Why Is Smoking Bad For You?

Smoking is responsible for several diseases, such as cancer, long-term (chronic) respiratory diseases, and heart disease, as well as premature death. Over 440,000 people in the USA and 100,000 in the UK die because of smoking each year. According the US CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), $92 billion are lost each year from lost productivity resulting from smoking-related deaths.

Of the more than 2.4 million deaths in the USA annually, over 440,000 are caused by smoking.

Smoking is the largest cause of preventable death in the world. Recent studies have found that smokers can undermine the health of non-smokers in some environments.

In an article published online in Medical News Today on 30 May 2013, we presented data demonstrating that, on average, smokers die ten years sooner than non-smokers.Pall Mall cigarettes.

Smoking causes cancer

90% of lung cancer patients developed their disease because of smoking. Lung cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer deaths in the world. Smokers also have a significantly higher risk of developing:

• Bladder cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Cancers of the pharynx and larynx (throat cancer)
• Mouth cancer
• Esophagus cancer
• Cancer of the pancreas
• Stomach cancer
• Some types of leukemia
• Cancer of the nose and sinuses
• Cervical cancer
• Bowel cancer
• Ovarian cancer
• In some cases, also breast cancer

According to Cancer Research UK, one person dies every 15 minutes in Great Britain from lung cancer.

Smoking also raises the risk of cancer recurrences (the cancer coming back).

Why does smoking raise cancer risk?

Scientists say there are over 4,000 compounds in cigarette smoke. A sizeable number of them are toxic - they are bad for us and damage our cells. Some of them cause cancer - they are carcinogenic.

New store aims to decrease smoking, increase downtown traffic in Kilgore

Some people blow smoke, others blow vapor.
The vaping trend will make its way to downtown Kilgore soon with Wakie Taylor and husband Bandy Clinton’s new store, Innovapetions.
The term “vaping” is likely new to many in Taylor and Clinton’s native Kilgore, but it gives smokers an alternative to traditional cigarette smoking.
Although it will be a store to sell the personal vaporizers and accessories, the main goal for Taylor and Clinton is to spread awareness and educate people about vaping as an alternative to smoking.
“The products we sell are just a bonus to us,” she said. “The biggest benefit is just you’re saving lives.”
The action of smoking is there, but the only similarity to smoking is the nicotine.The cost of vaping is less than smoking, especially for people who might currently smoke multiple packs a week, Taylor said.
“Compared to smoking cigarettes, you’re going to save money for sure,” she said.

Before she quit after 17 years of smoking, Taylor said she was smoking one pack a day, and spending nearly $200 per month. With the vaporizer, Taylor said a starter kit will probably start at about $30 – for the vaporizer, a small e-liquid mixture, a battery and a charger – and it can go up from there.
Not only is vaping less expensive over time than regular cigarettes, but the vaporizers also contain four ingredients instead of the hundreds of chemicals in regular cigarettes, she says.
The four ingredients are combined to create an e-liquid used in the personal vaporizers. The liquid has a foodgrade base of either propylene glycol (PG) or vegetable glycerin (VG), which can be found in many personal care items. Some people are allergic to PG, though, so they can have a base made completely of VG, creating a similar base but without the allergen.
The base is then combined with three ingredients – nicotine, water and flavoring.
Some people will eventually find themselves ‘vaping’ with a mixture devoid of nicotine. These are usually people who were light smokers before becoming vapers or who have stepped down their nicotine intake to to a point at which they no longer need it. The vaporizers are not cessation devices, though, Taylor said.
She emphasized, though, that she was not encouraging non-smokers to try vaping for fun. They are promoting vaping as an alternative to smoking for people who are currently smokers.
With many different flavors to choose from, Taylor said she will blend the liquids in the store, so it will be whatever the customer needs. Rothmans cigarettes.
“You’re getting flavor plus the smell,” Clinton said. More cigarettes.
Taylor wants Innovapetions to be the go-to place for people looking to start vaping in Kilgore. The service and advice she and Clinton got at different vape stores when they first started was good, and she wants to continue that through their education on vaping, she said. It can be a little complicated at first, Taylor said.
“I will be here to help them understand how to use [their] equipment and how to use [their] e-liquid,” she said.
A lot of the learning is a hands-on process, Clinton said.
Taylor started vaping about a month ago, and she said she tried one of the tobacco company’s e-cigarettes. It did not have enough nicotine to curb her cigarette craving.
It is the customization and control Taylor has with her personal vaporizer that she likes best. She can choose the nicotine level in her vaporizer as well as the flavor.
The e-cigarettes from the major tobacco companies do not have the customization
The flavors will vary, but she does not know what flavors they will be offering yet.
“Everything is completely customizable,” Clinton said.
Taylor and Clinton have gotten positive feedback from the surrounding businesses and community, Taylor said.
Taylor plans to sell starter kits, “mods, and everything in between.”
At first, Taylor said she will put up a curtain to divide the room in half with only the front half open to the public. After they see the response, Taylor said she hopes to open the back half as a sitting and lounge area with Wi-Fi and a self-serve coffee bar.
“I’m hoping to get a lot of the college kids to come down here and stop smoking and switch to the alternative,” she said.
Although there are no regulations yet on who can buy personal vaporizers, Taylor said she decided her store would not sell vaporizers izers to anyone under 18 years old. And just like when trying to buy cigarettes, customers will have to present an I.D. to prove they are old enough to purchase a vaporizer.
“I don’t want a kid coming in here, buying them just because they’re cool, and then getting hooked on nicotine,” she said.
Taylor is working on purchasing inventory and will be setting up a website and Facebook for Innovapetions. In addition to an online presence, Clinton said he hopes news about the store’s opening will spread through word of mouth.
Clinton, a native of Kilgore, said he would love to see downtown grow, and said it would be great if Innovapetions tions could help the area grow.
“We want to have that warm, inviting, comforting feel when you come in,” Taylor said.

Alarming- Children Know Cigarette Brands | A Quit-Smoking Article

Alarming- Children Know Cigarette Brands | A Quit-Smoking Article

Want To Quit Smoking Drink Green Tea | A Quit-Smoking Article

Want To Quit Smoking Drink Green Tea | A Quit-Smoking Article

Kennesaw proposal would ban smoking in most public places

Kennesaw could join a growing list of Georgia cities that have banned smoking nearly everywhere except private residences.

Last week, City Councilmember Dr. Cris Welsh introduced an ordinance that would ban smoking tobacco and e-cigarettes in public places.

"What we want to do is talk to our business owners, talk to our citizens and just begin the conversation -- see if this is something they would like to follow in the footsteps of Savannah, DeKalb County and other municipalities around us who have created a smoke-free environment for their citizens," said Welsh.

Unlike state law, Dr. Welsh's ordinance would ban smoking in bars, restaurants, public parks and all privately owned, indoor workplaces. The ban even includes e-cigarettes.

Dixie's Vapor Shop owner David Owens says no studies have proven that what comes out of an e-cigarette or vaporizer is harmful.

"It's a bi-product of the vegetable glycerin, which is basically a water vapor that you exhale, and very, very little of the nicotine is exhaled because most of it -- because it's vaporized -- is absorbed immediately into your system," said Owens.

Smokers think banning tobacco nearly everywhere except their homes is a violation of their rights as adults.

 "I believe much in tobacco, so I am very against this movement of people trying to ban smoking at public facilities," said John Fitzrobert Webb.

The proposal would severely limit the places smokers could light up.

"The places that we would be looking at are public parks, public buildings -- anywhere that children would be," Welsh said.

According to Welsh, Kennesaw says a vote on the draft ordinance won't come anytime soon. Last week was just initial presentation of the proposed smoking ban.

Nicolites Respond to Smoking Rates in Wales

Leading electronic cigarette provider, Nicolites, has responded to the release of figures which suggest that if smoking rates in Wales do not decrease by 7%, smoking related illnesses could cost the NHS millions of pounds.

As reported by Wales Online, it is thought that 23% of people in Wales smoke, and so it has been suggested that further action needs to be taken to meet the target of reducing rates of smoking to 16% within the next seven years.

The Welsh Government has outlined that, by 2020, it wishes to reduce rates of smoking by 7%. As the number of people who have stopped smoking has reduced by only 1% since the implementation of the smoking ban in 2007, it has been suggested that this target may be missed. Smoking related illnesses currently cost the NHS in Wales approximately £1 million each day, and not meeting targets could increase this figure.

Dr Ruth Hussey, Chief Medical Officer, spoke to Wales Online about introducing a public health bill which would focus on helping to improve people’s lifestyles and reduce smoking rates. She also spoke of campaigns to help people stop smoking, adding that:

“It’s something that needs continued attention and multiple ways in which we raise awareness of the harms smoking causes. Research has shown that a lot of smokers – around 70% – are ready to quit, so it’s finding the methods that help people to say ‘now is the moment for me to do this’”.

The recent concerns over meeting smoking targets in Wales come after the approaching Stoptober campaign, which encourages smokers to give up smoking for 28 days throughout October.

As a leading electronic cigarettes provider, Nicolites closely follow industry news. Offering an alternative for those looking to quit smoking, a representative for the company offered their comments:

“With initiatives and legislation proposed in order to help reduce the number of people who smoke, many smokers are looking to quit the habit. Electronic cigarettes offer an alternative for those who feel they are unable to give up smoking completely, and have also been suggested to help people quit smoking. Nicolites’ e cigarettes are similar in appearance to traditional cigarettes which help to satisfy tactile and oral cravings. Containing a measured dose of nicotine, these products also help to satisfy nicotine cravings.”

Nicolites is now the leading and most widely available brand of electric cigarette in the UK; they have formed business partnerships with many of the largest retailers to bring these wonderful innovations right on to the doorstep of every person in the country. Established in late 2007, Nicolites has grown into a multi-million pound company with international distribution networks and continues to grow at a phenomenal rate. Available at competitive prices, you can buy Nicolites online today.

New shop offers smoking alternative

Soon-to-be Arkansas City resident Cindi Campbell visited Juicy's Vapor Lounge early Monday afternoon to introduce herself to the new shop's owner.
"I'm so glad you're here," said Campbell, of Sand Springs, Okla. "I'm moving here next week and thought I'd have to stock up (on e-cigarette products) down there."

She addressed Juicy's Vapor Lounge LLC co-owner and Ark City store manager Michael Yeager, who opened the local shop about a month ago in a strip mall in the 1000 block of North Summit Street, next to Ionic Salon.

Campbell said she no longer has to worry about stocking up on e-cigarettes since she discovered Juicy's as she was driving down Summit Street on Monday.

E-cigarettes appear to be receiving a lot of attention in Ark City, as they have been throughout the country in recent years. Cigaronne cigarettes.

The devices — referred to by Yeager as e-juice vaporizers — are shifting from being a fad to being a mainstream way to kick the smoking habit, The Winston-Salem Journal reported earlier this year.

They deliver smaller amounts of nicotine than cigarettes, along with vaporized juices that can be purchased in various flavors.

And the e-cigarettes don't contain many other harsh chemical ingredients, in addition to nicotine, that are in cigarettes, Yeager said.

"Chemical-wise, cigarettes have over 4,000 chemicals, but the ingredients (delivered in) our inhalers are propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, food flavoring and nicotine," he said.

"We mix our juices with from zero milligrams of nicotine to 6, 12, 18 or 24 milligrams of nicotine."

Sales of e-cigarettes are expected to surpass $1 billion this year and analysts at Wells Fargo predict sales will top $10 billion in five years, according to The Daily Ticker, the finance blog of Yahoo.com, in a posting last week.

The battery-operated devices are atomizers consisting of a base; tiny heating coil wrapped around wicks that soak up e-juice, then vaporize it; metal ring; glass tube; seal ring; and clip tip used as a mouthpiece when "vaping."

Users of e-cigarettes do not refer to themselves as smokers, as a slogan in the new Ark City shop indicates:

"Stop smoking, start vaping."

Juicy's co-owners Yeager, of Lamont, Okla., and Zac Kirby, of Stillwater, Okla., decided recently to be a part of the growing e-cigarette market.

"It's a humongous industry just now starting to set in," Yeager said.

In July, the two men started the first of seven shops in Kansas and Oklahoma, Yeager said.

In Oklahoma, stores have been opened in several cities, including Clinton, Enid, Ponca City (two shops), Stillwater and Weatherford.

The Juicy's in Ark City is the most recent to open and is their only Kansas store, he said.

Yeager and his assistant manager, Kelsey Keyworth, have been busy since the shop opened.

They have waited on many customers and potential customers — recent non-smokers, usually — by answering questions about the technology of e-cigarettes.

They also sell product components including "tanks" — small tubes — of juices mixed with nicotine, batteries, coils and wicks.

The Ark City shop has a comfortable seating area with a TV across the room from the shop's sales counter and product shelves.

On a low table, surrounded by chairs and couches, are dozens of small tanks, or tubes, of different e-juice flavors.

It is called the "tester table" and potential customers can try out as many flavors as they want before deciding on a purchase, Yeager said.

The shop offers 70 e-juice flavors in all, including various fruit and dessert flavors such as blackberry, blueberry, cherry limeade, sour grape, orange cream, apple pie, and banana pudding; a few drink flavors, including rum and coke; and 10 cigarette flavors, including Marlboro, Cowboy Menthol and Midnight Toke.

Yeager said he doesn't like the term e-cigarette because it implies a product that is disposable.

But the battery-operated devices offered at Juicy's can last for months, or "as long as you take care of them."

"This is probably the best product on the market, by far, to stop smoking," said Yeager, himself a former smoker who became sold on e-cigarettes after his business partner gave him one to try.

"It seemed to me one of the products that takes care of nicotine craving and the habit of smoking or having to have something in your hand," he said.

80% of teens in favour of standardised cigarette packaging, survey shows

Nearly eight in ten teenagers in Britain think the government should introduce standardised cigarette packaging such as that used in Australia according to a survey published as peers prepare cross-party moves to revive proposals shelved by David Cameron.
Most teenagers in Australia, where packs are already almost covered in graphic warnings, believe this makes people less likely to smoke and want to see such measures taken in the rest of the world, said the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
The charity claimed health warnings on UK packs were "not up to the job" as it published results from its poll of 2000 13-18-year-olds in the UK and 500 in Australia, which last year became the first country to introduce tobacco packaging in a uniform brown colour along with the brand name and health warnings.
The coalition decided to put such measures on ice in Britain in July, saying ministers needed time to assess the impact such measures had had in Australia.
The BHF survey said just 36% of UK teenagers were deterred by current packs compared to 48% in Australia and that 77% of those quizzed in Britain thought the UK should have standardised packs. Australian teenagers supported the new packaging in their country (59%) and 66% wanted other countries to follow suit.
The charity said that "worryingly", 10% of British teenagers thought some cigarette brands were healthier than others - double the percentage of their Australian counterparts.
Simon Gillespie, its chief executive, said: "The message from our young people is loud and clear: current health warnings aren't up to the job and the UK government must step up to the mark and introduce standardised packs.
"Smoking kills 100,000 people in the UK every year and we simply can't wait any longer for legislation. Australia has led the way on standardised packs, the Scottish government has committed, and now the rest of the UK must act to protect future generations from a deadly habit."
Lib Dem Baroness Tyler, Conservative Lord McColl, crossbencher Baroness Finlay and Labour's Lord Faulkner will try to amend the Children and Families Bill at its Lords committee stage, which begins on Wednesday, so as to force the coalition into action. Finlay and Faulkner will also try to make it illegal for drivers to allow smoking in a private car when children are present.

Smoking in pregnancy results in children having smaller brain

These findings are according to newly published research, which had investigated over two hundred Dutch children between the ages of six and eight.
Researchers found that tobacco disrupts the development of the nervous system of the fetus. This happens partially because it blocks the growth of neurons and to some extent because smoking makes the blood vessels of the fetus narrow.
In the study, half of the mothers smoked but half did not. The mothers, who smoked constantly, found that even after their child was eight years old, they still had drastically smaller brains. Likewise, higher amounts of depression and anxiety were present since their brains’ superior frontal cortex, the part which controls mood swings, had been created more poorly.
However, there was no clear link between the amount of cigarettes smoked. Participants smoked between one and nine per day, still it was noted that the length of time the mother-to-be was smoking was vital. A total of 17 women quit smoking once they found out they were pregnant. Research indicated that these children were not affected by their mother’s past addiction if they stopped early enough.
“Importantly, brain development in offspring of mothers who quit smoking during pregnancy resembled that of [mothers who never smoked] with no smaller brain volumes and no thinning of the cortex,” said head researcher Hanan El Marroun.
For the study, the children had to have MRI scans done. “Children exposed to tobacco throughout pregnancy have smaller total brain volumes and smaller cortical grey matter volumes,” El Marroun said and then added, “Continued prenatal tobacco exposure was associated with cortical thinning, primarily in the superior frontal, superior parietal and precentral cortices.”
Commenting on the research, Dr. Simon Newell of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in London said, “What was striking about this study was the alarming effect smoking had on the brain over six years later.”

Smoking Affects Molecular Mechanisms And Thus Children’s Immune Systems

The Leipzig Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research has gained new insights on the influence of tobacco smoke in utero. For the first time, it could be demonstrated with smoking pregnant women and their children, how exposure to tobacco smoke affects the development of human immune system on molecular level. The focus thereby was on microRNA – a short, single-stranded RNA molecule that is now recognised as playing an important role in gene regulation.
For some time now, the impact of environmental stressors during pregnancy on allergy risk among new-born children is a main research topic at Leipzig Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ). As part of the long-term study LINA, environmental immunologists from Leipzig have been focussing on tobacco smoke as an environmental stressor. The main objective for Dr Gunda Herberth was to reveal the influence of tobacco smoke on the development of children’s immune systems – at molecular level. From the results that were recently published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, one thing is certain: “For the first time we were able to describe the effect of prenatal environmental stressors on the regulation of microRNA.”
Former studies have already proven that smoking during pregnancy can harm the unborn child: Newborns from smoking mothers have shown low birth weights and impaired lung functions; later on in life respiratory diseases, diabetes type II, asthma or cardiovascular diseases were also more common. However, the exact molecular mechanisms and processes that are behind such developments still struggle researchers.
For this reason, Dr. Gunda Herberth and Dr. Irina Lehmann from the UFZ decided to address the relatively recent research area of microRNA. From the early 1990´s these cell components started to become more and more of a focus in molecular and cell biology. In the meantime, for humans more than 1,200 different short, single-stranded RNA molecules have been named, some of them playing an important role in immune response. Among others, they have a considerable influence on the differentiation of regulatory T cells (Treg cells), which in turn prevent an overactive immune system and thus autoimmune diseases. If there are insufficient Treg cells or if their function is impaired, the self-regulatory function of the immune system will be reduced, possibly resulting in allergies.
To investigate the relationship between smoking mothers during pregnancy on the one hand and their children´s risk of developing allergies on the other, the scientists from Leipzig examined microRNA-223, microRNA-155 and regulatory T cells – not only in the blood samples of pregnant women (36 weeks pregnant) but also at birth in the cord blood of their babies. At the same time, questionnaires were filled out and urine samples of the pregnant women were tested to substantiate the effect from exposure to tobacco smoke and/or from volatile organic compounds resulting from smoking. From the pool of mothers participating in the LINA-study, 315 mothers (6.6 percent of whom were smokers) and 441 children were consulted in these investigations.
The focus was on miR-223 and miR-155, because their role in regulating T cells had already been proven. “What we are now interested in finding out”, explains Dr. Gunda Herberth , “is whether or not these microRNAs link exposure to smoke, regulatory T cells and the risk of developing allergies.”
By measuring the concentration of these microRNAs as well as the number of regulatory T cells in maternal and cord blood it could be shown that a high exposure to inhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with tobacco smoke coincides with high values for miR-223. At the same time it was also found that increased values for maternal and umbilical cord blood miR-223 correlate with low regulatory T-cell numbers. Finally, it could be shown that low regulatory T-cell numbers in umbilical cord blood was an indication that children exposed to tobacco smoke were more likely to develop an allergy before the age of three compared to those children with normal values for miR-223 and Treg cells. Furthermore, the probability of developing eczema was almost twice as high for these children.
“After already being able to demonstrate the influence of prenatal smoking on regulatory T-cell numbers in cord blood from our LINA study, the current epidemiological investigation delves even deeper into molecular processes”, Dr. Gunda Herberth and Dr. Irina Lehmann resume. “Now”, the immunologists from Leipzig explicate, “we will know more about the molecular processes that trigger off stressors from smoke during pregnancy.” Thus, for the first time the association between prenatal environmental stressors and the regulation of microRNA is described. In this respect, the current Helmholtz study opens the door to further research on the role of microRNA in terms of how the human immune system reacts to environmental stressors.

Careless disposal of smoking materials blamed for $300,000 fire

A fire that started on a backyard shed and fence and wound up causing $300,000 in damage Thursday afternoon is being blamed on careless disposal of smoking materials.
Fire crews were called at 1 p.m. to a fire in the 600 block of Taylor Street East to find the flames had spread to two adjacent homes, resulting in firefighters having to call for reinforcements from four additional fire stations, Saskatoon Fire and Protective Services said in a news release.
The fire was contained and brought under control in 25 minutes but both homes sustained substantial damage.
No one was injured in the incident.

U.S. Funds New Tobacco Regulation Research Centers

A new program creating 14 first-of-a-kind research centers for tobacco regulation in the United States was announced by the federal government on Thursday.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. National Institutes of Health awarded a total of up to $53 million to the 14 centers for the first year, with a potential sum of more than $273 million over the next five years.
Despite decades of work to reduce tobacco use, smoking continues to be the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States. The new Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science will conduct research to help in the development and evaluation of tobacco product regulations meant to protect public health.
Researchers will focus on seven specific areas: diversity of tobacco products, reducing addiction, reducing toxicity and carcinogenicity, harmful health consequences, communications, marketing of tobacco products, and economics and policies.
The program will be coordinated by the NIH's Office of Disease Prevention and administered by three NIH institutes: the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
The program will "bring science-based regulation to the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of tobacco products," FDA commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg said in an FDA news release.
The agency is also establishing science and research programs designed to increase understanding of the risks associated with tobacco use.
"While we've made tremendous strides in reducing the use of tobacco products in the U.S., smoking still accounts for one in five deaths each year, which is far too many," NIH director Dr. Francis Collins said in the news release.

Staying Smoke-Free

Smoking cessation treatment program effective and lowered rates of psychiatric readmission

(dailyRx News) Low-cost treatment and support programs can help people quit smoking. Such programs may even help psychiatric patients quit long-term and avoid returning to the hospital.

A recent clinical trial tested a smoking cessation treatment program on a group of patients in an in-patient psychiatric hospital.
The results of this trial showed that patients in the treatment program were more likely to quit smoking for up to 18 months after discharge and less likely to return to the hospital for psychiatric illness compared to patients who were not in the treatment program.
In this clinical trial led by Judith Prochaska, PhD, MPH, an associate professor of medicine at Stanford University, researchers investigated a smoking cessation treatment program offered to psychiatric patients during their hospitalization.

Parents, Teach Your Children About Smoking

Teens more likely to smoke if their parents smoke now or in past

(dailyRx News) "Do as I say, not as I do," may be an attractive saying for parents, but it may not work very well. When it comes to smoking in particular, children often follow their parents' examples.
A recent long-term study found that children were much more likely to smoke if their parents smoked — even if their parents had quit before having kids.

Health Advocates in Bali Opposed to World Tobacco Asia Conference Set for Bali

The Jakarta Post reports that an anti-smoking group – The Bali Tobacco Control Initiative is urging the government to cancel the World Tobacco Asia (WTA) conference planned in Bali in 2014.

The anti-smoking Initiative is comprised of members from Bali’s Udayana University’s Public Health Department.

Coordinator of the Bali Tobacco Control Initiative, Made Kerta Duana, said: “The conference in Bali is against our commitment to encourage people to live healthily without cigarettes. We are urging the government to ban the conference from being held in Bali.”

WTA is held annually at different locations around the world within the international tobacco industry.

Report: Fewer Alaskans are smoking

Fewer Alaskans are smoking these days. That’s the word from the recently released update on tobacco use in Alaska.
The annual “Alaska Tobacco Facts” update is produced by the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program, which is part of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. The report introduction says the document is designed to be a “brief, annual update of key indicators from state data sources” and that it can be used to educate Alaskans “about the toll that tobacco continues to take on the health and well-being of our citizens.”

Statistics cited in the report are measured from the year of 1996, before two key events: the tobacco tax increase in 1997 and Alaska’s decision to join in the national multi-state Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement in 1998.
Here are some of the key findings, taken from the report’s summary page:
• Per adult cigarette consumption declined 55 percent from state fiscal year 1996 to fiscal year 2011; 433 million fewer cigarettes were sold in 2011 compared to 1996.
• In 2011, tobacco use cost Alaska $327 million in direct medical expenditures and an additional $236 million in lost productivity because of tobacco-related deaths.

Smoking ban needs clarification

You have to feel even a little sorry for smokers these days. Not only do they have to be reminded that 'SMOKING KILLS' each time they reach for a pack, but they've also been, for a while now, a preferred beating stick of the tax man.

Taxing cigarettes is a largely guilt-free way of raising revenue. They shouldn't be smoking anyway, the thinking is. So year after year, smokers have been hit with state-imposed increases. With all that pressure, no wonder they smoke cheapest Dunhill cigarettes.

This new ban on smoking in public places will only add to the indignity of being a smoker in 2013. For years, they've been prevented from lighting up on airplanes, even though, given news reports of drunken pilots, terrorist plots, and faulty landing gear, a cigarette might have done the nerves a world of good. They've had to contend with strict no-smoking rules in all sorts of places when they travel to the US and even parts of one-time smoker-friendly Europe.

Yes, the walls have been closing in. Now, even in good old Jamrock, the land of anything goes, smokers are faced with the reality that the only really safe place to smoke is at home. Who wants to smoke at home? That's like drinking at home. I'm not a smoker, never been, but I imagine that there's a social aspect to smoking that can't be fulfilled if you're puffing on a cig, alone, between an ironing board and a garden hose. It just doesn't work.

BAN WELCOMED

Personally, I welcome the ban. Growing up, I never had a problem inhaling second-hand smoke. In fact, I rather liked the scent of a burning cigarette. (As an aside, this might explain why I'm still mystified by mathematical equations made up of three or more Xs and Ys). But as the anti-smoking campaigns started growing and I began to realise the ill effects the smoke could cause, I started avoiding second-hand smoke whenever possible.

If nothing else, this ban will help eliminate some awkward conversations I've had to have with smokers. I was in a cramped restaurant once when a clearly agitated woman next to me retrieved from the confines of her ample bosom a pack of cigarettes and a lighter ironically emblazoned with a picture of the Pope. Here we go, I thought. I'll have to move. To my surprise though, the woman turned to me and said, "Does the smoke bother you?" Pleased by her thoughtful consideration, I wanted to find a nice way to say yes, it does bother me. "Well, I do kind of have a ..."

Cigarette smoking advertising online

A history of tobacco as well as cigarette advertising is one of the most interesting and educational for marketers, makers,
PR-specialists and doctors. That evidently shows precisely how trends and views change as the time passes. The first cigarette advertising
appeared with the very first cigarette package. Inside 1884, when people considered using tobacco to be rather unique habit and the simply smoking

No Smoking Day: Quit smoking in a few simple steps

 
Experts speaking at a seminar at the King Edward Medical University (KEMU) in connection with the World Smoking Day on Friday gave tips to smokers who wished to quit smoking.
“Giving up smoking is difficult but if you follow some simple steps it may become easy,” said Dr Rana Sohail.
“The first thing you have to do is select a date when you plan to quit… Don’t smoke after that date,” he said.
He said the smoker should let his friends and family members know about the plan.
“He should remove all smoking accessories including lighters, cigarette cases, match boxes and filters from his workplace and house,” Sohail said. “Thirdly…he shouldn’t get back to it, come what may.”
He said some smokers felt the need to smoke after meals and in washrooms. This, he said was because of the nicotine addiction. “Nicotine patches are available in the market which can be pasted on the body…the quantity of nicotine can then be gradually decreased,” he said.

Ban smoking in public spaces will not be easy

Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson, says the move by the Government to ban smoking in public spaces will not be easy, but is a task that has to be undertaken to protect public health.
He was speaking on Monday, June 3, at the Medical Association of Jamaica’s (MAJ) Symposium at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel, New Kingston.

There are the most common used cigarettes are : Winston Classic, Winston Blue, Winston White The Minister informed that six million persons are dying annually from tobacco smoking and 600,000 from passive smoking, just from being in the same space with someone who smokes.

“My mandate as a Minister of Health is to ensure and protect the health of the nation. Therefore, I ask for your support because when that decision is taken, it’s not going to be easy,” he stated.

“Cigarette companies are very powerful but I believe that it still remains the one industry that kills its most loyal and best customers and therefore, for us, we must do what we have to do,” he stressed.
The Government is seeking to put into place a Tobacco Control Act that will protect citizens from the harmful effects of tobacco smoking, by prohibiting its use in public areas and workplaces.

Dr. Ferguson noted that when the legislation comes into effect, Jamaica will join countries in the Caribbean such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname that have already passed such statute.
He stressed that his position on the matter “is not an anti-smoker position; it is a pro-health position. Therefore we must recognise that it is not a personal thing.”

Statistics from the 2008 Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey show that by the age of 16 years, 19 per cent of smokers had initiated the habit and 14.5 per cent smoke cigarettes, while 13.5 per cent admit to marijuana use.

Figures provided by the Jamaica Cancer Society (JCS) reveal that approximately 80,000 young people across the world become addicted to tobacco each day and if trends continue, an estimated 250 million children and young people will die as a result of tobacco smoking-related illnesses.

The anti-smoking legislation is in keeping with Jamaica’s obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Who’s Minding the E-Cigarette Industry?

Should electronic tobacco devices be regulated as tobacco products or are they something completely different? Four new trade associations with varying opinions and agendas guide this booming category.

Starbucks banning smoking outside

But in the interest of promoting public health and a healthier image, retail coffee giant Starbucks on Saturday banned smoking within 25 feet of entrances, where local law permits. The Seattle-based chain also banned electronic smokeless cigarettes at all locations.
Starbucks' new non-smoking policy took effect at all locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S., many states and municipalities ban smoking in public areas. More than 81 percent of the American population resides in areas with some type of smoking ban, including bans on smoking in restaurants, bars, workplaces, or even outdoor areas, according to the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation.

Tobacco advertising geared toward women

Tobacco advertising geared toward women began in the 1920s. By the mid-1930s, cigarette advertisements targeting women were becoming so commonplace that one advertisement for the mentholated Spud brand had the caption “To read the advertisements these days, a fellow’d think the pretty girls do all the smoking.” As early as the 1920s, tobacco advertising geared toward women included messages such as “Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet” to establish an association between smoking and slimness. The positioning of Lucky Strike cigarettes as an aid to weight control led to a greater than 300% increase in sales for this brand in the first year of the advertising campaign. Through World War II, Chesterfield advertisements regularly featured glamour photographs of a Chesterfield girl of the month, usually a fashion model or a Hollywood star such as Rita Hayworth, Rosalind Russell, or Betty Grable. The number of women aged 18 through 25 years who began smoking increased significantly in the mid-1920s, the same time that the tobacco industry mounted the Chesterfield and Lucky Strike campaigns directed at women. The trend was most striking among women aged 18 though 21. The number of women in this age group who began smoking tripled between 1911 and 1925 and had more than tripled again by 1939. In 1968, Philip Morris marketed Virginia Slims cigarettes to women with an advertising strategy showing canny insight into the importance of the emerging women’s movement. The slogan “You’ve come a long way, Baby” later gave way to “It’s a woman thing” in the mid-1990s, and more recently the “Find your voice” campaign featuring women of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. The underlying message of these campaigns has been that smoking is related to women’s freedom, emancipation, and empowerment. Initiation rates among girls aged 14 though 17 years rapidly increased in parallel with the combined sales of the leading women’s-niche brands (Virginia Slims, Silva Thins, and Eve) during this period. In 1960, about 10% of all cigarette advertisements appeared in popular women’s magazines, and by 1985, cigarette advertisements increased by 34%. Women have been extensively targeted in tobacco marketing. Such marketing is dominated by themes of an association between social desirability, independence, and smoking messages conveyed through advertisements featuring slim, attractive, and athletic models. In 1999, expenditures for domestic cigarette advertising and promotion was $8.24 billion—increasing 22.3 % from the $6.73 billion spent in 1998. Advertising is used in part to reduce women’s fear of the health risks from smoking by presenting information on nicotine and tar content or by using positive images (e.g., models engaged in exercise or pictures of white capped mountains against a background of clear blue skies).

Smoking in vehicles

Meanwhile, a consultation on proposed legislation to ban smoking in vehicles when children are present is to be launched by Liberal Democrat MSP Jim Hume. Mr Hume said such a ban has already gained support from a number of charities, including Children in Scotland and the British Heart Foundation. The South of Scotland MSP will launch the consultation on proposals for his Members Bill next month. He said banning adults from smoking in cars when children are present is the next step in tobacco control. "Passive smoking is entirely avoidable and a private vehicle is one of the few places a child can still be legally exposed to tobacco smoke," he said. "I stand alongside the British Heart Foundation, British Lung Foundation, Children in Scotland and ASH Scotland, among many others, in seeking a change to the law and hope that people and organisations from across Scotland can take part in this important consultation. "It doesn't seem fair that any child should have to be trapped in a car which is filled with smoke. When you consider the real implications this can have for a child's immediate and future health, it is clear we need to do what we can to protect children and give them the best start in life."

Quit-smoking treatments safe, effective: review

Popular smoking cessation treatments - such as nicotine replacements and antidepressants - improve people's chances of kicking the habit without much risk, according to a review of past research. "It seems very clear that medications can help. They're not the magic bullet but you do improve your chances of quitting - generally - if you try them. And as far as we can tell, they're safe to use," said Kate Cahill, who led the study. Several reviews have looked at the effectiveness of smoking cessation treatments, but the researchers wanted to put those results into a single large review to help people who want to use medical treatments to stop smoking, Cahill, a senior researcher for the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group at the University of Oxford, UK, told Reuters Health. About one fifth of the U.S. and UK populations are current smokers, according to the researchers. Previous studies have found between 70 percent and 75 percent want to quit, but only about 3 percent accomplish that every year. For the new study, the researchers pulled data from 12 reviews published by the Cochrane Collaboration, an international research organization that evaluates medical evidence. Those analyses, which were conducted between 2008 and 2012, included data from 267 studies of more than 101,000 smokers. The studies typically compared smokers trying to quit without the help of a smoking cessation treatment to smokers using nicotine replacement therapies, such as nicotine gum and patches, or prescription drugs. The medications include varenicline (marketed by Pfizer as Chantix or Champix) and bupropion (marketed by GlaxoSmithKline as Zyban or Wellbutrin, but available as a generic).

Lib Dem minister urges coalition to carry out plain cigarette packet plan

A health minister has urged the coalition to press ahead with forcing cigarettes to be sold in plain packets to reduce sales, despite the plan being dropped from the Queen's speech because of unease in Downing Street.
Norman Lamb, a Liberal Democrat, has urged ministers to make Britain the first country in Europe to adopt what he claims would become a key element of the legacy of government's time in power.
"As a liberal I would always defend someone's right to smoke, if that's what they choose to do. But, given we're dealing here with a product that kills between 80,000 and 100,000 people a year, I think it's legitimate for government to seek to control the marketing of that deadly product," Lamb told the Guardian.
"I think it would be a legacy for this government to have legislated on something which would be a landmark public health reform and to be out there in front in Europe. It's something that both Liberal Democrats and Conservatives could be very proud of"," he added.
The care and support minister said he intended to keep fighting to secure the introduction of plain packs, even though it did not appear as expected in the government's legislative programme unveiled last week. David Cameron ditched it amid fears of a backbench revolt against a "nanny state" idea and tobacco industry warnings of job losses if it went ahead.
"MPs from all three parties support this, so I will continue to argue the case for us to act. There could still be an opportunity in this parliament to act and I will argue the case for it," said Lamb.
Other Lib Dem ministers and MPs agreed with him, he said, although the education minister, David Laws, and the Home Office minister, Jeremy Browne, who are on the right of the party, are thought to be against it. Representatives for Nick Clegg and the business secretary, Vince Cable, declined to say if either personally supported plain packs, which the Liberal Democrats have backed as a party since 2008.

Higher tobacco tax proposed

“The single most effective thing California could do is to increase the tobacco tax,” McGoldrick said. A proposal to raise the tobacco tax in California by $2 per pack of cigarettes passed the Senate committee on health as well as the committee on governance and finance on Wednesday and is heading to appropriations. Senator Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, who introduced the bill, SB 768, said the $1.5 billion raised from the tobacco tax each year would help pay for state spending on tobacco-related medical care, education and law enforcement.

Los Angeles high school student smoking rates, 1997-2011. Source: CDC – Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

Another key element in tobacco control is to reverse the idea that smoking is a hip, sophisticated and rebellious activity.

Teen smoking rates stall

The CDC study on teens and tobacco advertising comes amid concerns from many in the public health community that California’s dramatic success in the fight against tobacco may be in jeopardy. As the first in the nation to launch a campaign to change the social norms around smoking in 1989, the state has been a model for what works in policy and media campaigns, and the results have been impressive. The teen smoking rate is 13.8 percent, the second-lowest rate in the nation, behind Utah’s teen smoking rate of 5.9 percent.
Teen smoking rates stall

But California’s anti-tobacco efforts are now woefully underfunded, according to the Tobacco Education and Research Oversight Committee, a state advisory committee charged with overseeing the use of Proposition 99 tobacco tax revenues for tobacco control. And after years of dazzling reductions, the decline in teen smoking in California appears to have hit a plateau.

Data from three California cities that participated in the CDC’s 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey – Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco – show a stunning drop in teen smoking from 1997 to 2011.

Free tax cheap cigarettes online.

Not all men can always afford to buy a premium brand of cigarettes on a regular basis. Due to the high taxes and large cigarettes surcharges are becoming more and more expensive every year. It is likely that another tax increase on cigarettes is not far off, so on this evidence, it is quite natural that the number of smokers prefer to buy cheap cigarettes online is growing from year to year.

But why in fact, online stores sell Lucky Strike cheap cigarettes with discount cigarettes online are able to offer such attractive rates and terms of purchase? The answer to this question is not a secret! Many online stores do not include any taxes in cigarette prices, shown on their sites, but in reality, there is no need to worry about taxes, because when it comes to online cigarette stores no tax is applied there. This means that it is up to you to decide whether you want or be able to pay the taxes on cigarettes, as soon as you get your cigarettes to buy online or not. In addition, a virtual shopping to exclude from their prices, and a significant cost item - they do not have to pay for commercial space and shelf space, which allows these stores to cut prices significantly.

Camel cigarettes products

Camel is a trademark consisting of a mixture of Turkish and United State Control, which has a unique position in the market. To this day the quality of Camel cigarettes is one of the few pleasures through a combination of the finest type of tobacco by offering smokers around the world a unique taste. One of the constituent parts of Camel cigarettes success is a combination of high tobacco quality and low price products. They belong to the 10Best-selling cigarette brands, which come in different varieties. Camel cigarettes had been agreed so that you can smoke is much easier, in contrast to the more popular brands of hard during their introduction in 1913 RJReynolds. In 1987, RJ Reynolds was one of the most effective advertising campaigns in history.

Imperial Tobacco Ireland has won the annual retail trade Prize

Imperial Tobacco performance in sales and marketing operations in Ireland, won the Award of retail trade. John Pu Lieer in Checkout Magazine's annual Awards FMCG, known as the "annual non-food brand suppliers. The John Pu Lieer team beat strong competition from the Irish National Lottery Company and Reckitt Benckiser Group, won the first prize.

The award is a recognition of excellence such as the development of new products, the best marketing and sales support retail business. "Since the awards selection by top retailers and marketing experts, which shows our customers, in fact, there is a high degree of recognition of our competitors," the BAT Ireland trade marketing manager Carmel Balala said.


Many persons love to smoke Pall Mall cigarettes,  Kent cigarettes.

 "This is the reward of all the hard work and dedication of of John Pu Lieer sales and marketing team."

Barrington cigar into the Jamaican market

Barrington cigar Jamaica to a the common Jamaican products of various flavors series brought a different side, and enjoys the title of genuine Jamaican cigar only manufacturer. Barrington cigar company set up by housing international companies Barrington Barrington (Barrington House International) Adams. Adams Jamaica earliest tobacco assets - Barrington Hall lineal descendant. Barrington cigar factory in Kingston doing business with a corporate office in New York, and plans to set up a sales office in Montego Bay, to further export demand in the global Jamaica cigar.

Barrington cigar companies employ about 22 people, all cigars by skilled experts Jamaican tobacco hand rolled and are Jamaican tobacco. Margaret Adams (Margaret 'MJ' Adams), the managing director of the Jamaica cigar company, Jamaica cigar explosive development has been made to enter the overseas market.

Many persons love to smoke Pall Mall cigarettes,  Kent cigarettes, Parliament cigarettes

 

How Dangerous Is Cigarette Smoke?

Cigarette smoke is highly dangerous to both the smoker and anyone around to inhale the secondhand smoke. Smoking is considered to be one of the most detrimental things one can do to their health, and it is the number one cause of preventable death in most industrialized nations. In fact, smoking causes more deaths per year than illegal drugs, homicide, AIDS, and car accidents put together. There are various ways cigarette smoke can damage health. The first is tar, which accumulates in the lungs and slowly smothers the healthy tubes, bronchi, and receptors. This can lead to breathing difficulties, cancer, and other health problems. The lack of oxygen in the body can also eventually lead to heart problems.

BBC forced to axe Casualty storyline due to Welsh anti-smoking laws

The BBC was forced to axe a storyline in Casualty about the dangers of smoking because of Wales's stringent anti-smoking laws.
BBC1's long-running hospital drama was planning a storyline in which a smoker inadvertently caused a fire in a hotel.
But Welsh law bans smoking in enclosed public places and in the workplace, which includes – unlike England – actors lighting up on set.

Mexico’s Tobacco Growers Used as Lobbyists

On October, in chaotic Mexico City, a small army of protestors, sporting placards and shouting into bullhorns, worsened the usual traffic snarl around San Lazaro, the nation’s congressional office complex. Television news accounts showed screaming-mad tobacco farmers, some of whom had boarded buses and traveled 500 miles to warn federal legislators that new taxes on Winston cigarettes would put them out of business.
Inside, lawmakers were in a tug-of-war over a landmark excise tax law that eventually added about 50 cents to a pack of cigarettes and—anti-tobacco activists hoped—would make tobacco less attractive to consumers.
It was not the first time these farmers had traveled far to protest in Mexico. Like tobacco growers around the world, Mexican campesinos—farmers and farmworkers—for years have been deployed to send a message to the public and politicians: Jobs are at stake in the effort by public health advocates to eliminate tobacco ads and limit smoking.
As the global fight over smokers moves from the United States and other countries where tobacco consumption is on the decline, Big Tobacco has drawn a line around developing nations that account for an increasingly important share of their revenues.

This week our government committed itself to the removal, albeit slowly, of cigarette displays in shops. But plain packaging on cigarettes has been delayed for further consultation.

The Unite union is unimpressed. It represents 6,000 people in tobacco production and distribution, and put out a statement: “Switching to plain packaging will make it easier to sell illicit and unregulated products, especially to young people.” This, the union added, “may increase long-term health problems”.

Keep Cigarettes Prices Lower

In our world, everyone wishes to indulge in pleasurable activities, but only few have the luxury to give high class pleasure in the form royal cigs. Purchasing cheap cigarettes and good for nothing smoking accessories will not help smokers to derive true smoking pleasure. At the same time, indulgence in luxurious smoking accessories is not possible when the prices are always high.

People Worldwide Consume Tobacco Products

A new Lancet research reveals that there are more smokers worldwide than previously thought and that the global tobacco burden may have been underestimated. In the light of these revelations, does India need tighten its anti-tobacco campaign?
The new study showed that over half the world's population consumes discount cigarettes. That's approximately 852 million people worldwide according to the new estimates. 661 million worldwide smoke and 247 million are smokeless tobacco users, 206 million in India alone. China has maximum consumers at an estimated 301 million. India comes next, with 275 million tobacco users.
President, PHFI, Dr Srinath Reddy declared, “The new study shows that given the fact that tobacco is going to be centuries number one killer and is still biggest publicly threats, not only do we need strong laws, they need to be effectively implemented and India is an important area in which tobacco control needs to be strict even more.”
Dr Nevin Wilson, The Union sad, “One in 10 deaths globally is because of tobacco use and the imperative policy makers to invest in tobacco control.”

Jessica Alba pregnant….but still chain smoking tobacco?

Now that Jessica Alba's pregnant with baby #2, will the famously fit actress quit smoking for good? Known for her celebrity butt, the mother of one is also famous for chain smoking and puffing her way through photo shoots and movie sets. Will Jessica Alba finally kick the habit? SMOKING HOT JESSICA ALBA CAN'T QUIT SMOKING In 2008, the 29-year-old Alba and hubby Cash Warren, 32, welcomed baby girl Honor Marie, and while she quit smoking during pregnancy, Alba was quick to light up following the birth of their first daughter. She was seen smoking in France and was photographed chain smoking on the set of "Good Luck Chuck" and throughout her November 2010 covershoot with Elle magazine. ALBA: "EAT, DRINK AND SMOKE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE" IN 2003 A long-time celebrity smoker, Alba told the New York Post in 2003 that her New Year's Resolution was to "eat, drink and smoke as much as possible." Yet Alba's internet search for "fitness" is almost equal to searches for "Jessica Alba smoking" - 1.5 million to about 1.3 million, in comparison. She's a fitness buff applauded for her physique but rarely featured in the same fitness articles is her undying habit of smoking. KATHERINE HEIGL QUIT SMOKING WITH E-CIGS Hollywood mom and former celebrity smoker Katherine Heigl battled the same smoky archnemesis as Alba but eventually was able to find a remedy that helped her quit smoking for good. In Heigl's case, she reealed swapping her tobacco cigarettes for electronic ones and said it was the only thing that helped her quit.

Angelina Jolie Smoking Cigarettes

The picture below, of Angelina Jolie smoking a cigarette, must be responsible for millions of teenagers, boys and girls alike, starting to smoke. No seriously, Angelina Jolie always looks hot, whether she’s smoking a cigarette or not, and we wouldn’t want to impose upon her conscience the premature deaths of millions because she looks so hot with a cigarette!

Angelina Jolie Smoking Cigarettes

It is now rumoured that for the sake of her many adopted kids, and her real ones as well, she has stopped smoking and dragooned Brad Pitt into quitting as well. Perhaps she decided to withhold her wifely duties from him until he quit? That would work for me. Either way, it seems that Angelina Jolie has quit smoking – cigarettes that is!

November 10th marks one year since South Dakota’s smoke-free law went into effect.

The law bans smoking cheap Dunhill cigarettes in bars and restaurants. While smokers and business have adapted with outdoor smoking