Gossip Girl star Taylor Momsen doesn’t care if anyone thinks she’s got an attitude.

“I don’t read that crap that describes me as having an attitude, but I don’t know why that’s a bad thing,” she tells Parade’s Jeanne Wolf. “Attitude is in the eye of the beholder. I didn’t get into this to be a role model for 7-year-olds. I have no interest in doing that, you know? If parents don’t like some of the stuff I do then they shouldn’t let their kids watch me.”

Like her smoking. “I smoke, so what? Why do people give a s— what a 16-year-old girl who they’ve never met does? It’s not like I’m sitting there going, ‘Kids, you should go buy a pack of cigarettes.’ When I walk outside with a cigarette and someone takes a picture of it and puts it on the Internet, its not my problem. I’m just living my life and I’m not gonna live my life for other people.”

Medical researchers have examined the incidence of Parkinson’s disease among long term smokers and have found an inverse relationship between Parkinson’s disease and smoking. The Paging Dr. Gupta blog reports as follows.

“The study, released today in the journal Neurology looked at the lifetime smoking history of more than 300,000 people, and confirmed the inverse relationship between smoking and Parkinson’s disease, established in earlier scientific studies. But, researchers say they’ve found a critical new piece to the puzzle: It appears to be the length of time one has been a smoker – not the number of cigarettes smoked – that has the most effect on disease risk reduction.”

Medical experts hasten to assure the public that they are not advocating that people take up smoking. But they do want to know what chemicals in cigarettes reduce the risks of Parkinson’s disease.

Perhaps this story might wake up the public to the possible medical benefits of tobacco. Certainly, smoking a pack a day is a poor idea, but there are reputable doctors who advocate the therapeutic use of tobacco. The Access Excellence web site reports as follows on the possible medical uses of tobacco.

“Nicotine in tobacco form accounts for millions of deaths each year from cancer, emphysema and heart disease. Yet, in certain neurologic and psychiatric conditions, nicotine can have useful therapeutic effects, reported scientists at the inaugural conference of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.

“Nicotine has long been a useful tool for researchers interested in probing the nervous system. Although the health risks associated with its intake via tobacco products has tended to tarnish society’s view of nicotine, it is important to recognize that nicotine may have therapeutic potential with a number of disease states,” noted Ovid Pomerleau, Ph.D., Director of the Behavioral Medicine Program, University of Michigan and President of the SRNT.

Nicotine is one of the most studied of all drugs. At the beginning of the century, the earliest research into neurotransmitters involved the effects of nicotine, indeed the first neurotransmitter receptor identified was the nicotine receptor. Nicotine mimics the actions of acetylcholine and has been shown to modulates many neurotransmitters.”

The article lists Tourette’s Syndrome, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease as possible candidates for treatment with some form of tobacco derivative. Tobacco has been in use for centuries. It is well studied. If it can be established that it has medical and industrial uses, perhaps it could be grown for purposes other than smoking. It might even be possible to work nicotine into a beverage, much as caffeine is used now.

With all of the interest in herbal medicine, it is odd that tobacco has been excluded. Hopefully, the medical profession will take a second look at tobacco as a medicinal herb. We have put a lot of energy into demonising “big tobacco” and the tobacco lobby. It makes not only medical but economic sense to rebuild a tobacco industry that improves public health rather than endangers it. There is no doubt that this strategy could save and create jobs as well as improve life and longevity. It would be bitterly ironic if what we have learned about the dangers of smoking were to blind us to the possible life saving qualities of tobacco. Science should not be a slave to the fads of the age.

George Washington Carver discovered hundreds of uses for peanuts, as food and in industry. The time seems ripe for tobacco to have its own George Washington Carver. Tobacco clearly has many uses. For the good of humanity, it is about time that we discover them.

To get Roger Evans riled, ask him about the new state law that bans smoking in nearly every bar and restaurant.

In a monologue punctuated with expletives, he will tell you the law is the stupidest thing he’s ever heard. Property owners should be able to make their own rules when it comes to smoking. Simply talking about it makes him so angry that he lights up a cigarette.

First, though, Evans, 67, slides off his barstool at Marcom’s Tavern in North Raleigh and steps outside into the cold wind.

As much as smokers and some business owners have complained about the law, nearly all of them comply with it. There are more than 24,000 businesses in the state that are subject to the new regulations. During the first week of February, the state logged 71 complaints about potential violations. No businesses have been fined.

The relatively low number of complaints shows “the coordination we’ve put into this at the state and local level is working,” said Jim Martin, director of policy and programs for the Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch of the N.C. Division of Public Health.

County health departments are responsible for enforcing the law. Health department officials check out complaints, which can be verified only with evidence, such as a customer smoking or the presence of ashtrays. Verified complaints trigger a warning. After two written warnings, businesses can face fines of up to $200 per day.

Since the law took effect, county health departments across the state have sent only 11 first-level warning letters. In all, there have been 608 complaints statewide, with the number generally decreasing week-to-week.

Enforcement has added another chore for health department staff, but the workload varies from county to county.

Johnston County has received only three complaints, one of which was described as “spurious” by Larry Sullivan, the county’s director of environmental health.

Wake has received 54, only one of which was reported in the most recent week of statistics. The extra work “has been taxing,” said health director Sue Lynn Ledford. When a complaint comes in, a department employee is dispatched to the bar or restaurant to reiterate the new rules. Schedules have been adjusted so someone is available when bars are open.

Health departments are more or less on their own in paying for the enforcement. Each county received a bit of money to help with education efforts, the amount varying depending on the county’s number of bars and restaurants. Wake County received $18,718. Much of that money, Ledford said, will be used to hire a temporary employee to help educate business owners.

Modeling its enforcement after other states, North Carolina uses a statewide database to collect complaints. Nearly all of the complaints, which are gathered over the phone and on the Web, are anonymous. But Lee Storrow, a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill, provided his name when he filed a complaint in January against Players, a Franklin Street bar.

He saw two people smoking on the same night but has been back several times since and has not witnessed any smoking.

“It’s good to see people complying with the law,” he said.

Kathy Marcom, owner of Marcom’s Tavern in Raleigh, said the new law has hurt business. She estimates that 75 percent of her more than 400 members are smokers, many of whom stayed home on Super Bowl Sunday.

“Last year we were packed in here,” she said. “This year we had maybe 10 people.”

The Wake County Health Department has received 14 complaints about Marcom’s, more than any other establishment.

Marcom originally thought her bar was exempt from the new rule because it does not receive a sanitation score from the health department. She serves no food and uses disposable cups. So for the first couple of weeks, people continued to smoke in her bar.

But after a visit from the health department, the smokers, surly or not, have been sent outside.
BY MATT EHLERS, Newsobserver
Feb 15, 2010

Culinary students standing outside and smoking cigarettes are such a common sight on Downtown’s Liberty Avenue that they’re practically a city landmark.

Dressed in their kitchen whites, the Le Cordon Bleu students stand out among the other smokers in business or casual garb who cluster outdoors on their breaks. They’re also a vivid and troubling symbol of an industry where smoking has long been accepted.

Forty percent of the people employed in the food and beverage industry smoke — nearly twice the national average, according to the 2000 U.S. census numbers.

“Hospitality workers have three times the [average] risk of lung cancer, which is 50 percent higher than any other industry,” said Stacy Kriedeman, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

These health disparities helped motivate Pennsylvania’s September 2008 ban on smoking in most restaurants and bars as well as other businesses and public places. Numerous cities and states have enacted similar bans, although they vary in scope and often contain exemptions.

According to the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association, 470,000 people are employed by restaurants and bars in the state. The ban eliminated a primary source of secondhand smoke in the lives of these workers and may already have saved the lives of approximately 75 Pennsylvania hospitality workers, state health officials estimate.

Still, the high rates of smoking persist within the industry.

Workers in hectic restaurant kitchens often attribute the prevalence of smoking to a fast-paced, stressful environment and a culture that long has tolerated cigarette breaks but not breathers for fresh air or mental health.

Also, smoking traditionally has accompanied a certain image of the chef lifestyle.

Even after he became a father and purportedly quit smoking, original bad-boy chef, author and television host Anthony Bourdain continued to preach a pro-smoking gospel.

“I’m amused by food nerds who say, ‘I’d never eat at a restaurant where the chef smokes.’ Almost all the chefs I know smoke. … I don’t want to encourage anyone to quit smoking. In my experience, it really does make you cool,” Mr. Bourdain told Time magazine during a 2007 interview.

Contestants on the Bravo reality show “Top Chef,” which includes some of the most successful young chefs in the industry, are frequently seen smoking on the air. Questions about them smoking often come up on fan discussion boards, and people most often are curious about whether it impairs the chefs’ crucial ability to taste and smell.

Kevin Sousa, who’s made a name for himself locally for his creative, often cutting-edge food, plans to open the new Salt of the Earth restaurant in Garfield this year. He has never smoked.

“I think that smoking affects your palate, absolutely,” he said. “It affects your taste for salt, especially some of the subtleties. The balance of a dish is affected if you smoked four cigarettes that day.”

Not everyone in the culinary world agrees. “If anything, [smoking] makes me more conscious of what I put on the plate,” said Rick Salensky, a line cook at Solstice Restaurant in Greensburg.

Mr. Salensky has worked in the culinary industry for more than 15 years, and he’s been a smoker for almost as long. He’s confident that it hasn’t harmed his palate. “I’ve never had anyone tell me I over season or under season,” he said.

Most research on smoking has dealt with its deadlier effects, and only a few studies have examined its relationship to taste and smell. But some recent studies have concluded that along with other health hazards, smoking does significantly increase chances of experiencing a serious problem with smell, while heavy smoking increases risks to both smell and taste.

Ryan Soose, assistant professor of otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh, cited the results of a 2008 study in Germany in which 1,312people were given standardized taste and smell tests. Comprehensive health surveys were used to determine the relationship between smoking and impairment of smell or taste.

The results concluded that smoking is bad for the sense of smell and taste, and “… the more you smoke, the worse your risk is,” Dr. Soose said. But the results also indicated that people can restore taste and smell nearly to their original state if they quit smoking, he said.

He also cautioned that just as every smoker does not get lung cancer, not every smoker will experience a problem with the sense of smell or taste.

This information is still relatively new, so it’s no surprise it hasn’t filtered down to the general population — or even to the future chefs who should find it most worrisome. Culinary schools may stress the damage smoking can do to palates, but students and cooks tend to believe what they’ve experienced.

“I tend to over spice things because [smoking] kills your taste buds,” said Dave Hrycik, a student at Le Cordon Bleu (formerly Pennsylvania Culinary Institute), Downtown. Yet Mr. Hrycik, 31, said that conviction hasn’t made it any easier for him to quit smoking.

Cordon Bleu student Joe Hammer, 21, of Bellevue, however, said he does not believe smoking has affected his palate, calling that fear “an old wives’ tale.”

The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., the nation’s largest and one of its best known culinary schools, participates in educational events such as the National Cancer Society’s Smoke Out November. Its students services department also provides smoking cessation information at health fairs.

But chef-instructor Mark Ainsworth emphasized informal classroom discussions of smoking’s effect on the palate as an essential tool for influencing students. School officials don’t track the number of students who smoke, so it’s not clear if their efforts to educate the students are a significant deterrent.

Smoking is still common enough that the school has built smoking gazebos on the campus to contain litter and keep students from congregating near doorways. And it’s a common joke at culinary schools that students who crave a cigarette volunteer to take out the trash, Mr. Ainsworth said.

In Pittsburgh, Le Cordon Bleu’s William Hunt, dean of culinary arts, emphasized that school officials look down on smoking and that few of its instructors smoke. But he acknowledged that the school offers no programs or support groups to discourage smoking.

Whole Foods Market has adopted a smoking-cessation program as part of its health insurance coverage for workers.

Participants in the six-month program receive educational materials online or through the mail and up to eight telephone coaching sessions with trained cessation specialists, as well as unlimited calls to the specialists when they have questions. Over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy is included in prescription drug coverage.

Eat’n Park Hospitality Group also offers access to a similar program for employees who qualify for health care by working more than 32 hours each week.

Some small companies offer more informal incentives.

Jeff Cohen, outgoing president of the Western Pennsylvania chapter of the National Restaurant Association, has offered small quit-smoking bonuses to his employees at the Smallman Street Deli “just to give them the extra incentive.” While not all participants were able to quit successfully, Mr. Cohen said the program was worth it, primarily because of the long-term health impact on employees who did.

Such programs still seem to be relatively rare in the culinary industry, however, and especially so for workers in small restaurants and bars.

Mr. Salensky of Greensburg started smoking at age 15 when he got his first job as a dishwasher. When he took breaks, he said, everyone around him was smoking, and he wanted to fit in.

He’s tried to quit, he said, but “all it takes is that one Saturday rush where you want to pull your hair out, and you revert back to what you know.” He believes that more programs or support from employers might spur more workers to quit, saying that at a previous job where a high proportion of cooks smoked, they spent their entire break complaining about how they wished they didn’t.

Le Cordon Bleu student Dean Orner has noticed that at the Eat’n Park restaurant where he works, his employers are cracking down on smoking.

“They don’t want you standing outside smoking or anything like that,” he said.

Tobacco Free Allegheny, a nonprofit organization dedicated to decreasing tobacco use, has sent representatives to health fairs at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Downtown, and to the Bidwell Training Center on the North Side, both of which have culinary programs, hoping to educate the students about the risks of smoking.

Executive director Cindy Thomas said Tobacco Free Allegheny would like to offer more to culinary and other technical schools but budget cuts have made it difficult to staff programs. Still, she said, “we would try to work with anybody [who] called us [for help].”

Ms. Thomas encouraged hospitality workers and anyone else who wants to quit smoking to call the Pennsylvania free Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW, calling it “a good option for people who have irregular schedules and work shifts.”

For a limited time, people who call and commit to a quit date will receive a free kit containing a four-week supply of nicotine patches as well as other information aimed at helping them succeed.
February 07, 2010
By China Millman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It remains to be seen who will win the Super bowl, but it has suddenly become clear who will win the smoking ban debate in Indiana.

A bill to ban smoking in public places passed the house 73 to 26 earlier this week-but that bill is going nowhere in the senate.

Senate President Pro-tem David Long says that economic times are tough and a statewide ban could hurt business. Long says the senate isn’t ready to consider a ban at this time.

“Well the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House are the two bosses so to speak and they make the calls,” said Ind. Sen. Jim Arnold, (D) LaPorte. “That’s a power that’s awarded to the party in the majority and that’s his call and I respect that.”

Still, some insist that Indiana’s reluctance to approve a statewide smoking ban is earning it a new nickname. “The ash tray of the Midwest, unfortunately, but that is what we have been termed,” said Jill Sabo with Tobacco Free St. Joe County.

It’s an alleged reputation Indiana isn’t likely to lose anytime soon, despite Sabo’s willingness to do so. “Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin have all gone tobacco free, comprehensively, and I think that we’re ready.”

Senator Arnold agrees. “I would like to address it, let’s put it to rest one way or another, and then let’s move on to other issues and quit spending time every session on certain issues that seem to raise their ugly head every session.”

Senator Arnold discounts the contention that economic conditions should derail the debate. “I know that all surveys show Indiana is the second largest smoking state in the country, next to West Virginia. It can call it economy if they want, if they chose to do so, they probably have their facts and figures to support that, but sooner or later we’ve got to start looking at medical costs-what it’s costing for second hand smoke. How much money we’re spending, Indiana spends about $2 billion a year in smoke related medical issues in this state.”

Sen. Arnold does see one advantage to waiting until next year to address a possible ban. Next year’s session is a ‘long’ one, while this year’s session is short-slated to end in mid March.
Feb 4, 2010
Mark Peterson

The Russian parliament’s plans to sharply increase taxes on tobacco would create a boom in illegal trade in cigarettes and ultimately harm public health, according to the Finance Ministry.

The State Duma is considering a bill to raise excise duties on tobacco threefold in 2011 as part of government efforts to improve public health in Russia, which has one of the highest smoking rates in the world.

The ministry fears the bill would trigger a rise in illegal cigarettes sales, after similar laws have seen illegal tobacco markets thriving in the Baltics.

“High excise duties would prompt people to buy cheap and illicit tobacco products. This would hardly be to the benefit of public health,” the ministry said in a report.

Cigarettes in Russia are the cheapest in the developed world, with smokers paying around a dollar for pack a that costs $8 in the United States. Russian filterless cigarettes – including the notorious “papirosy” – cost less than 30 cents a pack.

The World Health Organization says more than 60% of Russian men are smokers, and about 400,000 Russians die from smoking-related diseases annually.

With smoking and alcoholism cited as two of Russia’s most widespread public health problems, Russian men have a life expectancy of only 60 years. President Dmitry Medvedev has begun to try to cut alcohol consumption, with a new law coming into effect on January 1 that set the minimum price of a standard half-liter bottle of vodka at 89 rubles (about $3).

MOSCOW, January 27 (RIA Novosti)

John Burton Race is a Michelin starred chef, made famous by the Channel 4 series French Leave and its sequel Return of the Chef. In 1995 Burton Race joined an elite group of chefs as the winner of a coveted Catey Award – the Oscar of the UK hospitality industry. There is no man in the UK who doesn’t know this famous name.

A mentor on BBC cooking show Kitchen Criminals and a judge of ITV cooking show Britain’s Best Dish decided to attempt quitting smoking by means of participating in a TV show “Celebrities Quitters” broadcasting on Channel Five. In this show, which starts tonight, are participating five stars, inclusively the South Devon foodie. “Celebrities Quitters” will follow these volunteers during 10 days and will show strength of will of each participant not to try killing weed.

Together with valiant celebrities as former Birds of a Feather star Linda Robson, Chloe Madeley, daughter of Richard Madeley, Julie Finnigan, actor Paul Danan and TV psychic Derek Acorah, Mr. Burton Race determined to change his life and to kick this obsessive habit.

During an interview with Mr. Burton Race, we have found out that he wants to quit smoking and spend the money he saves towards his family holiday.

“I want to use the money I wasted killing myself on other things. At the moment, personally, I am not loaded, to put it mildly. It has been two years since we have had a family holiday and I want to go away for a week,” says he. He realized that smoking made a kind of distance between him and his family. Great sums of money he handed out in vain, only purchasing this smoking drug and didn’t pay attention at his beloved persons’ wishes and desires. The cookery specialist is convinced that with the assistance of this show he will change himself and will achieve his goal without fail.

The outstanding expert of culinary art also added that he had problems based on smoking not only in his family but at his job as well. “My partner Susie was absolutely adamant that I smell terrible and that she was completely repulsed by me smoking the amount I was smoking,” asserted Mr. Burton Race.

”Another motivating reason that has impelled me to take part in this grandiose show is my health. When you have children and dependents and when your chest hurts, when you walk up a very steep hill or ride a horse furiously across a field and you can’t breathe, it is already evident sign that it is something wrong and something has to be done,” sighed he.

Mr. Burton Race stressed that there are several things he wants to gain from quitting tobacco.
“I want to feel fitter, be fitter. I want to live longer,” said chef. And it is reasonable.

The first series will demonstrate the meeting of our risky smokers each other and the support team who reveals results of their medical tests. Then celebrities will have possibility to smoke their last cigarette before their first smoke-free evening.

The series will be live broadcasted every week night for the next 10 days on Channel Five at 7.30pm.

Tobacco farmers in East Java province have complained about the change in climate, saying they want to increase the productivity and quality of their harvest.

Association of Indonesian Tobacco Farmers’ (APTI) East Java branch chairman Amin Subarkah said in Probolinggo last week that the unpredictable change in weather over the last few years confused farmers.

“Tobacco plants are sensitive to climate change, especially rainfall,” Amin said.

Global warming, he added, had shortened the cycle of the drought to between two and three years, making it difficult for farmers to predict the beginning of the dry and rainy season. This often led them to plant tobacco at the wrong time.

“Normally by the end of April to the end of May, farmers finish planting tobacco. Because of the unpredictable weather, however, even up to July farmers have not finished planting,” Amin said.

Tobacco farmers in Jember have also experienced the same thing. Deputy chairman of the Jember Commission for Tobacco Affairs (KUTJ), Abdul Kahar Muzakkir, said unpredictable weather had often caused bad harvest and poor-quality seedlings for the next planting season.

“What occurred in April is an example,” he said. “Farmers predicted the dry season, but then it rained later that month and about 50 percent of their tobacco plantations were damaged.”

He said that many farmers suffered financial loss as a result.

Abdul also said that climate change had caused the emergence of new plant diseases and pests, adding more burden.

Amin further said that unpredictable temperatures decreased the quality of tobacco produced by farmers in the region.

In terms of productivity, he said, the condition was concerning. This year, for example, a hectare of plantation yielded an average of 1.2 tons of tobacco and only 900 kilograms in October, compared to 1.5 tons per hectare in 2008.

APTI has over 2,000 member farmers across the province. They are spread over 20 regencies.

However, only a few in many regions have reportedly succeeded in maintaining productivity.

Among them are farmers in Sumenep and Pamekasan regencies on Madura Island, two of East Java’s biggest tobacco production centers. Other production centers include Jember, Probolinggo and Bondowoso regencies. The total tobacco plantation area in the province is 110,000 hectares.

Tobacco researcher Josi Ali Arifandi from Jember State University’s School of Agriculture confirmed the negative impacts of climate change on tobacco productivity, saying that the temperature increased to a 37 degrees Celsius average this year from 31 degrees last year.

“This affects the quality of tobacco leaves, making them narrower, thicker and less smooth due to disease or pests,” Josi said.

He added that the market presently preferred thin tobacco leaves, especially due to the small-sized cigarette product trend.

GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. – The tax on cigarettes in South Carolina isn’t just low, it’s the lowest anywhere in the nation.

“South Carolina does have the lowest cigarette tax in the nation: 7 cents,” said Sen. Thomas Alexander, a Republican who represents Oconee County. “The last time it was increased was in 1977.”

But now there’s a push to raise that tax by another 50 cents per pack next year. The increase would generate $143 million per year, $5 million of which would be spent on programs to discourage young people from smoking.

“It’s going to prompt kids to quit. It’s going to prompt adult smokers to quit. And over the lifetime of those individuals, we’re going to see a tremendous savings in health care costs for our state,” said Kelly Davis of the South Carolina Tobacco Collaborative.

But if South Carolina is on the verge of bringing cigarettes taxes in line with other states, a report out today by a University of South Carolina graduate student gives the state low marks for cigarette prevention.

“Last year, South Carolina ranked last in the nation, spending no state funds and only a $1 million federal grant on tobacco prevention,” said graduate student Geri Guy.

While most funds, including the 1998 tobacco settlement, are used to offset health care costs, officials say little is earmarked for tobacco prevention. Plus, the last proposed increase in cigarette taxes was vetoed.

“We have a governor who’s made it clear from day one of his service that he’s opposed to any tax increases,” said Sen. Mike Fair of Greenville County.

But supporters say they hope next year will be different. The House of Representatives has approved the tax hike, and the state senate is expected to vote on the measure when the South Carolina Legislature convenes in January.
WYFF4.com

AMHERST – On Saturday night, the North Amherst barn that for nearly 90 years held leaves of drying tobacco will become a beacon of light.

Called “Shedding Light,” the month-long nightly illumination will mark the end of the town’s 250th anniversary celebration. But it is also intended to call attention to the town’s farming history, and the need to support the family farm today. The barn is on the property of the third-generation Swartz Family Farm on Meadow Street.

When artist and architect Erika H. Zekos moved to town five years ago, she was taken with the tobacco barns of the area.

“I saw the sunlight streaming in” between the slats, she said, and she thought about what it would be like “flipping that around, to let the light stream out through the barn like a lantern.”

So she went in search of just the right barn. The Swartz farm grows most of its produce hydroponically, without the use of pesticides, and is able to sell greens year-round. She talked with farmer Joseph P. Swartz and his wife, Sarah, who loved the idea.

“Family farmers are struggling,” Zekos said. “I want to bring some attention to their value and what they have to do to make a living.”

Travelers tend to drive past the tobacco barns without really looking at them, Zekos said. With the lighting, she hopes people “will stop and take the time to see their value.”

When Zekos approached the Amherst Public Arts Commission with the idea two years ago, chairwoman Terry Rooney said she loved it. “I wanted to push the boundaries of (what is) public art in the Valley.”

She too liked the idea “of bringing attention to a vanishing heritage.” Without attention, the barns might not be around for the town’s 300th anniversary celebration, she said.

Initially Rooney proposed lighting the barn with solar panels, but in October the Commonwealth Solar Rebate Program canceled any further applications for solar rebates. Instead of costing $1,000, the project would cost $20,000.

She wrote an opinion page piece about what happened, and since then a contractor has offered to do it for half the cost. But instead of being lit by solar power, now the barn will be illuminated with low-energy lights. The commission, however, will continue to raise money to bring solar panels to the farm to help reduce the farm’s energy cost, Rooney said.

“It’s really a great project,” Swartz said. “The display is really dramatic. It’s nice to see a public art project like this celebrating our agricultural heritage.”

Town Manager Laurence R. Shaffer said “I think it’s tremendous.” He credits Zekos and Rooney for being able to bring this forward. “It takes an historic architecture … and tries to bring it forward into the 21st century … It’s a very interesting concept. It will demonstrate the singular beauty of these sheds.”

The barn will be lit from sunset to 10 p.m. from Saturday until the end of December. As part of the opening Saturday, the farm will be open for tours beginning at 3 p.m. Also, a panel discussion will be held in conjunction with the display at the Nacul Center, 592 Main St., beginning at 2 p.m.

Anyone wishing to help with the solar panels can send or bring checks to Town Hall or the Jones Library, Rooney said.
December 04, 2009
By DIANE LEDERMAN, Masslive

Smokers have tried a long list of ways to quit: cold turkey, counseling, gum, patches and more.

Now, a small company is hoping it can make millions of dollars by creating a vaccine for people who want to kick the habit. Nabi Biopharmaceuticals of Rockville, Md., which is in the late stages of testing its experimental vaccine, took a big step toward its goal last week by striking a deal with pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline.

Under the agreement, GlaxoSmithKline will pick up the cost of developing and marketing the vaccine, called NicVax, if Nabi successfully completes the Phase 3 trials now under way.

“GSK is one of the preeminent pharmaceutical companies with worldwide commercialization reach,” Raafat Fahim, Nabi president and chief executive, said in a conference call with investors last week.

For many years, the standard treatment for breaking a smoker’s dependence on nicotine has been patches or gum that contain declining dosages of the substance in an effort to wean addicts off their dependence.

Nabi’s experimental vaccine, a decade in the works, tries a more direct approach: It shuts down nicotine’s access to the brain. Smokers may light up a cigarette while on NicVax, but if the drug works as intended, they won’t feel any of the stimulating effects they crave from nicotine.

NicVax causes the immune system to create antibodies that bond with the nicotine molecule if it enters the bloodstream. The result is a molecule too large to pass along to the brain. In short, the vaccine seeks to make the body immune to nicotine.

If smokers can’t get a buzz from lighting up a cigarette, the thinking goes, there’s no reason for them to continue the habit. Since the antibodies created by NicVax stay in the body for a long period of time, the chances of a smoker quickly returning to the habit are low.

“It breaks the cycle of addiction,” Fahim said.

So far, the vaccine has completed its early and middle rounds of testing. The company plans to have the results of its recently commenced final round in 2011.

“At first blush, it sounds crazy,” said Norman Edelman, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association. After all, creating a vaccine against a small nicotine molecule is a large challenge, he said, “but it’s not beyond the realm of belief.”

Cheryl Healton, president and chief executive of the American Legacy Foundation, a public health nonprofit, said it’s the long-term effects of NicVax as a smoking cure that make it revolutionary. Smokers don’t usually quit successfully on the first try — on average there are eight to 11 failed attempts, she said.

Under the terms of the deal with GlaxoSmithKline, Nabi will receive $40 million initially for the exclusive worldwide licensing rights to the drug. The company stands to make as much as $500 million from the deal with GSK if the company meets a number of developmental and marketing milestones in the coming years. That figure doesn’t include royalties the company would earn if the product makes it to market.

“Needless to say, I’m very pleased with the agreement with GlaxoSmithKline, which provides not only for the development and potential commercialization of NicVax, but also for the development of its second-generation nicotine vaccines,” Fahim told investors.

David Moskowitz, an equity analyst with Caris and Co., said the new anti-smoking drug Chantix, which entered the market in 2006, is already worth about $800 million in sales.

“There is a large opportunity in the smoking-cessation market,” he said.

While the percentage of adults who use tobacco has been on a steady decline over the least few decades, recent years have seen that trend flatten out. Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 20.6 percent of U.S. adults count themselves as smokers, a figure that’s virtually unchanged since 2004, when it was 20.9 percent.

Nabi isn’t the only firm trying to defeat the smoking habit with this type of vaccine, but it appears to have a head start on the competition, said Stephen Dunn, managing director of life science research at Jesup & Lamont.

An experimental drug from Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis and Cytos Biotechnology recently failed a middle round of testing, casting doubts on whether it will reach the market.

By Mike Musgrove
WASHINGTON POST

Hartsville native and President of Gold Leaf Seed Co. Marion Hawkins gave the Hartsville Kiwanis a lesson in the history of the tobacco industry and his company at the group’s weekly meeting on Thursday at the Hartsville Country Club.

During colonial days, Hawkins said, tobacco was one of the nation’s biggest exports. In the mid 1800s, tobacco was booming when Duke Co. in Durham began making cigarettes. Since early 1900s it’s grown in lower part of South Carolina.

“U.S. tobacco is still sold at a premium. It has a different aroma, smell, and it’s excellent for making cigarettes,” Hawkins said.

U.S. tobacco has a unique quality compared to other places, even when the same variety is planted, he said.

In South Carolina, the majority of tobacco grown is flue-cured. The leaves are cured with heat, and the name comes from the flue in the back of the barn used to cure the tobacco. Flue tobacco makes up 75 percent of cigarettes. The second type of tobacco is burley, which is air-cured. The leaves are darker in color and are used mostly in pipes and snuff.

Today, there are 220,000 acres of flue-cured tobacco in the United States, which represents less than 5 percent of the world market. China and Brazil are now at the top of the market.

“Tobacco is a very unique plant,” Hawkins said.

In 90 days, under normal conditions, it should grow to 35 pounds.

“It’s a weed. No other plant grows that big that fast,” Hawkins said.

In 1900s, at mercy of tobacco companies, farmers would receive 5 cents a pound one year and 25 cents a pound the next. The farmer was at a disadvantage with the major companies.

In 1933, the government instituted price supports for tobacco, and tobacco was graded. From 1933 to 2004, farmers brought tobacco to auction sales that helped farmers hold the price.

Until the 1940s, the United States had 70 percent of the world’s tobacco production. Once the price supports were implemented, the U.S. technology went to Brazil, Canada and other countries.

Over the years, the U.S. flue tobacco acreage dropped from 440,000 acres in 1970 to 220,000 acres in 2004.

“We priced ourselves out of the market,” Hawkins said.

In 2004, tobacco was $1.86 per pound from the United States but only 96 cents a pound in Brazil.

To help fix the problem, farmers received a buyout financed by the major tobacco companies based on their market share in 2004. At the time, $10 billion was to be paid to farmers over a 10-year period to do away with the price supports.

“This opened a closed market,” Hawkins said.

Those with a quota were paid $7 to $10 per pound or around $20,000 per acre. Once the quotas ended, farmers had to get contracts from the major companies.

In 2004, the average age of farmers was 57, and most got out of the business with the buyout, Hawkins said. Now there are fewer farmers, but they’re bigger.

“It’s dropping down to just a few, but they’re very proficient,” Hawkins said. “You can make good money, but you have to have equipment, barns … it’s a lot of investment.”

In the United States today, there are two major companies, but internationally there’s a lot of competition.
“Our acreage has dropped,” Hawkins said. “We had to put emphasis on international sales.”

Tobacco is no longer grown from raw seed in the United States either. It’s done 100 percent in greenhouses.

Gold Leaf Seed sends raw seed to a California company that uses a float system to coat the seed to make them 25 times bigger, large enough to be picked up by machines. The machines place exactly one per slot in divided trays of potting soil.

The seeds can produce plants in 50 days that are ready to go to the field. The greenhouses allow a lot more control over the elements for farmers, Hawkins said.

Gold Leaf Seed Co.’s sales are 90 percent domestic and 10 percent international to countries such as Italy, Spain, Brazil, Argentina and Poland. It employs eight full-time and six part-time workers and has $2 million in annual sales.

A container of 180,000 open pollinated variety tobacco seeds retails to farmers for $250 with the hybrid version costing $360. That container can produce 25 acres of plants.

“There’s no other crop that the seed is as cheap as tobacco,” Hawkins said.

One acre of tobacco can produce 2,000 pounds of dry leaf that makes 400 to 600 million cigarettes. On average in the early 1990s, tobacco generated $46,000 per acre in state and federal taxes. As cigarette taxes climb, so do government revenues from the tobacco industry.

Gold Leaf Seed licenses varieties of tobacco seed to be competitive. The company ships seed by UPS and FedEx daily. In the four state area, Hawkins said, if he receives the order by 3 p.m., he can get the seed to you the next day.

“Our marketing strategy is to keep a low inventory,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins purchased his tobacco business from Norfolk King in 1995. At the time, the company, after several mergers, had 85 percent market share of flue-cured tobacco.

To those who may want to purchase Hawkins’ seed and make their own cigarettes, he warned, “I’m selling only one ingredient to cigarettes.”

Hawkins was born in Byrdtown, graduated from Hartsville High and Clemson University, and has been in agriculture his entire life. He lives in Hartsville with his wife Greta and three children.

Many growers remain undecided as to how they’ll approach tobacco production in 2010, especially considering that some have seen bad crops in recent years.

The future of tobacco production in Florida and Georgia — hammered already in recent years by decreasing demand and poor crops — took another blow recently when Philip Morris USA announced it no longer would be purchasing tobacco from the two states.

Philip Morris USA officials held a meeting on Oct. 14, in Alma, Ga., with more than75 growers from Georgia and Florida attending. Growers were informed of the decision by Philip Morris USA to “no longer offer contracts for the purchase of tobacco in Georgia after the 2009 season.”

Growers who are operating on a one year contract will not be offered a new contract for 2010. Growers who hold three or five-year contracts will continue to be able to produce and sell tobacco until the completion of their contracts, if they have met the requirements of their contracts and continue to have contracts in good standing.

The location of a buying point for the remaining production after 2009 was in question with the current receiving station not currently under contract for use. Three other Philip Morris USA buying points located in Lumberton, N.C., Wilson, N.C., and Danville, Va., will continue to buy tobacco from growers in those areas.

Since that meeting in Alma, there have been no updates from Philip Morris USA, says J. Michael Moore, University of Georgia Extension tobacco specialist. “Growers and grower groups are working with other concerns that might have an interest in purchasing Georgia tobacco,” says Moore, adding that he has heard talk of a possible interest form JTI, Japan Tobacco International Leaf Services, which is establishing a burley and flue-cured processing plant in Danville, Va.

JTI Leaf Services, which is the international tobacco unit of Japan Tobacco, Inc., produces two of the top three worldwide cigarette brands — Winston and Mild Seven. Its other brands include Camel and Benson & Hedges. JTI recently announced it plans to spend $19.5 million to build the plant, creating 39 full-time jobs and 150 seasonal jobs when fully operational.

Nothing is for certain at this point, says Moore, and it’s too early to tell what Philip Morris USA’s competition might do. The three other buyers of Georgia and Florida tobacco include R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Alliance One International and U.S. Tobacco Cooperative.

“North Carolina had a tremendous crop this year with an abundance of tobacco left over. Some companies are saying they won’t buy above what they contracted for, but some are buying at a cut-rate price,” says Moore. “Storage facilities could be filled to capacity going into next season which will affect demand. We hope other companies will step in and buy Georgia tobacco.”

Many growers remain undecided as to how they’ll approach tobacco production in 2010, he says, especially considering that some have seen bad crops in recent years.

“Even before the Philip Morris USA announcement, one producer — after having three bad crop years in the last five — decided to sell his barns and equipment and put in more than 100 acres of blueberries. They figured they could produce blueberries with less labor and fewer headaches than they could produce tobacco. More growers will probably consider whether or not to continue in tobacco production if they don’t get any contract offers through January,” says Moore.

Philip Morris USA was purchasing 40 to 50 percent of Georgia’s tobacco crop, he says. Georgia tobacco sales totaled $69.56 million in 2008.

This year’s crop was hammered by, among other things, tomato spotted wilt virus.

“Thirty to 35 percent of the state’s plants showed symptoms of the disease, and yield reductions were in the 15-percent range. That was over and above the damage incurred by not getting the crop transplanted on time due to excessive rain during the spring. Once the crop was transplanted, an additional flooding rain damaged it further, causing more losses.”

Coffee County is the largest tobacco county in Georgia, producing about 2,000 acres of it each year. That county’s Extension director, Eddie McGriff, says, “We figured something was up because they were grading tobacco hard this year. A lot of quality tobacco they were down grading, and we were concerned about that.”

Nov 23, 2009
By Paul L. Hollis

Smokers could soon break their habit with a jab that stops niccotine from being addictive by preventing it from entering the brain, scientists claimed.

As a result the injectable vaccine stops the smoker from deriving any pleasure from inhaling a cigarette.

In human trials the vaccine proved successful in 50 per cent of cases.

This would help relieve the NHS of the heavy burden of tobacco-related diseases. Smoking is believed to cost the NHS between £1.4billion and £1.7billion a year, according to the Centre for Health Economics, University of York.

And yesterday it was announced that the jab has moved one stop closer to hitting the market after pharmaceutical giant Glaxo-SmithKline made a deal with its developer Nabi Pharmaceuticals.

GSK is to pay $40million, (£24million) up front and as much as $500m in the future to Nabi.

The product, called NicVAX is likely to open a new front in the tobacco wars.

They are many products currently on the market to help people quit smoking such as nicotine patches, and gum.

But many of the existing smoking cessation products are failing to prevent many people from returning to their tobacco habits.

NicVAX is the first product that prevents smokers from returning to their habit with others just stopping their immediate tobacco use.

It helps create antibodies that bind to the addictive nicotine molecule, preventing them from passing from the blood into the brain.

Trials have shown that it halves the number of people returning to their habit compared with those given a placebo over six months.

Those vaccinated were 3.5 times more likely not to be smoking again after a year.

Medical research from the American Lung Association shows that relapse rates among smokers are as high as 90 per cent within a year of quitting.

Jean Stephanie, president of GSK’s Biological Divisions, told the Financial Times: ‘If approved, this…. technology could be a novel solution to help the millions of smokers who want to stop smoking and remain abstinent; a habit that is well documented to be very hard to stop permanently.’

It comes as sales of anti-smoking patches, gums and other devices declined last year.

In June, scientists claimed a blood pressure pill might help people quit smoking.

Researchers believe that the beta blocker drug works on certain brain chemicals and effectively deletes some of the memories associated with the habit.

It is these memories which help drive the craving and lead to thousands of would-be quitters relapsing.

There are an estimated 10million smokers in the UK — around a quarter of men smoke, which is just slightly more than the number of women who do.

While 70 per cent try to give up each year, only 5 to 15 per cent actually manage to do so for more than 12 months.

Trials of the vaccine have been carried out by scientists at the University of California and eight other institutions. The US Food and Drug Administration put the trial on fast-track for approval.

A number of companies have developed less advanced nicotine addiction vaccines than NicVAX.

Nabi is to continue to fund that late-stage tests of NicVAX which are already under way, while GSK will support future tests and commercialisation if the results are promising.

It successful, the drug could be on the market in a little over a year.

The vaccine would revolutionise anti-smoking treatments.

Most current treatments simply replace the nicotine from cigarettes in a less harmful way, using gum, lozenges, patches and nasal sprays.

Each NicVax jab lasts about a month. People quitting would need to receive repeat doses to help them quit.

By Ryan Kisiel and Kate Loveys
17th November 2009

While national rates for cigarette smoking have risen slightly, New York has shown a decrease in smokers, which experts attribute to the state’s high cigarette tax and aggressive anti-smoking laws and programs.

Nationally, about 20.6 percent of adults were smokers in 2008, up from 19.8 percent in 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.

Even so, the trend over the last decade is still downward: Since 1998, the proportion of adult smokers has declined overall by 3.5 percentage points.

In New York, the rate of adult smokers dropped from 18.3 percent in 2007 to 16.8 percent in 2008, the lowest ever measured in the state, said Claire Pospisil, a spokeswoman from the state Health Department.

Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable illness and death in the country, according to the CDC. But, as states struggle with budgets, many are cutting back on their smoking prevention programs, yet few have raised cigarette taxes as high as New York’s, the nation’s third highest.

With a $2.75 per pack tax levied by the state, along with taxes by other jurisdictions, a pack of cigarettes in the state costs from $7 to $10. Nassau and Suffolk counties have asked to put their own taxes on cigarettes but have been turned down by the state. New York City adds $1.50 a pack.

“New York is a role model,” said Matthew Myers, president of the nonprofit Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “While the rest of the country is stagnant, New York is a demonstration that its comprehensive effort is working.”

The decline in New York means there are about 300,000 fewer smokers, said Pat Folan, director of the Center for Tobacco Control at the North Shore-LIJ Health System. “Some people look at [smoking] as a dead issue, that we shouldn’t have to worry about it anymore, but in fact it’s not completely gone away,” Folan said. The center, supported by a $600,000-a-year state grant, is one of 19 such regional centers statewide.

The CDC’s survey found the highest prevalence of smoking among the least educated: A 27.5 percent rate for people with less than a high school diploma and 41.3 percent for those with a General Educational Development certificate. Only 5.7 percent of people with a graduate degree smoke, according to the survey.

Myers predicted that smoking statistics from 2009 will show a sharp decline because of the April federal increase in a cigarette tax from 39 cents to $1.01. He said preliminary data from the first three-quarters of the year show a drop in smoking of about 9 percent.

“The lesson of the impact of the federal tax as well as New York’s is that by increasing the tobacco tax and funding comprehensive programs, we can dramatically reduce the number who die from tobacco use,” Myers said.

By RIDGELY OCHS, November 12, 2009 Newsday

Reynolds American Inc., the second- largest U.S. tobacco company, is in talks to buy a Swedish maker of nicotine gum and mouth sprays to broaden its offerings beyond cigarettes, a person with knowledge of the discussions said.

Reynolds, which makes Camel cigarettes and Grizzly snuff, wants to acquire closely held Niconovum AB as a way to reach consumers trying to stop smoking, said the person, who declined to be identified because the negotiations are private.

Buying Niconovum would advance Reynolds Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Susan Ivey’s push into nicotine products less harmful than cigarettes. The company is testing dissolvable tobacco tablets in the U.S. after introducing Swedish-style Camel snus earlier this year, Ivey told analysts Oct. 22. It bought snuff maker Conwood in 2006.

“It is one indication of the changing nature of the nicotine business,” David Sweanor, an adjunct professor of law at the University of Ottawa, said by telephone yesterday. He said he supports weaning nicotine users off cigarettes because of the harm associated with lighting up.

Sweanor said he was told about the talks between Reynolds and Niconovum by people briefed on the transaction. The Wall Street Journal reported the talks yesterday, citing Sweanor. Sweanor said the value of the deal may be 30 million euros ($49 million), the Journal reported.

Maura Payne, a Reynolds spokeswoman, didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.

Nicotine Substitutes

Niconovum, based in Helsingborg, makes Zonnic gum and mouth spray to reduce “cigarette craving,” according to its Web site. It was formed in 2000 by Karl Olov Fagerstrom, who previously worked on developing the Nicorette brand.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Reynolds’ cigarette division, generated $1.87 billion, or 87 percent of the company’s revenue, in the third quarter. The Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based company, incorporated in 1890, first made chewing tobacco and now ranks second in U.S. sales behind Altria Group Inc., the maker of Marlboro cigarettes and Skoal snuff.

Reynolds gained 16 cents to $48.60 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading Nov. 6. The shares have advanced 21 percent this year.

By Chris Burritt, Bloomberg

Once again, there’s talk on Capitol Hill of raising Utah’s tobacco tax by about $76 million in light of an expected shortfall of $850 million.

The question is, where’s the rest of the money going to come from?

Certainly there is every reason to try to convince smokers that they’ll live a lot longer and save a bundle if they kick their addiction. They and the world would be healthier and smell much nicer if they did.

But if we’re going to ask cigarette smokers to pay up, what about all the others hounded by their own vices?

People are always talking about ice cream and diet soda, but what about the people who drive fast and tailgate in giant pickups that clearly have never seen a construction site? Those gas-guzzlers can’t be helping the quality of our air, which also kills a number of people every year.

And what about the overreaching skiers, boarders, hikers and boaters who put themselves in harm’s way, which costs state, county and city coffers a lot of money in rescue or recovery operations. Or people on rocket bikes who blindside me on the freeway as they roar by. I don’t know who I worry about more, them or me.

Utah has the nation’s lowest smoking rate, and backers of the tobacco tax hike are hoping that 3,000 teens and 10,000 adults would be persuaded to quit. The state also ranks just 36th in the nation for its tax rate, which would rise by about 65 cents a pack if the legislation goes through.

Still, lawmakers themselves seem torn by the issue. Gov. Gary Herbert says he won’t ask for any tax hikes in his budget, and legislative leaders — with a couple of exceptions — basically say it’s nuts to ask for more taxes in a time when far too many of us are barely getting by.

Getting back to the smoke itself: It’s a relief to walk into a store or restaurant or bar and not breathe other people’s smoke.

But for those who do smoke or dip or chew, it’s a matter of personal choice, which at between $30 and $60 for a carton of cigarettes, for example, already is expensive.

There are those, however, who have little but a smoke to soothe them. I have a friend who lives on disability and Medicaid. He doesn’t drink and has to be reminded to eat every day, so for him, a cup of coffee and a cigarette is a soothing way of marking the hours of his day.

For the record, I smoked my last cigarette at about 1:15 a.m. on Sept. 15, 2002, and I don’t miss it. Once in a great while, though, when things get frantic, I think about walking outside and taking that first hit and calming down a little.

I agree that tobacco use can kill you, or make you sick, or cost your employer money for time off. But I also know how tough it is to give it up when sometimes, it seems like it’s the only thing you’ve got.

Sltrib pegmcentee@sltrib.com

Smokers are being told to stub it out in their OWN homes before any visit by council staff. The move by Moyle District Council is designed to protect employees from exposure to second-hand smoke.

But it was slammed as “ludicrous” last night by lobby group Forest, who warned other local authorities across Northern Ireland were likely to follow suit.

The smoking ban, introduced in May 2006, covers all enclosed public places as well as the workplace.

But the legislation did not include any reference to extending it to people’s homes.

The new policy in Moyle, which covers areas including Ballycastle, Cushendun and Bushmills, stipulates:

“Where council employees are required to work or visit other premises that are not entirely smoke-free, all reasonable arrangements will be made to minimise exposure to second-hand smoke.

“These may include, where practicable, informing our customers and clients of the council’s policy in advance and requesting the environment is kept smoke free whilst council staff are visiting a clients premises.”

One council source told Sunday Life: “We’re not attempting to ban people from smoking in their own homes.

“All we’re asking is that people respect the views and health of visiting council staff.

“As employers the council has a legal duty to protect the interests and health of staff.”

Smoking is not permitted in any part of any Moyle council building and also banned at all times in council vehicles.

The guidelines raise the prospect of home visits or repairs being refused to those who defy the ‘smoke-free’ request.

A spokesman for Forest-Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Tobacco said: “This is ludicrous and all commonsense has now gone out the window.

“No doubt other councils will follow this lead which is further aimed at marginalising those who smoke.”

25 October 2009

For Quebec inhabitants, life without nicotine appears to be softer, but for prisoners tobacco ban in prison is the end of the happy life.

Food cravings, stress, headaches, and insomnia are just some of the disorders listed by a group of prisoners unhappy with Ottawa’s ban on tobacco in federal prisons.

A group of 19 inhabitants in Quebec, including legendary drug trafficker Gerald Matticks, is behind a legal charge being heard next week against the 16-month-old ban.

The faulty gallery of thieves, murderers and drug kingpins want the ban overturned, and have hired a high-profile human-rights lawyer to represent them.

Julius Grey, a Montreal constitutional lawyer, said that the ban violates inmates’ charter rights and is discriminatory because guards can still smoke outside.

“Smoking is so politically incorrect that people forget how important it is in the lives of some people,” said Mr. Grey.

He explained that Canadian prisoners don’t lose rights other than those tied directly to their imprisonment.

As it is known the right to smoke is not an absolute right, but for prisoners it is a life choice, and it is an important life choice.

Statistics show that almost three-quarters of Canada’s federal inmates are smokers even after the total ban went into effect. An indoor smoking ban was established in 2006.

Lawyer Isabelle Turgeon is also said that the tobacco ban has reinforced tensions in prisons. Guards taunt the inmates because staff can smoke outdoors in designated areas, she said.

“Most people think prisoners should all decay. But they’re still human beings, they’re not animals. These are people who can be incarcerated for 20, 25 years. They lose their freedom, and on top of that, they can’t smoke,” she explained.

Testimonies that are part of the voluminous Federal Court file suggested that the ban is taking a toll even on some of the province’s most hardened criminals.

Mr. Matticks, known as the King of the Port of Montreal for his role in the drug trade, said that he was a pack-a-day smoker and the ban has made his time behind bars very difficult.

Correctional Services officials would not discuss the court action but said the smoking ban was established for the health and safety of both inmates and employees. It temporarily offered quit-smoking programs after the ban went into effect. Prisoners who now want buy nicotine gum must pay for it themselves through the prison canteen. However Quebec still allows smoking outdoors.

Smokers will be banned from lighting up in outdoor areas where food and drinks are served under new laws being proposed by the ACT government.

It will force smokers to move at least two metres away from eating and drinking areas if they want a cigarette.

The move – mirroring similar measures in Queensland and Tasmania – is about ensuring a smoke-free workplace for waiters and waitresses, the ACT government says.

But Health Minister Katy Gallagher concedes businesses have a tough time ahead should the laws be passed.

Under the draft laws, any outdoor area where food or drinks are served must remain smoke-free, with restaurants, cafes, clubs and pubs – not the smokers – facing fines if they don’t toe the line.

Ms Gallagher said she expected opposition from industry groups, but maintained no worker should be exposed to smoke in their workplace.

“There just simply isn’t an argument that you can run that says, `well it’s not okay to smoke in anyone else’s workplace, but we can smoke in a waiter and waitress’s workplace’,” she told reporters on Thursday.

Asked about the rights of smokers, she conceded it was “a balancing act”.

But other states had proved the system was workable.

“It’s made it more difficult for smokers to smoke in public, but the sky hasn’t fallen in,” Ms Gallagher said.

She was unrepentant about pushing the no-smoking message, with the government also introducing draft laws to ban smoking at all underage events.

It’s also considering following NSW’s lead in banning smoking in cars with children.

Ms Gallagher admitted the new change could force businesses to outlay cash to create new smoking areas, just three years after an indoor smoking ban compelled them to rezone service areas.

She denied the move was likely to deter customers from visiting Canberra’s entertainment spots.

“Change doesn’t come easily, but I believe that we have been as reasonable as we can whilst maintaining the position that we’re coming from, which is to reduce the harmful effects of tobacco smoke,” Ms Gallagher said.

The industry had been aware of the potential changes for at least 18 months, she said, meaning businesses would have plenty of time to adapt.

If passed in the legislative assembly, the restrictions will commence in December 2010.

Now that the state budget has been signed, those affected are getting a look at how the spending plan will affect them.

For some tobacco users it’s going to mean higher prices to take a drag.

Sharon Minarchick of Mahanoy City wasn’t happy Monday when she bought her cigarettes. She found out soon she will be paying more for every pack she buys because of a new cigarette tax included in the new state budget.

“I am not going to be smoking that much. Instead of a carton a week I’ll go down to half,” Minarchick said.

Dealers said although the price of a pack of cigarettes is going up by 25 cents a pack, the price of a pack of small cigars, is going up by $1.60 a pack.

“I don’t like it but there is nothing I can do about it. It’s just not fair. I personally do not smoke but it’s not fair. They target them all the time. I am sure there was a way they could have done something different,” said Doretta Jones of Jones News Agency.

At the Cigar Box near Hazleton, people said smokers always seem to be targets when lawmakers are looking to make a quick buck.

“No matter how much money the government brings in, it’s never enough. Six months from now, they will be in a deficit again and be looking for more money,” said Tom Trella of the Cigar Box.

The state tax increase on cigarettes and small cigars comes a few months after a hike in federal taxes.

“This item retailed for $10 but because of President Obama’s tax, this one bag carries a tax of $26.75,” Trella added.

Cigarette dealers said they are awaiting word from the state as to when the higher prices will take effect.

Copyright © 2009, WNEP

Travelers in Europe are allowed to smoke on planes again .. sort of.

That’s because Irish airline Ryanair has started selling smokeless cigarettes on all of its flights throughout Europe and North Africa, according to the New York Daily News . The company said the cigarettes can’t be lit; they deliver the nicotine directly through inhalation.

Packs of 10 cigarettes are being sold to those over 18 years of age for 6 euros (about $8.72). Ryanair said a survey found that 24,000 passengers would still like the option of smoking onboard planes.

Company spokesman Stephen McNamara said in a press release that everybody wins “as these cigarettes are smokeless, they cause no discomfort to other passengers and can ensure a more enjoyable and stress-free flight for all passengers as non-smokers will no longer have to cope with moody smokers in need of nicotine.”

Ryanair has had a number of innovative promotions recently. Last November the airline announced it was selling tickets from Europe to the U.S. for 10 euros, or around $13 . Wired.com writes that Ryanair often gives tickets away for free, but makes all of its money off of charging fees for the tickets and selling products during its in-flight service.

About a year ago, Reynolds American chief executive Susan Ivey figured federal cigarette taxes would take a big jump just as the economy was shriveling.

The higher cost would mean fewer sales, a squeeze on profits.

In advance of the 62 cent per-pack April 1 tax hike, the largest in history, Ivey led a stepped-up marketing campaign to promote Pall Mall cigarettes, one of Reynolds’ mid-priced offerings. Sales soared for the 110-year-old brand, and Pall Mall’s market share jumped an unprecedented 82 percent from the first quarter to the second quarter. Workers added overtime shifts to keep up with demand.

“That involves, from a leadership perspective, turning challenges into competitive opportunities,” Ivey said. “That requires an organization that isn’t deer-in-headlights freaked out by the changes.”

Tobacco has long faced bigger challenges than most industries because its products are responsible for a lot of illness and death. On top of the recession, it faces more smoking bans, advertising restrictions, growing regulation, higher taxes and fewer smokers.

Reynolds, based in Winston-Salem, announced 570 job cuts late last year, about 10 percent of its work force. No factory workers were among those laid off.

Ivey, with 28 years in the industry, has focused on building trust, encouraging flexibility and communication as she guides the company she joined after a merger five years ago. Last year, she began meeting more often with managers so they’d better understand what the company faces and its strategy and can share that with workers. Ivey said she has been very impressed by how receptive employees have been.

“Change is fear,” she said. But, “employees can deal with anything around which there is clarity. Whether you like it … doesn’t matter. If you know what it is, you can deal with it.”

Rewards are key to success, she said. All employees remain eligible for bonuses, and Ivey has not cut pay, as many companies have.

Reynolds has continued work on new products, such as its smokeless, no-spit Camel Snus, little tobacco pouches a user tucks inside the lip. Ivey smokes the company’s Eclipse cigarette, which heats tobacco rather than burning it.

To help keep herself on track, she exercises four times a week. She also derives satisfaction from seeing employees achieve their goals and grow.

“As a leader, your job is to leave the business better off than when you started, to leave people better than you are to run the business,” she said.

There can scarcely be an easier pitch to voters than promising to pass laws that could discourage kids from smoking. That’s probably what the Conservatives thought when they promised during last fall’s election to ban the sale of candy-and fruit-flavoured tobacco products. At a news conference, Stephen Harper wagged before the cameras rainbow-coloured packages of cigarillos, infused with flavours like banana split, bubble gum and cherry. “These products are packaged as a candy, and this is totally unacceptable,” the Prime Minister said. “This can’t continue.” A nation of alarmed parents nodded its head in agreement.

But somewhere along the way, the Conservatives’ attempt to make good on their populist promise set off controversies over NAFTA, unemployment and crime so serious that several Tory MPs who initially voted for the law have now withdrawn their unconditional support. Under scrutiny now by a Senate committee, Bill C-32 appears to have turned from a presumed legislative cakewalk — it sailed through all three readings in the House — into a political morass. Ironically, some critics think it is the bureaucrats of Health Canada who are to blame for the delay, and possibly the imperilment of the law.

“In addition to violating a fundamental principle, this legislation could have important negative repercussions,” wrote Quebec MP Maxime Bernier on his blog yesterday, explaining why he now opposes the bill in its current form. “Among which [are] an increase in contraband sales, a violation of our international commercial obligations, and the closing of the Rothmans plant in Quebec City which employs 330 workers.”

Though Mr. Harper had talked only of eliminating tobacco with flavours appealing to children — the bill is called the Cracking Down on Tobacco Marketing Aimed at Youth Act — the language Health Canada’s policy writers used in defining those flavours will also ban, along with sugary-tasting cheroots, many top American and European cigarette brands, including Marlboro, Camel and Gitanes. Those products use American Blend, or burley tobacco, which, due to its coarser taste, is often moderated with small amounts of sweetener. It may be undetectable to the smoker, but under C-32 it’s enough to get a pack of Marlboro Reds lumped in with an Aloha Coco-Banana cigarillo.

The bill has raised much ire in Washington, where several congressmen and senators from tobacco-growing regions have complained that banning U. S. tobacco, while permitting the Canadian variety, is an “unfair assault” on their industry, and may violate international trade agreements, including NAFTA.

“There is no justification to single out American blend cigarettes in the Canadian legislation, as the ban of this product would not achieve a meaningful public health benefit or discourage youth smoking,” North Carolina Congressman G. K. Butterfield wrote in a letter to Canada’s ambassador, Michael Wilson, this week.

Bill C-32 has also become a political embarrassment for the Conservatives in Quebec, and in its primary base there, the Quebec City region. American parent firm Philip Morris had planned to equip its Rothmans Benson and Hedges plant in the city to produce American blend cigarettes for the export market. Company executives warn the new law could lead to the plant’s closure.

“We are at risk, no doubt,” said Daniel Rondou, international

representative for the Baker, Confectioners, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Union, representing the factory workers. “Philip Morris is not a small company. They have plants all over the world. They will have to do this [manufacturing] somewhere else if they are not authorized to do it here.” His union’s protests over the risk of losing hundreds of jobs prompted the Conservatives’ Quebec caucus this month to recommend to the Senate amendments to spare American cigarettes from Health Canada’s net.

Indeed, if the Conservatives had initially hoped to get the youth-marketed tobacco ban in place in a hurry, Canadian senators are giving C-32 a serious dose of their sober second thought. And at a committee hearing last Thursday, senators heard representatives of retail groups complain that Health Canada neglected to consult them about the bill’s collateral impacts.

“As Canadian citizens and businesses we expect that the Government of Canada will follow a transparent and democratic process in creating legislation,” testified Laurie Karson, executive director of the Frontier Duty Free Association. “Not only was our industry not consulted by Health Canada as the current wording was being developed, but Health Canada has refused our subsequent requests to meet so that we might present and discuss our concerns.” Kenneth Kim, general manager of the Ontario Korean Business Association, warned that a ban on U. S. smokes would “guarantee” retailers would lose “even more money to the illegal cigarette trade, and more of my membership will close their doors permanently.”

This left even the Conservatives’ own senators at a loss. Michel Rivard compared bill C-32 to crushing a fly with a bulldozer. Hugh Segal implored witnesses to try and explain what “Health Canada is up to here,” wondering if some staffer thought the Prime Minister’s plan might present an opportunity to outlaw American cigarettes while they were at it.

Health Canada officials say it wasn’t as covert as anything like that. Rather, it was an insistence to not make exceptions — even while they admitted they did make one for menthol cigarettes, which remain legal under C-32. “The goal of Bill C-32 is to make tobacco products less affordable, less accessible and less appealing to the most vulnerable segment of our population — young people,” wrote Josee Bellemare, press secretary to Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq in an email to the National Post yesterday.

Assistant deputy minister Paul Glover conceded before the Senate committee that he realizes additives to American blend cigarettes “are not meant to be a distinguishing flavour.” But, they make bitter tobacco smoother. And “a product that is easier to smoke and less harsh is easier for youth to start.” Any attempt to exempt American cigarettes would create a “loophole,” he argued, through which child-luring tobacco peddlers might slink.

Not everyone’s so sure: The U. S. Congress this summer passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Act, C-32’s critics point out. Effective this week, it bans tobacco products marketed explicitly on their added flavour, leaving standard, grown-up cigarettes legal. By all accounts, it’s a widely popular move, probably the sort of easy win Conservatives had hoped to have accomplished by now. Instead, thanks to the broadly worded bill, their reputation as free traders, their support in Quebec and their popularity among some retailers is suddenly at risk. And those fun-flavoured smokes? Still available at a store near you.

klibin@nationalpost.com
Kevin Libin, National Post, September 24, 2009

The Lowe’s YMCA and Lake Norman Regional Medical Center are teaming up to present “Fresh Start,” an American Cancer Society program designed to help anyone ready to quit.

“The goals of the program are to teach people what kind of smoker they are, whether it’s habitual, meaning you pick up a cigarette at certain times like with your coffee or after eating; or addictive, which means you go through severe withdrawal without having a cigarette or nicotine,” said Mitzie McCurdy, LNRMC director of community outreach. “Once you determine what type you are, you can figure out what will assist you while quitting.”

Dr. Sever Surdulescu, of Lake Norman Pulmonary, said most of his patients started smoking because of social habit, peer pressure and a false perception that they would lose weight or eat less.

“In the long term, smoking can cause bad breath, yellow teeth, wrinkled skin but also mouth cancer, throat cancer, lung cancer, bladder cancer, esophageal cancer, heart disease, clogged arteries,” he said. “Also, the cost of medical insurance is increased and it depreciates the value of your car and house.”

McCurdy said within 20 minutes of quitting, benefits begin to appear.

“Your lung capacity immediately starts to improve, your cancer risk decreases, blood pressure drops, shortness of breath decreases and that tell-tale smoker’s cough will go away,” she said.

Surdulescu added that taste buds regenerate, breathing is easier, there is a decreased risk of heart attacks and strokes and a reduced risk of chronic lung disease(COPD).

The smoking cessation program is designed to help people achieve those benefits, McCurdy said.

“It creates a good support system and it might help you get on board with quitting,” McCurdy said. “You need to make sure you’re really ready before attempting to quit. It takes a lot of time and effort, and if you’re stressed out due to money and the economy or if you’re having trouble at work, this might not be the time.”

To get ready, be pro-active, advised Surdulescu.

“Get informed about the side effects of smoking, effects of smoking on your households but also get informed on the symptoms one may encounter when stops smoking,” he said. “Craving for nicotine, nervousness, even depression and weight gain could be side effects.”

He suggested making a plan to quit and setting up a date to quit; asking for friends, family and your doctor’s support; exercising by walking or get a gym membership; and avoiding other smokers.

Copyright © 2009 2.statesville

Smoking would be banned in all enclosed public venues and penalties would be increased under new draft legislation for Beijing.

Cui Xiaobo, professor of Social Medicine at the Capital Medicine University, also a tobacco control expert helping draft the anti-smoking law, said a total ban was the only practical solution for public health.

“The city’s work on anti-smoking has indeed made a great achievement, thanks to the smoking regulation, effective May 1, 2008, a way to meet the country’s pledge of a smoke-free Olympics. But there is still more to be done,” Cui said.

Smoking restrictions are in place in about 70 percent of public venues in the capital. About 1,200 restaurants, 218 hospitals, and 66,000 taxis are smoke free.

But the current penalty for individuals found smoking in banned areas is just 10 yuan ($1.4).

According to the draft, the penalties for individuals who flout bans will be about 200 to 1,000 yuan, and it would be about 30,000 to 40,000 yuan for venues.

“The cigarette smoking rate decreased to 21.5 percent last year, 1.5 percentage points lower than 2007,” Cui said, referring to his survey conducted of 6,000 Beijing residents last October.

