http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/category/youth.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2009/nov/06/wenatchee-teens-take-part-in-state-smoking-study/ http://tobacco.org/news/292283.html Wenatchee High School students were part of a teen smoking study by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The study, published in mid-October, was the first time researchers proved that one-on-one counseling makes a significant difference in teen smoking rates. “When this study started, despite decades of research and dozens of intervention trials, there was no proven way to reach teens from the general population and recruit them into smoking cessation programs, and there was no proven way to help these teens quit,” said lead researcher Arthur Peterson in a prepared statement. Statewide, more than 2,000 students at 50 high schools participated in the study. Half of the schools, including Wenatchee High School, were control schools. With parental consent, students from the Class of 2005 took a survey about smoking habits and attitudes during their junior year, and again in their senior year. . . . By the end of the study, about 22 percent of the smokers in counseling had stopped smoking for six continuous months, compared to nearly 18 percent of smokers at the control high schools, according to a news release from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Intervention also increased three-month, one-month and seven-day smoking abstinence rates compared to the control group. Wenatchee World schleif@wenatcheeworld.com ( Rachel Schleif World staff writer ) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20091107/VIEWPOINTS03/911070309/1120/Protect-anti-smoking-funds http://tobacco.org/news/292280.html The New York State Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program is a highly successful, world-class tobacco prevention effort that saves lives and prevents kids from smoking. As a result, youth smoking rates in the state were the lowest on record at 14.7 percent. The Tobacco Control budget has been cut by 20 percent within the past year. Research and experience demonstrates that reducing funding to state tobacco-control programs can quickly slow or reverse gains. According to research, the 20 percent budget cut will result in a 1.3 percent increase in youth smoking rates, which means an estimated 16,000 more New York youth will grow up to become addicted adult smokers. Maintaining funding for tobacco control is a wise and effective instrument in the health of New York. Let's work to keep our next generation smoke-free. Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,26318329-2682,00.html?from=public_rss http://tobacco.org/news/292274.html MORE than 400 people have been cautioned or fined for smoking in cars with children in South Australia since the controversial law was introduced. The state led the nation by introducing a law prohibiting smoking in vehicles in the presence of people under 16 in May 2007, in a bid to protect children from passive smoking. Since then, police have fined 317 people and cautioned 85. Offenders can be issued with an on-the-spot fine of $75 and if it proceeds to court, the maximum penalty is $200. A woman was recently convicted for the offence in NSW just three months after that state brought in the new laws. News Interactive Network/News Limited/News.com Australia Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20091107/ALTOONA01/91105033/-1/GETPUBLISHED03wp-rss2.php http://tobacco.org/news/292272.html 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 $1,500 fine, they would rather serve a 30-day suspension, which is their privilege.” The suspension will run from Nov. 15 to Dec. 14. Copper Creek Golf Club’s second violation occurred in late June. Des Moines Register Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jKdYE3UEXb9ZfiXoS43vCQyzBUgAD9BQ6BJG1 http://tobacco.org/news/292260.html The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it has warned several companies to stop selling banned flavored cigarettes to U.S. consumers online. The agency sent letters this week to more than a dozen Web-based companies saying they are violating a new ban and asking the companies to describe in writing what action they have taken to comply. The FDA banned candy-, fruit- and clove-flavored cigarettes in September. Federal health authorities and regulators say those products appeal especially to young people and are thought to attract new smokers. "FDA takes the enforcement of this flavored cigarette ban seriously," Dr. Lawrence R. Deyton, director of FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, said in a statement. "These actions should send a clear message to those who continue to break the law that FDA will take necessary actions to protect our children from initiating tobacco use." AP Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/pagesmh/9665/$File/2008-nztus-quitting-results-nov09.pdf http://tobacco.org/news/292249.html Key Points Introduction This report presents the quitting results of 15–64-year-olds from the 2008 New Zealand Tobacco Use Survey (NZTUS), including, where