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Update: We Found a “Staggering” 281 Lobbyists Who’ve Worked in the Trump Administration
"U.S. Tobacco Lobbyist and Lobbying Firm Registration Tracker"
That’s one lobbyist for every 14 political appointees, and four times more than Obama had appointed six years into office.
by David Mora, Columbia Journalism Investigations Oct. 15, 2019, 5 a.m. EDT
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
All links
At the halfway mark of President Donald Trump’s first term, his administration has hired a lobbyist for every 14 political appointments made, welcoming a total of 281 lobbyists .. https://projects.propublica.org/trump-town/staffers/category/lobbyists .. on board, a ProPublica and Columbia Journalism Investigations analysis shows.
With a combination of weakened rules and loose enforcement easing the transition to government and back to K Street, Trump’s swamp is anything but drained. The number of lobbyists who have served in government jobs is four times more than the Obama administration had six years into office. And former lobbyists serving Trump are often involved in regulating the industries they worked for.
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Trump Town
Tracking White House staffers, Cabinet members and political appointees across the government
https://projects.propublica.org/trump-town/
Even government watchdogs who’ve long monitored the revolving door say that its current scale is a major shift from previous administrations. It’s a “staggering figure,” according to Virginia Canter, ethics chief counsel for the D.C.-based legal nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “It suggests that lobbyists see themselves as more effective in furthering their clients’ special interests from inside the government rather than from outside.”
We tracked the lobbyists as part of an update to Trump Town, our database of political appointees. We’ve added the names of 639 new staffers with the administration and the financial disclosures of 351 political appointees who have filled different positions over the past year, and we tracked the careers of 338 who departed government during the same period.
The full extent of the lobbying industry’s influence is hard to measure because federal agencies decline to share details of recusals granted to officials who disclose potential conflicts with their new government roles.
Consider Colin Roskey. Days after leaving a two-decade career as what one former employer called the “smartest” health care lobbyist, he joined the Department of Health and Human Services in January. As deputy secretary for legislation for mandatory health, he headed the portfolio that he tried to influence for most of his career.
HHS declined to reveal any recusals he signed while appointed. A spokesman said that “all employees are expected to abide by the ethics rules.”
Just days before joining HHS, Roskey listed among his clients major dialysis providers that receive federal payments through Medicare, including Fresenius Medical Care — an industry juggernaut, with more than 330,000 patients in thousands of dialysis clinics in the U.S. A third of the company’s billion-dollar revenue comes from Medicare. A recent revamp .. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-advancing-american-kidney-health/ .. in the dialysis industry ordered by Trump, expected to shift millions of dollars from dialysis centers to cheaper home-based options, put Roskey’s office at the heart of regulating how much profit or loss some of his former clients will see in coming years. Roskey said in an interview that he recused himself from this matter.
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[Insert: On the fact of it that sounds like it could have been a possible Trump plus,
but can't find what happened to it. This is the best i can do at present:
Trump touted a kidney-care initiative in his State of the Union. But things are not going so smoothly.
By Christopher Rowland February 7, 2020 at 2:40 p.m. EST
[...]Delays in federal rulemaking are not unusual. But the administration’s hesitancy — six months after Trump signed an executive order in July to advance kidney care — signals the clout of Washington's potent health-care lobbies , which have managed in the past two yearsto fend off promises from Trump and Congress to lower drug costs and end surprise medical bills.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trump-touted-a-kidney-care-initiative-in-his-state-of-the-union-but-things-are-not-going-so-smoothly/2020/02/07/89e23748-46d2-11ea-8124-0ca81effcdfb_story.html
Don't know, but looks like Trump's executive order on home dialysis could have been
yet another, 'hey look, i care for you' while ill-informed and ill-thought out, effort of his.]
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Public records show that Roskey lobbied for at least 27 clients between January 2017 and December 2018 on an array of issues other than dialysis involving public health care programs, from prescription drugs to palliative care.
In early October, Roskey stepped out of government and went straight back to work for his old lobbying firm, Lincoln Policy Group, which specializes in health care policy. “Spending time at HHS will make [Roskey] even more valuable to our team — and we are so excited to have him back,” the lobbying firm announced in a statement.
Roskey said he had no knowledge of how the new kidney care regulations will be implemented.
After his monthslong stint with the Health Department, Roskey said he plans to lobby the legislative branch, which is not prohibited by the current ethics rules. “While working with the government I gained knowledge and background, intellectually and professionally, and I intend to unapologetically utilize those skills for my employer and clients,” he said.
The senior-level appointment of a key lobbyist raises concerns for ethics experts like Canter.[color=red] “There’s no way [he would’ve been hired under Obama] because Trump dropped a key provision of the Obama ethics pledge,”[/color] she said.
Indeed, an Obama-era ethics pledge .. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/ethics-commitments-executive-branch-personnel .. clause absent in Trump’s prevented registered lobbyists from seeking or accepting employment with any executive agency that they lobbied the two years prior.
Federal laws forbid government employees who have served as registered lobbyists in the two years prior to their appointment from handling the particular matters or the specific issue areas that they used to lobby. Similarly, after leaving the government, all appointees-turned-lobbyists are barred from seeking to influence their former agencies and engaging in behind-the-scenes work with other senior officials across the administration.
The revolving door, of course, has been spinning since well before the Trump administration. In 2009, after President Barack Obama took office, ProPublica built a smaller version .. https://www.propublica.org/article/the-obama-teams-disclosure-documents-407 .. of Trump Town. During his administration, government watchdog groups also decried .. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/activists-to-secs-white-step-aside-on-audit-regulator-appointment-2015-10-08?link=MW_home_latest_news&ns=prod/accounts-mw .. the conflicts of interest brought by some political appointees, and The Washington Post tallied .. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/08/15/there-are-65-former-lobbyists-currently-working-in-the-obama-administration/ .. 65 lobbyists among Obama’s ranks in five years.
One Obama-era alum, for instance, has gone on to lobby for the nation’s largest pharmaceutical industry trade group, according to public records. Bridgett Taylor, who occupied Roskey’s position until Trump took office, left the government to lobby Congress and federal agencies on matters related to those she oversaw at HHS. Taylor declined to comment. A spokesperson for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Taylor’s employer, said that “her lobbying contacts have been confined to Congress,” and that she has not lobbied HHS in her new role.
If it’s certainly not new, the enforcement of ethics provisions has lagged under Trump. In governmentwide surveys conducted by the Office of Government Ethics, federal agencies reported only 106 registered lobbyists who joined the administration. In their answers, ethics officers argued that they “don’t know” how many registered lobbyists had been hired or that they didn’t “track the number of individuals who fell into this category.” When asked about referrals for further enforcement of ethics violations, an officer admitted that they “don’t maintain a centralized database of the bases of proposed disciplinary actions.”
Jeff Hauser, who heads the Revolving Door Project at the nonpartisan Center for Economic and Policy Research, contends that “Trump has organized the executive branch as a mechanism to reward allies and their political power. Lobbyists are hired not because they’re great at the specific matter that they lobby for but because their specialty is delivering political results.”
Corporations also see value in hiring former government staffers, as they bring connections within the agencies and exceptional knowledge about regulation. Among the staffers who recently left their administration positions, 29 went to work for K Street firms — as registered lobbyist or not. At least 59 former employees have done so over the past three years.
One is Laura Kemper, a former HHS senior official who, within days of leaving her post in March, was hired by Fresenius. Now vice president for government affairs, Kemper heads the company’s policy group.
According to lobbying records, she is listed among the in-house lobbyists who have visited Congress, the White House and HHS since March, pushing everything from reimbursement for dialysis services to home dialysis. The records show Fresenius shelled out more than $2.2 million for lobbying activities during the first half of the year.
Kemper had also spent years lobbying Congress and federal agencies on behalf of health care companies before joining HHS in March 2017.
Her pass through the revolving door tests the boundaries of ethics rules. Indeed, Trump’s pledge prohibits staffers-turned-registered lobbyists from advocating for the special interests of their corporate bosses before the agencies where they used to work for at least five years. It also restricts former employees from behind-the-scenes lobbying with any senior federal official for the remainder of Trump’s presidency. Kemper signed that pledge.
Kemper declined to comment. In a statement, Fresenius said Kemper “has strictly followed her legal and ethical obligations and has not been involved in lobbying the administration or anything related to the Executive Order.” Disclosure forms filed by Fresenius “cite the general activity of a team and do not ascribe any particular lobbying activity,” according to its statement.
Recently, during an earnings call to investors, Fresenius CEO Rice Powell said that the company has talked to the “appropriate people in Washington,” without naming any particular Fresenius or government staffer. “We are in the midst of commenting and asking questions” with HHS officials, he added.
As ProPublica has reported .. https://www.propublica.org/article/the-lobbying-swamp-is-flourishing-in-trumps-washington , political appointees who return to lobbying have found ways to tiptoe around ethics rules. Some register as lobbyists but limit their interactions to Congress, leaving colleagues to lobby the executive branch. Ethics restrictions don’t apply to congressional lobbying.
One such case is Geoffrey Burr, a lobbyist who joined the Labor Department early in the Trump administration. More recently, he was chief of staff to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. He left the Transportation Department in January and soon became policy director at one of the nation’s largest lobbying firms.
According to records, Burr now lobbies for clients with a stake in transportation issues, including The Northeast MAGLEV, the company behind what would be the first high-speed train in the U.S. A January press release announcing his hiring praised Burr’s “high-level involvement with Transportation and Labor [that will] provide clients with the strategic guidance they need to navigate business issues with the administration.”
Burr signed the ethics pledge and, according to records, lobbies only Congress, abiding by the rule of not contacting the executive branch. Other partners at his firm lobby the Transportation Department and the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.
The Transportation Department didn’t respond to requests for comment, and Burr declined to talk.
There are also former Trump administration staffers who go back to K Street but don’t register as lobbyists — the Lobbying Disclosure Act only requires those who spend 20% or more of their time lobbying to register.
Rebecca Wood and Brooke Appleton held senior Trump administration positions for more than a year at the Food and Drug Administration and the Agriculture Department, respectively. Both left the administration and returned to their former employers — this time, in more senior positions.
Wood now leads the food and drug practice at Sidley Austin, a powerful law and lobbying firm in Washington, where her colleagues lobby the FDA for various clients. Appleton went from being director to vice president for public policy for the National Corn Growers Association; she leads at least six people lobbying the Agriculture Department and other federal agencies.
Appleton declined to comment. Wood said she “advises clients on FDA-related issues and, in doing so, complies with all applicable ethics requirements.”
There is nothing illegal about returning to an old employer or being hired by a new one. Nor is there anything wrong with having colleagues who lobby the federal government. But the revolving door does present the possibility of conflicts of interests.
“The most important commodity in D.C. is information,” Hauser said. “Former insiders have rare access to strategic intelligence, which is of significant value to corporate entities, and they can do so without registering as a lobbyist.”
With the new data just released, Trump Town grew to include 3,859 names, 2,319 financial disclosures and hundreds of other records for Trump’s staffers. Our original goal remains intact: shining a light on the people in charge of running the government and how their career histories might influence their decisions.
David Mora is a reporting fellow for Columbia Journalism Investigations, a team of reporters, faculty and postgraduate fellows who examine issues of public interest. Funding for CJI’s work on this project is provided by the Investigative Reporting Resource, the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism and the David and Helen Gurley Brown Institute for Media Innovation at the Columbia Journalism School.
https://www.propublica.org/article/we-found-a-staggering-281-lobbyists-whove-worked-in-the-trump-administration
U.S. Tobacco Lobbyist and Lobbying Firm Registration Tracker
Tobacco companies spend millions of dollars lobbying in the U.S. every year in an attempt to weaken, delay or kill life-saving public health policies.
In 2022, while we continued to face a global respiratory pandemic, tobacco companies spent $29,751,276 at the federal level attempting to weaken public health and tobacco control policies, marking a 5% increase compared to their spending in 2021 (source).
As of April 24, 2023, tobacco companies have already expended $6,982,475 this year at the federal level alone (source).
The tobacco industry has 213 lobbyists registered at the federal level in 2023, 80.75% of whom are former government employees likely to have increased access to highly influential people (source). Former government employees now working for tobacco companies can permeate the House of Representatives, the Senate, and our Federal Agencies, to the detriment of public health.
At the state level for 2023, a total of 927 lobbying registrations for the tobacco industry were identified, involving 856 lobbyists or lobbying firms.
Almost two-thirds (577) of the registrations represented a company that is owned by or has a licensing agreement with adjudicated racketeers, including Altria, Reynolds American, Inc (RAI), and Juul. This is a crucial element to note, as lobbying is not inherently problematic; the problem arises when you’re lobbying on behalf of an industry dominated by federally adjudicated racketeers, especially those whose products kill when used exactly as intended.
Altria (previously known as Philip Morris USA) had a total of 293 registrations of lobbyists or lobbying firms, covering all 50 states and DC. Juul, with which Altria has an irrevocable licensing agreement, had a total of 95 registrations of lobbyists or firms covering 39 states and DC. Reynolds American had a total of 189 registrations of lobbyists or lobbying firms covering 49 states and DC. Most tobacco industry lobbyists and lobbying firms were also registered to serve a variety of other clients.
Notably, public records indicate that 12 states and DC require or allow lobbying firms to register, instead of individual lobbyists. Because lobbying firms often employ many lobbyists, the tobacco industry may be able to mask from public view the actual number and names of individual lobbyists who are working on their behalf in those states.
The ASH Lobbyist Tracker focuses on publicly-available state-level registrations, with links provided to each official state webpage.
A spreadsheet of the data found in the following map can be reviewed here.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/gxb0wps6xpinz72ycpwi1/FINAL-2023-ALPHA-MASTER.xlsx?dl=0&rlkey=fm9h74ngsmndywmaq8o3x8ylv
Click on each state to see the pop up with a top-level break down.
Then click More (or the state list in the side bar) for a detailed break down and sources.
. . .
More and with GRAPHICS
https://ash.org/tobacco-money/?location=mn
US adult cigarette smoking rate hits new all-time low
By MIKE STOBBE today
FILE - Cigarette butts fill a smoking receptacle outside a federal building in Washington, Thursday, April 15, 2021.
According to government survey data released Thursday, April 27, 2023, U.S. adults are smoking less. Cigarette smoking dropped to another new all-time low in 2022, with 1 in 9 adults saying they were current smokers. Meanwhile, e-cigarette use rose, to about 1 in 17 adults. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. cigarette smoking dropped to another all-time low last year, with 1 in 9 adults saying they were current smokers, according to government survey data released Thursday.
Meanwhile, electronic cigarette use rose, to about 1 in 17 adults... https://apnews.com/hub/vaping
The preliminary findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are based on survey responses from more than 27,000 adults. .. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/earlyrelease202304.pdf
Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer, heart disease and stroke, and it’s long been considered the leading cause of preventable death. ..https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast_facts/index.htm
More coverage
– Juul Labs agrees to pay $462 million settlement to 6 states
https://apnews.com/article/juul-tobacco-million-settlement-youth-vaping-318854025e4ee05d8b18296cb7dae772?utm_source=apnews&utm_medium=relatedcontentmodule
– Flavored cannabis marketing is criticized for targeting kids
https://apnews.com/article/health-new-york-city-marijuana-business-4245bb958368e1863d7ac9b639886790?utm_source=apnews&utm_medium=relatedcontentmodule
In the mid-1960s, 42% of U.S. adults were smokers. The rate has been gradually dropping for decades, due to cigarette taxes, tobacco product price hikes, smoking bans and changes in the social acceptability of lighting up in public.
Last year, the percentage of adult smokers dropped to about 11%, down from about 12.5% in 2020 and 2021. The survey findings
E-cigarette use rose to nearly 6% last year, from about 4.5% the year before, according to survey data.
The rise in e-cigarette use concerns Dr. Jonathan Samet, dean of the Colorado School of Public Health. Nicotine addiction has its own health implications, including risk of high blood pressure and a narrowing of the arteries, according to the American Heart Association.
“I think that smoking will continue to ebb downwards, but whether the prevalence of nicotine addiction will drop, given the rise of electronic products, is not clear,” said Samet, who has been a contributing author to U.S. Surgeon General reports on smoking and health for almost four decades.
Smoking and vaping rates are almost reversed for teens. Only about 2% of high school students were smoking traditional cigarettes last year, but about 14% were using e-cigarettes, according to other CDC data.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content
https://apnews.com/article/how-many-people-smoke-us-64987fe2b7bf764c64d4594e5b02e6ea
Juul will pay nearly $440 million to settle states' investigation into teen vaping
September 6, 20222:01 PM ET
The Associated Press
Packaging for an electronic cigarette and menthol pods from Juul Labs is displayed on Feb. 25, 2020, in Pembroke Pines, Fla. In a deal announced Tuesday, Juul will pay nearly $440 million to settle a two-year investigation by 33 states into the marketing of its high-nicotine vaping products.
Brynn Anderson/AP
HARTFORD, Conn. — Electronic cigarette maker Juul Labs will pay nearly $440 million to settle a two-year investigation by 33 states into the marketing of its high-nicotine vaping products, which have long been blamed for sparking a national surge in teen vaping.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced the deal Tuesday on behalf of the states plus Puerto Rico, which joined together in 2020 to probe Juul's early promotions and claims about the safety and benefits of its technology as a smoking alternative.
The settlement resolves one of the biggest legal threats facing the beleaguered company, which still faces nine separate lawsuits from other states.
Additionally, Juul faces hundreds of personal suits brought on behalf of teenagers and others who say they became addicted to the company's vaping products.
The state investigation found that Juul marketed its e-cigarettes to underage teens with launch parties, product giveaways and ads and social media posts using youthful models, according to a statement.
"Through this settlement, we have secured hundreds of millions of dollars to help reduce nicotine use and forced Juul to accept a series of strict injunctive terms to end youth marketing and crack down on underage sales," Tong said in a press release.
The $438.5 million will be paid out over a period of six to 10 years. Tong said Connecticut's payment of at least $16 million will go toward vaping prevention and education efforts. Juul previously settled lawsuits in Arizona, Louisiana, North Carolina and Washington.
Juul has already halted some promotions of its products
Most of the limits imposed by Tuesday's settlement won't affect Juul's practices, which halted use of parties, giveaways and other promotions after coming under scrutiny several several years ago.
Teen use of e-cigarettes skyrocketed after Juul's launch in 2015, leading the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to declare an "epidemic" of underage vaping among teenagers. Health experts said the unprecedented increase risked hooking a generation of young people on nicotine. .. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/09/12/647034155/fda-intensifies-crackdown-on-e-cigarettes-sales-to-teenagers
But since 2019 Juul has mostly been in retreat, dropping all U.S. advertising and pulling its fruit and candy flavors from store shelves.
The biggest blow came earlier this summer when the FDA moved to ban all Juul e-cigarettes from the market. Juul challenged that ruling in court, and the FDA has since reopened its scientific review of the company's technology.
The FDA review is part of a sweeping effort by regulators to bring scrutiny to the multibillion-dollar vaping industry after years of regulatory delays. The agency has authorized a handful of e-cigarettes for adult smokers looking for a less harmful alternative.
The company has shifted its product pitches to target older smokers
While Juul's early marketing focused on young, urban consumers, the company has since shifted to pitching its product as an alternative nicotine source for older smokers.
While Juul's early marketing focused on young, urban consumers, the company has since shifted to pitching its product as an alternative nicotine source for older smokers.
"We remain focused on our future as we fulfill our mission to transition adult smokers away from cigarettes - the number one cause of preventable death - while combating underage use," the company said in a statement.
Juul has agreed to refrain from a host of marketing practices as part of the settlement. They include not using cartoons, paying social media influencers, depicting people under 35, advertising on billboards and public transportation and placing ads in any outlets unless 85% of their audience are adults.
The deal also includes restrictions on where Juul products may be placed in stores, age verification on all sales and limits to online and retail sales.
Juul initially sold its high-nicotine pods in flavors like mango, mint and creme. The products became a scourge in U.S. high schools, with students vaping in bathrooms and hallways between classes.
But recent federal survey data shows that teens have been shifting away from the company. Most teens now prefer disposable e-cigarettes, some of which continue to be sold in sweet, fruity flavors.
Overall, the survey showed a drop of nearly 40% in the teen vaping rate as many kids were forced to learn from home during the pandemic. Still, federal officials cautioned about interpreting the results given they were collected online for the first time, instead of in classrooms.
https://www.npr.org/2022/09/06/1121304870/juul-vaping-settles-states-teen-nicotine
U.S. bans sales of Juul e-cigarettes, company to seek stay on enforcement
June 23, 2022 10:37 PM CDT, Last Updated 2 days ago
By Chris Kirkham and Aishwarya Venugopal
June 23 (Reuters) - Sales of Juul e-cigarettes were blocked by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday, in a major blow to the once high-flying firm whose products have been tied to a surge in teenage vaping.
The agency said the applications "lacked sufficient evidence" to show that sale of the products would be appropriate for public health, following a nearly two-year-long review of data provided by the company.
Some of the findings raised concerns due to insufficient and conflicting data, including whether potentially harmful chemicals could leach out of the Juul pods, the FDA said.
"We respectfully disagree with the FDA's findings ... intend to seek a stay and are exploring all of our options under the FDA's regulations and the law, including appealing the decision and engaging with our regulator," said Joe Murillo, chief regulatory officer at Juul.
The company said it had appropriately characterized the toxicological profile of its products and that the data met the statutory standard of being "appropriate for the protection of the public health".
Juul and other e-cigarette brands, including British American Tobacco's (BATS.L) Vuse and Imperial Brands' (IMB.L) Blu, had to meet a September 2020 deadline to file applications to the FDA showing the products provided a net benefit to public health.
The heath regulator had to judge whether each product was effective in getting smokers to quit and, if so, whether the benefits to smokers outweighed the potential health damage to new e-cigarette users, including teenagers, who never smoked.
BAT's Vuse Solo was the first e-cigarette to get the agency's clearance in October. read more
"The agency has dedicated significant resources to review products from the companies that account for most of the U.S. market. We recognize ... many have played a disproportionate role in the rise in youth vaping," FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said in a statement.
Teenage use of e-cigarettes surged with the rise in popularity of Juul in 2017 and 2018. Its use among high school students grew to 27.5% in 2019 from 11.7% in 2017, but fell to 11.3% in 2021, a federal survey showed.
Juul did not provide evidence to show the products were up to its standards and that raised "significant questions", the FDA said, but added it has so far not received clinical information to suggest an immediate hazard tied to the device or pods.
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An electronic cigarette device made by JUUL is shown in this picture illustration taken September 14, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake/Illustration
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/O2OOEIELBJNUTIFN5N6VZHIKXM.jpg)
Juul brand vape cartridges are pictured for sale at a shop in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage
"Without the data needed to determine relevant health risks, the FDA is issuing these marketing denial orders," Michele Mital, acting director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, said.
Shares of tobacco giant Altria Group Inc (MO.N), which partly owns Juul, have lost about 7%, or nearly $6 billion in market value, since Wednesday when the Wall Street Journal first reported the FDA was preparing to order Juul's e-cigarettes off the market.
'HAWKISH FDA'
Juul had sought approval for its vaping device and tobacco and menthol flavored pods that had nicotine content of 5% and 3%.
E-cigarette makers have been selling products in the United States for years without being officially authorized by the FDA, as regulators repeatedly delayed deadlines for the companies to comply with federal guidelines.
Thursday's decision was cheered by public health groups, who had long warned that e-cigarettes were getting a new generation of teenagers hooked on nicotine after major strides in reducing youth cigarette use.
In 2020, the FDA banned all flavors except tobacco and menthol for cartridge-based e-cigarettes such as Juul. The company pulled all other flavors including mint and mango in late 2019.
The Biden administration has been looking at other ways to help people quit smoking in an effort to cut down on preventable cancer deaths. It said this week it plans to propose a rule establishing a maximum nicotine level in cigarettes and other finished tobacco products to make them less addictive.
read more
"U.S. to propose rule to limit nicotine levels in cigarettes"
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-say-it-intends-issue-rule-reduction-nicotine-levels-cigarettes-washington-2022-06-21/
The surprise decision was an indication of a more hawkish FDA, some analysts said, as it was expected that some Juul products would be approved, following the agency's clearance of several other e-cigarette products.
BAT overtook Juul as the leader of the U.S. vaping market in April, according to data Nielsen provided to brokerage J.P. Morgan. Juul led the market in 2021, with a 38% share of the $11 billion retail sales market.
"The only opportunity for Juul to create value may be in international markets, but we expect other regulators to take a similar stance to the FDA in limiting the marketing of e-cigarettes to minors," Morningstar analyst Philip Gorham said.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-fda-halts-sales-juul-e-cigarettes-2022-06-23/
F.D.A. Moves to Ban Sales of Menthol Cigarettes
Public health experts say the proposal could save hundreds of thousands of lives, especially among Black smokers — 85 percent of whom use menthol products.
According to government survey data, 85 percent of Black smokers use menthol cigarettes, compared with 29 percent of white smokers.Credit...Drew Angerer/Getty Images
By Christina Jewett
April 28, 2022
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced a plan to ban sales of menthol-flavored cigarettes in the United States, a measure many public health experts hailed as the government’s most meaningful action in more than a decade of tobacco control efforts.
The ban would most likely have the deepest impact on Black smokers, nearly 85 percent of whom use menthol cigarettes, compared with 29 percent of white smokers, according to a government survey. If effective in reducing smoking, the ban could significantly diminish the burden of chronic disease and limit the number of lives cut short by one of the most hazardous legal products available.
Menthol, a chemical derived from the mint plant that can also be made in a lab, is added to cigarettes to make smoking less harsh, providing a cooling sensation in the throat and making the experience more appealing. Menthol cigarettes make up about one third of the $80 billion U.S. cigarette market, and about 18.5 million Americans smoke them.
Banning them “would help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help adult smokers quit,” Xavier Becerra, the health and human services secretary, said, adding that it would significantly reduce tobacco-related deaths among Black people.
The proposed ban was announced after a frenzy of lobbying by tobacco and retail interests. Kingsley Wheaton, the chief marketing officer of British American Tobacco, which owns Reynolds, the leading seller of menthol cigarettes in the United States, said the company believed there were more effective ways to reduce the risk of tobacco than banning menthol.
“The scientific evidence shows no difference in the health risks associated with menthol cigarettes compared to non-menthol cigarettes, nor does it support that menthol cigarettes adversely affect initiation, dependence or cessation,” Mr. Wheaton said in a statement. “As a result, we do not believe the published science supports regulating menthol cigarettes differently from non-menthol cigarettes.”
Public health experts say menthol cigarettes have been heavily marketed to Black people, to devastating effect: African American men have the highest rates of lung cancer in America, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More on Smoking and Vaping in the U.S.
* ‘Smoking Is Back’: Cigarettes, still the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the United States, are making a comeback with a younger crowd.
* Vaping Loophole: A crackdown on flavored e-cigarettes was meant to curtail teenage vaping, but sales are rising due to synthetic nicotine.
* The Rise of Juul: Our documentary traced the e-cigarette maker on its path from fledgling start-up to Silicon Valley juggernaut and, eventually, public health villain.
* Menthol Ban: The Food and Drug Administration proposed a plan to ban sales of menthol cigarettes, a measure experts say may save hundreds of thousands of lives.
* Racial Disparities: The menthol ban could significantly affect Black smokers, nearly 85 percent of whom use the mint-flavored products.
The president of the N.A.A.C.P., Derrick Johnson, called the ban a “win for justice.”
“These products have killed our children, our parents, our brothers, sisters and livelihoods,” Mr. Johnson said in a statement. “After fighting against deadly menthol products for decades, today is a victory for Black America.”
Smoking rates overall have been falling for 20 years, although a small uptick was reported in 2020, attributed to the pandemic. Still, cigarettes are estimated to cause 480,000 deaths each year, and among those starting the habit, menthol is popular, with about half of teenage smokers reporting that they use them.
Taking menthol cigarettes off the market is expected to further reduce smoking levels. If the United States’ experience mirrors that of Canada after it banned menthol cigarettes, 1.3 million people would quit smoking and potentially hundreds of thousands of premature deaths could be averted, said Geoffrey Fong, principal investigator of the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project.
[ ... ]
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/28/health/menthol-ban-fda.html
FDA Seeks Public Comment on a Potential Product Standard to Lower Nicotine in Cigarettes to a Minimally or Non-Addictive Level
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued Tobacco Product Standard for Nicotine Level of Combusted Cigarettes, an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public comment for consideration in developing a potential nicotine product standard. Lowering nicotine to a minimally or non-addictive level could potentially save millions of lives, both in the near and long-terms.
The ANPRM includes newly published estimates of one possible policy scenario for a nicotine product standard, including that approximately 5 million additional adult smokers could quit smoking within one year of implementation, compared to the baseline scenario. However, an even greater impact could be felt over time: by the year 2100, its estimated more than 33 million people – mostly youth and young adults – would have avoided becoming regular smokers. This could result in more than 8 million fewer tobacco-caused deaths through the end of the century.
In July 2017, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., announced a new comprehensive plan that places nicotine – and the issue of addiction – at the center of the agency’s tobacco regulation efforts. As the cornerstone of the plan, the release of today’s ANPRM is a major step on the path to dramatically changing the future of smoking in the United States and saving millions of lives.
FDA is seeking comments, research and data on many topics related to a potential product standard for nicotine in cigarettes including, but not limited to:
* What potential maximum nicotine level would be appropriate for the protection of public health;
* How a maximum nicotine level should be measured;
* Whether such a product standard should be implemented all at once or with a gradual, stepped approach;
* Whether a nicotine product standard should also cover additional combustible tobacco products; and
* What unintended consequences – such as the potential for illicit trade or for addicted smokers to compensate for lower nicotine by increasing the amount they smoke – might occur as a result of such a standard.
Given their combination of toxicity, addictiveness, prevalence, and effect on non-users, cigarettes are the category of tobacco product that causes the greatest public health burden. Today’s ANPRM raises options and questions related to establishing a potential nicotine product standard for cigarettes. Setting such a standard could result in many positive public health effects, such as currently addicted smokers switching to a potentially less harmful product or quitting tobacco altogether while also making it much less likely that future generations ever get addicted to cigarettes in the first place.
“Almost 90 percent of adult smokers started smoking by the age of 18, and we’ve known for decades cigarettes are highly engineered and designed to get – and keep – users addicted,” said Mitch Zeller, J.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “By moving to consider a nicotine product standard, we are imagining a future in which young people are significantly less likely to get hooked into a lifetime of addiction.”
Beginning tomorrow, the ANPRM will be available for public comment through June 14, 2018. FDA will consider all comments, data, research, and other information submitted to the docket to determine what regulatory next steps may be appropriate. However, the FDA is not seeking comment on reductions in the nicotine levels of any non-combustible tobacco product for this ANPRM.
As part of today’s announcement, FDA is also issuing Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products After Implementation of an FDA Product Standard, a draft concept paper discussing potential illicit trade implications of product standards more generally. A separate docket for that paper will also open tomorrow and be open for public comments through June 14th.
https://www.fda.gov/downloads/TobaccoProducts/NewsEvents/UCM601047.pdf
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/03/16/2018-05346/requests-for-comments-illicit-trade-in-tobacco-products-after-implementation-of-a-food-and-drug
In July, Commissioner Gottlieb unveiled a new plan for the FDA’s tobacco regulation efforts. While today’s announcement marks the first major step in that plan, the agency intends to issue two additional ANPRMs: one to seek comment on the role that flavors – including menthol – play in initiation, use, and cessation of tobacco products, and one to solicit additional comments and data related to premium cigars. Other actions will follow to ensure the plan is implemented in a comprehensive way.
These efforts also include examining the role that medicinal nicotine products, such as the gum and patch, can play in helping more smokers quit cigarettes. FDA recently held a public hearing on this issue and established a public docket for comment. Together, this package of actions, done in concert, can result in historic gains in the fight against the overwhelming disease and death caused by tobacco use.
Additional Resources
Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., on pivotal public health step to dramatically reduce smoking rates by lowering nicotine in combustible cigarettes to minimally or non-addictive levels
Tobacco Product Standard for Nicotine Level of Combusted Cigarettes
Potential Public Health Impacts of Lowering Nicotine in Cigarettes in the US
Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products After Implementation of an FDA Product Standard (PDF - 773KB)
FDA's Plan for Tobacco and Nicotine Regulation
Page Last Updated: 03/15/2018
https://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/NewsEvents/ucm600955.htm?utm_source=Eloqua&utm_medium=email&utm_term=StratComms&utm_content=webemail&utm_campaign=CTPConnect%26News%26SOS%3A%20Special%20Announcement%20Nicotine%20ANPRM%20-%2031518
Big Tobacco's anti-smoking ads begin after decade of delay
Cigarette makers will once again be advertising on TV — but their ads are court-ordered warnings to consumers. (Matt Cardy / Getty Images)
November 21, 2017
Matthew Perrone
Associated Press
Decades after they were banned from the airwaves, Big Tobacco companies return to prime-time television this weekend — but not by choice.
Under court order, the tobacco industry for the first time will be forced to advertise the deadly, addictive effects of smoking, more than 11 years after a judge ruled that the companies had misled the public about the dangers of cigarettes.
But years of legal pushback by the industry over every detail means the ads will be less hard-hitting than what was proposed. Tobacco control experts say the campaign — built around network TV and newspapers — will not reach people when they are young and most likely to start smoking.
"Their legal strategy is always obstruct, delay, create confusion and buy more time," said Ruth Malone, of the University of California, San Francisco, who has studied the industry for 20 years. "So by the time this was finally settled, newspapers have a much smaller readership, and nowadays, who watches network TV?"
The new spots, which begin Sunday, lay out the toll of smoking in blunt text and voiceover statements: "More people die every year from smoking than from murder, AIDS, suicide, drugs, car crashes and alcohol, combined."
Smoking remains the nation's leading preventable cause of death and illness, causing more than 480,000 deaths each year, even though smoking rates have been declining for decades. Last year, the adult smoking rate hit a new low of 15 percent, according to government figures. That's down from the 42 percent of adults who smoked in the mid-1960s.
Experts attribute the decline to smoking bans, cigarette taxes and anti-smoking campaigns by both nonprofit groups like the American Cancer Society and the federal government.
The new ads are the result of a 1999 lawsuit filed by the Justice Department under President Bill Clinton which sought to recover some of the billions the federal government spent caring for people with smoking-related illnesses.
A federal judge ultimately sided with the government in 2006, ruling that Big Tobacco had "lied, misrepresented and deceived the American public" about the effects of smoking for more than 50 years. The decision came nearly a decade after U.S. states reached legal settlements with the industry worth $246 billion.
But under the racketeering laws used to prosecute the federal case, the judge said she could not make the companies pay, instead ordering them to publish "corrective statements" in advertisements, as well as on their websites, cigarette packs and store displays.
The campaign will be paid for by Altria Group, owner of Philip Morris USA, and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., a division of British American Tobacco.
Altria, maker of Marlboros, referred inquiries to a statement it issued last month: "We remain committed to aligning our business practices with society's expectations of a responsible company. This includes communicating openly about the health effects of our products."
Reynolds, which sells Camel cigarettes, did not respond to a request for comment.
Originally the U.S. government wanted companies to state that they had lied about smoking risks. But the companies successfully challenged that proposal, arguing that it was "designed solely to shame and humiliate." An appeals court ruled the ads could only be factual and forward-looking.
Even the phrase "here's the truth," was disputed and blocked. "Here's the truth: Smoking is very addictive. And it's not easy to quit," read one proposed message.
"This was a classic case of a very wealthy set of defendants willing to appeal every conceivable issue time and time again," said Matthew Myers of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, one of several anti-tobacco groups who intervened in the court case.
More than half a century ago, American media was saturated with tobacco advertising. Cigarettes were the most advertised product on TV and tobacco companies sponsored hundreds of shows, including "I Love Lucy," ''The Flintstones" and "Perry Mason." People smoked almost everywhere, in restaurants, airplanes and doctor's offices.
Congress banned cigarette advertising from radio and TV in 1970 and subsequent restrictions have barred the industry from billboards and public transportation. Yet companies still spend more than $8 billion annually on marketing, including print advertising, mailed coupons and store displays.
Anti-tobacco advocates estimate the upcoming TV advertisements will cost companies a tiny fraction of that, about $30 million. The broadcast ads will air five times per week for one year and the newspaper ads will run five times over several months in about 50 national daily papers.
Robin Koval, president of Truth Initiative, has seen mock-ups of the TV ads in court and says they are not very engaging.
"It's black type scrolling on a white screen with the most uninteresting voice in the background," said Koval, whose group runs educational anti-tobacco ads targeting youngsters.
Nine of 10 smokers begin smoking before age 18, which is why most prevention efforts focus on teenagers. Yet less than 5 percent of today's network TV viewers are under 25, according to Nielsen TV data cited by Koval's group. While lawyers were hammering out the details of the TV advertisements, consumers increasingly switched to online social media sites and streaming services like Facebook, YouTube and Netflix.
A former smoker who was shown the mock-up ads called them terrible.
"They weren't very compelling ads, "said Ellie Mixter-Keller, 62, of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, who smoked a pack a day for 30 years before quitting 12 years ago. "I just don't know if I would have cared about any of that."
Associated Press writer Carrie Antlfinger contributed to this report.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-anti-smoking-tv-ads-20171121-story.html
November 17 -- The Annual Great American Smokeout
GASO Banner 2016 Every year, on the third Thursday of November, smokers across the nation take part in the American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout event. Encourage someone you know to use the date to make a plan to quit, or plan in advance and then quit smoking that day. By quitting – even for 1 day – smokers will be taking an important step toward a healthier life and reducing their cancer risk.
About 40 million Americans still smoke cigarettes, and tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the world. While cigarette smoking rates have dropped (from 42% in 1965 to 17% in 2014), cigar, pipe, and hookah – other dangerous and addictive ways to smoke tobacco – are very much on the rise. Smoking kills people – there’s no “safe” way to smoke tobacco.
Quitting smoking has immediate and long-term benefits at any age. Quitting is hard, but you can increase your chances of success with help. Getting help through counseling or medications can double or triple the chances of quitting successfully.
Great American Smokeout Event Tools and Resources
Download flyers, posters, and table tents as well as ready-to-use web and social media graphics for your workplace, community, and school.
More Information About Quitting
Quitting is hard, but you can increase your chances of success with help. The American Cancer Society can tell you about the steps you can take to quit smoking and provide quit-smoking programs, resources and support that can increase your chances of quitting successfully. To learn about the available tools, call us at 1-800-227-2345. You can also find free tips and tools below.
What are the Benefits of Quitting?
QUIZ: Do You Need Help Quitting?
Desktop Helpers
Latest News About Tobacco and Smoking
Fight Back Against Tobacco
Get the new Quit For Life Mobile app from Optum, available for iPhone and Android
http://www.cancer.org/healthy/stayawayfromtobacco/greatamericansmokeout/index
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http://www.cdc.gov/Features/GreatAmericanSmokeout/index.html
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November 16, 2016 -- Great American Smokeout: The latest on tobacco cessation research
Nov. 17 is the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout. The annual event, held on the third Thursday of each November, is geared towards getting smokers to plan to quit.
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), quitting has both short- and long-term benefits, and those who quit — even for 1 day — take a key step toward a healthier life and lower their cancer risk.
Although the CDC recently reported that tobacco use is at an all-time low, cancers associated with it make up 40% of all United States cancer diagnoses. Tobacco use still results in 480,000 deaths and more than $300 billion in productivity losses and direct health care expenditures each year, and it costs $1,000 less per year to care for an ex-smoker than a smoker. According to the ACS, “tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the world.”
Cigarette smoking rates have declined, but other ways to smoke tobacco — such as hookahs, pipes and cigars — are on the rise. Efforts to curb tobacco use are also on the rise, but, according to the CDC, more work must be done.
Marking the Great American Smokeout, Healio Family Medicine presents some of the latest research on tobacco use and cessation.
CDC: Tobacco use linked to 40% of cancer diagnoses
The CDC also stated men have a higher rate of tobacco-related cancer deaths than women; blacks have a higher rate of tobacco-related cancer deaths than other race groups and that the burden of tobacco-related cancers is worse in areas with high poverty levels and low levels of education. Read more
Lack of cessation program knowledge may keep smokers from quitting
The extent of Medicaid coverage for smoking-cessation medications may be a major barrier in getting low-income people to stop smoking, according to research published in Preventing Chronic Disease. Read more
Interventions necessary to make youth less receptive to smoking initiation
Persisting racial and ethnic disparities in smoking susceptibility were observed among young nonsmokers in the United States, prompting the need for intervention programs that target youth when they are most impressionable regarding smoking, according to recent findings published in Pediatrics. Read more
Cold turkey 'superior' method to quit smoking
Abrupt smoking cessation led to lasting abstinence more often than gradual smoking cessation, according to research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Read more
Farther distance to tobacco store associated with quitting smoking
An increase in distance to a tobacco store from home was associated with increased odds of smoking cessation, according to research published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Read more
Financial incentives help low-income adults quit smoking
A group of low-income smokers that received incremental financial incentives up to a maximum equivalent of more than $1,000 was more likely to quit smoking than those who did not get the incentive, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Read more
Weight loss, smoking cessation reduce reflux symptoms in GERD
Lifestyle modifications, including weight loss, smoking cessation, avoiding late evening meals and elevation at the head-of-the-bed for patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease were shown to be beneficial in a recent systematic review. Researchers also found evidence that awareness of possible adverse effects associated with the use of proton pump inhibitors has increased. Read more
FDA extends authority over e-cigarettes, cigars, hookah tobacco
Earlier this year, the extended its regulatory authority over all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, cigars and hookah tobacco, prohibiting retailers from selling these products to persons aged younger than 18 years, according to a press release. Read more
Rapid increase, misperceptions of hookah use jeopardizes health of young adults
Hookah use has increased among adults in the United States since 2011, according to a new study published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research. Read more
Initiating HT may prompt transgender women to quit smoking
Transgender women may be more likely than transgender men or the general population to quit or decrease smoking when initiating hormone therapy, study data show. Read more
http://www.healio.com/family-medicine/addiction/news/online/%7B27241d04-4e07-4bfc-a797-98a7e74568e0%7D/great-american-smokeout-the-latest-on-tobacco-cessation-research
The Tobacco Atlas BOOK
by Michael Eriksen, Judith Mackay, Neil Schluger
BARNES&NOBLE
Paperback $33.86
Overview
First published in 2002, this updated work uses maps, charts, and graphs to present data from the World Health Organization’s working groups that deal with tobacco. Statistics and information on tobacco’s harmful effects, the types of tobacco products used, tobacco production, tobacco use, the influence of the tobacco industry, and the success of health-education projects are all included. A glossary, a history of tobacco, and a bibliography round out the volume.
Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher
"If there is anything you want to know about tobacco, you can find it in The Tobacco Atlas." —Bill Gates
...
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-tobacco-atlas-michael-eriksen/1118200441?ean=9781604432350#productInfoTabs
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American Cancer Society Bookstore
The Tobacco Atlas
By Michael Eriksen, By Judith Mackay, By Neil Schluger
MEDICAL
88 Pages, 11 x 9
Formats: Paperback
Paperback, $39.95 (CA $47.95) (US $39.95)
Publication Date: November 2015
ISBN 9781604432350
https://acs.bookstore.ipgbook.com/the-tobacco-atlas-products-9781604432350.php
Global Tobacco Control
Tobacco use kills more than 6 million people annually, 30 percent of whom will die from cancer-related diseases due to smoking. If current trends continue, tobacco use will kill 8 million people annually by 2030, 83 percent of whom reside in low- and middle-income countries.
Our global tobacco control program supports advocacy and research and builds the capacity of leaders and organizations in low and middle-income countries to effectively counter the tobacco industry’s efforts to undermine tobacco control. A central aim of the Society’s tobacco control program is to support implementation and enforcement of effective tobacco control policies. Our program has a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa, given that the African continent is home to the highest increase in the rate of tobacco use in the developing world.
The Global Tobacco Epidemic
In 1964, the U.S. Surgeon General Report on Smoking and Health created shockwaves by confirming what many scientists had suspected for decades: cigarette smokers were at higher risk of dying, and of suffering from lung cancer, coronary heart disease, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. For the first time, Americans were confronted with the notion that smoking cigarettes was a deadly habit. Since that time, large-scale public health interventions were progressively rolled out to help not only inform Americans about the dangers of smoking, but also to prevent them from starting to smoke, to help them quit, and to protect non-smokers from second-hand smoke. Not everyone was convinced – about 18.4% of American adults still smoke- but the prevalence of the problem has greatly diminished over time. Similar scenarios unfolded in most high-income nations over the past 25 years, and consumption of tobacco products in occidental countries is slowly decreasing.
Yet, the consumption of tobacco products around the world has never been so high, in part because the tobacco epidemic has now become a global phenomenon. Faced with increasing health regulations in developed countries, the tobacco industry turned to new markets to find new users. And what better markets than those of developing economies, where governments and civil societies had not yet mobilized to protect the health of their citizens from this emerging risk factor? Low- and middle-income economies, once thought of as mainly afflicted by infectious conditions and basic health and sanitation challenges, have started to face a double burden of disease and are increasingly suffering from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders and chronic respiratory illnesses. The health profile of low- and middle-income countries is therefore changing rapidly, precipitating increases in health care costs and depriving families of income, and tobacco is one of the key risk factors driving this change. It is the single greatest preventable cause of NCDs, which are now the number one cause of premature death and disability worldwide, killing more people than HIV, tuberculosis and malaria combined.
Did you know that, around the world...?
* One billion people smoke cigarettes.
* Half of cigarette users will die because they smoke.
* Six million people die every year because of tobacco. This figure includes five million smokers, but also about 600,000 non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke.
* It is expected that, without any action, eight million people will die annually, by 2030. Over 80% of these deaths will be in low- and middle-income countries.
* Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) kill 35 million people annually, 80% of which are in low- and middle-income countries.
* Tobacco is responsible for 1 out of 6 NCD deaths.
* 100 million people were killed by tobacco in the 20th century – as many as 1 billion are expected to die in the 21st century.
* Tobacco smoking is an important risk factor for tuberculosis, and can increase the risk of death of infected patients.
* Not only cigarettes kill. Smokeless tobacco products, such as chewing tobacco, are commonly used in many low- and middle-income countries, and also cause oral cancers, hypertension, and heart disease.
African Tobacco Control Consortium
The African Tobacco Control Consortium (ATCC) is a coalition of public health organizations focused on preventing a tobacco epidemic in Africa. The ATCC is coordinated by the American Cancer Society in partnership with the Africa Tobacco Control Regional Initiative, Africa Tobacco Control Alliance, Framework Convention Alliance, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. This five-year project is funded primarily through an $8 million grant awarded to the Society by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The American Cancer Society also contributes significant financial and human resources to this initiative.
The African Tobacco Control Consortium Project aims to promote evidence-based tobacco control programs and policies in sub-Saharan Africa to prevent an epidemic of tobacco-caused death and disease in the region. The Society supports the African partners through project management training, advocacy and research training, and connecting and empowering the African tobacco control community. The focus is on developing and implementing key policies outlined in the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control including: tobacco tax increases, advertising bans, graphic health warnings, and smoke-free public places.
ATCC’s work is concentrated in 10 African countries:
* Benin
* Botswana
* Cameroon
* Congo-Brazzaville
* Gabon
* Gambia
The ATCC grants program, managed by the Society, is designed to meet the unique needs of each of these countries as they identify and implement programs to meet their tobacco control priorities.
ACS Global Tobacco Control Collaborations
The American Cancer Society has a long history of involvement with the global tobacco control movement. Today, we have key partnerships with several organizations to continue the collaborative efforts to fight tobacco.
Global Smokefree Partnership
For over 4 years, the American Cancer Society has been a partner of the Global Smokefree Partnership, a multi-partner initiative formed to promote effective smokefree air policies worldwide. The Partnership helps practitioners and advocates access evidence for smokefree policies, request assistance from a network of experts, and take action in support of smokefree policies. The Global Smokefree Partnership has over 300 members in over 100 countries worldwide. In 2008, the Partnership unveiled “Smokefree in a Box,” a highly successful guide to help companies design and implement a 100 percent smokefree workplace. For more information on the Global Smokefree Partnership, please visit www.globalsmokefreepartnership.org.
Global Bridges – Health Care Alliance for Tobacco Dependence Treatment
Global Bridges is a worldwide science-based initiative created with the aim of uniting health care providers in their efforts to treat tobacco dependence while advocating for effective tobacco control policies. This collaborative partnership between the Mayo Clinic and the Society brings together health care providers with complementary expertise to build awareness about the harms of tobacco use, enhance access to proven treatment methods, adapt to regional needs, and increase the pace of skill development throughout each of the World Health Organization’s six regions.
Past Collaborations
Beginning in 2000, the Society collaborated with the International Union Against Cancer to offer a Tobacco Control Fellowship Program, as well as Seed Grants to support the participation of tobacco control leaders from low- and middle-income countries in the World Health Conference on Tobacco or Health. After the adoption by the World Health Assembly of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2003, the Society partnered withCancer Research UK and the International Union Against Cancer to launch the Global Advocacy for the FCTC grants initiative. This grant program aimed to support tobacco control advocates and their campaigns in favor of ratification and implementation of the FCTC in their respective countries. By 2009, the FCTC grants program had funded 67 grants to 46 organizations in 38 countries, where grantees have led successful campaigns for ratification and implementation of the FCTC.
The Society has developed key partnerships with various organizations in countries to develop and implement global initiatives, such as the “Travaillons sans fumée” or “Smoke-free at Work” Initiative in North Africa, the Africa Tobacco Control Regional Initiative, and the tobacco control media advocacy strategy with the Vietnam Committee on Smoking and Health. In 2008, the Society worked with the China Ministry of Health and Chinese Center for Disease Control to support a smokefree Beijing Olympics.
Related Topics
The Tobacco Atlas
http://www.tobaccoatlas.org/
http://www.cancer.org/aboutus/globalhealth/tobacco-control
CVS Health Quits U.S. Chamber Over Stance on Smoking
By DANNY HAKIMJULY 7, 2015
The CVS Health Corporation said on Tuesday that it would resign from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce after revelations that the chamber and its foreign affiliates were undertaking a global lobbying campaign against antismoking laws.
CVS, which last year stopped selling tobacco products in its stores, said the lobbying activity ran counter to its mission to improve public health.
“We were surprised to read recent press reports concerning the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s position on tobacco products outside the United States,” David R. Palombi, a senior vice president at the company, said in a statement. “CVS Health’s purpose is to help people on their path to better health, and we fundamentally believe tobacco use is in direct conflict with this purpose.”
The New York Times reported last week that the chamber and its vast network of foreign affiliates had targeted restrictions, often in developing countries, on smoking in public spaces, bans on menthol and slim cigarettes, advertising restrictions, excise tax increases, plain packaging and graphic warning labels. The chamber’s efforts have put it in direct opposition to the World Health Organization’s efforts to curb tobacco use around the world. Thomas J. Donohue, the head of the chamber, has been personally involved in the campaign.
[ . . . ]
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/08/business/cvs-health-quits-us-chamber-over-stance-on-smoking.html?ref=topics
The CDC's Anti-Smoking Ads Now Include E-Cigarettes
For the first time, U.S. health authorities are launching an ad blitz to counteract Big Tobacco's e-cigarette push
by John Tozzi
11:01 PM CDT
March 25, 2015
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is launching the latest strike in a long-running media battle between public health authorities and the tobacco industry to sway Americans’ feelings about cigarettes. Starting March 30, the CDC will roll out a $68 million ad campaign designed to help smokers quit. The campaign expands on the CDC’s three-year-old “Tips From Former Smokers” series, which enlists real people who've been ravaged by smoking. And for the first time, the new ads will also include former e-cigarette users.
The message wars between the CDC and Big Tobacco have intensified since the rise of electronic cigarettes, which face none of the advertising restrictions that have kept cigarette ads off television since 1971. Before Richard Nixon signed a ban on broadcast advertising, tobacco companies spent 60 percent of their marketing dollars on TV and radio, even using cartoon characters such as Fred Flintstone to market cigarettes to kids.
The industry’s legal settlement with states in 1998 imposed further marketing limits, including a ban on cartoons and billboards. But now that the big tobacco companies all own e-cigarette brands, anti-smoking advocates fear unfettered e-cigarette advertising will encourage puffing on both nicotine vaporizers and old-fashioned burning tobacco.
“This is really an industry, the larger tobacco industry with e-cigarettes, that threatens to get another generation addicted to nicotine,” said Erika Sward, the American Lung Association’s assistant vice president for national advocacy. Seventeen percent of American high school seniors reported using e-cigarettes in the past month, compared with 14 percent who smoked tobacco cigarettes, according to a national survey published by the University of Michigan in December.
Advocates worry that widespread e-cigarette marketing reaches kids and teenagers and could reverse decades of public health efforts to portray smoking as uncool. Lorillard’s blu eCigs brand put its logo on a model’s bikini bottom in an ad in last year’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, "a magazine probably read by more teenage boys than any other magazine," noted Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Television ads for e-cigarettes are "introducing the glamor and sex appeal to adolescents today that have never been exposed to cigarette advertising on TV," he added.
An analysis of Nielsen rating data published in the journal Pediatrics last year found that the blu brand was responsible for about 80 percent of the TV e-cigarette ads that reached teens and young adults over nine months in 2013. Blu eCigs, a subsidiary of Lorillard, did not respond to questions from Bloomberg.
Richard Smith, a spokesman for R.J. Reynolds, said that “adult tobacco consumers have a right to be fully and accurately informed about the risks of serious diseases, the significant differences in the comparative risks of different tobacco and nicotine-based products, and the benefits of quitting.” (Reynolds and Lorillard are asking regulators to approve a merger.)
Brian May, a spokesman for Philip Morris parent Altria, said the company supports policies to prevent tobacco sales to children. “Philip Morris USA works hard to market its products to adult smokers and limit the reach of its marketing materials” to youth, he said. Last year, Altria took its e-cigarette brand MarkTen national. It's advertised in magazines targeting adults. The brand doesn’t advertise on TV now, May said, but "as the category evolves, our marketing programs might evolve."
The CDC’s new campaign will run for 20 weeks and include broadcast, print, billboards, and online ads. One radio and print ad features a 35-year-old named Kristy "who tried using e-cigarettes to quit smoking cigarettes but ended up using both products instead,” according to the CDC’s announcement. Her lung collapsed, and she was diagnosed with pulmonary disease before she quit.
A peer-reviewed analysis by CDC researchers of the first year of their Tips From Former Smokers Campaign estimates that it helped 100,000 more people quit than would have without the ads, preventing more than 17,000 premature deaths. At a cost of $480 per person who quit, CDC Director Tom Frieden has called it a “best buy for public health,” because of the savings from avoiding smoking-related disease and deaths.
Terrie_TIPS_7x10.indd
One of the CDC's original ads. Terrie Hall died in 2013.
Source: CDC
The CDC has spent about $230 million since 2012 on Tips From Former Smokers, its first national anti-smoking ads. Other public health ads target younger audiences. The FDA’s “Real Cost” campaign began in 2014 to target teens and cost about $230 million over two years, according to the agency. The Truth ads, funded by the American Legacy Foundation, have pushed anti-smoking messages to youth since 2000 and reported spending $29 million on marketing and government affairs in the ALF's latest financial report.
But health authorities say they’re outgunned by tobacco companies. The CDC points out that the tobacco industry spends $23 million on domestic cigarette marketing and promotion every day, or $8.4 billion a year in 2011, according to the Federal Trade Commission’s latest Cigarette Report, based on 2011 data. Most of that—84 percent—is in price discounts that wholesalers and retailers pass to consumers.
The FDA is weighing new rules for regulating e-cigarettes and other tobacco products. The proposed rule the agency published last year doesn’t bar e-cigarette advertising or flavors that critics say appeal to children. Myers said the same public health agencies that advertise to help people quit smoking should step in to limit the marketing of e-cigarettes. "The failure of FDA to address the advertising issue is a gaping hole in fulfilling its mandate to protect our nation’s youth,” he said.
REASD MORE
blu eCigs
cigarettes
e-cigarettes
electronic cigarettes
smoking
Tips from Former Smokers
vaping
Tobacco Companies
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-26/the-cdc-s-anti-smoking-ads-now-include-e-cigarettes
Czech Republic plans new smoking laws
Article by: LADKA BAUEROVA , Bloomberg News
Updated: March 27, 2015 - 5:26 PM
Czech Republic to weigh restaurant smoking ban.
PRAGUE – The Czech Republic, the last European Union member still to allow unrestricted smoking in restaurants, is preparing to outlaw the practice, the health minister said.
Support for the ban is rising in the country of 10.5 million people, where restaurants aren’t required to separate smokers from nonsmokers, Health Minister Svatopluk Nemecek said.
A bill drafted by his ministry may be debated in parliament as early as April.
“Czech society is definitely more ready than at any other time before,” said Nemecek, who took over the ministry in 2014. “I believe the political situation is also favorable.”
The bill seeks to outlaw smoking in restaurants as well as at concert halls, dance clubs and other public places. In its current form, the proposed legislation would also ban electronic and herbal cigarettes, increase penalties for serving alcohol to minors and oblige restaurants and bars to offer at least one nonalcoholic drink cheaper than beer.
The Health Ministry will submit the draft law to the legislature as early as next week. A restaurant owner caught breaking the ban could be fined almost $2,000.
Opponents of the bill, including members of the ruling coalition party, argue that the proposed ban is too harsh. An alternative version would bar smoking tobacco only in restaurants and bars.
More than 80 percent of Czechs want the state to tighten smoking regulations, according to a survey last year.
“It pains me to hear my country described as the chimney of Europe,” said Jiri Hlavaty, owner of Czech textile company Juta and a member of the country’s Senate. “We’re completely out of sync with the rest of the E.U.”
Previous attempts to pass a stricter anti-smoking measure have failed as a result of strong lobbying from the local tobacco industry, said Kristina Mauer-Stender, program manager for tobacco control at the World Health Organization.
“It’s been a long process that has so far amounted to virtually nothing,” Mauer-Stender said. “The current law is weak, and enforcement is also weak.”
The Czech unit of Philip Morris International Inc. did not respond to requests for comment.
“I’m sure the law draft has already activated the tobacco lobby, which will undoubtedly do its utmost to support the business,” Nemecek said. “I hope parliament will resist those pressures and protect public health.”
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/297840431.html
Smoking ban first step to smoke-free China
By Gregory Yingnien Tsang Source:Global Times Published: 2014-12-7 20:18:01
Illustration: Liu Rui/GT
In a piece of good news, on November 24, the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council issued proposed regulations to ban smoking at all indoor and some outdoor public places. This proposal also touches upon other important tobacco control measures, such as providing help to smokers willing to quit, putting graphic warning pictures on cigarette packages, and eliminating illegal tobacco advertisement and promotional activities.
This proposal has been publicly announced to get feedback from the general public, individuals, and organizations which are interested in the issue, before being finally established as an administrative ordinance to be implemented nationwide. Beijing, the capital, has already taken the lead, with a recent ban on smoking in public places.
As a volunteer expert in the field of tobacco control in China for more than two decades, I'm more than happy to see that measures are finally being taken to tackle a prevailing tobacco epidemic that hurts severely the Chinese people and the nation as a whole.
However, a good law or administrative regulation is just the first essential step, one which needs to be followed by decisive, enforceable and effective implementation.
Therefore, before the regulations are finalized and enacted, a careful and thorough review is due.
First, conduct which violates the regulations should be clearly defined, and applicable fines clearly stated not as a range, but a fixed sum. For example, someone caught smoking in a prohibited public place should be fined a fixed sum, let's say 200 yuan ($32.50). The same is true as applied to restaurants violating the smoking ban. The penalty could be a fixed sum of 20,000 yuan, rather than the current range of 10,000 to 20,000 yuan depending on the "attitude" of the owner. Flexibility in paying fines will create uncertainty and unnecessary complications.
And a good design or work flow is needed to identify, report, and execute punishment when violators are spotted. Let me use the restaurant situation again. Large, easily visible smoking ban signs should be placed on the walls of each room and hallway of a restaurant. The sign should carry the following message, "Restaurant guests are encouraged to photograph any smoking ban violator on site and transmit this photo to an enforcement unit. After this case is investigated and confirmed, the restaurant owner will pay a fine of 20,000 yuan." With this message on the wall, restaurant owners would certainly do their best to stop customers from smoking.
In order to establish a truly smoke-free environment in any organization or work unit, we have to make sure that the heads of these places will strive to keep all offices, including theirs, smoke-free.
This seemingly simple rule has to prevail first, before a workplace has a chance to fulfill the smoke-free requirement.
Again, we should encourage employees to report violators, whoever they may be, to publicly announced enforcement stations.
High ranking officials, VIPs, doctors, teachers and parents should all set good examples themselves by rejecting smoking. If they smoke, they should quit. If they don't, they should reject secondhand smoking, and help their relatives and friends to quit.
Smoking has long been classified by the WHO as a chronic, addictive disease. Therefore, smokers willing to quit need medical and expert assistance to enhance their chances of success. The expenses involved in quitting smoking should be covered by their existing health insurance programs. At this time, programs to help people quit smoking at Chinese hospitals are scarce and ineffective. It's essential to expand and strengthen these practices and encourage smokers to take advantage of this much-needed assistance.
"Smoke-free family" activities should be promoted, to compliment the smoking ban in public places. Having no smoking signs displayed on walls, these families can better stop all visiting friends and relatives from smoking.
Last of all, I suggest that a part of the government's tobacco revenue, a State monopoly in China, for example 1 percent, should be earmarked for tobacco control programs. Also collecting higher tobacco taxes would encourage low-income smokers to quit.
The effective implementation of tobacco control practices in China will improve its air quality, save more trees, reduce fire hazards, and produce a better environment for the Chinese people to live in.
China ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2006 but failed to reach 2011 targets. Now is the time to fulfill such obligations to improve the health condition of the Chinese people and raise the image of China as a whole.
The author is a tobacco control specialist. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn
Posted in: Viewpoint
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/895388.shtml
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Tobacco (HBO)
Published on Feb 15, 2015
Thanks to tobacco industry regulations and marketing restrictions in the US, smoking rates have dropped dramatically.
John Oliver explains how tobacco companies are keeping their business strong overseas.
California declares electronic cigarettes a health threat
By FENIT NIRAPPIL
Jan. 28, 2015 3:42 PM EST
FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2013, file photo, John Hartigan, proprietor of Vapeology LA, a store selling electronic cigarettes and related items, takes a puff of an electronic cigarette at his store in Los Angeles.
A California state lawmaker has introduced legislation Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, that would ban the use of increasingly popular electronic cigarettes in public spaces. The bill by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would classify the devices that heat liquid nicotine into vapor as tobacco products similar to cigarettes. That would prohibit Californians from using the devices in restaurants, buses, hospitals and other places they cannot smoke. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2013, file photo, John Hartigan, right, proprietor of Vapeology LA, sits behind an array of electronic cigarettes at his store in Los Angeles. A California state lawmaker has introduced legislation Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, that would ban the use of increasingly popular electronic cigarettes in public spaces. The bill by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would classify the devices that heat liquid nicotine into vapor as tobacco products similar to cigarettes. That would prohibit Californians from using the devices in restaurants, buses, hospitals and other places they cannot smoke. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California health officials on Wednesday declared electronic cigarettes a health threat that should be strictly regulated like tobacco products, joining other states and health advocates across the U.S. in seeking tighter controls as "vaping" grows in popularity.
The California Department of Public Health report says e-cigarettes emit cancer-causing chemicals and get users hooked on nicotine but acknowledges that more research needs to be done to determine the immediate and long-term health effects.
New generations of young people will become nicotine addicts if the products remain largely unregulated, California Health Officer Ron Chapman said.
"Without action, it is likely that California's more than two decades of progress to prevent and reduce traditional tobacco use will erode as e-cigarettes re-normalize smoking behavior," the report says.
E-cigarettes heat liquid nicotine from cartridges into inhalable vapor without the tar and other chemicals found in traditional cigarettes. E-cigarette makers say using their products, known as "vaping," is far safer than tobacco.
"Despite the health officer's false claims, there is ample evidence that vaping helps smokers quit and is far less hazardous than smoking," Gregory Conley, president of the e-cigarette advocacy group American Vaping Association, said in an email. "Smokers deserve truthful and accurate information about the relative risks of different nicotine products, not hype and conjecture based on cherry-picked reports."
The California report called for restrictions on the marketing and sale of e-cigarettes, protections against accidental ingestion of liquid nicotine and an education campaign on the dangers of using e-cigarettes. California banned the sale of e-cigarettes to minors in 2010.
A state senator introduced legislation this week that would regulate e-cigarettes as tobacco products and ban their use in public places such as hospitals, bars and schools. A similar bill was defeated last year over opposition from tobacco companies.
Other states, including Oklahoma, Tennessee and Arkansas, already have issued advisories cautioning the use of e-cigarettes.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/452ad9ec34ac4a1280f2b8ce8ef441e9/california-declares-electronic-cigarettes-health-threat
New Orleans passes sweeping smoking ban
1 / 19
Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell displays a picture of Dorothy Mae Taylor, a person who made history over inclusion in the city, who represents the city making history again after the New Orleans City Council votes 7-0 to ban smoking in most places across the city Thursday, January 22, 2015. (Photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com |The Times-Picayune)
UPDATE: A more comprehensive break-down of the ban's reach can be found here.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/01/a_nearly_definitive_guide_to_n.html
The New Orleans City Council has passed a sweeping ban against smoking in most places across the city.
The vote was unanimous.
Council members Jared Brossett and Nadine Ramsey expressed concern about not having enough information on what the economic impact of this ban would be, but ultimately decided to support it.
Councilman James Gray broke down at one point as he listed the names of friends and relatives who had died from lung cancer caused by smoking.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/01/new_orleans_passes_sweeping_sm.html
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New Orleans Bans Smoking Pretty Much Everywhere
Bars, casinos, private clubs, parks, construction sites
http://freebeacon.com/issues/new-orleans-bans-smoking-pretty-much-everywhere/
Smoking is on course to kill 100m Chinese people this century. Will the latest anti-smoking policies curb it?
Mar 1st 2014 | SHANGHAI | From the print edition
THE air in China can be deadly and not just because of the smog.
Some 300m Chinese adults are smokers and, with over 700m people exposed to second-hand smoke, the country is paying a high price for its addiction. The prevalence of smoking is greater in countries like Austria and Russia since, although more than half of Chinese men smoke, barely 2% of women do. But China is still the world’s largest cigarette market and, on present trends, 100m people stand to die from tobacco-related illnesses this century. The resultant economic burden—estimated in the tens of billions of dollars—will soar as the economy and the cost of health care grow.
China is starting to take notice of the problem. Mao Zedong smoked like a chimney but it is rare to see a senior leader smoking in public now. Peng Liyuan, China’s first lady, is even an official anti-smoking ambassador. China has also taken a number of policy measures. It ratified the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2005. The central government promoted a partial ban on smoking in public places at health-care facilities and in schools. Some large cities have announced restrictions on smoking in indoor public places.
Although these proclamations look impressive on paper, they have not amounted to much in practice. Smoking is less common than it was in urban offices and restaurants but China has hardly kicked the habit. In fact, the revenues of the Chinese cigarette-manufacturing industry shot up from 285 billion yuan ($47 billion) in 2005, when the FCTC was ratified, to 757 billion yuan in 2012 (see chart). Medical studies add to the sense that the damage done by tobacco is set to rise. Hence talk of beefing up efforts to curb smoking. At the end of 2013 the State Council, China’s cabinet, banned officials from smoking in hospitals, schools and on public transport. And the National Health and Family Planning Commission says it is working with the State Council on a nationwide ban on smoking in indoor public places.
But even then the impact may be limited, for two reasons. The bans are half-measures that fall far short of the proven mix of policies advocated by experts. And the tobacco business is so entwined with government that it is likely to thwart any effective anti-smoking effort.
According to the WHO’s studies of what has worked around the world, anti-tobacco campaigns need six planks. The first is reliable data on tobacco use and prevention, which is lacking in China. The second is the sweeping imposition of smoking bans, not the partial bans still being mooted in Beijing. Third, countries must help smokers quit with well-funded, accessible schemes.
Another plank is to educate smokers on the harms of tobacco. A study published in Tobacco Control, a journal, in 2010 found that only two-fifths of Chinese believed smoking causes coronary heart disease and only a fifth knew that it leads to strokes. The WHO also advocates a complete ban on marketing. But China’s cigarette brands have found many ways to circumvent official prohibitions, for example by setting up charities that fund schools and sporting events in their name (though officials say they will now crack down on this practice).
