Stop Smoking Way

The issue: A campuswide smoking ban at state system universities has smokers irate.
Our opinion: Smoking is a deadly addiction, but the ban is high-handed, unreasonable and perhaps unworkable.

Smokers on State System of Higher Education campuses have had one of their guilty pleasures snuffed out: An edict from the chancellor’s offices has left them no place to light up on campus, not even in a remote corner, hundreds of feet away from the nearest building or other human beings. It seems a bit much.

OLYMPIA — After helping young people and pregnant women to quit smoking, the state is now targeting its toughest group yet — low-income residents.

Smoking rates in North Central Washington now vary widely, partly because the state’s anti-smoking campaign has worked in areas with higher incomes and education levels, state officials say.

Adult smoking rates released by the state on Wednesday show the disparity.

In Chelan County, only about one in seven adults — or 14.4 percent — smoke. In Okanogan County, nearly one in four adults — or 24.4 percent — smoke. It’s the third highest rate in the state, behind only Asotin and Stevens counties.

RIYADH – Smokers beware! The Kingdom is coming up with new stringent measures against smoking in public places.
A special ministerial committee has already recommended a new 20-article draft bill, Al-Watan Arabic daily quoted Dr. Sulaiman Al-Sabi, Secretary General of the Anti-Smoking Society, as saying.
Al-Sabi said enforcement of the new measures would be the responsibility of the Ministry of Health. He said his society was a watchdog organization and within its jurisdiction it acquaints the authorities with all developments. The draft anti-smoking bill is the brainchild of the society, he said.

SPRINGVILLE, Iowa – Residents of Springville became a bit concerned when yard signs began popping up around town that read “We’ll miss you, Springville.”

Springville City Councilwoman Heather Neff says residents were thinking the worst after seeing the signs on Sunday, even a possible terrorist attack.

But the signs were part of a campaign by the anti-smoking group Just Eliminate Lies, or JEL.

The idea behind the campaign is that the population of Springville — about 1,100 — is the same as the number of people who die of smoking-related illnesses each day in the U.S.

An anti-smoking coalition is pressing the provincial government to hike taxes on cigarettes, arguing young people are benefiting from the hot job market and have more cash to buy smokes.

But the government says it’s not contemplating any changes, noting tobacco taxes have been increased several times in the past few years.

The Campaign for a Smoke-Free Alberta argues cigarettes sold in Alberta are the most affordable in Canada for people between the ages of 15 and 24, as this groups makes a higher average hourly wage compared with counterparts in other provinces. Tobacco companies are also offering discount cigarettes, the group said.

California’s Smoking Cessation Program Cuts Health Care Costs by Billions.

Call it a “two for one.” California researchers say their state-funded program aimed at cutting smoking can also save a lot of money.

That’s the word from researchers at the University of California, San Francisco who looked at the monetary benefits of their state’s anti-smoking efforts. Started in 1989, the campaign is called The California Tobacco Control Program.

Researchers, led by James Lightwood, came up with figures by comparing California’s anti-smoking efforts to 38 other states.

In keeping with the health principles behind our health and wellness products, we consistently try to increase awareness that cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health! Smoking shortens your life span and steeply increases your chances of getting cancer. Despite consistent warnings on the dangers of smoking, we still see cigarette brands aggressively advertised on TV and more people buying into the glamorized image of cigarettes.

NEW YORK GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare is consolidating its anti-smoking and anti-obesity brands under a single marketing unit in Parsippany, N.J. — a move that will trigger layoffs. The new division will be headed by a new marketing chief, vp for behavioral sciences Karen Scollick.

Scollick was previously general manager of GSK Consumer Healthcare in Canada. She replaces Steve Burton on the Alli diet drug brand, who left his position in June. On the smoking brands — including NicoDerm CQ, Nicorette and Commit — she replaces Bill Slivka, who is transitioning to a more strategic role, said GSK rep Malesia Dunn. The units were previously based in Pennsylvania.