DNA from cigarette butt leads to Pa. rape charge

A California man has been charged with raping a Pittsburgh woman after police say they matched DNA from the crime to a cigarette butt the man discarded while being questioned by police in another matter.

Pittsburgh police say 29-year-old Akaninyene (ah-kan-YAY'-nay) Akan, of San Clemente, Calif., was being held in a California jail after his arrest Thursday based on DNA results police recently received.

He's charged with raping a Pittsburgh woman after entering her apartment near the University of Pittsburgh campus through a window on Sept. 12.

University police knew of that incident and stopped Akan after they saw him exit an apartment building five days later. Akan wasn't charged in that incident, but asked an officer for a cigarette during questioning. Police kept the butt after Akan discarded it.

Quitting menthol cigarettes may be harder for some smokers

Hershey, Pa -- Menthol cigarettes may be harder to quit, particularly for some teens and African-Americans, who have the highest menthol cigarette use, according to a study by a team of researchers.Menthol cigarettes can be Kiss Superslims Menthol or Lady Menthol cigarettes.
Recent studies have consistently found that racial/ethnic minority smokers of menthol cigarettes have a lower quit rate than comparable smokers of regular cigarettes, particularly among younger smokers.
One possible reason suggested in the report is that the menthol effect is influenced by economic factors -- less affluent smokers are more affected by price increases, forcing them to consume fewer cigarettes per day.
"This pattern of results is consistent with an effect that relies on menthol to facilitate increased nicotine intake from fewer cigarettes where economic pressures restrict the number of cigarettes smokers can afford to purchase," said Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D., professor, Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, and an author of the report.
Menthol is a compound extracted from mint oils or produced synthetically that activates cold-sensitive neurons in the nervous system. Menthol cigarettes make up about 25 percent of the market but are preferred by certain subgroups of smokers, including about half of teenage smokers and 80 percent of African-American smokers.
Research has shown that menthol cigarettes may provide higher levels of carbon monoxide, nicotine and cotinine per cigarette smoked than regular cigarettes.
"Menthol stimulates cold receptors, so it produces a cooling sensation," Foulds said. "This effect may help smokers inhale more nicotine per cigarette and so become more addicted. In effect it helps the poison go down easier.
"The smoker who has reduced their cigarette consumption typically compensates by increasing inhalation per cigarette. Menthol in cigarettes makes the smoke less harsh, enabling these smokers to obtain a larger and more reinforcing nicotine hit."
The researchers, who published their results in a special issue of the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, reviewed the evidence from 10 published studies that compared smoking cessation rates or proportions between mentholated and regular cigarette smokers.
Not all of the studies included in the report found an effect of menthol on quitting, and no studies to date have been specifically designed to look at menthol and cessation, but the effects of menthol on quitting were larger in more recent studies, in younger smokers and largely restricted to African-American and Latino smokers.
Other members of the research team are Monica Webb Hooper, Ph.D., Department of Psychology and Biobehavioral Oncology, University of Miami; Mark J. Pletcher, M.D., M.P.H., Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California at San Francisco; and Kolawole S. Okuyemi, M.D., M.P.H., Program in Health Disparities Research, University of Minnesota Medical School.

Cigarette pack warnings scarier in other countries

If Americans think the proposed graphic warnings for cigarette packs are frightening, they should see what's on packages in other countries.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last month proposed 36 possible illustrations and will pick one to run with each of nine new health warning statements it is to require on packaging and ads as of October 2012. Up until now, U.S. cigarette packs have carried only text warnings, and those haven't changed since 1985.

SURGEON GENERAL: Just one cigarette can harm DNA
The USA is playing catch-up with countries on every continent, and some researchers say a number of its proposed images aren't scary enough.

At least 39 countries or jurisdictions have picture warning requirements, and many more are in the process of implementing them, according to a new report by the Canadian Cancer Society.

While Canada in 2001 was the first to add picture warnings, many other countries have surpassed it, the cancer society says. One problem, critics say, is that after spending much time and money developing new ones, the Canadian government has never changed them. As a result, the warnings' effectiveness has waned.

Uruguay, on the other hand, is battling tobacco giant Philip Morris International , teh producer of Marlboro cigarettes , over its warnings, which cover 80% of the package, the largest in the world. The company has filed an arbitration claim with the World Bank alleging that Uruguay's warnings violate its trade agreement with Switzerland, where Philip Morris is based. The warnings leave little space "for display of legally protected trademarks," the company said Oct. 5. In addition, Philip Morris alleges, "repulsive and shocking pictures, such as a grotesquely disfigured baby," don't accurately depict health effects.

Many countries besides Uruguay require images that are bigger and harsher than those proposed by the FDA, which include women blowing smoke in children's faces and diseased lungs.

Some of the proposed pictures are cartoons, not photographs, and using them would be "really risky," because smokers might not take them seriously, says Jeremy Kees, an assistant professor of marketing at Pennsylvania's Villanova University.

"Believability is one of the key issues for warnings," Kees says.

The FDA might have been concerned that "gross-type" visuals would offend smokers, evoking anger instead of a desire to quit, he says. But his research has found that the scarier the images, the more likely smokers were to say they felt inspired to quit.

"It doesn't matter what the theme is," he says. "The more fear-evoking, the more graphic, the more positive the response by smokers."

Brazil's anti-smoking images, introduced in 2002, have been called the scariest in the world. The third set, added last year, include a gangrenous foot and what appears to be a fetus in an ashtray. They must cover the entire front or back of a pack. (In the USA, the proposed images are supposed to cover at least the top half of the front and the back.)

And Brazil's warnings are working, says Eliane Volchan, an associate professor of neurobiology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Smoking rates in Brazil fell by more than half from 1989 to 2006, Volchan says, from 34.8% to 16%. The U.S. rate has been stuck at around 20% for the past five years.

Volchan's views on the FDA's images are mixed. Some should be effective in scaring smokers smokeless, but others might not. "Highly aversive warning images should be selected," she says. "Those portraying harms of smoking ... are better."

Her research has found that pictures of people smoking on cigarette packs might have opposite the desired effect. "Smoking-related images and words are craving triggers for smokers and should be avoided," Volchan says.

Several images proposed by the FDA fall into that category. One simply shows a woman smoking in the rain. One photo and one cartoon show women blowing smoke in their children's faces. A couple of images show smokers annoying non-smokers, while one image is simply a lighted cigarette.

Tobacco companies have filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of requiring larger and more graphic warnings on U.S. cigarette packs. They say such a move would end up burying their logos at the bottom of the packages.

Australia is planning to go a step further. As of July 2012, there won't be any logos on cigarette packs sold in the country, says Mike Daube. Manufacturers won't even be allowed to use colors or fancy type fonts to distinguish their packages.

Daube, a health policy professor at Curtin University in Perth, was deputy chairman of the task force that recommended plain packs in Australia. Their only adornment will be text and pictures depicting smoking health risks.

"It essentially means that the government takes over the full design of the pack," he says. "The industry has no say whatever."

Brazil has also discussed plain wrappers, Volchan says. Andrew Lansley, the secretary of state for health in Great Britain, which introduced graphic images in 2008, issued a statement last month saying his government is considering such a move.

"The evidence is clear that packaging helps to recruit smokers," so it makes sense to make it less attractive, he says.

The 2009 Tobacco Control Act doesn't give the FDA authority to go that far. Still, Daube says, it is of "special importance" that the U.S. is finally adding pictures, because many countries, especially in the developing world where smoking continues to increase, look to it as an example.

