Advocates to push for local tobacco control again

Tobacco users, how about giving up tobacco? And lawmakers, how about giving up tobacco money? And giving cities in Oklahoma the option of crafting their own tobacco-control measures?

Tobacco use is arguably Oklahoma's biggest health problem, and a main reason the state regularly ranks poorly on measures of health and well-being.

It's the state's No. 1 cause of preventable death, responsible for the deaths of about 6,000 Oklahomans a year. At current usage rates, an estimated 87,000 Oklahoma young people will ultimately die premature deaths as a result of tobacco use.

The state has made strides in recent years in protecting non-users from the proven hazards of secondhand smoke. That's to our credit. But until the stranglehold that the tobacco industry has over our Legislature is broken, don't look for much more progress. 

 According to the website, 84 of the 97 representatives in office as of Oct. 1 have accepted a total of $80,550 in campaign contributions from tobacco lobbyists since 2006. Also since 2006, 45 of them have accepted a total of $29,750 from tobacco PACs. And 86 have accepted a total of $25,304 in meals and other gifts from tobacco lobbyists.

Nine representatives have accepted more than $3,000, and only one of them voted for tobacco-control legislation last year.

Over in the Senate, 41 of 48 senators have accepted a total of $74,750 in campaign funds from tobacco lobbyists since 2006. Twenty-two have accepted a total of $19,750 from PACs, and 42 have accepted a total of $12,615 in meals and other gifts.

Eleven senators have accepted a total of $3,000 or more.

Canada's tobacco warnings

Canada's world ranking for cigarette package warnings rose to fourth in 2012 from 15th in 2010 after new Canadian warnings covering 75 per cent of cigarette packages were implemented, an international report finds.

Australia, which received the top ranking, has the largest warnings, covering 82.5 per cent of the package front and back of packages (75 per cent front, 90 per cent back), the group said. Australia also prohibits tobacco company colours, logo and design elements on the branded part of the package.

The other top-ranked countries for warning sizes in the report were:

- Uruguay tied for second with Sri Lanka at 80 per cent (80 per cent of front, 80 per cent of back),

- Brunei tied with Canada for fourth at 75 per cent (75 per cent of front, 75 per cent back).

Heavy Smoking on the Rise Among Teens

The smoking rate among men dropped from 51.6 percent in 2005 to 48.3 percent in 2010, but more than one in every 10 teenagers still smokes, according to the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The rate among middle and high school students who smoked more than once over the 30 days prior to the annual KCDC survey has remained steady at around 12 percent since 2007. The figure was even higher among boys at 17 percent last year.

What is more worrisome is increasing number of smoking teenagers. The rate of those who smoked every day for 30 days prior to the survey rose more than 1.5 times from 3.9 percent in 2005 to 6.1 percent last year. Last year some 2.8 percent said they smoke more than 10 cigarettes a day.

Some experts blame the social environment where many adults can be seen smoking in the street and cigarettes come in garish packets.

According to last year's survey, 39.6 percent of teenagers said they saw family members or guests in their home smoke over the last week, informs The Chosunilbo.

"Adolescents tend to imitate adults or celebrities," claimed Lee Hae-kook of Catholic University College of Medicine. "If they smoke in adolescence, when the brain develops, teenagers can get seriously addicted to nicotine and also easily fall victim to other addictions like alcohol or gambling."

There’s an app for cigarette advertising

Every since tobacco advertising was first forced off our television screens in the 1970s, the tobacco industry has been at pains to splash its logos and brands just about anywhere it can.

Public health officials and governments have never been able to keep up with determined and inspired cigarette advertising executives.

It’s not surprising then that tobacco product promotions have wormed their way on to our mobile phones through app stores. With Smartphone sales and mobile Internet use skyrocketing globally, it just makes good business sense to take advantage of this highly unregulated medium.

Devotees of the most popular cigarette brand in the world, Marlboro, for example, can pay just 99 cents to decorate their phones with the infamous red chevron, reports The Conversation.

While it could be completely feasible that the Marlboro global brand owner, Philip Morris International, is not at all connected with this app, they do not appear to have taken any steps to prevent app developers from abusing their trademark. Given how forcibly Philip Morris defended its trademark rights in the Australian High court over plain packaging this seems strangely inconsistent.

