Cigarette and Tobacco

More Severe Steps Help to Reduce Smoking Rate

2010-06-21T00:37:00.000-07:00

Usually cigarettes makers try to target youth into starting smoking with their advertisings. But recently a group of targeted youth has brought good results in aiding to reduce the smokers’ number in South Dakota to a matchless low of 17.5 percent, according to a recent study from the South Dakota Department of Health.

“We are actively educating the young children in our institution. Recently, the high school has received grants of $20,000 to supply anti-smoking programs in the schools. The Yankton Tobacco Coalition attempts to help out more as a method going into the Boys and Girl’s Club every month to help informing more children to say NO and to learn how to say NO,” declared Joan Hochstein, Yankton Tobacco Coalition chairperson and pulmonary and respiratory therapist.

Hochstein argued that the highest growing parts of new smokers in the state are young people — some of them are as young as fourth and fifth grade.

Health experts observed that each day more than 4,000 people under 18 try the taste of their first cigarette. They explained that the tobacco company needs to supply 5,000 new young smokers every day for to maintain the whole number of smokers.

But the Department of Health and Human Services showed that 90 percent of smokers start smoking before age 20, and 50 percent of smokers try their first cigarette by age 14, and 25 percent begin their smoking habit by age 12.

“When we speak to the kids, they confess that they have seen peers smoking — they know it is going on. The tobacco companies are making a big effort to try to get the kids as young as they can because the younger they start their smoking habit, the harder it is to quit, because as it is know nicotine is an addiction and it takes both time and more money for to quit,” she added.

In general, a quit smoking attempt is considered successful once 12 months have lived without cigarettes. Statistics show that only approximately 5 percent of people who quit on their own are still abstinent a year later.

“Tobacco prevention and control is a priority in our country, and it’s paying off. So, fewer people who smoke mean fewer people suffering or even dying from smoking-related illnesses. Also state anti-smoking programs will save millions of dollars in future health care costs,” said Doneen Hollingsworth, Secretary of Health.

Researchers concluded that the adult smoking rate in South Dakota has decreased more than 21.5 percent since the Department became the lead agency for state tobacco control efforts in 2001.

America to Stop Tobacco Smuggling

2009-09-29T06:04:00.000-07:00

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As cigarettes taxes are larger-than-life and smokers are trying to save every dollar they have in difficult times of economic downturn, tobacco traffic is spreading with giant speed. However, officials aspire cracking down illicit sales to generate revenue for cash-strived budgets, the Financial Times wrote.

New York, Florida, Rhode Island, Maryland and Virginia joined forces to launch new and drastic law-enforcement measures to halt smuggled cigarette sales and collect additional revenues.

Researches demonstrate that state budgets are missing almost $6 billion each year in lost taxes due to bootleg cigarette sales, according to Adrian Owen, deputy head of the tobacco-diversion department of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives explained to the Financial Times.

Rhode Island Head of Taxation Division Mark Walker said that his state lacks millions in lost taxes each year and added that they want local smokers to comply with state laws.

With states looking at sin taxes to help balancing budgets and avoid closing or cutting programs, authorities are not simply trying to halt bootlegging, but also are considering amending current regulations or approving new laws, which would require online cigarette sellers to add excise taxes to their tax-free cigarettes.

Speaking about cigarette smuggling schemes, officials suspect gangs, organized crime and even multinational syndicates. Therefore, majority of states are cooperating with federal agencies to track and halt smuggling. The division that tracks retail cigarette stores to guarantee compliance with laws and correct tax collection admitted that during the last six months it has performed confiscations at 160 stores, what is three times more than during the same period in 2008.

The difference between cigarette taxes among the states contributed to smugglers purchasing smokes on a legal basis in states with lower taxes and then smuggling cigarettes and reselling them in areas where taxes are much heftier, making also counterfeit tax stamps and cigarettes.

During a recent investigation in Virginia, ATF agents and local police officers detained two individuals and accused them in compact with an undercover police agent to exchange cocaine for untaxed, smuggled cigarettes. The ATF reported that the charged men wanted to smuggle cigarettes to New York and sell them there. New York is home to the nation’s highest cigarette taxes, making up $4.25 per pack.

According to ATF, smugglers use water, air and land vehicles to transport cigarettes from Virginia and North Carolina to northern states with the highest taxes.

A new smoking ban in Greece

2009-07-06T00:37:00.000-07:00

Greece is the Europe’s biggest smoking nation which attempt to ban smoking in public places many times. And that’s why Greece will impose a tobacco ban in public places on July 1st in its third attempt in a decade to stamp out the bad habit.

Smoking was already prohibited in hospitals only but it was not prohibited in public places. The attempt to cut down on public smoking is the third this decade, after legislation passed in 2002 and 2003 outlawing smoking in public places was largely ignored. Greeks are the biggest smokers in Europe and smoking is deeply integrated into their social life.

Dimitris Avramopoulos, Greek Health Minister, explained: ''There will be ups and downs in Greece with this law and we don't want to hunt smokers but the habit of smoking. We want smokers on our side".

He added: "Our society is more ready than ever to embrace this new anti-smoking legislation". Statistics show that about 20,000 Greeks die as a result of smoking each year. Researchers found that approximately 40 percent of Greek adults smoke daily, the highest rate in Europe where the overall average is 30 percent.

Under the new regulation, individuals that smoke in public places can be fined up to 500 Euros (about $700 USD). Bar owners face fines ranging from 1,000 to 20,000 Euros ($1,400 to $28,300 USD), and risk losing their operating licenses for a fourth violation.

George Dimolianis, scuba descend instructor and former smoker said that: "It’s very good and they should have done it earlier … Non-smokers can’t go anywhere because everyone smokes and there are no places for non-smokers."

Evagalleia Tsampani, a smoker and owner of hotel, said that she thinks no Greek will succeed the law and she doesn’t believe that anyone is going to come to check on her business. A 2007 survey found the number of smokers in Greece had risen 10 per cent in a decade while other developed nations were kicking the habit.

Smoking Ban Could Kill the Bar Owners Business

2009-06-22T01:34:00.000-07:00

Anti-smoking researchers consider that smoking cigarettes is as a kiss of death. But for bars owners the kiss of death is smoking ban, because it could kill their business.

For example a bar owner, Saul Lemke invested a large part of his retirement in opening Bucky's Grill and Pub this spring. Now, he is afraid he will lose it all because of the new smoking legislation.

His customers like to smoke cigs while they drink, so Westfield's proposal to prohibit smoking in all public places could kill his business, he explained.
Mr. Lemke added: "We may be the shortest-lived business in the history of Westfield."

But for every person who agreed with Lemke, there were two who did not, according to City Council President Ken Kingshill's conversation.

"My interpretation is that the great response in the community has been for a comprehensive ban," said Kingshill, the ordinance's sponsor.

About 70 people were in the audience, they came for to decide the smoking cigarettes fate. About 20 people spoke, a number Kingshill considers low. The City Council, which received close to 200 e-mails about the ban, will likely debate the issue again at its next conference. It has not set a date to vote on the proposal.

Four of the seven council members opposed the new legislation when Kingshill introduced it last month. They thought banning smoking in places such as restaurants, bars, offices and eight of every 10 hotel rooms were imposing too much government.

Other members said that they would support a ban if the public wants it.
Some suggested that a less limited ban, "people could still smoke in bars that serve people over 21", will be better for smokers and bar owners who want to increase their business.

Kingshill said the ordinance was designed to protect those who work in smoke-filled businesses. Having the right to make their own choices was a key point for people on both sides of the issue.

