JTI Supporting La Scala in Italy

La Scala Opera House in Milan has both a global cultural reputation for ballet as well as opera, and a rich,
colourful history.

It first opened its doors in 1778 with a work by Salieri. It has survived, among other things, the hazards of candle and oil lighting, artistic differences (most famously with another composer, Verdi) and even bombing during the Second World War.

In 2010 the museum began a program of expansion for which JTI is providing long-term support. This is part of the company’s commitment to forming and sustaining cultural partnerships, with particular emphasis on exceptional museum and musical programs.

"JTI’s relationship with La Scala began in September 2009, when we helped organize a tour of the Orchestra of La Scala in Japan, and continues today with support of both the Museum and the main events of the Theatre’s opera season".

JTI has already been involved in various exhibitions at the museum. Looking forward, 2013 marks the museum’s centenary, as well as the bicentenary of Verdi’s birth. The opera house resolved its artistic dispute with Verdi during the composer’s lifetime and is looking forward to creating a special celebration around his work, according to Japan Tobacco International.

Are electronic cigarettes actually bad for you?

A new study from Germany suggest that eCigarettes often thought to be a healthier alternative to tobacco ones may not be safe after all.  Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research WKI, in Braunschweig, conducted a study to find out whether e-cigarettes polluted the surrounding air. The results of the study pointed to discharged solid particles remaining in the surrounding air for a considerable time.

Compared to conventional cigarettes, which constantly emit smoke as the tobacco burns, the electronic equivalent only releases volatile substances when it is turned on. But that is not the only difference between the two stimulants, as the WKI researchers observed. ‘In the e-cigarette, vaporised substances create an aerosol of ultrafine particles which become even finer when inhaled into the lungs. These tiny nanodroplets disperse over time,’ said Dr Tobias Schripp, scientist at Fraunhofer WKI and study co-author.

‘Conversely, the combustion process discharges solid particles that can remain in the surrounding air for a considerable time,’ said Schripp. An e-cigarette comprises battery, atomizer, heating coil and a reservoir for the liquids used for producing vapour. The mechanism is activated either by pressing a button or by suction. Liquids come with or without nicotine, and also contain aromas and flavours like amaretto, almond, vanilla or apple. These liquids are heated up in the atomizer and vaporized at between 65 and 120 degrees Celsius. Propylene glycol is the most usual solvent; it produces the atomized mist that resembles smoke, according to a Fraunhofer statement, Health.India.com stated. An estimated two million people in Germany have already turned to the vapour cigarette.

Framingham State University aims to be tobacco-free by 2013

Following the lead of hundreds of other campuses across the country, Framingham State University plans to be tobacco-free by next year, according to school officials.

But the details of that campus-wide ban on cigarettes, chewing tobacco and similar products are still up in the air, as an ad hoc committee responsible for developing the policy introduces its preliminary draft to students and staff.

"There's still lots of things to work out," said Vice President of Academic Affairs Linda Vaden-Goad, who presented the latest plan, based on policies at other colleges and universities, to students at a campus meeting on Monday.

Some of the concerns raised by the dozen or so students who attended that forum include the safety of smokers who would be forced to indulge their habit off-campus; how the policy would be enforced; and whether a campus-wide ban encroaches upon the civil rights of those who study and work at the university.
"I don't want a tobacco-free campus. We shouldn't be enforcing our moral values on other people," said freshman Michael Reda, who was critical of the tentative plan to prohibit use of smokeless tobacco products in particular.

Reda added it seemed "hypocritical" of the school to ban those in the name of health when it also sells caffeine-loaded energy drinks.

In response to other criticisms that the draft policy goes too far in eradicating tobacco from campus - even cigarette company apparel would be off-limits - Vaden-Goad said the committee purposely made the document broad so students and staff "could see what everybody across the country is doing," according to MetroWest Daily News.

Research looks at smoking addition among teens

Adolescents as young as 12 do smoke, and researchers have found that the sooner they do so upon waking in the morning, the more addicted they may be.

Branstetter — whose research focuses on youth tobacco use; tobacco cessation; and the influence of family, peers and social context in adolescent behavior teamed up with Joshua Muscat, professor of public health sciences at Penn State, to examine data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The team narrowed the survey participants down to 220 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 who were regular smokers. The researchers’ goal was to examine the relationship between time to first cigarette, the number of cigarettes smoked per day, and blood levels of continine, a metabolite of nicotine.

The team found that the time to first cigarette was significantly correlated with several smoking behaviors, including the number of cigarettes smoked per day, the time since the last cigarette and having a family member who smokes at home, informs Centre Daily News.

“Most importantly, we found that a shorter time between waking and having the first cigarette of the day is a strong indicator of nicotine uptake, as defined by serum continine levels, in adolescents,” said Branstetter. “In other words, adolescents who smoke sooner after waking up in the morning tend to inhale more deeply and more thoroughly, which is why they have higher levels of continine in their blood. And these kids who take in more nicotine per cigarette may be more dependent on nicotine — regardless of the number of cigarettes they smoke per day.”

According to the researchers, compared with adults, adolescent smokers tend to be lighter smokers overall, are less likely to inhale when they smoke and are less likely to smoke when they are ill. Nevertheless, even adolescent smokers who smoke less than five cigarettes a day or who are nondaily smokers experience dependence and withdrawal symptoms at very high rates.

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2012/11/25/3414224/research-looks-at-smoking-addition.html#storylink=cpy

Salt Lake City airport’s smoking areas don’t protect non-smokers

 As Shane Lenz, of Tooele, puffs a cigarette before flying to New Orleans for Thanksgiving, he explains why he likes the special smoking rooms at Salt Lake City International Airport — especially since almost all other airports nationally totally ban smoking indoors.

"The findings in today’s report further confirm that ventilated smoking lounges and designated smoking areas are not effective," said Tim McAfee, director of CDC’s Office of Smoking and Health. "Prohibiting smoking in all indoor areas is the only effective way to fully eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke."

The CDC study found that at the five large hub airports in America that still allow some smoking — in Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Denver, Atlanta and Washington Dulles — air pollution levels caused by secondhand smoke are five times higher than in airports that ban smoking. Inside designated smoking areas, the pollution levels average 23 times higher.

The CDC noted that while Utah law bans smoking in indoor workplaces and public areas, the law specifically exempts Salt Lake City International Airport. It even bans smoking at smaller airport terminals in the state.

Annual ‘Great American Smokeout’ is Nov. 15

Every year, on the third Thursday of November, the Great American Smokeout draws attention to the deaths and chronic diseases caused by smoking. This year, on Nov. 15, smokers nationwide are challenged to stop using tobacco for 24 hours in the hope they might make the decision to quit smoking forever and increase their chance for better health and a longer life.

The Tobacco Action Coalition of the Finger Lakes (TACFL) partners with the American Lung Association and local Public Health Departments to educate the community about the dangers of tobacco use and prevent people from ever starting to smoke, reports MPNnow.com.

Tobacco farmers expect Philip Morris to announce station closure

For decades, Greene County boasted the biggest burley hauls in the state. But by 2010, the county had slipped to sixth as fewer and fewer farms cultivated the cash crop.

The Philip Morris receiving station in Midway (also called Tennessee Valley Tobacco Services) still takes in 6,000,000 pounds of burley tobacco a year -- most of it from Upper East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, TriCities reports.

"It will be roughly $10.5 million in sales lost if this receiving station closes," Jonathan Cavin said.

Cavin, of Cavin Farms, said 138 farmers use the station. They're worried Philip Morris -- and parent company Altria Group -- will close it and direct shipments 175 miles north to Danville, Kentucky.

"Tobacco is something that's been passed down from generation to generation through our family," he said. "My great grandfather bought the main farm that my father and grandfather live on with tobacco money from the Great Depression."

Altria called farmers last Friday and invited them to a company-hosted meeting at the General Morgan Inn in Greenville this Friday at noon.  Hotel staff said that meeting is closed to the press.

Danville Economic Development Partnership CEO Jody Lassiter said the Philip Morris receiving station there (also called Danville Tobacco Services) opened last year. He described it as one of the most efficient facilities of its kind.

"It's a 50,000 square foot warehouse, previously an industrial facility, and they've done a lot of interior work this year," Lassiter said. "Drivers drive through, unload, and drive out."

Lassiter said the Danville station could easily handle an additional 6,000,000 pounds of tobacco a year.
 

Anti tobacco case taken up for hearing

A petition filed in the Court of Appeal requesting the Health Minister or the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol to fully implement the regulations prescribed in the Tobacco products labelling and packaging gazette without prejudice to Parliament was taken up for hearing on October 22. The Bench constituting of Justice Sisira de Abrew and Justice Sunil Rajapakse issued notice to the respondents returnable on November 12.

The petitioner is Jayasuriya Hewage Sirimal Pathmasiri a resident of Polgasowita. The respondents cited are Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena, The National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol and the Attorney General. The petition inter alia states that tobacco amongst other health hazards causes cancer, heart risks and impotency.

Eighty per cent of cancer patients are smokers, statistics reveal. The Mahinda Chinthanaya Mathata Thitha has referred the perils of alcohol. The relief prayed for is to grant/issue a mandate in the nature of a writ of mandamus directing the first respondent or the second respondent to fully implement the regulations without prejudice to Parliament powers.

Missouri tobacco tax gains three new supporters

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On November 6th Missouri voters will decide whether or not to raise the state's tobacco tax. Leaders in health, business and education in the state have joined forces to support that effort. Right now the state has the lowest tobacco tax in the country.

Attempts to raise the tax by smaller amounts in 2002 and 2006 failed. If voters approve the tax increase education officials hope to get access to close to $300 million dollars in revenue that would be used to support public schools.

Imperial Tobacco earnings rise 8 pct

Imperial Tobacco, the world's fourth largest cigarette group, reported an 8 percent rise in annual earnings, helped by strong revenue growth from its key brands. The British firm, which sells over 340 billion cigarettes annually of brands such as Davidoff, Gauloises, JPS and West, on Tuesday said adjusted earnings rose to 201.0 pence a share for the year to end-September, ahead of a company-compiled consenus of 199.6 pence.

It raised the annual dividend by 11 percent to 105.6 pence a share, boosting its payout ratio from earnings to 52.5 percent. Revenue rose 4 percent to 7.0 billion pounds, however, reflecting the group's aim to counter Europe's downturn by offering economy-brand cigarettes, such as JPS, Lambert & Butler and roll-your-own products, while also raising prices for more affluent consumers in western Europe and the United States.

We see significant growth opportunities in our rest of the world region across Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East and Asia-Pacific and we'll continue to invest to support sustainable growth, the firm said in a statement. Overall stick equivalent volumes declined 2.7 percent in the period due to tough markets in Poland, Ukraine and compliance with international trade sanctions against Syria.

Its four key brands -- upmarket Davidoff, mid-priced Gauloises Blondes and value brands West and JPS -- saw annual volumes increase 7 percent. Its Gold Leaf and Golden Virginia fine cut business volumes were stable, it added. In Spain, where high unemployment and government austerity measures have hit the market, the group said it would take a non-cash impairment charge of 1.2 billion pounds during the year due to the macro economic indicators.

UCLA first UC campus to impose smoking ban

The University of California is banning smoking on its 10 campuses in 2014, but UCLA has decided to go tobacco free this spring. Cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco will be prohibited on the UCLA campus starting April 22.

UCLA Chancellor Gene Block says in a news release that his goal is to become the nation's healthiest college campus. The ban is designed to promote community well-being through research, education, nutrition and exercise, among other things. Tobacco users will have access to various resources to help them quit, including a free nicotine replacement starter kit.

UCLA campus to become tobacco-free zone

The UCLA campus will become a smoke- and tobacco- free zone beginning in April, Chancellor Gene Block announced today, following through on a request by the president of the University of California system. The policy will take effect on Earth Day, April 22, Block said. It will ban the use of all tobacco products, along with electronic cigarettes, on the UCLA campus and at any sites owned or leased by the university.

"Tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke remain the leading causes of preventable disease and death worldwide," Block wrote in a letter to the UCLA community. "A draft of the tobacco-free policy will be available for review by students, faculty and staff beginning Nov. 15. We also plan to ensure that tobacco users in our community have access to a variety of free and low- cost support services, in addition to those provided by health insurance, to help them." According to UCLA, the university is the first in the UC system to announce plans to ban tobacco products, although more than 800 colleges across the country have enacted similar policies.

UC President Mark Yudof previously requested that all campuses in the system adopt a tobacco-free policy. UCLA created a Tobacco-Free Steering Committee, which recommended the policy to Block and will develop an implementation plan, according to the university. Linda Sarna, a UCLA nursing professor and chair of the campus' Academic Senate, said tobacco bans on other university campuses have led to an increase in the number of people who quit smoking.

"The world is changing," she said. "People didn't used to wear seatbelts or bike helmets, and they used to smoke in airplanes and restaurants. But we know more than we did in the 1950s and we have to act. We have a responsibility to the health of our campus, and this is the right thing to do." She said the university will work with the county Department of Public Health to offer free two-week starter kits for smokers who want to quit.

Ark. marijuana proposal could lead to local fights

If Arkansas voters approve a ballot issue that would make the state the first in the South to legalize medical marijuana, the move could set off a new series of fights in cities and counties over how to deal with the measure's impact. The proposal on next Tuesday's ballot calls for allowing patients with qualifying conditions to buy marijuana from nonprofit dispensaries with a doctor's recommendation, but local governments also could ban the facilities. Local officials opposed to the measure are exploring that as a backup plan, but also say they're worried it could lead to a proliferation of home-grown marijuana.

That's because while the proposal allows local governments to restrict the dispensaries, they cannot prohibit another part of the measure that would allow qualifying patients to grow their own marijuana if they live more than five miles away from a dispensary. "The ability to grow six marijuana plants could make this more pervasive in our society than the dispensaries themselves. I think each jurisdiction, each county would have to look at that question," said Chris Villines, executive director of the Association of Arkansas Counties, a group opposed to the measure. "Do you want the dispensaries or do you want to have a more ubiquitous growing operation across your county?" Supporters of the medical marijuana proposal say they wanted to allow local governments to have some say over the number of dispensaries, but didn't want to render the law moot by allowing them to prohibit patients from growing themselves.

Chris Kell, campaign strategist for Arkansans for Compassionate Care, said he believes counties would rather allow the dispensaries so they could have some oversight rather than banning them outright. "It's going to be treated the same way alcohol is now," Kell said. Forty of Arkansas' 75 counties ban alcohol sales, but allow exceptions for private clubs. Kell thinks it would be counterproductive for local governments to ban the dispensaries, and said most patients would prefer going to them rather than growing their own marijuana. Health conditions that would qualify under the proposal include cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS and Alzheimer's disease. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana in some way.

Arkansas' proposal faces an uphill fight in next week's election, even though backers have enjoyed a wide fundraising advantage. Many of the state's top elected officials, including Gov. Mike Beebe and Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, are opposed to the measure. More than half the voters surveyed in a University of Arkansas poll released last week said they were opposed to the proposal. The annual Arkansas Poll, taken Oct. 9-14, surveyed 800 people and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. That polling has meant many mayors and city officials aren't yet making plans to restrict or prohibit the dispensaries.

The county association and the Arkansas Municipal League say they haven't yet heard from local governments seeking guidance on what to do if the measure passes. "They haven't gone to Plan B because they don't think it will pass," said Don Zimmerman, the municipal league's executive director. The league hasn't taken a formal position on the measure, but its public safety advisory council has opposed it, Zimmerman said. Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola, a former local prosecutor, is among those who are skeptical of the proposal.

He said he will look at any restrictions the city can enact if voters approve it. One of the chief opponents of the measure, Jerry Cox, said if the proposal passes, he will make it his priority to encourage the state Legislature to repeal the law. That would require a two-thirds vote in both the state House and Senate. Cox, who heads the Family Council Action Committee, said he also will likely lobby local governments to ban the dispensaries. "What you're dealing with is varying degrees of bad," he said. "Letting people grow their own and having dispensaries is worse than if we didn't have the dispensaries."

Electronic Cigarette Manufacturer KIMREE Will Hold Halloween Party

The annual Halloween is coming. KIMREE as NO.1 in electronic cigarette manufacturers will hold a Halloween party on the evening of October 31. Then all kinds of Halloween party elements will come on stage one by one, for example, masked ball, DIY pumpkin lantern and so on, which will open your scream trip in KIMREE. KIMREE has prepared 500 Halloween electronic cigarettes and 500 pumpkin lanterns for this activity.

When you take part in the KIMREE Halloween party, you will get an electronic cigarette or a small Jack-o'-lantern. First come first served. Just give until out of stock. KIMREE also prepare lovely candy for children. On the afternoon of October 31, electronic cigarette manufacturer KIMREE’S CEO, CMO and other many senior leaders will take part in DIY pumpkin carving activities with workers on the scene.

In the evening, the KIMREE Halloween party will officially start! You can invite your families or friends to enjoy this rare relaxed time after disguise yourselves, unloading the pressure or serious face, enjoying fully your scream trip. You also can change into a new Halloween modeling or add a tattoo design of playing tricks.

No smoke without fire? Tobacco lobby mystery shakes Brussels

A shady Maltese lobbyist, Sweden's substitute for snuff, robberies against anti-smoking groups: the resignation of the EU's top health official in a tobacco-linked "whodunnit" is shaking up Brussels. The EU's executive pledged Monday that a fraud probe involving the outgoing health and consumer commissioner, John Dalli -- who handed in his resignation last week -- would not slow, or kill, key tobacco legislation drafted by his services in the interests of public health. "The review of the Tobacco Products Directive is on the commission's agenda for this year," said European Commission spokesman Olivier Bailly.

"As soon as we have a new commissioner he will be able to proceed." Anti-tobacco groups see Dalli's almost unprecedented resignation from the commission as the latest hitch in months of efforts to review the European Union's decade-old legislation on tobacco. "The long wait for Commission proposals on tobacco products is becoming a never-ending story," said Matthias Groote of the Smoke Free Partnership (SFP). "This important legislation has been delayed time and time again." The SFP is one of two anti-smoking groups whose Brussels offices were broken into by intruders last week. It said police were investigating the incident.

"There was relevant and sensitive information stolen concerning the tobacco directive and industry," said Javier Delgado Riviera of the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), the other target. February proposals by ex-commissioner Dalli aimed to make cigarette packaging less attractive while tightening regulations on flavourings in cigarettes -- said to appeal to teenage girls -- as well as on smoke-free products, such as snuff and electronic cigarettes.

Dalli, who is from Malta, quit Tuesday after the EU fraud office OLAF said a Maltese entrepreneur used his contacts with the commissioner to seek a bribe from a Swedish firm in return for changes to the tobacco legislation, "in particular on the EU export ban on snus". Snus, or Swedish snuff, is a moist powder tobacco originating from dry snuff. Though its sale is illegal across the EU, it is manufactured and used in Sweden, which has an exemption, and Norway, which is not an EU member.

The European Union executive has temporarily replaced Dalli, and on Monday the president of the 27-person commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, cleared Malta's proposal to replace him with Foreign Minister Tonio Borg, the first step in a possible nomination. Meanwhile, Dalli claimed to have been framed by the tobacco industry and sacrificed by Barroso without being offered the benefit of the doubt. "I did not offer my resignation but you demanded for it," he wrote in a letter released by the New Europe website. "I did not get 24 hours to contact a lawyer or family but only 30 minutes," he said. "My right to presumption of innocence was breached."

The commission spokesman insisted however that Dalli was "presumed innocent until proved guilty" and said: "If there is a legal follow-up, that is up to the Maltese." Swedish Match, the company that tipped off Brussels over allegations of corruption, said Friday it was offered the opportunity to pay 60 million euros ($78 million) to thwart the new EU tobacco legislation. "I can say that those are the amounts we are talking about, and I'd also like to stress that for us the amount of money does not matter," company spokesman Patrik Hildingsson told AFP last week.

He said the payment to a Maltese businessman with links to Dalli would have been made in two installments, with 10 million euros due before new legislation was enacted and the remaining 50 million euros to be paid when the new rules were in place. Corruption watchdog Corporate Europe Observatory said the case should serve as a wake-up call to the commission to tighten up rules on lobbying. "The European Commission is the focus of intense lobbying, and many business lobbyists benefit from easy access and close contact," it said. "This opens the door to the potential for corruption."

Falling tobacco sales burn out BAT price hikes

PRICE rises from British American Tobacco (BAT) have failed to stem the effects of falling cigarette sales this year, as the FTSE 100 firm saw turnover fall in the last nine months. The company, which makes the Lucky Strike, Dunhill, Kent and Pall Mall brands, said tax hikes in Brazil and currency fluctuations were to blame for the one per cent fall in revenue in the year to date.

BAT also said declining sales in Japan had been a big factor. However, BAT’s four main brands continued to do very well, with Lucky Strike volume sales rising 14 per cent on the same nine-month period last year. Chief executive Nicandro Durante said: “Economic recovery remains fragile this year and difficult trading conditions persist in many parts of the world. “However, pricing remains strong, we are growing underlying market share and our global drive brands continue to perform well.”

Shares in the world’s second-largest tobacco firm stayed fairly flat yesterday, as the company’s results were largely as expected and reflected a trend seen in much of the rest of the industry. “The decline is attributable to reduced industry volumes and a tough comparative period, and the company expects a better volume performance in the next quarter,” said tobacco analyst Damian McNeela at Panmure Gordon.

BAT said it has seen the biggest growth in Bangladesh, Vietnam and Pakistan and had benefited from its $452m (£282m) purchases of Colombian cigarette maker Protabaco, but that this was offset by the falls in Japan and Brazil, as well as Italy, Turkey and Egypt. Revenue was four per cent up when currency changes were stripped out.

Group to release study on tobacco tax increase

A Maryland health advocacy group is releasing a study on the effects of tax increases on small cigars and smokeless tobacco products. The Maryland Health Care For All Coalition is releasing the study on Wednesday in Baltimore. The tax increases were approved this year.

They went into effect in July. The coalition pushed for the tax increases in order to make the products expensive for children. Taxes went from 15 percent of wholesale to 70 percent on "little cigars." Taxes on smokeless tobacco such as snuff went from 15 percent to 30 percent.

Russia's Medvedev calls for ban of tobacco ads

Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday called for a ban on all tobacco ads, as the government prepares a bill that would also phase out smoking in public. World Health Organization says that some 40 percent of Russia's adult population smokes, one of the highest rates in the world. A pack of cigarettes in Russia costs between one and two dollars, and clouds of smoke hover in most Russian bars and restaurants. In a video message posted on his blog on Tuesday, Medvedev listed the dismal statistics and insisted that the government's clampdown is not targeting smokers, but smoking.

The government will consider a bill this month that would ban all tobacco ads, gradually ban smoking in all public places by 2015 and raise the price of cigarettes, a radical step for a country where 44 million adults light up. Both houses of parliament will need to pass the bill before it can become a law. About 400,000 Russians die every year of smoke-related causes, which Medvedev described as a "terrifying figure equivalent to the population of one big city." The number of smokers in Russia has increased over the past decades while tobacco prices were hardly regulated and smoking ads were largely unrestricted.

WHO statistics show that the rate of female smoking in Russia shoot up from just 7 percent in 1992 to 22 percent in 2009. Medvedev said the planned clampdown should benefit children and teenagers. He said that 90 percent of Russian smokers take up the habit before they turn 20. "Our children get used to tobacco smoke when they're still babies and have their first cigarette in middle school, that's why we cannot talk about smoking as a free choice of an adult," the prime minister said.

Oleg Salagai, a health ministry official, told the Interfax news agency that the proposed measures are expected to cut smoking rates by half. Medvedev called on Russians to support the bill, insisting that it will focus on smoking and tobacco companies, not on smokers. "We can no longer tolerate tobacco companies making profits on our children and turn them into life-time tobacco consumers. It's immoral." Salagai said that Russia loses an estimated 1.2 trillion rubles ($38 billion), or 6 percent of the country's gross domestic product, because of smoke-related deaths.

It’s time for Nevada to legalize marijuana

Perhaps the most consequential decision faced by voters in three Western states, other than control of the White House, are voter initiatives that would legalize marijuana. Polls suggest voters in Colorado and Washington may approve initiatives to do so while Oregonians are more reluctant. This would be a welcome retreat in the most foolish front of the Drug War, and one that would likely mark the beginning of the end of marijuana prohibition.

“If any of them pass, it will be the first time since the widespread prohibition of marijuana that any state pulled back,” says Morgan Fox, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, which advocates reform. “It will be a really big deal.” If these states legalize marijuana, Nevada, which has tried and failed to legalize in the past, should consider doing the same. I’ll return to that later. Marijuana prohibition is becoming less popular by the day. A Gallup poll last year found that 50 percent of Americans favor legalization, a first. Just as astounding is the trend, as support has doubled in about 15 years. Demographics help explain this, as there were 45 million Americans between 18 and 29 as of 2009, with more coming.

These people are more socially liberal than their parents. What they realize is that it’s just not a big deal. NYE COUNTY SHERIFF"S OFFICE Marijuana filled a room at 2440 Turtle Street in Pahrump in August 2011. The alleged operator of the grow house was 28-year-old Amos Cavallo. There’s also growing skepticism about the effectiveness of marijuana prohibition, and it’s coming from conservatives. William F. Buckley, the late godfather of conservatism, was long a voice against prohibition, but lately it’s become a chorus of conservatives.

This shouldn’t be surprising. Although marijuana is often associated with the lefty counterculture of the much reviled 1960s, the drug war requires big government resources to achieve its dubious ends. It is expensive and inevitably leads to the abuse of government power.

University of Missouri leaders support tobacco tax

A November ballot measure to significantly raise Missouri's tobacco tax to increase public education spending is drawing financial support from leaders of the state's flagship university and the other Missouri system campuses. The Columbia Daily Tribune reported Tuesday that the campaign donors in favor of the Proposition B ballot measure include University of Missouri curator Warren Erdman, who contributed $5,000.

His company, Kansas City Southern Railway Co., gave $25,000. Other contributors include university system president Tim Wolfe, with a $1,000 donation; and chancellors from three of the system's four campuses. The ballot item would raise Missouri's cigarette tax to 90 cents a pack. The 17-cent tax is the lowest nationally; the national average is $1.46. The proposal could generate between $283 million and $423 million annually, with 50 percent of the additional revenue pegged for public schools and 30 percent to higher education.

The remaining 20 percent would go toward smoking prevention and cessation. The measure is supported by health organizations including the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association and the American Heart Association. This will be the third time in a decade that a measure seeking to increase tobacco taxes has appeared on the statewide ballot.

In 2002, Missourians defeated a 55-cent increase by roughly 31,000 votes and did the same in 2006, rejecting an 80-cent increase by about 61,000 votes. Missourians for Health and Education, the ballot measure's backer, reported raising more than $2.8 million in the third quarter of the campaign, giving the group a campaign total of more than $4 million.

Tobacco ordinance will go to committee

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ALTUS Altus City Council members unanimously voted to send a proposed tobacco-free ordinance and employee policy to the city's Policy Committee for review and revisions during a business meeting Tuesday. The proposal was sent to the committee after a motion to table action was defeated by a 4-3 vote. It called for amending the city's personnel and policies procedures manual and an amended ordinance to Altus Code 1980 to delete smoking rooms from city buildings to make all city buildings (both owned and leased) and grounds (parking lots and sidewalks of city facilities) and city vehicles and equipment tobacco-free.

This proposal was to be considered as part of the city's application to become a "Merit" Oklahoma Certified Healthy Communities City and to apply for grants totaling $42,000 as part of the process for which funds would be used for development of walking trails and other projects to promote healthy living. Matt Coppock, the city's human resources director, said the city has much to gain from adopting a tobacco-free policy for its facilities. "We need to provide employees an incentive to quit smoking," he said. "It will help (cut) our health insurance costs."

City council member R. Scot Simco raised concerns about the city adopting a tobacco-free policy. ""I understand what this is for, but it could be an infringement of personal rights," he said. "What do we do about our employees who smoke? Send them out to the street where they may be in danger?" Simco also raised a concern about what such a policy would mean for local police officers as far as enforcement is concerned, in light of the fact that officers are busy enough dealing with crime and enforcing laws already on the books. "I already see smoking in the city parks anyway," he said.

Tobacco tax may rise for surplus: Dutton

THE federal opposition says if Labor hikes the tobacco tax again it won't be about cutting smoking rates but raising extra revenue to try to meet its promised budget surplus. There's speculation the government could increase the tobacco excise by 25 per cent in its upcoming budget update, called the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO). Opposition health spokesman Peter Dutton says if that occurs it won't be about better health outcomes but rather trying to patch up "an ever-growing black hole".

"This is a government that strives now to find savings because they've wasted so much," he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday. "Yes, they'll talk about all sorts of extra revenue increases and cuts but whether or not they achieve a surplus in the end - well look at the fact they've delivered the four biggest deficits in our country's history over the course of the last four years." A spokesman for federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek told AAP: "We don't commentate on MYEFO speculation." Labor hiked the tobacco tax by 25 per cent in April 2010 to try and cut the smoking rate by forcing up prices.

Asked on Thursday if the coalition would support another increase Mr Dutton replied: "We'll wait to see what the Labor party proposes and we'll respond at that time." The opposition health spokesman said the coalition first proposed increasing the excise to reduce smoking rates but Labor "seeks only to do these things because they waste money". Opposition Leader Tony Abbott believes the government will rush out MYEFO before the truth about declining revenues is exposed. "This is a government which I fear is utterly incapable of delivering an honest surplus," Mr Abbott told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday. In May, the budget was forecast at a $1.5 billion surplus in 2012/13, and projected to remain in the black for the next three financial years.

Big tobacco companies resist admissions of wrongdoing

U.S. tobacco companies told a federal judge on Monday they should not be required to tell the public they manipulated nicotine levels to make cigarettes more addictive, or that they repeatedly lied about the health effects of light cigarettes. The companies - including Altria Group Inc and Reynolds American Inc - have been fighting with the U.S. Justice Department for six years about the wording of what are known as "corrective statements."

The statements are part of the penalty the companies must pay after U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler, in a historic 2006 decision, found that the tobacco industry engaged in a multi-decade fraud to deceive the public. Labels with the statements are set to run eventually in newspapers, on cigarette packaging and elsewhere. The labels are separate from those that have run on U.S. cigarette packaging for decades, and from new graphic labels proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Although Kessler's decision concluded that the companies manipulated nicotine and lied about health effects - and an appeals court upheld her decision - the companies maintain they did nothing wrong.

To force the companies to advertise those conclusions would mean spreading a message they do not believe, in violation of their speech rights, Noel Francisco, a lawyer for several companies, said at a hearing on Monday. "Simply because the court found it, doesn't mean it can force us to say it," Francisco told Kessler. The statements need to be purely factual and non-controversial, he said. A Justice Department lawyer said the proposed statements are factual, based on Kessler's 2006 decision, and that the public needs to be aware of the extent of the companies' lying. "The tobacco companies would love these statements to be generic health warnings.

They would love these statements to be about their products and not about them," said the Justice Department's Daniel Crane-Hirsch. Kessler said she would rule on the proposed wording of the "corrective statements" soon. The dispute is the latest round in a legal fight between the government and major cigarette-makers dating to the Clinton administration. In 1999 Justice Department lawyers accused the companies of running a fraud against Americans by denying or downplaying the effects of their products. One 1954 newspaper ad, for example, dismissed experiments suggesting a link between cancer and smoking.

"We accept an interest in people's health as a basic responsibility, paramount to every other consideration in our business," the ad said. Kessler ruled that the companies violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a 1970 law designed for use against organized crime. She rejected a Justice Department proposal that the companies pay billions for anti-smoking campaigns, but she did bar them from using terms such as "low tar" or "light" in their cigarette marketing, and she required them to make corrective statements to the public.

The libertarian/marijuana conspiracy to swing the election

The term “perfect storm” is so overused as to be a pathetic cliche — but alas, in politics, it is about the best phrase to describe Colorado in the upcoming election. The state could decide the outcome. And if it comes down to that, it will likely be messy, for we are watching an epic convergence of factors that seem poised to make the square state 2012′s version of Florida in 2000. Here in the center of the Intermountain West, we have polls showing a nail-bitingly close race between the Democratic and Republican nominees for president.

We have a chief election official, Secretary of State Scott Gessler, who has tried both to engage in mass voter purges and to block the mailing of ballots to eligible voters, all while openly saying a “good election” is one in which “Republicans win.” On the ballot, we also have a headline-grabbing ballot initiative about marijuana legalization and a popular former two-term governor of a neighboring state, Gary Johnson, running a Libertarian Party presidential candidacy. The armchair pundits in Washington and New York typically write off these latter two factors as forces destined to aid the president’s reelection campaign.

The conventional wisdom is rooted in oversimplified cartoons and caricatures of voter preferences. Essentially, the idea is that the marijuana measure will bring out liberal, Obama-loving hippies, yuppies and crunchies from Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins, while the libertarian candidate’s campaign will siphon conservative votes that would otherwise go to Mitt Romney, thus making Johnson the Republican “version of Ralph Nader,” as the New York Times predictably projects. But that kind of hackneyed red-versus-blue story line — so prevalent in the national media echo chamber — ignores how these forces are playing out on the ground.

Price hike for cigarettes

The cost of cigarettes will rise to more than $20 a pack over the next four years after Parliament passed the Government's Budget Day promise to the tax on tobacco. The legislation passed last night will raise tobacco excise by 10 per cent increase a year for the next four years. It is expected to lift the price of a typical pack of cigarettes from about $14.30 today to $20 or more by 2016.

The Government allocated $20 million over the next four years in this year's Budget for a new innovation fund to develop ways to help more ways to help New Zealanders kick the habit. Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia said the tax increase would drive down smoking rates, and save lives and improve health. "Smoking continues to be by far New Zealand's single leading cause of avoidable death and disease, and it is great to have the strong cross-party support for such an important measure." The changes would hit smokers in the pocket, Turia conceded.

"But I am not prepared to sit back while another generation becomes addicted to smoking." Raising the tax on cigarettes was the most powerful tool the Government had to stop children taking up smoking and to encourage smokers to quit, she said. Turia, who is also the Maori Party's co-leader, said she was particularly concerned about higher smoking rates among Maori and Pacific people.

"My hope is that smokers take the opportunity to contact the Quitline, or one of the other options available including Aukati Kaipaipa and specialist Pacific services, before the next wave of price rises hits next year." The Government subsidised cessation support services including Quitline and treatments such as nicotine patches, lozenges, gum and prescription medicines. One of the Government's six priority health targets was for 95 per cent of hospitalised smokers and 90 of all smokers seen by their GPs to be given advice about quitting.

Smoking Clouds the Brain in Stroke Patients

A new study reveals that smokers have more difficulty in problem-solving and decision-making, when compared to non-smokers. The study, conducted on stroke patients from Southern Ontario was presented at the Canadian Stroke Congress. For the study, the researchers tested the mental abilities of 76 patients, including 12 smokers, who were of average age 67.5 years, with the help of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) tool.

The Assessment is designed to test patients' memory and problem-solving skills and give them scores out of 30. The results of the test revealed a median two point lower score for smokers than non-smokers. However, it was also found that smokers who had quit smoking scored the same as life time non-smokers. "This research emphasizes the importance of smoking cessation for people with stroke or TIA," says Gail MacKenzie, a clinical nurse specialist at Hamilton General Hospital. TIA, or transient ischemic attack, is a mini stroke and often serves as a warning sign that a bigger stroke is imminent, Medical Xpress reported.

"Smoking is a risk factor for cognitive impairment for people who continue to smoke and this ability to problem-solve and make decisions has implications for patients' health and self-management of care." Lower scores in the assessment could mean memory problems, and language, attention, visual-spatial or problem-solving skills related problems. The report says that at the rate at which the popularity of Tobacco use is rising, predictions reveal that about 37,000 Canadians will die prematurely each year due to tobacco use, and about one-third of these deaths will be from cardiovascular disease. In just 18 months to two years after quitting smoking, stroke risks come down considerably- almost as low as it is for non-smokers.

"All Canadians should be smoke-free," says Ian Joiner, director of stroke for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. "Not only does it improve the length and quality of your life - but also the lives of those around you." "There needs to be more effort to help people stop smoking to protect their brain both from stroke and from mental decline after stroke," says Dr. Mark Bayley, Congress Co-Chair.

MN Smoking Ban Positives and Negatives

The impact has been huge. Mayo Clinic research shows heart attacks and cardiac deaths have been cut nearly in half over the past five years in Minnesota, thanks to a state wide smoking ban in public facilities. While there are many benefits that come with the ban, there have been a few negatives. Mick's Office Bartender, Michael Montgomery, says, "It was really hard at first." They were kicked to the curb. "Specially in the winter months.

Kind of a hassle to go outside and smoke cigarettes," says Montgomery. Five years ago, Montgomery and other smokers were forced outside after Minnesota put in a state wide smoking ban in bars and restaurants. And at first, many people hated it. Montgomery says, "I thought it was an infringement on rights." "We lost a few people right away," says Mick's Office Owner, Chad Mohagen. He says they lost 30 percent of their business, but when Fargo went smoke free, people came back. And since then, they've seen the benefits.

Mohagen says, "It would be just a complete cloud and it's nice not dealing with that." Besides not being around 2nd hand smoke, getting rid of smoking, has had a big impact on employees. Mohagen says, "A couple people here did stop smoking." "Don't smoke as much, not a chain smoker," says Montgomery. Mayo Clinic research shows major health benefits. Adult smoking has gone down 23% and heart attacks dropped 45%. But there are negatives. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity increased or stayed the same. Even so, many people agree, the ban made things better. Montgomery says, "My clothes smell better after my shift." "It can only help you in the long run," says Mohagen. Twenty-three states, plus Washington D.C. have banned smoking in public businesses. North Dakota does not have a state wide smoking ban.

Illegal tobacco run was paying off undesirables

WHEN Stephen Horton was stopped by customs officials after driving off the ferry from France, he declared he had “just a few packet of cigarettes with him”. However, a search revealed he and passenger Joan Smith were carrying 401.5 kilogrammes of hand-rolling tobacco in the rear of their North-East bound car, Durham Crown Court was told. James Kemp, prosecuting, said it represented a duty liability of £49,966.68 which would have been due to the Inland Revenue if sold legally.

 “Asked why he would have so much, he, effectively, said he was ‘doing the run’ for someone else he owed money to. “He said the car had been loaded up in France,” he added. Smith denied any knowledge of the tobacco. The car had left Dover two days earlier and had returned via the ferry terminal in Plymouth Mr Kemp said the tobacco was found in October 2009, but the delay in the case proceeding was due to the lengthy investigation which followed into the use of “pool cars” crossing the Channel, involving several other people.

 But he added that it resulted in no one else being charged. Horton, 49, of Malcolm Avenue, Quarrington Hill, and 74- year-old Smith, of Church Vale, High Pittington, both near Durham, admitted fraudulent evasion of duty.

With anti-tobacco effort as guide, eating is targeted

WHEN does a movement that once seemed reasonable begin to slip its moorings? When Michelle Obama began her anti-obesity campaign, I thought it seemed like a good idea. Get the kids outside and by all means, limit their intake of sugar water, er, soda. But worrisome signs were there, evident in the campaign against cigarettes. The health reasons are valid, no denying. But the effort was freighted with an extraordinarily high snottiness quotient.

The world is full of people who know how you should live, and they’re always looking for excuses to advise you on your errors. All that self-righteous preaching almost made me want to start smoking again. The anti-tobacco movement largely succeeded and it showed how the same approach can be applied elsewhere. Soon, you had New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ranting about trans fats and sodas. Yeah, the health reasons are there, but, c’mon.

This is the government, telling you how to live right down to ounces of consumption. Anybody see a problem? Slippery slope, anyone? Bloomberg’s latest obsession is sweets in hospitals. He announced a campaign to have sugary and fatty foods eliminated from hospitals, public and private. It’s voluntary, but this bandwagon has momentum and hospitals are signing on. So, if you’re in New York and you’re stuck in the waiting room, sorry, no candy bar. “If there’s any place that should not allow smoking or try to make you eat healthy, you would think it’d be the hospitals,” Bloomberg said.

Tobacco related diseases on the rise

This was disclosed by Health and Family Welfare Minister Phunzathang Tonsing today while speaking at the inaugural function of the two-day long 6th Continued Medical Evaluation (CME) cum Workshop and 2nd Manipur Branch of Association of Otolaryngologists of India Conference at the Auditorium Hall of Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS), Porompat here.

The CME cum workshop and Manipur Branch of AOI conference is being organised by Manipur Branch of Association of Otolaryngologists of India (MBAOI) in collaboration with North- Eastern Branch of Otolaryngologists of India (NEBAOI) . Inaugurating the event as chief guest, Minister Phungzathang Tonsing observed that increase in tobacco consumption rate in Manipur over the past few years has caused different diseases related with ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) among the people.

Diseases related to Sinusitis and other throat related diseases are caused by tobocco products like zarda, gutka, kheini and cigarrete. The Minister hoped that the two-day long 6th CME cum workshop and 2nd conference of Manipur Branch of Association of Otolaryngologists of India would make all the doctors and other staff working in the field of ENT to play a crucial role. Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Francis Ngajokpa, who attended the function as one of the Guests of Honour, noted that the doctors are next to God because when one suffers he or she seeks blessings from the God and goes to a doctor when he/she falls sick.

 The Minister observed that human body parts from the neck to the head are considered the most important parts while other parts as secondary. Therefore, the ENT workshop cum conference will provide vital knowledge to all concerned in coping with various ENT diseases. Medical Superintendent of JNIMS Prof W Gopimohan and Prof M Madhumangol, president, Manipur Branch of Otolaryngologists of India were respectively Guest of Honour and President of the inaugural function. On the occasion, a souvenir of MABAOICON and a newsletter of NEBAOI for 2012 were also released by Minister Phunzathang and Minister Ngajokpa respectively.

After gutkha, tobacco on govt radar

Three weeks after it banned ‘gutkha’ in the Capital, the Delhi government is mulling a ban on chewing tobacco. “The gutkha ban has failed to serve its purpose. Until we also ban chewing tobacco, people will continue to get round the ban. We’re consulting our legal department to find out how can go about it (banning chewing tobacco),” a top government source said on Wednesday. “Gutkha is a combination of paan masala and tobacco. As these two are freely available in the market separately; people mix them as have as gutkha,” he said.

“Even after the ban, there’s no dearth of gutkha at shops. Like, for example, if you buy Dilbaag paan masala at Re 1, the shopkeeper also offers Dilbaag jarda (tobacco) for an additional Rs. 1. The same goes with Shikhar and many more brands. You mix the pouches and have it as gutkha,” said Rajnish Kumar (27), a Delhi University student. Also, the government saying that the gutkha ban has been ineffective is not for nothing. Between September 19 and 27, the prevention of food adulteration department collected 44 samples — 29 of paan masala and 15 of chewing tobacco — from across the city. Officials could not find even a single sample of gutkha. “We have sent the samples for tests. Reports will be available in about 10 days’ time.

If paan masala is found mixed with tobacco or vice versa, we will register cases and take action against those violating the ban,” said a senior official. “Paan masala mixed with tobacco is gutkha. But we’re getting separate samples of paan masala and tobacco. We want to verify if gutkha is being sold in the name of either paan masala or tobacco,” he said. On September 10, the government banned the sale, purchase, manufacture, transportation, storage and display of gutkha. The penalty for violating the order is seven years in jail and R1 lakh fine. It causes oral cancer. The latest Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) report revealed that 10.5% of adults — 16.7% men and 2.8% women — in Delhi chew tobacco products.

Commissioners To Vote On Changes Impacting Smoking Lounges

An ordinance adjusting Bel Air town regulations on smoking lounges is up for a public hearing Monday night. After the town received a request from a business owner hoping to open a hookah lounge in Bel Air, proposed changes to the town's development regulations were brought to the board of commissioners. At the Sept. 17 meeting Town Planner Kevin Small explained hookah lounges are not specifically addressed in town zoning laws.

The proposed zoning changes would allow smoking lounges in the B3 zone only and ensure the are at least 1,000 feet from a school and 100 feet from a residence, Small said. Smoking lounges would be accepted as an exceptional use and be subject to board of appeals approval. See the attached full agenda. In addition to these changes, another proposed change to development regulations includes a change in measuring where a pet can be kept in town.

The change would allow pet penning to be measured by the nearest adjacent building. Small explained this measurement would be more practical. There is also an amendment that would reduce the width of a single family home front yard setback from the 50 to 20 feet. Following the public hearing, a vote is expected, according to the agenda.

Norwood, Payneham and St Peters Council looks at smoking bans for Parade

The council would consider blanket smoking cigarettes bans at all of its events, including the Norwood Christmas Pageant, the Payneham Community Carols, the Adelaide Fashion Festival and the St Peters Fair. The report also suggests introducing a scheme to encourage restaurant and cafe owners to voluntarily declare their outdoor dining areas smoke-free.

Under the plan, the council would slash outdoor dining fees by half for eateries who banned smoking in their outdoor dining areas. NP&SP Mayor Robert Bria told the Eastern Courier Messenger he did not expect any opposition to smoking bans at family-friendly events but predicted intense debate about bans along The Parade and at Norwood Oval. "It'll be contentious," he said. "They (the recommendations) all have merit but equally, people could find arguments against them as well.

"The council promotes The Parade as a family-friendly environment so further restrictions on smoking seems to be compatible with that type of image we're promoting but we have to take into the consideration all the issues." Mr Bria said there would be "lengthy conversations" with the community before any bans were introduced. NP&SP's proposal follows the State Government's new laws which ban smoking within 10m of playgrounds and in public transport shelters. The laws came into effect in May.

Charitable Gaming Still Recovering from 5-Year-Old Smoking Ban

Monday marked the fifth anniversary of Minnesota's smoking ban and health advocates celebrated a drop in heart attacks, second hand smoke and smokers. But some bars are still trying to recover from a drop in business. According to the Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association, about 500 bars closed shortly after the ban went into effect. There are now 250 to 300 fewer licenses for on premise liquor sales than there were before the ban. Some of those licenses were inside service organizations.

"Legions, VFW's, the Elk, the Moose, these are fraternal organizations and I think everyone smoked. And when they shot down smoking it in included them as well and they just folded," said Frank Ball, Executive Director of the Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association. Organizations that rely on charitable gaming at bars to raise money have also felt the decline. According to statistics from Minnesota's Gambling Control Board, gaming receipts dropped nearly 10 percent in 2008, the year after the smoking ban. Over the last ten years charitable gaming has gone from over $1.4 billion to under $990 million.

"Our gambling manager has said things have to pick up because we're just barely making our responsible amount that we have to give to charity each month," said Barb Ranum, who vends pull-tabs at American Legion Post 435 in Richfield. The drop has also been linked to the recession and harsher DWI laws. Some in the industry hope the new electronic pull-tabs will help bring gamblers back. "Many of the bars, I think if they could back to smoking, I think they would probably like not to. They are clean, they smell good. And their cleaning costs are down considerably," Ball said.

Free classes offered to help people stop smoking

Free classes to help people stop smoking through a 13-week program are being offered in October. The next class begins at noon Thursday in the Kyle Pratt room of Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital, 1850 Bluegrass Ave., according to a city news release. The classes will use the Cooper/Clayton method, with includes weekly support group meetings for 13 weeks, combined with the use of nicotine replacement products such as gum and patches.

 The class participants will get free weekly supplies of nicotine replacement products, and also free educational materials, according to the city news release. Two more classes begin Oct. 8 — at 5 p.m. at the Bates Community Development Cooperation, 1228 S. Jackson St., and at 7 p.m. at the Rowan Place Apartments, 2132 Rowan St., the news release said. The classes are sponsored by the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness, the Kentucky Cancer Program and other groups, the news release said.

Smoking in films — especially kids movies — on the rise

The incidence of onscreen smoking in movies increased from 2010 to 2011, ending what had been a five-year decline, according to a new study published Thursday by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco's Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education. Many of the movies with significant amounts of smoking were youth-rated films, such as the animated film “Rango” (PG) and “X-Men: First Class” (PG-13). The study also found that film companies that have publicly declared their intentions to restrict smoking in youth-rated films were among the worst offenders.

According to the U.S. Surgeon General, depictions of smoking in movies increases the likelihood that children watching those movies will take up the addictive habit themselves. “The reversal in the previous multiyear downward trend in onscreen tobacco use that occurred from 2005 to 2010 means that movies in 2011 contributed more to promoting youth smoking than in previous years and that the motion picture industry is no longer progressing toward the goal of reducing onscreen depictions of tobacco use,” conclude the authors of the new study. Study’s details For the study, trained monitors counted all incidents of tobacco use (or implied tobacco use, such as a lit cigarette) in 134 of the top-grossing films of 2011.

To be included, the films had to gross enough at the box office to be ranked as a top-10 film for at least a week. The monitors found that the total number of tobacco incidents in the top-grossing 2011 films totaled 1,881, up 62 from a similar counting done in 2010, despite there being five fewer films in the 2011 sample. Overall, the incidents-per-film increased an average of 7 percent, from 13.1 to 14.0. The incidents rose an average of 7 percent among R-rated films (from 26.0 to 27.8), 9 percent among PG-13-rated films (from 10.7 to 11.6), and a whopping 311 percent among G- and PG-rated films (from 0.8 to 3.2).

 Interestingly, the study found that increases in onscreen smoking were more likely in films made by companies with publicly announced policies aimed at discouraging (but not eliminating) smoking in their movies (Comcast, Disney and Time Warner) than in those without such policies (Viacom, Sony and News Corp). “Companies with policies on average had 7.6 more tobacco incidents per youth-rated movie in 2011 than in 2010, to average 8.5 incidents per movie in 2011, while companies without policies had 1.3 fewer incidents, to average 11.9 incidents per movie in 2011,” the study’s authors report.

 And, yes, some of the movies that showed the most tobacco incidents were set in time periods when smoking was ubiquitous (such as “The Help” and “Midnight in Paris”), but others were not (“Green Hornet” and “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part I”). The study doesn’t make clear, however, how many of the 2011 movies were period films compared to those in the 2010 sample — a factor that could explain the results. Also, I’m wondering how many of the incidents of tobacco use were done by the films’ villains, and, if so, whether that kind of depiction has a different impact on children than smoking done by the films’ protagonists.

Strengthened anti-smoking bylaw passes hurdle

Lighting up near recreation areas and doors to city-owned buildings could soon warrant a fine. The city’s community services committee will recommend Oct. 9 that council pass a bylaw prohibiting smoking within 9 metres (30 feet) of places like playgrounds and building entrances. The recommendation comes after people showed overwhelming support Monday for a much more stringent proposal that would have banned smoking in parks all together.

Five people spoke in favour of the ban and several others submitted letters of support in advance. Some said protecting kids should be one of the main reasons for taking the route. “We’re fortunate as Canadians to be able to choose to do many things, one of those is to smoke or not to smoke,” Kimberly Cairns, a city resident, told the committee.

Children are exposed to smoke in parks “so, in essence, they are being forced to smoke,” she said. Only two people opposed to stricter rules took the floor. Anything that goes further than the Smoke-Free Ontario Act is akin to the “persecution of those addicted to tobacco,” city resident Michael Lewis. City officials have been mulling a new smoking rules since the Middlesex-London Health Unit suggested it in February. Administrators researched the idea and presented councillors with a variety of options in August.

They included posting signs suggesting people refrain from smoking in parks to creating designated smoking areas. An all-out ban was the most stringent suggestion. The option chosen at Monday’s committee meeting strikes the right balance, some councillors said. “We’ll send a message that we want a healthier community, but, again, it won’t push people away from certain activities,” said Coun. Bill Armstrong.

Lawrence follows Indy's lead and goes smoke-free, including bars

Patrons lit up at Lawrence bars last night for the last time. The town's nonsmoking ordinance goes into effect Monday, prohibiting smoking in bars, hotel rooms, family-owned and -operated businesses, rooms in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, company-owned vehicles and bowling alleys. Private clubs are still exempt. Lawrence joins Indianapolis, which passed a similar ordinance in June. But Mayor Dean Jessup said he already has started to see businesses adapt to the ban, with positive results.

"In every instance so far, everyone I've talked to, their business has increased," Jessup said. "So I'm very happy with that. I believe it's going to make us a healthier city." The Lawrence Council approved the ban in July in a 5-3 vote, after it had been tabled a month earlier. Smoke Free Indy, an organization that supports the ban, is holding a Happy Hour event from 6-8 p.m. today at Lord Ashley's Pub in Lawrence to mark the ordinance.

"This is an important step in protecting the health of workers and consumers," Lindsay Grace, chairwoman of Smoke Free Indy, said in a news release. "Eliminating secondhand smoke is one of the most important things we can do to reduce risk factors for countless health threats. More than 70 percent of voters in Marion County, including Lawrence, recognize that fact and favor smoke-free laws that include bars and restaurants." Earlier this year, Lawrence City Councilman David Parnell said he would introduce the smoking ordinance, as soon as he found out that Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard had signed the bill in Indianapolis.

The City-County Council voted 20-9 in April in favor of a ban, which went into effect June 1. Last month, Beech Grove's City Council rejected an ordinance that would have banned smoking at bars,after four bar owners in the Southside community told the council that the ban would hurt their business. A statewide law already bans smoking in most other types of businesses.

Commission OKs proposal limiting smoking in Kingman parks

A proposal aimed at discouraging smoking in parks in Kingman has cleared a key hurdle. The Kingman Daily Miner reported that the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission voted 6-1 to send the proposal to the City Council. The proposal would designate certain areas of parks as non-smoking and provide containers for smokers to get rid of their butts.

 The commission narrowly defeated a proposal that would have recommended a complete ban on smoking in parks. Members of youth anti-smoking group asked the City Council to ban smoking completely in all city parks. The city council considered it but decided against a ban, then instead asked the city’s Parks and Recreation Department to look into a pilot program that encouraged smoke-free areas and allowed places for smokers to dispose of their butts.

Proposed smoking ban for bars delayed in Mobile

The best and cheap cigarettes here, online and tax free.

Bar patrons can still light up when they order a drink at local watering holes -- at least for now. A proposed amendment to the city's new smoking ordinance that would abolish smoking in bars won't be discussed by the City Council for another week.

Council President Reggie Copeland put the proposed amendment on the budget today but taking up the matter would have required unanimous consent by the council. At least one member wouldn't agree so the item will be moved to next week. He said he wants to level the playing field and make it fair for all business owners.

If smoking is allowed in bars and not restaurants, as it stands now, restaurant owners fear they will lose customers to the bars, where people can buy a drink and still have a meal. The new proposal would ban lighting up in all bars and the outdoor seating sections of restaurants but allow smoking on most downtown sidewalks. Here’s what else the proposal would change, if passed:

1. Ban smoking in outdoor areas of restaurants after 8 p.m.
2. Change how far smokers must be from a non-smoking establishment from14 to 20 feet. A new non-smoking ordinance that allows smoking in bars and on outdoor restaurant patios after 8 p.m. is set to take effect in Mobile on Oct. 1. Copeland's proposed amendment would allow smoking in private clubs.

Orange County could expand smoking ban

Orange County wants to stop smokers from lighting up in public. Thursday night, the Orange County Board of Health will discuss a new rule that could expand on the ban that now covers restaurants and bars. Orange County's ban is similar to the one that took effect in Durham in August. "This will be a way to protect people from second-hand smoke," said Pamela Diggs, health promotion coordinator with Orange County Department of Health.

"We know second-hand smoke and tobacco use are the leading preventable cause of death." The ban would cover places like bus stops, sidewalks, parks and recreational facilities. Diggs is also hoping it will get smokers to quit. We got mixed reaction to the ban from people along Chapel Hill's Franklin Street. "It'd support it," said Matt Hayes.

"I think it's an unhealthy habit and I don't understand why people smoke." "When you're walking down the street I think you should be able to smoke a cigarette," said Dan Eubanks. Mike Donovin is a smoker, but would still support the ban. "It's not a good habit to begin with and you've got to respect the people around you," said Donovin.