Cigarette Prices Increase, Graphic Smoking Warnings in Philippines

Higher cigarette prices and graphic warnings will lessen the number of youth smokers in the country, according to a recent survey commissioned by the Health Justice Philippines. The survey, conducted by the Social Weather Stations between August 24 to 27, showed that of 1,200 minors aged 13 to 17 years old, 8 percent are current smokers, 4 percent are previous smokers, while 88 percent are non-smokers. The results of the survey were released Thursday at a weekly forum at the Senate as senators continued to debate on the controversial sin tax bill, which aims to raise taxes for alcohol and tobacco products. The survey said Filipino minors who are current smokers usually smoke five cigarettes a day. It also showed that most of the current smokers would stop smoking if each cigarette costs P10.

Cigarettes Tax Increase and Smoke Shops, Cook County Board

Ali Al Meshal realizes he is in a unique position as Cook County Board members weigh a budget that includes a cigarette tax that will boost the price of a pack of smokes up by a dollar. Specifically, his position is manager of Border Tobacco, located on the south side of 183rd Street in Tinley Park — just over the line between Cook and Will County.

Smoke-Free Campus Modified by Students

For over a year now there have been a series of ongoing discussions concerning UR’s smoking policy. Within the past semester, however, junior Sheridan Finnie and seniors Sara Rothenberg and Catie Tarentine, who are leading the initiative, have begun to push for one which would outline a plan for a smoke-free campus save for a number of designated areas in which smoking would be allowed. Under the guidance of Director of the University Health Service Ralph Manchester and Associate Director of Health Promotion Linda Dudman, Finnie, Rothenberg and Tarentine initially aimed to implement a policy that would designate UR as entirely smoke free with no designated smoking areas, but after receiving feedback from students, faculty and staff, decided this new direction would make for a policy that would accommodate a larger majority of the University community.

Smuggled Tobacco Sales Decreased, the North East News

Less illegal tobacco is being sold in the North East, health campaigners have revealed. A survey carried out in 2009 and then again in 2011 showed that more than £36 million has been saved across the region in duty and tax as sales of illegal tobacco have fallen. The same survey showed that sales of the illegal goods had fallen by 39 per cent during the two year period.

South Georgia No-Smoking Policy

Some south Georgia public housing residents will soon have put out their cigarettes at home. The Lee County Housing Authority Board approved a new no-smoking policy for all 98 units in Leesburg and Smithville. Albany Housing Authority leaders told us they'll consider the same policy for their more than one thousand properties in the coming months. The Lee Board says health, safety, and maintenance concerns are behind the new rule.

Staffordshire Hospital Smoke-Free

A smoking ban is being dropped at Staffordshire's biggest hospital because it is being flouted by so many patients and visitors. Four shelters for people to light up will now be provided at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire. They include one outside its cancer centre, where people being treated for the disease continue smoking. Another is planned for the maternity unit after heavily pregnant women were spotted with cigarettes by the front door.

Apartment Smoking Ban, Santa Monica Tobacco Use News

Lighting up—tobacco and medical marijuana—will be banned in new apartments, and residents of current units forced to disclose to their neighbors whether they smoke under an ordinance that won initial approval from the Santa Monica City Council Tuesday night. Gleam Davis—one of five council members who supported the ban—said she wanted fewer people to smoke. Others said they want to make apartment hunting easier for people with asthma, families with children and other potential residents trying to reduce their own exposure to second-hand smoke, which can easily drift between units.

Bad Effects of Hookah Smoking

People who smoke both cigarettes and waterpipes – dual users – lack sufficient knowledge about the risks of tobacco smoking and are at considerable risk for dependence and tobacco-related diseases, such as cancer, heart disease and stroke later in life, according to findings of a new study by Virginia Commonwealth University. The study, the first of its kind to assess trends in cigarette and waterpipe tobacco smoke based on long-term data, reveals few users perceive dangers of waterpipe tobacco. A common misconception about waterpipe smoking is that it is not as harmful as cigarette smoking. Al fakher cigarettes.

Tobacco Smoking Banned on Campus, KU Tobacco Policy

The University of Kansas won't join a growing trend of banning all tobacco use. An advocacy group, Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, says 562 college campuses banned all tobacco use as of July 1. The University of Missouri will implement a campuswide ban on tobacco on Jan. 1, 2014. The Lawrence Journal-World reports Kansas officials say the university won't follow the trend. Spokesman Tim Caboni says the university's medical campuses in Kansas City, Kan., and Wichita have banned all tobacco since 2006. On the Lawrence campus and the Edwards campus in Overland Park, smoking is not allowed in or near campus buildings. Smoking and tobacco is allowed in designated areas at Memorial Stadium and chewing tobacco is allowed in student housing. Caboni says the current policy works well.

