Virginia Department of Health launches 31-day countdown to help tobacco users quit

The Virginia Department of Health is helping tobacco users get ready to quit by sharing tips and resources during Countdown to Quit Day. The countdown kicks off Oct. 20 and offers a different tip on VDH’s Facebook and Twitter platforms each day through Nov. 19.

Virginia Quit Day coincides with The Great American Smoke Out, Nov. 19, and celebrates the benefits of living tobacco free. “Quitting tobacco is difficult, but one of the best health decisions a person can make,” said State Health Commissioner Marissa J. Levine, MD, MPH, FAAFP. “The benefits of quitting begin almost immediately after a person quits and continue throughout life, not just for the tobacco user, but also for their family and friends.”

Tips cover topics such as preparing a quit plan, building social support, and understanding withdrawal symptoms. The Countdown is not just for people wanting to quit tobacco, but for their loved ones as well. The tips provided will help them support their loved ones when they decide to quit, making it more likely they will remain tobacco free.

One of the resources available year-round to tobacco users is the Virginia Quitline. This evidence-based model offers support for quitting, including free quit coaching, a free quit plan and free educational materials. Call 800-QUIT-NOW (800-784-8669). Deaf and hearing-impaired TTY is 800-332-8615.

“Last year during the Countdown, calls to the Quitline increased 70 percent over call volume the previous year,” said Jayne Flowers, Tobacco Use Control Program director. “Based on people’s feedback from last year’s Countdown we updated our tips and resources to encourage even more tobacco users to take this life-changing step this November.”

Mike, who likes to buy Donskoy tabak bright online, says he wants to participate in the action.

The NIH is Spending $5 Million to Discourage Hipsters from Smoking

The federal government spent millions of dollars in recent years to discourage tobacco use among hipsters through a program that recommends “styling your sweet mustache” and listening to music “no one else has heard of” as good alternatives to smoke breaks.

The National Institutes of Health has awarded $5 million to the anti-smoking campaign since 2011, with the money going toward social events, ads, posters, T-shirts, social media and more. According to data, hipsters flavoured cigarettes buy online.

Some of the messaging knocks “neoconservative political candidates,” criticizing them for taking major donations from the tobacco industry. A 2004 NIH study found that Democratic and Republican lawmakers receive such contributions and that members of both parties are strong allies of the industry.

Pamela Ling, a medical professor at the University of California San Francisco and a former cast member on MTV’s “Real World” season three, directs the project. She worked with Rescue Social Change Group to create a “social brand” called Commune, which sponsors smoke-free events featuring local artists and alternative bands, in addition to paying artists to create anti-tobacco swag.

The campaign also involves quit-smoking groups for social leaders such as DJs and bartenders, who record their progress with kicking the habit on a blog.

The program specifically targets hipsters, defining the subculture as young adults who are “focused on the alternative music scene, local artists and designers, and eclectic self expression,” according to an abstract of the project.

The Washington Free Beacon first reported the campaign’s questionable messaging in an article last November, noting for instance that a statement on the Commune’s Web site condemns the tobacco industry for contributing to “things like world hunger, deforestation and neo conservative policies.”

Ling has concluded that hipsters need something more than scary health warnings to keep them from lighting up.

“Saying ‘Smoking is bad for you’ isn’t relevant to them,” she said in a 2010 article on the UCSF Web site. “But they do care about self expression and social justice.”

Research Raises Concerns about Thirdhand Smoke

Health care providers are more and more concerned about effects on body which thirdhand smoke has. How thirdhand smoke is defined? It the residue from tobacco smoke which remains on curtains, carpets, clothing, couches, and dust particles. In other words, when you enter a room or flat several hours after a man was smoking there,

Fewer Students Smoking Cigarettes in North Carolina

Latest Youth Tobacco Survey conducted in North Carolina found that fewer middle and high school students in the state are smoking cheapest cigarettes. The bad news is that more students use other tobacco products and here the talk is about pipes, snuff, hookah and e-cigarettes. The doctors are worried much about youth interest towards e-cigarettes

New Jersey may become first state to ban smoking on beaches

New Jersey could become the first state in the nation to ban cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products in all public parks and beaches if Gov. Chris Christie signs into law a sweeping anti-smoking bill approved by lawmakers. The bill passed both houses of the state Legislature with strong bipartisan support and was sitting on Christie's desk Friday, but the Republican presidential hopeful would not indicate his intentions.

The legislation would completely prohibit smoking in all state, county and municipal parks. Public beaches also would be smoke-free, though local officials can opt to save 15 percent of beach land as a designated smoking section.

"This is definitely groundbreaking," said Karen Blumenfeld, executive director of Global Advisors on Smokefree Policy, a proponent of the New Jersey bill.

"We would be the first state to impose such a wide ban in all public outdoor spaces and the legislation will continue the trend of New Jersey being a model for other jurisdictions' anti-smoking policies," she said.

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, and secondhand smoke exposure has been linked to asthma, lung cancer and stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least one beach town restricts it on the boardwalk. Supporters say the ban will allow New Jersey residents and visitors to enjoy parks and beaches without the distraction of wafting cigarette smoke and would drastically reduce litter, fire risks and children's exposure to smoking.

"No one needs to sit in an ashtray when enjoying the beach," state Sen. Joseph Vitale, a sponsor of the bill, said.

Blumenfeld said the measure has a "critical mass" of support in the state. But some residents said the measure would trample on personal liberties.

"I don't think the government needs to be involved," said Bryan Adamson, 32, of Blairstown. "As a smoker, I use common sense and respect for the environment and those around me."

Others said it's time to put an end to the outdoors as a last sanctuary for those who choose to light up.

"Even when I smoked and was on the beach next to a smoker, I would be frustrated because frankly, I don't want to be stuck around [smokers] if I don't have to be," said Lauren DiGenova, 26, of Waldwick.

New Jersey has some of the strictest anti-smoking policies in the country. It was the first state to prohibit smoking in college dormitories in 2005, Blumenfeld said. A year later, Trenton banned indoor smoking in bars and restaurants. More than 200 New Jersey cities, towns and boroughs have passed their own restrictions on cigarette and tobacco use in parks and beaches. The legislation would cover outdoor public spaces across the state.

Offenders would face a $250 fine for the first offense, $500 for the second and $1,000 for each additional citation. Coastal towns up and down the Atlantic Coast are targeting certain behaviors on behalf of visitors: Ocean City, Md., has posted "no profanity" signs this summer, Wildwood, N.J., has banned saggy pants, and Dewey Beach, Del., has increased fines for public urination.


However, smokers will buy online cigarettes and smoke in designated areas on the beaches.

Ireland Leads EU on Plain Packaging of Cigarettes

The Irish government approved draft laws which make tobacco companies use plain packs on tobacco products sold in the country. This is a great and important step towards the improvment of public health, which will improve country’s reputation as a global leader in tobacco control. If the law will be adopted, it will prohibit use

Tax Increase Will Not Reduce Tobacco Use

British American Tobacco Zimbabwe asked governments in Southern Africa to pay attention to the consequences of high taxes on tobacco products which were increased in order to reduce tobacco use among population. On May 31 the world celebrated No Tobacco Day and with this regard BAT Zimbabwe released a statement which says that the company

WHO Calls for Tobacco Taxes Increase

On May 31 the world would celebrate No Tobacco Day. In connection with this the WHO calls the countries in the entire world to increase taxes on tobacco in order to encourage smokers to quit and prevent youth from becoming smokers. The WHO estimated that increasing tobacco taxes by 50% in all countries worldwide will

Kids negatively influenced by tobacco ads online

An increasing number of youngsters exposed to tobacco marketing are being influenced by it, a study reveals.

According to researchers from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, exposure to direct marketing is associated with increased use of tobacco.

"For several years, the emphasis in the tobacco industry has been on direct marketing, especially to young people who are highly price sensitive and who may find coupons, samples and promotions appealing," said lead author Samir Soneji from Dartmouth.

Soneji's team explored whether exposure to tobacco coupons and websites would increase the chances that a young person would start to smoke.

"We found that both direct mail (coupons) and exposure to tobacco websites were associated with increased chances of smoking initiation and current smoking," Soneji added.

Overall, 12 percent of 15-17-year olds and 26 percent of 18-23-year olds were exposed to either form of direct-to-consumer tobacco marketing.

According to the study, some of the internet marketing infiltrates social media which is widely consumed by teens and young adults.

Since younger consumers are more "price sensitive" to the high cost of tobacco products, a web ad offering a coupon could be perceived very favourably.

Teenagers and young adults, who live in a household with a smoker, may face increased exposure to direct marketing in the form of mailed ads and coupons, the study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, emphasised.