Tobacco industry defenders will undoubtedly contest that any move to regulate content on app stores is tantamount to gagging the most vulnerable citizens who dare to defy the powerful nanny state. When the simple truth is, tobacco advertising laws must be adapted to keep up with new media.

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Tobacco Legislation Overreaches

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Legislation proposed by the Downtown Ithaca Alliance would regulate and limit the number of stores that can sell tobacco products and paraphernalia in Ithaca. Its intent is to reduce tobacco use, specifically by youth. A guest commentary in the Ithaca Times by Tobacco Free Tompkins speaks to many of the important reasons to work towards this goal.

Tobacco is a serious public health problem that needs to be more aggressively addressed, and as a progressive city we should be leading the way on innovative health-based approaches. However, the DIA’s proposal is overreaching in scope, and, as the young people who this legislation is meant to protect, we are seriously concerned about the effects it could have on public health.

Tobacco industry can afford sin-tax: officials

Senior government officials said today that the tobacco industry can afford the government's preferred version of the sin-tax reform bill. Secretary Ramon Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) sent the message when he was responding to the concerns raised by Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp. (PMFTC) on the sin-tax measure.

"That's a common argument brought up in almost every country where sin taxes are about to be increased. But the evidence will show that after a period of adjustment tobacco company incomes recover," Carandang said, trying to downplay the concerns that the measure would lead to massive unemployment in the tobacco industry and encourage smuggling.

"The industry can afford it. Plus the greater good that the revenues can do for public health make it hard to argue against it, " Carandang added. In an interview with state-run Radyo ng Bayan today, Deputy Palace Spokesperson Abigail Valte reiterated the government 's assurance that the sin-tax measure would not lead to massive unemployment in the tobacco industry, since part of its revenues would be used to fund safety nets for affected farmers.

"On the job losses, we have a safety net. Part of the revenue that will be collected will go into a safety net for tobacco farmers precisely because there are concerns that some of them might be displaced," Valte added.

UCLA Will Go Tobacco-Free on Earth Day 2013

UCLA Chancellor Gene Block announced today that the campus will go tobacco-free on Earth Day (April 22) 2013. Shepherded by UCLA's Tobacco-Free Steering Committee, the breath of fresh air will ban the use of any and all tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes and oral tobacco, on the Westwood campus as well as other sites owned or leased by the university.

UCLA Health Sciences has been a step ahead of the rest of the (cigarette) buttheads, having implemented a smoke-free policy last November. University of California President Mark Yudof has asked all UC campuses to follow suit by January 2014.

Minnesota candidate guilty of marijuana sales still in race

A mayoral candidate in Winona County admits his conviction for selling marijuana could "throw a few complications" into his campaign. Stephen Conlin says he's committed to his campaign for mayor of St. Charles.

Conlin will be eligible to vote for himself on Tuesday because he hasn't been sentenced. But, should he defeat incumbent Bill Spitzer, he would not be able to hold office because of his felony conviction. He's scheduled for sentencing in December.

Minnesota Secretary of State spokesman Pat Turgeon tells the Winona Daily News that if Conlin is elected, it would be up to the city to decide how to fill the vacancy. Conlin was convicted last week of selling and possessing marijuana. The charges are the result of a 2010 raid on his home and downtown barbershop.

Four smoking marijuana when officers arrived with warrant

An Evansville man, a woman he was living with and her two daughters were arrested Tuesday on various drug charges. Jamie Bullington, 46, Tracy Crow, 25, Brittany Steele, 23, and Lawrence McDonald, 43 were arrested after police reported finding marijuana and prescription pills in their home in the 2600 block of Culverson Avenue. At 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday, investigators with the Evansville Police Department Narcotics Joint Task Force unit searched the residence at 2601 Culverson Ave.

The pills investigators reported finding included Valium and Xanax that none of the four people had a prescription for, officials said. All of the suspects were reported to have been smoking marijuana when detectives arrived. Officials said that Bullington is the mother of Steele and Crow. McDonald is charged with one count of maintaining a common nuisance, a class D felony, and possession of marijuana with a prior conviction.

Bullington is charged with two counts of possession schedule IV, a class D felony, one count of maintaining a common nuisance, a class D felony, and possession of marijuana, a class A misdemeanor. Crow and Steele are both charged with one count of maintaining a common nuisance, a class D felony, and possession of marijuana, a class A misdemeanor.