National

AC extends smoking ban to 12 days (NJ)
To protect against lost casino profits during the current economic slump, the City Council of Atlantic City, New Jersey is considering calling off the city’s smoking ban for one year. The smoking ban went into effect on October 15, and is expected to last for 12 days, until the City Council is legally permitted to vote to overturn the ban. The measure to repeal the smokefree law is expected to pass in a 5-4 vote. Once the ban is overturned, Atlantic City will return to its previous policy, which allows smoking on 25% of gambling floors. Click here to read more about the status of the legislation. Click here to read a related article, “Smoke ban supporters rally to keep it”, which describes the last-minute efforts of health advocates and casino employees to keep the ban in effect. Supporters of the law hope that during the twelve-day period the law is in effect, opponents of the smokefree law will have the opportunity to see how smoothly the ban works in action.

Boston smoking crackdown ignites debate (MA)
During the public comment period on the Boston Public Health Commission’s proposal for tightened smoking restrictions, business owners, smokers’ advocates, and public health groups have sparred over the merits and drawbacks of the proposal. The proposed law would ban smoking in outdoor patio areas at restaurants and bars, eliminate cigar bars, and prohibit tobacco sales on college campuses. According to the director of the Public Health Commission, the law is intended to de-normalize smoking, and to thwart the growing popularity of hookah bars, which are popular destinations for college students. Scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health commented that if smoking is permitted anywhere in Boston, youths are getting the wrong message that tobacco use is acceptable. Meanwhile, the owners of the city’s four cigar bars take issue with the law, maintaining that adults who frequent cigar bars fully expect to encounter secondhand smoke, and that the law would harm their livelihood. The Board of Health will vote on the proposal on November 13, and if passed, the law would take effect within 60 days. Click here to read more.

Technical Assistance Legal Consortium (TALC): Comparing Laws to Regulate Tobacco Retailers
To help communities better understand the differences between each of these laws, the Technical Assistance Legal Center (TALC) has developed a chart comparing the laws in key areas. With its side-by-side comparison of these laws, TALC’s new chart is designed to help communities understand the drawbacks and advantages of each law so they can better evaluate the right solution for their community You can download this chart from TALC’s website at www.talc.phi.org. If you have any questions, please contact TALC staff attorney Ian McLaughlin at (510) 444-8252, ext. 315, or imclaughlin@phlpnet.org.

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International

India bans smoking in public, tobacco firms fume (India)  
On October 2, India joined the growing list of countries to implement restrictions on smoking in public. Smoking is now prohibited in indoor workplaces, and in other public areas such as bars and restaurants, schools, hospitals, and bus stops. There are some concerns about enforcement of the law, considering the large burden of smoking in India and past struggles to enforce laws against spitting and public urination. The nation is home to 240 million smokers, and is one of the few places in the world where cigarette sales continue to grow. India’s biggest cigarette manufacturer, ITC Ltd., has launched a legal battle against the ban. The case will be heard in India’s Supreme Court in November. Click here to find out more. Click here to read a press release from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids that commends the Indian government for protecting its citizens’ health.

Reps pass bill banning smoking in public places (Nigeria)
A new smokefree law passed by Nigeria’s House of Representatives bans smoking in public places, with penalties of imprisonment or fines of N50,000 (approximately $424) for smokers who violate the law. Retailers who sell tobacco to minors under 18 could also face fines and two months of imprisonment. Additionally, cigarette manufacturers are required to label cigarettes with health warnings on both sides of packs. Because of opposition from some House members, a broad bill banning smoking in many public places was scaled down to ban smoking only in hospitals, government offices, nursery, primary and secondary schools. A section of the bill banning tobacco marketing and industry sponsorship of national events was also rejected. Click here to read more. Click here to read an article on the position of the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, a human rights advocacy NGO that has accused the Nigerian government of swaying under pressure from the tobacco industry. The group maintains that the new smoking restrictions do not uphold the country’s obligation to the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which requires countries to enact laws to ban tobacco marketing and prohibit smoking in public places.

Rotting teeth photos added to cigarette packs (UK)
Starting next month, smokers in the UK will have to stomach gruesome pictures of tobacco-related illnesses each time they reach for a pack of cigarettes. The pictures will supplement the written health warnings that have appeared on UK cigarette packaging since 2003. Because smoking is the national leading cause of premature death, health advocates hope the new packaging will encourage smokers to quit. Research has shown that gruesome pictures on cigarette packaging make smoking less appealing to youths. While several countries have already placed such pictures on their cigarette packaging, the UK is the first European Union member country to do so. Click here for more details.

A call to combat tobacco smuggling (UK)
In an essay published online in BMJ, British researchers make the case that by reducing tobacco smuggling in the UK, a significant amount of premature deaths could be prevented. Smoking is the chief cause of premature death in the UK, and approximately 21% of the nation’s tobacco is brought into the country by smuggling. Smuggled cigarettes are often sold at half the price of legal cigarettes, causing legal cigarette prices to drop by 12%. If this price difference was eliminated and cigarette prices increased by 12%, the researchers estimate that 5-8% of smokers would decide to quit as a result. This price change would also mitigate the disparate smoking rate among low-income groups, since low-income individuals are more likely to smoke smuggled cigarettes, and because these individuals are more affected by price fluctuations. The researchers recommend that as part of the national plan to decrease tobacco use, the government dedicate more resources to preventing tobacco smuggling. Click here for more information, or click here to access the article online in BMJ.

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