How Has Smoking In the USA Changed Since 1964

Fifty years ago on January 11, the surgeon general released a report which showed a link between smoking and disease, which changed totally the attitude towards tobacco. Social pressures against smoking resulted in regulation by government, thus smoking now is banned in bars and restaurants in a number od American states. Since the release of

Quit Smoking in 2014

Quitting smoking is a most popular New Year’s Resolution. Everyone knows that smoking is harmful to the body so every year more and more smokers promise to and successfully quit the habit. Secondhand smoke can cause allergic reactions and asthma in some people and stop healthy development of lungs in kids. Therefore, smokers should not

Tobacco Use Among Teens in West Virginia Declined

Experts say that tobacco use among young people in West Virginia is declining, Recently West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Division of Tobacco Prevention revealed data that demonstrates the percentage of high school students who said they have never used any kind of tobacco products has raised from 20.6% in 2000 to 46.1%

Alabama last SEC school without campus smoking ban

With The University of Alabama standing as the last SEC school without a smoking ban on campus, UA students are stepping up to voice their opinions on the matter. “The UA administration is evaluating a campuswide ban on smoking, based on input from constituents across campus,” Cathy Andreen, director of UA media relations, said.

For the past two years, UA students in the Student Government Association, Student Health Center groups and Smokefree UA have discussed their readiness to become a smoke-free campus and join the 1,178 campuses that have already passed a smoking or tobacco ban.

“SGA is not opposed to a smoke-free campus and would support any University policy that our student body feels might enhance their experience here,” Leela Foley, director of SGA media relations, said.

This year is the first time a petition for a smoke-free campus is being offered by the Tobacco Strategic Health Team, SHC Department of Health and Project Health. This gives students a voice to promote smoke-free awareness and support. Andreen said the current policy prohibits smoking in all campus buildings as well as 30 feet from building entrances.

“There are 45 million smokers in America, but 125 million people are impacted by secondhand smoke,” said Delynne Wilcox, assistant director of the the department of health promotion and wellness at the SHC. “Smoking is not one of those things that [is] limited to only the health risks of the smoker. It impacts people around them.”

The American Cancer Society created the Great American Smokeout in the 1970s to bring awareness to health complications related to smoking and tobacco use. Every year on the third Thursday of November, participating organizations hold events to connect people with various resources to encourage them to quit smoking.

Wilcox said the University has participated in the Great American Smokeout for more than 13 years. Project Health had a table in the Ferguson Center Nov. 21 to promote the national event and to offer the petition for students to sign.

“Ideally, it would be great if we had a smoke-free campus because it would be another environmental support for students on why not to smoke,” Wilcox said. “It would decrease the secondhand smoke complications as well.”

However, not all students on campus feel like smoking poses a threat to students on campus. “It doesn’t feel fair to tell people who smoke on the way to class that they can’t, but if everyone could be more courteous where they do it, then a lot of people would stop complaining,” Anna Neff, a sophomore majoring in advertising, said.

College Students Feel Pull of Cigarette Ads, Study Finds

The influence of just one cigarette ad can last for seven days and increases the risk of smoking among college students, according to a new study.

Over three weeks, 134 students, aged 18 to 24, in Pittsburgh documented their exposure to cigarettes ads and other pro-smoking media messages. This included seeing positive depictions of smoking in movies, for example, the researchers noted.

The students, who included both smokers and nonsmokers, also recorded how these exposures affected their smoking intentions and ability to refuse cigarettes.

Immediately after seeing a cigarette ad or other pro-smoking media message, the students' smoking intentions rose by an average of 22 percent, the study found. Although their smoking intentions decreased with each passing day, they remained elevated for seven days.

All of the students said they were exposed to numerous smoking ads and pro-smoking media message multiple times during the three-week study. In total, the students reported more than 1,000 such exposures, according to the findings published online Nov. 18 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

"We were surprised how long the influence of pro-smoking messages lasted," study co-author Steven Martino, a psychologist at the RAND Corporation, said in a news release from the nonprofit research organization. "The results suggest that positive media messages about smoking are likely to influence behavior even if opportunities to smoke occur infrequently," he noted.

"Our findings suggest that exposures that occur before the influence of a prior message 'wears off' could cause the risk of smoking to accumulate over the long term. This might explain why exposure to these media messages can have an enduring effect on people's attitudes and behaviors toward smoking," Martino explained.

He and his colleagues noted that the study results have important implications for policies that limit tobacco advertising and other efforts meant to reduce youth tobacco use.

Cigarette ads are banned from television and radio in the United States, but are still allowed at places where tobacco is sold, in newspapers and magazines, and on the Internet.

Smoke-Free Homes Help Curb Habit

 Low-income smokers light up less often when cigarettes come with a high price tag and homes have a smoke-free policy, according to a new study. Tobacco use among low-income people remains high, the researchers said, but their findings could help shape public policies aimed at smoking cessation.

"What is important is that clinicians need to emphasize social norms concerning tobacco use and should encourage and discuss strategies for adopting smoke-free homes among all smokers," said the study's first author, Dr. Maya Vijayaraghavan, assistant clinical professor in the department of family and preventive medicine at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine.

"Additionally, there is a lot of interest in raising cigarette prices to reduce smoking," Vijayaraghavan said in a university news release. "While we have evidence that moderate increases reduce smoking behavior in all income groups, it is important to match such a policy with support to help lower-income smokers to quit successfully."

The study of U.S. Census Bureau data, which was published in the Oct. 17 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, suggested that people of all income levels smoke less when a pack of cigarettes costs $4.50 or more, said principal investigator John Pierce, professor and director of population sciences at the university.

"Living in a state where the average price paid for cigarettes is low ($3.20 or less per pack) means that all smokers, regardless of income, will smoke a lot more than those who live in a state with higher prices," Pierce said. The researchers also found that having a smoke-free home not only curbs tobacco use, but also helps prevent a relapse among those trying to quit.

"Price is a deterrent to smoking, but successful quitting -- 90 or more days -- was associated in this study only with a smoke-free home," Pierce said. The researchers said low-income smokers are less likely to have smoke-free policies at home since it's often the case that more than one person in the home smokes.

They noted, however, that anyone serious about quitting should consider a smoke-free rule in their home. Vijayaraghavan added that another way to deter smoking would be to boost regulation of secondhand smoke in public housing. "This may change norms around smoking among low-income populations living in public housing," she said.

For the study, the researchers examined information on 150,000 adults from a national survey on tobacco use conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau between 2006 and 2007. The participants provided information on their income and smoking habits.

Alaska officials say smoking down among teens

Smoking among Alaska high school students has dramatically declined in recent years, health officials said Monday. A spring survey found 40 percent fewer students are smoking compared to six years ago — 10.6 percent this year compared with 17.8 percent in 2007. Officials said that means only one in 10 students in the state reported smoking at least one cigarette during the past 30 days at the time of the survey.

“These are great numbers. It’s wonderful news,” state chief medical officer Ward Hurlburt said during a briefing in Anchorage to announce the survey findings. “We also know that there remains much work to be done. The tobacco companies continue to aggressively target young Alaskans and we need to remain vigilant in our fight to combat that message.”The survey looked at nearly 1,250 students from 43 high schools that were randomly selected.

According to the survey, Alaska Native teens continue to have a rate of smoking more than twice as high as non-Natives — 18.5 percent among Alaska Native students compared with 8 percent among non-Natives in that age group. However, the figure shows improvement over the rate of 31 percent in 2007 and more than 50 percent in 1995, said Lincoln Bean, vice chair of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.

“Smoking tobacco is not a part of our traditional culture in Alaska,” said Bean, who is Tlingit. He said his ex-wife died this year of smoking-related cancer. More than half of young Alaska Natives still try smoking, but many decide before they are hooked that it’s not for them, Bean said. He noted how important tobacco prevention partnerships are for fighting the use of tobacco, including the smokeless kind.

“I’m tired of seeing our people wash their face with their tears because so many people die of cancer,” he said. Among all students, use of smokeless tobacco has not declined. The survey, however, showed a decrease in alcohol and marijuana use among all students. In this year’s survey, 22.5 percent of high school students said they had consumed alcohol within the past month, compared with 39.7 percent in 2007. Regarding marijuana, 19.7 percent reported using the drug within the past month in this year’s survey, compared with 23.9 percent in 2003.

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey is conducted in U.S. schools every two years, and it was conducted in Alaska by the state Department Of Health and Social Services. Comparable national data is not yet available, and officials say Alaska’s survey results cannot be compared with other states.

In other behaviors, the Alaska survey showed that suicide remains a serious concern. In the past 12 months, 8.4 percent attempted suicide, compared with 10.7 percent in 2007. Another area of concern is obesity, although there was a dip in the rates compared with six years ago. In this year’s survey, 26.2 of youths polled were overweight or obese, compared with 27.3 percent in 2007.

Cigarette sales to hit record low

Cigarette consumption is expected to reach a record low in the first half of this year due to increased regulations against smoking and heightened health awareness, according to industry data.

