About The Proposed Smoking Ban

new smoking cigarettes ban proposal being introduced Jan. 9 in the City-County Council is largely similar to a measure that failed to get out of committee this month. It would expand Marion County's smoking cigarettes ban to bars; restaurants that allow only patrons who are 18 or older; hotel rooms; and bowling alleys. Exemptions covering 60 or fewer establishments fall into three categories:

» Retail discount cigarette online shops, based on at least 85 percent of sales from tobacco-related products.

» Existing nonprofit private or fraternal organizations, including veterans halls, if a majority of members vote before July 1 to retain smoking cigarettes. Private clubs could not allow children if they allow adults to smoke, even in separate nonsmoking cigarettes areas.

» Existing hookah and cigar bars, defined as deriving at least 20 percent of annual sales from specialty cigarettes store products. They could not allow cigarette smoking cigarettes.

Who's covered?

The expanded ban would affect Indianapolis but not Beech Grove and Southport, which lack bans, or Speedway and Lawrence, which have bans similar to Marion County's current one. However, the Southport City Council is considering a similar new measure, and a Lawrence councilman said he'd propose matching Indianapolis' new standards.

Smoking bans elsewhere

According to the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation, 479 U.S. municipalities have 100 percent smoke-free workplaces, restaurants and bars. Hundreds more have less-restrictive smoking cigarettes bans.

› Read More

UCSF To Receive Tobacco Papers

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a proposed consent order today with a federal district court that finalizes requirements for three major cigarettes online companies to make internal documents public in accordance with an earlier ruling that the companies violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The documents will be archived in UCSF’s Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (LTDL).

The order, once approved by the court, will be part of the remedy phase of the largest civil racketeering case in the history of the United States.

The order specifies that the companies provide $6.25 million to the court to improve free public access to the documents via the Internet. The court will provide this money to the UCSF Legacy Library for this purpose. The order also specifies how the companies are to index the documents.

The UCSF Legacy Library, first launched in 2000 with a major gift from the Washington, D.C.-based American Legacy Foundation, now has 13.7 million documents (79 million pages) released as a result of litigation against the major cigarettes companies related to their advertising, manufacturing, marketing, sales, political, public relations and scientific activities.

An earlier order by Federal Judge Gladys Kessler, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C., requires the buy cigarettes companies to continue to release documents through 2021. The UCSF Legacy Library has been growing by about 700,000 documents in each of the past three years.

Each month, the Legacy Library is used by an average of 16,000 academic researchers, tobacco control advocates, lawyers, journalists and students internationally who view an average of 227,000 pages. Last year, visitors came from 190 different countries to use it. Close to 600 peer-reviewed journal articles and 130 other publications, including government reports, books and newspaper articles based on research at the library have been published. The new funds will allow all of that information to be digitized for early access online.

“These funds will allow us to substantially improve the way investigators, the media and the public are able to research how tobacco companies produce, price and market their products, as well as protect their political interests globally,” said Kim Klausner, UCSF Industry Documents Digital Library Manager.

Sam Hawgood, MBBS, dean of the UCSF School of Medicine and vice chancellor for medical affairs, said the University is “gratified that the court recognizes the important contributions that UCSF has made, and will continue to make, to global public health through the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library. Making these documents freely available to everyone is an important element of UCSF’s contribution as a public university,” he said.

The defendant tobacco companies that agreed to the proposed court order are Philip Morris USA, Inc, Altria Group, and RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company. The proposed consent order is subject to court approval and is not final until it is signed and entered by the court.

“Research based on the documents has provided a unique insight into how the tobacco industry manipulates scientific and political processes and engineers its products and marketing to maximize its sales,” said Stanton A. Glantz, PhD, UCSF professor of medicine and director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at UCSF. “By revealing the industry’s behind-the-scenes strategies and involvement, this understanding has transformed public health from city councils to the United Nations.”

UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care.

› Read More

E Cigarettes Change The Tobacco Game

There is a different way to get that hit of nicotine without hurting those around you.

Fans of electronic, or E-Cigarettes, claim they smoke cigarettes less and can smoke cigarettes in public or confined places without emitting second hand smoke. Health officials, on the other hand, say these battery-powered smokes are still as hazardous as the traditional lighted counterparts.

E-Cigarettes employ a cartridge pre-loaded with tobacco, flavoring and other chemicals. Smokers place the device into the mouth like a traditional cigarette, but instead of smoke, vapor is inhaled and exhaled.

"It's easier to inhale and your breath, car and clothes don't smell like smoke," said Judy Wyatt of North East.

Wyatt said she tried the device a couple months ago "out of curiosity." She only smokes under stress, she said, adding she typically goes through a traditional pack of 20 cigarettes in a week. The E-Cigarette is less obvious and less annoying.

"I keep it in my pocket. There's no ashtray, no mess, no throwing your cigarette butts out the window," she said.

However, like traditional cigarettes, E-Cigarettes still pose a health risk, according to a doctor with the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

"It delivers the same amount of nicotine and some are designed to deliver more nicotine than a regular cigarette," said Dr. Donald Shell, director of the Center for Health Promotion.

Shell said federal officials have been unsuccessful in getting these cheap cigarettes under the same regulatory umbrella as other buy cigarettes products.

"It is not regulated as a medical device," Shell said. "It's regulated under food, drugs and cosmetics.

"The Food and Drug Administration can't say if they are safe or how much nicotine is being inhaled," he said. Shell said a 2009 act signed by the president ties the FDA's hands.

"The act President Obama signed ... forbids the FDA from dealing with cigarettes online as a drug. They can't evaluate it on its potential harm," he said. "It's still a smoke cigarettes risk, still all the toxins associated with cancer. It's still all there."

He added because of the designation E-Cigarettes are not required to carry the same warning labels as those posted on packages of cigarettes, cigars and smokeless tobacco.

Shell said the state is taking its own action regardless.

"Here at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene we continue to educate that all cheap cigarette online products are hazardous," he said. "Kids with asthma, cancer, maternal health. It's a huge problem."

Worse yet, Shell said because of the lack of regulation tobacco companies are developing products that appear to target young people.

"Kids are using more of the small cigars and cigarillos," he said. These can be purchased one at a time for less than a dollar, compared to almost $7 for a pack of cigarettes. "They are now coming out in flavors with colored foil wrappers."

Wyatt, who works at a store where E-cigarettes are sold, says one E-cigarette pack costs $9.99 but is equal to two packs of cigarettes.

