Tag Archive
Opportunity for U.S. to lead struggle against tobacco usage
Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids:
The fifth anniversary of the international treaty to address the global tobacco epidemic presents a significant opportunity for President Obama to continue his strong leadership on tobacco control by submitting the treaty to the Senate for ratification and urging its quick approval.
President Obama and Congress have already demonstrated [...]
Make 2010 the year cigarette tax goes up
Lawmakers generally are loath to raise taxes, but increasing the cigarette tax is a hike many South Carolinians would support, and in a tough budget year, the money would be welcome.
Last year, lawmakers came tantalizingly close to raising the tax by 50 cents a pack, up from the shamefully low 7 cents a pack. But [...]
For Syrians, butting out is hard to do
Damascus – Even as Syria is opening up culturally and economically, it’s closing down in another area: smoking.
In October, the country’s parliament passed an anti-smoking law restricting the sales and marketing of tobacco products and prohibiting smoking in public places. For a country as hooked on tobacco as this one, that’s a draconian measure.
It’s hard [...]
Tobacco-free life an important part of recovery from a mental illness
Freedom from cigarettes means not only better health, but a better quality of life, especially for people with a mental illness, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
“The statistics about the health of people with mental illnesses are daunting and show that on average, these individuals die 25 years earlier than the [...]
A smoke-free life is the way to go
While smoking can be hard to quit, due to an addiction that doctors say can be the hardest habit to kick, cigarettes are also one of the easiest habits to pick up — especially during a time when experimentation is making a comeback reminiscent of the 1960s. Remember the “Summer of Love”? I sure as [...]
Patterns of alcohol and tobacco use affect head and neck cancer risk
NEW YORK – Assuming that total exposure is the same, it is worse to smoke lightly for many years than to smoke heavily for a few years when it comes to the risk of head and neck cancer, new research shows. With alcohol use, however, the opposite is true.
The results, which were published in [...]
UM looks at other tobacco-free campuses
The University of Montana is gearing up to become a tobacco-free campus by fall 2011 and it is not alone in its effort to ban tobacco products on school grounds — 172 other college campuses across the nation have done the same thing.
And not just colleges are taking such initiatives.
Designating tobacco-free grounds is becoming a [...]
State Workers Who Smoke Or Are Obese To Pay More For Heath Insurance
The state is notifying its employees this month that if they are obese or smoke they will pay more for health insurance.
The state hopes employees will change their lifestyles. And that it will lead to savings in the state health plan.
The state spends $2.4 billion a year on medical care for about 650,000 employees. That [...]
Smoking-cessation program to be offered free
BELFAST (Sep 18): To help people who believe this is the right time for them to quit smoking, the American Cancer Society’s smoking-cessation program, Freshstart, will be offered at no charge Thursdays Oct. 1, 8, 15 and 22, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Waldo County General Hospital classroom.
Freshstart is designed for the [...]
NC employee health insurance plan wants cost cuts
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina’s state employee health plan got out of a deep hole last spring thanks to a $250 million cash injection from the state’s rainy-day reserves, followed by higher dependent premiums and more out-of-pocket expenses for everyone.
So even though the State Health Plan is on better footing since the Legislature’s bailout bill [...]
Cigarettes Linked to Increased Risk of Multiple Sclerosis
While smoking cigarettes appears to significantly increase a person’s risk of developing multiple sclerosis, using Swedish snuff does not, according to a new study. Swedish snuff differs markedly from snuff used in the United States. It is a moist powder and its use does not give rise to the need for spitting.
“While tobacco cigarettes increased [...]
Who they are and why they can’t quit?
A home-invasion robbery at his South Side residence foiled Keith Shannon’s attempt to quit smoking.
“After getting hit across the head with a gun,” he said, “I needed a cigarette.”
The stressful event brought a return to his old habit — but not a happy return. The 29-year-old valet at a downtown hotel faces the same [...]
Tough to get youth to quit smoking
Concerned about young people smoking, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) is thinking of having tougher laws to curb this disturbing trend.
But experts worry that so long as the young see smoking as ‘cool’ and harmless, it will take a lot to get them to stub it out.
Private student Sarah Elizabeth, 17, said: ‘No matter how [...]
Quit smoking bribe working
A scheme that offers Dundee’s smokers incentives to quit is showing early success (writes Marjory Inglis, medical reporter).
One of the architects of the scheme said almost as many people had given up smoking in the first 20 weeks of quit4U as in the whole of 2007.
Andrew Radley, lead pharmacist in NHS Tayside’s directorate of public [...]
