Anti-Smoking Activists Ask for a Ban in Maharashtra

Will the state government ban gutka-acknowledged as the cause for the epidemic of oral cancer across the country? This is the question anti-tobacco activists are asking after Madhya Pradesh and, more recently, Kerala banned gutka. Food and drug administration minister Satej Patil said, "We are working towards the ban. Even Maharashtra will soon have a ban on gutka and other products." He added that Madhya Pradesh and Kerala had managed to implement the ban after getting a final approval from the judiciary. "We do not want any case in the court challenging the ban later. So we are trying to do a thorough job, which is taking time," he said.

Tobacco Outlawed and Marijuana Legalized

I agree with the conclusion of the Nanaimo Daily News editorial. In the first place, both tobacco cigarettes and marijuana (cigarettes) are made of plant material. They are both smoked. Tobacco has been used legitimately, albeit ignorantly, until more recent times when the addictive nature of nicotine and the cancer-causing effect of smoked tobacco become better understood. Therefore, replacing one addictive tobacco product with another that has a delivery system that is far worse and has the ability to impair judgment and affect the brain is looney. The fact that while society is tightening restrictions on the use of tobacco, we have a pro-marijuana movement bleating about legalization that would be laughable if it weren't so serious.

Secondhand Smoke and Heart Function

The findings could have major public health implications because this type of damage has been associated with atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), which can lead to heart attack or stroke. "Breathing in very low levels of secondhand smoke -- the same amount many people and children would encounter out and about in the community -- appears to impair one's vascular function after just 30 minutes of exposure," the study's lead investigator, Dr. Paul Frey, of the division of cardiology at San Francisco General Hospital, said in a news release from the American College of Cardiology.

Smoking Ban at Haddad

Smokers wanting to fire up at Haddad Riverfront Park during public events will now have to move up to Kanawha Boulevard before doing so. Charleston City Council members unanimously approved a resolution that prohibits smoking a pipe, cigarette or cigar during public events at the park. The park is defined as the publicly owned area from the north shore of the Kanawha River to Kanawha Boulevard.

Tobacco Manufacturer in UK

The British American Tobacco Co. (BATC) which pulled up stakes and left the country in 2009 following a Supreme Court decision that made continued Philippine operations untenable is ready to do battle with competitors again in a cigarette market considered the 15th largest in the world. James Lafferty, chief executive officer of the BATC who replaced the Australian BAT General Manager Jeremy Flint, said his principals in London have been encouraged by more recent signals from President Aquino to reform the local excise tax system and generate more revenues from both cigarettes and alcohol products.

Programs for Combating Smoking, Health Tax

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are expected to double customs tariffs on cigarette and other tobacco imports next month. A meeting of the finance ministers from six Gulf states scheduled to be held in May will approve the increase, according to a senior Saudi official. Majed Al-Monief, supervisor of the program for combating smoking at the Ministry of Health, said the ministers of finance and health from the GCC states have already agreed in principle to raise the levy charged on tobacco imports from 100 to 200 percent. “The new duty will be known as the ‘health tax,’ taking into account the huge amount of money each GCC state spends on the treatment of tobacco-related diseases as well as for the rehabilitation of smokers. The finance ministers will decide when the tax will take effect,” Al-Moneif told Asharq Al-Awsat daily yesterday.

Cigarette Packs With No Branding

A bitter row over Government moves to strip cigarette packets of branding was growing tonight. Health campaigners welcomed plans for plain packaging on tobacco products in a bid to cut smoking, but opponents claimed the proposals would lead to increased smuggling and job losses. As the Government prepared to launch a public consultation on Monday, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: "Health ministers across the UK have a responsibility to look closely at initiatives that might encourage smokers to quit and stop young people from taking up smoking in the first place.

Smoking Tobacco More Bad than Chewing Gum

It appears that the number of smokers, especially among young people, is on the rise. Smoking is banned in public places so non-smokers do not have to inhale second-hand smoke. But why not ban the sale of cigarettes altogether? The sale of chewing gum was banned in Singapore because it was not being disposed of correctly. But chewing gum is not harmful to health like tobacco. So isn't it more important to ban cigarettes?