http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/org/ctfk.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-08-2008/0004900749&EDATE= http://tobacco.org/news/272223.html According to news reports, R.J. Reynolds has announced plans to test-market three new smokeless tobacco products that dissolve in the mouth, come in "fresh" and "mellow" flavors and have slick, colorful packaging similar to gum and candy. Called Camel Sticks, Strips and Orbs, these new products also carry the name of RJR's Camel cigarettes, one of the most popular brands among underage smokers. These new products are likely to result in more kids starting to use tobacco products and fewer smokers quitting, and their introduction underscores the urgent need for Congress to pass pending legislation that grants the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory authority over all tobacco products. These new products pose serious threats to the nation's health. They are likely to appeal to children because they are flavored and packaged like candy, are easy to conceal even in a classroom and carry the Camel brand that is already so popular with underage smokers. The last thing kids need is another product to start them on the road to nicotine addiction. These products are also likely to discourage smokers from quitting by sustaining their nicotine addiction in the growing number of places where smoking is not allowed. . . . RJR's new products add to a growing list of novel products tobacco companies have introduced recently in their relentless efforts to recruit new youth users, create and sustain addiction to nicotine, and discourage current users from quitting. The tobacco industry will continue to get away with these harmful practices until Congress ends the industry's regulatory exemption and passes legislation granting the FDA authority PR Newswire Wed, 08 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/business.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-10-10-0044.html http://tobacco.org/news/272202.html The measure passed the House this summer with overwhelming support, but a threat from Sen. Richard M. Burr, R-N.C., to block it and a veto threat from the White House helped stall it in the Senate. The Senate left town last week without bringing it up for a vote and is unlikely to do so even if lawmakers return after the election. William V. Corr, executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a public-health advocacy group, said he expects shifts in the political landscape will ensure passage in 2009. Unlike President Bush, John McCain and Barack Obama strongly support giving the FDA the authority to restrict tobacco marketing and set standards for nicotine levels in cigarettes. And an increase in support for the measure in the Senate this fall will make it harder for Burr to block the bill next year, Corr said. Richmond Times-Dispatch smussenden@mediageneral.com (SEAN MUSSENDEN MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE ) Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/Script/DisplayPressRelease.php3?Display=1103 http://tobacco.org/news/272196.html The government of India today has taken a historic step to protect the health of the nation’s more than 1.1 billion citizens by implementing a national law that requires workplaces and public places to be smoke-free. India is the largest country in the world to implement a nationwide smoke-free law, and it joins a fast-growing global movement to protect non-smokers from the serious health hazards of secondhand smoke. This law is a significant step toward reducing the devastating toll of tobacco use and secondhand smoke in India. There are more than 120 million smokers in India, second only to China, and tobacco use kills more than 700,000 Indians each year. India’s health minister has estimated that 40 percent of the country’s health problems stem from tobacco use. . . . The government should also move quickly to eliminate these exemptions. Another obstacle to the law’s success is the continued strong opposition of the hospitality industry, which has filed numerous legal challenges. Earlier this week, India’s Supreme Court rejected appeals to further delay implementation of the law, which was enacted in 2003. It is critical that India’s leaders reject further efforts to delay or weaken the law and act instead to effectively implement and strengthen it. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids India Thu, 02 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.ons.org/lac/pdf/correspondence/110/Amicusbrief.pdf http://tobacco.org/news/272058.html Oncology Nursing Society Mon, 26 Nov 2007 05:00:00 GMT http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/Script/DisplayPressRelease.php3?Display=1100 http://tobacco.org/news/271485.html A new survey of youth tobacco use in Virginia shows that the state has made great progress in keeping kids from smoking, underscoring once again that tobacco prevention is a smart investment for Virginia's physical and financial health. The Youth Tobacco Survey found a dramatic 28.6 percent decline in high school smoking over two years -- with 15.5 percent of Virginia high school students smoking in 2007, compared with 21.7 percent in 2005. By preventing kids from ever starting to smoke, Virginia can look forward to saving lives by preventing premature, smoking-caused deaths and to saving money by reducing smoking-caused health care costs, which total more than $2 billion a year in Virginia. This is remarkable progress in a short period of time. We applaud Governor Kaine, the Legislature and the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation for their commitment to reducing the devastating toll of tobacco use by investing in youth tobacco prevention efforts. Virginia's challenge now is to build upon its progress by increasing funding for youth tobacco prevention while also investing in cessation programs to help adult smokers quit. While the survey results represent remarkable progress, there is still much to be done in Virginia to reduce tobacco use Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/74972 http://tobacco.org/news/271455.html Hemant Goswami, a social activist from India, and Thailand's Health minister have been selected for the prestigious international "Global Smokefree Partnership Award" in recognition of their work in controlling the menace of tobacco. The honour is awarded every year by "The Global Smokefree Partnership," a joint worldwide initiative of over twenty international organisations formed to promote effective smoke-free air policies worldwide. Reacting to the news, Goswami said, "Such recognition reassures a person that he is moving in the right direction and that the work undertaken by him is making impact. It's a real honour to be selected for such an international award. I am happy and would like to share the honour with all the associates and people who have provided support to our activities." Hemant Goswami has been awarded in the category, "Extraordinary Award" for his exceptional and outstanding commitment as a dedicated smoke-free and tobacco control activist to promote the implementation of the guidelines on Article 8 (smoke-free policies) of the "Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)" treaty. Hemant is credited with initiating the smoke-free movement in India and for making Chandigarh as the first smoke-free city not only in India but also the first one even in any third world country. A feat which everyone thought would be impossible to achieve in India. . . . The international award given by the international coalition is coordinated by "American Cancer Society" and includes reputed international organisations like; Cancer Research - UK, Global Tobacco Research Network, International Union Against Cancer, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Johnson and Johnson, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Institute for Global Tobacco Control, Action on Smoking and Health - London, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Pfizer, Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, World Heart Federation and others. American Chronicle info@amchron.com (Aman Loona) Thailand India Sun, 21 Sep 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20080909/pl_usnw/virginia_s_investment_in_tobacco_prevention_is_delivering_dramatic_results_and_should_be_expanded http://tobacco.org/news/270932.html A new survey of youth tobacco use in Virginia shows that the state has made great progress in keeping kids from smoking, underscoring once again that tobacco prevention is a smart investment for Virginia's physical and financial health. The Youth Tobacco Survey found a dramatic 28.6 percent decline in high school smoking over two years - with 15.5 percent of Virginia high school students smoking in 2007, compared with 21.7 percent in 2005. By preventing kids from ever starting to smoke, Virginia can look forward to saving lives by preventing premature, smoking-caused deaths and to saving money by reducing smoking-caused health care costs, which total more than $2 billion a year in Virginia. This is remarkable progress in a short period of time. We applaud Governor Kaine, the Legislature and the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation for their commitment to reducing the devastating toll of tobacco use by investing in youth tobacco prevention efforts. Virginias challenge now is to build upon its progress by increasing funding for youth tobacco prevention while also investing in cessation programs to help adult smokers quit. While the survey results represent remarkable progress, there is still much to be done in Virginia to reduce tobacco use U.S. Newswire Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/Script/DisplayPressRelease.php3?Display=1097 http://tobacco.org/news/270746.html The comprehensive report released today by the National Cancer Institute provides the government's strongest conclusion to date that tobacco marketing causes kids to smoke and that anti-tobacco advertising campaigns prevent smoking. The 684-page report, The Role of the Media in Promoting and Reducing Tobacco Use, is an exhaustive review of more than 1,000 scientific studies and presents definitive conclusions that a) tobacco advertising and promotion are causally related to increased tobacco use, and b) exposure to depictions of smoking in the movies is causally related to youth smoking initiation. The report also concludes that mass media campaigns can reduce smoking, but so-called "youth smoking prevention campaigns" sponsored by the tobacco industry have been generally ineffective and may actually have increased youth smoking. This report sends a loud and clear message to the nation's policy-makers: We need less tobacco company marketing and more anti-tobacco advertising. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/03/AR2008090303785_pf.html http://tobacco.org/news/270645.html Fifty years after its founding by a retired high school principal, AARP is a premier lobbying power in Washington. Its 40 million members, many of them more than capable of finding a voting booth on Election Day, make it the country's single largest organization -- that is, if you don't count a little outfit called the Catholic Church. . . . "If you're trying to grow revenue and gain new members who are turning 50, then what they're doing is brilliant," Dychtwald said. "However, if your proposition is to be the defender and the advocate of the poor and elderly, it could be argued that you're a bit turning your back on them." William D. Novelli, AARP's avuncular chief executive, waves off the criticism with the easy laugh of an elder dismissing a whippersnapper. . . . Novelli's path to AARP was a bit more circuitous. He grew up outside Pittsburgh, the son of a steelworker-turned-insurance agent, before embarking on a career in marketing and advertising. . . . he focused on building his public relations firm, Porter Novelli, which amassed an impressive portfolio that included Kellogg's, Hewlett-Packard and Corning. But what fired him up, he said, were campaigns such as the one launched to educate the public about the dangers of high blood pressure. At the age of 49, Novelli left Porter Novelli, hoping to devote himself full time to social issues. His first stop was CARE, which combats global poverty, then the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. He joined AARP in 2000, becoming chief executive the following year. His mission was to lasso the millions of baby boomers becoming old enough to join up. The Washington Post Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-29-2008/0004875815&EDATE= http://tobacco.org/news/270490.html In the Philippines, Philip Morris International withdrew after health advocates protested the company's involvement and the Philippines Department of Health warned the company that its sponsorship and related marketing violated the country's tobacco regulation law. The law prohibits all forms of tobacco advertising in mass media including the Internet, places strict restrictions on other tobacco promotional activities, and bans tobacco company sponsorship of concerts and other events. We applaud the Philippines Department of Health for setting an international example by taking aggressive action to enforce the country's tobacco control law and protect Filipino children from this blatant effort to market cigarettes to them. With this action, the Philippines government is taking seriously its obligations under the World Health Organization's international tobacco control treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which among other things calls on ratifying nations to ban all tobacco advertising, promotions and sponsorships. Nations should act quickly to implement this and other provisions of the treaty and protect their children PR Newswire Philippines Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/Script/DisplayPressRelease.php3?Display=1098 http://tobacco.org/news/270371.html A new scientific study being published this week finds that California's state tobacco control program saved $86 billion (in 2004 dollars) in personal health care costs in its first 15 years and provides important new evidence for states to increase spending on tobacco prevention and cessation programs. This study demonstrates powerfully that state tobacco prevention and cessation programs are smart, cost-effective investments that not only improve health and save lives, but also save money by dramatically reducing health care costs for government, businesses and families. It should spur states to significantly increase funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs with the $25 billion in revenue they collect each year from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes. . . . Despite the overwhelming evidence that state tobacco prevention and cessation programs are highly effective when they are funded appropriately, only three states currently fund these programs at even the minimum level recommended by the CDC. This is part of the reason that declines in both youth and adult smoking in the United States have stalled in recent years. With the tobacco companies spending more $13.4 billion per year marketing their deadly products, it is imperative that state leaders act now to fund programs that we know work to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Tue, 26 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-21-2008/0004871303&EDATE= http://tobacco.org/news/270257.html The comprehensive report released today by the National Cancer Institute provides the government's strongest conclusion to date that tobacco marketing causes kids to smoke and that anti-tobacco advertising campaigns prevent smoking. The 684-page report, The Role of the Media in Promoting and Reducing Tobacco Use, is an exhaustive review of more than 1,000 scientific studies and presents definitive conclusions that a) tobacco advertising and promotion are causally related to increased tobacco use, and b) exposure to depictions of smoking in the movies is causally related to youth smoking initiation. The report also concludes that mass media campaigns can reduce smoking, but so-called "youth smoking prevention campaigns" sponsored by the tobacco industry have been generally ineffective and may actually have increased youth smoking. PR Newswire Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/shs/ http://tobacco.org/news/270129.html The scientific evidence is clear: Secondhand smoke is a proven cause of serious diseases and premature death. That's why people across the United States and around the world are speaking up for their right to breathe clean, smoke-free air. And it's why a growing number of cities, states and countries are enacting laws that require all workplaces and public places to be smoke-free. In the United States: * 24 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico have passed smoke-free laws that cover restaurants and bars. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Wed, 09 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-16-2008/0004850565&EDATE= http://tobacco.org/news/269946.html Two new studies published online today in the American Journal of Public Health demonstrate the critical need for Congress to enact pending legislation granting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory authority over tobacco products. One study found that tobacco companies deliberately manipulate levels of menthol in cigarettes in ways the authors conclude recruit new, young smokers and satisfy long-term smokers. The second study found that tobacco companies, because of public relations and litigation concerns, suppressed their own internal research about the presence of polonium-210, a radioactive, cancer-causing chemical, in cigarettes and cigarette smoke. These studies demonstrate how the current lack of regulation allows tobacco companies to manipulate their products in ways harmful to health and to control what is in their products and what they disclose about them. Currently, no government agency has the authority to regulate menthol, polonium-210 or any of the more than 4,000 chemicals in a cigarette. The legislation before Congress would fundamentally change this harmful status quo by granting the FDA authority over the manufacturing and marketing of tobacco products. For the first time, decisions about tobacco products would be made to protect public health rather than to maximize the profits of the tobacco industry. PR Newswire Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-12-2008/0004866366&EDATE= http://tobacco.org/news/269937.html For the second time in recent weeks, international tobacco control advocates are calling on Philip Morris International to withdraw its sponsorship and promotion of a major concert, this time in the Philippines where the company's activities appear to violate national law. Last month, Philip Morris International withdrew its sponsorship of singer Alicia Keys' concert in Jakarta, Indonesia, after the company was criticized for engaging in cigarette marketing that appealed to children and after Ms. Keys called for the sponsorship to be withdrawn. Now health advocates are urging Philip Morris International to end its involvement in an August 30 reunion concert by the popular Filipino band Eraserheads, which has been called the "Beatles of the Philippines." Those seeking tickets to the concert are being directed to http://www.marlboro.ph, a web site run by Philip Morris International's Philippine subsidiary. PR Newswire Philippines Tue, 12 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT