Teens, young adults and even pregnant women worldwide are using waterpipes to smoke tobacco at high rates, University at Buffalo researchers said. Dr. Elie Akl, an associate professor at University at Buffalo’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and School of Public Health and Health Professions, conducted a systematic review involving 38 studies on the prevalence of waterpipe smoking across several countries including — Britain, Australia, Estonia, Lebanon, Pakistan, Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen — age groups and gende ... Jump to full article >>

City officials said a referendum petition will not be able to repeal the citywide smoking ban passed by voters in the April 5 election. The smoke-free O’Fallon measure passed with 73 percent of the vote, banning smoking in most of the city’s bars, restaurants and public places. It is set to go into effect on June 16. Last week, a group called Repeal the Ban Committee filed an affidavit with City Clerk Pamela Clements to begin a referendum petition to repeal the smoking ordinance. The three petition committee members listed are Carrie Ellis, Roman N. Bettag and Marina Bishop. On Wednesday, ... Jump to full article >>

The pro-reproductive health bill lobby group obviously has a huge public relations war chest amounting to millions. The fact alone that they can afford to go into TV advertising is a clear indication of this. I have not had the time to watch television lately but in the few times that I did, I was able to see that professionally produced and slick ad featuring one of the principal reproductive health bill advocates, senatorial wannabe Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel. Now those TV ads are expensive to produce and even more costly to show. I heard that the average cost of a 30-second ad on primetime is ... Jump to full article >>

Manuel Garcia, a long-time vice-president of Cuba’s cigar industry, has been arrested and 10 of his staffers may face trial for corruption, according to the British news magazine The Economist. In a report posted Thursday on its Web site, the newsweekly reported Garcia, the No. 2 at Habanos S.A., has been in jail since August, “accused of mastermind graft on a grand scale.” Cuban investigators believe Garcia and 10 of his staffers, “who also face trial,’’ were accepting bribes in exchange for selling Cuban cigars at a discount to black market distributors in the Caribbean, The Ec ... Jump to full article >>

MONTGOMERY, Ala. and AUGUSTA, Maine — State representatives in Alabama and Maine are seeking cigarette tax hikes of $1 per pack and $1.50 per pack respectively, reported tobacco-news.net and Forbes. Alabama State Rep. Patricia Todd (D-Birmingham) proposed House Bill 457, which would raise the state’s cigarette tax to $1.425 per pack. Todd stated that the tax funds would raise an estimated $230 million a year and primarily benefit Medicaid and the Children First Trust Fund, as well as encourage smokers to quit the habit. “It’s a win-win,” said Todd. If the bill pas ... Jump to full article >>

Businesses are not pleased about the push by Senator Richard Blumenthal LAW ‘73 to ban menthol cigarettes. In an Apr. 18 letter, Blumenthal expressed his support for the United States Food and Drug Administration’s call to ban cigarettes with more than 0.3 percent menthol by weight. But six New Haven store proprietors interviewed said they were worried about how this move would negatively affect thier business profits. While business operators and smokers interviewed agreed that the potential ban would have public health benefits, they said business interests and personal freedom should al ... Jump to full article >>

The Nova Scotia government announced a five-year tobacco control strategy on Wednesday, aimed at reducing smoking rates among young people in the province. Health Minister Maureen MacDonald said the province wants to reduce smoking rates among 20- to 24-year-olds from 29 per cent to 20 per cent by 2015-16. Within the same time period, Nova Scotia also wants to reduce smoking among teenagers from 15 per cent to 10 per cent. “It is troubling to hear that one out of five tobacco vendors are still selling to minors,” MacDonald told reporters. “This is unacceptable.” [captio ... Jump to full article >>

The Legislature is considering very important legislation that affects the health of all Alabamians, SB372, a bill that will make all Alabama workplaces smoke-free. My husband was an Air Force pilot who flew the KC-135 throughout his career. He would come home from flights with the stench of tobacco covering him until the U.S. Air Force said enough and made aircraft, and eventually the Air Force, smoke-free. People cannot control the atmosphere of their workplace any more than my husband could control the air in his cockpit. It takes strong leadership to protect non-smokers. Let’s unders ... Jump to full article >>

Bismarck’s bars, truck stops and tobacco shops are now officially smoke-free. The Bismarck City Commission accepted the April 19 special election results that put the ban into effect and set its start at 1 a.m. today, after the bars closed. Final election results were: 5,282 voted to ban smoking and 3,563 voted no. 4,490 voted not to allow smoking huts and to ban smoking and 4,294 favored allowing smoking huts and banning smoking. 4,467 opposed using city sales tax money to pay for the special election while 4,187 favored it. Some of opponents of the ban argued this week that the word ... Jump to full article >>

BROOKSVILLE – Two inmates were charged recently with possession of contraband – and one of them said he smuggled the tobacco into the jail by tucking them between his private parts. Derrick Joseph Loreto, 25, of Hudson, and John Michael Colon, 25, of Spring Hill, were searched by detention deputies – who discovered tobacco in their possession, according to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy said he searched Loreto on April 21 and discovered tobacco in a blue latex glove stuffed into his sock. Four days later, Detective Anthony Scarpati interviewed Loreto, who told h ... Jump to full article >>

The price of local cigarettes could go up by as much as 83 percent next year based on estimates drawn up by the Finance Department on the seven excise tax bills pending in Congress. Finance compared revenue estimates and price increases under several proposals to reform the excise tax on alcohol and tobacco products now lodged with the House Committee on Ways and Means. Finance said the price of local cigarettes could increase by 82.9 percent in 2012 if the government opted for House Bill 3465 filed by Batanes Rep. Henedina Abad and HB 3489 by Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., both seeking to restru ... Jump to full article >>