The state’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Program, a national leader in fighting tobacco use, will take part in an international workshop on effective prevention strategies.
Terry Reid, the program’s director since March 2001, will represent the Department of Health at the World Health Organization (WHO) event in Tunis, Tunisia on November 13 and 14. The group will work on tobacco control measures for use by countries around the world.
“This is a real honor for our state and our Tobacco Prevention and Control Program,” said Secretary of Health Mary Selecky. “Since the program began, adult smoking is down by 30 percent, youth smoking has dropped by about half, and we’ve implemented one of the most comprehensive smoke-free indoor air laws in the country. The invitation is a tribute to Terry’s leadership. Improving the health of our state’s people is the real payoff.”
The meetings in Tunisia bring together WHO representatives and select managers of national tobacco control programs. Reid is the only person from the U.S. who has been invited.
“I’m proud of the effective tobacco prevention and control model we’ve deveoped and the difference it has made in our state,” said Reid. “It’s a testament to the daily efforts of state and local tobacco prevention specialists throughout Washington. Their dedication has helped save our state thousands of lives and billions in future health care costs. I’m delighted to share with an international audience how we’ve achieved those successes.”
“Washington has long been a national leader in tobacco prevention and control,” said Matthew L. Myers, executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “For the last nine years, the program has implemented a comprehensive effort to help adults quit, prevent youth from starting, and protect people from secondhand smoke, which produced dramatic results.”
Nov 10, 2009
Firestorm over smokeless cigarette
Electronic cigarettes are opening a new front in the tobacco wars as state and local lawmakers try to restrict the product, which may allow users to circumvent smoking bans.
The battery-powered device is made up of a cartridge containing nicotine, flavoring and chemicals. It turns nicotine, which is addictive, into a vapor that is inhaled. Users say they're "vaping," not smoking.
E-cigarettes are used by at least a half-million Americans, says Matt Salmon, head of the Electronic Cigarette Association.
"People who smoke ought to have better alternatives, because some can't quit," he says. His father, a longtime smoker, died last week of cancer and emphysema.
Public health officials question the safety of e-cigarettes. The Food and Drug Administration, which regulates tobacco and nicotine replacement devices, says the e-cigarettes it tested had carcinogens. E-cigarette distributors have filed a lawsuit challenging the FDA's authority.
"It's a new frontier. We don't know what the dangers are," says John Banzhaf of Action on Smoking and Health, an anti-smoking group.
"We're actively investigating these companies and their products," says Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. Other actions:
• California passed a ban on e-cigarette sales, but Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed it this month.
• Oregon Attorney General John Kroger, a Democrat, reached a settlement in August with retailers and distributors not to sell them.
• New Hampshire state Rep. Rich DiPentima, a Democrat, is crafting a bill to ban sales to minors.
• New Jersey state Assemblywoman Connie Wagner, a Democrat, plans a bill to subject e-cigarettes to the same restrictions as cigarettes.
• In Paramus, N.J., the health department's board plans to propose an ordinance today banning e-cigarettes where smoking is not allowed.
• In August, Suffolk County, N.Y., restricted e-cigarettes in public places and banned sales to minors.
To Julie Woessner, 46, a former smoker in Wildwood, Mo., they are "almost a miracle," allowing her to kick her two-packs-a-day cigarette habit.
The battery-powered device is made up of a cartridge containing nicotine, flavoring and chemicals. It turns nicotine, which is addictive, into a vapor that is inhaled. Users say they're "vaping," not smoking.
E-cigarettes are used by at least a half-million Americans, says Matt Salmon, head of the Electronic Cigarette Association.
"People who smoke ought to have better alternatives, because some can't quit," he says. His father, a longtime smoker, died last week of cancer and emphysema.
Public health officials question the safety of e-cigarettes. The Food and Drug Administration, which regulates tobacco and nicotine replacement devices, says the e-cigarettes it tested had carcinogens. E-cigarette distributors have filed a lawsuit challenging the FDA's authority.
"It's a new frontier. We don't know what the dangers are," says John Banzhaf of Action on Smoking and Health, an anti-smoking group.
"We're actively investigating these companies and their products," says Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. Other actions:
• California passed a ban on e-cigarette sales, but Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed it this month.
• Oregon Attorney General John Kroger, a Democrat, reached a settlement in August with retailers and distributors not to sell them.
• New Hampshire state Rep. Rich DiPentima, a Democrat, is crafting a bill to ban sales to minors.
• New Jersey state Assemblywoman Connie Wagner, a Democrat, plans a bill to subject e-cigarettes to the same restrictions as cigarettes.
• In Paramus, N.J., the health department's board plans to propose an ordinance today banning e-cigarettes where smoking is not allowed.
• In August, Suffolk County, N.Y., restricted e-cigarettes in public places and banned sales to minors.
To Julie Woessner, 46, a former smoker in Wildwood, Mo., they are "almost a miracle," allowing her to kick her two-packs-a-day cigarette habit.
Nov 9, 2009
Cigarette demand falling, but profits solid
RICHMOND, Va. — The weak economy and higher prices are snuffing out cigarette demand around the world — most vigorously in the U.S., where a federal tax hike, smoking bans, health concerns and social stigma have cut demand at least 10 percent.
Two of the world's biggest cigarette makers reported Thursday that they emerged from the third quarter in better shape than analysts expected and raised their 2009 profit estimates.
Both Philip Morris International — which makes Marlboro and other top brands for sale abroad — and Reynolds American Inc. — the second-biggest cigarette seller in the U.S., with brands such as Camel and Pall Mall — raised prices even as consumers bought fewer cigarettes. And Reynolds is looking to smokeless alternatives for future growth.