The consistently falling consumption of cigarettes is likely to further dent the bottom lines of tobacco giants such as KT&G, Philip Morris and BAT, market analysts said.

Korea’s aggregate sales amounted to 89.3 billion cigarettes in Korea last year, down almost 1 percent from 90 billion a year ago.

KT&G, Korea’s largest cigarette maker, saw its cigarette sales decline 1.5 percent to 26.6 billion, despite a market share increase in the first half of 2013.

This means that the Korean tobacco maker was able to grab a bigger slice of the shrinking market by luring customers away from other competitors, analysts noted.

KT&G’s market share is expected to decrease by about 1 percent to around 62 percent in the third quarter of this year after hovering around 58-59 percent in 2010-2011.

The rest of the market is shared by foreign brands ― BAT, Philip Morris and JTI.

The Korean company’s exports are also not faring well as analysts forecast about a 30 percent decrease in outbound shipments from July to September this year. Its top export destinations include the Middle East and Central Asia.

The four giants will face fiercer competition in the shrinking market as governments ― central, regional and city ― are moving to apply tougher rules against smoking both inside and outside of buildings, facilities and residential areas.

The Seoul government, for example, aims to make the capital a smoke-free city by 2020 in line with the World Health Organization’s policy encouraging its members to reduce smoking.

Also, a growing number of consumers are opting to quit smoking not only because of health reasons and regulations, but also due to an increase in cigarette prices. Therefore the best way to save money is to buy cigaretets online!

New Smoking Policy Came into Action in Beaverton

In the city of Beaverton, Oregon, from September 1 a new tobacco-free policy comes into effect. The new policy touches far more than just city’s buildings. Use of tobacco is going to be prohibited not only in city-owned buildings but in leased buildings too. Besides this, in Beaverton smoking will not be permitted on any

Feds grant $1.5 million to help women quit smoking in Brazil

The federal government granted a Brazilian-born researcher at the University of Alabama a 5-year, $1.5 million grant to help women quit smoking in her native country, Judicial Watch reported.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) approved Isabel Scarinci’s grant in order to better understand “women and their tobacco-related issues” in the South American country, specifically in Miss Scarinci’s hometown of Parana,” the report said.

In the last two years alone, Miss Scarinci has received more than $560,000 for the initiative, with the goal being to ultimately “reduce tobacco use and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke among women in Parana.”

“Although, historically, tobacco use among women in developing countries, particularly Latin America, has been relatively low as compared to men, the smoking epidemic is rapidly spreading to women in developing countries, and these three Southern states have the highest prevalence of women smokers in the country,” the project states.

“An understanding of women and their tobacco-related issues, as well as the need for the development of gender-relevant tobacco control efforts, have been highlighted as priorities in landmark guiding documents published in the past few years.”

War on tobacco worthy, but must not be rushed

IT was not so long ago that secondary school children were allowed to smoke in many of the more "advanced" schools around the country. Staff rooms were also often full of teachers puffing on pipes and cigarettes as pupils regularly entered and left.

Today, the idea of a 17-year-old taking a puff between classes seems as strange as quill pens or the regular floggings that were a feature of the Irish educational system for far too long. The world changes, and tobacco smokers have had to endure more change than most as their habit has moved from socially acceptable to pariah status.

The Government's latest plans to outlaw smoking anywhere in secondary school grounds and near creche facilities is another step in a long-term strategy to "de-normalise" smoking and ensure that fewer than one person in 20 smokes by 2025.

That is a noble objective, but like many others it is one to be pursued carefully.

The prohibition of alcohol in the United States during the 1920s did little more than cement the position of criminal gangs, and serves as a salutary warning. There is already plenty of evidence that high taxes in Ireland are a boon for crooks while also turning many otherwise law-abiding citizens into criminals.

There is also the question of equity. Many ordinary smokers deeply resent their outlaw status and insist, not without reason, that their behaviour is likely to be less lethal to others than speeding drivers or alcohol.

That is all true, but the truth is that most smokers wish they could kick the habit, and hundreds of thousands of smokers have done just that thanks to the policy of de-normalising smoking. The gradual escalation of this policy will undoubtedly save more people from premature death while also saving them money.

Health Minister James Reilly has had a mixed tenure in office, but he cannot be faulted for his commitment to fighting tobacco and the tobacco industry. He must now set himself measurable targets so he knows whether he really is on track with this grand ambition.