Tobacco Articles: category schools

'Lights out' urged for school personnel

dkurutz@tribweb.com (Daveen Rae Kurutz PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW ) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

oking on school grounds isn't enough for local school districts officials -- they want them to ditch the habit altogether. Several local school districts, including Pittsburgh Public Schools, which last month began enforcing its ban, offer smoking cessation programs for teachers and staff. "Kids are very quick to see hypocrisy in adults," said Cindy Thomas, executive director of Tobacco-Free Allegheny. "We want to see a culture where they get that (anti-smoking) message and see it played out in real life." Smoking cessation programs are offered

Durant school district bans tobacco use

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Durant School Board members approved a policy, backed by Students Working Against Tobacco, banning the use of tobacco 24 hours a day, seven days a week. According to a document, “the Board of Education recognizes that tobacco use has been shown to be linked to illnesses and disability and that federal law prohibits smoking in any indoor facility or the grounds thereof, which is used to provide educational services to children.” All smoking, chewing or any other use of tobacco by staff, students and members of the public is prohibited on all school property by all persons at all times, including athletic events.

Students puff away at nation’s schools

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Less than half of the nation’s schools have banned smoking for their students, according to a study conducted by the Danish Cancer Society. During breaks from class-time hours, many students are allowed to smoke outside the school area – a trend that worries the society’s members. In all, 46 percent of schools across the country have a complete ban on smoking for students during school hours. But the figures are much worse in the Copenhagen area than, for example, in Jutland. In Region Northern Jutland – which includes Aalborg Council, where smoking has been banned at all private and public schools in the city – only 33 percent of schools still allow students to smoke during their breaks. In the Capital Region, however, 74 percent have not instituted a ban.

Smoking schoolgirls spark online fire

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Photographs posted online of a group of teenage girls in their school uniforms smoking on a street in Foshan, Guangdong province, have aroused public concern. The photos were published on a popular, local online forum by an Internet user, who goes by the pseudo name "toxicwaltz", on Tuesday afternoon. The post on www.ttx.com.cn said the five girls, four of whom were seen smoking in the photographs, are students of the Foshan No 10 Middle School. . . . Wang Qian, a teacher at the Xingtai No 2 Middle School in Hebei, thinks that smoking among teenagers is a common problem and an increasing number of children are taking their first puff younger than ever. "Maybe the media and movies are influencing them. Or maybe they smoke to release the pressure of studies," Wang told China Daily. "When we find out that our children are smoking, we should care for them and educate them, not criticize." . . . According to Article 15 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency, "The parents or other guardians of minors and the schools shall educate minors not to smoke or drink excessively. No business place may sell cigarettes or wine to minors."

Plan to put tobacco in curriculum

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Lessons about tobacco should be in a range of school subjects and take in more than the physical impact of smoking, say public health advisers. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) wants to stop youngsters from starting to smoke. It wants information about tobacco to be taught more broadly and to include the legal, economic and social issues. But Simon Clark of the smokers' lobby group, Forest, warned "no-one likes to be nagged, least of all teenagers".

Indian state confiscates 'blasphemous' Jesus textbooks

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

The government in the Indian state of Meghalaya has confiscated textbooks showing pictures of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette and a can of beer. The book has been used for primary classes and has caused a furore in the north-eastern state, where more than 70% of the population are Christians. State Education Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh said legal action against the publishers was being contemplated. The company, based in Delhi, has so far not responded to the complaints.

