November 13, 2011
The Government of India has taken a important step forward today to begin to reduce the use of motion pictures to promote tobacco use by requiring anti-tobacco advertisements to be shown in conjunction with any movie that includes tobacco use, whether it is made in India or not.
This policy represents India’s implementation of the Smoke Free Movies recommendation, endorsed by the World Health Organization, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a wide range of health organizations, that any film including tobacco include anti-tobacco advertisements.
November 12, 2011
Here is the public comment we just submitted supporting a US Department of Transportation proposal to prohibit use of e-cgarettes on airplanes. The comment period ends on Monday; I urge everyone to submit comments at the website below.
November 12, 2011
Docket Management Facility
US Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave., SE
Room W12-140
Washington, DC 20590-0001
http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=DOT-OST-2011-0044-0003
RE: Docket No. DOT-OST-2011-0044 Smoking of Electronic Cigarettes on Aircraft
Gentlemen and Ladies:
We support the prohibition of using electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) on aircraft. E-cigarettes are unregulated nicotine delivery devices that emit an unknown mixture of chemicals into the air. Use on an aircraft would increase the level or air pollution inside the aircraft cabin and subject passengers and flight crew to the toxic chemicals in the exhaled “vapor.”
November 9, 2011
USA Today and the New York Times recently published articles that uncritically accepted assertions that smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes were useful as cessation tools. Both of these studies were funded by tobacco/e-cigarette companies that had direct financial interests in the outcome of the work. Both Brad Rodu (smokeless tobacco) and Riccardo Polosa (e-cigarettes) also worked as consultants to the companies making products they were evaluating.
The USA Today story on Brad Rodu's "Switch and Quit" smokeless tobacco study did note that he was (and has been for years) supported by tobacco companies and included Rodu's claim that "There's absolutely no influence whatsoever" by the companies. USA Today did not mention all the evidence of bias in industry funded studies.
In both stories, people and organizations who questioned claims that smokeless tobacco and e-cigs were useful cessation measures were painted as closed minded prohibitionists
November 9, 2011
The evidence that strong smokefree laws provide large and immediate health benefits just keeps piling up.
The latest study, released today, found a 21 percent drop in emergency room admission for heart attacks during the first year of the law, saving an estimated $3.4 to $4.3 million in heath care costs. This is serious money, particularly as both government and the private sector struggle to keep health costs down.
These real documented and rapid benefits not just in terms of health, but the economy, show that the economic argument on smokefree policies has clearly shifted away from the tobacco industry and its allies to the health side.
The NC Department of Health press release is available at http://www.ncdhhs.gov/pressrel/2011/2011-11-09_heart_attack_down.htm and the actual study is at http://tobaccopreventionandcontrol.ncdhhs.gov/smokefreenc/docs/TPCB-2011SFNCReport-SHD.pdf .
November 8, 2011
We just published, a study in the December issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine showing that strong clean indoor air laws are associated with large increases in voluntary smokefree policies in the home, as well. Although the aim of clean indoor air laws is to reduce second hand smoke exposure in public venues, our results show that these laws have the important additional benefit of stimulating smokefree homes, with a larger association in homes occupied by smokers, protecting kids and other family members from second hand smoke. We analyzed data from the Tobacco Use Supplement to Current Population Survey (TUS-CPS), a nationally representative household survey of tobacco use. They looked at the likelihood of a person living in a home with a 100% smokefree ban, and how that related to individual characteristics, household composition, and whether the residential region is covered by clean indoor air laws. Living in a county fully covered by a 100% clean indoor air law in workplaces or restaurants and bars is associated with an increased likelihood of having a voluntary 100% smokefree-home rule, for both smoking and nonsmoking households. In addition the presence of children in the home makes a smokefree rule more likely.