Kuldip Singh at Cigars Etc. in Rising Sun agreed the E-cigarettes might be more convenient.

"But they don't sell well," he said. Only one kind is sold at the East Main Street store. The $9.95 pack is equivalent to 30 cigarettes.

"Our least expensive pack of regular buy cigarette online is $4.71," he said. After a couple of months on the shelves, Singh said only a handful have left the store.

› Read More

Policy Bans All Tobacco On All County Property

Commissioners discussed a new policy Tuesday that bans all cigarettes use on all county property including boat ramps, parks, trails and the sports complex, which will roll out in three phases starting Jan. 1 2012.

"It is cheap cigarettes free. It does not just cover smoking cigarettes, it is all cigarettes online products," said Assistant County Administrator June Fisher told the board.

Phase 1, which includes the downtown Sebring campuses like the Government Center, Courthouse, State Attorney, Public Defender, Government Annex, Facilities Office, the Children's Advocacy and all EMS centers.

Phase 2 also begins on Jan. 1 of 2012, and includes all fire stations, the landfill, all libraries and community centers.

Phase 3, whose roll out date is to be announced, includes all county property like parks, boat ramps and trails.

"How are you going to enforce this?" asked Commissioner Ron Handley.

Fisher replied that enforcement would depend on county employees reporting other employees and violators.

"It is not going to go flawless, there are probably going to be gray areas. But this is the right thing," said Highlands County Health Department Administrator Robert Paluszak.

The policy also forced potential county employees to sign an affidavit stating they have refrained from tobacco use for up to a year prior to applying to the county.

Fisher even discussed other counties that drug test for tobacco use prior to applying for a county position.

Commissioner Don Elwell took exception with that section of the policy.

"I think this section is unnecessary," Elwell said. Elwell further argued that the new policy could "severely limit" the county's application pool for employees.

"We are trying to enforce actions before they are even employees," Elwell added.

"The idea behind that policy is to improve the risk pool of your insurance policy," County Attorney Ross Macbeth told the commissioners.

Macbeth clarified further that the if an applicant was tobacco free for up to a year before applying for a county position, then that would lower the county's insurance costs over time.

The policy further states that the county will provide tobacco cessation programs to the employees who request it, and the health departments are currently offering free nicotine patches and a five-week cessation program at no cost for the public.

› Read More

Big Tobacco Trial In Sebring

In a Dec. 3, 2008 online posting, Jane Akre, writing for Injury Board National News Desk, predicted: "A lawsuit by the widow of a Cooper City man who smoked up to 40 cigarettes a day for 40 years is under way — the first of 8,000 similar lawsuits to be heard in Florida against Big Tobacco."

While there is no official count of the number of Sunshine State cheap cigarettes suits, a February Associated Press story said jurors have sided with smokers or their families in about two-thirds of the 34 cases tried during the two years. They have won awards ranging from $2 million to $80 million.

Tobacco companies are appealing all the awards. However, in a July 20 decision, the Florida Supreme Court declined to hear R.J. Reynolds' appeal of a $28.3 million verdict in the death of a Panhandle smoker. That could strip R.J. Reynolds and other cigarettes online companies of a key defense to Florida lawsuits filed by sick smokers or their survivors.

In Highlands County, jury selection begins in January for Hallgren v. R.J. Reynolds, Phillip Morris, Lorillard, Liggett and Vector group. The product liability case was filed June 22, 2010, by Theo Hallgren, for the estate of Claire Hallgren, represented by Calvin Carriner III of Palm Beach.
"Plaintiff was an Engle class member," Carriner's filing said.

The December 2006 Engle case was rejected by the Florida Supreme Court as a class action case, but the justices detailed findings that could be used in later cases: buy cigarettes cause a wide range of diseases, nicotine in buy cigarette online is addictive, and cheap cigarette online companies concealed information about the effects of smoking cigarettes.

"Which are," Carriner's filing said, "that smoking cigarettes discount cigarettes causes aortic aneurysm, bladder cancer, cerebrovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease," and other illnesses.

"The smoker bears some measure of fault, but less than 100 percent of the applicable fault, for causing her smoking cigarettes-related injuries," Carriner's filing said. The suit seeks monetary damages, loss of earnings, and the value of lost support for Claire Hallgren's husband and children.

The 2006 Florida Supreme Court ruling that threw out a $145 billion Engel award may have seemed like a blessing for cigarette makers at the time; now it's a curse on Big Tobacco, making it dramatically easier for thousands of smokers to sue and turning Florida into America's hot spot for damage awards.

In the closely watched July 20 decision, R.J. Reynolds challenged the way lower courts applied the Engle decision, arguing the widow of Benny Martin was not forced to prove the company's liability. The cigarette maker had used the same strategy in defending other cases, such as a $15.75 million verdict in the death of an Alachua County smoker.
"Today, the Florida Supreme Court said, 'No, we're done hearing this,'" said Matt Schultz, a Pensacola attorney who represents the widow, Mathilde Martin.

R.J. Reynolds vowed to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Benny Martin, who died of lung cancer in 1995, was a longtime smoker of Lucky Strike cigarettes, which were made by R.J. Reynolds. An Escambia County jury awarded $5 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages to his widow, reduced to $3.3 million because Benny Martin was found partly responsible for his death.

The Martin case is another Engle progeny. In Martin and other cases, tobacco companies argued that Engle findings were not properly carried out. For example, R.J. Reynolds argued that Martin's attorneys were not required to prove that the deceased smoker relied on deceptive advertising about the dangers of smoking cigarettes.

Tobacco company lawyers insist the process is rigged. "We believe the trial courts have used trial plans that are so fundamentally unfair they violate due process and Florida law," said Murray Garnick of Altria Client Services, a subsidiary of Philip Morris USA. "Each case must be judged on its own facts."

Now tobacco companies are losing other types of cases. In Connecticut, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, maker of Skoal and Copenhagen, agreed to pay $5 million to the family of a man who died of mouth cancer in what was believed to be the first wrongful-death settlement won from a chewing tobacco company.

The tobacco companies have settled in the past. The biggest came in 1998, when four cigarette makers and 46 states settled on $206 billion in a series of lawsuits claiming that smoking cigarettes drove up public health costs.

› Read More

Knoxville Roll-your-own-cigarette Shop Gaining Popularity

It's a concept that's caught on around the country, and now it's in Knoxville. They are stores with machines that will let you roll your own cigarettes.

Nationally, there has been some controversy over the roll-your-own-smokes machines because customers don't have to pay a cigarette tax.