Says Daube: "If warnings like these are implemented in the U.S., where much of the tobacco industry is at home, and where it is at its most powerful, this will send out a striking signal that Big Tobacco is losing its influence."

What's in your cigarette?

It's common knowledge that cigarette smoke is bad for you. But it may be even more toxic than you realize. Here are some facts you need to take down before you light up:

Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,800 chemical compounds, including 69 that are known to cause cancer. Many other toxic agents are also in cigarettes, some of which are made during the smoking process itself.
A lighted cigarette generates more than 150 billion tar particles per cubic inch, making up the visible portion of cigarette smoke.
According to chemists at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, producer of Camel cigarettes , cigarette smoke is 10,000 times more concentrated than the automobile pollution at rush hour on a freeway.
Visible smoke contributes only 5 percent to 8 percent toward the total output of a cigarette. What you can't see are the so-called vapors or gases in the cigarette smoke. Nitrogen and oxygen are two harmless ones, but here are just a few that aren't:
Carbon monoxide. Reduces your blood's ability to carry oxygen.
Formaldehyde. Raises your risk of leukemia and brain cancer.
Acrolein. May damage the lungs and cause death when you breathe large amounts. Breathing lesser amounts may cause eye watering, burning of the nose and throat and a decreased breathing rate.
Hydrogen cyanide. May cause death within minutes at high amounts. Exposure to lower concentrations may produce eye irritation, headache, confusion, nausea and vomiting. In some cases, coma and death may follow.
Nitrogen oxide. Low levels can irritate your eyes, nose, throat and lungs, possibly causing you to cough and experience shortness of breath, tiredness and nausea. Exposure to low levels can also cause fluid buildup in the lungs one or two days after exposure. Breathing high levels of nitrogen oxide can cause rapid burning, spasms and swelling of tissues in the throat and upper respiratory tract, reduced oxygenation of body tissues, a buildup of fluid in your lungs, and death.
Besides this list of toxic gases, the list of cancer-causing chemicals (carcinogens) in cigarette smoke is also long and includes:

Cyanide
Benzene
Formaldehyde
Methanol
Acetylene
Ammonia
So if you ever feel that quitting smoking is a battle, just remember, it's actually chemical warfare.

Exhibition on world’s tobacco warnings

Pictures of mutilated lungs, throats and lips. Not quite what you expect to find at the India International Trade Fair (IITF). But at the Hall No 1 of Pragati Maidan this is exactly what you will find. An exhibition of pictorial warnings on tobacco products from 15 countries has been set up at the 30th IITF by NGO HRIDAY, Public Health Foundation of India and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids to compare pictorial warnings on tobacco products in different countries.

“The truth is being hidden from people by showing blurred and fuzzy pictures of x-ray reports, mutilated lungs and scorpions, which have no relation to the risks associated with tobacco use,” said Dr Monica Arora, director, HRIDAY.

The exhibition is also trying to gain public support through signature campaigns, opinion polls and warning walls and has managed to get 2000 signatures since it opened four days ago.

Ten schools also visited the exhibition. “After seeing the bold warnings, I believe that the warnings should show the real picture,” said Madhav Jain, a DLDAV student.

The exhibition comes weeks before the date for the revision of the pictorial warnings on tobacco products. World Health Organization officials also visited the exhibition on Friday.

FDA Could Ban Menthol Cigarettes

The US Food and Drug Administration is currently considering placing a ban on the use of menthol in cigarettes and tobacco products.
The FDA has joined forces with several other groups, claiming that the minty flavor entices children and young people to start smoking.
Last year, the FDA placed a ban on the sale and production of fruit flavored tobacco and related products, such as cigar wraps, using similar claims.
The National Cancer Institute recently released a study that shows that youths as well as African-Americans have more difficulty when trying to quit smoking if they are smokers of methol flavored products.
Other market analysis have shown that when tobacco prices increased, non-methol smokers cut back and began spending less on cigarettes, menthol users were undaunted by the “forced quit smoking” tactics of the government.

Tobacco display ban consultation

Efforts to ban the open display of tobacco products in Northern Ireland have moved forward after the Health |Minister announced a public consultation on the matter.

Speaking during Assembly |Question Time yesterday, Michael McGimpsey revealed he has asked Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety officials to press ahead with plans to change the way tobacco products can be sold.

Every year, 2,700 deaths in Northern Ireland are caused by smoking.


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JAPAN - INCREASED DEMAND FOR ANTI-SMOKING AID CHANTIX (CHAMPIX).

Japan - with cigarette tax increase in place, fewer smokers buying cigarettes so far..

With an increased interest in quitting - Pfizer Japan Inc. can't keep up with soaring demand for its Champix anti-smoking aid as the cigarette price hike from the beginning of this month has caused an influx of patients at smoking cessation clinics.

Pfizer said it supplied the prescription drug for about 70,000 people a month until August, but the number jumped to about 170,000 in September and the company had already supplied about 80,000 people in the first six days of October. The demand has grown far bigger than the drugmaker expected and it has asked medical institutions to postpone prescribing the drug to new patients. The company said that while it is working to increase supply, new patients may not be able to try the drug until around early next year.

The orally administered tablets block the part of the brain that receives nicotine, making it difficult for recipients to crave cigarettes, according to Pfizer. When one begins the treatment, a small dose is taken once a day. The doses are gradually increased and the medication continues for three months.

"While it was beyond my expectation that (demand for the drug) has grown this much with only an increase of about ¥100 in cigarette prices, it is troubling that I can't prescribe it to new patients," said Yoji Hirayama, a doctor at Tokyo Medical University Hospital.

GOING SMOKELESS tobacco

60 MINUTES:

GOING SMOKELESS

As cigarette sales plunge, tobacco companies are marketing smokeless products to skirt smoking bans and keep customers.

Smokeless tobacco is not a safe alternative to smoking.

It contains many of the same poisonous chemicals found in cigarettes. Cigarette can be of different brands like Lady cigarettes or Kiss cigarettes.

Using spit tobacco may lead to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke and can cause cancer, tooth decay, face disfiguration...even death.

Chew, dip or snuff. No matter what you call it, use it and the result is the same.
According to the American Cancer Society, use of chewing tobacco contributes to the more than 30,000 cases of oral cancer diagnosed each year.

Spit Tobacco is a Killer

Spit tobacco is not a safe alternative to smoking – it causes oral, esophageal and stomach cancers, and tooth and gum disease.
One in three people diagnosed with oral cancer die from it.
Spit Tobacco is Dangerous

Spit tobacco contains carcinogenic chemicals, as well as arsenic and lead, both of which cause health problems.
According to the Mayo Clinic, some spit tobacco products contain additives that increase the rate at which nicotine is absorbed into the body.
Spit Tobacco is Addictive

Compared to cigarettes, spit tobacco delivers five times as much nicotine, a highly addictive chemical.
Spit tobacco products vary. Many have added sweeteners that are attractive to young users. Beginning users usually graduate to products containing more nicotine after becoming regular users.
New evidence proves that spit tobacco use leads to smoking.

Flight attendants face soaring tension in the unfriendly skies

On one 12-hour flight, Libby Rehm of Estes Park, Colo., had the bad luck to be in a seat with a broken armrest that set off the flight attendant call button if she leaned on it. Attendants "kept getting mad at me" instead of being sympathetic, she reports.

