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Army of smokers who shield parents from truth 

Britain has an army of smokers who cover up their sneaky cigarette habit from family and friends, according to a survey.

As millions get ready to try to kick the habit again this year, the poll revealed millions of adults still don't smoke in front of their parents �?" despite being in their 20s and 30s.

The survey was carried out on 1,000 people who had bought the NJOY "electronic" cigarette, an aid to kicking the habit.

Of those buying the device, 77 per cent admitted they still hid the fact from their parents despite, on average, being over 27. . . .

NJOY is a £60 replica cigarette, a battery powered, tobacco-free device which mimics the process and sensation of smoking. A chemical reaction between the ingredients in the device produces an odourless and harmless vapour that looks like cigarette smoke.

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• Heavy smoking among women highlighted  

Research published today found nearly half of Irish women surveyed are heavy smokers and more women than men wanted to quit smoking.

The findings from a Nicorette survey found 45 per cent of Irish women are heavy smokers, compared to 55 per cent of Irish men. Heavy smokers were defined as those who smoke more than 15 cigarettes a day, with the average Irish smoker smoking 17 cigarettes a day.

When asked about quitting smoking, 68 per cent of Irish women said they would like to quit compared to 58 per cent of their male counterparts.

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Only 60% of smokers aware they are addicts: Pfizer poll  

Seventy-one percent of smokers are nicotine addicts requiring medical treatment, but only 60 percent of them are aware of their addiction, according to a recent survey by Pfizer Japan Inc., a major drug manufacturer based in Tokyo.

The survey found that by prefecture, the percentage of smokers aware of their nicotine addiction was highest in Osaka at 79 percent, while it was lowest in Tokushima at 49 percent.

The online survey of 9,400 smokers -- 100 men and 100 women in each of the 47 prefectures -- was conducted prior to World No Tobacco Day on May 31.

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Tobacco Taxes and Payments for New York  

New York's excise tax per pack of cigarettes: $1.500

New York's excise tax collection for the fiscal year ending June 2007: $936,457,000

Sales tax on tobacco products: 4.00%

Tobacco products sales tax collection for the fiscal year ending June 2007: $136,362,000

Local tax on tobacco products: $227,689,500

Federal excise tax per pack of cigarettes: $0.39

Total federal excise tax collections in fiscal year 2007: $7,307,440,000

Click here for the Cigarette Tax and Payment Table for all states.

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• Teenage smoking at record lows  

Where Big Tobacco once called the political shots, state programs are cutting into the cigarette companies' future customer base.

North Carolina's anti-smoking programs have cut teenage smoking to record low levels, according to a new study by researchers at UNC Chapel Hill's medical school.

The percentage of middle school students who smoke dropped from 5.8 percent in 2005 to 4.5 percent in 2007; the share of high school students who smoke fell from 20.3 percent to 19 percent, according to what's billed as the first comprehensive independent evaluation of the state Health and Wellness Trust Fund's anti-smoking efforts.

Smoking among kids in ninth through 12th grades has declined nationally from a peak of 36.4 percent in 1997. That drop flattened in 2003, a trend bucked by the recent declines here.

The trust fund gets a quarter of the state's payments from the 1998 national settlement . . .

Among several recommendations, they said the state needed to do more to reach young adults who aren't in college. The trust fund plans to do more about adult smoking, with test programs set to launch in January that will target smoking among two groups that are particularly vulnerable: pregnant women and people with mental illness.

For now, the trust fund has three anti-smoking initiatives: a set of programs aimed mainly at teens; another set aimed at college students; and a free telephone counseling service called QuitlineNC to help those who want to quit or help someone else quit.

At Broughton High School in Raleigh, students walk across the street to a spot known as "Smokers Corner" to light up.

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Survey shows fewer Iowans lighting up  

A new report from the Iowa Department of Public Health shows the number of adult Iowans who smoke cigarettes has dropped 22 percent since 2006.

Preliminary results released Wednesday show that 14 percent of adult Iowans, or about 327,000 people, say they smoke cigarettes. That's down from more than 400,000 two years ago.

The number of smokers in Iowa has decliend 39 percent since 2002, the report said.

"These survey results are very encouraging not only for individuals, but for our state as a whole," said Tom Newton, state health director.

Health was the number one reason for quitting somking, the report showed. . . .

The full report will be released in February.

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EDITORIAL: Butt out, Saskatchewan 

For the third year in a row, this province topped the national smoking table in 2008, with a disturbing 24 per cent of the population still lighting up. The Canadian smoking rate was 19 per cent while in B.C., the province with the best record, it was just over 14 per cent.

The most worrying numbers in Statistics Canada's August data on smoking showed Saskatchewan also had the highest percentage of youth smokers -- aged 15 to 19 -- at 22 per cent, compared with the national average of 15.2 per cent.

It's particularly important to try and get these young smokers off their habit before it becomes a long-term addiction that will be more difficult to shake.

The stubbornly high smoking rates in this province exist despite determined efforts to reduce them, from higher tobacco taxes to ongoing education. . . .

Education remains the best weapon in the war on smoking, particularly the sobering health statistics all smokers should take time to consider . . .

There's never been a better time to quit than right now.

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• States push fire-safe cigarettes  

States are circumventing more than 30 years of tobacco industry opposition to federal safe cigarette legislation by passing their own laws that require the sale of self-extinguishing cigarettes.

The list of states with such laws on the books will expand to 32 in 2009, nearly tripling the number that had such laws at the start of 2007.

After federal legislation -- first proposed in 1974, and last failed in 2006 with opposition from the tobacco industry -- the decision was made to change strategy and promote state requirements, said U.S. Fire Administrator Gregory Cade.

By the end of 2009, 14 states will join the 18 that already require vendors to purchase and sell only the fire-safe cigarettes, which are designed to go out if they are dropped or set aside, said Lorraine Carli, vice president of communications at the National Fire Protection Association and the Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes.

Fire-safe cigarettes will be mandatory in Delaware, Iowa, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas beginning Jan. 1, she said. Laws go into effect during the year in Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Washington and Wisconsin. Six more states are set to enact laws in 2010 and seven others have proposals in the works, Carli said. . . .

Howard said R.J. Reynolds will start making all of its cigarettes fire-safe by the end of 2009.

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• Reduced Hospitalizations for Acute Myocardial Infarction After Implementation of a Smoke-Free Ordinance --- City of Pueblo, Colorado, 2002--2006 

The Pueblo Heart Study examined the impact of a municipal smoke-free ordinance in the city of Pueblo, Colorado, that took effect on July 1, 2003 (3). The rate of AMI hospitalizations for city residents decreased 27%, from 257 per 100,000 person-years during the 18 months before the ordinance's implementation to 187 during the 18 months after it (the Phase I post-implementation period).* This report extends that analysis for an additional 18 months through June 30, 2006 (the Phase II post-implementation period). The rate of AMI hospitalizations among city residents continued to decrease to 152 per 100,000 person-years, a decline of 19% and 41% from the Phase I post-implementation and pre-implementation period, respectively. No significant changes were observed in two comparison areas. These findings suggest that smoke-free policies can result in reductions in AMI hospitalizations that are sustained over a 3-year period and that these policies are important in preventing morbidity and mortality associated with heart disease. This effect likely is mediated through reduced SHS exposure among nonsmokers and reduced smoking, with the former making the larger contribution (4,6,7). . . .

Editorial Note:

Evidence from animal and human studies indicates that SHS exposure can produce rapid adverse effects on the functioning of the heart, blood, and vascular systems that increase the risk for a cardiac event (1). Relevant mechanisms include effects on platelet function, endothelial function, and inflammation. Epidemiologic and laboratory data indicate that the risk for heart disease and AMI increase rapidly with relatively small doses of tobacco smoke, such as those received from SHS, and then continue to increase more slowly with larger doses (1,8,9). Evidence also suggests that the acute effects of SHS exposure might be rapidly reversible (8,9).

Eliminating smoking in indoor spaces is the only way to fully protect nonsmokers from SHS

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• Survey Highlights Beliefs About Children's Risks from 'Third-Hand Smoke'  

Action Points

* Explain to interested patients that it is well-known that second-hand smoke harms the health of children.

* Note that this study examined the behaviors associated with the belief that "third-hand smoke" -- toxins left on surfaces once tobacco smoke dissipates -- can also harm children's health.

* Explain the study found that fewer people are aware of the danger, but those who are were more likely to completely ban smoking in their home.

Such toxins are especially hazardous for children who breathe near the surfaces, crawl and play on them, or touch and mouth them, according to Jonathan Winickoff, M.D., of the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, and colleagues.

Although most adults are aware of the danger of second-hand smoke for children, the risks of third-hand smoke are lesser known, Dr. Winickoff and colleagues said in the January issue of Pediatrics.

The conclusion is based on a nationally representative survey that examined beliefs about second- and third-hand smoke and behaviors derived from those beliefs, the researchers said.

The Social Climate Survey of Tobacco Control, an annual cross-sectional look at smoking, was given to 1,478 adults, reached by telephone, in November 2005. . . .