However, the state of Tennessee does not appear to be kicking up a fuss over it.

Smokes 4 Less on Western Avenue advertises up to 50% off a carton of cigarettes.

Customer Erica Smith was making a carton Thursday, and says she's never going back to traditional cigarettes. "Because they burn longer, slower and they are cheaper."

Essentially a customer is buying the loose cheap cigarettes and the empty cigarette tubes. Then they pay to use the machine that puts the two together.

You can pick the cheap cigarette online and the tube that matches the style of your cigarette brand. Store owner Mark Griffey isn't a smoker himself, but heard about how well the do-it-yourself concept was working for businesses nationwide.

"We started checking some out in Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio. These stores are going up all over the place," Griffey explained.

Buying cigarettes this way saves customers from paying cigarette taxes because they purchase the product in pieces. In fact, New York City has sued one of these shops over taxes.

We checked with the Tennessee Department of Revenue, and the way things stand now, officials don't have a problem with the idea.

"From all our research and everyone we talked to, they are very friendly on this," Griffey said.

So clients like Smith plan to keep on rolling. She left the store with 200 smokes for a little more than $22. "For a regular carton of cigarettes, I would have paid $55," she said.

With a slow economy, businesses like these believe they're onto something.

› Read More

MTSU Campus To Go Tobacco-free In The New Year

A new year will bring a hardline new policy on the Middle Tennessee State University campus. The university will go entirely tobacco-free.

The policy will ban every type of cheap cigarettes from campus. It sparked some opposition when the university first announced it earlier this year, but those pushing the change see it as the right step.

"The new buy cigarettes policy prohibits the use of all cigarettes products on campus, including cigarettes online and cigars, chewing tobacco and snuff and smokeless tobacco devices," said Lisa Schrader, director of health promotion at MTSU.

Technically, the policy went into effect at the start of July, but it took several months to educate students, staff and faculty, as well as figure out enforcement.

"We'll begin with really focusing on education, making sure that students and staff are fully aware of the policy and trying to promote smoking cigarettes-cessation to those who want to undertake that process," said Dr. Debra Sells, vice president for student affairs. "Once we move forward, though, into the enforcement plan, we'll ask that everybody respectfully be able to approach one another and remind one another what the policy requires."

This fall, the university took to YouTube with the message and the meaning. One ad featured the football team's former quarterback, Kelly Holcomb.

Opinions on campus are split on the policy.

"The campus has a real focus on health and wellness and I see this as a policy that's another step in the right direction," said Dr. Dennis Papini, psychology department chair.

After all, quitting "cold turkey" is tough when you're one person, let alone an entire university.

"What I hear, a little from the students, is they would still like to have an area where they can smoke, and I suspect that that will still be an issue on campus," Papini said.

The new policy does not spell out specific fines or punishment. Instead, it's being viewed as an expectation or a standard for the MTSU community, which also applies to visitors on campus.

› Read More

Judge Delays Smoking Ruling

A Wood County Circuit Court judge is prepared to issue a partial ruling on a smoking cigarettes ban but has also requested more information before doing so.

Judge Jeff Reed sent a letter earlier this month to attorneys involved in the civil suit over the Clean Indoor Air Regulations between the Hill House Pub and the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department.

"...the court is prepared to issue a partial ruling. However, before issuing a full ruling more information is needed in one area," Reed said in the letter to attorney Bill Merriman representing the Hill House Pub and Wood County Prosecuting Attorney Jason Wharton.

Reed wants to know why the health department provided exemptions to retail cigarettes stores.

"The records in this case, as I understand it, does not include any evidence as to why the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department has exempted out retail cheap cigarettes stores from the Clean Indoor Air Regulation," the judge wrote.

Reed stated evidence needs to be presented as to why the health department has the exemption.

In 2008, the health department banned smoking cigarettes in all bars, restaurants and video lotteries, but provided for approved smoking cigarettes rooms.

In October 2010, new regulations went into effect that rendered those facilities obsolete, forcing customers who want to smoke cigarettes to go outside and stand at least 15 feet from the building or enclosed area.

Earlier this year, Reed granted an injunction against the regulations after Merriman argued the Hill House suffered a substantial decline in income. Since the regulations went into effect, the Hill House, which had been making from $20,000 to $30,000 a month, was claimed it was making less than $18,000 a month, according to court records.

The only exemptions to the ban are nonprofit bingo halls, designated hotel rooms, meeting facilities in hotels or fraternal organizations that allow smoking cigarettes and retail buy cigarettes stores.

Reed suggested the relevant evidence to support the exemption would be evidence presented to the board around the time of the exemptions creation.

"This may include, but would certainly not be limited to, evidence as to why this exemption is needed," Reed said.

Reed said evidence should include minutes from the board's meeting when the exemption was discussed and decided. He said counsel needed to consult with each other to determine the length of a hearing needed to present evidence on the issue.

Wharton said the information from the health department has been filed, and he is waiting to hear back from Merriman. Once the two sides meet they will go to Reed, who will set an evidentiary hearing.

Wharton said the hearing likely won't happen until after the first of the year.

"We are trying to get this moving," he said.

› Read More

R.I. Anti-smoking Funding Falls Short

A recent report from a coalition of anti-smoking cigarettes organizations ranked Rhode Island's funding for anti-smoking cigarettes programs 38th in the country. The state spends $373,000 yearly on anti-smoking cigarettes efforts, only 2.5 percent of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended level of $15.2 million, according to the report. Alaska ranks first, spending $10.8 million on prevention programs, 101.3 percent of the recommended level.

The coalition's annual report evaluates states' expenses in comparison to the federally recommended levels. The report aims to "raise awareness," said Dan Cronin, state communications director for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, one of the organizations in the coalition. "We want to do the report to see if states are actually doing what they're supposed to be doing" with the money they have received from settlements with cigarettes companies and the revenue they collect from cheap cigarettes taxes, he said.

"Unfortunately, Rhode Island is not doing as well as it should be," he added.

This year, Rhode Island will bring in $183 million in revenue from buy cigarette online taxes and settlements, Cronin said. "That's a big difference," he said of the gap between state revenues and expenditures on anti-smoking cigarettes programs. "A lot of times, people forget that this is an issue," Cronin said, though "the tobacco companies are not stopping."

But Cronin also pointed to the state's achievements. Rhode Island has the second-highest cigarette excise tax in the country, at $3.46 per pack. Last year, the Rhode Island Department of Health Tobacco Control Program successfully combated efforts to reduce the excise tax by a dollar, wrote spokeswoman Annemarie Beardsworth in an email to The Herald.