Mary Ake, a city inhabitant who supports the ban explained: "There will still be a choice for people in Westfield. You can go outside, and you can smoke in your home."
She added that smokers take away nonsmokers' right to enjoying activities, such as going to a concert at a bar.

Local smokers furious because of cigarette tax increase

2009-06-04T00:14:00.000-07:00

Both Louisiana smokers and cigarette retailers are raging over the enormous 156 percent hike in the federal tax on cigarettes that came into force on April Fools Day. In accordance with the amendment, cigarette companies have to pay $1.01 in taxes per a pack of cigarettes to the federal treasury. Before the increase went into effect, manufacturers paid 39 cents a pack.

Cigarettes were not the only products to be hit by tax increase. All other tobacco-containing products faced significant tax hikes as well. Cigars went up from 5 to 40 cents for each, loose tobacco, which saw the largest increase, costs $24.78 per pound from former $1.09. Major tobacco companies did not wait for the tax to come into force and lifted the prices on their cigarettes back in March in order to collect additional revenue in anticipation of inevitable sale declines.

Chester Divers who owns cheap cigs stores in Lafayette complained that his stores are experiencing dramatic declines, since he lost up to 25 percents in sales of cigarettes when the increase came into force. He said many customers told him that they would rather give up or use online shops to buy less expensive cigarettes instead of paying unthinkable prices. However, he hopes that many would come back after some time because the habit of smoking would top the desire to save money.

For the Divers family cigarette discount shops have been a family business for decades. Chester’s father runs several shops in Baton Rouge while his elder brother owns one store in Monroe. The Federal Government has approved the tax hike in order to generate revenue for funding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) expansion. This program would provide medical insurance for millions children across the nation.

However, some experts state that such a broad program like SCHIP should be paid by all taxpayers, and not only the small group of smokers. "The government should better pass the responsibility on everybody, instead of mocking on smokers," said Monroe resident Jamie Durant. "If they tax cigarettes they should as well tax alcohol or even margarine since obesity leads to health complications too."

According to tax increase opponents, there is another thing to criticize the tax – the majority of smokers are from low and middle-income classes. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimated that poor Louisiana residents paid 10 times more for cigarettes than the rich ones.

Chester Divers says that the great part of his customers is on Social Security or their incomes are strictly fixed. He adds that he feels very sorry for them since they have to pay for utilities, food and house rent and these payments have been increasing as well. Therefore, the cigarette tax increase simply dashed their hopes because cigarettes were the only affordable pleasure for them. Last fiscal year, the federal treasury generated around $7 billion in taxes on cigarettes and tobacco products and Louisiana State received $ 290 million.

The Institute on Taxation experts also consider that in case Louisiana Government raises the state taxes on tobacco products they would lose more than $35 million in revenue, because people will smoke less.

“In each state where the cigarette tax has been hiked, the revenue dropped since people simply gave up smoking or switched to tax-free Indian cigarettes or online purchases," The Institute on Taxation representative declared. "Look at the situation in New York California. They now try to increase taxes even more in a desperate attempt to return the revenue lost through previous tax increases."

Currently, 36-cent-per-pack cigarette tax in Louisiana is the fourth lowest in the United States. However, that situation could be changed very soon since the Senate will soon began debating over a bill introduced by state House Speaker Karen Carter Peterson. According to the proposal the state tax on cigarettes should be increased by $1 per pack and taxes on other tobacco products should be increased as well. The proposal sponsor, Peterson declared that the hike on the state cigarette tax would permit the state to collect $209 million a year.

Alcohol is up, cigarette is down

2009-05-18T01:48:00.000-07:00

Teenagers started to drink more alcohol than smoking cigarettes. Alcohol use starts in young age. For example a recent survey showed that 32 percent of Oregon's eighth graders and 44 percent of 11th graders drank alcohol within the past month.

Cigarette and even marijuana smoking are down among Oregon middle and high school students, instead of that alcohol use remained the same for 11th graders but has increased 28 percent for eighth graders, according to the Oregon Department of Human Services Addictions and Mental Health Division.

According to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) researchers, one in five young adults age 18-25, 9 percent of youth age 12-17 and 7 percent of adults 26 or older abuse or are dependent on alcohol or other drugs, and many require treatment to kick the habit. More than 40 percent of children taken into protective care each year come from families with alcohol or drug abuse problems.

More Oregonians adults consume alcohol each month than any other addictive substance, according to DHS officials. Although 66 percent of men and 54 percent of women drink alcohol, far fewer report problem drinking. Surveys of adults indicate that 22 percent of men and 8 percent of women are binge drinkers, and approximately 6 percent of both sexes are heavy drinkers.

And each year there are more than 1,000 alcohol-related deaths in Oregon. According to the American Medical Association, young people who drink heavily, even occasionally, risk damaging their still-developing brains. Oregon has a goal of reducing eighth grade alcohol use to less than 17 percent by 2010, but no county has yet to reach this mark.

Despite the dramatic decline in cigarette use during the past 10 years, smoking continues to be the leading cause of preventable death in Oregon. Adult cigarette smoking rates vary by county, from a low of approximately 10 percent to a high of 30 percent. Males are more likely to use tobacco, which results in higher tobacco-linked death rates for men.

Even after this study, scientists continue to say that smoking is related to alcohol consumption, and reduction to alcohol intake may help the smokers to smoke less.

Scientists for the study think that people who want to quit smoking needs to abstain from drinking in order to experience the lesser effects of a withdrawal symptom. Limiting alcohol intake to one or two drinks per occasion will reduce the intensity of craving for smoke in smokers considerably.

The biggest tobacco tax kicks in USA

2009-05-13T00:30:00.000-07:00

A new tobacco tax, the largest one, will go into effect in April. The cost of a packet of cigarettes will be almost tripled, to more than a dollar.

The Obama administration plans to use the money to pay for health care for uninsured children. Health members said that raising taxes on cigarettes is a good way to get more people to stop smoking. For people who smoke a pack a day, the tax hike will cost them another $225 a year.

Similar tax increases are going into effect even for cigars, pipe tobacco and chewing tobacco.

The tax increase is only the first move in a recharged anti-smoking campaign. Congress also is considering legislation to help the Food and Drug Administration to control tobacco use among populations. Obama, who has suffered over his own cigarette habit, said he would sign such a bill.

The Tobacco Companies raised prices on cigarettes a few weeks ago to start making up for the money they expect to lose in sales. For example Philip Morris raised Marlboro prices by 71 cents a pack early this month, and prices on smaller brands by 81 cents a pack. Other major companies followed suit too. Some people are worried that the tax hike will drive people away and hurt the industry. Others are worried that the tax is going to affect stores around the region. Cigarette stores owners said that in USA there are a lot of stores that's going to be closed because tobacco tax rises.

Margaret Webster, 42, puffed on a Marlboro Ultra Light and lamented the fact that the government is reaching deeper into her pocketbook. "I don't think we, smokers, like it," she said. "But I've heard so many people say they were going to quit when the price went up ... and they're still smoking."

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Tobacco Vending Machine Safe for Now

2009-04-27T23:33:00.000-07:00

Smoking ban hit all Tobacco Companies and Blackpool Company too. Blackpool Company wants to test a real cigarette machine. The chiefs at Duckworths of Marton, which provides cigarette vending machines, say the firm lost around 60 percent of its business when smoking in pubs was banned.

But its latest machine aims to combat underage smoking and try to ensure vending machines are not banned from venues.

The new cigarette vending machine, the first of its kind in the North West, has now been installed at the Welcome Inn, Vicarage Lane, Marton.

Rod Bullough, managing director of Duckworths, said: "We hope this will help tackle underage smokers using vending machines. If this trial is a success we hope to roll it out to other pubs and clubs in the area. Bar workers will have complete control over the machine, it won't be able to be used unless it is switched on from behind the bar."

