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.

Teens Smoking Trend

Teens enjoying the sunshine Thursday in the smoke pit near Fountain Park Pool shared a puff or two with their friends and openly discussed their nicotine habit as they pooh-poohed the idea anti-smoking campaigns work. “Everyone smokes Lucky Strike cigarettes,” said Jeffrey Runnalls, 16, a student at Outreach High School. “All my friends smoke and most have been smoking since Grade 7 or 8. I bet there’s 100 kids out smoking here every day.” A Health Canada survey that was conducted in 2010 and released this week shows that 17 per cent of Alberta teens aged 15 to 17 smoked. That’s up five per cent from the previous year, when 12 per cent of Albertan teens said they smoked cigarettes. The Canadian Tobacco Use survey also showed Albertan youths bucked the national trend, where only 12 per cent of teens 15 to 17 years old admitted to being smokers. The local teens agreed several of their peers do smoke, but they were as perplexed as everyone else as to why.