The Department of Health is currently working with the Rhode Island Tobacco Control Network, the American Cancer Society and community groups to support efforts to further reduce smoking cigarettes trends. Such efforts include reclassifying small cigars to apply the same excise tax requirements as cigarettes, raising the cigarette excise tax to produce more funding to help offset the cost of second-hand, smoke-related disease and establishing smoke-free housing initiatives that would expand the existing Public Health and Workplace Safety Law.

Students generally perceive Brown as a smoke-friendly campus. "I was surprised by the number of student-smokers on campus, especially cigarette smoking cigarettes," said Mary Sketch '15. "I didn't realize it was as much a part of college life."

"It's accepted, and if you want to be a part of that community, then you can be," said Lucy Fernandez '14. "But if you don't want to, that's fine too."

In 2009, a survey conducted by the Public Health and Health Education programs at Brown found that 85.6 percent of the student body reported smoking cigarettes or using chewing tobacco five times or fewer over the previous academic year, wrote Frances Mantak, director of Health Education, in an email to The Herald. The Health Education website offers a variety of resources on smoking cigarettes, including lists of reasons and methods for quitting.

› Read More

Moving Forward To Smoke-free LA

Congratulations to the city of Alexandria and the Southern University System on promoting better health and longer life with their recent decision to ban cigarettes online use.

Alexandria passed its ordinance banning smoking cigarettes in all enclosed places of employment, as well as within 25 feet of entrances and windows of those buildings, city property and playgrounds. The ordinance also bans smoking cigarettes in all outdoor entertainment venues and places of employment. The Southern Board of Supervisors banned all cheap cigarettes products in all buildings, facilities, dormitories, athletic fields and parking lots on all of its campuses across the state. This is an encouraging trend.

Last April, the Ochsner Health System banned the use of buy cigarettes products on all properties, including eight hospitals and 38 health centers. Our 850 physicians, 12,500 employees, patients and visitors can no longer smoke cigarettes on campus as all designated smoking cigarettes areas have been removed. We are living up to the tradition of our founder, Dr. Alton Ochsner, who discovered the link between tobacco use and lung cancer, by adopting the ban. Many other health care facilities and other businesses across the nation are adopting similar smoke cigarettes free work environments. They are doing so for a very simple reason. Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States.

In Louisiana, 6,500 residents will die from smoking cigarettes this year. An additional 1,000 more people will die from exposure to secondhand smoke. Thousands more will die from smoking cigarettes-related diseases. In fact, more deaths are caused by tobacco use than by all deaths from alcohol use, illegal drug use, HIV, motor vehicle injuries, suicides and murders combined. It is crucial that people no longer compromise on health.

At Ochsner, we understand that individuals may need help to quit smoking cigarettes. Our staff provides support, information and encouragement for employees and patients seeking to lead a healthier lifestyle.

Again, we here at Ochsner commend the leaders of Alexandria and the Southern University System for putting the health of the communities they serve first. Employees can work, students can learn and children can play in healthier environments. We encourage other businesses, cities and universities to join this growing trend and adopt smoke-free workplaces.

› Read More

DHH Clinics Go Tobacco Free

Starting New Year's Day state-operated community behavioral health clinics in Region 8 will become cigarettes store free.

Patrons and employees will not be allowed to light-up or use any cigarettes online products on the grounds of these northeast Louisiana state-operated clinics: Monroe Behavioral Health Clinic, Tallulah Behavioral Health Clinic, Ruston Behavioral Health Clinic, Columbia Behavioral Health Clinic and the Bastrop Behavioral Health Clinic.

The new policy is part of DHH Secretary Bruce D. Greenstein's initiative to help make Louisiana healthier, this includes making all DHH campuses online cigarettes free.

"Each year tobacco claims 6,400 lives in Louisiana and costs the state $1.5 billion in health care," Greenstein said. "We all own our own health. Every day we have to make decisions to make ourselves, our families, our communities and our state healthier. I commend our behavioral health staff in these communities for leading this effort, which will only spread throughout DHH campuses in the coming year."

Earlier this year, the regional behavioral health clinics began preparing for the move to tobacco-free campuses. Preparation activities included educating clients, staff, contractors and Regional Advisory Council members on the new policy, providing tobacco cessation resources and posting signage and displaying educational materials in each clinic lobby.

› Read More

Two Maui Groups Get $150,000 Each For Tobacco Prevention

Two organizations in Maui County are among a list of the latest recipients to receive grant money from the Hawai’i Tobacco Prevention & Control Trust Fund.

The Lanai Community Health Center and Maui Family Support Services were awarded grants of $150,000 each over two years.

The funds are part of a larger, nearly $1 million in cigarettes online cessation community grants, awarded by the Hawai’i Community Foundation to a total of eight organizations throughout the state.

In Hawai’i, cheap cigarettes use claims the lives of 1,100 residents each year and costs the state $336 million annually in direct medical expenses, according to studies referenced by the Hawai’i Community Foundation.

The grants are aimed at developing and delivering cessation intervention programs specifically designed for low socioeconomic level cigarettes users. The organizations were selected because of their ability to integrate cessation services into existing programs, and/or to design unique intervention to reach target populations.

The Lanai Community Health Center is the only health care provider on the island that serves residents who are uninsured or under-insured.

The LCHC is also the only federally qualified health center on the island, tailoring services to residents of low socioeconomic status.

The grant will allow the LCHC to add more intensive cessation interventions and support efforts to sustain services.

The Maui Family Support Services will use its grant funds to train staff, enhance infrastructure, and fully integrate cessation services into its existing service offerings.

The MFSS serves residents of low socioeconomic status and has been providing services to families in Maui County for more than three decades.

These new funding adds to cessation grants awarded in 2009 to address tobacco use throughout the State. Other recipients this year include:

- American Lung Association of Hawaii, Freedom from Smoking Program: $150,000 over two years;
- Waianae Coast Community Health Center, Ka Ha Ola (The Breath of Life): $150,000 over two years;
- West Hawai’i Community Health Center, Comprehensive Tobacco Free Support in Collaboration with HOPE Services: $150,000 over two years;
- Kokua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services, Sa Suu – Community Voices Leading to Community Action on Tobacco: $50,000 over one year;
- Signs of Self, Smoking Cessation Program for Hawaii’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing: $26,300 over one year; and
- The Queen’s Medical Center, Smoking Intervention Guided Healing program: $150,000 over two years.

“Over the years, because of the commitment to invest Trust Fund resources in tobacco cessation programs, countless lives have been saved and youth and adult smoking cigarettes rates in Hawai’i have decreased,” said Jennifer Schember-Lang, Hawai’i Community Foundation senior program officer.

Schember-Lang notes that despite this success, tobacco still causes more preventable disease, death and disability in Hawai’i than any other health issue.

“Now more than ever, there is great need to continue funding programs to help our residents quit tobacco,” she said.

› Read More

Smoking Cessation Efforts Hailed

She tried hypnosis. She tried a program at work aimed at helping people quit. But Donna McMackin, 62, of Brandywine Hundred, went back to buy cigarette online each time.

That changed in April 2006, when McMackin used the Delaware Quitline, offered by the Division of Public Health, to help her say goodbye to tobacco. She hasn't gone back since.

"I think I finally came to the conclusion, like when an alcoholic says they can never have another drink, I could never have another cigarette. I would bum one here and the next thing you know, I'm smoking cigarettes again. But with help from the people at the Quitline and talking to them, it was a really good incentive."

The Quitline is one of several services offered to Delawareans that helped the state achieve recognition by the American Lung Association this week as the third-most quit-friendly state in the U.S. for helping its citizens give up smoking cigarettes.

The association publishes the "Helping Smokers Quit: Tobacco Cessation Coverage" report each year and ranks each state by the services it provides citizens to promote going tobacco-free. This is a key objective of public health officials because discount cigarettes use is among the most preventable causes of disease and disability in the country.

To rank well, states should mandate that counsel-ing services and medications like the nicotine patch be provided through private health insurance, as well as state-run Medicaid and insurance offered to state employees and their families. The association also factors in how well a state funds its smoking cigarettes quitline relative to the minimum standard of $10.53 per smoker set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Delaware funds its quitline at $8.73 per smoker, using money funded by the settlement between the state and cheap cigarette online companies in 1999. Other states, like New Jersey, fund their quitlines at less than $1.

This year, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act required Medicaid to offer cheap cigarettes cessation services for pregnant women. Rosanne Mahaney, Medicaid director for Delaware, noted that the state has always offered medications and counseling to help all enrollees, including pregnant women, quit.

Medications are covered by state employee health insurance, but Delaware does not mandate private insurers do the same.

McMackin said she was motivated to quit after the birth of her first grandchild, but credits her relationship with a Quitline counselor and the nicotine patches provided to her free of charge with helping her succeed.

Deb Brown, president and CEO of the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic, said smoking cigarettes cessation initiatives are a good investment in the health of citizens and provide economic returns.

"There was a study at Penn State that did show that when you put money into helping smokers quit, you certainly get an economic return," she said. "Employees are in better health, they work more and you have more productive citizens in the business workforce."

› Read More

Delaware Tops Quit-friendly States For Smokers

While Delaware is ranked as the third most quit-friendly state for smokers in the American Lung Association's "Helping Smokers Quit: Tobacco Cessation Coverage 2011" report, a couple of its neighbors rank toward the bottom.

According to the ALA, there is an uneven patchwork of quit-smoking cigarettes treatments and services made available nationwide. Among the states that are the least quit-friendly for smokers is Maryland, ranked tied for 42nd out of 45 states ranked.

States were ranked based on cessation coverage in Medicaid plans and state employee health plan coverage, cost per smoker for state-run quit lines and standards for private insurance coverage.

Delaware's Medicaid program recently expanded coverage for cheap cigarettes cessation counseling to all enrollees, making its cigarettes online cessation benefit completely comprehensive. The state also provides cigarettes cessation treatments to its state employees and their family members.

In Delaware, the adult smoking cigarettes rate is 18.3 percent, compared to the national rate of 20.6 percent. Annual health care costs directly caused by smoking cigarettes in the state is $284 million. The tobacco industry spends $106.7 million on marketing expenditures in Delaware.

Additionally, the Delaware quit line is funded at a rate of $7.33 per smoker, which is below the national minimum standard of $10.53 that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends to reach an adequate number of smokers in every state.

Dr. Karyl Rattay, director of the Delaware Division of Public Health, said tobacco prevention and cessation are priorities for the state, and she is grateful the state has public officials and a Delaware Health Fund Advisory Committee that understand how important these issues are, as tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the state, as well as the nation.

"Because of the commitments of these individuals and groups, we've been able to fund the important initiatives we have for tobacco prevention and cessation," she said. "We have seen a decrease in smoking cigarettes and tobacco use in the state. We've made progress, but we still have a ways to go."

For those in Delaware who want to quit smoking cigarettes but need help, they can call 211 to access the quit line, where they can develop a plan with someone on how to quit and get medication to help them do so.

Meanwhile, in Maryland, the state is ranked the third least quit-friendly state for smokers according to the ALA because there are too many smokers in Maryland who are not able to get the help they need to quit smoking cigarettes.

The state government does not offer tobacco cessation benefits to state employees, and the state's quit line is funded at $1.20 per smoker for fiscal year 2012. Some low-income Medicaid enrollees in Maryland do have access to tobacco cessation treatment, but it is not guaranteed for all Medicaid enrollees.

"There is absolutely no excuse for these states' tragic failure to help its smokers quit," said Dennis Alexander, regional executive director of the American Lung Association in Maryland.

› Read More

New Castle County To Ban Smoking Outdoors

New Castle County government has announced that starting Jan. 3, 2012, smoking cigarettes will be prohibited throughout the campuses of the three office complexes where most of the county’s 1,400 employees work.

The policy will apply to employees and visitors at the Government Center/James H. Gilliam Building complex on Reads Way in Corporate Commons, the William J. Conner Building on Old Churchmans Road, and the Paul J. Sweeney Public Safety Building on U.S. 13, all in New Castle.

Smoking inside county facilities has been prohibited since 1994. Since then the county has permitted employees to smoke cigarettes in designated outdoor areas. The new policy will extend the ban on smoking cigarettes to all outdoor areas on the grounds of the three affected office complexes. The County announced the new policy to employees Thursday, the 34th anniversary of the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout, which spotlights the dangers of cigarettes use and the challenges of quitting.

The county will offer stop-smoking cigarettes programs for employees in conjunction with the new smoke-free policy, said County Executive Paul Clark. “While I understand that this policy may be difficult for some to adjust to, we are putting it into effect for the overall health and well-being of our employees and our visitors. We will be ready to help those who seek assistance in adapting to the policy.”

