http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/category/21.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=633256 http://tobacco.org/news/293089.html The less you smoke, the more birthdays you'll have, says the American Cancer Society as it encourages smokers to quit on Thursday, the day of the 34th Great American Smokeout. Research shows that smokers who quit at age 35 gain an average of eight years of life expectancy, and those who quit at 55 gain about five years. Even long-time smokers who quit at age 65 gain three years. Smokers who quit before age 50 cut their risk of death within the next 15 years in half compared to people who continue to smoke. In addition, a former smoker's lung cancer risk 10 years after quitting smoking is about half that of someone who still smokes, the society said. There are immediate health benefits, too. Heart rate and blood pressure decrease 20 minutes after people have their last cigarette. HealthDay [HealthScout] Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122680327/abstract?CRETRY=1 http://tobacco.org/news/293061.html Aim To explore predictors of smoking relapse and how predictors vary according to duration of abstinence. . . . Findings Relapse was associated with lower abstinence self-efficacy and a higher frequency of urges to smoke, but only after the first month or so of quitting. Both these measures mediated relationships between perceived benefits of smoking and relapse. Perceived costs of smoking and benefits of quitting were unrelated to relapse. Conclusions Challenging perceived benefits of smoking may be an effective way to increase abstinence self-efficacy and reduce frequency of urges to smoke (particularly after the initial weeks of quitting), in order to reduce subsequent relapse risk. Wiley InterScience UK Canada Australia USA Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122680331/abstract?CRETRY=1 http://tobacco.org/news/293060.html Aims To describe the long-term natural history of a range of potential determinants of relapse from quitting smoking. Design, setting and participants A survey of 2502 ex-smokers of varying lengths of time quit recruited as part of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey (Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States) across five annual waves of surveying. . . . Findings Most theorized determinants of relapse changed over time in a manner theoretically associated with reduced risk of relapse, except most notably the belief that smoking controls weight, which strengthened. Change in these determinants changed at different rates: from a rapidly asymptoting log function to a less rapidly asymptoting square-root function. Conclusions Variation in patterns of change across time suggests that the relative importance of each factor to maintaining abstinence may similarly vary. Wiley InterScience UK Canada Australia USA Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://sofiaecho.com/2009/11/19/818567_seventy-per-cent-of-bulgarian-smokers-wanted-to-quit-survey-says http://tobacco.org/news/293035.html More than 70 per cent of smokers in Bulgaria wanted to give up smoking, Yulia Medichkova of the Greenwild Foundation was quoted by Bulgarian news agency BTA as saying on November 19 2009. Medichkova presented the results of a one-year campaign entitled The Culture of Breathing. Over 50 per cent of Bulgarians approved of increased restrictions on smoking that will be introduced by mid-2010. Bulgaria ranks third in the world in terms of number of smokers, after Japan and Greece, Medichkova said. What was more worrying, according to another survey released by the Health Ministry on November 17 2009, was that every second pregnant woman in Bulgaria smoked during pregnancy. Sofia Echo web@sofiaecho.com Bulgaria Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/in-memory-of-patrick-swayze-songwriter-encourages-people-to-throw-away-cigarettes---and-shell-give-you-her-new-cd---free-70605687.html http://tobacco.org/news/293030.html Karen Sokolof Javitch is hoping that her new CD: STAR TRACKS - THE TRIBUTE ALBUM will encourage people to throw away their cigarettes! "It's worth a try," says Javitch, who decided to dedicate her CD to Patrick Swayze, who recently died of pancreatic cancer. "He was a 3-pack-a-day smoker, and never quit, even when he got sick." Her mother also died at age 56 (like Patrick) and she is sure cigarette smoking contributed to her death. "The one thing we have control over in getting cancer is cigarette smoking!" "THROW THOSE CIGGIES AWAY AND I'LL SEND YOU A FREE CD TODAY!" And of course that includes President Obama, who she surmises has not kicked his habit. PR Newswire Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/Script/DisplayPressRelease.php3?Display=1181 http://tobacco.org/news/293013.html Massachusetts today announced extraordinary results from its aggressive efforts to help Medicaid beneficiaries quit smoking by providing easy access to coverage for smoking cessation medication and counseling. Massachusetts reported that smoking rates among beneficiaries in its MassHealth program plunged by 26 percent in the first two and a half years after the state began providing coverage of smoking cessation in July 2006. Costly medical procedures among those who utilized the cessation benefit also fell dramatically. Among benefit users, there were 38 percent fewer hospitalizations for heart attacks and 17 percent fewer emergency-room visits for asthma symptoms in the first year after using the benefit. There were 17 percent fewer claims for maternal birth complications since the benefit was implemented, state health officials reported. Massachusetts is leading the way in demonstrating that health insurance coverage for smoking cessation quickly improves health and saves lives, and no doubt reduces health care costs as well. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/11/19/2009-11-19_scoff_scoff_nyers_say_theyll_be_smokin_on_national_quit_day.html?r=lifestyle/health http://tobacco.org/news/292995.html New York City has one of the lowest smoking rates in the country - just 16% - after years of aggressive ad campaigns and strict smoking laws, including the city's groundbreaking smoking ban at bars and restaurants. A new ad campaign launched this year shows a disgusting blackened lung caused by years of smoking. Previous anti-smoking ads showed a Bronx woman with 20 amputations she said resulted from smoking. But about 1.3 million New Yorkers still smoke, the Health Department says, and getting the holdouts to kick the habit might be the hardest part. New York Daily News sgoldsmith@nydailynews.com ( Samuel Goldsmith DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER ) Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?sec=article&article_id=11877 http://tobacco.org/news/292993.html “BUTT OUT! Ending Tobacco Industry Exploitation of the LGBT Community” will mark the Gay American Smokeout by staging a public spectacle to draw attention to the impact of Big Tobacco on the LGBT community, on Nov. 19 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Harvey Milk Plaza. BUTT OUT!, a local LGBT advocacy group that works against the tobacco companies, and dozens of local concerned citizens dressed in black and wearing skull makeup to represent those who have died from tobacco, will chase out of the Castro the tobacco company’s proxy, the Grim Reaper, standing close to 10-feet tall while wielding a three-foot cigarette. State Senator Mark Leno, who has pledged to refuse campaign donations from tobacco companies, will be speaking at the event. San Francisco Bay Times Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.fwdailynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5799:Survey-finds-many-smokers-make-last-minute-plans-to-quit&catid=61:times-online2&Itemid=6 http://tobacco.org/news/292991.html 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 FW Daily News Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20091119/LIFESTYLE/911190303/-1/rss01 http://tobacco.org/news/292975.html Tobacco-Free Living of Louisiana is teaming up with local musicians and businesses in downtown Alexandria to throw a block party as part of the Great American Smoke Out 2009 to help clear the air about secondhand smoke. Region VI Tobacco Prevention and Cancer Control Coalition, Rapides Parish Healthy Initiatives Coalition and Louisiana Youth Prevention Services will partner to host "Live on Air" 6-10 p.m. Thursday on Desoto Street between Third and Fourth streets in downtown Alexandria to raise awareness -- and to have some fun while they're at it. Tipitina's Music Co-op has partnered with the event to provide music by local artists -- including DC Sills, Dick Larry & Mick, Bombs Away, Gutta Boy Muzik and Dynamic Jake -- that will cover a wide range of musical tastes. Alexandria Town Talk ddinsmore@thetowntalk.com (David Dinsmore) Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.stjoenews.net/news/2009/nov/19/city-wants-grant-battle-smoking/ http://tobacco.org/news/292971.html The American Cancer Society asks smokers to give up the habit for one day today as part of the Great American Smokeout. A $2 million federal grant could help St. Joseph fight an anti-smoking battle of its own with longer lasting results. The City Council gave the City of St. Joseph Health Department the green light Monday to apply for the Communities Putting Prevention to Work grant — part of the American Reinvestment & Recovery Act of 2009. If the funding is approved, the health department will work with Heartland Health, the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services, Buchanan County, the St. Joseph School District, Missouri Western State University, the St. Joseph Youth Alliance and the University of Missouri to implement an anti-smoking marketing campaign, smoking cessation services and other programs. City Health Director Debra Bradley provided statistics showing the severity of St. Joseph’s smoking problem among young people. According to a study from the health department and Heartland Health, 56 percent of local youths age 18 to 24 smoke, while roughly one in four adults are smokers. Council member Mike Bozarth was the most vocal opponent of Monday’s resolution. As a smoker and opponent