Analysts are closely watching the U.S. industry's third quarter for the first clear sense of cigarette volumes after a 62-cent-per-pack federal tax increase took effect. Cigarette sales fell during the first half of the year before and after the April 1 change.
Reynolds American recorded 72 percent higher profit than in last year's third quarter, when restructuring costs and the falling value of its trademarks dampened its earnings. Based in Winston-Salem, N.C., it earned $362 million for the period that ended Sept. 30, up from $211 million a year earlier.
The company said tax increases and the tough economy cut the volume of cigarettes it shipped by 11 percent, and it pegged the decline industrywide at 12.6 percent. Reynolds said its smokeless tobacco unit, Conwood Co., sold 11.7 percent more moist snuff products by volume during the quarter.
In a conference call with investors, Reynolds CEO Susan M. Ivey said she expects U.S. cigarette demand to fall 8 percent to 9 percent per year and easing back to annual drops of 3 percent to 4 percent over the next few years.
Declines are less stark in the rest of the world.Philip Morris International shipped 219.3 billion cigarettes in the quarter, 2.9 percent less than a year earlier, as declines in Europe and the Middle East were offset by a rising volume in Latin America and Canada from its acquisition of Rothmans Inc. during the third quarter last year.
The company, which sells Marlboros, L&M, Parliament and Virginia Slims abroad, said Thursday its third-quarter profit fell nearly 14 percent as the stronger dollar shrunk profit earned in other currencies.
When the dollar is strong, companies that sell goods abroad and convert that revenue from foreign currencies, they take a hit in the dollar value of those sales. That effect is particularly strong for Philip Morris International, because all its business is overseas.
Philip Morris International — which has offices in Lausanne, Switzerland, and New York — said it earned $1.79 billion during the quarter. It is the world's second-biggest cigarette maker after the state-controlled China National Tobacco Corp. It was spun off in 2008 from Richmond, Va.-based Altria Group Inc., owner of the largest U.S. tobacco company, Philip Morris USA.
Thursday's earnings reports come on the heels of those for Altria Group Inc., parent company of the nation's No. 1 tobacco company, Philip Morris USA.
Altria reported Wednesday that its third-quarter profit to rose 1.7 percent on cost-cutting and improved results from its cigar unit. It said it sold about 12 percent fewer cigarettes versus an industry decline it estimated at 10 percent.
Greensboro, N.C.-based Lorillard Inc., the nation's third-largest tobacco company with the market-leading menthol brand Newport, reports on its third quarter Monday.
Two of the world's biggest cigarette makers reported Thursday that they emerged from the third quarter in better shape than analysts expected and raised their 2009 profit estimates.
Both Philip Morris International — which makes Marlboro and other top brands for sale abroad — and Reynolds American Inc. — the second-biggest cigarette seller in the U.S., with brands such as Camel and Pall Mall — raised prices even as consumers bought fewer cigarettes. And Reynolds is looking to smokeless alternatives for future growth.
Analysts are closely watching the U.S. industry's third quarter for the first clear sense of cigarette volumes after a 62-cent-per-pack federal tax increase took effect. Cigarette sales fell during the first half of the year before and after the April 1 change.
Reynolds American recorded 72 percent higher profit than in last year's third quarter, when restructuring costs and the falling value of its trademarks dampened its earnings. Based in Winston-Salem, N.C., it earned $362 million for the period that ended Sept. 30, up from $211 million a year earlier.
The company said tax increases and the tough economy cut the volume of cigarettes it shipped by 11 percent, and it pegged the decline industrywide at 12.6 percent. Reynolds said its smokeless tobacco unit, Conwood Co., sold 11.7 percent more moist snuff products by volume during the quarter.
In a conference call with investors, Reynolds CEO Susan M. Ivey said she expects U.S. cigarette demand to fall 8 percent to 9 percent per year and easing back to annual drops of 3 percent to 4 percent over the next few years.
Declines are less stark in the rest of the world.Philip Morris International shipped 219.3 billion cigarettes in the quarter, 2.9 percent less than a year earlier, as declines in Europe and the Middle East were offset by a rising volume in Latin America and Canada from its acquisition of Rothmans Inc. during the third quarter last year.
The company, which sells Marlboros, L&M, Parliament and Virginia Slims abroad, said Thursday its third-quarter profit fell nearly 14 percent as the stronger dollar shrunk profit earned in other currencies.
When the dollar is strong, companies that sell goods abroad and convert that revenue from foreign currencies, they take a hit in the dollar value of those sales. That effect is particularly strong for Philip Morris International, because all its business is overseas.
Philip Morris International — which has offices in Lausanne, Switzerland, and New York — said it earned $1.79 billion during the quarter. It is the world's second-biggest cigarette maker after the state-controlled China National Tobacco Corp. It was spun off in 2008 from Richmond, Va.-based Altria Group Inc., owner of the largest U.S. tobacco company, Philip Morris USA.
Thursday's earnings reports come on the heels of those for Altria Group Inc., parent company of the nation's No. 1 tobacco company, Philip Morris USA.
Altria reported Wednesday that its third-quarter profit to rose 1.7 percent on cost-cutting and improved results from its cigar unit. It said it sold about 12 percent fewer cigarettes versus an industry decline it estimated at 10 percent.
Greensboro, N.C.-based Lorillard Inc., the nation's third-largest tobacco company with the market-leading menthol brand Newport, reports on its third quarter Monday.
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