The final prescription from the WHO is also the most important: heavy taxation. Many studies show that tobacco taxes are highly effective in reducing consumption. This approach has worked in poor countries like South Africa as well as in rich ones like France. But Chinese cigarettes are taxed so lightly by international standards that the cheapest packs in rural areas sell for just two yuan (35 cents); in cities, a cheap pack costs just five yuan.
A study published on February 18th in the British Medical Journal used a computer model to calculate what would happen if China properly implemented the WHO’s policy recommendations. By 2050, it found nearly 13m smoking-related deaths would be averted, and more than 154m “life years” regained. It also predicts a 40% reduction in the prevalence of smoking.
Will China listen to the experts? Perhaps, but the second great obstacle is the influence of the tobacco lobby. China National Tobacco Corporation has a near-monopoly on tobacco sales in China. It is overseen by the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration. This is supposedly an independent entity, but the two share managers and a website and have intertwined organisational structures. Li Keming, brother of Li Keqiang, China’s prime minister, holds a senior post in both. Cheng Li of the Brookings Institution, an American think-tank, calls this the “last bastion of China’s planned economy”.
Planners have consolidated the once-fragmented industry. In the decade to 2010, 185 cigarette firms and 1,800 brands have shrunk to just 30 firms and 133 brands. Foreign brands are relegated to a niche market in China but the ciggy bigwigs now have their eyes on global expansion. They want to create big brands to go up against the Marlboro man overseas.
China’s government is hooked on cigarette revenues. In 2012 the tobacco industry turned over 717 billion yuan in profits and taxes to government coffers, which made up 6% of official revenue. Not surprisingly, tobacco is as big in Beijing politics as petroleum and property. And in provinces, like Yunnan, where they grow tobacco, that influence is even greater.
In theory, the central government could drive up the cost of smoking without losing income. Since it controls the monopoly, any lost profits can be made up as tax revenues. But costlier cigarettes would not be popular on the street and leaders may not want to risk it. And since the industry regulates itself, it is unlikely to suppress the source of such handsome profits.
http://www.economist.com/news/china/21597958-smoking-course-kill-100m-chinese-people-century-will-latest-anti-smoking
Ireland pushes Europe's anti-smoking drive with plain packaging
Conor Barrins, AFP
Nov. 30, 2014, 12:22 AM
A man smokes a cigarette on September 25, 2014 in Paris, holding a sample of plain cigarette packet with a prominent health warning
Dublin (AFP) - Ten years since setting a trend with its workplace smoking ban, Ireland is pushing ahead to be the first EU state with plain packaging for cigarettes despite fierce opposition from tobacco companies.
As part of Dublin's plan to make Ireland a smoke-free society by 2025 -- meaning a prevalence rate of under five percent -- lawmakers will vote to introduce plain packaging in the new year.
Under the draft legislation before parliament, all forms of branding, including logos and colours, would be banned and all products would have a uniform packaging with graphic health warnings.
"The cigarette box is the last form of advertising that the industry has," James Reilly, Ireland's minister for children who is spearheading the drive, told AFP.
"Children are influenced by advertising. I believe this will prevent many children from taking up cigarette smoking."
In March 2004, Ireland became the first country in the world to adopt a total workplace smoking ban.
A decade on, Ireland is at the forefront for Europe, following Australia's introduction of similar plain packaging legislation in 2012.
Canberra's move was met with fierce opposition by tobacco companies and other nations, particularly tobacco-producing economies.
Five World Trade Organisation members have initiated dispute proceedings against Australia's measures at the WTO, arguing the laws are an illegal restriction on trade.
- 'No evidence' -
As was the case in Australia, the tobacco companies are fighting Dublin's plans.
"No evidence has emerged from Australia, where plain packaging has been in place for almost two years, showing that plain packaging has changed the rate of decline in smoking or has had any actual positive behavioural impact at all," Japan Tobacco International's general manager in Ireland, Igor Dzaja, told AFP in an email interview.
The tobacco companies say no concrete evidence exists to show the Australian ban was responsible for a reduction in smoking rates, despite Canberra stating daily smoking rates are down from 15.1 percent to 12.8 percent in three years.
Pat Doorley, head of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland Policy Group on Tobacco, said 50 studies show the measure will work.
"The thrust of all these studies is that people prefer packages with the logos and the embossing and the colours to the plain packs," he told AFP.
"The kids think they're cooler. The other thing is people are less likely to take notice of health warnings on coloured packets."
Dublin is also looking to ban smoking in cars with children and to continue increasing the price of tobacco.
In last month's budget, 0.40 cents was added to the price of 20 cigarettes, bringing the cost to 10 euros for the first time.
Tobacco companies argue that plain packaging infringes their intellectual property rights.
Philip Morris International said imposing an "arbitrary ban on trademarks ignores the hard data showing that 'plain packaging' is misguided and unjustifiable".
JTI agreed, stating "plain packaging would leave JTI unable to exploit its intellectual property rights commercially, making them, for all practical purposes, valueless in Ireland."
- 700,000 deaths a year -
But Reilly is adamant Dublin will proceed with the plans, despite the opposition and possible legal challenges ahead.
"I think it's testimony to the fact that it's going to work given the tobacco industry's very strong reaction to this.
"Across Europe 700,000 die every year from tobacco-related illnesses."
Reilly said Ireland could hit its smoke-free target despite a current prevalence rate of 21.5 according to Ireland's health service.
"Absolutely. One should always aim as high as one can.
"This is one of but a whole raft of different measures that we have taken to protect public health from this killer product."
http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-ireland-pushes-europes-anti-smoking-drive-with-plain-packaging-2014-11
Beijing passes tough anti-smoking rules in smokers' paradise
Calum MacLeod, USA TODAY 10:42 a.m. EST November 28, 2014
BEIJING — As the skyline vanished once again under choking smog this week, city lawmakers approved new rules Friday to curb the Chinese capital's even deadlier haze: indoor smoking.
Smoking inside China's restaurants, bars and other facilities makes such public places even more hazardous than facing smog outdoors, according to the World Health Organization, which says smoking kills more than 1 million Chinese citizens each year.
The organization welcomed Beijing's ban on smoking in indoor public places — passed Friday and set to take effect in June — as setting a strong standard for all Chinese cities.
The new rules include increased fines of up to $33 for a single violation. That's a huge jump from the current $1.60 fine.
The move follows the publication of draft regulations Monday for a tough nationwide ban on indoor smoking, limits on outdoor smoking and restrictions on tobacco advertising. If the larger ban passes, smokers could face fines up to $80.
Doctors and anti-smoking lobbyists warn enforcing rules against smoking — and changing pro-tobacco attitudes — remains tough in a fume-filled society where smoking remains highly popular and little criticized. With more than 300 million smokers, China is the world's largest producer and consumer of tobacco products.
In recent years, the dangers of smoking and second-hand smoke caused officials to ban indoor smoking in 14 cities, but those regulations remained widely ignored and weakly enforced. The capital's new rules — stronger than its 2008 regulations — ban all indoor smoking in public places, including individual offices. Even Beijing airport's smoking lounges appear set to close.
The draft national regulation — published Monday for public feedback — takes the smoking ban to the next level by prohibiting all forms of tobacco advertising and sponsorship, limiting the use of smoking in movies and TV shows and introducing graphic warnings that should cover at least half of cigarette packs.
"I lobbied the government for so many years, finally I could see a real change," said an excited Xu Guihua, deputy director of the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control, a lobbying group. "The Beijing law will be a milestone for anti-smoking and health improvement in the future."
Beijing will collect $16 billion in tax revenue from cigarette firms this year, according to state news agency Xinhua. The state-run China Tobacco earned daily profits of $75 million in 2012, reported financial news site yicai.com this year. That gives powerful tobacco firms and other vested interests a motive to keep fighting, said Xu, a former health ministry official.
"They have many excuses, such as 'tobacco controls will affect GDP and economic development,' or 'other countries didn't ban tobacco advertising,' " Xu said.
SMOKE-FREE DINING ON HORIZON
The new national regulation would aid enforcement by clarifying who is responsible for ensuring smoke-free environments, such as a restaurant manager who should seek police help with uncooperative patrons, said WHO's Chinese representative Bernhard Schwartlander.
Throughout Europe, skeptics were surprised as even nations like Italy submitted to indoor smoking bans, he said.
"People find food tastes better, everybody benefits, including smokers. Why should that not happen in China?" Schwartlander said.
Waitress Amy Zhang, at central Beijing's Hongguanglou restaurant, can hardly wait.
"We don't like smokers, especially in winter when we can't open the window, the smell chokes my nose," Zhang said. "If the new rule prevents people from smoking, I will be very happy. But if they don't stop, I think we have to respect them, because they are our clients."
In many sectors of Chinese life, smoking has been an occupational hazard for decades.
"Being a train driver is boring," so many railway staff pass time by smoking, said Jiang Xiangdong, 53, a smoker for 30 years who now accepts his next cigarette could be his last.
"I don't think I need any drugs to quit smoking, it's not a disease," said Jiang, who suffers breathing and sleep disorders, and awaits treatment for lung disease at Beijing's Chaoyang hospital. "I can quit by myself, I did it many times before."
At Beijing's Chaoyang hospital, doctor Guo Xiheng runs the Smoking Cessation Clinic, the first in China. Few patients seek his help to quit, yet many smokers come with respiratory problems, he said.(Photo: Sunny Yang, USA TODAY)
Physician Guo Xiheng disagrees with this myth.
"When you smoke, and it becomes a habit, we call it a disease, and you'd better see a doctor," said Guo, who runs Chaoyang's Smoking Cessation Clinic, the first in China, and has asked Jiang to quit.
Few patients seek Guo's help to quit, yet many smokers come with respiratory problems, he said.
"We really have to change, I wish our government would value the people's health more than the tax from cigarette companies," Guo said.
Meanwhile, taxi driver Li Yanfang says he fears his firm's $33 fine if he or a passenger smokes in the vehicle.
"It's hard for a heavy smoker like me to wait for ages in places like the airport or train station without a cigarette," said Li, 50.
But he does have one suggestion: "I wish China banned all cigarette companies, then I can't buy any, that's the only solution."
Contributing: Sunny Yang
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/11/27/beijing-prepares-tough-tobacco-controls/19531245/
CVS Quits Selling Tobacco 3 Weeks Ahead of Schedule
Charlotte Alter @charlottealter
Sept. 3, 201
http://time.com/3262395/cvs-tobacco-cigarettes-sales/
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CVS stops selling tobacco, offers quit-smoking programs
Jayne O'Donnell and Laura Ungar, USA TODAY 12:59 a.m. EDT
September 3, 2014
CVS Caremark plans to stop selling tobacco products in all of its stores starting Wednesday — a move health experts hope will be followed by other major drugstore chains.
CVS announced in February that it planned to drop tobacco by Oct. 1 as the sales conflicted with its health care mission. To bolster its image as a health care company, CVS will announce a corporate name change to CVS Health. Retail stores will still be called CVS/Pharmacy.
CVS, which has 7,700 retail locations, is the second-largest drugstore chain in the USA, behind Walgreens. It manages the pharmacy benefits for 65 million members and has 900 walk-in medical clinics.
The American Pharmacists Association called on drugstores to stop selling tobacco in March 2010 and several small, independent chains have done so, APA spokeswoman Michelle Spinnler says. CVS is the first large chain to stop tobacco sales.
"CVS' announcement to stop selling tobacco products fully a month early sends a resounding message to the entire retail industry and to its customers that pharmacies should not be in the business of selling tobacco," said Matthew Myers, president of the Washington-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "This is truly an example of a corporation leading and setting a new standard."
CVS is also launching a smoking-cessation campaign that will include an assessment of the smoker's "readiness to quit," education, medication support to help curb the desire to use tobacco and coaching to help people stay motivated and avoid relapses.
CVS says research shows its decision will have a big impact. A study the company is releasing Wednesday in the journal Health Affairs shows bans at pharmacies in Boston and San Francisco led to more than 13% fewer purchasers. Smokers didn't just switch where they bought cigarettes and other tobacco products, some stopped buying them altogether. About 900 households in the two cities recorded everything they bought after the bans went into effect.
Troyen Brennan, CVS' chief medical officer, says if the results were extrapolated for pharmacies across the USA, it would lead to 65,000 fewer deaths a year.
Ellen Hahn of the Tobacco Policy Research Program at the University of Kentucky says one chain not selling tobacco will have a limited effect, and other tobacco control strategies, such as price and tax increases and smoking bans, have been shown to be more effective.
Still, she said, "every little bit helps because they are such a large chain. If every pharmacy would follow suit, that would be best. But this sends a clear message that pharmacies should not be selling tobacco."
Audrey Silk, founder of Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment, or CLASH, a national smokers' rights group based in New York City, says CVS has every right to change what it sells, but she believes the company is falling for the anti-smoking "crusade."
Pharmacies no longer sell just medicines, she said, "they have turned into grocery stores. They sell candy. They sell beer. CVS Health? It's a perception war. ... Tobacco is legal. They're engaging in public coercion by not selling cigarettes."
CVS says its tobacco sales total about $2 billion a year.
Marlboro cigarettes are for sale in a CVS store in Pittsburgh in July 2013.(Photo: Gene J. Puskar, AP)
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls tobacco "the single most preventable cause of disease, disability and death in the United States," saying 443,000 people die from smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke each year.
Tobacco deaths are very personal to two top CVS executives. CEO Larry Merlo's father died of tobacco-related cancer at age 57 and the mother of CVS/Pharmacy President Helene Foulkes died five years ago of lung cancer from smoking.
After its announcement in February, Foulkes says CVS was deluged with personal stories from customers who had quit smoking. Many said it was the "hardest thing they had ever done," she says. The company is determined to make it easier for them, she says, because it simply makes sense.
"The contradiction of selling tobacco was becoming a growing obstacle to playing a bigger role in health care delivery," Merlo says.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/03/cvs-steps-selling-tobacco-changes-name/14967821/
AHA: E-cigarettes threaten to addict next generation of smokers; regulation, further study needed
Published: 11:01 pm CDT, August 24, 2014
While much is still unknown about the rapidly growing electronic cigarette industry, e-cigarettes are dangerous because they target young people, can keep people hooked on nicotine, and threaten to “re-normalize” tobacco use, according to the American Heart Association’s first policy statement on these products.
The American Heart Association – which over the years has actively advocated against tobacco use because of its devastating effects on health – released its position and recommendations Monday, based on an analysis of the limited scientific research currently available on e-cigarettes.
The battery-powered e-cigarettes that contain nicotine are tobacco products and should be subject to all laws that apply to these products, according to recommendations in the policy statement. The association also calls for strong new regulations to prevent access, sales and marketing of e-cigarettes to youth, and for more research into the product’s health impact.
“Over the last 50 years, 20 million Americans died because of tobacco. We are fiercely committed to preventing the tobacco industry from addicting another generation of smokers,” said Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association. “Recent studies raise concerns that e-cigarettes may be a gateway to traditional tobacco products for the nation’s youth, and could renormalize smoking in our society.”
The policy statement examines several aspects of e-cigarettes, including some analysis that might initially seem surprising. For example, currently available data suggests that e-cigarettes appear to be less harmful than traditional cigarettes. And in some cases the product could help people quit smoking. However, those observations are based on a limited pool of medical research without long-term results, experts warn.
“People need to know that e-cigarettes are unregulated and there are many variables that we don’t know about them,” said Aruni Bhatnagar, Ph.D., a professor of medicine at the University of Louisville in Kentucky who led the 10 researchers and physicians who wrote the policy statement.
Cigarettes are the leading preventable cause of death, killing nearly half a million Americans a year and leaving 16 million others suffering from smoking-related illness.
Yet, e-cigarettes, with their aggressive and unregulated marketing efforts, could erode some people’s beliefs in the harmful effects of smoking, the paper’s authors warned.
“Nicotine is a dangerous and highly addictive chemical no matter what form it takes – conventional cigarettes or some other tobacco product,” said American Heart Association President Elliott Antman, M.D. “Every life that has been lost to tobacco addiction could have been prevented. We must protect future generations from any potential smokescreens in the tobacco product landscape that will cause us to lose precious ground in the fight to make our nation 100 percent tobacco-free.
Manufacturers present e-cigarettes as “cool and sexy and acceptable, which is a problem because you’re increasing addiction,” Bhatnagar said.
Companies also use terms like “vaping” rather than smoking to gain public acceptance and try to break the connection between e-cigarettes and traditional, “combustible” cigarettes, he added.
E-Cigarettes Want Your Attention Now (Before the FDA Steps In)
By Justin Bachman June 10, 2013
The electronic cigarette is about to have its turn in the spotlight. The battery-powered gadgets transform nicotine and other substances into an inhaled vapor and have been marketed as a safer alternative to tobacco smoke, which is drawn into the lungs and increases cancer risks. The rapidly growing e-cigarette business—expected to top $1 billion in annual sales in the next few years—is racing to command a bigger share of spending among smokers and potential smokers ahead of possible regulations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
NJOY, a Phoenix-area company with the largest share of the market (about 36 percent), announced a $75 million investment today. Its newest backers include Napster founder and former Facebook (FB) President Sean Parker and Homewood Capital, an investment fund run by Douglas Teitelbaum, who’s joining the board of NJOY, which was founded seven years ago by tobacco-industry veterans. “I’m optimistic that the clever application of technology might someday obsolete the combustion cigarette and all the harm it causes,” Parker said in a statement. His philanthropic foundation also donates money toward cancer research.
Altria Group (MO), the parent of Philip Morris, the largest U.S. tobacco company, is expected to announce its entry into the increasingly crowded market during an investor event on Tuesday. Last week, R.J. Reynolds (RAI) rolled out its Vuse Digital Vapor cigarette in metro Denver with plans to expand the product nationally. The current No. 2 brand, Blu eCigs, which Lorillard (LO) acquired last year for $135 million, today announced its sponsorship of the 2013 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival this coming weekend, where it will have an air-conditioned Vapor Lounge “activation space” for those over 18. (IDs will be checked at the door, the company and Bonnaroo officials said in a news release.)
Story: Graphic: Who Still Smokes?http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-31/graphic-who-still-smokes
The FDA doesn’t regulate e-cigarettes—at least for now—but the potential of future marketing curbs has the nascent industry angling for smokers’ attention, whether at a huge music festival like Bonnaroo or with a commercial showing a baby doing the Gangnam Style dance to promote a U.K. brand. “Although e-cigarette companies may not have the marketing budget of a big tobacco company, they are somewhat less encumbered (for now) in communicating to consumers,” Wells Fargo Securities (WFC) tobacco analyst Bonnie Herzog wrote in an August 2012 note, predicting sales could top traditional cigarettes in the next decade and urging big tobacco firms “to wake up” to the market’s potential.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published today, Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, described the e-cigarette market as “the wild, wild West” regarding the lack of government oversight but did not say when regulations would be proposed. It’s already clear the agency isn’t exactly thrilled with the public health attributes of e-cigarettes, based on the language used on its website:
“As the safety and efficacy of e-cigarettes have not been fully studied, consumers of e-cigarette products currently have no way of knowing whether e-cigarettes are safe for their intended use, how much nicotine or other potentially harmful chemicals are being inhaled during use, or if there are any benefits associated with using these products. Additionally, it is not known if e-cigarettes may lead young people to try other tobacco products, including conventional cigarettes, which are known to cause disease and lead to premature death.”
Story: Overweight? Smoke? Pay Up for Health Insurance
Beyond the nicotine, one of the major ingredients in most electronic cigarettes is propylene glycol, which isn’t considered toxic for humans but is also found in antifreeze and de-icing fluid. (Blu eCigs notes on its home page that its products don’t contain the chemical.) Former smokers can be found online trading comments on the relative merits of one brand over another, with taste and the ability to replicate smoking as paramount priorities for their selections.
“The most amazing thing about this cigarette? It isn’t one,” NJOY says in promotional language on its website. At the FDA, that distinction may not be enough to ward off the kinds of regulations that could restrict e-cigarette advertising to the limited precincts its traditional tobacco-made cousins now inhabit.
Story: Designers Imagine Ways to Hide Cigarettes in NYC Stores
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-06-10/e-cigarettes-want-your-attention-now-before-the-fda-steps-in
Designers Imagine Ways to Hide Cigarettes in NYC Stores
By Venessa Wong March 20, 2013
Cigarette packs are displayed at a smoke shop in New York on March 18. A new anti-smoking proposal would make New York the first city in the nation to keep tobacco products out of sight in retail stores
Stores will no longer display a colorful wall of cigarettes behind the register if New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg gets his way. The mayor (who is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg Businessweek parent Bloomberg LP) has called for legislation that “would mandate that tobacco products such as cigarettes be kept in cabinets, drawers, under the counter, behind a curtain or in any other concealed location.” It would not impact advertising.
That poses a design challenge for shop owners: If the proposal becomes law, how should they conceal cigarettes? Businessweek.com asked designers for ideas.
Craig LaRosa, principal at Continuum (Boston), who designs service experiences for companies such as Audi: “Dispensers are being used in Europe. This is probably the more expensive solution. A curtain with the tobacco brands printed on it would be an easy fix for the many bodegas in NYC.”
Story: Anthony Sperduti on Rebooting J.Crew Retail
Joe Jackman, chief executive officer of Jackman Reinvention (Toronto), who worked on the makeover of Duane Reade’s stores: “It may be helpful to take inspiration from other retailers, and even other industries. Banks keep cash in drawers below the counter for quick and easy access; there could be spring-loaded ‘pushers,’ similar to how playing cards are pushed to the top for dealers in a casino. Vending machine technology may be adapted, or service environments such as pharmacist counters, where product is mainly out of sight, could be put to use. Perhaps we’ll bring back the old pneumatic tube systems that helped supermarkets move cash safely from checkout stations to the cash office.”
Charles Austen Angell, chair-elect of the Industrial Designers Society of America and CEO of Modern Edge (Portland, Ore.): “Maybe you should hide them behind the health food: the juices and the whole-grain breads. This way your positive choices are upfront.”
Story: In Convenience Stores: More Food, Fewer Cigarettes
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-17/in-convenience-stores-more-food-fewer-cigarettes
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-03-20/designers-imagine-ways-to-hide-cigarettes-in-nyc-stores
"Smoking is a custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs,
and in the black, stinking fume thereof, nearest resembles the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless."
James I
.
NEW CIGARETTE HEALTH WARMINGS
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=64505422
AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION, State of Tobacco Control, check your state: http://www.stateoftobaccocontrol.org/
Smoking curbs: The global picture, Updated 3 February 2011: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11845158
ASH - Action on Smoking and Health, A National Charitable Antismoking & Nonsmokers' Rights Organization: http://ash.org/
MEDLINE PLUS ~~ In Depth smoking info. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/smoking.html
A Report of the Surgeon General, 2014 - The Health Consequences of Smoking —50 Years of Progress:
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/reports/50-years-of-progress/full-report.pdf
Full Report: A HALF CENTURY OF AVOIDABLE DEATH, 2014 -- A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE ON TOBACCO IN AMERICA
http://ash.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/US-TOBACCO-REPORT_FNL-WEB.pdf
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