Since November 2002, Delaware has banned smoking cigarettes statewide in all enclosed workplaces, both public and private, with a handful of exemptions including private homes, rented social halls, designated smoking cigarettes rooms in hotels/motels and at fundraising activities held by certain organizations on their property. Additionally, local governments and private industry have the authority to further regulate smoking cigarettes, including banning smoking cigarettes in outdoor areas under their control. Local examples include the hospital campuses operated by Christiana Care and Delaware Health and Social Services and the Bethany Beach boardwalk and beach, all of which are smoke-free.

A July 2011 Gallup poll showed that about 22 percent of Americans 18 and older are regular smokers. This is down from 23 percent in 1999 and 28 percent in 1988. The same poll identified 24 percent of Americans as former smokers. About 23 percent of American men and 19 percent of women smoke. Despite steady reductions, more than 45 million Americans still smoke. In the July survey, 30 percent of smokers said they smoke cigarettes a pack or more each day. As recently as 1997, over half smoked a pack or more a day.

Tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. Life expectancy for regular smokers is estimated to be from 10 to 18 years shorter than for non-smokers. Smoking and exposure to cigarettes store smoke cigarettes is blamed for 443,000 premature deaths annually in the United States. That’s more than 1,200 deaths a day.

› Read More

Unanswered Questions In Smoke-free SA

When the city rolled out its sweeping smoking cigarettes ban this summer, eager to make the Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights list of smoke-free cities, the winners and losers were obvious. The winners: bars that already had sizable patios, cigar bars, and, many would argue, anyone with a set of lungs looking to imbibe clear of a carcinogenic cloud. Unaffected Alamo Heights’ bar and restaurant district sits ready to catch cigarette-puffing refugees aching for a drag while they sip their cocktails. And despite inclusion in early drafts of the ordinance, VFW posts, the River Walk, and the Shrine of Texas Liberty itself all escaped the ban. But if you’re an everyday pub, sports bar, or dive without a patio or enough space to build one: tough luck.

Judy Simpson, general manager at Finnegan’s on US 281 near Thousand Oaks, wagered her neighborhood pub has taken a 25-30 percent hit in sales. The future’s “looking a little better but not much,” Simpson said, as she and the landlord hash out plans for a patio.

Initially, Simpson considered building a properly cordoned smoking cigarettes area with fencing, chairs, tables, and ashtrays on her front sidewalk. But complications arose from the presence of an ADA accessible ramp and the need for full visibility. Currently, the bar is separated from the front sidewalk by a vestibule with two sets of double doors. The lack of visibility invites patrons to walk off with drinks or, worse, pass them to minors. “What we’re trying to do is build a place you can smoke cigarettes where you can take your drink and don’t feel like you’ve been ostracized from the rest of the bar,” she said. Simpson expects building to begin in December and complete sometime in January. She’s not worried about closing or laying anyone off. For now.

In puff-friendly Alamo Heights, the Broadway 5050 is catching the overflow, says General Manager and managing partner Danny Barborak. “People who have a cocktail often want a cigarette. … I’d say we’ve got some people stopping in here for a drink or two because it’s now a treat to smoke cigarettes inside,” he said, estimating sales have risen a few percentage points since the San Antonio ban began.

Meanwhile, for Alibis on Commerce east of US 281 and two of the Blue Star bars, business has marched forward with nary a hiccup since each had patios before the smoke-ban rollout.

Scott Saulle, who slings spirits at both Joe Blue’s on South Alamo and Joey’s on North St. Mary’s, said the ban hasn’t so much reduced the crowds, just shuffled them around a bit. Patrons now tend to crowd Joeys’ cozy, two-floor patio (which features an outside bar on weekends) instead of the smokeless indoors. “On a Wednesday night, I might have three people sitting at the bar and 25 people sitting outside,” he said. “It’s really weird.”

Joe Blue’s and Alibis both sport wraparound patios. Business at the former is unchanged, Saulle said. And according to Joey’s head waitress Lisa Gonzales, diehard indoor smokers have simply been swapped by customers who would likely jet after one drink on account of smoke. Save for the crowd redistribution and the occasional intense debate on the ban, patron traffic is virtually unchanged.

Alibis General Manager Tracey Thurman said the same, though her clientele, who like a smoke cigarettes while dancing or punching her touch-screen games, are mildly inconvenienced to step out. “We have a strong regular crowd,” she said. “Everything from bankers to bikers.”

Ron Herrera, co-owner of SoHo Martini & Wine Bar, says he’s lost a few dedicated cigar smokers, but on the whole the clientele has adjusted. They simply step outside to his tiny patio and light up. “Are we okay? Yeah,” he said. “I just don’t like being told how to run my own business.”

But the question remains: as a cigar bar, should Herrera’s patrons even have to step outside for a drag?

Herrera assumed SoHo was ban-exempt, falling under the umbrella term “retail cigarettes store store” in the city’s ordinance. On the Friday after the ban went into effect, Herrera said he got a call from the Mayor’s office, telling him he couldn’t keep his cigar-bar status if he continued to sell food, which apparently includes typical drink garnish like lemons, limes, and olives in cocktails (SoHo doesn’t carry the snacks found at some more traditional bars, like wings, fries, and pizza). Though Herrera found the logic a little baffling, he complied, saying the mayor’s rep threatened to sic a public health official on the bar if he didn’t. A city health employee still visited the following Monday to double down, he said.

Metro Health records show nobody’s filed a complaint against SoHo since the smoking cigarettes ban went into effect, but here’s where the new ordinance gets slippery. The new piece of city code uses the term “bar” to describe a place a lot like SoHo, which is an “establishment that is devoted to the serving of alcoholic beverages for consumption by guests.” But SoHo also sells cigars to patrons (though it’s unclear how many of late), and the new ordinance doesn’t say whether discount cigarette online products must make up a certain percent of sales in order to become an exempt “tobacco retail establishment” or “cigar bar” — only that the place is “utilized primarily for the sale of online cigarettes products.” And Herrera’s brush with city officials seems especially peculiar considering patrons at neighboring Swig Martini Bar above the River Walk continue to smoke cigarettes away — indoors.

Over the phone, Swig General Manager Michael Teran was uneasy discussing the matter, saying, “I don’t want to put a target on our backs.”