Bay Area Smokers Beware; a Crackdown Is in the Air

bayarea@nytimes.com (SCOTT JAMES) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Ms. Mantz said the city had begun a new antismoking effort, and San Ramon is not alone. Plans are being advanced elsewhere in the area to up the ante against tobacco by punishing those even tangentially connected with smoking, like movie studios, and in some cases singling out those previously considered victims of cigarette companies. To be on the California High cheerleading squad, the girls had signed a code of conduct that bans use or possession of "alcohol, controlled substances, steroids" and tobacco. Such contracts are common at schools, but enforcement based on an Internet photo revealed how intense the antismoking mood has become. Caitlin Kawaguchi, a student reporter at Cal High, broke the story for the school paper, which then grabbed headlines on a national student journalism Web site. The fact that cheerleaders smoked, Ms. Kawaguchi said, was not a sign tobacco is hip on campus. "There's really not a lot of pressure to smoke," she said. Still, two weeks without pompoms is a light sentence compared with what smokers in San Francisco may soon face. To fight secondhand fumes, San Francisco is considering a ban on smoking outside within 15 feet of building entrances and places like A.T.M. lines and cafes. . . . His campaign has also bought full-page ads in Variety and The Hollywood Report to try to undermine "Avatar" in its quest for Academy Awards because of smoking in the film. When asked if his crusade cost the movie a recent Producers Guild award, Dr. Glantz said, "I hope so." "You shouldn't be promoting addiction and death to 7-year-olds." he said. "The movies are the largest single reason kids start to smoke." But Dr. Glantz's fiery demeanor changed when he was told about the cheerleaders' punishment. Suddenly, he appeared skeptical. It reminded him, he said, of efforts to prevent minors from smoking by making it difficult for them to buy cigarettes. "We've shown it didn't work," he said. Not every fire, or desire, can be snuffed by laws.

REX: Cigarette tax a bold solution for many S.C. woes

News@GwdToday.com (JIM REX State Superintendent of Education) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

A great deal of debate ensued this week when I announced a proposal to raise South Carolina's lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax to the national average, with the proceeds split between health care and education. I remain convinced that this is the right course of action for our state. . . . Why should other states get through these tough economic times in better shape than South Carolina? We don't need to reinvent the wheel. All we need to do is take this common-sense step so that South Carolina is not left behind once again. The bottom line is that this is an idea that is long overdue. South Carolina has been debating this course of action for years, but the political insiders in Columbia have been frozen into inaction by big tobacco special interests that have fought this idea.

Should Tobacco Sponsorship of Education Be Banned?

contact@bjreview.com.cn ( (LI SHIGONG)) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

After the massive earthquake in Sichuan Province in May 2008, a primary school funded by a tobacco company was set up in the quake-stricken area. On the roof of the school building stands the signboard "Sichuan Tobacco Hope Primary School." A slogan engraved on another board reads, "Tobacco helps your success." Statistics show in China, there are 17 Hope primary schools named after sponsoring tobacco companies. All of them are in economically backward areas. Tobacco control activists say the practice exerts negative social impacts and it is necessary to limit tobacco companies' sponsorship of education. They stress that tobacco companies, by sponsoring education, want to build up a positive image for themselves and promote the sales of tobacco products. Therefore, only a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship will reduce consumption, especially among young smokers. Tobacco companies, however, argue that the sponsorship of education shows their passion about social responsibilities, which should be encouraged. Some people are also worried that if tobacco companies retreat from supporting the Project Hope for developing education in poverty-stricken rural areas, it will be difficult for concerned schools to survive the shortage of operational funds and if they cannot, then students will be the biggest victims.

Zhou Huan (www.jiaodong.net): . . . Though tobacco companies' financial support has, to some extent, helped educational development in underdeveloped areas, their ill-motivated charitable activities are mostly harmful. Once profit-oriented sponsorship begins to prevail in the education sector, it will not only undermine charity efforts but also inflict a negative impact on students.

Zhang Guifeng (Nanguo Morning Post): . . . Obviously, naming a Hope school after the sponsoring tobacco company and erecting promotional boards with the slogan "Tobacco helps your success" violate stipulations in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Imagine a young child growing up in a school where he is told tobacco is helpful day after day. Will this child develop a correct understanding of tobacco's harm and stay away from it?

City considers tobacco ban

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

The Roanoke City Council will consider a no smoking, dipping or chewing ordinance on all city owned property at the Feb. 8 council meeting. Mayor Mike Fisher said he had received a letter from the State Department of Public Health applauding the city for steps it had taken and mentioned some cities are making everything 100 percent tobacco free. The mayor said he called people around town asking their thoughts about this. He said he would like to make all city property smoke free without smoking designated areas. There had been an incident or two at high school games where there was smoking but the State Board of Education prohibits smoking where any students are, he said.

Sandy requires smoke shops to stay away from schools

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Smoke shops and beer stores will have to be farther away from schools and other public venues in Sandy. On Tuesday, the City Council gave the final nod to a code amendment requiring new alcohol and tobacco specialty stores to be at least 1,000 feet away from the property lines of schools, parks, libraries, churches and cultural facilities. The new rule, which does not apply to 7-Eleven-type convenience stores or existing specialty stores, also keeps future smoke shops or beer stores 150 feet from what Sandy calls the 9000 South "Gateway"

Move to Ban Groceries Near Schools

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com ( Asma Ali Zain) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

In an attempt to make cigarettes inaccessible to underage youth, officials are mulling over banning groceries near schools and sports stadiums. The move follows the recent introduction of the federal anti-tobacco law that specifies sale of tobacco products in designated areas only and also bans sale of cigarettes to youth under the age of 18. Under the new by-laws that are expected to take shape soon, groceries will also be required to obtain special permits before being allowed to stock and sell cigarettes. "Once implemented, municipalities will carry out intense 'sting operations' to ensure rules are being followed," said a senior official. "A GCC-wide draft law on licensing of groceries to allow them to sell cigarettes is ready for implementation," said Dr Wedad Al Maidoor, Head of the National Tobacco Control Committee at the UAE Ministry of Health.

Altria's plays major role in Richmond area's economic life

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

If you've spotted a new computer in a school office in Richmond, grumbled about the midafternoon jam at the Bells Road exit or wondered about those "Dippers & Smokers" fliers around town, you've run across Altria Group Inc.'s footprint. The nation's No. 1 tobacco company makes all its cigarettes -- 150 billion a year -- in Richmond. Its headquarters are here, and so are the labs where it designs new products, such as the tipless Black & Mild cigarillo and the new Marlboro Blend 54 in its dark-green box -- and where scores of Richmonders, intrigued by the fliers, have taken up its invitations to earn money by participating in tobacco-consumer studies. Standing at 160 on the Fortune 500 list of large companies, among Richmond-area firms only Dominion Resources Inc., at 157, is larger. "Looking at just Philip Morris USA, its employees and the complex visible from Interstate 95, one sees just the tip of the iceberg," . . . Over the past several months, marketing experts from U.S. Smokeless' Copenhagen division worked with the local scientists, who gained their expertise with flavoring tobacco at Philip Morris USA, to figure out how to get just the right wintergreen flavor into Copenhagen's snuff -- creating Copenhagen's fifth new product in 187 years. But the push into smokeless tobacco and cigars came on the heels of a major split. . . . For company spokesman David Sylvia, moving from New York meant suddenly finding three extra hours a day. Without the long train ride from Park Avenue to the Connecticut suburbs, there was more time to spend with his four young children and a lower cost of living that made it easy giving up the old pickup he used to drive to the train station. He has bought two cars here since he moved. . . . The company also pays for things donors don't always think of, such as computers for classrooms and training for teachers. But just as important, said Richmond Superintendent Yvonne W. Brandon, is that Altria volunteers are regularly in the schools: tutoring, mentoring and helping fix things.

Teacher sacked for giving children cigarettes: A teacher has been sacked after she admitted giving cigarettes to children she was supervising at a secondary school.

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Jane Eccles gave them to two pupils she was meant to be supervising in the "naughty room" at the Sir Christopher Hatton School in Wellington, Northants. Mrs Eccles, 60, was sacked after admitting giving cigarettes to a Year 9 boy and a Year 11 girl. Mrs Eccles, a mother-of-two, claimed she was "bullied" into giving cigarettes to "confrontational" children but avoided being struck from the teaching register by the General Teaching Council.

Company posts pro-tobacco messages in Sichuan school

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

SICHUAN, CHINA - A Chinese tobacco company has been given permission to market their product and create a new generation of smokers at an elementary school, state media reported. Built in the wake of last year's deadly earthquake in Sichuan province, the Sichuan Tobacco Project Hope Primary School is funded by China Tobacco Company, the Beijing Daily reported. Young students are exposed to banners throughout the campus such as "Work hard for society! Tobacco can help you become an achiever!" Tobacco is a leading cause of cancer and effects of the marketing messages will mislead students into thinking that smoking is safe, Xu Jinhua, vice director of China Tobacco Control Association, said. . . . Meng Lingao, a spokesperson for China Tobacco, said that the company only wants to be a good corporate citizen. "Tobacco firms should not be barred from contributing to social welfare simply because the cigarettes they produce are harmful to their user's health," Meng was quoted by Beijing Today. Project Hope created 69 other schools sponsored by tobacco companies in other provinces including Liaoning, Qinghai, Guizhou, Anhui, Guangxi, Hubei and Yunnan, the Beijing Youth Daily said.