The company has worked with the Department of Health to produce the radio frequency controlled machine.

When a customer would like to buy cigarettes they will have to ask bar staff, which will check for ID before unlocking the machine remotely.

The machines are already used across mainland Europe and come as a number of landmark cases across the UK aim to ban cigarette machines from pubs and clubs due to an increase in children buying them from machines to avoid ID checks.

Duckworths supplies cigarette machines to around 1,300 pubs and clubs in the region, employing 50 staff at its Clifton Road depot. It is hoped this device will combat the problem.

Mr. Bullough added: "We have been badly hit by the smoking ban and this machine will combat this. It has approval from the Department of Health so we are confident. We see this as a management solution to the problem."

Are Light or Mild Cigarettes Safer to Smoke?

2009-04-15T01:36:00.000-07:00

All kind of tobacco is harmful, no matter how it is packaged, said researchers. For example they found that smoking tobacco described as 'light' and 'mild' is not better for health and is not safer to smoke compared with smoking regular tobacco.

Researchers reported that the tobacco industry has promoted light and mild cigarettes as 'safer' or as an alternative to quitting, when all along it has known that these products are not better for health, or safer to smoke, than regular tobacco.

A recent research, from New Zealand, showed that the tar and nicotine content of light cigarettes is comparable to regular cigarettes, and that light cigarettes might deliver more carbon monoxide than regular cigarettes.

Real people smoke light brands very differently to regular cigarettes. For example smokers when smoke 'light' cigarettes, they inhale more deeply, hold smoke in the lungs for longer, cover manufactured cigarette ventilation holes with the fingers or mouth, or smoke more frequently.

In another study researchers studied 2709 smokers and they reported that 36% smoked light or mild cigarettes. Those smokers who smoke light and mild cigs were asked why they smoked these types, and 23% gave some health-related reason for their choice, and a further 5% thought that light or mild cigarettes were less addictive and made it easier to quit.

The New Zealand Commerce Commission recently warned the tobacco industry to remove the light and mild descriptions from tobacco products, because they trick smokers about the health risks of smoking.

Even this last research proved smokers once again that there are no health benefits of smoking light cigarettes, and the only way to avoid the dangers of smoking is to give up all together.

Hollywood is once again accused in encouraging to smoking

2009-04-06T00:53:00.000-07:00

Even though cigarettes were banned from public places in the United States, it doesn’t stop Hollywood studios from filming big screen movies where actors smoke.

Recent studies by Atlanta State University showed that within last three years smoking was shown in more films than ever before, excluding classic black and white films back to the 1950s when smoking was on its peak popularity. And this comes despite the constant pressure handled by Hollywood from various health groups that push movie makers to avoid showing cigarettes in their films.

Another research accomplished by ASH group showed that nearly three-quarters of all the movies filmed in Hollywood showed smoking by at least one or even more characters. As regards the movies intended to children the smoking scenes rate is assessed as 30 per cent from the total amount of films.

Although back in 1998 they have signed a declaration banning product placement and indirect propaganda agreements with cigarette companies, Hollywood still shows a clear addiction to smoking.

Richmond School of Public Health has estimated that the top 30 box-office leading films shown in cinemas during last 12 months featured 11.5 scenes of tobacco smoking per hour, making it the highest level in previous 10 years. These shocking numbers have triggered several campaigns to persuade movie makers and the Motion Picture Association to assume corresponding measures in order to remove smoking scenes from movie scripts, especially in case of movies seen by underage audiences.

Lance Richardson, member of Tobacco-Free Kids said that according to the studies recently published in British Medical Journal, 10-year-old kids who see movie characters smoking are 3 times more likely to start lighting up themselves.

In a statement to American Motion Picture Association administration, Tobacco-Free Kids activists suggested revising the actual rating system that estimates every movie according to the presence of violence and course language scenes and insert in this list smoking scenes.

Lance Richardson stated that nobody has passed away from repeating the course word heard in a movie, yet millions of people suffer from health complications related to tobacco use. He added that smoking scenes were not so necessary in movies, since they did not convey any message.

It would be interesting to know that smoke-free lifestyles in Hollywood movies have proved to be a tougher selling strategy. However, we have seen several successful exceptions. For instance, nobody smoked in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, what was impossible to believe in since the movie was about high-fashion industry closely related to smoking.

Sometimes, even actors get addicted at smoking. In one of her interviews, famous actress Salma Hayek said she had a long struggle to give up smoking that she got hooked while filming in the ‘Frida’.

Shopping malls try their best to enforce smoking ban

2009-03-09T06:58:00.000-07:00

Jordan, Amman – Jordanian Shopping malls executives were doing their best to impose an anti-smoking law which came into force two days ago. Smokers were defiant despite attempts by mall administration to apply the latest Public Health Law.

The executives of one of the largest shopping centers in Amman the Mecca Mall told The Jordan Times that the overwhelming majority of visitors-smokers simply disregarded requests of security staff that tried to notify them of that law and did not accept to throw out their cigarettes. “We only managed to convince at least 5 per cent of smokers at the mall to go out in order to have a smoke, and those are the mall’s employees,” Saad Dodoakh, general supervisor at Mecca Mall, told The Jordan Times.

He also mentioned that the mall was declared as a smokeless area and corresponding announcements were hung out and loudspeakers were applied to inform visitors that it was the new law and not administration’s will. Those who refused to abide by the law were calling for a smoking area, so that they could avoid going outside especially when it is cold outside.

“I am not mad to go outside in this cold to have a smoke… I tried it once today but it was so cold that I could not bear it,” Syrian visitor Mohammad Mirza, told the Jordan Times on Sunday afternoon when the temperature outside was -5°C. Mirza said that he would rather not visit a mall where smoking was forbidden than obeyed to the new rules. Shopping Mall officials decided to open a special smoking zone since they do not want to loose their customers especially in actual economic situation. However, they simply had no rights to do so, since they had not received the corresponding specification from the government. Thus, they put the blame for the delay on the Public Health Department authorities, who promised to assign them with a set of criteria concerning the placement and specifications of the smoking zones.

“We have not received the list of criteria from the ministry as it had been promised,” Zaid Daoud City Mall manager general said. He mentioned that they had received “mixed reactions” from customers and visitors who spent their time in the City Mall yesterday. Those smokers who accepted the new Public Health Law admitted though it was not so easy for them, nevertheless they had to respect the regulations of Jordanian Government.

“After all, this is good for public health and I’m willing to comply,” Ata Reqeb who was smoking at Mecca Mall’s entrance said. The Public Health Law was recently amended to prohibit smoking in public and private institutions and all public facilities that include hospitals, healthcare centers, schools, universities, cinemas, libraries, museums, public buildings, public transport vehicles, airports, closed playgrounds, lecture halls and other locations determined by the health minister.

According to the law, those who would be caught smoking at any of aforementioned public facilities would face a JD15-20 fine or a term in jail varying from one week to one month.

Pets and Cigarette Smoke

2009-02-23T00:27:00.000-08:00

Cigarette smoke is injurious not only for people but for animals too, reported researchers. They found that, especially, pets which live in smoking households are more likely to become ill.

Veterinarians sustained that they observed that second-hand smoke is aggravating asthma and bronchitis in cats and small dogs. Pets can’t smoke that’s why they only inhale the cigarette smoke, that is mean that they are attacked by second-hand smoking. That’s why researchers said that even if in the house smoke all people except pets, they have to puff out for to protect the pets’ health.

"I would say, probably 25 percent of our patients, we see where they're coming from smoking households, and we do have to have that conversation with people," said Dr. Lisa Pasquarello, veterinarian at Cottonwood Animal Clinic. She advised smokers that if they want to keep their pet alive and healthy, they have to kicking the bad habit or smoke outside.

Pasquarello added that cats, especially, are genetically exposed to asthma. She said that cats are much worse in households that are smokers, and so the cats tend to be hospitalized more frequently and with much more serious respiratory situations. Not only cats but also dogs can have bronchitis because of cigarette smoke. And even the effects of second-hand smoke make it difficult to treat these animals.

Researchers found also that cigarette smoke can not only cause asthma and bronchitis but also cancer especially in cats. Pasquarello reported that dogs are also likely to have cancer, especially dogs with long noses such as Collies, Greyhounds and German Shepherds, probably because there is simply more tissue and cells exposed to cancer-causing particles called "carcinogens" as the smoke travels through their nose. Dogs with a short (Pugs) or medium nose are unfortunately not risk-free: in that study, they had a higher risk of lung cancer. Ironically, this may be because their shorter nose is less effective at filtering carcinogens before they reach their lungs. So ultimately, everybody dog breed is at risk, regardless of the length of their nose.

Pets are like children because they don’t smoke, that’s why smokers have to respect the health of their pets too.

Cigarettes Induce negative Mood in smokers

2009-02-16T00:18:00.000-08:00

Researchers, in a new study, showed that teenagers who started smoking so young could become depressed adults in the future. Bolanos, the Professor of Psychology, and his colleagues studied the link between tobacco consumption and mood disorders in teenagers. As it is known many people start smoking only because they want to manage their moods. But Bolanos found that tobacco consumption induces negative mood.

For the study, Bolanos and his colleagues used adolescent rats (their neurobiology is similar to that of humans) and showed that giving them nicotine induced a depression-like state that left them less able to feel pleasure and more sensitive to stress in adulthood. The researchers suggested that the same symptoms might be true in humans. He reported: "It is the first one to show that nicotine exposure early in life can have long-term neurobiological consequences evidenced in mood disorders."

He also said their research found that even brief exposure to nicotine raised the risk of mood disorders later in life. For the study, they injected adolescent rats twice a day with various doses of nicotine or a saline solution (the controls) for 15 days. At various times during and then after exposure finished the rats also underwent tests that examined their answers to stressful circumstances and the offer of rewards. Separate groups of adult rats received a mid-range dose of nicotine to enable the researchers to rule out age-related effects.

At the end of investigation the results showed that: nicotine exposure during adolescence, but not adulthood, led to a depression-like state characterized by lower sensitivity to natural reward and enhanced sensitivity to situations that raised anxiety and stress in later life. Behavioral characteristics of depression can emerge 1 week after stopping nicotine exposure. A single day of nicotine exposure during adolescence is enough to trigger a depression-like state in adulthood. The depression behaviors went back to normal when the rats were given either nicotine or antidepressants in adulthood.

The adult rats that had not been exposed to nicotine as teenagers did not show the depression-like symptoms, although they underwent tests in parallel with their teen-nicotine exposed counterparts.

Behaviors characteristic of depression and anxiety included repetitive grooming, less consumption of rewards like the sweet drinks they were offered, and "freezing" in stressful situations instead of trying to escape them.

Bolanos and colleagues gave to all young people a very important message: "Don't smoke and don't even try it."

Marijuana is worse than Cigarettes

2009-02-06T00:55:00.000-08:00

Marijuana users suffering from the lungs more than regular smokers, researchers reported in a recent study. In fact, marijuana can cause more lung damage than 2.5 to five cigarettes. The researchers said that cannabis, the plant source of marijuana, was associated with a dose-related impairment of the large airways, causing airflow obstruction and hyperinflation. But unlike cigarette smoking, cannabis was rarely associated with macroscopic emphysema.

Cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug worldwide. Long-term use of marijuana is known to cause chronic bronchitis and airflow obstruction, but the prevalence of macroscopic emphysema, the dose-response, and the dose equivalence of cannabis with tobacco had not been determined yet. In a study were investigated 339 adults, ages 18 to 70. They were recruited from the Wellington region and putted into four groups: cannabis only (75 people), tobacco only (92 people), combined cannabis and tobacco (91), and non-smokers of either substance (81).

At the end of this investigation was found the relationship between cannabis and reduced forced expiratory volume (FEV1), and increased lung capacity. For measures of airflow obstruction, one cannabis joint had a similar effect to 2.5 to five cigarettes, the researchers reported. Cannabis smoking was also associated with decreased lung density on high-resolution CT scans.

Wheezing was linked to both cannabis (OR 1.3) and tobacco smoking (OR 1.4), with no evidence of an interaction. Chest tightness was associated with cannabis (OR 1.4) but not with tobacco smoking (OR 1.1). Cough was associated with both cannabis (OR 1.5) and tobacco (1.9). Chronic bronchitis was likelier with cannabis than with tobacco use (OR 2.0 versus 1.6). On the other hand, macroscopic emphysema was seen in only those who smoked tobacco, either alone or in combination with cannabis.
This suggests that cannabis does not cause emphysema when smoked in sufficient quantities to cause airflow obstruction, hyperinflation, and chronic bronchitis, the researchers said.

Furthermore, the investigators said, cannabis smokers inhale more deeply, hold their breath longer, and this way lungs are very easy attacks by smoke.

Cruciferous Vegetables a Hope for Smokers

2009-01-26T04:59:00.000-08:00

Researchers found that even vegetables especially broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables can reduce the risk of developing lung cancer among current and former smokers.

Cruciferous vegetables can reduce only cancer in smokers but they can’t prevent it. In smokers who ate at list 4.5 servings of raw cruciferous vegetables a month the risk of developing lung cancer was lowered by 22% to 50% than in smokers who ate less than 2.5 servings a month, showed researchers.

But Li Tang, M.D., Ph.D., of Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y., said that it is need for much more researches before making a recommendation to eat more cruciferous vegetables for to prevent lung cancer.

"These findings are not strong enough to make a public health recommendation yet," Dr. Tang added. For to show to all people the result of cruciferous vegetables Dr. Tang and her colleagues made one more study. They investigated 948 patients diagnosed with primary lung cancer between 1982 and 1998 and 1,743 of patients who did not have cancer. The two groups were matched on smoking status.

The participants completed questionnaires detailing consumption of various types of common cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, as well as fruits and total vegetables. They found that the preventive effect of fruits and total vegetables was more general, but the beneficial effect of eating cruciferous vegetables was specific to smokers, particularly those who had quit.

At the end of this study was also found that among current smokers, consumption of raw cruciferous vegetables was associated with a lower risk of lung cancer.
There were no significant associations between lung cancer risk and intake of fruits or total vegetables for current smokers. But the more smokers will smoke the fewer will be chances to prevent or to reduce cancer.

This year cigarette butts are in fashion

2009-01-16T00:18:00.000-08:00

It seems that smoking can be more useful than it seems to be. Thanks to new technologies and to a wonderful and ingenious garment designer Alexandra Guerrero, cigarette buts become trendy clothes.

Butts that are thrown everywhere can be of great help for economy and for fashion world. It’s known that butts need decades to decay and new trend can be a new era for recycling sphere. According to ButtsOut, around 4.3 trillion cigarette butts are discarded around the world each year. As Guerrero said, she needs about 5,000 cleaned and recycled cigarette butts to design a dress, a vest, a hat a poncho and even some soap. Of course, garments aren’t made 100% of cigarette buts but are mixed with natural sheep wool.

Due to a special technology of recycling, Chilean designer Alexandra Guerrero make stylish, durable and eco-friendly clothing.

Environmental engineer Carolina Leiva conducted a study and determined that the cleaned cigarette butts are 95% pure, safe enough for use and wear.

The process of butts recycling begins in special autoclaves. Then the cigarette butts are washed in a polar solvent, put back in an autoclaves, rinsed, dried and then shredded. Once cleaned the recycled cigarette fiber is dyed different colors and separated by color. The colored cigarette fibers are then spun together with natural sheep wool. This end fabric is what is used to make the clothing and about 10% of the fabric is recycled cigarette butts.

Alexandra Guerrero is ready to increase her “eco-friendly garment production” and she can realize her ideas as butts are in plenty.

Why Former Smokers Start Smoking Again?

2009-01-14T02:07:00.000-08:00

The countries’ financial stress pushes some people in unhealthy habits such as smoking. A survey by the American Legacy Foundation found that 77 percent of current smokers report increased stress levels over the national economy. Stress can increase the number of cigarettes smoked, or switch to a cheaper brand instead of quitting.

Many of the former smokers reported that they started to smoking again due to stress over the financial situation. They reported that they smoke because they’re stressed.

For to help people to be more relaxed, the state offers free coaching and a supply of nicotine patches or gum through the quit line. In this way these smokeless tobacco products will improve the smokers’ health and they’ll save money at the same time.

As it is known the economic stress hit people a lot. It can attract people in smoking or to make them to quit. According to American Legacy, economic stress is particularly affecting people with household of less than $35,000 a year. About 38 percent of stressed smokers in these lower income households report smoking more. The numbers are also up among stressed smokers with higher household income levels.

Researchers said that adults with low income and lower education never stop smoking and continue to smoke at persistently higher rates. The smoking rate for people with low income is 32 percent, the rate for people with a high school diploma or less is 27 percent.

After-Work Drinking Culture Increased Smoking

2008-12-11T06:22:00.000-08:00

There is a culture that is met in all states. We speak about after-work drinking culture which is accompanied by numerous cigarettes. This culture can be met in Japan too.

People who don’t smoke smell like a smoker because they are married with a smoker and are descendent from smoking stock. Even just eating lunch at a burger joint leaves their lungs become filled with tobacco.

Japan is a puffer's paradise in comparison to New Zealand, where four years have passed since restaurants and bars were made smoke free.

In Japan cigarettes are very cheap, about 300 yen a packet. While New Zealand is working toward banning tobacco displays in supermarkets and dairies, in Japan it's impossible to miss cigarettes. They are visible and available 24 hours in vending machines and stores.

About 40 percent of Japanese men and 13 percent of women are smokers, according to the latest estimates from Japan Tobacco Inc.

In fact, while the smoking rate for Japanese men is one of the highest in the developed world, it has halved in the past 40 years as awareness of the health risks increases.

But in this year was approved a new legislation. In this way Japanese smokers needed for ID cards for to buy cigarettes from vending machines, in a bid to control underage smoking. Meanwhile, the Japanese Government has been contemplating a tobacco tax rise too.

In this way Japan became not the easiest place to quit smoking.

Most of people start smoking only because of their job and depression. A smoker said: "I was surprised recently to find a friend puffing away over drinks, since I had never seen him light up on my previous three visits to Tokyo. He explained that he had started again after a seven-year break because he had a new job and it was important for his business relationships to smoke."

Smoking and Food Insecurity among People

2008-11-24T00:55:00.000-08:00

According to a study children and adults living with adult smokers appear less likely to have daily access to enough healthy food compared with those living with non-smoking adults.

Studies have shown that about 13 million U.S. children live in food-insecure households. In general food insecurity is consider to be strongly associated with household income. Since families with at least one smoker spend 2 percent to 20 percent of their income on tobacco, it is likely that smokers are affecting the financial resources needed to provide adequate food.

Scientists analyzed 8,817 households with children age 17 and younger from 1999 to 2002 to see if the presence or absence of adult smokers in the household affected the food security of those living in the home. Also they noted the age, the sex and the race of the children.

At least they found that one smoker lived in 23 percent of the children's households and 32 percent of children in low-income households lived with a smoker compared with 15 percent of those in more affluent households. Fifteen percent of adults and 11 percent of children reported having experienced food insecurity within the last year, with 6 percent of adults and 1 percent of children experiencing severe food insecurity.

After this research, was found that food insecurity was more common and severe in children and adults in households with smokers. But the highest rates of food insecurity were in children living in low-income households with smokers. But compared with white families, black and Hispanic families had higher rates of child food insecurity in both smoking and non-smoking homes.

In the United States the burden of food insecurity is a previously unrecognized danger of adult tobacco use. Frank J. Chaloupka, Ph.D., of the University of Illinois at Chicago, cigarette smoking also contributes to lost productivity resulting from diseases caused by smoking, further lowering incomes and raising the likelihood of food insecurity.

Dr. Chaloupka added that only comprehensive tobacco control policies and programs are effective in reducing this burden, with higher taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products being particularly effective in promoting cessation and reducing tobacco use in low-income populations.

Tobacco Epidemic in China

2008-11-17T01:36:00.000-08:00

China is one of the states which were affected by smoking. Scientists reported that if the Government will not ban smoking in public places, then tens of millions of Chinese will die of lung diseases over the next 25 years.

In China, the air is not polluting only by smoking but also by solid fuels, such as wood, crop residues and coal.

Scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health in the US state of Massachusetts said that smoke from tobacco products and indoor fuel use would be the cause of more than 80 percent of all deaths from respiratory disease.

The Government from China suggested that a number of measures could be taken to dramatically reduce the risk, including building proper chimneys, air circular stoves with chimneys ending outside the house and ventilated ground stoves for to reduce the toxic chemicals circulating indoors.

China can save millions of premature deaths from respiratory diseases in the next few decades if the Government will implement these interventions, according a report.

Dr Sarah England, the technical officer at World Health Organization’s Tobacco Free Initiative in China, told that at least one million people were dying from tobacco related causes every year in China.

"The Chinese experience is particularly severe because there haven't been enough steps taken yet to reduce the tobacco epidemic," she said.

She reported that even all know that the Chinese government had signed the global convention for tobacco control, but the country still dominates sales and production.

J Tobacco’s aims

2008-11-04T01:38:00.000-08:00

Instead of the cowboy that has been the face of rival Philip Morris International’s signature brand, is Joe Camel, the advertising mascot for JTI’s Camel cigarettes.

Mr de Labouchere says with a laugh: “Our goal is to overtake PMI as the industry’s number one. So yes, I guess you can say there’s a subliminal message there [in the painting].”

JT, which also owns pharmaceuticals and food businesses, still has some way to go before it topples PMI from the top spot. But the space between it and British American Tobacco, the industry’s number two, became narrower last year after JT swooped up Gallaher, the UK maker of Benson & Hedges and Silk Cut cigarettes, for £7.5bn ($12bn). The deal, the largest foreign purchase ever made by a Japanese company, doubled the size of JT’s international operations overnight and gave it a 10.6 per cent share of the global tobacco market, against BAT’s 12 per cent and PMI’s 15.6 per cent. The Chinese state tobacco industry is still the biggest player, with 35 per cent of the market.

The acquisition has also enabled JTI to protect its dominance in Russia, the world’s third-biggest tobacco market behind China and the US. As in Western Europe and the US, cigarette sales in Japan have fallen amid rising health fears and stringent tobacco advertising legislation.

Mr de Labouchere says: “I think [Katsuhiko Honda, JT’s then chief executive] came to the conclusion that to run an international business, you cannot impose a Japanese management culture.”

But if JTI is today in a position to give BAT and PMI a run for their money, Mr de Labouchere states that is only because of JT’s consistent support. With the purchase of Gallaher, JTI now accounts for 70 per cent of its sales volume and 48 per cent of JT’s operating income.

In the longer term, JTI still faces gaps in its portfolio, notably in Africa and Asia, and particularly in Latin America.
Mr de Labouchere says: “At the moment our priority is to combine Gallaher into JTI’s existing operations. But we are always looking. Asia is a region we would like to increase our presence in.”

Branded tobacco packs trick consumers

2008-10-27T03:24:00.000-07:00

Tobacco companies design packs began to use light colors that make people think they are less harmful. Plain tobacco packaging could “help remove misconceptions about product safety”, according to a new report by anti-smoking pressure group Ash.

The Beyond Smoking Kills report uses research from the University of Nottingham that showed packages displaying the words ‘smooth’ and ‘gold’ were considered “lower health risk and lower tar” than regular packs. Lighter colors had the same effect on participants, with packs seen as being easier to quit or less harmful.

When asked to compare plain versions of packages, where only the brand name was present on a white or brown background, participants were “more likely to indicate there were no differences between the risks of these trademarks”.

Amanda Sandford, Ash research manager, said: “In the UK, we have quite good measures in place such as the ban on tobacco advertising, and the government is considering other measures such as removing packs from the point of sale. But tobacco companies have designed packs so that light packs that use light colors mean that people think they are less harmful and we want to remove the branding to break that association in order to stop people being mislead.”

The study examined 516 adult smokers and 806 young people aged 11-17 years, both non-smokers and smokers.

All cigarette packages have to be printed with images to show the potential harm caused by smoking.

American Indians were the first to use tobacco

2008-10-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

Tobacco was smoked somewhere around 5000 to 3000 BC. Tobacco use was ritualistic and ceremonial for the natives with the leaf not only being smoked, but also drunk, chewed, taken as snuff and given as enema. Mayans considered it a divine plant and many Mayan gods are depicted smoking. Tobacco was introduced in the court of Catherine de Medici in 1560 by Jean Nicot.

Following the ‘discovery’ of America by Columbus in 1492, tobacco smoking reached Europe from where it spread to the rest of the world, after to the Ottoman empire and from there to Asia and Africa. By the mid 19th century, smoking tobacco had become widespread throughout the world.

In the late 16th century, a Spanish doctor said that tobacco lessened hunger, acted as a painkiller and a relaxant and was even a cure for cancer. Tobacco consumption changed from just pipe smoking to snuff, cigars and chewing.

In the beginning, cigarettes were a luxury item meant only for the urban elite of Europe as they were handmade and expensive. In 1883, Henry Wills began using the machine in Britain. Cigarettes became big business with large companies. China National Tobacco Corporation became the largest cigarette company in the world.

In 1958, the British medical journal Lancet for the first time raised fears about the effect of smoking on health and published evidence of a link between lung cancer and smoking. In UK, the government prohibited cigarette ads on television and by 1970 the US followed suit. Soon a series of bans on smoking followed.

The Decline of Smoking Rate in Virginia

2008-10-20T06:27:00.000-07:00

According to a survey the number of children in Virginia who smoke cigarettes has plummeted in this decade. For example the percentage of high school students in the state who smoke has declined from 29 in 2001 to 15.5 in 2007, according to the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation.

"For a state like Virginia, which has been a tobacco-growing state, that is very, very impressive," Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said.
Kaine and other officials credit the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation for spending millions of dollars on education, marketing and other programs for to stop youth smoking.

The foundation provides grants to schools, nonprofit groups, and community- and faith-based organizations; advertises on radio, television and the Internet. It gives research money to state universities, including George Mason University, and works with the state to determine whether retailers are selling tobacco to underage buyers.

The Foundation aim is to prevent 73,000 children each year from becoming smokers, which they say saves the state $1.25 billion in smoking-related health costs a year.

Marty Kilgore, the Foundation Executive Director, said: "We are thrilled that tobacco use among Virginia's youth continues to be on the decline. The survey shows that tobacco prevention works and that Virginia's kids are choosing healthy lifestyles. However, we must remain ever vigilant in our goal of eliminating underage smoking."

David M. DeBiasi, director of advocacy and public education at the American Lung Association of Virginia, added that the decline in smoking rates shows that smoking cessation and prevention programs must start in middle and high schools.

"Virginia has shown remarkable progress over the past two years in its efforts to keep kids from smoking, and these new results provide additional evidence that tobacco prevention is a good investment for states," said William V. Corr, executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

More than 2,600 public middle school and high school students were surveyed during the 2007-08 school year for the statewide study, conducted by the foundation, Virginia Commonwealth University and the Community Health Research Initiative. Students were asked about topics including tobacco use; accessibility of tobacco products; attitudes toward tobacco use and advertising, and other factors such as secondhand smoke exposure.

According to this research was found that 7.6 percent of high school students and 2.5 percent of middle school students report using dip, chewing tobacco or snuff.

As part of a settlement agreement between 46 states and the nation's tobacco manufacturers in 1998, Virginia is expected to receive about $4 billion over 25 years. The Foundation received 10 percent of the money for prevention, and the rest was spent on economic development and health care in the state.

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What Do You Chose Smokeless Tobacco Products or Cigarettes?

2008-10-05T23:47:00.000-07:00

Researchers have found that nicotine is harmless but cigarettes are detrimental. But to smoke is a pleasure all smokers know that, that’s why now, the search is on for ways to deliver the pleasure without the risks. It is hard to imagine a world without smoking because it was a part of our culture for a long time.

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) suggested that, with a concerted effort, smoking could be eliminated within 20 years. For to achieve this, two things would have to happen, the college added. First, curbs on smoking would have to be strengthened, principally by ramping up taxes on tobacco. But second, and more important, access to nicotine in other, safer, forms has to be greatly increased.

This latter demand chimes with developments under way in the tobacco industry. For example the Marlboro cigarettes empire Altria bought the USA's biggest maker of chewing tobacco, UST, for $10.4bn (£5.8bn). The deal confirms the tobacco industry's interest in diversifying out of cigarettes into smokeless products. UST makes Skoal – tea bag-like pouches of tobacco that are held between the cheek and gum, allowing nicotine to be absorbed.

British American Tobacco (BAT) is also investing heavily in the search for safer ways to deliver nicotine. BAT paid £2bn to take control of the Swedish company ST, which makes Snus – also pouches of tobacco for sucking. Researchers suggest that sucking a pouch of tobacco is 90 percent less harmful than inhaling cigarette smoke. But the products are banned in the EU on the grounds that they are, carcinogenic, and that to replace one carcinogen with another, even though one less lethal, is unwise.

Meantime, all researches are under way into alternative ways of delivering nicotine that will satisfy the most hardened of addicts. As more smokers give up, those who puff on are the ones who require most support to quit. Nicotine gum and patches won't cut it because these are addicts who need the "hit" that only a lungful of smoke supplies. Nicotine is the closest we are likely to get to the perfect drug. Its effects are divers it stimulates calms and enhances feelings of pleasure, but has few side effects. Its great advantage over other drugs is that its effects are mild. It is pleasurable only within a narrow range of concentrations in the blood. That is what makes it safe.

Professor John Britton, consultant respiratory physician and chief author of the RCP report, said: "The ideal product would be a nicotine inhaler like an asthma inhaler that delivered a hit of nicotine as close as possible to the experience of smoking a cigarette." Tobacco Companies permitted to sell nicotine to the public in the form of cigarettes, yet it is illegal to sell alternative nicotine products without a license.

Nicotine patches and chewing gums available on prescription and, now, sold over the counter are strictly regulated medicinal products designed for short-term use by people trying to quit. They do not deliver the hit required to satisfy hardened smokers. Tobacco companies have experimented with smokeless cigarettes, nicotine sprays and other devices, without success. Smokers say the products have been unpleasant to taste, difficult to use and hard to smoke.

Researchers think that an effective medicinal product would be a better option than chewing tobacco. The evidence suggests also that nicotine is less harmful even than caffeine. According to a study 10 million of current smokers in Britain will die permanently if they will not quit.

Smokeless Tobacco Products Cause Cancer Risk

2008-09-30T05:05:00.000-07:00

Experts say that snuff, chew tobacco should not be considered as a safe alternative to smoking.

Smokeless tobacco products (STPs) which include products such as snuff and chew tobacco increase the user’s risk of cancer. Dr. Paolo Boffeta and his team of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, in France, discovered that STPs contain more than 30 carcinogens, including metals and nitrosamines.

Their studies found that STP users had a 60 percent increased risk of esophageal cancer and an overall 80 percent increased risk of oral cancer. The team said they also had a similar increase in the risk of pancreatic cancer. The researchers said: “We do not intend to address explicitly the use of smokeless tobacco to reduce the risk from tobacco smoking – e.g., by promoting smokers to switch to smokeless products or by introducing these products in a population where the habit is not prevalent. Nevertheless, several conclusions can be reached based on the available data... the risk of cancer, especially that of oral and lung cancer is probably lower in smokeless tobacco users in the USA and northern Europe than in smokers, and the risk of cancer is higher in smokeless tobacco users than in non-users of any form of tobacco. Available data for a possible benefit of switching from smoking to smokeless tobacco come from few studies and models from the USA and Sweden.”

The Lancet Oncology suggests that DNA screening for certain biomarkers could help assess lung cancer risk in people exposed to secondhand smoke. Many carcinogens in cigarette smoke are known to cause DNA lesions called DNA adducts, noted Dr. Ahmad Besaratinia and Dr. Gerd Pfeifer, of the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, Calif. They stated that a technique called DNA-lesion footprinting is currently used to find carcinogen signatures. The researchers said this method has already been used successfully to find adducts associated with various smoke-derived carcinogens.

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Why Electronic Cigarette became so popular?

2008-09-29T01:29:00.000-07:00

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Is Electronic Cigarette Safe to Use? A very good question, because the World Health Organization (WHO) said that there is no evidence to prove electronic cigarette is effective in helping smokers kick the habit, or that they are even safe to use.

"The electronic cigarette has yet to be shown to be a legitimate therapy like nicotine gum, patches or lozenges that help wean smokers from nicotine addiction," the report said.

An electronic cigarette is typically made of a metal tube with a chamber that holds liquid nicotine in a rechargeable cartridge.

For the first time electronic cigarettes were made in China and primarily marketed over the Internet in countries like Britain, Brazil, Canada and Israel. Despite the lack of regulatory approval, electronic cigarettes have seen growing popularity very quickly.

Researchers found that in addition to a fine mist of nicotine, these kinds of cigarettes contain many other toxic compounds which people do not know about that.

"The World Health Organization knows of absolutely no scientific evidence whatsoever that would confirm that the electronic cigarette is a safe and effective smoking cessation device," said Douglas Bettcher, acting director of the WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative.

Mr. Bettcher thinks that if the manufacturers and marketers of the electronic cigarette want to help smokers to quit, then they should operate within proper regulatory frameworks.

Only this year the WHO has become aware of the growing popularity of electronic cigarettes throughout the world.

You maybe wonder why? The answer of this question is very easy, because electronic cigarette is a product that appeared very suddenly on the market in a short period of time.

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Are Cigarettes safer with Filters?

2008-09-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

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Cigarettes have an important part which can absorbs all the moisture, nicotine, tar and other admixtures found in all types of cigarettes. This part is not other than cigarette filter.

The cigarette filter is in fact a very complicated structure that is made up of four parts. Cigarette filter can absorbs all the blends found in cigarette because the filter is basically a porous material that is found at the tip of the cigarette that filters the air from the cigarette that passes through the filter before reaching smokers lungs.

Cheap discount cigarettes like cheap menthol cigarettes and cheap Winston cigarettes too have a cigarette filter fitted in them. Presently, the most popular filter in the tobacco industry is the cellulose acetate filter which has 5-10% of triacetate glycerol.

With the acetated filters present in most cheap cigarettes, the amount of suspended smoke particles that enter the human organism tends to get reduced. The added benefit of these filters is that it removes some carcinogens, especially nitrosamines with its functioning. The common filters in other cheap cigarettes tend to remove only a part of the suspended particles found in cigarette smoke.

Scientists found that filter play the most important role in a cigarette because it is possible to increase the efficiency of cigarette smoke filtration of cigarettes by reducing the fiber diameter of the cigarette and also by either increasing the length of the filter or by adding some substances to the fiber of the cigarette filter.

Most filters of cheap discount cigarettes have activated carbon as an addition in them. This is because it helps in selectively removing components from the cigarette smoke.

Of late, some researchers have found out that green tea helps in reducing the harmful effects of nicotine in cigarettes. The cultivated green tea leaves that were added to the cigarette filter which helped reduced nicotine intake substantially.

So when you intend to buy cheap cigarettes online, make it a point to choose some of the discount cigarettes that have filters in them. This helps you enjoy the pleasure of smoking your discount cigarettes. Though most of the cigarettes for sale have filters in them, there are a few brands of cigarettes that come without any filter.

The list of my tobacco suppliers can be found below.

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Snuff and Chew Tobacco are More Detrimental than Cigarettes

2008-08-28T04:36:00.000-07:00

Experts found that smokeless tobacco products (STPs), such as snuff and chew tobacco, can increase the user's risk of cancer, just not as much as smoking does.

Side effects of chewing tobacco and snuff are stained teeth, bad breath, sores on the gums and in the mouth that are stubborn to heal and other dental problems. After prolonged use there is a risk of developing oral cancer which may become apparent through a sore that does not heal, a white patch, prolonged sore throat, difficulty chewing, or a feeling there is a lump in the throat.

In order to make sure of these findings, researchers examined smokers who use STP and their risk of cancer. A team led by Dr. Paolo Boffeta, of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, in France, noted that STPs contain more than 30 carcinogens, including nitrosamines and metals.

Their analysis of studies from around the world found that STP users had an overall 80 percent increased risk of oral cancer and a 60 percent increased risk of esophageal cancer. They also had a similar increase in the risk of pancreatic cancer. European studies suggest no increased risk of lung cancer among STP users, but American studies suggest an 80 percent increased risk of lung cancer.

Cancer rates associated with STPs vary between countries. For example, more than 50 percent of oral cancers in India and Sudan are attributable to STPs, compared with 4 percent in the U.S.

Health researchers did not recommend smokeless tobacco as a substitute for smoking. Experts advise smokers to stop chewing tobacco for to reduce the side effects and health risks associated with it, because chewing or smokeless tobacco contains nicotine, a very addictive substance.

The nicotine gets into the bloodstream through absorption in the mouth and is slower acting than getting nicotine from smoking cigarettes. The most serious health risk associated with the smokeless habit is cancer.

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Who is the smokiest smoker?

2008-07-15T00:17:00.000-07:00

It was estimated that nearly 5.8 trillion cigarettes were sold worldwide in 2006. If we share out this amount per capita then we will get the amazing result: every person in the world smoked nearly 860 cigarettes. It becomes very interesting to find out what is the Who is the smokiest smoker? state?

If you were asked to select the smokiest state from United States, China, Japan and Russia, on what state would you choose?