Teenagers Buy Smokeless Tobacco Products

Fewer teens are smoking cigarettes these days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Spartanburg, 73 percent of ninth- and 11th-grade youth surveyed thought it was "wrong for youth their age to smoke cigarettes," and 88.3 percent thought it was a "great risk" to smoke one or more packs per day, according to the 2010 youth survey conducted by the Spartanburg Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission.

High Rates of Passive Smoking

Smoking rates as high as almost 50 per cent among men in migrant communities are being targeted by NSW health authorities to help cut tobacco use. Men from Middle Eastern and Asian backgrounds are ignoring government-funded anti-smoking campaigns and warnings about the health dangers related to tobacco, and are far more likely to smoke than Australian-born residents. The smoking rate for the general NSW population is 14.7 per cent.

Tobacco Companies Strict Enforcement

Tobacco companies said they would comply with the government's new minimum-price ruling of RM7 for 20-stick packs come Sept 1, but want strict enforcement to ensure compliance by retailers. British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (BAT Malaysia) corporate and legal affairs director Christine Lee said the regulation on minimum price has been in place since January 2010, with the aim of making cigarettes less affordable, especially to youth.

Cigarette Makers Fight, Phillip Morris

Philip Morris says today's High Court decision supporting the plain packaging of cigarettes would not affect other legal challenges to the Australian government's plan. Following the court decision, challenges to Australia's packaging rules remain from three countries - the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Ukraine - through the World Trade Organisation. Marlboro-maker Phillip Morris is also suing Australia for alleged breaches of Australia's Bilateral Investment Treaty with Hong Kong. “We believe that Philip Morris Asia's investment treaty case and the WTO challenges are strong,” said PML spokesperson Chris Argent. “As such, there is still a long way to go before all the legal questions about plain packaging are fully explored and answered.”

Ogdensburg Council Prevents Tobacco Use

City Council members agree they would like to prevent tobacco use around municipal playgrounds and picnic areas, but clashed on how it should be done. At a Monday committee of the whole meeting, the council decided a policy banning tobacco use in parks would be unenforceable and unpopular. “I see it as a start to things I absolutely don’t like — people telling me how to live my life,” Councilor R. Storm Cilley said. “We can’t totally ban a legal activity, and I am not in favor of passing laws and policies that would put penalties in place.” Instead, the council decided to erect signs asking people not to smoke in park areas used by children. “I think that is what people are asking for — a voluntary cessation,” City Manager Philip A. Cosmo said. “That policy can be ‘we currently ask; we hope people will voluntarily comply.’”

Increasing Cigarette Prices, Quit Smoking

The recent increase in the Illinois cigarette tax is an example of how making smoking more expensive can convince some people it's time to quit. For example, being a smoker in Chicago can easily cost $300 a month, which is more than twice as expensive as a monthly prescription of medications to help a person quit smoking. But even when the cost of smoking convinces a person to quit, it can be hard to kick the habit, said Dr. Phillip McAndrew, an internal medicine physician and occupational health expert at Loyola University Health System.

Philip Morris Profit Higher

Cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc. said Thursday its second-quarter net income fell 4 percent, despite higher prices, as the company sold fewer cigarettes. The seller of Marlboro and other cigarette brands overseas said changes in currency values hurt profit in the April-June quarter, and cut its earnings guidance for the year because of the stronger dollar.

Victorian Smoking Rates

Cancer Council Victoria chief executive Todd Harper says tough tobacco reforms and advertising campaigns are responsible for the record low smoking rates highlighted in its latest research. The figures show the state's overall smoking rate has dropped below 15 per cent for the first time, and 70 per cent of Victorians aged 18-29 have never smoked.

Teen Smoking Rate Increased in Alberta

More young Albertans are taking up the smoking habit, Alberta Health said in its annual report released Thursday, particularly those aged 20 to 24. While the smoking rate for that age group declined between 2003 and 2009, it started to trend upward in 2010.

American Smokers Could be Vaccinated, Smoking Habit

American research says that one day smokers could be immunized against nicotine so they gain no pleasure from it - possibly killing off smoking forever. Scientists in the US have devised a vaccine that floods the body with an antibody which stops nicotine having any effect. Nicotine levels in the brains of mice injected with the antibody reduced by 85%, the study published in Science Translational Medicine found.

Smoking Rates in Canada, Secodhand Smoking

If there weren't already compelling enough reasons for you to quit smoking, think about the risk to your vision. While it's well-known that smoking can cause cancer, heart disease and stroke, up until recently there has been little awareness about the fact that smoking can also cause serious and permanent vision loss. Cigarette packaging in other countries - like Australia, for example - has carried the message "smoking causes blindness" for some time. Now, Canada will finally follow suit. New Health Canada regulations for tobacco products labelling mean that, as of June 19, retailers can only legally sell cigarettes that display new health warnings, including the fact that smoking increases your risk of blindness.

Smoking Addiction in Namibia

The Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Richard Kamwi, says his ministry is prepared to fight against entities that want to derail the implementation of the legislation on tobacco control in the country. Speaking in Rundu last week during the commemoration of World No Tobacco Day, Kamwi said many Namibians continue to become dependent on the harmful substance. A survey conducted by the health ministry in 2009, shockingly revealed that 17 percent of school-going children between the ages of 10 and 12 had experienced smoking. This year’s theme for World No Tobacco day was ‘‘Tobacco industry interference’ - with a slogan, ‘Tobacco industry tactics to undermine tobacco control must be exposed and resisted.’

SGA Supports Student Smoking Area

During last night’s meeting, Georgia Southern University’s Student Government Association voted to stand in favor of the majority vote of the staff and students for limited tobacco use on campus. SGA stands in favor of the majority vote of the staff and students, Patrice Buckner, Dean of Students, said. The survey was distributed to students in fall of 2011. The results of the survey show that 46 percent of students and staff voted to “limit tobacco use on campus and create tobacco friendly zones,” 29 percent of students and faculty voted to “create a tobacco free campus,” and 26 percent of students and staff voted to “maintain current tobacco policy.”

Cigarettes Tax, Sri Lankan Government

While the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse continues to squeeze the wages and living conditions of Sri Lankan workers and the poor, the banks and major corporations and their CEOs are reaping large profits and salary remunerations. On May 4, the government, in line with austerity measures dictated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), increased the price of imported powdered milk, cooking gas and cement by about 25, 16 and 10 percent, respectively. The rises followed last month’s 10 percent lift in the price of flour, which is the main staple of Sri Lanka’s poor, especially plantation workers. Taxes on alcohol, cigarettes and all imported vehicles were also raised on March 31.

Smokers Should Eat More Fishes

If you’re a smoker, a new study suggests adding more fish to your diet. While the best way to protect yourself from the harmful effects of smoking is to quit, researchers from Greece have found that omega-3 fatty acids can help repair arteries damaged by the unhealthy habit. Presented at the World Congress of Cardiology in Dubai Friday, scientists showed that short-term treatment with omega-3 fatty acids was able to improve arterial stiffness and moderate acute impairment of vascular elastic properties in smokers -- both markers of cardiovascular risk.

Cigarettes Packaging Should be Plain

“Fancy,” “posh” and “pretty” – these are all words used by children in Cancer Research UK’s new video to describe a selection of current cigarette packets. Looking at one of the packs, a little boy says: “I think it would be quite fun to play with. It makes you almost happy looking at it.” For most of us the idea that children are attracted to these deadly products is simply shocking. Cancer Research UK statistics show that more than 4,000 people died of lung cancer in Scotland in 2010. This risk of developing this devastating disease increases significantly in smokers and is just one of the cancers that can be the consequence of an addiction that is promoted to women as being glamorous and to men as offering maturity and popularity. There is much we can do to prevent a new generation of children from starting to smoke in the first place.

Smoking Habit and Psoriasis

Smoking is an independent risk factor for psoriasis, with particularly strong associations for heavy smokers and those who have smoked for many years, according to research published in the March 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology. To determine whether there was an association between psoriasis and smoking, Wenqing Li, Ph.D., of Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues looked at data for 2,410 adults with incident psoriasis who were identified among 185,836 participants from three study cohorts. The researchers found that past and current smokers had an increased relative risk (RR) of incident psoriasis compared with never smokers (1.39 and 1.94, respectively). For current smokers, there was an increasing risk for more cigarettes smoked per day (RRs for one to 14, 15 to 24, and 25 or more cigarettes/day: 1.81, 2.04, and 2.29, respectively).

Indoor Smoking Ban, Russia News

Russia is due to ban smoking in all enclosed spaces in an effort to stamp out the habit that kills up to 500,000 people every year, the health ministry said. "All disagreements between ministries over the ban have been resolved," a ministry spokesperson said. The bill is still subject to approval by the parliament. The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomed the bill, describing it as a "breakthrough" for Russia.