“More importantly, more and more residents are beginning to be aware of the harm of smoking.”

The survey found about 84 percent of residents supported the total ban in all enclosed public places.

In addition, more than 70 percent of Beijing residents wanted the government to raise fines for establishments if they fail to prevent smokers from lighting up cigarettes.

“Harsher penalties for establishments and individuals is an important way to ban smoking, but this is just an initial proposal,” Cui said.

“The draft will be completed by the end of the year, and then sent to Beijing municipal people’s congress for a decision.”

Qiao Jingyao, 23, a manager at Sculpting In Time cafe welcomed the proposal.

“It will not only stop people smoking in restricted areas, but also save thousands of people’s lives.”

The cafe has already established a smoking section, twice the size of non-smoking area.

“We receive about 190 to 200 guests each day, and most of them smoke. Staff have to work and breathe in second-hand smoke. Such a ban would be a big step forward in public health, especially for the restaurants workers,” Qiao said.

But a student surnamed Jiang from the University of International Business and Economics said people would continue to smoke regardless of the law.

“The problem is that when the ban comes in, people will move into the streets or come back home, and then smoke more, they can not ban smoking completely,” she said.

Oliver Dick, 28, from Germany, said many European countries have strict bans on smoking in public places.

When asked about he what to do if the ban was carried out in Beijing, Dick said he would go outside to smoke.

China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of tobacco, with more than 300 million people smoke and 54 million second-hand smokers. About 600,000 people died of lung cancer in 2008 across the country, an estimated one million more died of tobacco-related diseases.

It is estimated that about 100 million will die from smoking-related diseases by 2050 if no measures are taken, according to the latest figures from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Copyright © 2009-09-24 Chinadaily

A record low number of adult Utahns — 9.1 percent — use tobacco, according to a new annual report released today by the state Department of Health.

Tobacco use has declined by 33 percent since 1999, the year that an anti-smoking campaign funded by the Master Settlement agreement with cigarette manufacturers that were sued nationwide went into effect.

Public health administrators credit the reduction in use to the public awareness campaign underwritten by the settlement, the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program and the TRUTH marketing campaign. The report also credits local public health departments and partner public service agencies in communities statewide for the decrease.

The addition of a new $1 per-pack federal cigarette tax, plus the nearly constant anti-tobacco drumbeat surrounding a push to increase the state’s tobacco tax during this past legislative session has probably had a ripple effect on the decline of smoking, health officials said.

The state effort to increase the state’s per-pack tax to $2 failed, mainly because many lawmakers had promised constituents they would not support any new taxes. But the message of proponents seemed to stick: Nonsmokers pay $500 per year to help offset care provided to smokers who get sick, often chronically and seriously, from their habit.
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The total cost of tobacco-related illnesses amount to $369 million in medical expenses, according to the new report, with an additional $300 million in lost workplace productivity from those who smoke.

In other words, each percentage point reduction in the state’s smoker percentage amounts to $315 million in future health-care costs.

And the state has 85,000 fewer smokers because of the public education efforts, said David Sundwall, executive director of the state Department of Health, adding the number is “equal to half the population of Salt Lake City.”

Interest in quitting is significantly up as well, according to the report. Calls about smoking cessation programs through local public health agencies is up by 36 percent compared to calls made in the 2008 fiscal year, and 60 percent of those inquiries were made by people saying they wanted to quit within the coming month.

Despite the decline, nearly 190,000 Utahns still smoke and 1,150 die each year because of their addiction.

“In addition, the tobacco industry is aggressively marketing a new line of smokeless tobacco products designed to addict a new generation of tobacco users and replace those who quit or die,” Sundwall said.

Smoking rates among high school students continues to decline, down by 34 percent since 1999.

Copyright © 2009 Deseretnews

INDIANAPOLIS – Indianapolis is now a test market for a new kind of tobacco. Normally, it’s easy to tell when people are getting their nicotine fix. But smoking laws are changing and people can’t light up in as many places as they used to.

“So, the tobacco companies are coming up with alternative so people can still have their tobacco.”

R.J. Reynolds company is now selling what’s called dissolvable tobacco under the brand name of Camel. It’s actually tobacco you put in your mouth and it dissolves on your tongue. The product is being tested in only three cities and Indianapolis is one of them.

“We aren’t happy that individuals are being used as human guinea pigs. ” Karla Sneegas, Indiana Tobacco Prevention.

Indiana Tobacco Prevention is furious about the newest way to keep people from quitting, and that the dissolvable tobacco is on shelves in Indiana. “They don’t know what the long term risks are.”

Tobacco Prevention says companies have used Indianapolis as a test market for the last nine years because the area has a high smoking rate and lacks strong smoke free laws. Retailers say it’s too early to tell if people are buying in on the new idea.


Copyright © September 18, 2009, WXIN-TV, Indianapolis

Corner shops were dealt a devastating blow today when an influential Holyrood committee backed a proposed ban on tobacco displays.

MSPs have concluded that the display of cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products by shop cash registers is the same as advertising.

In a report out today, the Scottish Parliament’s health and sport committee says a ban on displays would help the fight against the physical harm done by smoking.

Its inquiry into the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill also backs banning cigarette vending machines.

In addition, the committee has called for the purchase of tobacco on behalf of anyone under the legal age of 18 to be made a criminal offence.

Shopkeepers have been up in arms over the government’s proposals to put a stop to point-of-sale displays.

Retailers says many could be put out of business because tobacco represents around a third of turnover for newsagents and the average small shop.

They claim the move will cost thousands of pounds for changes to shops and drive customers away to supermarkets or the black market.

But most committee members did not believe that measures would be disproportionate to the costs associated with the change.

Convener Christine Grahame said: “The majority of our committee believes that cigarettes at the point of sale represent an advertisement, and a ban on displays would have a particularly positive effect in deterring teenagers.

“Most members also believe that cigarette vending machines should be banned, bringing them into line with other age-restricted products like alcohol.”

Ms Graham added: “Everyone agreed that deterrents to stop young people smoking are necessary and this is why we are calling for the bill to be amended to criminalise the act of buying cigarettes on behalf of the under-18s.”

The committee expressed support for a national register of tobacco retailers and police powers to confiscate tobacco from the under-18s.

Public Health Minister Shona Robison said: “Too many families have watched loved ones suffer and die prematurely as a result of smoking-related illnesses. The cost of smoking is high – both in terms of premature deaths and the £400million cost to the NHS annually.

“That’s why we are taking radical steps to ban both tobacco displays in shops and cigarette vending machines. These measures will help to reduce the attractiveness and availability of cigarettes of children, stopping them becoming the smokers of tomorrow.

“We are committed to cutting the number of smokers in Scotland. Stopping people from starting to smoke in the first place is a priority for us and this legislation will help to do just that.”

The second part of the bill proposes excluding private firms and certain other parties from running GP clinics on behalf of health boards.

While most members supported this part of the bill, some felt it should be amended to allow a community co-operative to hold a contract.

There was unanimous support for the Royal College of Nurses position that the legislation should be changed to allow general medical contracts to be held by nurses and GPs.

But Labour committee member Dr Richard Simpson said the primary medical services part of the bill discriminated against rural communities and Labour would not support it in its current form. “The reality is that not a single practice in Scotland, out of over 1,000, is currently run by a commercial company.”

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: “The proposals do not specifically exclude individuals or organisations from holding a GP contract but make provisions to ensure anyone holding such a contract has a direct involvement in patient care.

“It will not be possible under the bill’s provisions for a profit-motivated company with no medical links to hold such a contract.”

Copyright © 14/09/2009 Pressandjournal

Children who are regularly exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke when traveling by car have significantly higher rates of hayfever and wheezing than those without such exposure, results of an Irish study show.

Writing in the European Respiratory Journal, Luke Clancy, from the Tobacco Free Research Institute in Dublin, and team explain: “Children may be more vulnerable to second-hand smoke-induced respiratory diseases due to smaller airways and greater oxygen demand, as well as a less-mature immune system.”

But they add that “there is no evidence quantifying second-hand smoke-induced respiratory health effects in children exposed to second-hand smoke in cars.”

To address this, the team studied 2809 children, aged 13–14 years, selected randomly from schools throughout Ireland.

All the children completed questionnaires detailing their exposure to second-hand smoke at home and in cars, and whether they themselves smoked.

They were also asked whether they had ever suffered from asthma, hayfever, wheezing, or other respiratory health problems.

The team found that, overall, 14.8% of the children surveyed were regularly exposed to tobacco smoke when traveling by car.

After accounting for tobacco smoke exposure at home and other factors, the researchers found that children exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke in cars were 35% more likely to suffer from wheezing and 30% more likely to have hayfever symptoms than those who were not exposed to second-hand smoke when traveling by car.

However, the team found no significant association between exposure to second-hand smoke in cars and an increased prevalence of asthma.

Clancy and team comment: “Despite this study showing a tendency towards an increased likelihood of respiratory and allergic symptoms in children when exposed to second-hand smoke in cars, comprehensive longitudinal studies across different population settings are imperative.”

However, the researchers add: “Assuming a causal relation, such adverse respiratory symptoms could have a knock-on effect on school absenteeism, and also on being at greater risk for future second-hand smoke related morbidity and mortality.”

They conclude: “These results add further support to efforts to push ahead with legislation supporting smoke-free cars in Ireland but needs to be adequately substantiated with further evidence from elsewhere.”

Copyright © 2009 Medwire