Smoking cessation program taking hold

Everyone in Klamath County deserves to breathe tobacco-free air, and the Klamath County Public Health Department hopes to make that a reality.
Molly Jespersen, the promotion and prevention program manager for the health department, and her co-worker Jennifer Little, a program coordinator, are working to encourage and support the 21 percent of adults in the county to stop smoking. Marlboro Cigarettes online for low prices.

That 21 percent is high in comparison to the 16 percent of Oregonians that smoke, and Jespersen said tobacco companies spend big money on aggressive marketing to keep people, including youth, as customers.

Tobacco companies spent $266 every second in 2011 on marketing, according to the Centers for Disease Control, Jespersen said, which has a particularly significant impact on young people.

Across the county, about 80 percent of smokers took up the habit before the age of 18, and about 99 percent of smokers started before they were 26, Jespersen said. Those numbers are from the 2012 Surgeon General’s Report.

“It’s really important that we keep protecting our vulnerable youth,” Jespersen said.

There are more than 10,000 smokers in Klamath County, and more than 3,500 people suffer from a serious illness caused by tobacco, according to numbers from the Tobacco Prevention and Education Program under the Oregon Health Authority.

But there is a lot the local community can do to help decrease smoking rates, Jespersen said, and while there has been some progress, there is still a lot of work to do.

“Our work is not over,” she said.

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.