It is known that China is Mecca for smokers, because China is the heart of tobacco producing and has millions of residents, but … Euromonitor International estimated that namely Russia is the greatest consumer of cigarettes with 2,665 per each person of the four major countries listed above. States from former Soviet Union or Central/Eastern Europe have the greater part of tobacco consumers in the world.

The world leaders in tobacco consumption are Serbia and Montenegro, with 3,610 cigarettes per capita.

The United States have 1,272 per person so take the 31st place in the world.

Some Foods Take Taste Out of Cigarettes

2008-07-14T00:33:00.000-07:00

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According to new research, consuming any of these foods seems to diminish the taste of cigarettes.

The research also found that cigarette taste is enhanced after eating meat or drinking alcohol or beverages that contain caffeine. Taken together, the discoveries raise the possibility of fashioning a so-called "smoker's diet" - one that could help make quitting easier. "Smoking is not just about nicotine addiction, it's also about taste and sensory qualities of smoking," said study author F. Joseph McClernon, an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. "So, anything we find that can disturb or disrupt the smoking experience might make it easier for a smoker to quit."

In the April issue of Nicotine & Tobacco Research, McClernon and his colleagues reported on their analysis of questionnaires administered to 209 adult male and female smokers who had already participated in one of six previous smoking studies between 2002 and 2004. All the participants smoked a minimum of 10 to 15 cigarettes a day and were in otherwise good health. About 70 percent were white, while about a quarter were black. The authors asked the smokers to indicate which foods they felt either enhanced or worsened the taste of cigarettes. The number of cigarettes smoked per day was noted, as was the participants' choice of cigarette brand, type, size and strength.

On average, the participants smoked about 22 cigarettes a day and had been lighting up for a little more than 21 years. Almost 47 percent said they smoked menthol cigarettes. Just over 40 percent said they smoked "light" cigarettes, while just under 40 percent said they smoked full-flavor brands. Almost 45 percent of the smokers mentioned some kind of food that worsened cigarette taste, while almost 70 percent identified foods that improved taste. Fruits and vegetables, dairy products, and non-caffeinated drinks (such as water and juice) were among the foods most commonly cited as worsening the taste of a cigarette.

Participants also pointed to specific situations they said had a taste-diminishing impact, including taking medicines, hot weather, or smoking too much or too fast. Stale cigarettes and a smoky environment also dampened cigarette taste. On the other hand, caffeinated drinks, alcohol and meat were most often highlighted as improving taste. McClernon and his team found that younger smokers were more sensitive to foods that worsened taste, whereas those who smoked fewer cigarettes were more susceptible to taste-enhancing foods. Those who smoked non-menthol brands were more sensitive to either kind of influence.

The researchers suggested that clinicians might want to consider advising dietary changes for patients trying to kick the habit. "There's really no harm in smokers trying some of these things now," McClernon said. "Try drinking skim milk or other dairy products, drinking more water, eating fruits and vegetables before stopping smoking - and see if that makes smoking less pleasurable."

McClernon acknowledged, however, that further investigation is needed to figure out how exactly foods affect cigarette taste and whether altering a diet might improve quitting success. "But we're going to follow up on that," he noted, "because any kind of clue that has the potential to lead to new treatments is important in dealing with the leading preventable cause of death and disability in the U.S."

Stanton A. Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco, described the findings as both interesting and plausible. "It's not going to make the world start spinning in the opposite direction, but it could have some very practical implications," he said. "When you talk about the perceived taste of smoking, there's a lot of psychopharmacology going on there, so it would depend on how big the effect really turns out to be. But it makes sense. And creating a program where you modify your diet in certain ways to make it easier to quit smoking is not unreasonable at all."

Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, agreed.

"This is new," he noted. "No one has written anything about this seriously up until now, at least that I've seen, and it is certainly worth further study. So, ultimately, the significance of this will be to prompt more research into the role of diet into both starting smoking and quitting. It doesn't provide all the answers, but it opens a new avenue to explore."

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Laser Printers and Cigarettes, a Health Hazard

2008-07-11T05:47:00.000-07:00

Australian researchers have found that some laser printers emit as much fine-particle pollution as cigarette smoke, which can deposit deep in people's lungs to pose a significant health threat. They found that laser printer released so many particles into the experimental chamber that it was alike to cigarette smoking.

According to a research some popular brand printers release so much toner into the air that the amount of fine particles in office air increases five-fold during work hours, and new toner cartridges and graphic-heavy printing projects further boost the amount of ultra-fine powder in the air.

Lidia Morawska, the lead researcher said that inhaling these particles could lead to respiratory irritation, and even more severe illnesses like cardiovascular problems and cancer.Scientists reported that not all laser printers pose a health hazard. Thirty-seven of the 62 printers released no particles that diminished air quality, six released low levels, and two released medium levels.

The Canon, HP Color Laserjet, Ricoh and Toshiba printers – some of which are sold in Canada – were tested in an open office space in a multi-floor office building in Brisbane, Queensland. Three laser printers were tested in an experimental chamber. Canon printers had passed toxicity tests and posed no health risks to customers.The research group had started studying the efficiency of ventilation systems in office settings, but soon found air pollution originating indoors from the laser printers.

They found that indoor particle levels in office air increase five-fold during work hours thanks to printer use. To lower risk, people should ensure that rooms in offices or houses are well ventilated to allow airborne particles to disperse.

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Is any connection between black people and menthol cigarette?

2007-03-01T01:10:00.000-08:00

Is any connection between black people and menthol cigarette?

Perhaps this question isn’t of worldwide importance, but recognize it’s interesting. Maybe, once you had discussed about this subject with you friend, but a crystal-clear answer wasn’t find. It is hard to presuppose that walking or leaving near tobacco users you will make distinctions between a usually or menthol smoke. In addition, it canon serve as a universal distinction, because there are black people who don’t used cigarettes at all or if used, it would be a menthol one.

In order to answer this question was done a study among smoking black people. Maybe you would believe, but there is some connection. Result shows that from four smokers, three smoke menthol cigs. Speaking about white Americans, from the same four only one smoke menthol tobacco.

It is interesting fact, but why it happens? It were tried to identify some reasons. For the first time menthol cigs appeared in 1920. At beginning they weren't focused on a certain category of smokers. But the taste of a clear and cold flavored cigarette taste and the feeling that you lungs are clearing were more preferred by non-white Americans. And at that time, was fame conception that menthol tobaccos weren’t as dangerous as that ordinary.

Time passed, and producers of smoking tobacco in attempt to enlarge the area of cigarette smokers applied a very smart idea. They introduce new more “international” slogans that will refer to all tobacco users. At that time, it could be frequent met magazines that advertise smoking products with photos of African-American models. It was a reference to black culture. An example of this slogan applied R.J. Reynold Tobacco Company: “Different Smokes for Different Folks”. Lorillard, also a cigarette manufacturer, that produced famous Newport cigs, used slogan: “Newport is a whole new bag of menthol smoking”.

Studying the tobacco market of that time these slogans seems to work very well.

By the way, speaking about famous menthol smoking brands: what cigarettes were much preferred by black people? At that time had prevailed two menthol cigarette brands: Newport and KOOL cigarette. Newport tobacco is the main adversary of the Marlboro cigs and is number-one menthol cigarette in the United States. Curious statistic proves the study that was done recently in America. It showed that 86% of the tobacco products that are bough by black people are Newport cigarettes. In the yearly ’80 Newport brand became “Official Cigarette of Black Folk”. And KOOL cigarettes nicknamed «House of Menthol» were the second famous more preferred tobacco.

But, as conclusion it can be mentioned that famous Latin aphorism “De gustibus (et coloribus) non disputandum” and it is up to everyone to smoke that they like more.

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