Dev Norwood of Stockbridge, Ga., watched a fellow flier try to work while a child dropped toys over the man's seatback. The mother refused to step in, and a flight attendant told the man "he should be more tolerant," Norwood reports.

Jean Rowley of Huntington Beach, Calif., recalls a crewmember who bashed a sleeping passenger's knee with a service cart. The flier screamed in pain, and "the flight attendant never apologized," Rowley says. The man asked for a complaint form.

Tensions between fliers and cabin crews are common in today's increasingly unfriendly skies. After reportedly clashing with a passenger over an unwieldy bag last month, JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater deployed the emergency slide and grabbed headlines (along with farewell beer).

At a time when planes are as packed as sardine tins, everything from unpopular airline fees, to lack of manners, to increased flight attendant responsibilities (such as helping clean plane cabins) is sending tempers and stress levels soaring.

A recent USA TODAY online survey asking "What flight attendant behavior bothers you most?" drew 5,152 responses. "Surly demeanor" was the top vote-getter (38%), followed by "gabbing together in the back" (21%), refusal to deal with unruly passengers (20%), a "schoolmarm attitude" (12%) and slowness in serving drinks or food (9%).

"Employees of the airline industry feel underpaid and overworked, complaining about doing the work of two to three people as a reason for their sometimes surly behavior," says frequent flier Ryan Yamamoto of New York City. "I can't accept this as a valid reason. In these tough economic times, everyone feels underpaid and overworked … but most of us are just happy to have a job."

Attendants often are "barking commands," while "hiding behind the guise that their attitude is such for our benefit and safety," adds Yamamoto, who appreciates the cheerfulness of crews on airlines such as Virgin Atlantic.

Electronic Cigarettes Frequently Asked Questions

For the smokers who require nicotine relief from time to time, there is a new device on the market known as the electronic cigarette. Interestingly, the electronic cigarette does not involve any burning and the production of actual \"smoke\" and it is starting to prove to be a great alternative for people to turn to in order to get around the inconvenient smoking bans and the constantly-increasing tobacco taxes. Here are 3 frequently asked questions about electronic cigarettes to help you understand better.

How to Quit Smoking Naturally

In the US today, cigarette smoking causes one-third of all cancer fatalities and one-fourth of all fatal heart attacks. In addition to this, there are many illnesses and diseases that are a direct result of cigarette smoking. This includes chronic bronchitis, emphysema, assorted respiratory ailments, angina, peptic ulcers, heartburn, and diarrhea. A recent estimate is that smoking is a factor in more than 15% of all of the deaths occurring annually in the US. Obviously, smoking is a high-risk behavior with deadly consequences. Smokers can expect to shorten their lives by approximately ten to fifteen years. Intellectually most people will agree that smoking is a very harmful activity. Overcoming the addictions associated with cigarette smoking can be an overwhelming prospect, however. It can be done, though, and it can be done naturally without substituting other harmful ingredients that can further jeopardize one's health.

For every cigarette smoked, over 4,000 toxic chemicals are inhaled into the body. Over forty of these chemicals have been directly linked to cancer. Nicotine is one such chemical and is considered extremely addictive because with ingestion it facilitates the natural release of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. In so doing, it also stimulates the production of adrenaline, which elevates blood pressure and heart rate.

Nicotine can be ingested by chewing, sniffing, or smoking. When ingested it creates a relaxed feeling. With continued use, the body develops not only a physical and psychological addiction to nicotine, but a drug tolerance as well. This means that more nicotine will be required to achieve the same feelings of relaxation. This also means that if nicotine ingestion is stopped, withdrawal symptoms will result.

Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms

-Anger
-Anxiety
-Craving
-Difficulty Concentrating
-Frustration
-Irritability
-Elevated Appetite
-Elevated Blood Pressure
-Headache
-Reduced Heart Rate
-Feelings of Restlessness
-Stomach Irritability

Smoking cigarettes places nitrogen dioxide ozone in the body. This chemical damages DNA and reduces the amount of vitamin C available for use by the body. When DNA is compromised and vitamin C is reduced the body will not be able to fight off illness and aging will be accelerated.

Aside from the physical addiction to the chemicals in cigarettes, there is also an emotional addiction to smoking. Many smokers smoke in response to stress, boredom, and anxiety. For this reason, people who are in the process of quitting smoking may benefit from counseling or a support group for smokers. Subliminal or hypnosis recordings are effective tools to stop smoking as well.

Tips to Quit Smoking

-Acute cigarette cravings typically last no more than five minutes.
-Nicotine cravings will become more manageable with each passing success of not smoking.
-Try exercising or taking a walk when cravings occur.
-Avoid other people smoking.
-Completely eliminate alcoholic beverages while quitting smoking.
-Drink large amounts of water.
-Increase the amount of raw fruits, vegetables, and fiber in the diet.
-Eliminate saturated fats, processed foods, and refined sugars from the diet.
-Consider a colon and/or liver cleanse.
-Avoid stress during the quitting process.

After quitting smoking, the lungs must be given adequate time to heal and regenerate. During this time, it is important to be very careful about one's environment and the surrounding conditions.

Suggestions to Help Lungs Repair:

-Wear a mask if working with strong chemicals.
-Avoid air filters that emit ozone into the air. These may further damage the lungs.
-Do not attempt to dry up lung mucous. Mucous is the body's method for expelling toxins from the lungs.
-Avoid second-hand smoke at all costs, as well as other strong toxic chemical odors.
-Avoid dairy foods because they produce excess mucous. Mucous producing foods place added stress on the lungs.
-Aromatic herbs such as rosemary, thyme, ginger, horse radish, and cayenne may help one feel better.
-Get lots of fresh air and outdoor exercise every day.
-Yoga may also helpful.

McDonald's recall clouded by lack of standards

McDonald's decision to recall 12 million "Shrek" beverage glasses that contain cadmium in their colored designs bears the hallmarks of a classic product-safety scare.

Cadmium is a known carcinogen, and the Illinois-based fast-food giant was selling the glassware in a large-scale promotion tied to the popular children's film franchise.

But as more information emerged Friday, events surrounding the recall became less clear. Federal regulators indicated the "Shrek" glasses do not pose a hazard. Yet that statement is difficult to quantify because there is a dearth of federal standards regarding acceptable levels of cadmium, an element found in everything from leafy green vegetables to cigarettes.

Outside a Former Temple of Big Tobacco, Feeling Put Upon Once More

There was a time when people did not think twice about smoking. That was when a pack of cigarettes could be bought for pocket change, when it was still legal to smoke in bars and restaurants, when Philip Morris — the nation’s largest tobacco company —still had its headquarters in the Philip Morris building. Philip Morris is the manufacturer of Parliament cigarettes.

Of course, things have changed. After all, the Philip Morris building is not even called that anymore. (When it was new, in the early 1980s, it was called the Philip Morris Research Center and Headquarters, at first. Philip Morris’s parent company, the Altria Group, moved its headquarters to Richmond, Va., two years ago.)

On the sidewalk alongside that building, at 120 Park Avenue, across from Grand Central Terminal, is an oasis for smokers in an increasingly smoke-free city: two thigh-high ashtrays and room to stand for the few minutes between lighting up and stubbing out. Smokers know this place well: Some come from as far as a block and a half away, because they dare not light up outside their own office buildings.

It is between a subway entrance and, of all things, a tobacco shop. And it is not a happy place. The latest sin tax, part of an emergency budget measure to keep the state government running, will add $1.60 in state taxes to a pack of cigarettes. In New York City, where cigarettes are also subject to municipal taxes, the price of a pack of some brands will jump to more than $11 — or more than 50 cents per cigarette.