A list Metro Health provided to the Current show citizens have called in some 30 times since the ban complaining that a number of stores, private clubs, and bars are out of line with the new policy, Swig being one of them. Just three days after the ban went into effect, a customer called Metro Health complaining patrons were puffing away inside the bar. A Metro Health worker who followed up “observed employees smoking cigarettes upon entry to establishment. Owner was using the old muni-code (which has not been updated) as a basis to smoke,” the complaint states. Metro Health gave Swig a warning not to smoke cigarettes inside the bar, advising they put up some non-smoking cigarettes signage.

According to Metro Health spokeswoman Carol Schliesinger, the city has yet to fine any establishment for breaking the ban. Under the ordinance, a first-time violation carries a fine of up to $200. Repeat offenders could get smacked with fines of $500 to $2,000.

Schliesinger says the only guide Metro Health has for the tobacco shop and cigar bar-exemptions is the short, one-sentence blurb in the city code, which appears to leave much up to interpretation. “What’s written in the ordinance, that’s basically the only definition that we have [for cigar bars], at least at this point,” she said.

“The code doesn’t say anything about how much [tobacco] we have to sell,” Teran said. He then recited a piece of the new policy: “Under those exempt, it says, ‘Shall include but not be limited to cigar bars and humidors.’ We fit that.” We’ll see what the Mayor’s office thinks.

› Read More

Tobacco Shops Offering Customers Automated Cigarette-Making Machines

At least four roll-your-own discount cigarette online shops that offer premium cigarettes store at half the price of a carton of brand-name cheap cigarettes have opened around the state in the past year. Customers save money by rolling their own online cigarettes on an automatic cigarette-rolling machine that produces 200 cigarettes in about eight minutes.

Typically, customers pay about $40 for 8 ounces of loose tobacco, 200 hollow cigarette tubes and the use of the machine. Employees tell customers how to operate the computerized rolling machines.

"We just talk the customers through the process," said Michael Horak, general manager of the Tobacco Place in Wethersfield, which has two of the machines. Tobacco Place opened two weeks ago.

The machine, which costs about $40,000, automatically fills each tube with cigarettes online and then ejects the finished cigarette into a collection bin, an eight-minute process that produces the equivalent of a carton of buy cigarettes —10 packs of 20.

But state officials say operating the machines without a cigarette manufacturer's license is illegal.

In August, Attorney General George Jepsen, on behalf of Kevin B. Sullivan, state commissioner of revenue services, filed a lawsuit in Superior Court in Hartford against Tracey's Smoke Shop and Tobacco LLC for illegally manufacturing cheap cigarette online at its two stores in Norwalk and Orange.

Tracey Scalzi, the stores' owner, said she owns four of the machines at the two stores, which opened about a year ago.

The Department of Revenue Services claims the machines are commercial cigarette-making machines and retailers who operate them must obtain a cigarette-manufacturing license and pay the associated fees and tariffs, including Connecticut's cigarette tax, which adds $3.40 to a pack of cigarettes.

"We don't see ourselves as manufacturers; the customers make them themselves," Horak said.

The attorney general's office would not comment on the lawsuit because the matter is pending, awaiting the court's decision.

If the court finds in the agency's favor, those who continue to operate the machines could face potential arrest, hefty fines and loss of their existing cigarettes sales licenses, DRS spokeswoman Sarah Kaufman said.

Despite the pending lawsuit, two tobacco shops that offer customers the use of the machines have opened in Bristol and Wethersfield.

Store owners say the machines are roll-your-own devices that only produce enough cigarettes for personal use.

"You can go next door to the gas station and buy tobacco. You can buy the [cigarette] tubes, and you can buy the roll-your-own machines — I sell a couple models here, a $49 machine and an $8 machine. The only difference is my machine is bigger," said Michael Hatzisavvas, who opened Big Cat's Smoke Shop in Bristol seven weeks ago.

"We don't do the manufacturing. I don't touch the machine," Hatzisavvas said. Like the other stores, Big Cat's four employees tell customers how to operate the machines.

Hatzisavvas, a former restaurant owner, said he's aware of the lawsuit, but decided to open a store anyway.

"I am worried. It crosses my mind that they'll shut me down. But how can they do this? I thought this was a state that liked small business," Hatzisavvas said. "Why would they want to shut a business that's providing work for local people?"

The machines, made by RYO Machine LLC, a Cincinnati company, began appearing making a few years ago. Bryan Haynes, an attorney representing the company, which was founded in 2008, said RYO's machines are not in the same league as commercial cigarette-making equipment.

"The advanced machines used by companies like Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds will produce 20,000 cigarettes in a minute," said Haynes, a partner at Atlanta-based Troutman Sanders LLP.

"We're talking about horses and buggies vs. fighter jets."

Wisconsin and Michigan have filed lawsuits similar to Connecticut's, claiming that the product is a commercial cigarette-making machine and its use requires a cigarette-manufacturing license.

New Hampshire's Supreme Court and the Alaska's Superior Court have found that using the machine constitutes cigarette manufacturing, "regardless of … who loads the machine and presses the 'start' button," according to court documents cited by Connecticut officials.

A federal appeal filed by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is under consideration in a U.S. District Court in Ohio to decide whether RYO's equipment should be classified as a commercial cigarette-making machines. A spokesman for the agency would not comment on the matter because "it is in court right now."

"There are now 1,700 of our RYO Filling Stations in 40 states," said Phil Accordino, the company's chief executive.

"We are providing a more convenient service to our customers that have either been rolling their own cigarettes at home for years or have found us to be a less expensive alternative to other larger brands," Accordino said.

› Read More

New Cigarette Warnings Get State Approval

In Connecticut, 4,700 people take up smoking cigarettes every year. If the new warnings that will be required on all cigarette packs lessen that number even a little, said Bryte Johnson of the state chapter of the American Cancer Society, it's a step in the right direction.

"If we're able to cut back [the number of new smokers] by 1, 2, or 3 percent, those are huge numbers," he said. "We don't need to change the world; we just need to change it a little bit at a time."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration made public Tuesday the nine new warnings that it will require on all cigarette packs by September 2012. The warnings pair text messages such as "Cigarettes cause cancer" and "Smoking can kill you" with images, most depicting the consequences of smoking cigarettes.

One shows a pair of lungs ravaged by tobacco. Another depicts a man with a cigarette in his hand and smoke cigarettes billowing out of a hole in his throat.

"I think they're pretty gross, and I think they can be effective," Johnson said.

He expects that the images could cause a number of current smokers to kick the habit, and will be most effective in keeping young people from taking up smoking cigarettes at all.

"If you're smoking cigarettes because you think cheap cigarettes are cool, I think they'd have a chilling effect," he said. The warnings also will include contact information for local smoke cigarettes cessation programs, which Johnson called a "proactive" way to address the issue.

Ross Buck, a professor of communication sciences at UConn, said the images will have a greater impact than the words. Buck, who has co-authored a chapter on the psychology of warning messages for a forthcoming book, said pictures have a more immediate impact on emotions than words.

Of the nine images, the only one he has any doubts about is one of a baby facing a hovering cloud of smoke. Buck thinks it might be too "artsy."

"I think the most effective warning is the one that tells it like it is, the one that illustrates the consequences," he said.

Buck said he was glad that FDA officials took on the job of creating and selecting the images themselves rather than handing it over to the cigarettes online industry. When the cigarettes store industry was ordered to create anti-smoking cigarettes ads as part of a $206 billion settlement, Buck said, the results often sent a mixed message.

"Some of the warnings created by the discount cigarette online companies that were supposed to give young people an anti-tobacco message had the opposite effect," he said, adding that these ads implied that "only brave kids smoke cigarettes and only independent kids smoke." "The anti-tobacco people didn't see this when they approved the ads."

As jarring as the images are, Buck said, they "pale in comparison" with the warning images he has seen on cigarette packages in other countries. In Canada, he said, the images are even more graphic.

Dr. Lawrence Deyton, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, said one thing they learned during the selection process of the nine images was that the most effective images weren't always the most graphic.

"There's some literature that something that is so gross and disturbing, people will sometimes tune out and they don't pay attention," he said. "Some of [the more graphic images] didn't score as well, perhaps as a result of this. Some that were less graphic, but tugged on the heartstrings were every effective, like the one with the woman in tears, or the baby with smoke cigarettes encroaching. We tried to find a balance of images."

In any case, Buck said, they're much better than the text-only warnings currently on cigarette packs in the U.S.

"Those are designed to be ineffective," he said. "They are small, and they're not noticeable. You easily overlook them with the attractive packaging of the product itself."

› Read More

Connecticut Smoking Prevention Programs

Connecticut is tied for last in the nation in funding programs to prevent kids from smoking cigarettes and help smokers quit, according to a national report released recently by a coalition of public health organizations.

Connecticut is one of five states that have budgeted zero state funds for cheap cigarette online prevention programs this year. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that Connecticut spend $43.9 million a year on cheap cigarettes prevention. Other key findings for Connecticut include:

• Connecticut this year will collect $509 million in revenue from the 1998 buy cigarette online settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend none of it on tobacco prevention programs.

• Since 2009, Connecticut has cut state funding for tobacco prevention from $7.4 million to zero.

• The tobacco companies spend $98.4 million a year to market their products in Connecticut.

The annual report on states' funding of tobacco prevention programs, titled "A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 13 Years Later," was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights.

For years, Connecticut was one of the worst states in the nation in funding tobacco prevention, providing little or no funding. Connecticut improved significantly in fiscal year 2009, but has again eliminated funding and fallen to last in the nation.

"By eliminating funding for tobacco prevention, Connecticut's leaders have let down the state's kids and put the state's progress against tobacco at risk," said Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "To continue reducing smoking cigarettes, it is critical that Connecticut quickly increase funding for tobacco prevention. Even in these difficult budget times, tobacco prevention is a smart investment that saves lives and saves money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs."

In Connecticut, 15.3% of high school students smoke cigarettes and 4,300 more kids become regular smokers each year. Tobacco annually claims 4,700 lives and costs the state $1.6 billion in health care bills.

Nationally, the report finds that most states are failing to adequately fund tobacco prevention and cessation programs. Altogether, the states have cut funding for these programs to the lowest level since 1999, when they first started receiving tobacco settlement payments. Key national findings of the report include:

• The states this year will collect $25.6 billion from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 1.8% ($456.7 million) of it on tobacco prevention programs. This means the states are spending less than two cents of every dollar in tobacco revenue to fight tobacco use.

• States have cut funding for tobacco prevention programs by 12% ($61.2 million) in the past year and by 36% ($260.5 million) in the past four years.

• Only two states — Alaska and North Dakota — currently fund tobacco prevention programs at the CDC-recommended level.

The report warns that the nation's progress in reducing smoking cigarettes is at risk unless states increase funding for programs to prevent kids from smoking cigarettes and help smokers quit. The U.S. has significantly reduced smoking cigarettes among both youth and adults, but 19.3% of adults and 19.5% of high school students still smoke.

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, killing more than 400,000 people and costing $96 billion in health care bills each year.

› Read More

Milford Businesses Selling Tobacco To Youths

An unannounced compliance inspection of businesses that sell online cigarettes products Wednesday revealed eight out of 24 city establishments sold items to youth under the age of 18 years old and the clerks were each fined $200, police said.

Police spokesman Officer Jeffrey Nielsen said members of the police department along with staff members of the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and the Tobacco Prevention and Enforcement Program (TPEP), conducted the unannounced compliance inspections.

Nielsen said the inspections were performed in an effort to determine compliance with state laws concerning the prohibition of the sale of cigarettes store and discount cigarette online products to youth under the age of eighteen.

He said an underage youth employed by the TPEP entered the establishments and attempted to purchase cigarettes products. Nielsen said eight out of 24 businesses visited were found to be in violation and sold tobacco products to the underage youth. The offending clerks each received a $200 fine.

The cigarette dealer license holder at each establishment also faces additional administrative sanctions from the Department of Revenue Services, the state agency that issues cigarette dealer licenses, police said.

The following establishments were found to be in violation: Cumberland Farms at 1023 Boston Post Road, Woodmont Shell at 190 Woodmont Road, Choe Food Mart Shell at 1345 New Haven Ave., Friendly Liquor Store at 240 Broad St., Krausers at 631 Milford Point Road, Sassy’s Liquor Locker at 965 Bridgeport Ave., Krausers at 361 Bridgeport Ave., and One Stop Mart Sunoco at 298 Boston Post Road

Businesses found to be in compliance with the law were BP Gas Station, Friendly 29 Sunoco, Napoli Deli, Milford Tobacco Shop, News Den, Whiskey Barrel, Milford Smoke Junction, Buck Stop, Vineyard Package Store, and Mobil on the Run. Additionally, these businesses were found to be in compliance with the law are New Town Market & Deli, Pete’s Deli & News, One Stop Grocery & Convenience, Gromarts and Milford Quick Mart Sunoco.

› Read More