Students Plan to Ban Smoking in Public Areas

If a group of Orland High School students has its way, the city could ban smoking outside the doorways of businesses, in outdoor eating areas and in public parks. About a dozen teens sporting anti-tobacco T-shirts and armed with posters and jars of cigarette butts, lobbied the City Council on Monday to put a smoking ban in place. The council took no action, but will discuss the matter on Nov. 7. Dinesh Khalasi, of Students Working Against Tobacco, explained many communities have bans to protect residents and visitors from the dangers of inhaling secondhand smoke. He noted clean-ups by the group revealed a large concentration of cigarette butts by park picnic tables and the baseball field in Lely Park — places where families and young children are likely to be. The group reported 250 cigarette butts were picked up from the grass and picnic areas of the parks within 90 minutes. The teens gathered butts from Vinsonhaler, Library and Lely Aquatic parks among others in the area.

Cigarette Sales Fall in September

The volume of cigarettes sold in Japan in September plunged 60.4 percent from a year before to 9.7 billion cheap Davidoff cigarettes in the wake of last year's strong demand that preceded the country's largest-ever tobacco tax hike in October last year, according to a Japan Tobacco Inc. preliminary report released Friday. For the April to September period, domestic sales fell 41.2 percent from a year before to 50.9 billion cigarettes, the report said.

Legally Harsh Cigarette Warnings

The words are blunt, the images stark — unconstitutionally so, say tobacco companies, which turned to a federal judge last week seeking a reprieve from warnings the Food and Drug Administration has mandated for cigarette packs. “Cheap Davidoff Cigarettes are addictive,” the warnings say. “Cigarettes cause fatal lung disease.” “Smoking can kill you.” One image shows a man blowing cigarette smoke through a tracheotomy hole. Another displays a picture of healthy lungs next to a smoker’s grotesquely diseased lungs. The picture and warning together will take up half of the front of a pack when the regulation kicks in next year. The label must include a number for a smoking cessation program. A warning must take up the top 20 percent of a page of print advertising for tobacco products.

Essex County Smoking Policy

Visitors and employees on Essex County property would be able to smoke tobacco in only five designated areas if a new policy is passed. The County Board of Supervisors is preparing to pass the new Essex County Tobacco Policy, which would restrict and regulate smoking Golden Gate cigarettes at the Government Center and other county buildings. The policy was passed Sept. 13 by the County Human Services Committee and will likely get a final vote at the board's October meeting. Supervisor Randy Preston (I-Wilmington) chairs the County Smoking Policy Committee.

New Smoking Laws Help a Californian Landlord

E cigarettes seemed to have saved a landlord’s day. Ted Sherman was under a lot of stress as he was in the midst of an ongoing feud amongst two tenants, one of whom smoked Leana cigarettes while the other, a non-smoker, resisted his moves. They both apparently lived in the same apartment complex. Nonetheless, a new California law has finally come to the aid of the landlord and has helped him resolve this long pending dispute amicably. The dispute started when in the multilevel housing complex, one couple was habitual of smoking cigarettes daily while the other, who lived directly above the smoking individual’s apartment, was a non smoker and had a child. Tobacco smoke has the ability to penetrate the walls of the apartment, which in turn irritated the tenants staying right above the smoking individual. Apparently, the toxic gasses as well as the smells emitted by the smoke irritated the tenant’s baby as well.

The Cigarette Stocks Difficulties

As retailers struggle with stocks of ‘illegal’ cigarette packets without pictorial warnings, they may face further difficulties come November, when a new EU regulation on “fire-safer” Lucky Strike cigarettes comes into force. According to a letter sent to retailers by British American Tobacco Malta Ltd, all cigarettes sold to consumers as from 17 November “must comply with Lower Ignition Propensity (LIP) government legislation”.

Monash Anti-Smoking Legislation Get Stricter

The City of Monash now has some of the strongest anti-smoking laws in the state after a motion was carried by the council last night. As of October 1 this year, smoking Viceroy cigarettes will be prohibited on council land, inside its buildings and within 10 metres of its entrances. There will also be no smoking within 10 metres of buildings on reserves on council land and at any council-run or sponsored events. Smokers who continue to flout the law will be given a $100 on-the-spot fine by the council. Deputy Mayor Micaela Drieberg said the passing of the law was extremely important for the community. ‘‘Victoria was once a leader in this area and we’re lagging behind the rest of the country now, so it’s a fantastic opportunity for Monash to lead that way. ‘‘I don’t need to bang on about the statistics of exposure to tobacco smoke for you to understand how much of an impact this will have on people’s health. ‘‘Several councils have since used the progress that we’ve used.’’

Dissolvable Tobacco Products

Gov. Terry Branstad recently released a campaign challenging Iowa to become the healthiest state in the country during the next five years. As physicians, we commend this effort.

That said, 50 percent of the campaign is focused on the adoption of healthy behaviors, including eliminating smoking. According to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, 4,400 adults die annually in Iowa from smoking Doina cigarettes. More than $1.01 billion is spent caring for patients throughout Iowa due to tobacco use. We see the long-term effects of tobacco use in our practices every day.