possible, comparisons with the 2006 NZTUS. Quitting attempts In 2008 an estimated19,600 New Zealanders had quit smoking in the previous 6–12 months. Three out of five current smokers had tried to quit smoking in the past five years, a third of smokers had quit for at least 24 hours in the past 12 months and a fifth had successfully quit for a week before starting to smoke again. Four out of five current smokers said that they would not smoke if they had their life over again. Three-quarters of smokers who had tried to quit in the past 12 months said one of the reasons was for their own health, while a third had tried to quit because of the cost of smoking. Quitting services and programmes Among current smokers, three-quarters had been asked their smoking status by a health care worker in the past 12 months. Māori and Pacific people and those from areas of high deprivation were more likely than the total New Zealand population aged 15–64 years and those from the least deprived areas respectively to have been asked their smoking status by a health care worker over the past 12 months. Over a quarter (27.6%) of 15–64-year-old current smokers had been given advice or information, referred to quitting programmes or given quitting aids by a health care worker in the past 12 months. Māori current smokers were two-fifths more likely than all current smokers aged
15–64, and current smokers living in the most deprived areas were twice as likely as those in the least deprived areas to have been provided with advice or information, referred to quitting programmes or given quitting aids by a health care worker in the past 12 months. A third of people who had tried to quit smoking in the past 12 months (‘recent quit attempters’) had used quitting products or advice in their most recent quit attempt. The most common product used was nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) (19.5%). Quitline was used by one in eight, and general practitioners were used by 6% of recent quit attempters. New Zealand Ministry of Health New Zealand Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1467:29-businesses-in-violation-of-selling-tobacco-to-minors-&catid=45:guam-news&Itemid=156 http://tobacco.org/news/292245.html Guam Public Law No. 24-278 (also known as the Tobacco Control Act of 1998) mandates the conduct of random, unannounced tobacco vendor compliance inspections each year.� The Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse (DMHSA) in partnership with the Department of Revenue and Taxation (DRT) completed its island wide 2009 monitoring activity. For this current year, 347 businesses were inspected throughout the nineteen villages on the island; twenty-nine (29) were found to be in violation for selling tobacco products to minors and were cited by DRT officers.� P.L. 24-278 prohibits vendors from selling tobacco products to persons under the age of 18 and if found to be in violation, must pay a graduated penalty of anywhere from $500 up to $5,000 per violation. This vendor monitoring activity is federally mandated by the U.S. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention for all states and territories who receive substance abuse prevention and treatment block grant funds.� Guam must provide assurances that the island’s tobacco vendors do not sell tobacco products to individuals below the age of 18. “Guam has the highest tobacco use rates nationwide among youth and adults. Vendor compliance to not sell tobacco products to minors is an effective strategy for reducing tobacco use among youth and eventual health-related consequences.” said David L. G. Shimizu, Director of the Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse. Pacific News Center Guam Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/06/BAIS1AFR2O.DTL&type=health http://tobacco.org/news/292244.html Now San Francisco entrepreneur Stuart Skorman, founder of the now defunct holistic-oriented drugstore chain Elephant Pharmacy, wants to make pharmacies the only places that sell tobacco products. Skorman, who on Thursday launched a nonprofit organization called HealthyPharmacies.org to promote his idea, believes that restricting cigarette sales to pharmacies would not only control the distribution and visibility of the product, but also give pharmacists the opportunity to counsel customers about quitting. The idea would also prevent kids from going down to the corner store to buy cigarettes from a clerk who may not check identification, he said. "Keeping tobacco away from 12-year-olds saves lives and billions of dollars from the health care system," he said. Skorman advocates testing the concept in some cities and then comparing the impact on smoking with those that have banned the sale of tobacco products in drugstores. He said he's in discussions with city officials interested in the idea, but declined to name the cities. "If limiting distribution and limiting the visibility of this dangerous product reduces smoking in communities, we believe pharmacists would be more than happy to be part of the program," he said. The problem? Most pharmacists and health experts interviewed for this story found the idea downright unhealthy. San