and those in poverty that highlights the dangers of second-hand smoke has begun.

Dubbed "Everybody Smokes When Anybody Smokes," the campaign will use radio, bus and billboard advertisements to get the message across. And local anti-smoking advocates say they hope it will bolster their ongoing efforts to reach into minority communities to underscore the dangers of smoking.

"There are definitely certain groups that are impacted in different ways," said Mandy Myszka, public health educator for the Marathon County Health Department. "For instance, the lower socio-economic population, the tobacco companies really target them specifically. They can offer them free tobacco products to get them started, for instance."

The state campaign -- promoted by the Wisconsin Tobacco Prevention and Control Program, a coalition of community anti-smoking activists and the state Department of Health Services -- will use minority spokespeople to help make the connection with minority groups. For example, Blia Lor, a Hmong woman from Milwaukee, will be featured on billboards.

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Editorial: State did the right thing with smoking ban  

New reviews of recent studies conclude that heart attack rates have fallen 17 percent in communities and states after smoking bans were enacted. It's just further evidence that Wisconsin did the right thing in passing the ban that takes effect next summer. . . .

Smoking ban opponents argue that business owners should have the choice regarding what happens on their private property. But this is not the first law ever passed to regulate public health in those businesses. Making it illegal to poison the air is certainly an appropriate government action.

Next July 1, Wisconsin joins 31 other states that forbid smoking in the workplace, including restaurants and taverns. It's about time.

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Just Ask Us: Does smoking ordinance apply to sidewalks? 

A: Under the city ordinance that took effect in July 2005, every building considered a place of employment must have at least one entrance that is smoke-free. The ordinance defines an entrance as "a doorway and adjacent area which gives direct access to a building from a contiguous street, plaza, sidewalk or parking lot."

St. Mary's Hospital has designated all their entrances as non-smoking, said Steve Sparks, public relations director for the hospital, and that includes the presumably public sidewalk because it leads to the entrance. When you designate a smoke-free entrance, Sparks said, "you are required by the ordinance to allow people to enter without going through a cloud of smoke."

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