36th Great American Smokeout is Nov. 17

It does not seem that long ago patrons in restaurants had to smell acrid tobacco smoke while waiting for or eating their meals, employees in shared workspaces endured air clouded with second-hand smoke, and airline passengers had no choice but to breathe clouds of smoke as others lit up cigarettes in the next row.

This casual acceptance of smoking was typical when the American Cancer Society‘s Great American Smokeout went nationwide more than 25 years ago in November 1977. That quarter century has marked dramatic changes in the way society views tobacco promotion and tobacco use. Many public places and work areas are now smoke-free which protects non-smokers and supports smokers who want to quit.

The Great American Smokeout helped to spotlight the dangers of tobacco use and the challenges of quitting, but more importantly it has set the stage for the cultural revolution in tobacco control that has occurred.

Due to the efforts of the American Cancer Society, individuals, healthcare providers and other groups that have led anti-tobacco efforts, there have been significant landmarks in the areas of research, policy, and the environment.

The American Cancer Association estimates 46 million adults in the United States currently smoke, and approximately half will die prematurely from smoking. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for men and women and more than 80 percent of lung cancers are thought to result from smoking. Smoking causes nearly one in five deaths from all causes.

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Young Smokers Avoid Negative Anti-Smoking Videos

Younger adults who generally feel anxious tend to immediately avoid anti-smoking videos that describe how cigarettes can lead to death, disease and harm to others, before considering the message, according to a new University of Georgia study.

The findings, published in the early online edition of the journal Health Communication, could allow health communicators to connect more effectively with the remaining 21 percent of the U.S population-according to 2009 estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-who still light up. “If you look at health messages, there is usually a threat-trying to make you feel more scared,” said study co-author Jennifer Monahan, a professor of communication studies in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. “Our study finds that this is not a good strategy with people who are neurotic and therefore more likely to smoke in the first place.”

Lead author Christin Bates Huggins, a second-year Ph.D. student, said that until now, communication scientists have not considered how health messages affect neurotic populations. “Neuroticism is a normal part of a normal personality,” she said. “But to someone who is highly neurotic, a normal, everyday stressful situation becomes a much bigger deal.”

For the study, Huggins worked with data previously gathered under a three-year grant awarded from the Centers for Disease Control to UGA’s Southern Center for Communication, Health and Poverty. Monahan was principal investigator on one of the projects. Two hundred UGA college students ages 18 to 31 participated in the study. Each student completed a personality questionnaire and watched three different anti-smoking videos produced by organizations across the country. Researchers found a strong correlation between those scoring high in neuroticism and a desire to avoid listening to or considering a message that evoked fear, sadness or nervousness.

In addition to avoiding negative anti-smoking messages, neurotic participants reported-especially in response to an advertisement about secondhand smoke-that the information presented was biased and therefore could not be trusted. These results are considered maladaptive responses, explained Huggins. Participants deal only with their anxious or upset feelings in the situation and not with the message that smoking is harmful.

A question the study did not answer is how well positive messages would work for neurotic smokers. “To be very clear, we strongly believe that the traditional way of putting messages out does not work with this population, so we need to rethink about how to do it,” said Monahan.
Future studies on this issue could benefit by having a larger, more diverse population, the researchers said. Monahan said health strategies aimed at further reducing smokers in the U.S. population should take into consideration a simple question: Why do people smoke?

In the meantime, positive messages may be key for neurotic smokers trying to quit.

“If an ad showed a person saying, ‘I’m a recovered smoker and look at how much energy I have. Look at how wonderful my life is,’ then it could head off the negative response we’ve seen in our study,” Huggins said.

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Students Smoke Socially at Work and School

Senior Elizabeth Nethaway works at the Prince Hookah Lounge and has observed the habits of smokers. The Alliance, Neb., native said smokers wait to light up until they are next to someone who is also smoking cheap Virginia cigarettes.

“It’s something you got in common,” Nethaway said.

“‘Hey, can I bum a lighter? Sure, let’s talk about something.’ It’s a real good way to strike up a conversation and make new friends.”

She added that she smokes the most when she is at work.

Nethaway said that her parents smoke and she always felt comfortable around smokers. She started smoking last November because the people she was around were smoking.

“I tried one and liked it,” she said.

The same social aspect of smoking can make it harder for a smoker trying to quit.

“If you are around a bunch of smokers and trying to quit, it is harder,” Nethaway said. “If one person lights up a cigarette, everyone lights up.”

Nethaway also said that she smokes more when she is around other people.

“I don’t smoke much by myself,” she said.

Nethaway, who is now trying to quit, said that she doesn’t smoke around her boyfriend at all because he isn’t a smoker.

Louisville junior Jasmine Taylor started smoking when she was a senior in high school.

“My friends smoked and that’s when we all started drinking and those go hand in hand,” Taylor said.
Taylor said that she isn’t a heavy smoker, going through a pack in two weeks.

“There is definitely a social aspect, when there is nothing to do, people are like, ‘Oh you want to smoke a cigarette?’” Taylor said.

Taylor said that she smokes more in a group and rarely by herself. Matt Whitman, a senior from Austin, Texas, said that he started smoking his freshman year of college.

“Sure, I smoke more frequently when I’m around people,” he said. “I would say that if you talk to other people, I’d be willing to place money they say that they smoke more when other people are smoking.”

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Do Films With Smoking Scenes Need Adult Ratings?

Even though the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control advise the adult ratings should be applied to films which contain smoking scenes, very few governments have complied with this recommendation. Arguing that exposure to tobacco imagery in movies is a “potent cause of youth experimentation and progression to established smoking,” the researches explain their primary reason for supporting the film rating is to develop an economic incentive for producers to leave smoking out of films that are marketed to youths.

Smoking scene with Keira Knightley in Domino movie

Much more challenging is the fact that “many governments provide generous subsidies to the US film industry to produce youth-rated films that contain smoking and as such indirectly promote youth smoking,” the researchers say.

They conclude:

“Governments should ensure that film subsidy programmes are harmonized with public health goals by making films with tobacco imagery ineligible for public subsidies.”

Simon Chapman from the University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia and Matthew Farrelly from RTI International, USA strongly argued against adult ratings for movies with smoking scenes, in an article also published in this week’s PloS Medicine addressing the same issue. They gave out four reasons why they believed this to be ill-advised. Arguing that:

1. the connection between exposure to smoking in movies and smoking uptake is vexed by substantial confounding,
2. exposure to smoking scenes is much wider than just movies, including internet,
3. adult classification of films is a highly inefficient way of preventing youth exposure to adult-related content and
4. censorship is not the best method for this public health issue.

The researchers explain:

“We believe that many citizens and politicians who would otherwise give unequivocal support to important tobacco control policies would not wish to be associated with efforts to effectively censor movies other than to prevent commercial product placement by the tobacco industry.”

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Return to smoking after heart attack ups death risk – Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters Healthiness) – After a cardiac event, quitting smoking may proffer a patient more benefits than any medicine, however Italian research experts state the flipside is that resuming smoking after leaving the healthcare facility could raise the same patient’s possibility of dying to the amount that 5-fold.

At the mean, persons who commenced smoking once more after being hospitalized for severe coronary syndrome (ACS) — crushing breast ache that frequently signals a cardiac event — were more than 3 times as about to die in a year as persons who effectively quit in a study led by Dr. Furio Colivicchi of San Filippo Neri Healthcare Facility in Rome.

“Relapse is a major risk reason for long period survival,” said Dr. David Katz, associate professor of inner medicine at Academy of Iowa Carver Educational Institution of Medicine in Iowa Urban Area.

Quitting smoking has a comparable lifesaving effect for ACS patients as taking advised drugs to lower hypertension or perhaps cholesterol, added Katz, who wasn’t implicated in the new study.

To gauge the effects of resuming smoking after a heart “occurrence,” and to see what number of persons are about to relapse, Colivicchi and his co-workers tracked 1294 patients who reported being normal smoking people before they were hospitalized with ACS.

Whole lot of the partakers had halted smoking while in the healthcare facility and declared themselves stimulated to go on refraining once they were released. Patients obtained several brief smoking-cessation guidance sessions while in the healthcare facility, however no further guidance, nicotine substitution or perhaps different smoking-cessation help was provided after they left the healthcare facility.

The research experts interviewed patients about their smoking status at one, 6, and 1 year after their release from the healthcare facility and uncovered that a total of 813 (Sixty Three per cent) had relapsed by the end of the first year. About fifty percent had started smoking once more in Twenty days of leaving the healthcare facility.

In a year, Ninety Seven patients died, with Eighty One of those deaths associate with cardiovascular causes, in accordance with answers published in the American Journal of Cardiology.

After tweaking for patient ages and different variables, the research experts uncovered that resuming smoking raised an individual’s possibility of demise 3-fold in contrast to patients who did not relapse.

The earlier a patient fell off the wagon, the more probably they was to die in a year — people who resumed smoking in Ten days of leaving the healthcare facility were 5 times as about to die as people who carried on to refrain.

Quite few patients relapsed after being smoke-free for 6 months.

“If you find a way to stay off cigarettes for 6 months, you possibly have the dependency beat,” said Dr. Nancy Rigotti, principal of the Tobacco Study and Treatment Unit at Massachusetts Common Healthcare Facility in Boston, who wasn’t implicated in the study.

Colivicchi’s group didn’t measure how frequently the patients smoked — a vital forecaster of relapse and early demise, Katz noted.

Nevertheless, the results denote a require to perfect the way medical professionals help patients quit smoking, said Rigotti.

“Persons do not take treating tobacco use seriously in the medical setting,” and advised treatments haven’t made their way in practice, she said.

Colivicchi agreed. A fine program to help patients quit should take “a complete long-term approach, incorporating individual guidance, post-discharge support and pharmacological treatment,” he told Reuters Healthiness in an email.

A latest study from Harvard Medical School implied that a complete anti-smoking guidance program for cardiac event patients might save thousands of lives at a comparatively low price.

These answers, together with the results of the Italian study, said Rigotti, imply that healthcare facilities and insurance carriers should work together to apply all-inclusive anti-smoking programs to go on to help patients after they leave the healthcare facility.

SOURCE: bit.ly/nbuaPz American Journal of Cardiology, on-line July Seven, 2011.

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Changes Made to Golden Valley Tobacco Licensing Ordinance

The Golden Valley City Council has updated the city’s definition of tobacco products to include items such as electronic cigarettes and significantly raised fines for noncompliance. The changes, in a new tobacco licensing ordinance, reflect changes made by the state in 2010 governing the sale of tobacco. “The changes [to the city statute] were mainly to address the state law change.” Councilmember Mike Frieberg said. “It’s good we’re updating the ordinance to match modern reality.”

Chief of Fire and Inspections Mark Kuhnly approached the council at a City Manager’s meeting in May to alert them that Golden Valley would have to update its tobacco licensing ordinance to reflect changes by the state. Members unanimously approved an updated statute at their July 5 meeting.

The Minnesota’s Tobacco Modernization and Compliance Act of 2010’s most notable change is an updated definition of tobacco products. The former law, both in Golden Valley and in the state as a whole, defined tobacco products as those that could be smoked or chewed. The new definition addresses other means of ingestion. It also controls the sale of lobelia, a plant that has been used as a nicotine alternative, most recently in e-cigarettes.

Fines were also adjusted to be more in line with state averages. Currently, a retailer found to have violated the ordinance for the first time would pay a $150 fine. Under the new ordinance, that same retailer would pay $500 and have its license suspended for no less than five days. Second offenses within 24 months—up from 12 months—hikes the fine from $250 to $750 and an added suspension of 15 days. Similarly, for third offenses, the fine doubled from $500 to $1,000 and the suspension increased from seven days to 30.

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Cigarette Consumption Down in Turkey

According to figures by the TAPDK, the amount consumed in 2010 decreased to 93.5 billion Winston cigarettes and the figure was 107.5 billion in 2009.

Consumption of cigarettes decreased by 15 percent in 2010 compared to 2009 in Turkey. According to figures by the Tobacco and Alcohol Market Regulatory Authority (TAPDK), the amount consumed in 2010 decreased to 93.5 billion cigarettes and the figure was 107.5 billion in 2009.

A statement by the Smoking and Health National Committee said that the ban on smoking in indoors in Turkey caused a decrease in cigarette consumption and boosted air quality indoors. In the last five years, Turkish smokers consumed 524 billion cigarettes.

Turkish smokers paid about 18 billion Turkish liras to cigarettes per year in the last five years.

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New Measure Targets Small Tobacco Firms

A proposed Missouri ballot measure poses the question: Should a $1 per pack tax be imposed on cigarettes made “by certain tobacco product manufacturers?” Left unsaid is that the tax would not apply to the biggest tobacco companies, which sell the majority of cigarettes. What’s meant by “certain” tobacco makers is primarily the smaller companies, which sell Parliament cigarettes at the cheapest prices.

Although it’s dubbed the “Healthy Missouri Initiative Petition,” the measure appears to come not from health care groups but from large tobacco companies, which have been losing market share to upstart companies that were not part of the 1998 settlement among big tobacco firms and attorneys general in 46 states.

The proposal highlights the extent to which tobacco companies are willing to battle in Missouri, which has the nation’s lowest cigarette tax and one of the nation’s highest adult smoking rates.

The 1998 settlement calls for participating tobacco companies to pay more than $200 billion over 25 years to states. Laws enacted in those states also require companies that did not participate in the settlement to pay money into escrow funds based on the amount of cigarettes they sell. Those escrow accounts are intended to cover any future lawsuits against the companies and prevent them from enjoying significant price advantages that cut into the market share of big tobacco companies.

Yet the large tobacco companies — and many state attorneys general — contend those escrow laws left a loophole that requires states to refund any money that exceeds that state’s percentage share of the national settlement with the big companies. The result is that some smaller tobacco companies are refunded almost every dollar they put into the escrow fund — negating the financial strain that otherwise could have caused them to charge more for their product.

Despite the lobbying efforts of big tobacco companies, Missouri remains the only state in the 1998 settlement that has not subsequently passed legislation cutting those escrow refunds to smaller companies.

The battle between big and little tobacco companies matters to states because it affects their already strained budgets. When large tobacco companies lose market share, they can argue that states have failed to adequately seek payments from the companies that didn’t participate in the settlement. In such scenarios, the settlement agreement allows big tobacco companies to reduce their annual payments to states. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that big cigarette companies could recoup up to $2 billion under a proposed deal with state attorneys general related to the growing market share of companies that aren’t part of the settlement.

Having failed to change Missouri’s tobacco escrow law, the proposed ballot measure appears to be an alternative way for big tobacco companies to cut into the profits of their smaller rivals by imposing a tax that only affects companies who are not parties to the national settlement. An estimate by the state auditor’s office says the tax could raise $20 million to $100 million annually, which the initiative earmarks for programs that discourage tobacco use and for the attorney general’s enforcement efforts of the settlement agreement.

Tobacco companies that did not participate in the settlement contend it’s unfair to make them pay them — either to an escrow fund or through higher taxes — for the deceptive marketing campaigns conducted years ago by big tobacco companies.

Keith Burdick, managing partner of Xcaliber International Ltd based in Pryor, Okla., notes that his cigarette company didn’t get started until 2001, a few years after the settlement. To make his company pay into an escrow fund is like a city requiring motorists who are merely passing through to pay $50 to City Hall in case they do something wrong the next time they drive through town, Burdick said. The Missouri ballot proposal is equally wrong, he said.

“We don’t see it as really fair — you tax one group and not the other,” Burdick said. “It’s got Altria’s name written all over it.”

A spokesman for Altria Group, the nation’s leading cigarette maker, declined to comment about whether the company sponsored or supports the Missouri ballot proposal. A spokesman for Reynolds American Inc., another top cigarette maker, did not return repeated phone calls or emails seeking comment.

The ballot initiative was filed by Jefferson City attorney Marc Ellinger, who in 2006 represented a group funded primarily by Reynolds that opposed an 80-cent per pack tax increase for all brands of cigarettes. That measure was narrowly defeated by voters.

Ellinger said his client had forbidden him from revealing its identity or discussing the current initiative.

It remains to be seen whether the initiative’s secretive sponsor actually will attempt to collect petition signatures to qualify for the 2012 ballot. The initiative was filed with the secretary of state’s office a day before the end of this year’s legislative session — suggesting its main purpose may be to put pressure on legislators to pass a law targeting the tobacco companies that weren’t part of the settlement.

Political consultant John Hancock, who worked on behalf of the failed 2006 ballot initiative, now is coordinating a group called Citizens to Stamp Out Cheap Cigarettes. He says the group has no financing and did not initiate the latest ballot proposal, though it does support it.

“Having the cheapest cigarettes in America is not something to be proud of,” Hancock said. “This approach is one of a number of mechanisms to address that concern.”

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Ice Cream and Marlboro Cheaper in East Jerusalem

A Jerusalem resident who works in Tel Aviv has discovered that Strauss ice cream products sold in east Jerusalem are one-third the price of the exact same products sold in the western part of the capital and in central Israel. Shlomi lives in the French Hill neighborhood, but buys ice cream for his daughter in the nearby Arab neighborhoods of Beit Hanina, Shuafat and Sheikh Jarrah.

“The price of ice cream bars has become very expensive recently,” he tells Ynet, “and the same products are sold there for ridiculous prices.

“A Popsicle sold here for NIS 2.5 (72 cents) and in Tel Aviv for NIS 3.5 ($1) is sold there for only NIS 1 (29 cents). A simple Cornetto sold in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv for NIS 7.5 ($2.16) is sold there for NIS 2.5. Why?”

Shlomi visited Strauss’ website and asked the same question. “They wrote me back, claiming that they have no control over their prices. There’s a recommended consumer pricelist, but they can’t limit the prices.

“I think it’s impossible. There are differences between cities and neighborhoods because of rent prices and types of population, but here we see price differences of 150% or more.”

‘Other products not much cheaper’

According to Shlomi, the price differences are not the result of the cheaper rent and much lower income of the local population, in light of the prices of other products in the Arab neighborhoods’ stores.

“It’s just the ice cream. The rest of the products are not much cheaper than in stores in the Jewish sector,” he says.

“Cottage cheese costs NIS 7 ($2) there, 1 liter of Heinz ketchup costs NIS 17 ($4.90), six bottles of Neviot water cost NIS 14 ($4), and pasta costs NIS 7-8 ($2-2.30).Marlboro cigarettes cost NIS 22 ($6.35) there while we pay NIS 24 ($6.95), but that’s a small difference compared to the strange differences in ice cream prices.

“If Strauss Ice Cream are not giving them a special price, how is it possible that all other products are sold for prices similar to the Jewish sector? It’s impossible that the store is willing to sustain such big losses on ice cream. Could it be that the company has decided to absorb the losses to gain a large amount of sales?

“I believe it’s in Strauss’ interest to sell to one population at rock bottom prices and to another at high prices. It’s a trend. I saw the ice cream cases arriving at one of the stores there, and it says ‘sector’ on it, because it’s a special production with Arab captions, and I believe the price is special too.

“The taste is the same taste and the product’s size is the same size. I have to buy there because I can’t afford ice cream for my daughter at the current prices.”

Strauss Ice Cream said in response, “The consumer price is not determined by us, but by the retailers themselves. Strauss Ice Cream has a uniform pricelist for all products. It should be noted that the variety of products offered by the company includes products designated for different sectors.”

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Imperial Tobacco Appeal Fails To Cancel UK Cigarette Vending Ban

Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (Bristol, England) reports that it has lost its appeal of the United Kingdom’s new prohibition of Classic Red cigarette vending. The vending ban becomes effective in October.

Great Britain’s Court of Appeal upheld a December decision by the High Court that rejected the legal challenge by Imperial subsidiary Sinclair Collis (Wolverhampton, England) to provisions of the 2009 UK Health Act that forbids the sale of tobacco through vending machines.

Britain’s National Association of Cigarette Machine Operators, which represents companies that manufacture and place tobacco venders in the UK, has said that its 55 member companies provide 580 jobs generating £275 million annually.

After the Parliament approved the vending ban, NACMO northern chairman Rod Bullough explained that the group “would support any genuine attempt to reduce smoking among young people, but we feel our industry is being made a scapegoat. The ban will wipe out a legitimate business sector and result in considerable job losses, as well as being another kick in the teeth for the pubs and clubs.”

Smoking has been banned in public places, including restaurants and taverns, since July 2007.

Other provisions of the Health Act include a ban on tobacco product advertising, except under certain limited circumstances, in large retail outlets starting in April, 2012, and extending to all shops in April 2015.

The UK government also is considering a requirement that tobacco products be sold only in unbranded packaging.

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A puff of flavor: Cigar talk

With Father’s Day approaching, it might be a good time to help dad indulge in the time-honored experience of puffing on an expertly rolled cigar. While popular sentiment and government bans sometimes make it necessary to take pains to enjoy a good smoke, the experience can still be rewarding.

Consider the quiet joy that can be found during a long walk down a country road alone, save for one’s favorite cigar. Don’t know enough about cigars to feel confident buying them? The Capital District shops noted here have friendly, knowledgeable staffers ready to help shoppers make the right choice, no matter what their level of tobacco knowledge.

Selecting the right cigar

“Cigar-smoking is highly individual and subjective,” says Scott Bendett, founder and proprietor of Habana Premium Cigar Shoppe in Albany. “It’s a matter of taste.”

If you don’t know what you’re looking for, Bendett or a staff member can make suggestions. Habana Premium features numerous brands, a walk-in humidor and cigars flavored with vanilla, rum, cappuccino, honey and mandarin.

“We love talking with gift shoppers to help them make a good selection,” says Rich Albers, assistant manager at Park Lane Tobacconist in Clifton Park. “There’s no reason to feel intimidated.”

According to Albers, things to consider include how long the person has been smoking; if they prefer a mild or robust cigar, in a large or small size; and if they have a brand preference.

“The occasional smoker generally wants a milder cigar,” says John Zyniecki, coproprietor of EdLeez Tobacco in Albany. “The regular smoker usually likes a more flavorful cigar.”

When buying cigars for a special occasion, Zyniecki says most shoppers choose a “limited cigar,” such as an Opus X. Ranging in price from $15 to $20 per cigar, these are typically the items most smokers appreciate but do not regularly buy for themselves and are made in limited quantities. Brands such as Ashton, Arturo Fuente, CAO, Camacho, Davidoff, Cusano and Macanudo also make high-end cigars.

Cigar talk

The cigar world has a vocabulary all its own, and a good tobacconist should be able to explain the points of a cigar’s three main components: wrapper, filler and binder. While some machine-made cigars are very good, the handmade versions will always be the most sought-after among cigar cognoscenti. Master blenders use leaves from different regions, harvests and countries to create flavors and other characteristics for various tastes.

“A handmade cigar is based on the blender’s experience,” Bendett says. “It’s a work of art.”

A cigar’s wrapper or outer covering is made from a tobacco leaf that’s often different from the filler and binder, and provides most of its flavor. With cigars, appearances matter and can provide the first clues as to what may be in store for a smoker. Wrapper color can range from light tan (claro) to an almost black-brown (maduro), with many variations. Wrapper color however, should be rich, even and smooth with a slight shine from the oil that naturally occurs in the leaf. This is usually more obvious on cigars with darker wrappers.

When examining a box of cigars, color should be consistent. Wrappers should also be free of leaf veins, cracks or tears.

Filler makes up the majority of the cigar’s interior, and the best come from Honduras, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. Long-filler cigars demand a premium over medium- and short-filled versions. Long-filler cigars “burn” more smoothly and must be puffed to keep from going out. Short-filler cigars burn quickly, as the tobacco length resembles that found in cheapest cigarettes.

Once filler is shaped and blended, the binder is added and the cigar is rolled. It is then put into a mold until ready to be wrapped. Usually the thicker tops of the tobacco plant are used as binder, with the better ones coming from Cuba, Connecticut, Mexico and Ecuador. Recently, Java and Sumatra binders have become sought-after, as they’re durable and flexible.

A cigar with a light-colored outer wrapper typically means it will be mild. Terms used to describe cigars are difficult to define because they often mean different things to different people. “Mild” to one smoker may translate as “weak” to another. While some seek a “robust” or “full-bodied” cigar, others may find such traits “overpowering.”

Shape of things to come

The variation on cigar size is almost limitless. The most popular shapes are robusto, toro and Churchill.

Cigars are measured by length and width. Length is done in inches; width is measured in ring gauges. One ring is 1/64th of an inch.

A typical robusto is a 50-ring gauge and 5 inches in length. A manufacturer may create a “gran robusto,” which will be longer or wider. A toro reaches 6 inches and is usually a 50-ring gauge. Churchills are narrower at 48-ring gauge, but stretch to 7 or 71/4 inches in length. Other popular sizes include corona (the larger version of robusto), panetela (a long, thin cigar) and lonsdale (longer than corona, but shorter than panetela). One manufacturer’s petit corona will probably overlap with another’s robusto. The “torpedo” is slightly irregular in composition, about 6 inches long, pointed at one end and a bit fatter in its center (about 54-ring gauge).

While many cigar makers boast “Cuban seed tobacco” as an ingredient, it is difficult to verify, and most smokers agree better tobacco now comes from the Dominican Republic. “Tobacco is a product of the soil and other agricultural conditions,” notes Bendett. “Dominican agricultural practices and conditions enable tobacco to age better and retain its flavors very well.”

Dominican tobacco typically starts off mild, but builds in intensity as smoked. The taste tends to hit the entire palate and stimulate all receptors in the smoker’s mouth while the aroma can be sweet and floral. Nicaraguan soil is low in acid and produces a harsher tobacco. Cuban products are illegal in the united States.

“Lots of customers compare the costs of cigars with prices offered by Internet merchants,” says Bendett. “This is especially true for New York smokers, because we live in a high-tax state for tobacco products. With Internet purchases, you have no knowledgeable guide and can’t get a sense of the cigars’ condition. You have no idea how they’ve been stored or handled.”

Most cigar shops also sell other merchandise that can make good gifts, such as cutters, humidors, cases, lighters, pipes, pipe tobacco and high-end cigarettes.

Joseph Finora is a freelance writer in Laurel (Suffolk County).

Where to buy
EdLeez Tobacco, Stuvesant Plaza, Guilderland, 489-6872
Habana Premium Cigar Shop, 1645 Central Ave., Albany, 690-2222
James & Sons Tobacconists, 360 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, 581-7274
Park Lane Tobacconist, 15 Park Ave., Clifton Park, 371-6274

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Health Officials Welcome Higher Tobacco Prices

Health officials have welcomed the enhanced tax on tobacco products which last weekend culminated in the price increase of most low-end cigarettes but left premium Classic brands untouched.

Deputy director of Medical Services William Maina also said the move to fund cancer screening equipment in the Budget would be a positive spin-off in the government policy.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been pushing governments globally and in recent months held seminars for African tax and treasuries officials in Nairobi to push its case. The Business Daily exclusively reported the health agency’s manoeuvres which culminated in the Wednesday Budget announcement.

Sportsman — Kenya’s most popular brand manufactured by multinational British America Tobacco (BAT) — went up by the largest margin of Sh20 a packet and will now retail at Sh90; meaning it will cost Sh4.50 a stick.

Direct competitor, Supermatch manufactured by Mastermind Tobacco (MMT), rises Sh10 to Sh80 for a packet of 20. “The increased tax is what we have always asked for. We wanted tax to go up and result in actual price increases so as to prevent smokers from shifting brands,” said Dr Maina.

Other BAT products that went up include Safari Kings by Sh8 to Sh78 while Safari Regular and Rosters went up Sh10 to Sh60.

MMT increased the price of its price by Sh10 to Sh70 for Ralli and Sh50 for Rocket brands. The price increases by the duopolists makes it more expensive for low-income smokers especially. The government is seeking an additional Sh10 billion excise tax from tobacco, beer and wines.

On Wednesday, Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta put the tobacco excise at a fixed Sh1,200 per mille (1,000) or 35 per cent. This eliminated the traditional four bands where firms would reduce prices to fall under a lower-taxed bracket.

On top, it left the premium brands by BAT at a lower tax bracket as some of them were in the maximum category of 2,000. Dunhill as well as Embassy remain at Sh140 and SM at Sh90. Mr Kenyatta implemented a similar single-tax model for beer products which is expected to result in massive increase in the price of non-malt beer.

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ASH Determined to Implement Plain Packaging of Cigarettes

A 42 member’s Anti-Smoking group had smashed the threats of tobacco companies opposing to the plain packaging policy to be implied on cigarettes. As per David Crow, Chief Executive of British American Tobacco (BAT) Australia, objected to the policy saying that the policy could encourage duplicate Classic cigarette brands would have a better business in future.

The ASH group also comprised of people from SIDS and Kids, NSW Council of Churches, Australian Council of Social Service, and the Cancer Council Australia. As per Stafford Sanders, spokesman of the Protecting Children of tobacco lobby group said that the policy had made tobacco industries in a serious fix.

As per the ASH tobacco, the tobacco industry’s target the youth by introducing music, fashion and sport in their promotional activities, the group wanted to save children from being addicted to tobacco.

Dr Wayne Cooper, chair of the St George Division of General Practice, had brought into notice that by selling cigarettes at a low price, the commodity became easily available to children and may encourage smoking at a higher rate with people who already had a habit to smoke therefore, he suggested that plain packaging was an effective measure, to encourage people to quit smoking.

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Intellicig Electronic Cigarettes Go Organic In The States

Intellicig electronic cigarettes go Organic in the States

Intellicig’s organic growth rivals that of Jack’s Beanstalk, but Intellicig is far from being a fairytale, it’s a real-life success story! In less than three years, Intellicig has grown from a start-up company into a multi-million pound business. Hard work, determination, and passion are the key elements, underpinned by Intellicig’s unswerving belief that what they do can really makes a difference to peoples’ lives; it already has made a difference to many thousands of ex-smokers who have successfully made the transition from inhaling burning tobacco to the ultra high-tech, electronic alternative from Intellicig.

Intellicig’s official opening of their new USA sales office and distribution centre in Atlanta, Georgia, last week was a resounding success, with over seventy business associates, potential buyers from across the country, and media, all enjoying the hospitality and the presentation of Intellicig products. The presence of an Intellicig UK Director and their International Trade Manager epitomised the level of involvement and commitment of this vibrant and innovative company.

Intellicig is the leading manufacturer of Electronic Cigarettes, with their Head Office in Lancashire and a dedicated manufacturing facility within the UMIC Bioscience Centre in Manchester. They are soon to celebrate their third birthday, and their achievement so far – Intellicig products are currently stocked in over 5,000 UK stores, are exported worldwide to over 23 countries, and are available with customised packaging in 8 languages – is testimony to their success. The Intellicig team fully support their International Partners by guiding them through the export/import procedures, liaising with Government Departments and Embassies, and ensuring a smooth delivery of Intellicig products all the way to the end user.

Electronic Cigarettes have enjoyed huge popularity in the USA, with an estimated market of over 50m dollars per year and a year on year growth of 100%. The mainstream market is made up of products manufactured in China, often to undetermined quality standards. Intellicig identified this opportunity last year and developed a strategic plan to expand their customer base significantly across the USA. Intellicig’s quality control, laboratory production, and batch-testing of ingredients and final product, are recognised by Trade Partners and end users as significant, positive factors when making their choice.

Intellicig USA is being headed up by Sherry Cassaw, who has extensive business development and logistics experience in the medical devices sector. Sherry said: “We are so excited about the launch of Intellicig USA, retailers over here are crying out for a reliable product that is manufactured to a known standard. Electronic Cigarettes in the USA have experienced substantial popularity and now people are keen to know what they are inhaling. Intellicig manufacture their nicotine liquid and refills in the UK in their own Bioscience Facility based in the University of Manchester, this gives us all confidence, especially end users.”

David Newns, an Intellicig Company Director, said: “We have had a tremendous response already from our USA launch, as buyers want a credible alternative to stock in their stores, one that can be qualified for quality and consistency. The UK and USA have a long history of strong trade links and we have had great support from the local Chamber of Commerce in Atlanta. We have specific growth plans in place and will continue our endeavours to increase our sizeable share in this rapidly expanding market.”

“With regulation in mind, the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) is seeking to identify quality products which are manufactured to known standards; Intellicig are ahead of the game here too, as our products are designed and produced to exceed current, and future, regulatory requirements. Our proprietary nicotine liquid is manufactured in our own laboratory at UMIC, a renowned Bioscience Centre, using ingredients to Pharmacopoeia standards and we have recently installed High Performance Liquid Chromatography equipment to enable in-house batch-testing, another first in the industry. We continue to be the pioneering company in this field and consistently aim to raise the bar for standards of quality and purity.”

Intellicig has already created 10 new jobs in Atlanta and will grow its UK manufacturing base to support the increased product demand, meaning a further 10 jobs can be created in the production department at Manchester.

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Health Department backs off total ban on e-cigarettes

After hearing from the public about its proposed ban on e-cigarettes in all public places in the county, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department has backed off – at least slightly.

At its meeting Wednesday, the Board of Health will consider a revised regulation that would still ban “vaping” in many public places, but would make exceptions for “public places where minors are lawfully prohibited, places of employment that are not public places and retail outlets that exclusively sell or promote electronic smoking devices.”

In a press release on its website, the department acknowledges the comments from vapers who use the e-cigarettes as a way to quit or cut down on smoking.

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ROP foils smuggling of banned cigarettes

In the second operation of its kind this month, the Customs Department in Al Dhahirah foiled the smuggling of cigarettes hidden in a water tanker. The smuggler, who tried to import the cigarettes via Wadi Al Jizzi border checkpoint, used a similar technique as the earlier one.
He was found to have divided his 600-gallon tanker by a metal partition behind which he kept some 700 cartons of cigarettes that is an imitation which is banned to enter the Sultanate.
The earlier operation took place at Wadi Saa’ border checkpoint when a man was arrested smuggling banned cigarettes. The two instances of smuggling were in violation of the unified GCC Customs Law.

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Internet and Mail-Order Cigar Sales Banned in Maryland

Buying cigars over the Internet or by mail order is now against the law in Maryland. State lawmakers prohibited that form of sale for all tobacco products in a move intended to more effectively collect tobacco taxes in the state.

The law, called HB 88, went into effect on May 1. It was passed by the State House and Senate last year before being signed off by Governor Martin O’Malley. A bulletin from the Maryland comptroller’s office summarized the law, defining premium cigars as part of the larger “OTP” category (Other Tobacco Products), clearly stating: “The purchase and sale of OTP by mail or over the Internet is prohibited.”

The move has been controversial, and subsequent public outcry prompted Field Enforcement Division Director Jeffrey A. Kelly to release a statement on May 11 in its defense. “The intent of HB 88 was to strengthen Maryland’s ability to identify and prevent widespread occurrences of tax avoidance and smuggling of other tobacco products (OTP), which include cigars, little cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco and moist snuff. For years, contraband OTP-on which the tobacco tax has not been paid but is due-entered Maryland in a variety of manners, virtually unrestricted and unregulated.”

Kelly’s open letter also dispels any “erroneous” notions that the new law was instated to protect Maryland’s retail cigar stores.

“One reason this bill was needed is because certain retailers have purchased and sold contraband OTP illegally and the prosecution of these retailers under previous law was difficult at best.”

Kelly acknowledged the “unanticipated consequences” of the law, and its affect on Internet consumers, noting the state’s growing number of cigar-smokers and verbalizing the intention to keep their business within Maryland.

Cigar Aficionado tried on multiple occasions to contact some of Maryland’s more prominent tobacconists, but none offered comment. However, Holt’s Cigar Co., a large online and catalog business based out of Pennsylvania, did issue a very strongly worded mass email to all its customers:

“As a Maryland resident, you should be outraged,” the email says, calling the law unconstitutional, anti-freedom, anti-choice and wholly un-American. “If you live in a rural area without a cigar store within reasonable traveling distance, you are basically denied access to cigars, period.”

In a recent development, Delegate Michael Smigiel (R) told the Baltimore Sun (which has dubbed this new law “cigar gate”) that he will use the rare fall General Assembly meeting to introduce legislation ending the state’s new ban on premium cigar shipments.

The state seems to be receptive. Christine Feldmann, the Comptroller’s Deputy Director, Office of Communications told Cigar Aficionado that the Comptroller’s Office intends to work with the Maryland General Assembly on a legislative remedy for this issue “that would address the need for tax fairness while allowing consumers more choice. This issue is surely not over,” she said.

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Kingston’s Edie Adams made smoking sexy and fashionable in the ’50s and ’60s

For more than a decade, Edie Adams appeared in magazine ads and television commercials as the pitch-lady for Muriel cigars. Clad in a sequined, low-cut dress, the blonde temptress taunted men with her scintillating come-on line, “Why don’t you pick one up and smoke it sometime?” More popular was the commercial in which Adams pitched the 10-cent cigars by breathily singing, “Hey, big spender, spend a little dime with me.”

At a time when consumerism was booming across the nation, the advertising industry persuaded Americans to purchase new products as a sign of status. Smoking was considered “sexy” and “fashionable,” and the sensual Adams used television to propel her career as a singer, Broadway, television and film actress and comedienne.

Born on April 16, 1927 in Kingston, Edith Elizabeth Enke was the daughter of Sheldon and Ada Adams Enke. The family relocated to Grove City and eventually to Tenafly, N.J., where Edie finished high school. Her mother taught her to sing and play the piano and she refined these talents as a youngster with the Grove City Presbyterian Church choir.

Edie’s passion for music inspired her to earn a vocal degree from the Julliard School of Music before matriculating to the Columbia School of Drama. She also studied at the Actor’s Studio in New York and the Traphagen School of Fashion Design, where she became adept at designing and sewing.

Uncertain about pursuing a career in fashion design or music, Adams cast her fate to serendipity. She solidified her singing reputation on the nightclub circuit and appearing in such stage shows as “Blithe Spirit” and “Goodnight Ladies.”

In 1950, she won the “Miss U.S. Television” beauty contest, which led to an appearance on the Milton Berle Show. Adams’ big break came shortly after when she appeared on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts. Although she didn’t win the contest, she was discovered by the producer of the Philadelphia-based Ernie Kovacs Comedy Show. The producer envisioned her as a seductive “straight man” who could mesh well with the zany comedian.

Adams began working regularly in television with Kovacs, who was outrageously funny. The show, which was live and unrehearsed, was groundbreaking in the new medium of television.

Edie developed an exceptional talent for impressions, imitating celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Mae West and Zsa Zsa Gabor. The duo performed such hilarious skits as “Ernie in Kovacsland” (1951) and “Kovacs on the Korner” (1952). But the show was short-lived, being too progressive for mainstream audiences.

Kovacs and Adams married on Sept. 12, 1954 and became a popular couple in the Hollywood social circuit in the late 1950s. The husband-wife team revived their careers in a comedy series, winning Emmy nominations for best performances in 1957. In 1960, the duo portrayed themselves as the guest stars in the final Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz hour-long TV special.

After Kovacs was killed in a 1962 car accident, Adams was left with his significant gambling debts. Instead of filing bankruptcy, however, she worked her way out of debt and, in the process, her career received a second wind.

She returned to the nightclub circuit, recorded albums and toured the country in various dramatic and musical comedy vehicles including “Rain” (as Sadie Thompson), “Bell’s Are Ringing,” “Annie Get Your Gun” (as Annie Oakley), “I Do! I Do!”, “Anything Goes” and “Bus Stop.”

Adams also played supporting roles in several films, including the bitter secretary of two-timing Fred MacMurray in the Oscar-winning film The Apartment (1960) and the wife of presidential candidate Cliff Robertson in 1964′s The Best Man.

More than anything, however, Adams was known for pitching Muriel cigars to television audiences. In the 1950s and 1960s, cigarette smoking was extremely fashionable. Americans considered the practice “cool” because almost everyone in the public eye smoked, including sports figures, movie stars and singers. And with the popularity of television, viewers in the 1950s and 1960s routinely witnessed their heroes lighting-up. Tobacco companies mounted effective ad campaigns for their products, too. There were “singing cigarettes,” “dancing cigarettes,” movie stars pitching cigarettes, and even actors portraying doctors who promoted the “benefits” of cheap cigarettes in television commercials.

The makers of Muriel cigars cashed in on the craze by employing Edie Adams’ star power during the 1950s and 1960s. Considering that her late husband had been a notorious cigar smoker, who at one time sold Dutch Master cigars on TV, the idea of Edie pitching a slimmer cigar on television was only natural. Dressed in sexy attire, the blonde beauty impersonated the sensual stereotype of Marilyn Monroe. With a wink and a smile, she cooed one of her trademark cigar slogans while holding a box of Muriels in hand. The commercials were smashingly successful and highly profitable. What’s more, Edie made sure that she exercised her influence on the direction of the advertisements, providing them with a perfect blend of class, glamour and sensuality.

While growing noticeably heavier in later years, Adams never lost her trademark humor and sex appeal. She made occasional stage appearances in such shows as “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” the female version of “The Odd Couple,” “Hello, Dolly!” and “Nunsense.” She also started her own cosmetic and beauty salon businesses.

Edie had two later marriages, briefly to photographer Martin Mills and then to trumpeter Pete Candoli. She gave birth to two children: a daughter, Mia Susan Kovacs, who was born in 1959 and killed in an automobile accident in 1982, and a son, Joshua Mills.

Because of her 20 years of commercials for Muriel cigars and her successful business ventures, Adams went from being mired in debt after Kovacs’ fatal accident in 1962 to being a millionaire in 1989. Suffering from cancer and losing weight in recent years, Adams died of complications from pneumonia at age 81 in Los Angeles on Oct. 15, 2008.

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Smoking allowed: Cigar bars offer a safe haven

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. But finding a place to enjoy it? Good luck with that, pal. Yet, there are still dens of iniquity where the words “smoking” and “allowed” are linked, when a guy or girl can fire up their choice of legal intoxicant from Honduras or the Dominican Republic. Smoking a cigar is a ritual, a way to slow down. And it keeps both hands busy, so the devil can’t find work for them. Here, we offer a round-up of safehouses where you can light up without censure.

From the outside, Executive Cigars in the North Side looks like a neighborhood smoke shop that would specialize in those commercial cigars sold in small cardboard boxes.

Don’t be fooled.

The two-year-old store run by Andrew Lee is home to a sealed room filled with floor-to-ceiling racks of cigars ranging from $5 to $30 each. They represent offerings from companies such as Oliva and offer a great variety of cigar types, tastes and sizes.

Lee tries to offer a cigar education to his customers, insisting “if you know the rules of math you can solve any problem. If you are going to smoke cigars you have to know the rules.”

The shop may have an urban appearance, but customers talk about its range of clients, from neighbors to young professionals on their way home to the suburbs.

Besides the smoke-selection room, Executive Cigars also features a lounge area behind it with flat-screen TVs, leather couches and chairs and a bar. Drinks are not sold, but are available to members who bring their own bottles and also contribute to a drink fund.

Memberships range from $30 to $75 a month, Lee says.

There also is a party room upstairs that was the site of a Super Bowl get-together and is a spill-over site when the lounge gets full. It still is developing, but already is decorated and furnished.

Lee says one of the more unusual aspects of the shop is its late-night nature. He says its unofficial motto is “Your late-night cigar store,” and is generally open at least until 1 a.m.

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Japan Tobacco Staggers Back Following Quake

SENDAI, Japan—As shops slowly reopen along Japan’s tsunami-hit northeastern coast, many residents still aren’t finding one of the Japan markproducts they crave most: cigarettes.

The shortages represent the latest supply-chain breakdown in Japan—and a headache for Japan Tobacco Inc., which for decades has dominated Japan’s tobacco market.

The March 11 earthquake and tsunami knocked out two of Japan Tobacco’s six cigarette-making factories, damaged its distribution network and wrecked some of its suppliers’ facilities.

Japan Tobacco was forced to halt deliveries across the whole country for 12 days starting March 30. Although it said it expects to restart deliveries of seven top brands on Monday, the move cut supplies to millions of smokers, forcing even the company’s most loyal customers to try cigarettes from international rivals British American Tobacco PLC and Philip Morris International Inc.

Most of the Japanese company’s other 97 products won’t be available for weeks, if not months. The company said it aims to restart deliveries of up to 25 products over the coming month and return to normal supply volume capacity by the end of June.

Japan Tobacco’s ability to restore full capacity quickly could determine whether it can hold on to its 65% share of the $40 billion Japanese cigarette market, analysts and people in the industry said. “This could change the market and put the imported brands on top” for the first time, said Yasuhide Kitagawa, whose family runs Sendai’s Panda drug store, which specializes in foreign brands and markets BAT brands heavily. “We want that to happen.”

Taizo Demura, an analyst at Morgan Stanley MUFG Research Japan, estimated that Japan Tobacco would lose one to six percentage points in market share. “Some consumers will change,” he said. “They will try Kent, Lark, Virginia Slims or Marlboro as a trial and if they think it is better than JT, then they will stay.”

In addition to losing two of its factories, a Japan Tobacco distribution center in Sendai was damaged. The company also has had problems getting such supplies as the cardboard for cartons, the fluff in cigarette filters and the plastic film used to wrap packages, said Hideyuki Yamamoto, general manager of media and investor relations for Japan Tobacco. Among the first seven brands of which Japan Tobacco will resume distribution this week: Seven Stars, Mild Seven and Caster.

The struggle to deliver cigarettes is the latest bit of bad news for the industry in Japan. Like many countries, it has been ratcheting up taxes and restrictions, and the percentage of Japanese people who smoke slid to 25% in 2009 from 33% in 2000, according to Japan Tobacco.

While delivery of foreign brands in Japan’s northeast also was interrupted by damage to distribution centers, output was unaffected because those companies’ cigarettes are made outside the country. Foreign companies aren’t allowed to make cigarettes in Japan. Even though the foreign companies largely have resolved their distribution problems, domestic and foreign cigarettes brands alike have been hoarded by smokers worried over consistent supplies.

Smokers in Sendai exchanged tips on which stores still had supplies. Some smokers had friends and relatives courier cartons from other parts of Japan. Men took drags on the long, thin cigarettes that are marketed to women. One shop had a five-page list of orders.

Loft tobacco shop, which was the last supplier in its neighborhood, had only international cigarettes. “JT Sold Out,” said a hand-written sign on its window. “I will smoke whatever they have,” said Aika Ono as she stood in the long line in front of the store.

BAT and Philip Morris said they don’t intend to take advantage of Japan Tobacco’s situation. But they are increasing shipments to the country to meet customer demand. BAT has doubled its inventory to about four billion cigarettes. It has even airlifted cigarettes and routed supplies through Kobe to avoid bottlenecks in Tokyo.

Still, some analysts and investors projected that Japan Tobacco will offer its full portfolio within months. And some customers may feel it is their duty to switch to one of the few available Japan Tobacco brands rather than to foreign labels.

“While it is not as patriotic a mood as the ‘Buy America’ sentiment in the wake of 9/11, there could be a Buy Japan’ movement among smokers after the 3/11 earthquake,” said Chris Redl, chief investment adviser of Siena Capital, a Japan-dedicated hedge fund.

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Debate fumes as Sydney apartments stub out smoking

An Australian apartment block which has banned residents from smoking in their homes has sparked anger from civil libertarians but advocates say it could be the way of the future for high-density living.

Owners of the apartments in Sydney’s inner western suburb of Ashfield agreed to introduce a by-law which bars anyone smoking inside their flats or on their balconies, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Saturday.

“We’ve made it a smoke-free zone in its entirety,” chairman of the owners’ corporate body Alex Antic told the paper.
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The move came about after some residents of the late 1960s building had complained about smoke drifting into their apartments from vents in the ceiling or from neighbours lighting up on their balconies.

“In addition, we had constant problems with cigarette butts all over the garden and footpath,” Antic said.

“So we asked our managers if we could have a by-law to ban all smoking in units as well as on common property and two weeks later they came back with a draft of a by-law to make the building a smoke-free zone in its entirety.”

Owners then accepted the proposal at an annual meeting, the paper said.

While those in real estate and apartment management said non-smoking residences could become more popular in high-density cities, civil libertarians labelled the move outrageous.

“You can’t ban the use of a lawful product in someone’s own home,” said New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties president Cameron Murphy.

“The next thing is they’ll be banning the drinking of coffee.”

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Phone Text messages Used as Smoking Cessation tool

Text messages could become a vital smoking cessation tool, research carried out by multiple US universities has indicated. Because cell phones are now such a regular feature of our everyday lives –and because many people possess phone deals that give them unlimited text messaging – the researchers argue that text messages can be used as a cheap and convenient method of amassing data about Doina smoking habits.

They say that by encouraging smokers to send a few texts each day which detail their smoking behaviours, health experts can help to monitor and assess the frequency of patients’ cigarette smoking sessions. When asked how many cigarettes they smoke daily smokers often provide inaccurate data, because they forget or misjudge their daily consumption levels.

The researchers, who are from the University of Michigan and the University of California, carried out tests in which they used training games to hone individuals’ self-control abilities. They used cell phones to gather data because doing so saved the cost of providing test subjects with new equipment, and was also convenient for the subjects.

Challenges were set for smokers with the aim of improving their self-control: a major factor in whether they are able to overcome nicotine cravings which offset many people on their paths to giving up smoking.

The World Health Organization estimates that there are 1 billion male smokers and 250 million smokers worldwide. Tobacco consumption is a major cause of illness and death. When primary breadwinners die or are too ill to work due to smoking-related disease, entire families can be thrown into poverty, the WHO reports.

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Smoking Laws Regulate Tobacco Sales

By-laws which could regulate the sale of Lucky Strike cigarettes in shops near schools, ban smoking in some indoor areas and decide which shisha cafes are licensed, are to be voted on by the Health Council early next month.

The laws, which should have come into effect by the end of last year, will clarify the enforcement of federal anti-tobacco law No 15, issued in early 2009 by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, President of the UAE.

Dr. Wedad al Maidoor, the head of the National Tobacco Control Committee, said the by-laws were pending official approval because further steps had to be taken before smoking bans take effect in coming months.

The delay in drafting the by-laws was unavoidable, said Dr al Maidoor. “We have been in continuous meetings with all the concerned authorities and all the partners who must be included in drafting the by-laws, trying to find the best solutions,” she said. “We are almost done and in the final phase.”

Government departments involved in submitting proposals on what rules and regulations the law should address include the Ministry of Health, the various health authorities, Civil Defence, the municipalities and the Ministry of Economy.

Dr al Maidoor did not expect concerns or complaints about the by-laws to be lodged. That had already been dealt with, she said.

“The Health Council has to approve all laws. If the by-laws do not meet with opposition, the by-laws continue on to the Federal National Council. Within a few months, we can finalise this and start enforcing the laws,” she said.

Salem bin Mesmar, the assistant director general for the environment, health and safety control sector at Dubai Municipality, said smoking was a global crisis that needed immediate action.

Drafting the by-laws, he said, “was not an easy task”. “The Ministry of Health wants smoking all over UAE to be regulated and this law needs an appendix which explains the law in more detail and highlights the technical requirements.”

The details that had to be ironed out related to smoking, tobacco and packaging, he said.

“All over the world there is an increase of smokers, especially in the Third World and the Middle East – even in young people – and one reason for this is because companies invest heavily on advertisements,” Mr Mesmar said.

This month, Britain announced plans to enforce strict laws banning the display of cigarette packages behind cash counters from April 2012 in large shops and by 2015 for all others. The UK government aims to change social behaviour by considering a push for unbranded, plain packages.

Mr Mesmar said similar laws could come into force in the UAE. “The new rule on box advertising is coming here and we will deal with it on a GCC level,” he said.

“We would like to see the advertising on the box drop down to zero.”

In 2007, the Dubai Government approached the municipality to regulate smoking in shopping malls. Following discussions with the Shopping Mall Council, Dubai Festival City became the first smoke-free mall in the city.

“For phase two, we regulated smoking in hotels while working with the Dubai Tourism Authority. In phase three, we concentrated on cafes and restaurants, where we started with shisha, because the Government did not like it expanding,” said Mr Mesmar.

Business owners were given one year to follow the rules, but due to the financial crisis, cases were sometimes reviewed separately under special circumstances.

“Some smokers use the excuse for continuing the habit that there is too much pressure in the world and they believe it offers stress relief. Believe me, nobody who truly understands its effects will smoke.”

Dr al Maidoor said a large part of the drafted by-laws were concerned with enforcement, so that the burden was divided equally between government and private departments.

“Really, the law as it stands is quite clear and everyone should be enforcing it already. They definitely will once it is official – printed in the official gazette.”

The World Health Organisation reports that in addition to the five million people who die annually from smoking – six every second – at least 600,000 more die from second-hand, passive smoking

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