of expanded government regulations, Mr. Bozarth said he didn’t want the council to take part in a program that could restrict citizens’ personal choices. St. Joseph News-Press clintonthomas@npgco.com (Clinton Thomas) Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/19/progress-slow-in-choking-off-smoking-rates/ http://tobacco.org/news/292969.html About one in every five residents of Tennessee and Georgia still uses tobacco, studies show, and that's just too many, health advocate say. Although there has been progress, smoking rates have gone up and down over the past few years in Tennessee, ranging from 27.7 percent in 2002 to 23.1 percent last year, according to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys that states submit to federal health officials. The Tennessee smoking rate "is not where it needs to be, and it's certainly not a downward trend, so that's what's sort of disappointing," said Dr. Vince Viscomi, a Chattanooga pulmonologist and president of the Chattanooga and Hamilton County Medical Society. In Georgia, rates are slowing ticking downward . . . Culturally, Tennesseans have made "incredible progress" in attitudes toward smoking, said Shelley Courington, executive director of the Campaign for a Healthy and Responsible Tennessee. "Smoke-free has become the norm here, and who would have thought years ago that that would be possible in Tennessee, in a state where tobacco for years was the No. 1 cash crop?" she said. Still, low funding has hindered progress, Ms. Courington said. . . . TENNESSEE QUIT LINE * 1-800-784-8669 GEORGIA QUIT LINE * 1-877-270-STOP Chattanooga Times & Free Press Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/nov/19/tenn-ranks-44th-in-overall-health/ http://tobacco.org/news/292941.html Tennessee ranked 44th among states in overall health, but 45th in smoking and 47th in obesity, both of which cause costly preventable diseases, said "America's Health Rankings." . . . Today's Great American Smokeout challenges people to quit smoking for just one day (with the expectation that more smoke-free days will follow). Local efforts will target both smokers and nonsmokers, said Tyler Peterson, chair of the University of Tennessee Colleges Against Cancer. The organization's executive committee will be on the campus's pedestrian walkway today with an exhibit tagged "Aren't you sick of walking through smoke?" and marked with smoke machines and chalk outlines of bodies to represent cancer deaths, he said. The group will have information on cancers and will give out candy to passers-by - Dum Dums for smokers, Smarties for nonsmokers. But their serious message is "how to quit," Knoxville News-Sentinel Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/massachusetts-model-tobacco-cessation-benefit-spurs-unprecedented-drop-in-smoking-rates-heart-attacks-asthma-and-birth-complications-70401442.html http://tobacco.org/news/292940.html A "model" tobacco cessation benefit offered to Massachusetts' Medicaid participants has produced an astounding 26% drop in smoking rates in only two and a half years, and has already been linked to decreases in heart attacks, hospitalizations for asthma and COPD, and a significant decrease in birth complications. Researchers from the Massachusetts Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program (MTCP) found that up to 38% fewer MassHealth cessation benefit users were hospitalized for heart attacks in the first year after using the benefit, and that 18% fewer benefit users visited the emergency room for asthma symptoms in the first year after using the benefit. Researchers also found that there were 12% fewer claims for adverse maternal birth complications since the benefit was implemented. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services said more than 75,000 people -- a full 40% of MassHealth members who smoke -- have used the benefit to try to quit smoking. Cost savings are being studied, and all indications suggest they will be significant. "It is clear from these latest findings that the Commonwealth's efforts to help people quit smoking is a sound investment," Executive Office of Health and Human Services Secretary JudyAnn Bigby said. . . . "As the nation debates the future of its health care system, the national significance of this research cannot be understated," said Robert J. Gould, PhD, President and CEO of Partnership for Prevention, a national organization that advances policies and practices to prevent disease and improve the health of all Americans. "These findings demonstrate that prudent investments in preventive health today will have a dramatic and positive effect on our health care system tomorrow." PR Newswire Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/20091118/NEWS01/91118020/1002/33 000 calls received at state quit smoking line http://tobacco.org/news/292915.html State health officials say more than 33,000 calls have been received at a toll-free line created more than three years ago to help Tennesseans quit smoking. The Tennessee Tobacco QuitLine, established in August 2006, is 1-800-QUIT-NOW. AP Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT