Smokers who know they should quit for their health often balk because they don’t want to gain weight - and a new health problem - once cigarettes’ appetite-suppressing nicotine leaves their bodies. Quitting smoking while starting a weight-control program may seem like a recipe for failure, and guidelines for doctors discourage embarking on both simultaneously. But a new analysis suggests that not only do combined programs work, in the short term they work better than smoking-cessation programs alone.Bonnie Spring and her colleagues at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine pooled the results of 10 randomized clinical trials in which some 2,233 smokers - all but 154 of them women - were divided into two groups. Some were assigned to programs that combined smoking cessation with weight control and others were enrolled in smoking cessation programs alone. After three months, people in the combined programs were 29 percent more likely to have stopped smoking than people in the smoking-cessation alone group. But after six to 14 months, when the programs had ended, the difference between the groups was no longer statistically significant.
People in the combined program, which emphasized more exercise and eating fewer calories, also gained less weight in the short term. After three months, they gained 2.1 pounds less than people in the smoking-only treatment group. After six months, however, the difference was not statistically significant.
BOTTOM LINE: People who quit smoking while enrolled in a weight control program put on fewer pounds and had more success staying off cigarettes after three months.
CAUTIONS: Because so few men participated in the trials, the results may not apply to them.
WHAT’S NEXT: The researchers want to see if they can replicate the success of the combined programs, which varied from study to study.
WHERE TO FIND IT: Addiction, September
Surgery in older people not linked to cognitive decline
There have long been worries about the effects of anesthesia on older surgery patients’ memory and cognitive abilities. Research dating to the 1950s in patients recovering from heart surgery has pointed to postoperative deterioration in mental skills. A new study calls into question the role of surgery in cognitive decline.
Dr. Michael Avidan of Washington University in St. Louis led a team that looked retrospectively at 575 people who volunteered for studies at the university’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, which meant that after age 50 their cognitive function was tested annually. When Avidan’s study began, 361 people had mild to moderate dementia, and 214 were dementia-free. They were divided into three groups: people who had non-cardiac surgery, major illness, or neither. Heart surgery was excluded because it carries a heightened risk of stroke.
About one-quarter of the participants who did not have dementia at the outset eventually developed symptoms, but this was no more common in people who had had surgery than in the other two groups.
BOTTOM LINE: Surgery in older people was not linked to cognitive decline.
CAUTIONS: People who volunteered to participate in Alzheimer’s research may not reflect the general population.
WHAT’S NEXT: The authors plan a larger study to look at whether specific anesthetics and procedures pose a higher risk of cognitive problems in older people.
понедельник, 30 ноября 2009 г.
четверг, 26 ноября 2009 г.
Tracking device leads to stolen cigarettes
A Lebanon man has been charged in federal court with stealing $15,300 worth of cigarettes from a tractor-trailer.
Jack Roberts, 44, is accused of taking 17 cases of cigarettes out of a truck early on the morning of Sept. 16.
The truck, which was shipping cigarettes from Winston Salem, N.C., to Nashville, had stopped in Lebanon for the night when the theft occurred.
According to court documents, authorities used a tracking device mixed in with the cigarettes to find them in a storage unit Roberts had rented in Wilson County.
Roberts was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday. He has been in police custody since his Nov. 3 arrest in eastern Kentucky.
Jack Roberts, 44, is accused of taking 17 cases of cigarettes out of a truck early on the morning of Sept. 16.
The truck, which was shipping cigarettes from Winston Salem, N.C., to Nashville, had stopped in Lebanon for the night when the theft occurred.
According to court documents, authorities used a tracking device mixed in with the cigarettes to find them in a storage unit Roberts had rented in Wilson County.
Roberts was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday. He has been in police custody since his Nov. 3 arrest in eastern Kentucky.
понедельник, 23 ноября 2009 г.
Going up without the smoke
Need a nicotine hit? Want to beat the smoking ban? A smokeless cigarette could be the answer, for the long – or short – haul. Just be prepared for some funny looks, writes ROSEMARY Mac CABE SMOKELESS CIGARETTES are (allegedly) the solution for the smoker who hates the rain, can’t make it through a two-hour movie, can’t make the trek outdoors during the workday or finds the idea of a four-hour flight unbearable.
There are various types, the most widely available being the electronic cigarette, which contains a liquid containing nicotine that is vaporised and inhaled. Ryanair now sells the other most popular type, in the form of Similar smokeless cigarettes.
Ryanair’s head of communications, Stephen McNamara, says the product was introduced due to customer demand. “Some passengers can find it stressful to spend long journeys without a cigarette so we introduced the product based on customer feedback and to cater to passenger demand. It seemed a logical step to introduce a product that could provide smokers with relief from nicotine withdrawal.
“Smokers enjoy the ‘taste’ of the product while many have reported that is has helped them take the stress out of flying as they no longer worry or feel anxious about missing when they can get their next nicotine hit during a flight.” But how similar are Similar cigarettes? While it seems feasible that these cigarette-alikes will substitute for the real thing on a short-haul flight, how do faux fags fare in the real world? Dan Kinsella is an IT consultant who tried electronic cigarettes as a somewhat healthier alternative to smoking. “They only provide nicotine, as opposed to all the chemicals in a normal cigarette.” Was he satisfied? “You don’t get quite the same feeling,” he says. “After a while I went back on normal cigarettes.” He did, however, find them useful for avoiding the smoking ban. “I used to smoke at my desk, when I didn’t have time to go out for an ordinary cigarette.” Richard and Celine O’Connor both use electronic smoking devices – he a pipe, she cigarettes. Richard says that, aside from a minor issue – “they come in many flavours (anything from vanilla to Red Bull) but I’m finding it difficult to find a flavour I like” – they are very convenient for the couple. “My wife had to spend a night in hospital recently, and we both brought our electronics in. We were happily puffing away when we were caught by a nurse.” A quick demonstration allayed her fears.
I spent a day with Ryanair’s Similar branded smokeless cigarettes: a packet of 10, purchased for €6 on board a Ryanair flight, to see how it feels to smoke on the right side of the law.
The first thing I notice is that they smell, to all intents and purposes, like what one’s mother might call “sucky sweets” – irrefutably better than mainstream cigarettes, albeit slightly strange. They feel like real cigarettes and, crucially, they look like them.
I initially thought my Luas journey might cause difficulty. People, in my experience, are usually – and rightly – quick to complain when they see someone lighting up and, unlike clubs or pubs, bright lights mean I’m in plain sight. No waiting for plumes of smoke or that tell-tale smell.
People look – probably wondering whether I’m insane, given that I am sucking on what looks like an unlit cigarette – but complaints are few. The embarrassment, for the self-onscious, is one big drawback of the smokeless cigarette. Whether they’re saying it or not, people are wondering what in the world you’re doing.
I see a flicker of interest from the woman across from me. “You’re not going to light that, are you?” No, you don’t light smokeless cigarettes. You suck on them as you would an ordinary cigarette, without the irritating lighter fumblings. I take a drag.
“They’re smokeless cigarettes,” I say, and exhale. No smoke; any idea I might have had about smoking being “cool” – has gone out the window. I am slightly embarrassed. I take another pull and glance at my interrogator.
“I’m spending a day with smokeless cigarettes.” She looks sceptical.
“But when do you know when it’s finished?” A-ha. The problem with not lighting a cigarette is immediately apparent; for as long as you suck on it, it emits that slightly sweet, fabricated taste. You will never get to the end of your smokeless cigarette. Of course I didn’t spend a day smoking the same one, but you get my drift; furthermore, there is something infinitely wasteful about putting a whole, seemingly unsmoked, cigarette in the bin. If you can’t find a bin, you risk putting it back in the packet and re-smoking it later on. A handy money saver, if a little disgusting.
At work there is more confusion. Explaining what a smokeless cigarette is gets tiring quickly.
Smoking in the lunchtime queue in the deli seems precarious; the place is packed and it’s all I can do to balance my sandwich and bottle of water while counting out change. I give up. Later that evening, five smokeless cigarettes down, I go to the cinema with another friend who, in the dim light and without the odour or glowing embers, is the only one to notice what I’ve got in my mouth. “What is that?” I almost wish I’d painted a sign. “It’s a smokeless cigarette,” I whisper. “Oh, are you giving up?” Well, no, not quite.
Similar cigarettes contain 0.8mg of nicotine – compared to 0.5mg in my usual cigarette of choice. They do, therefore, sate my nicotine cravings – but so do patches, and they don’t come with endless questions. What they don’t, in fact, do, is act like a cigarette. There is no smoke and the taste is entirely different – the problem is nicotine on its own isn’t enough, which is why we smoke at all. In order to work, nicotine replacements need to be coupled with large amounts of willpower.
Smoking a cigarette that looks like a cigarette, acts like a cigarette but neither tastes nor feels like a cigarette (while giving you more nicotine than a cigarette) seems an odd choice.
Smokeless cigarettes allow you to smoke and obey the law – in the comfort of your desk chair, on public transport, in the back of a taxi – but you don’t get what smokers (perhaps mistakenly) see as the “satisfaction” of smoking. It’s like being on a diet where you’re advised to sniff a piece of chocolate without eating it.
If you can’t face going without smoking for four hours or so (Ryanair’s longest flight from Dublin is currently to the Canary Islands), you may want to indulge in some smokeless cigarettes. Alternatively, you could consider that four hours is about as long as Titanic – and the prospect of watching that is infinitely more painful than a few hours of nicotine cravings.
There are various types, the most widely available being the electronic cigarette, which contains a liquid containing nicotine that is vaporised and inhaled. Ryanair now sells the other most popular type, in the form of Similar smokeless cigarettes.
Ryanair’s head of communications, Stephen McNamara, says the product was introduced due to customer demand. “Some passengers can find it stressful to spend long journeys without a cigarette so we introduced the product based on customer feedback and to cater to passenger demand. It seemed a logical step to introduce a product that could provide smokers with relief from nicotine withdrawal.
“Smokers enjoy the ‘taste’ of the product while many have reported that is has helped them take the stress out of flying as they no longer worry or feel anxious about missing when they can get their next nicotine hit during a flight.” But how similar are Similar cigarettes? While it seems feasible that these cigarette-alikes will substitute for the real thing on a short-haul flight, how do faux fags fare in the real world? Dan Kinsella is an IT consultant who tried electronic cigarettes as a somewhat healthier alternative to smoking. “They only provide nicotine, as opposed to all the chemicals in a normal cigarette.” Was he satisfied? “You don’t get quite the same feeling,” he says. “After a while I went back on normal cigarettes.” He did, however, find them useful for avoiding the smoking ban. “I used to smoke at my desk, when I didn’t have time to go out for an ordinary cigarette.” Richard and Celine O’Connor both use electronic smoking devices – he a pipe, she cigarettes. Richard says that, aside from a minor issue – “they come in many flavours (anything from vanilla to Red Bull) but I’m finding it difficult to find a flavour I like” – they are very convenient for the couple. “My wife had to spend a night in hospital recently, and we both brought our electronics in. We were happily puffing away when we were caught by a nurse.” A quick demonstration allayed her fears.
I spent a day with Ryanair’s Similar branded smokeless cigarettes: a packet of 10, purchased for €6 on board a Ryanair flight, to see how it feels to smoke on the right side of the law.
The first thing I notice is that they smell, to all intents and purposes, like what one’s mother might call “sucky sweets” – irrefutably better than mainstream cigarettes, albeit slightly strange. They feel like real cigarettes and, crucially, they look like them.
I initially thought my Luas journey might cause difficulty. People, in my experience, are usually – and rightly – quick to complain when they see someone lighting up and, unlike clubs or pubs, bright lights mean I’m in plain sight. No waiting for plumes of smoke or that tell-tale smell.
People look – probably wondering whether I’m insane, given that I am sucking on what looks like an unlit cigarette – but complaints are few. The embarrassment, for the self-onscious, is one big drawback of the smokeless cigarette. Whether they’re saying it or not, people are wondering what in the world you’re doing.
I see a flicker of interest from the woman across from me. “You’re not going to light that, are you?” No, you don’t light smokeless cigarettes. You suck on them as you would an ordinary cigarette, without the irritating lighter fumblings. I take a drag.
“They’re smokeless cigarettes,” I say, and exhale. No smoke; any idea I might have had about smoking being “cool” – has gone out the window. I am slightly embarrassed. I take another pull and glance at my interrogator.
“I’m spending a day with smokeless cigarettes.” She looks sceptical.
“But when do you know when it’s finished?” A-ha. The problem with not lighting a cigarette is immediately apparent; for as long as you suck on it, it emits that slightly sweet, fabricated taste. You will never get to the end of your smokeless cigarette. Of course I didn’t spend a day smoking the same one, but you get my drift; furthermore, there is something infinitely wasteful about putting a whole, seemingly unsmoked, cigarette in the bin. If you can’t find a bin, you risk putting it back in the packet and re-smoking it later on. A handy money saver, if a little disgusting.
At work there is more confusion. Explaining what a smokeless cigarette is gets tiring quickly.
Smoking in the lunchtime queue in the deli seems precarious; the place is packed and it’s all I can do to balance my sandwich and bottle of water while counting out change. I give up. Later that evening, five smokeless cigarettes down, I go to the cinema with another friend who, in the dim light and without the odour or glowing embers, is the only one to notice what I’ve got in my mouth. “What is that?” I almost wish I’d painted a sign. “It’s a smokeless cigarette,” I whisper. “Oh, are you giving up?” Well, no, not quite.
Similar cigarettes contain 0.8mg of nicotine – compared to 0.5mg in my usual cigarette of choice. They do, therefore, sate my nicotine cravings – but so do patches, and they don’t come with endless questions. What they don’t, in fact, do, is act like a cigarette. There is no smoke and the taste is entirely different – the problem is nicotine on its own isn’t enough, which is why we smoke at all. In order to work, nicotine replacements need to be coupled with large amounts of willpower.
Smoking a cigarette that looks like a cigarette, acts like a cigarette but neither tastes nor feels like a cigarette (while giving you more nicotine than a cigarette) seems an odd choice.
Smokeless cigarettes allow you to smoke and obey the law – in the comfort of your desk chair, on public transport, in the back of a taxi – but you don’t get what smokers (perhaps mistakenly) see as the “satisfaction” of smoking. It’s like being on a diet where you’re advised to sniff a piece of chocolate without eating it.
If you can’t face going without smoking for four hours or so (Ryanair’s longest flight from Dublin is currently to the Canary Islands), you may want to indulge in some smokeless cigarettes. Alternatively, you could consider that four hours is about as long as Titanic – and the prospect of watching that is infinitely more painful than a few hours of nicotine cravings.
среда, 18 ноября 2009 г.
Organizations Call on U.S. Senate to Pass Legislation Preventing Tax-Evading Online Cigarette Trafficking
Representatives of law enforcement groups, public health organizations and trade associations today gathered on Capitol Hill to urge the Senate to pass S. 1147, the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 (PACT Act). This legislation will help combat online cigarette sales that have robbed hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues from the states and that undermine state laws that prevent youth access to tobacco products. This bill closes gaps in current federal laws regulating "remote" or "delivery" sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products.
These organizations were joined by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), advocates of combating illegal cigarette sales. Numerous stakeholders have worked with Sen. Kohl through the years to pass the PACT Act, which was passed in the House of Representatives this May.
"The PACT Act will strengthen our tobacco laws to ensure that law enforcement has the tools they need to investigate and prosecute cigarette traffickers, said Sen. Kohl. "Each day we delay its passage, terrorists and criminals raise more money, states lose significant amounts of tax revenue, and kids have easy access to tobacco products sold over the internet."
"We must crack down on the illegal sale of tobacco, which gives terrorists and criminals the ability to raise more money," said Rep. Weiner. "Every day we delay is another day that states lose significant amounts of tax revenue and kids have easy access to tobacco products sold over the Internet. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass the bipartisan PACT Act."
Organizations represented at the press conference included the National Association of Convenience Stores, American Wholesale Marketers Association, National Black Police Association Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and American Legislative Exchange Council.
"At the very time when states have undertaken extraordinary efforts to restrict minors' access to cigarettes and continue to increase cigarette excise taxes, the Internet still offers minors a virtually risk-free and attractively priced means to easily obtain them," said Henry Armour, president and CEO, National Association of Convenience Stores. "The PACT Act addresses long-standing concerns that law-abiding neighborhood convenience stores have with respect to tax evasion and underage sales."
The American Wholesale Marketers Association also released its latest findings from a study it conducted examining the prevalence of illegal Internet cigarette sales and the cost to the country. In the study AWMA found the cost to states in illegal cigarette sales could be upwards of $5 billion per year, and that with online sales there is almost no age verification at the time of purchase.
"The results of this updated study stunned us and the problem of illegal sales of cigarettes has gotten worse," said Scott Ramminger, AWMA president and CEO. "This study is a clear indication that the PACT Act must be passed immediately so we can effectively combat illegal Internet sales of cigarettes and other tobacco products."
These organizations were joined by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), advocates of combating illegal cigarette sales. Numerous stakeholders have worked with Sen. Kohl through the years to pass the PACT Act, which was passed in the House of Representatives this May.
"The PACT Act will strengthen our tobacco laws to ensure that law enforcement has the tools they need to investigate and prosecute cigarette traffickers, said Sen. Kohl. "Each day we delay its passage, terrorists and criminals raise more money, states lose significant amounts of tax revenue, and kids have easy access to tobacco products sold over the internet."
"We must crack down on the illegal sale of tobacco, which gives terrorists and criminals the ability to raise more money," said Rep. Weiner. "Every day we delay is another day that states lose significant amounts of tax revenue and kids have easy access to tobacco products sold over the Internet. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass the bipartisan PACT Act."
Organizations represented at the press conference included the National Association of Convenience Stores, American Wholesale Marketers Association, National Black Police Association Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and American Legislative Exchange Council.
"At the very time when states have undertaken extraordinary efforts to restrict minors' access to cigarettes and continue to increase cigarette excise taxes, the Internet still offers minors a virtually risk-free and attractively priced means to easily obtain them," said Henry Armour, president and CEO, National Association of Convenience Stores. "The PACT Act addresses long-standing concerns that law-abiding neighborhood convenience stores have with respect to tax evasion and underage sales."
The American Wholesale Marketers Association also released its latest findings from a study it conducted examining the prevalence of illegal Internet cigarette sales and the cost to the country. In the study AWMA found the cost to states in illegal cigarette sales could be upwards of $5 billion per year, and that with online sales there is almost no age verification at the time of purchase.
"The results of this updated study stunned us and the problem of illegal sales of cigarettes has gotten worse," said Scott Ramminger, AWMA president and CEO. "This study is a clear indication that the PACT Act must be passed immediately so we can effectively combat illegal Internet sales of cigarettes and other tobacco products."
понедельник, 16 ноября 2009 г.
Careless disposal of cigarettes blamed for Berwick apartment fire
The careless disposal of cigarettes was blamed for igniting a blaze Sunday night that heavily damaged an apartment building on Jordan Street.
The fire likely started in a pile of cigarettes outside the building and was accelerated by dry leaves, according to Dan Young, an investigator with the Maine State Fire Marshal's Office.
Two units were damaged in the fire. Two others were occupied when the fire broke out; Fire Chief Dennis Plante said smoke detectors alerted the inhabitants, who escaped uninjured.
The fire caused about $40,000 worth of damage to the units, which had been undergoing renovations, Plante said. A family of four lived in one unit; a family of two lived in the other.
Plante said the residents will likely move back in to the units, as the landlord is working to repair them.
The fire likely started in a pile of cigarettes outside the building and was accelerated by dry leaves, according to Dan Young, an investigator with the Maine State Fire Marshal's Office.
Two units were damaged in the fire. Two others were occupied when the fire broke out; Fire Chief Dennis Plante said smoke detectors alerted the inhabitants, who escaped uninjured.
The fire caused about $40,000 worth of damage to the units, which had been undergoing renovations, Plante said. A family of four lived in one unit; a family of two lived in the other.
Plante said the residents will likely move back in to the units, as the landlord is working to repair them.
четверг, 12 ноября 2009 г.
Japan Tobacco's UK Unit Closing Gap On Imperial Tobacco
Japan Tobacco Inc.'s (2914.TO) U.K. business is closing the gap on market leader Imperial Tobacco PLC (IMT.LN) and will retain its recent market share gains, despite pushing up prices at the end of this month, JT's U.K. managing director said Wednesday.
Daniel Torras told reporters at a briefing in London that the company had increased its U.K. cigarette market share to 40.8% in September, up 1.8 percentage points on a year earlier. Imperial Tobacco's share meanwhile fell 1.5 percentage points in the same period to 42.3%, he said.
"Since Oct. 2008, we've seen very dramatic share growth," he said, "we've had share growth in every single segment."
Torras said he was confident these gains can be retained despite the company's planned price increases on Nov. 24. "We don't expect any share loss," he said.
He said the company's momentum in the U.K. allowed it to take a lead with price increases rather than following Imperial's pricing action.
A packet of Sterling will increase by 12 pence to about GBP4.47, while Mayfair will rise 11 pence and the company's premium and sub-premium brands such as Silk Cut and B&H will rise by 10 pence.
Torras conceded that this represented a good opportunity for Imperial to regain its lost share but said JT's strong brand equity would allow it to retain share.
The company is raising its prices to offset a rise in input costs - related largely to higher tobacco leaf prices.
He said Imperial was facing the cost pressure as JT and may therefore raise its prices too.
"They will be experiencing the same cost pressures," he said, adding "we're not pricing ourselves out of the market."
However, he conceded that it would be very difficult to get customers back if they do desert JT's brands for cheaper alternatives.
"We think the momentum is with us and we can do it," he added. "They are already fighting back," he said, "but they are losing share and we are gaining."
He said JT's mainstream brand Mayfair had now overtaken Imperial's Lambert & Butler to become the U.K.'s number on brand.
JT's Sterling brand meanwhile was now the number-one value brand, he said, ahead of Imperial's JPS.
This had been achieved through improved packaging and blend, better distribution and increase in the company's sales force.
"Competitor brands have not been able to catch up," he said.
The U.K. is now among JT's top five markets following its acquisition of Gallaher in 2007. Torras said Gallaher had allowed its market share in the U.K. to slip since the late 1980s as it focused on short-term profit rather than long-term investment.
The company has invested GBP80 million in the U.K. market since the acquisition, expanding its sales force by 30%, upgrading factories and investing in training.
"We're definitely closing the gap," he said, "our goal is to be number one."
Daniel Torras told reporters at a briefing in London that the company had increased its U.K. cigarette market share to 40.8% in September, up 1.8 percentage points on a year earlier. Imperial Tobacco's share meanwhile fell 1.5 percentage points in the same period to 42.3%, he said.
