Big Tobacco targets minority youth

According to a recent Stanford University Medical School study, described in Science Daily, the big tobacco companies are trying to lure minority youth into smoking menthol cigarettes. Even thought these companies know many of the these young people will eventually die from smoking their product, and they claim not to be targeting young people, the evidence uncovered by the Stanford report makes it clear these companies are out to make a profit by selling as much death and disease as they can to minority youth.

The Food and Drug Administration is on the verge of banning menthol in cigarettes. The report's lead researcher, Lisa Henriksen, PhD, says, "The tobacco companies went out of their way to argue to the Food and Drug Administration that they don't use racial targeting. This evidence is not consistent with those claims."

Menthol is used to makes cigarettes less harsh and is said in company ads to bring about a feeling of "freshness." The major users of these kinds of cigarettes are teenagers, minorities and the poor ("low-income populations"). The FDA tasked the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee to study the health hazards of menthol cigarettes, and the committee concluded, "Removal of menthol cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit public health in the United States."

This is not very startling, since removing all cigarettes would benefit public health. Naturally, we didn't need a special committee to know that banning menthol cigarettes would be beneficial. The recommendation is non-binding anyway. The committee is going to meet again in the middle of July to write up a final report. Let's hope it is more specific than the quote in Science Daily.

The FDA should ban menthol cigarettes just to stop the industry's predation against middle and high school students. The committee, which has the Stanford report, should really come down hard on the industry. It was charged. Dr, Henriksen said, "with considering a broad definition of harm to smokers and other populations, particularly youth. We think our study, which shows the predatory marketing in school neighborhoods with higher concentrations of youth and African-American students, fits a broad definition of harm."

The report reveals an increase in cigarette use by youth between 2004 and 2008, and that of people ages 12-17, 71.9 percent of African American youth prefer menthol brands (the figures for whites was 41 percent and Hispanics 47 percent). Comparing the actions of Newport (menthols made by Lorillard) with Marlboro Reds, the report shows that Newport offers special price reductions around schools that have a large African-American enrollment. Other brands were also studied.

The study found that ads for menthol cigarettes increased by almost 6 percent near schools for every increase in the proportion of African-American students of 10 percent, and Newport cut the price of a pack by 12 cents for each of those 10 percent increases.

In the surrounding neighborhoods, Newport seemingly checked out the proportion of youth ages 10-17 (!). For each 10 percent increase in their proportion, they increased ads by 11.6 percent, and the odds were 5.3 percent higher that Newports would sell at discounted prices. Marlboro Reds had no ads or price changes related to the presence of youth or African-American students.

We now know that despite the industry claims African-American teens are being especially targeted. Stephen Fortmann, MD, who also participated the study, said, "When kids are exposed to more cigarette advertising, they are more likely to start smoking, which will undoubtedly lead to dire health consequences. Our study finds that tobacco companies are trying to make smoking more attractive to teens, when we as a society should be doing just the opposite. Adding menthol to cigarettes makes it easier to smoke and harder to quit, so the public health community strongly supports an FDA ban on menthol flavoring."

My prediction: The FDA will vote for the ban, and the Supreme Court will overturn it as a violation of free speech. Libertarians and tea party folks will be against the ban as an infringement of personal liberty.

What 10 year old doesn't want a Newport to suck on while playing a slice 'em and dice 'em video game?

Smoking is smoking

In an era of increasing awareness about the negative health effects of tobacco, it seems to me that we may be missing the boat on tobacco prevention in ways other than cigarette smoking and chew tobacco. With the help of Amendment 35 funding, Colorado has achieved tremendous success in the prevention of tobacco in our state in regard to cigarette smoking and tobacco use. From 2001 to 2008, Coloradans consumed 66.3 million fewer packs of cigarettes, Colorado’s high school smoking rate has dropped to 11.9 percent — well below the US Dept. of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2010 goal of 16 percent — 85 percent of Colorado’s homes have smoke-free home rules and the Colorado Quitline has enrolled 100,000 tobacco users in the past seven years.

Locally, we are seeing achievements being made that will help our community be healthier in regard to tobacco use. However, tobacco in any form is not a healthy product and much of the marketing from tobacco companies and retailers is targeted toward youth ensuring an ongoing consumer base. Once addicted, they may continue to purchase and use tobacco for a lifetime. Smokeless tobacco may not impose secondhand smoke on others, but it carries many of the same risks to the user as cigarettes.

As a community, our best defense and method of prevention is awareness and education for ourselves and especially our youth. Did you know that there are many additional tobacco products available in our local marketplace? These products are “sold cold,” “spitless,” flavored in “yummy” flavors and the packages are very appealing to males and females alike. The common component to all of these products is that they contain nicotine, are highly addictive, and can kill you if used as directed.