Francisco Chronicle vcolliver@sfchronicle.com ( Victoria Colliver, Chronicle Staff Writer) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.freep.com/article/20091105/NEWS04/91105030/1001/NEWS/16-Warren-businesses-cited-in-tobacco-sales-to-minors http://tobacco.org/news/292238.html A crackdown on tobacco sales to minors in Warren resulted in citations for 16 businesses over the past two months, Warren Mayor Jim Fouts said today. During the first operation, at the start of the school year in September, police cited nine businesses for selling tobacco to minors. Last week, police cited seven businesses. Most were gas stations near schools. Detroit Free Press sneavling@freepress.com (STEVE NEAVLING FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER) Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.kuam.com/Global/story.asp?S=11455242 http://tobacco.org/news/292237.html 29 mom-n-pop stores received citations from the Department of Revenue & Taxation after they were caught selling tobacco to minors. Mental Health assisted DRT with the inspections of more than 300 businesses. KUAM heather@kuam.com (Heather Hauswirth) Guam Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.caribbeanlifenews.com/articles/2009/11/04/news/ny_local/doc4af19a77161ab649186282.txt http://tobacco.org/news/292230.html The New York City Council has banned the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including little cigars.These little cigars look just like cigarettes, but, due to a tax loophole, cost considerably less. . . . Council Member Letitia James pointed out that in Central Brooklyn and other communities like it, these brightly packaged flavored cigars are often marketed near the candy, right where they can best capture the attention of the youth. Most councilmembersof her colleagues in the council agreed. The prohibited flavors include chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy, cocoa, dessert, alcoholic beverage, herb and spice flavors. (Menthol, mint and wintergreen flavors are excluded from the ban.) "A significant number of constituents that I have spoken with also believe that smoking cigars is less toxic and less addictive than cigarettes," James added. "They are wrong. One cigar has as much tobacco as five cigarettes and contains more nicotine. That is why we, as adults, have to stand up and ban these products." Caribbean Life Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://mdjonline.com/bookmark/4348027 http://tobacco.org/news/292228.html Powder Springs The city conducted the first public hearing for a proposed ordinance to ban smoking at city-sponsored events on the town square, specifically the Fourth of July and Christmas celebrations. Mayor Pat Vaughn said Hillgrove High School senior William Wizner proposed the ordinance as part of a school project. Marietta Daily Journal letters@mdjonline.com (Katy Ruth Camp) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/05/2733804.htm http://tobacco.org/news/292215.html A novel anti-smoking program aimed at primary school students has lost Tasmanian Government funding under the QUIT program. Surgeon Stephen Wilkinson has been running the 'Docs for a Day' program for 15 years, giving thousands of students a dose of reality about the effects of smoking. "We've had very clear evidence that people have changed their behaviour as a result," he said. But the Government is not convinced and has withdrawn support. Australian Broadcasting Corporation Australia Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.malaysianmirror.com/homedetail/45-home/17797-smoking-for-trouble http://tobacco.org/news/292214.html LIMBANG: 'Kemt' and 'Pally' are names that trigger an anxiety attack among parents here. They are cigarette-shaped sweets that are packaged like cigarettes. At first glance, the sweet boxes look like real cigarette boxes. Parents are worried that such sales gimmick may eventually tempt children to start smoking. Ibrahim Tapa, 38, said the products, known as 'Smoke Candy' here, were believed to be imported from China and were sold at 50 sen per box. Unethical and illegal This kind of gimmick by traders goes against the government's anti-smoking policy, where millions of ringgit is spent to discourage people from picking up the smoking habit and is making a mockery of the government's effort to create a healthy society." A Borneo Post survey here showed that several traders were selling 'Smoke Candy' openly. Malaysian Mirror editor@malaysianmirror.com Malaysia Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://shanghaiist.com/2009/11/04/wednesday_wtf_what_is_it_with_kids.php http://tobacco.org/news/292203.html We thought we'd seen the last of babies taking drags off ciggs with the first video, but nope. This video was uploaded by someone who said he filmed it on National Day. In Guizhou, a couple of migrant workers bragged about how their baby (the fourth son in the family) could smoke half a pack a day. "Check it out, look kid, here have a smoke." Like the person who posted this, we've been rendered speechless too. Shanghaiist tips@shanghaiist.com (Elaine Chow) China Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT