National

Broad tobacco regulation bill clears House (US)
In a 326-102 vote, the House approved a bill that would bring tobacco products under FDA regulation. The Senate is expected to weigh in on the bill in the fall. Supporters of the bill say that FDA regulation of tobacco products could reduce youth smoking, decrease smoking rates, and lower healthcare costs associated with smoking. According to a statement from the White House, the bill may face a presidential veto due to “serious concerns” about the legislation, specifically regarding the workload that the law would impose on the already-overburdened FDA. Click here for more information. Click here to read a press release from The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, which links to a roll-call showing how each legislator voted on the measure.

Loophole in tobacco regulation bill (US)
After the House passed legislation that would give the FDA regulatory power over tobacco products, controversy has emerged over a clause that gives tobacco companies a window of 21 months to launch new products without receiving FDA approval. According to Senator Edward Kennedy, a main author of the bill, the provision was not included as a favor to tobacco companies. Rather, it was intended to give the FDA time to set up its tobacco division. Furthermore, the clause only exempts new items that are similar to products already on the market, and the FDA would still have the power to remove a product from the market at any time. Click here to find out more

State legislated actions on tobacco issues: 2008 mid-term report
This report from the American Lung Association summarizes recent changes in tobacco policy through the end of the 2008 state legislative sessions. The report notes that fewer states are passing new smokefree laws than in previous years. This year, only two states – Iowa and Nebraska – have passed measures to strengthen their laws. In addition, despite increases in payouts from the Master Settlement Agreement, state funding for tobacco control is leveling off or declining. On a positive note, eight states have passed laws to increase the fire safety of cigarettes this year. Click here for more information and to access the report.

Board passes tobacco ban in pharmacies (CA)
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a bill to ban tobacco sales in drugstores in the city. The law will take effect October 1, 2008. Tobacco sales will be prohibited in drugstores, but will still be allowed in big box stores and supermarkets. According to a spokesperson for the mayor of San Francisco, the law is intended to teach children that drugstores are meant to sell health aids, rather than health hazards. On the other hand, representatives from area drugstores feel that the law impedes consumer choice and unfairly discriminates against drugstores. Read more here.

Smoking SC government workers to pay more for insurance (SC)
Starting in 2010, South Carolina will charge state workers higher insurance premiums for smoking. South Carolina is the eighth state to make smokers financially accountable for the healthcare costs associated with smoking. Last year, tobacco-related illnesses cost taxpayers $75 million, which amounts to seven percent of the state’s healthcare costs for public employees. While the higher insurance premium is not expected to have a significant effect on the state’s smoking rate, it will help defray the state’s healthcare costs. Since smoking is only one of many risky health behaviors that affect healthcare costs, Governor Mark Sanford has not ruled out additional insurance surcharges for obesity and other risk factors. For more information, click here.

Anti-tobacco initiative petitions turned in (ND)
In North Dakota, petitions with over 15,000 signatures were submitted in support of a ballot measure that will address deficient state tobacco prevention spending. The ballot measure would allow voters to determine whether the state should carry out a new tobacco prevention plan that would dedicate financial support sufficient to reach the CDC’s recommended funding level. Currently, the state’s two-year budget plan allocates $6.23 million to tobacco prevention—approximately one third of the CDC’s recommendation of $18.6 million for North Dakota. Find out more here.

Navajo president vetoes strict curbs on tobacco use (NM)
The President of the Navajo Nation recently vetoed a measure to ban smoking and chewing tobacco in public places. Although the legislation states that tobacco restrictions will be more lax for religious ceremonies, Shirley contends that the guidelines are unclear, leaving those holding the ceremony liable for their interpretation of the law. In addition, Shirley expressed concerns that Navajo casinos would be at a disadvantage to other tribal gambling venues that would still allow smoking. He criticized the ban as broad and unenforceable, and took issue that it will not sufficiently address underage smoking. Shirley intends to work on a compromise with tribal lawmakers that would protect religious ceremonies and gambling revenue, while also tackling youth smoking. Supporters of the ban have pledged to work to override the veto. Click here for more information.

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International

The impact of tobacco advertising bans on consumption in developing countries
Researchers analyzed the effects of tobacco advertising bans in 30 countries. Findings showed that restrictions on tobacco advertisements and promotions cause significant declines in smoking rates. Comprehensive policies are more effective in reducing tobacco consumption than limited advertising restrictions. Comprehensive advertising bans caused per capita cigarette consumption to drop 23.5% while partial bans caused a 13.6% decline. Advertising restrictions made more of a difference in developing countries because tobacco marketing makes up a larger segment of the advertising in those countries, the researchers speculate. The researchers note that in richer countries, tobacco advertisements are more easily ignored among ads for other products, but tobacco is one of the only products advertised in poorer countries. Click here for a summary of the research. Click here to view the abstract of the article, which appears in the July 2008 Journal of Health Economics.

EU to require fire-safe, self-extinguishing cigarettes by 2011
The European Commission announced that by 2011, cigarettes sold in the European Union will be required to be “fire-safe”. Fire-safe cigarettes are wrapped in special paper that causes cigarettes to self-extinguish if they are not being actively smoked. Most U.S. states and Canada have implemented similar fire-safety measures. Careless smoking has caused 11,000 fires annually between 2005 and 2007, according to data from 16 European countries. Click here to read more about this fire safety measure.

BSJ developing cigarette warning labels for region (Caribbean)
The Bureau of Standards Jamaica is currently developing graphic warning labels for cigarette packaging. The labels will be submitted for adoption by the Caribbean Community (Caricom), an organization of countries in the Caribbean. Once approved, the labels would be part of cigarette packaging standards used throughout the Caribbean. Jamaica added health warnings to cigarette labeling in 2006 to comply with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, but the new labeling standards would add pictorial warnings of the health hazards of smoking. For more information, click here.

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