Smokers came and went in this open-air smoking lounge, but the anger against the new tax — and sense that smokers are being picked on in budget-conscious times — remained.

“I’m definitely not happy about it,” John O’Gorman, a risk manager who was smoking a Marlboro Light, said of the new cigarette tax, which takes effect on July 1. “There have got to be easier ways to raise more money.”

All right, Mr. O’Gorman: Pretend that you were a governor facing a big budget shortfall. What would you tax to raise additional revenue?

“All the cars coming into Manhattan,” because they contribute to air pollution, Mr. O’Gorman said. “Maybe there’s a way to tax that.”

Among a cross section of smokers the consensus was that the new tax was an economic penalty. How much of a penalty depended on each smoker’s own story, on how cost-conscious they had become in a recession, on whether they had jobs or had lost them. Some said that paying an extra $1.60 a pack would make cigarettes cost so much that they would get serious about quitting once and for all.

Doreen Campo, on a smoke break on Madison Avenue between 40th and 41st Streets, said her mother had died of lung cancer after smoking for years. Ms. Campo, 51, said she had continued to smoke, but the new tax could change that.

“I won’t be able to afford to smoke,” she said, smoking a Marlboro Light. “It’s too expensive. It’s expensive now. You end up short. You end up not eating because you want those cigarettes.”

Still, she said, picking on smokers for new and higher taxes amounted to economic discrimination. “I mean, everybody has a right to do what they want to do,” she said. “It ruined the business for the bars because no one wants to go out in the cold to have a cigarette, or if you’re having a conversation, instead of you and me having a conversation, we have to get up and excuse ourselves and go outside. Even the restaurants. First they have smoking sections. Then they have none. Then you have the annoying people that pass by and they go like this.”

She waved her arms as if she were clearing smoke from a fire.

Daniel Conard, a sales manager smoking outside the former Philip Morris building, said the price still had a way to go before he decided that smoking was unaffordable. How high would the price per pack have to go? “For myself,” he said, “it would be $15.”

But New York is not getting much revenue from him, even now. “I’m from Kentucky,” he said. “I go home and buy a few cartons.” And not that often: “I’m a work smoker,” he said. “I don’t smoke at home.” He said he smoked two or three cigarettes a day.

He mentioned a tax on soda, an idea that Gov. David A. Paterson floated earlier in the year. “Smoking’s not good,” he said. “Drinking soda’s not good for the well-being of society, I guess. Still, I smoke. My great aunt smoked all her life and lived to 105. Some people do that.”

Riverbend says tobacco vendors in compliance

Riverbend organizers are dismissing complaints from local health officials that tobacco vendors could be violating a federal settlement that prohibits marketing tobacco products to children.

Camel, USA Gold and Longhorn smokeless tobacco vendors are providing free samples to Riverbend patrons of legal age, said Chip Baker, executive director of Friends of the Festival.

PDF: Open letter to Chip Baker

“They are absolutely in compliance,” he said.

Leaders of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Health Council and the county Health Department sent Mr. Baker a letter Thursday, urging organizers to make the festival a smoke-free event.

Health officials said they are concerned that the vendors’ presence at a family-oriented event could violate the 1998 multistate master settlement agreement, which bans marketing of tobacco products to people under 18.
Tobacco companies also said they would provide states with funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs and to cover some health costs related to tobacco use.

At Riverbend, the tobacco vendors are set up along Riverfront Parkway near the Bud Light stage, festival organizers said. But health officials worry because the tents also are near the Children’s Village play area.

Young people “are bound to be influenced” if the popular local festival promotes tobacco, Hamilton County Health Department Administrator Becky Barnes said.

Nearly half of Tennesseans aged 18 to 25 smoke, said Howard Roddy, vice president at Memorial Hospital and chairman of the health council.

“We’re just concerned again that tobacco products would be too accessible and available to our young adults,” he said.

Mr. Baker said there is an alcohol- and smoke-free area of the festival and, if the demand is there, he’s open to expanding that area.

The Camel and USA Gold vendors have fully enclosed tents, and Longhorn has an enclosed trailer, said Tammy Sitton, director of marketing with Friends of the Festival. All require proper ID for entry, and people are carded again before they can receive a free sample, she said.

The state attorney general’s office is evaluating photos of the vendors’ set-ups to see if they comply with the master settlement, spokeswoman Sharon Curtis-Flair said.

Everett board bans sale of tobacco in drugstores

Starting next week, smokers will find it a little less convenient to pick up a pack of cigarettes in Everett.

Hoping to deliver another blow against smoking, the Board of Health on May 24 voted unanimously to ban the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies. The ban, which takes effect next Tuesday, also applies to business establishments that include pharmacies, according to Heidi Porter, Everett’s public health director.

“Pharmacies and drugstores that sell tobacco products are essentially approving of the purchase and use of tobacco. And we think that sends a mixed message to consumers who are going to these pharmacies really for health care services,’’ Porter said, of what prompted the ban. “The bottom line is that these pharmacies are health care establishments.’’

The ban, which took the form of a revision to the board’s tobacco regulation, prohibits tobacco sales in any health care institution or establishments containing them, with “health care institution’’ defined to include pharmacies and drugstores.

Porter said since hospitals and medical offices in this area do not sell tobacco products, the ban on tobacco sales in pharmacies and businesses containing them was the key change. The revised ordinance also bans tobacco vending machines except in private clubs.

Everett becomes the fifth Massachusetts community to bar the sale of tobacco in pharmacies. There will appear real issues about cigarette brands like Winston brand or Parliament cigarettes.

Boston led the way in December, 2008 when it became the second city in the country — the first was San Francisco — to adopt such a ban. The Boston ban, which took effect in February 2009, was part of a larger tightening by the city of its tobacco restrictions.

Similar bans on tobacco sales in pharmacies followed in Needham, Uxbridge, and Newton, according to Jason Dodd, director of the 5-City Tobacco Control Collaborative, a partnership among the health boards of Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Revere, and Somerville that works to develop and enforce anti-tobacco policies.

He said the Somerville Health Department is expected to put the idea of a ban in that city before its board after the start of the new fiscal year July 1.

Dr. Sean F. Connolly, chairman of the Everett Board of Health, said the board felt “it is hard to justify the paradox of a health care institution — which these pharmacies and stores with pharmacies are defined as — that is practicing good health and making people healthy through medications, being able to sell cigarettes, which are known carcinogens.’’

But Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, said his group opposes the bans that have been adopted in Everett and the other communities.

“As long as it’s a legal product, it seems to me consumers ought to have the choice of buying it at the store that they like to shop at,’’ he said, adding that communities adopting such rules ought to lose some of the funding they receive from the state’s cigarette tax to pay for anti-tobacco programs.

Everett has three pharmacies or establishments with pharmacies that have permits from the board to sell tobacco products, according to Porter.

She said the three — Walgreens, on Ferry Street; Rite-Aid, on Broadway; and Costco, on Mystic View Road — are being notified that they must remove tobacco products from their shelves by next Tuesday.

At an April 20 hearing the board held in considering the regulation, and at the May 24 meeting, representatives from Costco and Walgreens spoke against the change. Connolly said the two companies raised concerns about the financial impact of the ban on their establishments. He said the Costco representatives also noted that it would be virtually impossible for a minor to purchase cigarettes at Costco because it is a member-only business.

But Connolly said those arguments did not sway the board, which he said was focused on public health considerations.

“I see on a daily basis in my office the effects of cigarette smoking,’’ said Connolly, a podiatrist. “So it doesn’t take much to convince me that this is the right idea.’’

Kevin Horst, general manager of the Everett Costco store, said, “We certainly support the idea of stopping teens from smoking, but at this time we don’t have a comment on this specific regulation as it is written. We are exploring options.’’

Robert Elfinger, spokesman for the Walgreens corporation, said, “We intend to comply with the new law.’’

Speaking in favor of the ban at the hearing were members of Teens in Everett Against Substance Abuse, a local youth group that advocates for measures to address substance abuse issues in the city.

Members of the group, an initiative of the Cambridge Health Alliance, offered statistics on the negative impacts of tobacco on human health, and spoke of the disconnect between tobacco products and a pharmacy, said program director Jean Granick.

Cigarette packs no longer bear terms such as 'light'

Colorful new cigarette packs that no longer display deceptive descriptors such as "light" are showing up in city stores, but health officials and even inveterate puffers are saying the change is just more Big Tobacco smoke and mirrors.

The last of the old packs will be sold on June 22, thanks to a new federal law designed to junk the misleading monikers.

After that, New York's 1 million...

Strong deterrent bill in offing

The draft of the anti-tobacco bill is in its final stage in parliament. As soon as parliament approves the Tobacco Control and Regulatory Act-2010, the government will ban smoking or use of tobacco products in public places with punishment attached for the offence.

Bal Sagar Giri, undersecretary and chief of the legal section of Health Ministry, said legislation is in its final stage. After parliament passes the bill, the ministry will formulate provisions within 91 days to effectively implement the act.

The World No Tobacco Day was celebrated in Nepal today with the slogan ‘Gender and tobacco, with emphasis on marketing for women.’

The draft of the Anti-tobacco bill prohibits smoking in public vehicles, health organisations, child welfare and child care institutions and educational institutions, among others.

The draft includes provision of fine ranging from a minimum of Rs 5,000 to a maximum of Rs 100,000. The minimum fine will apply to people who smoke at public places, while companies that place billboards of tobacco products will be charged maximum fine.

“The Constitutional Committee of parliament has amended a bill prepared by the government making it mandatory to allocate 75 percent of space in cigarette packets or wrappers or labels of any tobacco product for anti-tobacco use messages and pictures,” said Giri.

As per the bill, only license holders can sell tobacco products and such products should not be sold to people below the age of 18 or over 75, and smokers can smoke only in designated places.

The bill has proposed ban on all types of advertisement and endorsement of tobacco products in the media and gatherings. It has also banned publicity by companies while sponsoring programmes, informed Giri.

Nepal had signed the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2003 and ratified it in November 2006. With ratification of the Convention, Nepal must promulgate proper domestic laws to control production and trade in tobacco products.

Dr Yasho Bardhan Pradhan, director general, Department of Health Service, recommended that tax on tobacco products be hiked every year. The retail price of tobacco products should also be hiked by 66 per cent, he said.

“A 1992 cabinet decision had banned smoking in public places. This was revised in 2010” said Pradhan, adding, “The Supreme Court also issued orders to ban smoking in public places and advertisement of tobacco products in 2006 and 2009.” “However, these have not been implemented yet.”

Smoking toddler highlights Indonesia's tobacco addiction

JAKARTA — A new video of a smoking Indonesian toddler has emerged to shock health experts and provide further graphic illustration of the Southeast Asian country's growing addiction to tobacco.The parents of a two-year-old boy seen smoking in a clip posted on The Sun newspaper's website are to be investigated, Indonesian officials said after the video drew worldwide attention.

Chubby Ardi Rizal laughs and responds to the adults around him as he sits on his plastic tricycle and inhales deeply from frequent drags on a cigarette.His father reportedly gave him his first cigarette when he was 18 months old and now he smokes 40 a day. His mother says he beats his head against the wall unless he gets nicotine, but his father insists he is "healthy".

Child Protection Ministry official Heru Kasidi said the family would be investigated for what would be considered a clear case of child abuse in many countries.

It's the second time this year Indonesia has been embarrassed by such media coverage.Another video was posted on the Internet last month showing an Indonesian boy aged about four puffing on a locally made clove cigarette, blowing smoke rings and swearing with the encouragement of adults.Weak regulations -- Indonesia is the only country in Southeast Asia not to have signed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control -- have enabled tobacco companies to target young Indonesians with advertising and events promotions.

US singer Kelly Clarkson dropped tobacco sponsorship for her Jakarta concert in April after anti-smoking groups protested on the grounds that she was effectively encouraging her young fans to smoke.Other artists such as Jamiroquai, Anggun, Incubus and James Blunt have allowed their Indonesian shows to be used as vehicles for tobacco marketing.

Anti-smoking activists and health experts say Indonesia is a paradise for the tobacco industry, which has been aggressively expanding sales in the country of about 240 million people.

"The regulations on the tobacco industry in Indonesia are weak. They protect the shareholders in the industry more than the people," activist Kartono Mohamad said.

"The people in Indonesia are fighting alone against the tobacco industry, the government and the policy makers. It's one against three."According to the World Health Organisation, cigarette consumption in the Southeast Asian archipelago soared 47 percent in the 1990s.Almost 70 percent of men over 20 years of age smoke, and regular smoking among boys aged 15 to 19 increased from 36.8 percent in 1997 to 42.6 percent in 2000.

But anti-smoking initiatives have floundered in the face of the powerful local tobacco industry, which employs scores of thousands of people and generates more than six billion dollars a year for the government.A bill establishing tobacco as an addictive substance was about to be signed into law last year when officials realised the pertinent clause had been mysteriously deleted. The case is under investigation.

The government has increased excise taxes but prices remain extremely low by international standards, with a pack of 20 costing little more than a dollar.

Even so, studies have shown that poor families spend more on cigarettes than on books and education.

In another blow to anti-tobacco activists, lawmakers have strongly opposed a plan to cut cigarette production by five percent to about 248 billion sticks this year on the grounds that it would hurt local producers.Foreign makers like British American Tobacco and Philip Morris have long recognised the opportunities in Indonesia.

In March, Philip Morris's local unit, PT HM Sampoerna, the country's largest producer, announced a net profit increase of 31 percent to 5.08 trillion rupiah (548.64 million dollars) last year.

In the absence of tough government regulations Muslim clerics recently issued a fatwa against smoking. But analysts said the religious edict was likely to have about as much effect as regulations banning smoking in bars and restaurants, which are widely ignored."More and more Indonesian children have become victims of the cigarette industry," Indonesian Child Protection Commission chairman Hadi Supeno said.

"There are many children under five years of age who have started smoking. A decade ago, the average age of beginner smokers was 19 but a recent study found that the average is seven."

Tobacco check finds all in compliance

Sheriff John E. Zaruba announced Wednesday that in their ongoing effort to reduce access children have to tobacco products in a retail environment, DuPage County sheriff's deputies, accompanied by underage teens, recently completed the third of three rounds of tobacco compliance checks at 50 retail outlets in unincorporated DuPage County.

All retailers were found compliant and did not sell tobacco to the minor who was under age 18. If the retailer was found in noncompliance, the retailer would be given an ordinance violation that could result in a $200 fine.

These checks are made possible by a grant from the Illinois Liquor Control Commission. Terms of the grant require deputies to conduct educational programs for tobacco retailers prior to verifying their compliance with a local ordinance forbidding the sale of tobacco products to anyone under age 18.

"With all the health warnings out about smoking, teens continue to get hooked on tobacco even though it is bad for them," Zaruba said. "The sheriff's office conducts these compliance checks at retail establishments in DuPage County in an effort to keep tobacco out of the hands of minors in hopes that the never start to use tobacco products."

The sheriff's office has participated in the "Kids Can't Buy 'Em Here" program for the past nine years.

Peter Nichols: Switchblades and brass knuckles help sell cigarettes

Peter Nichols-Sixteen-year-old kid walks into a convenience store, grabs a 12-ounce can of Dr Pepper, a bag of Doritos and walks up to the counter. "Pack of Marlboros." The clerk scans the soda, bag of chips and the cigarettes. "That's seven twenty-eight." Kid hands the clerk four bills, collects his change and exits the store.

A similar but more eye-popping story unfolds in the city of Watsonville. A store owner willingly sells switchblade knives and brass knuckles at his chain of discount cigarette stores, in a city plagued by gang violence. Parents shudder at the thought of kids cruising their neighborhood strip malls buying soda pop, candy and Michael Jackson posters over the same counter gang members buy implements of mayhem.

Without the gang hardware, the scenes aren't really different. They play out time and again in this and many other communities.And what is it that should alarm parents? The switchblades? Brass knuckles? Imitation assault rifles? Well ... yes and no.

Stores like these have no business in any community, mainly because youth will inevitably have access to tobacco. A cigarette smoker is far more likely to die from smoking than from being stabbed or bludgeoned to death by brass knuckles. In fact, smoking kills more people in the United States every year than AIDS, illegal drugs, alcohol, car crashes, suicides and murders combined Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to a 2008 survey by the Tobacco Education Coalition, a county group dedicated to reducing tobacco sales to minors, underage youth can expect to be successful buying cigarettes in one out of every six local stores. Any 16-year-old kid who is carded and turned away by a responsible retailer won't have far to go to find an irresponsible one sympathetic to his wants.

From the point of view of that retailer, the kid's going to get his cigarettes one way or another, and someone's going to get that $5. And there's little downside. Law enforcement everywhere is understaffed and overburdened with higher-profile crimes. At this time there are no resources available to support enforcement of laws against selling tobacco to minors. It's not a priority, unless switchblades are involved.

Tobacco companies know youth are the future of their profits. Creating opportunities to introduce young people to the glamour, excitement -- or whatever -- of smoking is an ongoing strategy. The more governments act to control tobacco sales, the more creative are the marketing schemes to sell it. So the Watsonville store owner tried to create an environment youth could relate to. One with pop culture posters, imitation guns, candy, soda pop, forbidden toys ... and forbidden cigarettes. Youth are drawn to the sweet and forbidden.

To address the concern of sales to youth, the coalition proposes an ordinance, proven successful in over 60 California counties and cities. It requires sellers to be licensed. The Tobacco Retail License fees would provide resources for sting operations to ensure retailers operate within the law. Violators would face fines and suspension or revocation of their licenses.The county Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission unanimously passed a resolution in 2009 and unanimously reaffirmed it this month, urging the Board of Supervisors to adopt such an ordinance.

It's time the county of Santa Cruz took action to protect youth from clever tobacco marketers, and irresponsible retailers. And in the city of Watsonville, it's time to put one of them out of business.

Peter Nichols is the chairman of the Santa Cruz County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission.

A Lot of Celebrities Utilize a New Type of Cigarettes

You can commonly state if a product is about to be a fortunate or not when stars can be seen utilizing it. Without saying any names, there have been some actually great profile stars that have been noticed utilizing the electronic cigarettes not long ago. Even stars are not unaffected to the reality that they are addicts to tobacco smoking is a very difficult thing to implement in most cases.

Even the president, of America has had a complicated time eluding this habit. Possibly he should also offer the cigarettes an attempt if he hasn’t already. It could be that the stars that are utilizing the electronic cigarettes do so because they possibly can be starting more socially available than using this habit.

Even being popular might not get you an easy pass to use this habit around other individuals that just hate to be showed to the second hand smoking and the smell. Some popular individuals, as the majority of us comprehend, are actually very take care of their condition and the people around them and would not take positively to other popular people who suppose they can spoil a place just because of they are smoking.

It can be that popular individuals being spotted utilizing the electronic cigarettes will assist advance the products in a more good light. Stars can provide attention to all kinds of reasons and products. The majority of individuals that use tobacco really suppose that utilizing an electronic cigarette is a better choice.

It does not show the identical type of smoke that cigarettes do, but a smoke that disperses almost as rapidly as it occurs. This kind of cigarettes does not even provide any smoke until the customer makes a breath on it in the identical way they make using the tobacco cigarettes. There is no requirement to provide lighting to this kind of cigarettes because it works utilizing a particular battery stick and doesn’t need lighting.

This kind of cigarettes also does not have all of the bad components that simple cigarettes have either. Since it is not working as the ordinary components of the real cigarettes, it also does not provide tarpaulin which is one of the dangerous components of real smoking either.

The social shame connected to smoking the cigarettes could very well be the cause that a lot of stars are starting to utilize this kind of cigarettes constantly instead the real ones. This is not to state that everybody should start to utilize this kind of cigarettes just because popular individuals are implementing it, but if individuals already use tobacco, it can be something they would need to use for their personal advantage. No one would advice that an ordinary person start to utilize cigarettes just because popular individuals are implementing it.

So, if you want to stay tuned to the latest buzz from the film world, then use this piece of advice: never forget that today the web technologies give you a truly unique chance to choose exactly what you want at the best terms which are available on the market. Strange, but most of the people don’t use this opportunity.

Unfortunately, as many other industries today, film industry is facing big problems due to the world crisis. Search Google and other search engines for “Yesterday was Dramatic, Today is Ok“. Visit social networks and check the relevant topics.

Noynoy not keen on being anti-smoking poster boy

Philippine president-apparent Senator Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III is not keen on being a poster boy for anti-smoking advocates, at least for now.Aquino told reporters that he would stop his smoking habit at the "appropriate" time, but said there may be too much pressure on him to kick the habit at this time.

"Noong tumakbo ako, alam ng taumbayan [na] naninigarilyo ako. At the appropriate time na hihinto ako, titigil ako. So long as nako-control ako sa mga batas at wala akong naiistorbo baka parte ito ng kalayaan kong natitira," Aquino said.

(When I ran for the presidency everyone knew I was a smoker. Perhaps I will kick the habit at the appropriate time. But for now, I hope people give me this leeway, as part of my remaining rights.)Last weekend, anti-tobacco groups urged Aquino, a smoker, to be a poster boy of sorts for their anti-smoking crusade.

Even the Department of Health (DOH) said it is coming out with an administrative order to put graphic warnings in tobacco products, and is hoping for support from the country’s most powerful smoker.

But Aquino admitted there is presently so much pressure on him because of the problems he will face as incoming president.

U.S. Youth Likely To Face Greater Health Issues

Americans are not only getting fatter, but they're still smoking cigarettes and they're not exercising enough. Every few years the federal government releases the findings of its survey of health behaviors among U.S. adults. This year's report covers 2005 to 2007 — and it's not really good news. "Stubborn" is how Charlotte Schoenborn describes the health habits of U.S. adults. Schoenborn is a statistician with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which oversees and analyzes the collection of information on U.S. health behaviors.

"It's amazing how hard it is to change these personal health behaviors," despite enormous resources and education efforts to encourage more healthy behaviors, she says.

Slight Decline In Smoking And Binge Drinking

One in five adult Americans still smokes. This is only a slight decline since the late 1990s, when 23 percent of adults smoked. Additionally, binge drinking — drinking more than five drinks in one sitting — is also on the decline. However, 61 percent of adults report they are current drinkers.

White men and women drink the most, and Asian-Americans drink the least. Among those who drink, the biggest drinkers are people who have higher incomes and more education.

"People with more education are more likely to drink. I mean it’s that simple," says Schoenborn. The study finds that 74 percent of adults with a bachelor’s, master's or doctorate degree say they are current drinkers. Schoenborn says this doesn't mean these are binge drinkers at all.

Obesity Remains A Serious Problem

When it comes to exercise and weight, education also makes a difference. The more educated people are, the more likely they are to exercise and maintain a healthy weight. Even so, two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese.

And many doctors say such unhealthful behaviors are more distressing among children. Pediatrician Amy Porter runs a weight management program for Kaiser Permanente in Southern California. She says this may be the first generation of children who may not live as long as their parents.

Porter points to what used to be considered "adult diseases," like diabetes and high blood pressure, which are now being seen in obese kids. She says she sees teenagers who have knee and joint problems so severe they need to consult orthopedists. And sleep apnea, which is often a symptom of obesity, is also showing up in record numbers among kids.

Would An Anti-Obesity Campaign Work Like Anti-Smoking?

Porter says these problems are cumulative and take their toll as children grow into adulthood. Previous research has shown that overweight children are likely to become overweight teens and overweight adults, which is why Porter wants to see a major cultural shift, a sort of "in your face" anti-obesity campaign, similar to what happened with smoking decades ago. Even though smoking has not decreased dramatically over the past decade, it has decreased enormously since the 1960s when the first anti-smoking public health campaigns began.

And the best news is among teenagers. University of Michigan social psychologist Lloyd Johnston runs an ongoing study that tracks the behavior of children between the ages of 13 and 18. He says that in 1996, 21 percent of eighth-graders were smoking. By 2009, that had dropped by nearly 70 percent, down to 6.5 percent currently smoking.

Johnston says the change was driven in part by prices and taxes on cigarettes. But he also points to successful public health messages that convinced kids that smoking was dangerous, not glamorous. "Today, we see three-quarters of teens say that they would prefer to date somebody that doesn't smoke. So, what used to be suggested as increasing your attractiveness to the opposite gender, today does exactly the opposite."

Doctors like Porter hope to see similar success with campaigns against obesity. Recent studies do indicate a plateau in the obesity epidemic, but not among the heaviest of young boys, who are only getting heavier.

DVD film about the honest opinion of teenagers regarding smoking.

Young film-makers have created a DVD to give an insight into what the youth of South Tyneside really believe about smoking.The film looks at how youngsters feel about smoking, where they buy cigarettes, and a range of other subjects connected to the tobacco trade.

In it, 16 to 18-year-olds from the Simonside Neets (young people not in education, employment or training) group and primary school children are interviewed. Headliner UK, a charity which inspires and encourages the personal development of young people through journalism, was commissioned to create the DVD by South Tyneside Primary Care Trust (PCT).

Marietta Evans is the director of public health with South Tyneside PCT, said: "We felt there was a need for more youth consultation on tobacco. Traditionally, tobacco control, cessation policies and research have been based on the assumption that by reducing adult smoking, then children will cut back too. While this approach has proved effective in reducing smoking, it is a habit picked up by children, not adults. Up to 80 per cent of smokers start before the age of 18 and become teen smokers.

By addressing that, they hope to make even more progress towards reducing smoking. in South Tyneside. Last month, the Gazette said that there were more than 200 'tab houses' in the borough – selling illegal cigarettes to children as young as eight. The council's trading standards team and partner agencies are cracking down on these houses, which are in many of the borough's residential areas.

Many of the youngsters in the DVD revealed this is one of the ways in which they obtain their cigarettes. The issue of smoking being seen as normal is also raised, and the message comes through that small children see smoking as bad and not pleasant – but this attitude can often change as they grow up.

The DVD is being used by South Tyneside PCT, through partners including the council, to raise awareness in the community and make realize the results of smoking.

Could Cigarette Butts Lower Your Home Energy Use?

A London community is studying an innovative technology which may allow for the recycling of discarded cigarette butts into home insulation. The community estimates an average of 4,000 cigarette butts are dropped in the town center daily, then collected during routine street cleanings and sent to the landfill.

Cigarette butts can come from filtered cigarette brands like Cigaronne cigarettes or non filtered Leana cigarettes.

Susan Hall of the Harrow Council told the London Evening Standard, “Cigarette butts are unsightly and add to our landfill costs. Harrow is the second best recycler in London with a rate of 44 percent, but any cost-efficient technology that drives that rate up is worth considering.”

The Harrow Council was inspired by the work of Igloo Environmental, a U.K.-based recycling company focusing on turning fiber waste streams, largely cigarette butts, into useful insulation products. The company encourages city councils to recycle the cigarette butts, citing a dramatic reduction in city expenses associated with cigarette litter and landfilling.

The idea is to divert the butts from the landfill through a sterilization and recycling process. The process removes the toxins in an industrial autoclave (typically used to clean medical equipment) sterilizing the cigarette butts. They are then broken down into their paper and fibrous material components and compacted into insulation “pillows.” The insulation pillows are used in homes to decrease energy consumption associated with heat loss.

In the U.K. alone, 30,000 tons of cigarette butts are discarded and landfilled each year from the smoking of 60 billion cigarettes, according to Igloo Environmental. The process could greatly reduce the leachate of toxins associated with rainwater runoff and landfilling, while providing a 100 percent recycled insulation product for

Cigar and pipe smoking affects directlly our lungs

Smoking cigarettes is a very complicated probelm in the entire world, there is the government that wants to raise taxes on them, there are pesons that use tobacco products, but in the end we all feel the effects of the actions that we take. Many researchers have tried to discover what are the real effects that cigarettesusage has on people.

Scientists recently explored the effects of pipe and cigar smoking on the lungs. They conclude that smoking a pipe or cigar should be considered as unhealthy to the lungs as cigarette smoking, and just as socially unacceptable.

The researchers say pipes and cigars are also a risk factor for lung damage that leads to COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Smoking a pipe or a cigar may not be a less risky alternative to cigarettes like some people may think.

Cotinine, a byproduct of nicotine that can be measured in urine samples, can signal risk of lung disease from smoking. Researchers studied 3,528 individuals who never smoke cigarettes but did smoke pipes or cigars, discovering findings consistent with decreased lung function, that can lead to obstructive lung disease – a finding the scientists say should be considered by clinicians who should counsel patients to stop smoking.The study raises concerns for public health because of the increased incidence of tobacco use in the United States say the researchers who also advocate counseling for patients by their physicians to quit smoking pipes and cigars.

R. Graham Barr, MD, Dr.PH, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia Presbyterian and lead author of the study says, These findings, together with increased cotinine levels in current pipe and cigar smokers, suggest that long-term pipe and cigar smoking may damage the lungs and contribute to the development of COPD.

Physicians should consider pipe and cigar smoking a risk factor for COPD and counsel their patients to quit.”

Michael B. Steinberg, MD, MPH, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School comments that the tobacco industry perpetrates the social acceptability of pipe and cigar smoking, linking the practice to “sophistication, affluence, education, and celebration”. Smoking pipes and cigars can lead to lung damage and COPD and should be treated as unacceptable as cigarette smoking.

Why Smoking Is Bad For You

The fact that smoking is bad for you is no secret. We'll all seen the pictures of charcoal black lungs displayed in schools and in hospital and doctors waiting rooms.

Despite these scare tactics people continue to smoke and new smokers adopt the habit every single day. Amazingly smoking can still be viewed as an adult thing to do and children continue to be influenced by this.

Their parents or guardians smoke therefore they should smoke too if they want to be really grown up - or at least that's their perception. All smokers wish they had never smoked that first lousy cigarette and shake their heads in disbelief when they see their own kids or teenagers starting to smoke.

Regardless of how you take tobacco it's dangerous. Smoking is the most popular method for people to use tobacco and as such has received massive coverage in both the media and from the medical profession.

Some people chew it, others inhale it as snuff but the majority smokes it in the form of cigars and cigarettes - which is the habit we've all come to know and hate as smokers

R.J. Reynolds to pay $325M in settlement

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. said Tuesday it has entered into a settlement with the Canadian federal, provincial and territorial governments to resolve all the government’s claims related to cigarette smuggling in Canada during the 1980s and 1990s.

As part of the settlement, Reynolds is the manufacturer of the well known Camel tobacco product and has agreed to pay the governments $325 million.

Additionally, should Reynolds sell tobacco products in Canada in the future, the company has agreed to adopt packaging, marking and other measures that will help the Canadian governments in their efforts to combat the movement of contraband tobacco products in Canada.

R.J. Reynolds, based in Winston-Salem, does not conduct business in the Canadian tobacco market. Reynolds and its parent company, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc., sold its international businesses to Japan Tobacco Inc. in 1999.

In a separate matter, Northern Brands International Inc., a subsidiary of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, has entered into a plea agreement with the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario.

As a result of its plea to one count of conspiracy to aid others in the sale and possession of contraband cigarettes in the early 1990s, Northern Brands is required to pay a fine of $75 million. Northern Brands ceased being an operating company in 1997.

Chiropractic Four Essentials of Health

To understand the four essentials of health, we have to know the essentials of life. Many things may appear in mind making part of different categories, such as social or psychological. Anyway in terms of physiological essentials for survival, there are four:
1. FOOD
2. WATER
3. OXYGEN
4. NERVE IMPULSE
How do the ESSENTIALS appear? If one of them would stop, we would die. They are the most important things from our lives. If any of them are interfered with, your health is not at its optimum potential.

FOOD

Food is the fuel and building block for growth and reproduction of cells and tissue. It consists of protein, fats and carbohydrates. If any of these were to stop you would die. If their balance is interfered with, your health potential is not at its optimum. For example, if you ate high fat or sugar foods (french fries, doughnuts, etc.) what would be the possible condition of your arteries in 10-20 years? If you said "Clogged up with fat", you are right. Result = lower health potential.

WATER

Fluids - 75% of your body is water. It is used in almost every body process. If you stop fluid intake, you die. If you drink unhealthy fluids (caffeine, alcohol, additives, preservatives, dyes, etc.), or not enough fluids, your body's health potential is decreased.

OXYGEN

Oxygen is also used in almost every reaction of the body, and is carried through the body by the pulmonary (lungs), and circulatory (blood) systems. Interference to these systems could stop oxygen and result in death. We should exercise regularly and breathe deeply to increase our oxygenation to cells. Research finds that oxygen deprivation can cause anything from fatigue to cancer. If oxygenation is not at its optimum, neither is your health potential.

NERVE IMPULSE

Nerve impulse is the most commonly overlooked essential for life and health. Nerve impulse is an electrochemical charge transmitted by the brain through the nervous system to the body. It is the life force that keeps us alive and "charged". ALL BODY FUNCTIONS are dependent on this life force and brain impulse. Cells must be electrically charged in order to vibrate and function. If your brain stopped (generator for electrical impulses) you would die. In fact, to be declared legally dead, brain impulse must stop. If you severed the nerve to your heart, would it stop? How about your stomach, lungs, or hand? What if you just interfere with the normal nerve transmission? Would these organs and tissues function at their optimum potential?

One of the major causes for such nerve interference is a misalignment of the spine commonly termed by chiropractors as a subluxation. Subluxations can interfere with the nerve, the spinal cord, and reflex nerve pathways, resulting in abnormal function and a lower health potential. If your spine is subluxated you cannot be at your optimum health potential, regardless of how good your food, water, and oxygen is, because you are still interfering with one of the essentials of life and health.

The chiropractor's primary role is to locate and correct subluxations, thus removing nerve interference and allowing the body to restore its normal function. It is not a treatment for symptoms or a cure for disease, but merely a way of improving the body's optimum health potential, through proper nerve integrity. This is why everyone should see a chiropractor from the time they are born, and regularly throughout their lifetime. Maintenance of a healthy spine means optimum nerve integrity and optimum health potential.

So remember, to achieve and maintain optimum health potential, maintain the most optimum quality of the four essentials of health and life - food, water, oxygen and nerve impulse. But pay special attention to the most neglected one - nerve impulse - by having your spine checked for subluxations by a chiropractor. It could be the answer you have been searching for.

Pets suffering from second-hand smoke. |

Pets suffering from second-hand smoke. |

Why is nicotine so addictive?

Tobacco contains a substance - nicotine - which keeps the smoker smoking. Experts affirm it may be as addictive as cocaine. Nicotine increases the release of neurotransmitters which regulate behavior and mood.

Nicotine triggers the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter which give people a pleasant feeling. Obtaining that dopamine rush is said to be a major part of the addiction process - smokers crave that neurotransmitter (especially dopamine) rush.

Experts say that when nicotine is inhaled the brain is affected within seconds. After an inhalation the smoker's heart rate increases, levels of the hormones noradrenalin also increase, as well as dopamine - the whole experience is said to enhance mood, as well as the ability to concentrate.

There are other physical as well as psychological factors which influence the addiction process. The following situations, cues or behaviors may be linked to smoking urges:

• Certain moments during the day may be associated with a greater desire to smoke, such as with the first cup of coffee, during work breaks, or after routine tasks.
• Alcohol - most smokers who drink alcohol say that tobacco and alcohol are enjoyed together.
• Some places - smokers often find certain places, such as the toilet, some bars and pubs (if smoking is allowed there), or car parks (after getting down from the car or coming into the car park from a supermarket and walking towards the car) trigger a desire to smoke.
• After eating - most smokers have a stronger desire to smoke immediately after a meal.
• Some people - smokers often find that meeting other people, especially if they are also smokers; make them want to smoke more.

• The telephone - when the telephone rings at home many smokers run for their cigarettes before picking it up.
• Tobacco smell - the smell of other people smoking can be a strong trigger for smokers to want to light up.
• Moments of stress - the majority of smokers will typically have an urge to smoke when faced with a stressful, exciting or emotional situation.

If a smoker does not receive nicotine for an extended period, for example 24 hours, the following signs and symptoms of withdrawal may emerge:

• A drop in mood (depressed mood)
• Agitation
• Anger
• Anxiety
• Greater appetite
• Heart rate (pulse) slows down
• Insomnia
• Problems focusing
• Hostility