Birmingham Smoking Ban Supported

Alabama's Secretary of State, Beth Chapman, was among dozens who spoke about Birmingham's smoking ban, Tuesday. People filled the city council chamber to voice their opinions, heavy hitters and average citizens alike. The measure passed unanimously, with amendments. While the majority of attendees stood up to show their support for putting out cigarettes in public places, several had major issues with the plan.

Tobacco Imports Increased in Saudi Arabia

The heavy custom fees levied on tobacco did not reduce its imports which rose by about 57 percent last year compared to 2009 , business daily Al-Eqtisadiah reported Friday quoting a statistical report issued by the customs department. According to the report, Saudi Arabia imported 57,838 tons of tobacco in 2011 valued at SR3.3 billion compared to the imports of 2009 which reached SR2.104 billion. Abdullah Al-Salman, member of the welfare committee to combat smoking, said this quantity was considered to be extremely large because the taxes on imports of tobacco were still low. “These taxes should be increased because the proceeds will be used to treat diseases caused by smoking,” he said.

Cigarettes Packagings, Tobacco Companies Rights

Registering a trademark gives the owner the right to exclude others from using it, but not the guaranteed future right to use it themselves, the federal government argues in its submission on the landmark plain packaging High Court case, lodged last night. In world-first legislation, the Gillard government is requiring that all cigarette packaging be drab green, with graphic health warnings. Cigarette companies, led by British American Tobacco Australia, are challenging the constitutional validity of the legislation, on the grounds that it acquires their intellectual property and trademarks without compensation. The government's case says this claim is not sustainable, because ''what an owner gains by registration of a trademark is … no more than a monopoly right to exclude others from using the mark without the owner's authority''.

Tobacco Companies Reduced The Employers

The sun appears to be setting on the era of high-dollar tobacco manufacturing jobs in Winston-Salem. It shouldn't be shocking news to the community that R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.'s local workforce is shrinking yet again. The company has announced 19 job cuts since 1983 that have reduced the number of employees from 15,500 to 2,500. However, last week's start to the next round of workforce reductions appears to have struck more of a nerve than did major job cuts in 2003, 2008 and 2009. That's because, unlike previous job-cut announcements, Reynolds American Inc. specifically said pay rates are being evaluated. And they're more likely to fall rather than rise. The increasing presence of contract workers, which Reynolds has used for more than a decade, also has proved unnerving to employees who have contacted the Winston-Salem Journal. They declined to be identified out of fear of losing their jobs and/or severance package.

Tobacco Additives Toxicity Examined

Many people in Birmingham will pledge to quit smoking in the coming new year. They need to. More than a third of Alabamians smoke and that fact leads to higher health care costs for everyone in Alabama as well as a plethora of diseases that affect the smoker like cancer and heart disease. A review of the toxicity protocols used by Philip Morris in the Project MIX that analyzed the 333 plus additives to cigarettes was published by researchers at the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California in San Francisco on December 20, 2011.

Black Market Hits Cigarettes Sales

IRISH smokers purchased 4.3 billion cigarettes from companies in the tobacco industry last year, new figures show. However, the growth of the illicit trade in cigarettes was the primary reason why there were 200 million less cigarettes sold by the industry in Ireland in 2010. That is according to tobacco firm, PJ Carroll & Co, which maintained its 14.47% market share in the industry last year. According to the company’s accounts for 2010, total market volume in the industry declined by 4.7% from 4.5 billion cheapest Lucky Strike cigarette sticks in 2009 to 4.3 billion cigarette sticks last year. The company’s directors’ report states: "This decline was primarily due to the growth of illicit trade." The British-owned firm’s best known brands include Carrolls, Major and Rothmans and is part of the global tobacco giant, British American Tobacco.

The Future of Smoking Ban

Several senators in the Student Government Association spoke out against the possible future tobacco ban on campus Thursday night in the presence of University of Memphis President Shirley Raines and Vice President of Student Affairs Rosie Bingham. At the meeting, junior SGA senator Russell Born put forward a resolution that suggested The University of Memphis utilize designated smoking areas in places of low foot traffic on campus in lieu of the complete ban of tobacco. The resolution passed with an overwhelming majority. One senator in particular, sophomore Nick Mastron, was in favor of the measure. He gave a lengthy speech to the other senators before the vote.

Passenger Smokers Charged

The warning that “smoking is bad for your health” might have a new twist for airline passenger Manolín Jesús Villaverde: Smoking cost him his freedom, after he caused an airliner to divert to San Antonio. Villaverde, who turned 36 on Wednesday, was pulled off the Continental Airlines flight Tuesday night after he became unruly when told to put out cigarettes. FBI agents on Wednesday hauled him into federal court on a charge of interfering with flight crew members, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. A criminal complaint affidavit said Villaverde, of Miami, was on Continental Flight 1287 from Houston to Ontario, Calif., when he came out of the restroom smoking a cigarette.

Tobacco Fight Failed in All Solano County

Solano County and all its cities earned grades of F in cigarette smoking rates and efforts to prevent exposure to secondhand smoke, according to an American Lung Association annual report. The failing grades for smoking rates and restrictions on smoking in public spots and housing areas are contained in the "State of Tobacco Control 2012" report. In particular, the report looks at local policies that aim to reduce smoking cheap Camel cigarettes in outdoor areas, housing, and the sale of tobacco products. State law prevents indoor smoking in businesses, restaurants, schools and other facilities in Solano County. However, the lung association's regional director of advocacy Serena Chen said Solano cities and the county have not followed through on tobacco control laws and regulations.

Generation is up in Smoke

Smoking pot is now more common among 10th graders in the U.S. than smoking cigarettes, and according to the latest federal government survey one out of every 15 high school students smokes marijuana on an almost daily basis. A quarter of the eighth, 10th and 12th graders surveyed reported using marijuana in the last year. Think this uptick has anything to do with our government’s increasingly lenient policies governing marijuana use? Well, of course it does! “The upward trend in teens’ abuse of marijuana corresponded to downward trends in their perception of risk,” according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which released the survey results.

Indonesia Not Against Flavored Tobacco

Indonesia will not lodge an appeal against a WTO ruling on the import ban of flavored tobacco by the US, citing satisfaction despite losing its argument on the efficacy of the ban in reducing the number of young smokers. Director general for international trade Gusmardi Bustami told reporters on Friday that Indonesia had won the backing of the WTO on its stance regarding the discriminatory nature of the US import ban. The US Food and Drug Administration banned best Robinson cigarettes with fruit, confectionery or clove flavors in September 2009, arguing such cigarettes were particularly attractive to children.

Smoking During Pregnancy and Autism Spectrum Disorders

A large population-based study in Sweden indicates that there is no link between smoking during pregnancy and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children. The study, led by Dr. Brian Lee, an assistant professor at Drexel University and a team of international collaborators, will appear in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders and was published online in December. Researchers have considered a variety of chemical exposures in the environment during pregnancy and early life as possible contributing factors in the development of autism spectrum disorders. Many have considered prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke a possible cause due to known associations with behavioral disorders and obstetric complications. Past studies of maternal smoking and autism have had mixed results.

Costs of Secondhand Smoke Rise in Indiana

As if state and city politicians needed another reason to pass comprehensive smoking bans, Indiana University released a study today finding that the economic cost of cheap Temp cigarettes second-hand smoke in the state is $1.3 billion -- nearly triple previous estimates. The study, conducted by the Bowen Research Center at the Indiana University School of Medicine, calculated that each Hoosier pays $201 annually because of the cost of secondhand smoke. That comes to a total of $1.3 billion a year, about $327.1 million in direct health care costs. The rest, or $977.5 million, comes from the cost of premature loss of life.

E-Cigarettes are Safer Than Smoking Cigarettes, Study Shows

In a report that bucks the concerns raised by the FDA, a Boston University researcher concludes that electronic cigarettes are much safer than real cigarettes and show promise in the fight against tobacco-related diseases and death. Cigarette smokers are constantly being asked to stop. PrimeVapor reports that there is now a safer alternative to tobacco use. Dr. Micheal Siegel is an authority in the area of tobacco control, focusing on secondhand smoke health effects, exposure, and policies, cigarette advertising and marketing practices and their effects on youths, and evaluation of tobacco control policies and their impact on youth and adult smoking behavior.

Tobacco Price Rise Today

The price of tobacco goes up again today. It's the third in a series of hikes aimed at pricing people out of the smoking habit. The cost of a packet of Cosmos cigarettes 20 will go past $15 for some smokers, but the most popular brand will be $13.80 a pack. Quitline chief Paula Snowden says price hikes do encourage people to quit. She says 80 percent of smokers wish they hadn't started, and 70% would like to quit. Ms Snowden says most people want to stop because they're concerned about their health or their family, but price is the trigger.