Primary source: Pediatrics Source reference: Winickoff JP, et al "Beliefs about the health effects of "thirdhand" smoke and home smoking bans"

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Fire-safe cigarettes coalition honored for its progress  

NFPA President Jim Shannon was recently honored for his association's work on the fire-safe cigarette campaign. During a ceremony at Boston's historic Faneuil Hall on December 3, Mr. Shannon received the Fire Marshal's Award. The award, presented by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan, credited the campaign, which is coordinated by NFPA, with helping to get fire-safe cigarette laws implemented or passed in several dozen states and the District of Columbia over the past few years.

The Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes is calling for cigarette manufacturers to immediately produce and market only cigarettes that adhere to an established cigarette fire safety performance standard. In addition, the Coalition is working to see that these standards for fire-safe cigarettes are required in every state in the country.

To date, more than 81% of the U.S. population is now or soon will be better protected from cigarette fires thanks to state passage of fire-safe cigarette legislation.

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Fire-safe cigarette laws have been implemented in Delaware, Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas and Pennsylvania  

SEVEN states have pending action on fire-safe cigarette legislation:

* Alabama

* Michigan

* Mississippi

* Missouri

* Nebraska

* North Dakota

* West Virginia

FIVE states have not yet taken action on fire-safe cigarettes:

* Arkansas

* New Mexico

* Nevada

* South Dakota

* Wyoming

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• Heart Attack Deaths Drop in U.S. as Smoking, Diet, Drugs Help  

Heart attacks and stroke deaths dropped by a third in 2006 from 1999 as more people stopped smoking, ate better and used medications such as Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s Plavix to keep blood flowing freely within arteries.

Heart disease accounted for 1 in 3 U.S. deaths in 2006, the latest year for which data is available, the Dallas-based American Heart Association said in a statement today. Drugs including cholesterol-lowering statins such as Pfizer Inc.’s Lipitor and the Plavix blood-thinner joined with better heart- attack treatment to lower the mortality rate, the health advocacy group said.

The heart association, which includes doctors and consumers in its membership, has lobbied against smoking for years. In 1998, the group set a national goal of reducing heart and stroke deaths 25 percent by 2010. The U.S. hit that mark in 2007, three years early. The change in death rates translates to about 190,000 lives saved in 2006.

“Medical therapy across the board has gotten better,” said Steven Nissen, head of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. “But at least half of this is lifestyle. Remember that there have been new food labeling laws, laws to restrict trans fats, and smoking has been steadily declining for some time.”

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[A]t least half of this is lifestyle. Remember that there have been new food labeling laws, laws to restrict trans fats, and smoking has been steadily declining for some time.
Steven Nissen, head of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic, on news that heart attacks and stroke deaths dropped by a third between 1999 and 2006.

Rates Coming Down for Heart Disease, Stroke Deaths 

Death rates from stroke and coronary heart disease have dropped dramatically in the past decade, but despite repeated warnings to the public, risk factors for the dangerous conditions are still too high, the American Heart Association says.

In the AHA's latest report, researchers say age-adjusted death rates from coronary heart disease have declined 30.7% since 1999, and that mortality from stroke has dropped 29.2%.

"The 30% reduction is incredibly good news," Don Lloyd-Jones, MD, ScM, lead author of the update, tells WebMD. "But we don't see that as likely to continue."

He says the reductions "mark the achievement of major milestones set by the American Heart Association to reduce coronary heart disease and stroke [death] by 25% by 2010."

However, he says "there's a lot of worry that we are about to reverse" the positive trends. Risk factors for the conditions remain too high, according to the report, "Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics - 2009 Update," published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

"The American Heart Association is proud of the progress this country has made against America's No. 1 single cause of death and the No. 3 killer," says Timothy Gardner, MD, president of the AHA. "But our work is not done, since the major risk factors for heart disease and stroke have not seen the same decline as the death rates, and several are rising."

If the trend continues, he says, "death rates could begin to rise again in the years ahead." Although patients are working harder to control high blood pressure and high cholesterol and to quit smoking, "progress continues to lag in obesity, diabetes and physical inactivity."

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Death rates for heart disease and stroke drop significantly  

The death rates for heart disease and stroke each dropped by about 30% between 1999 and 2006, allowing the American Heart Assn. to reach its 2010 goal of a 25% reduction in deaths four years early, researchers said Monday.

"It's one of the most remarkable achievements of modern medicine to have this kind of decline," said Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, a cardiologist at UCLA's Geffen School of Medicine who was not involved in the research.

"But there is still obviously a lot of work to be done. We still have the No. 1 and 3 killers of men and women in the United States." . . .

"Although death rates are declining, several of the risk factors leading to heart disease are increasing," said Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, an American Heart Assn. spokeswoman.

"There is an increase in obesity, diabetes and physical inactivity, which all lead to heart disease and stroke."

The annual report, published online Monday in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Assn., in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, showed that death rates in the U.S. from heart disease and stroke each dropped about 5% from 2005 to 2006, the most recent year for which data were available.

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