As for smoking, whether it be cigarettes, cigars, natural cigarettes or hookah, there is no safe form of smoking. Even all natural, herbal cigarettes produce harmful toxins when they burn and emit smoke. According to the CDC, during a one-hour hookah session, a hookah smoker may inhale 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette. The American Lung Association has released a statement that “smoking hookah is not a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes.” Think of smoking as smoking, no matter what the form. And secondhand or even third-hand smoke exposures are proven environmental health hazards.

As a community health educator and registered nurse, I work with individuals who struggle to end their addiction to nicotine and see the damage that has been caused. Our youth have the opportunity to never start. If they never start, they never will have to quit. What an awesome gift we will be giving our children, our future generations. Tobacco is not a benign product in any form. As a community, we can help undo the damage that can be caused by tobacco. Early education to our youth and awareness for us all can change and improve all of our lives.

No Booze, Cigarettes, or Fancy Cars for Welfare Recipients -- if State Representative Frank Antenori Has Anything to Say About it

Welfare recipients may want to hurry up and buy that Bentley they've been saving up for because -- if state Representative Frank Antenori has his way -- there soon will be restrictions on how much money people receiving government assistance can spend on cars and other items.
Antenori introduced HB 2770, which would prohibit welfare recipients from not only using their money to purchase expensive cars but from "consuming or purchasing alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, or illegal drugs."
Awesome. Now we can expect 40-year-old welfare recipients to be hanging out outside of gas stations playing "hey mister" to get a pack of Newports.
The bill would limit the amount of money a welfare recipient could spend on a car to $5,000, as well as limit him or her to only subscribing to basic cable and cell phone services (but only if the cell phone is the recipient's only phone).
Welfare getters may want to hurry up and buy that 72-inch plasma TV, too. If the bill becomes law, folks on government assistance would only be allowed to spend $300 on a boob tube.
If someone needs the government's help to provide the basics like food and clothing, do we really have to worry about them spending gobs of government loot (they are only doled out pittances in this state, for Christ's sake) on fancy cars and TVs. Cigarettes and booze maybe (we would sure want to stay as drunk as possible if we were on welfare). And, Representative Antenori, meth's already illegal to purchase.
We called Antenori to see how the hell the government is supposed to enforce this proposed law, but he hasn't gotten back to us.
Oh, we forgot to say what political party Antenori's in. Nevermind, it's obvious.

Cigarette Tax Increase?

Next year smokers might be paying even more for cigarettes.
Governor Mark Parkinson is considering a tax increase for a pack of cigarettes. The increase might help healthcare or plug holes in the state budget.
Currently, the state's cigarette tax is 79 cents a pack. The tax was last raised in 2002, when lawmakers used the new revenues to plug budget holes. Since then, they've resisted further increases to raise money for health programs.

Good Samaritans prevent cigarette robbery

A few Good Samaritans stopped an armed perpetrator from stealing a carton of cigarettes from the Shell gas station on Broadway in Eureka late Wednesday morning, detaining the suspect for about five minutes until police officer arrived to take him into custody.
After using the bathroom at the gas station, the suspect allegedly grabbed a carton of Camel cigarettes -- worth around $45 -- from behind the cashier's counter and tried to flee on foot.
Eureka resident Sean Grimes said he was purchasing a Rockstar energy drink at the counter, when he saw the suspect run by.
”I saw him running next to me with the carton of cigarettes and I just kind of slammed into him,” Grimes said, adding that other customers then quickly came to his aid, and helped detain the suspect.
Sitting in handcuffs in the back of a Eureka Police Department cruiser, the suspect identified himself to the Times-Standard as Jacob Brauning, and claimed the good Samaritans hit him and threatened him while holding him until police arrived on scene.
When officers searched Brauning, they found what officer Ed Wilson described as a kind of home-made “Black Jack,” which appeared to be a wood handle secured to a metal spring with a lead ball attached at the end. Witnesses said Brauning did not brandish the weapon during the robbery attempt.

There’s no such thing as a good cigarette!

Forget the idea that smoking a cigarette from time to time is ok. Even occasional smokers are putting themselves at risk, particularly of cardiovascular problems.

Smoking can in fact very rapidly affect the physiology of the artery walls and contribute to the early onset of atherosclerosis, leading to the formation of atheromatous plaques and the risk of myocardial infarction.

An American study published in the French journal Tabac Actualités has recently shown this. Two groups were formed and studied, each consisting of 6 men and 3 women, aged between 20 and 26, and all in good health. The first comprised nine members who had never smoked and acted as a control group. The second group of 9 were all occasional smokers, ie they had been smoking less than one packet of cigarettes per week for at least a year.

The researchers found that the arteries of those who smoked showed signs of obstruction, and this was after smoking only two cigarettes per day. These results suggest that the atherosclerotic process is encouraged by even episodic intoxication, explains Dr Claire Vesin of the AHT cardiovascular prevention and therapy unit of the l’Hôtel Dieu de Paris hospital. Even one or two cigarettes consumed in particular circumstances, at a party for example, can have a real impact on health. And we need to get this new message out there!