President Obama scolds tobacco firms for fighting new labels

President Barack Obama, recently pronouncedtobacco-free, has tough words for cigarette makers.In a White House web video, the president says some tobaccocompanies are fighting new cigarette warning labels because theydon't want to be honest about the consequences. Several tobaccofirms have sued to block graphic new Food and Drug Administrationlabels for cigarette packs.
The Obama video observes Thursday's 36th "Great AmericanSmokeout" by the American Cancer Society.Obama says the country has made progress in reducing the numberof Americans who smoke but notes that 46 million are stilladdicted.Obama has fought his own smoking habit by chewing nicotine gum.His last medical report, issued Oct. 31, declared him tobacco-free.He concedes quitting smoking is hard and adds, "Believe me, Iknow."

SPA reaches out to parents to tackle teen tobacco use

With new types of smokeless tobacco being test marketed in Summit County stores and more students than ever admitting to using tobacco, local advocates are reaching out to parents to educate them about the dangers of the substance.

Parent and community outreach and education on the issues surrounding kids' tobacco use in Summit County began at a public forum Thursday night at Summit Middle School, which was part of the Summit Prevention Alliance's We Count program.

“It really is the community's responsibility to learn about these products, these issues and talk to the kids about them,” said Carli Seeba of the Summit Prevention Alliance. “The community and parents are the filter through which the youth get their information, and it's up to us to make sure the kids are getting the right message and can say no.”

In the last two years tobacco use among underage consumers has gone down statewide, but has risen in Summit County, according to data provided by students in a recent survey.

“We have a problem here,” Seeba said. “It's something that needs to be addressed.”

Summit County currently has no registration or licensure policies for the sale of tobacco, seldom runs compliance checks on retailers and imposes what Seeba called a lenient punishment structure, that includes two affirmative defenses and a written warning, on businesses that do sell to kids under the age of 18.

“I don't like the fact that there's no licensing and no monitoring of cigarette use and sales or that there are no restrictions on how close cigarette sales can be held to a school or a day care,” middle school parent Ellen Temby said following Thursday's meeting. “Then all the new products that make it easy for a kid to hide it, and you can't smell it.”

While the Summit Prevention Alliance works with Summit's Rep. Millie Hamner to develop legislation that might propose tobacco-sale licensure requirements, Seeba urged parents to take the first steps toward preventing their kids from using tobacco.

The 20 or more parents who attended the meeting Thursday were asked to talk to kids about tobacco and to focus on social impacts of smoking that will resonate with kids, such as bad breath and effects on athletic performance. Adults at the meeting were also encouraged to teach kids to say no to tobacco, to be good role models, to trust youth to make good decisions and not to blame kids who do use tobacco.

Monroe Schools Expel Tobacco

The Monroe School Board voted unanimously Nov. 8 to institute a 24/7 tobacco-free policy on the school campus, Monroe Superintendent Karen LaRosa said Thursday.
The school district joins other LeFlore County school districts that have opted for the round-the-clock policy, said Tobacco-free LeFlore County Coordinator Benjamin “B.J.” Barnes. Current Oklahoma state law only mandates that schools be tobacco-free from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, Barnes said.
“It’s about the importance of role models. We have extracurricular activities, and we would like it off-campus,” LaRosa said.
Monroe’s new policy, like those at Spiro, Howe, Poteau, Shady Point and Talihina public schools, prohibits the use of all tobacco products on district-owned property 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, Barnes said.
“A goal of our coalition is to see all 17 LeFlore County school districts adopt a 24/7 Tobacco-free School Policy in an effort to give students the clear message that tobacco use is hazardous to their health,” Barnes has said.
LaRosa said tobacco is a gateway drug.
Barnes said National Institute on Drug Abuse statistics say that 22.3 percent of eighth-graders had already tried smoking.
“Mainly it is important for the kids to see the banners daily, and to see we’re promoting that (tobacco-free),” LaRosa said.
Getting parents to comply has not been an issue, she said. The school has had about three home games since the policy went into effect, and the parents who previously would step outside the gym to smoke now voluntarily move off campus. LaRosa said she’s considering creating a small smoking area with benches off campus for those adults.
The more schools in LeFlore County that join the effort, the better it will be, LaRosa said. The message will be reinforced as students, staff and parents visit other campuses for school-related activities, she said.
Tobacco-free LeFlore County is a grantee of the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, and is a program of the LeFlore County Coalition for Healthy Living and LeFlore County Youth Services. According to the announcement, the organization works with schools, municipalities and businesses to decrease tobacco use in LeFlore County. Now in its second year, it is funded by a $125,000 grant from the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust.
According to information posted on the coalition’s Facebook page, each year an estimated 5,400 Oklahoma children become new daily smokers.
The coalition states that tobacco kills more Oklahomans than does alcohol, auto accidents, AIDS, murders and illegal drugs combined.
The kindergarten through 12th grade public schools aren’t the only educational institutions eyeing smoke-free campuses in LeFlore County. Businesses such as LeFlore County Youth Services have also adopted tobacco-free policies, Barnes said.
And in January, citing health reasons, Carl Albert State College Student Government Association officers approached CASC regents with their desire to take the campus smoke-free as of January 2012. The students said smoking is Oklahoma’s leading cause of preventable death, costing more than 6,000 lives and almost $2.9 billion each year.
In March, the regents asked CASC’s student association to poll faculty and staff on the issue.
Barnes said Tobacco-free LeFlore County plans to work, too, with municipalities to pass ordinances mirroring the Oklahoma Clean Indoor Air Act and Youth Access to Tobacco Act. It would also like to see tobacco-free parks, he said.

Stiffer penalties for cig and tobacco smugglers

Tobacco and cigarette smugglers now face stiffer penalties, including mandatory jail time and higher fines, after the number of such Customs offences rose by 24 per cent from 2005 to last year.

Repeat offenders - their numbers increased by more than six times during the same period - now face an increased minimum court fine of $4,000. Those caught with more than 2kg of tobacco products will also face imprisonment.

First-time offenders caught with duty-unpaid cigarettes now face a minimum court fine of $2,000. They were previously fined 30 times the unpaid duty and goods and services tax.

In addition to the stiffer penalties, anyone who gives another person incorrect information for making declarations is now liable for prosecution. This means that traders who use third-party agents to declare their consign- ments can be held liable.

Prevention goal of tobacco efforts

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and this is a great time to remind people about the dangerous cancer risks caused by tobacco use.

Lung cancer is the most preventable type of cancer, but also one of the most deadly.

The American Cancer Society estimates there will be more than 220,000 new cases of lung cancer by the end of 2011, and nearly 90 percent of those will be smokers. Once diagnosed, only 15 percent of lung cancer patients will live five years or more. But smokers aren’t the only ones at risk. Exposure to secondhand smoke can increase lung cancer risk by between 20 and 30 percent. Locally, 890 North Dakotans lose their lives to tobacco-related diseases each year.

As if lung cancer isn’t bad enough, smoking also increases the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema, as well as pneumonia and esophageal, laryngeal, oral and throat cancers.

While quitting will eventually reduce the risk for smokers, the best way to minimize the risk of lung cancer and other pulmonary diseases is to never start smoking. People who have never smoked have a much lower risk of cancer than even former smokers.

North Dakota is fortunate to have a comprehensive tobacco prevention program that educates people about the harms of tobacco use. Hopefully, with in­creased tobacco awareness, lung cancer will become a rare disease in North Dakota.

2 Franks disagree on tobacco news

Under the agreement, players will not carry tobacco packages and tins when fans are in the ballpark, or use tobacco during pregame or postgame interviews. But use of chewing tobacco or dip will not be banned.

That’s “welcome news,” according to a statement issued by four Democratic senators, including New Jersey’s Frank Lautenberg. Or it’s a disappointment, according to Rep. Frank Pallone, D-Long Branch.

“It doesn’t go far enough to ban smokeless tobacco entirely from baseball. The fact is that smokeless tobacco use by baseball players will still appear on television screens across the United States,” Pallone, the top-ranking Democrat on the House health subcommittee, said in a statement.

Lautenberg, a longtime advocate for controls on tobacco who is credited with the law that banned smoking on airplanes, “commended” MLB in a statement issued with Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Tom Harkin, D-Iowa; and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

“This is a welcome acknowledgement by players and owners that tobacco use of any kind is no longer a tradition that should be upheld,” the statement said.

Imperial Tobacco Buys 450,000 Own Shares To Hold

Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (IMT.LN), said Monday it purchased 450,000 ordinary shares at an average price of 2245.20 pence per ordinary share, adding that the purchased shares will all be held as treasury shares.

MAIN FACTS:

-Following the above purchase, Imperial Tobacco holds 59,177,000 ordinary shares as treasury shares. The total number of ordinary shares in issue (excluding shares held as treasury shares) is 1,008,765,881.

-Shares closed Monday at 225 pence, valuing the company at GBP22.67 billion.

Poland to hike fuel, tobacco tax to boost 2012 budget

Poland plans to raise an additional 2.45 billion zlotys ($741 million) next year from higher excise tax on fuels and tobacco, according to a bill submitted by the government on Tuesday.

Last week, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced reforms to cut spending and said he would lower the budget deficit to 3 percent of gross domestic product next year.

As most of the reforms will be implemented over coming years, the government still needs short-term measures to limit its budget shortfall in 2012.

At its first sitting since being sworn in last week, Tusk's cabinet also submitted proposals to freeze salaries of judges and scale down budget contributions for hiring disabled workers.

The three measures are part of a supplement to the budget bill and have yet to be approved by parliament, in which Tusk's coalition holds a slim majority.

"The government-proposed solutions supplement the country's 2012 financial plan, which holds curbing the speedy growth of public debt as one of its main goals, to avoid breaching 55 percent of GDP in 2012," the government said in a statement.

The Polish constitution mandates painful spending cuts if public debt tops 55 percent of GDP.

The cabinet did not estimate the overall effect of the supplementary measures on next year's budget.

Tusk, whose Civic Platform (PO) party won a parliamentary election last month, has said he will raise the retirement age and slash tax and pension privileges to try to ring-fence the European Union's largest eastern state from the debt crisis.

Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski has prepared three economic scenarios for next year's budget ranging from a 1 percent contraction to 3.2 percent growth.

Man arrested after allegedly smoking marijuana on way to work

Massachusetts State Police yesterday morning arrested a Hyannis man, who nearly caused a crash at a construction site, after a traffic stop revealed that he was smoking marijuana while driving to work.
Trooper R.J. Torres was working a paid detail when he observed a white van speed through a stop sign and nearly crash into another vehicle. Torres stopped the van. As he spoke with the driver, Elton Miranda, 25, the trooper saw a plume of smoke inside the van and observed him stomping out a lit object on the floorboard. The smoke had an odor consistent with that of marijuana. At this time Sgt. Timothy Whelan arrived on-scene during a routine detail inspection and assisted Torres with the stop.
The troopers spoke for several minutes with Miranda, who made statements relative to his use of marijuana. Miranda’s speech pattern was described as confused and he drifted from subject to subject.
Whelan placed Miranda into custody for the following crimes: operating under the influence of drugs; negligent operation of a motor vehicle; and failure to stop for a stop sign. Miranda was transported to the Yarmouth State Police Barracks, where he was evaluated by a drug recognition expert, Officer Fitcher of the Yarmouth police Dept. During the booking process Miranda was found to not have a valid driver’s license and has two prior incidents for the same offense. Miranda will be arraigned in Barnstable District Court.

Resolution calls for limits on smoking

Undergraduate Student Government weighed in on the debate over creating a smoke-free campus Tuesday night by passing a senate resolution calling for the enforcement of designated smoking areas and a clarification of current smoking policy.

The administration will take an official position on changing smoking policy on the University Park Campus once it has heard from the different constituencies for faculty, staff, undergraduate students and graduate students, according to USG Director of Campus Affairs Jared Ginsburg. The other three constituencies’ representatives have passed resolutions, which are used to formally communicate interests to administration.

Residential Senator Marissa Roy, a co-author of the resolution, sees the legislation as an intermediate step toward possibly establishing a smoke-free campus in the future.

“We may be in the direction of becoming a smoke-free campus one day,” Roy said. “[Clarifying designated] smoking areas will be a first step to gauge reaction and get students used to the idea of seeing smoking limited on campus.”

Nearly 65 percent of 1,485 respondents to a USG online poll supported limiting smoking on campus, according to the resolution. A plurality of about 46 percent of the respondents favored a smoking ban and 40 percent favored a change in the university’s smoking policy that includes clarifying the location of designated smoking areas.

“I support a campus-wide ban on smoking contingent upon USC actually enforcing it,” Matthew Prusak, a freshman majoring in international relations (global business) said. “Smoking poses a health risk and it seems like the right thing to do from a health standpoint.”

USG Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Vinnie Prasad, who cast the only dissenting vote, said the resolution does not address the plurality’s views.

“While I agree with the spirit that we need to clarify all rules, I think we should have considered the 46 percent,” Prasad said.

USG had initially planned to vote on the resolution last week but tabled the legislation to settle confusion between two groups of senators — those who wanted administration to take action and those who wanted to clarify the current policy, Roy said.

The new draft added clauses aimed at clarifying and publicizing current USC smoking policy along with asking the administration to take action.

“Students don’t know what the policy is,” Ginsburg said. “They just don’t understand it. We are calling for a very clear announcement by the administration as to what the policy is and where the university falls on the issue.”

The USC Academic Senate and the USC Staff Assembly, the representative bodies of faculty and staff respectively, passed resolutions in 2010 advocating for a smoke-free campus. The academic senate’s resolution cited research findings and recommendations from the Provost’s Work and Family Life Committee, which conducted focus groups on both campuses.

“It’s not out of the realm of the really possible,” said Christopher Chomyn, a senior lecturer in the School of Cinematic Arts and the committee’s chair. “We are not leading this trend. We are way behind the curve for universities adopting smoke-free policies.”

At least 586 colleges have adopted smoke-free campus policies as of Oct. 7, including schools with large campuses such as the University of Michigan and Oregon State University, according to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation.

In September, the Graduate and Professional School Senate expressed its opposition to a smoking ban with a strongly worded resolution that called smoking bans “an encroachment of personal rights.”

“The lack of enforceability was a big problem we talked about,” GPSS President Ryan Estes said. “We thought there could be a lot of alternatives to create a healthier campus than a flat-out smoking ban.”

Chomyn, however, said a ban probably wouldn’t be heavily enforced.

“It’s not meant to be punitive,” he said. “It’s meant to improve the general welfare of our community.”

Because of the negative health effects associated with secondhand smoking, some smokers support the enforcement of designated smoking areas despite the inconvenience they cause.

“I’m a smoker, but I agree with the designated smoking areas,” said Jin Yong-Moon, a junior majoring in music industry. “I may harm other people if I smoke in open areas.”

Chomyn said his committee’s research showed opposition to a ban mostly comes from non-smokers, rather than smokers.

“Most of the people who are smokers seem to be in the favor of it, or at least open to it,” he said. “The push back has been from non-smokers.”

Roy also said she hopes the resolution’s urge to clarify policy will mean students learn there are already designated smoking areas on campus.

“Students in the survey were asking for something that already exists, but they didn’t know were already there,” Roy said.

In the coming months, USG will continue to work on expressing the student body’s opinion regarding USC’s smoking policy.

“USG is going to be the stalwart voice of students,” Roy said. “We want to keep our personal views out of it.”

The resolution will remain effective for two senate terms, taking advantage of a new bylaw amendment that allows each senator to submit one strongly supported resolution to the subsequent senate.