MDQuit News Archives - March, 2009
Proposed snuff tax increase has supporters from the both pro- and anti-tobacco lobbies -- March 31, 2009
A
proposed tax increase on moist tobacco products, also known as snuff,
plans to raise the price of an ounce of moist tobacco from the current
15 cents per ounce to 75 cents per ounce. This bill, sponsored by Sen.
Ulysses Currie and Del. Sheila Hixson, has supporters from both pro-
and anti-tobacco lobbies, two sides who are usually at odds. The bill
is said to mainly target budget brands of snuff, such as Grizzly, which
is owned by R.J. Reynolds. Due to this, the tax increase has found
support from from Philip Morris, as well as public health advocates. R.J.
Reynolds claims that this bill is designed to hurt their business
model, while at the same time not putting a dent in the 75% market
share that Philip Morris has. Public health advocates and Philip Morris
have interest in the increased revenue and tax income that will result
if the tax increase passes. Read more here.
Drug prevention programs may be helping the economy -- March 25, 2009
A recent report given to the United Nations by researchers at Iowa
State University claims that substance abuse prevention programs might
result in a return of $10 for every dollar spent. The report, presented
by Richard Spoth, director of the Partnerships in Prevention Science
Institute (PPSI) at Iowa State, and Max Guyll, ISU assistant professor
of psychology, discussed many of the state of the art tools used by
substance abuse prevention coordinators and how these programs may help
in reducing money spent on tackling substance abuse-related problems
after they have already occured. A study called "Project Family" was
conducted where $12,459 was invested in preventing a disorder per
family for 667 families. Outcome predictions were tallied at $119,633
per alcohol disorder per family. This is a return of about $9.60 per
disorder per family. The ISU researchers hope to create awareness about
how financially lucrative such preventions programs may be. Read more here.
Secondhand smoke increases likelihood of depression -- March 25, 2009
A recent report by the American Psychosomatic Society claims that
non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke at home or in the workplace
were found to be twice as likely as those not exposed to secondhand
smoke to have major depression. While an older Japanese study came to
a similar conclusion, this particular study measured cotinine levels, a
chemical found in the blood after ingesting cigarette smoke. Frank
Bandiera, a public health researcher at the University of Miami School
of Medicine claims the supposed link may be tied to neurotransmitter
density in the brain. Bandiera claims that smokers generally have more
dopamine in the brain, a chemical related to anxiety and depression.
The study goes further on to claim that inhaling secondhand smoke
increases risk of memory problems and dementia after age 50. Read more here.
While smoking rates fall, smokeless tobacco use rates are on the rise -- March 25, 2009
A federal government report on tobacco use prevalance states that
smokeless tobacco use is on the rise for adolescent boys. Data
indicates that from 2002 to 2007, rates rose from 3.4% to 4.4%
nationally. The report, Smokeless Tobacco Use, Initiation and
Relationship to Cigarette Smoking: 2002 to 2007, found that 7.8 million
Americans 12 and over used smokeless tobacco products in 2007.
Smokeless tobacco methods include snus, chewing tobacco, and nicotine
inhalers. The report also lists a number of other findings which
include the following: 85.8% of smokeless tobacco users used cigarettes
at some point in their life times, with 38.8% using cigarettes in the
past month; males were more likely than females to use smokeless
tobacco; while many began using smokeless tobacco to quit smoking,
88.1% of users were found to still be using tobacco 6 months later. Read more here.
Tobacco industry regulation plan passes House committee -- March 25, 2009
A decade-old legislation has been passed the House Committee on Energy and Commerce that allows the US Food and
Drug Adminstration to regulate the nations $80-billion-per-year tobacco
industry. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act was passed
with a vote of 39-13. This plan allows the FDA to concentrate on
prevention measures and work on its goal of lowering smoking
prevalance. Many Republican dissenters presented the argument that FDA
resources are already thinly stressed and that government regulation
creates the false premise that smoking is safe and approved by the
government. Other options have been offered, such as a proposal for a
Tobacco Harm Reduction Center which would offer smokeless alternatives
to cigarette smoking. Read more here.
FDA stance on e-cigarette safety unclear -- March 25, 2009
The technology of e-cigarettes is a new one that has yet to be
researched effectively. Due to this trend in tobacco consumption being
so recent, no real longitudinal data exists as to whether or not
e-cigarettes contain any long term health effects. While the FDA has
not issued any statements regarding potential safety concerns, the
organization has been detaining and refusing e-cigarette imports from
overseas. Elicko Taieb, CEO of Smoking Everywhere, one of the largest
distributors of electronic cigarettes, claims that he is "pretty sure"
that e-cigarretes are a safe alternative to actual cigarettes, since
e-cigarettes do not contain active carcinogens. Health experts say that
more data is needed before any conclusions are made. Read more here.
Chinese-made e-cigarettes growing in popularity -- March 25, 2009
The recent rise in anti-smoking legislation has forced tobacco
companies and other aspiring entrepreneurs to come up with creative
alternatives to the most popular nicotine delivery system, smoking a
cigarette. E-cigarettes, such as the Ruyan V8, work by vaporizing a
nicotine mist which can be inhaled. Emitting no smoke, these
e-cigarettes bypass anti-smoking legislation, but have still stirred
concern amongst world health officials. The World Health Organization
issues a statement in September stating that there exists a lack of
evidence of whether or not e-cigarettes have long term health risks.
Ruyan is facing an uphill battle in regards to consumer confidence.
Australia has banned the product while other countries are
investigating it's legitimacy. Read more here.
Smoking rates not declining as rapidly as expected -- March 25, 2009
A new report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
claims that regional differences in smoking rates may be a result of
differences in marketing and advertising. While 28% of adults in
Kentucky smoke, this figure stands at only 12% in Utah. The current
goal set by the federal government is to have a national rate of 12%,
which the report states will most likely not occur by the 2010 Healthy
People time frame. Currently, between all US states and territories, a
wide range of smoking, from 31.1% to 8.7% exists. The CDC hopes to lower rates by
providing cessation resources such as quit lines. The report can be
found in the March 13 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report. Read more here.
Youth tobacco cessation review released -- March 24, 2009
The latest edition of "Therapy for Specific Problems: Youth Tobacco
Cessation" has been released and appears in the January 2009 issue of
the Annual Review of Psychology. The first youth cessation summary of
its kind, published by Dr. Susan J. Curry and colleagues, explores
various areas of cessation such as behavioral interventions,
motivational enhancement, pharmacological treatments, and challenges
that can potentially compromise research. Read more here.
Study suggests link between R-rated movies and smoking -- March 24, 2009
A
recent study conducted by the University of Massachusetts Medical
School suggests that kids who are allowed to watch R-rated movies are
both more likely to initiate smoking and would have an easier time
acquiring cigarettes. The study involved more than 1,200 sixth-grade
Massachusetts students who were interviewed 11 times about topics
related to smoking and parenting. Being allowed to watch R-rated movies
was found to be one of the strongest predictors of having a belief that
cigarettes are easy to obtain. Read more here.
Higher cigarette taxes might cut smoking, may also have unintended consequences -- March 24, 2009
An
additional $1.01 in taxes will be added when the State Children's
Health Insurance Plan law (SCHIP) will go into effect, effectively
raising the national price of a pack of cigarettes to roughly $5. While
such an increase will no doubt lower demand for cigarettes, less
consumption also means less tax revenue going into the hands of the
local and federal governments. The potential tax revenue lost may be
close to $500 million. Also, there is a fear that the tobacco companies
may true to recuperate some of these losses by demanding the $37
billion in municipal bonds that are owed. While many states in the past
have relied on tobacco companies as large sources of tax revenue, the
current trend has shifted towards a policy more focused on public
health and preventing smoking initation. Read more here.
Survey shows that smokers may consider quitting for their pets -- March 24, 2009
A
survey conducted by the Henry Ford Healther System in Detroit suggests
that pet health may be additional motivation in getting people to quit
smoking. Of those polled, 28% said they would quit if provided with
knowledge that secondhand smoke would harm their pets, an additional
11% claimed they would think about it. Secondhand smoke can indeed harm
domestic pets, which are physiologically similar to humans. Sharon
Milberger, the research coordinator, states that this may be a new and
effective way of motivating people to quit. Read more here.
Researchers at RTI International are now claiming that the truth® campaign could have prevented up to 450,000 adolescents from initiating smoking. This data, which was taken from a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, looked at the on-going National Longitudinal Survey of Youth study in which 9,000 adolescents were interviewed over a 10 year period. The data indicates that from 2000, which was when the truth® campaign began, to 2004, there were 450,000 less adolescents initiating smoking. Read more here.
