The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported that year one of its “Tips from Former Smokers” advertising campaign exceeded all expectations. The 2012 campaign drove 1.6 million smokers to try to quit and helped more than 100,000 to quit for good, according to a study in the medical journal The Lancet.
In an editorial published today, The Washington Post called for protecting tobacco control measures under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, which the United States is negotiating with 11 other countries.
“Tobacco sickens and, eventually, can kill if consumed as intended. Every country, the United States included, should be taking every effective step to prevent smoking,” the Post wrote.
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has added his powerful voice to those urging that the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement must protect the rights of nations to adopt measures to reduce tobacco use. The United States is currently negotiating the trade agreement with 11 other countries.
Tobacco control campaigners in Nigeria are using innovative methods to get their message across. Last week, Nigerian advocates organized a flash mob in one of Nigeria’s busiest markets to launch a new social media campaign. The surprise performance – organized by Tobacco Control Nigeria – kicked off five days of events to raise awareness and mobilize public support for the passage of a comprehensive tobacco control law.
Reflecting a change that has swept the nation in recent years, many students now heading to college will find their campuses to be smoke-free and even tobacco-free.
As of July 8, at least 1,182 college and university campuses have adopted smoke-free policies, according to Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights. Of these, 798 campuses have a 100 percent tobacco-free policy. Since September 2012, more than 400 colleges and universities have gone smoke-free.
As smoking declines in many developed nations, the tobacco industry is increasingly targeting low- and middle-income countries. The industry’s latest target: Myanmar.
As Myanmar emerges from decades of isolation and military rule and international sanctions are lifted, the Associated Press details how tobacco companies – including multinational giants British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco – are moving in as quickly as possible. And they’re trying to do it under the radar.
Tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds claims it doesn’t market cigarettes to kids. But the company’s actions continue to show otherwise.
The August 2013 issue of Glamour magazine features the world’s most popular boy band, One Direction, on the cover. Inside the magazine, and placed just before the story and photos on the band, there’s a huge, three-page spread of ads for R.J. Reynolds’ Camel cigarettes.
Casinos are often exempt from smoke-free workplace laws, putting employees and customers at risk of heart disease, lung cancer and other serious diseases caused by secondhand smoke. A new study, published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, found that casinos can enjoy immediate and significant health benefits when they go smoke-free.
Early learning advocates today released results of a national survey showing strong support across party lines for a plan to expand early childhood education programs with funding from a 94-cent increase in the federal cigarette tax.
Congratulations to New York, which this week is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its comprehensive smoke-free law that applies to all workplaces, restaurants and bars.
'The passage of New York State's Clean Indoor Air Act was a historic moment for public health,'Blair Horner, vice president of advocacy at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, told the Associated Press. 'In 2002, the average New York bar or restaurant was essentially a hotbox of deadly carcinogens. For hospitality workers clocking an eight-hour shift, this was an incredibly dangerous situation.'
About 90 percent of adult smokers begin smoking at or before age 18. As a result, youth play an important role in the fight against tobacco by encouraging their peers to stay tobacco-free, exposing the harmful marketing of the tobacco industry and urging elected leaders to protect America’s kids from tobacco.
Good news for New Yorkers: several New York City counties have seen the greatest increases in life expectancy of all U.S. counties over the past 25 years, according to a new study. Given that tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death, New York City’s tobacco control efforts were likely a contributing factor.
For the first time, Oregon will start to use some tobacco settlement funds to protect kids from tobacco. Over the next 2 years, the state will allocate $2 million per year for the Tobacco Prevention and Education Program (TPEP). Added to the $7.5 million Oregon currently spends on tobacco prevention, the new funding will bring Oregon's total funding to $9.5 million a year.
Showing that it’s possible to tune tobacco out of the music industry, this year’s Java Rockin’land music festival in Jakarta, Indonesia, will take place without one of its most infamous acts – the tobacco industry. Java Rockin’land – like many music festivals in Indonesia – has traditionally been sponsored by tobacco companies trying to lure a new generation of smokers. The concert attracts young music fans from across the country – but this year, the tobacco industry won’t be on stage.
The death and disease caused by cigarettes is nothing to celebrate. But that’s not stopping R.J. Reynolds from celebrating the 100th birthday of its Camel cigarettes this year. Their Camel web site touts “A Century of Camel” and urges visitors to “Celebrate the original that sparked a tradition.”
Indonesia has been called the tobacco industry’s playground due to the country’s large number of smokers and unrestricted tobacco marketing.
In the latest example, Indonesian tobacco giant PT Djarum has placed billboards promoting its L.A. Lights cigarettes with the shameful slogan “DON’T QUIT.” If discouraging smokers from quitting isn’t bad enough, the ad appears to mock efforts to reduce smoking by instead encouraging smokers to “DO IT” and using the slogan “Let’s Do It!”
It’s no news flash that exercise, eating healthy and watching your weight are all good for your heart – and that smoking is most decidedly not.
Tobacco control advocates around the world today are marking World No Tobacco Day, organized by the World Health Organization to focus attention on the devastating global toll of tobacco use and the need for nations to take strong action to save lives.
Indianapolis residents are celebrating their right to breathe clean air: This Saturday marks one year since the city strengthened its smoke-free law to include all restaurants and bars.
“When you’re 15, it’s hard to imagine the consequences of your decisions. I never thought I would suffer this much,” said former smoker Bill Busse, who lost vision in his left eye and had his leg amputated because smoking worsened his diabetes.