"Since Oct. 2008, we've seen very dramatic share growth," he said, "we've had share growth in every single segment."
Torras said he was confident these gains can be retained despite the company's planned price increases on Nov. 24. "We don't expect any share loss," he said.
He said the company's momentum in the U.K. allowed it to take a lead with price increases rather than following Imperial's pricing action.
A packet of Sterling will increase by 12 pence to about GBP4.47, while Mayfair will rise 11 pence and the company's premium and sub-premium brands such as Silk Cut and B&H will rise by 10 pence.
Torras conceded that this represented a good opportunity for Imperial to regain its lost share but said JT's strong brand equity would allow it to retain share.
The company is raising its prices to offset a rise in input costs - related largely to higher tobacco leaf prices.
He said Imperial was facing the cost pressure as JT and may therefore raise its prices too.
"They will be experiencing the same cost pressures," he said, adding "we're not pricing ourselves out of the market."
However, he conceded that it would be very difficult to get customers back if they do desert JT's brands for cheaper alternatives.
"We think the momentum is with us and we can do it," he added. "They are already fighting back," he said, "but they are losing share and we are gaining."
He said JT's mainstream brand Mayfair had now overtaken Imperial's Lambert & Butler to become the U.K.'s number on brand.
JT's Sterling brand meanwhile was now the number-one value brand, he said, ahead of Imperial's JPS.
This had been achieved through improved packaging and blend, better distribution and increase in the company's sales force.
"Competitor brands have not been able to catch up," he said.
The U.K. is now among JT's top five markets following its acquisition of Gallaher in 2007. Torras said Gallaher had allowed its market share in the U.K. to slip since the late 1980s as it focused on short-term profit rather than long-term investment.
The company has invested GBP80 million in the U.K. market since the acquisition, expanding its sales force by 30%, upgrading factories and investing in training.
"We're definitely closing the gap," he said, "our goal is to be number one."
вторник, 10 ноября 2009 г.
10 retailers cited in latest tobacco sale sting
Ten Ottawa County retailers were cited for underage tobacco sales during the most recent round of quarterly compliance checks.
This latest round of compliance checks completes a year-long operation of ensuring that tobacco retailers comply with the tobacco law, county officials said. In the past year, 177 Ottawa County retailers were checked, with 27 making sales to an underage decoy from October 2008 through this past September.
The compliance checks are part of an effort called "No Cigs for Our Kids." The group partnered with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department, Holland Police Department and Spring Lake/Ferrysburg Police Department. They focused on Jenison, Hudsonville and Spring Lake Village. Local law enforcement, along with teenage decoys, visited tobacco retailers selected on a random basis to assess compliance with the Youth Tobacco Act, which requires stores not to sell tobacco to anyone under age 18.
"We need to get better results on a more consistent basis if an impact is to be made," said Sgt. Valerie Weiss of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department. "Decreasing opportunities for minors to purchase tobacco at retail stores is a way to reduce access and the initiation of smoking."
This latest round of compliance checks completes a year-long operation of ensuring that tobacco retailers comply with the tobacco law, county officials said. In the past year, 177 Ottawa County retailers were checked, with 27 making sales to an underage decoy from October 2008 through this past September.
The compliance checks are part of an effort called "No Cigs for Our Kids." The group partnered with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department, Holland Police Department and Spring Lake/Ferrysburg Police Department. They focused on Jenison, Hudsonville and Spring Lake Village. Local law enforcement, along with teenage decoys, visited tobacco retailers selected on a random basis to assess compliance with the Youth Tobacco Act, which requires stores not to sell tobacco to anyone under age 18.
"We need to get better results on a more consistent basis if an impact is to be made," said Sgt. Valerie Weiss of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department. "Decreasing opportunities for minors to purchase tobacco at retail stores is a way to reduce access and the initiation of smoking."
пятница, 6 ноября 2009 г.
Raiders ransack Tesco store
Police are investigating after thieves ransacked a supermarket in Ashton.
The burglars smashed the windows of Tesco Express with a crowbar and tried to break into the tills and cigarette counter at about 2.30am on Thursday morning.
The thieves were not able to get into the tills and made off with just a quantity of cigarettes, possibly being forced out of the store by a security device that lets off a large amount of smoke.
Fire crews were first on the scene after the smoke cloak, which is intended to get rid of thieves quickly, filled the shop with smoke, setting off the alarm.
After the crews arrived at the shop on Bolton Road, they alerted the police to the break-in, but the raiders had already made their get away. According to reports, the shop had been totally ransacked, shutters had been pulled down and displays had been smashed up.
It is not known at this stage how many people were involved in the robbery.
The burglars smashed the windows of Tesco Express with a crowbar and tried to break into the tills and cigarette counter at about 2.30am on Thursday morning.
The thieves were not able to get into the tills and made off with just a quantity of cigarettes, possibly being forced out of the store by a security device that lets off a large amount of smoke.
Fire crews were first on the scene after the smoke cloak, which is intended to get rid of thieves quickly, filled the shop with smoke, setting off the alarm.
After the crews arrived at the shop on Bolton Road, they alerted the police to the break-in, but the raiders had already made their get away. According to reports, the shop had been totally ransacked, shutters had been pulled down and displays had been smashed up.
It is not known at this stage how many people were involved in the robbery.
четверг, 5 ноября 2009 г.
Health Committee
MSPs took evidence on proposed legislation on 4 November 2009 which will make buying cigarettes illegal for people under the age of 18.
The Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill would also allow police to seize cigarettes from teenagers, as they currently can with alcohol.
The committee heard from Danielle Rowley, a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament, David Roderick, chairman of the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland, David Woodrow from the National Federation of Newsagents and Andrew Barker from the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland.
The Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill would also allow police to seize cigarettes from teenagers, as they currently can with alcohol.
The committee heard from Danielle Rowley, a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament, David Roderick, chairman of the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland, David Woodrow from the National Federation of Newsagents and Andrew Barker from the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland.
понедельник, 2 ноября 2009 г.
Council votes to ban sale of flavored tobacco products
NEW YORK -- The City Council voted overwhelmingly today to ban sales of all flavored tobacco products.
The bill bars the sale of products such as strawberry- and blueberry-flavored cigars and chewing tobacco, which health experts say are a blatant attempt to hook young people on a dangerous product.
Staten Island councilmen James Oddo (R-Mid-Island/Brooklyn), Vincent Ignizio (R-South Shore) and Ken Mitchell (D-North Shore) voted in favor of the bill.
In a law enacted this June, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned manufacturing, importing, marketing and distribution of cigarettes made to taste like candy, fruit and cloves. But since the legal definition of a cigarette is vague, manufacturers have found a way to circumvent the ban with products every bit as attractive to kids, like smaller "cigarillos" and SNUS, pouches of flavored tobacco used like snuff.
Mayor Bloomberg is expected to sign the bill into law.
The bill bars the sale of products such as strawberry- and blueberry-flavored cigars and chewing tobacco, which health experts say are a blatant attempt to hook young people on a dangerous product.
Staten Island councilmen James Oddo (R-Mid-Island/Brooklyn), Vincent Ignizio (R-South Shore) and Ken Mitchell (D-North Shore) voted in favor of the bill.
In a law enacted this June, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned manufacturing, importing, marketing and distribution of cigarettes made to taste like candy, fruit and cloves. But since the legal definition of a cigarette is vague, manufacturers have found a way to circumvent the ban with products every bit as attractive to kids, like smaller "cigarillos" and SNUS, pouches of flavored tobacco used like snuff.
Mayor Bloomberg is expected to sign the bill into law.
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