Policy

Research

Cigarette packaging sways sense of risk: Study
A study has found that cigarette packaging can mislead consumers into believing that some brands carry fewer health risks. Adult smokers and nonsmokers in Ontario, Canada were asked to compare a variety of fictitious cigarette packages and to rate the perceived taste, tar delivery, and health risks based on the packaging. When words like ‘light’, ‘mild’, ‘smooth’ and ‘silver’ appeared on the packaging, respondents were more likely to rate brands as having a smoother taste, delivering less tar, and less hazardous to health, compared to packages labeled ‘regular’ and ‘full flavor.’ Packaging in lighter colors or with a picture of a cigarette filter also led respondents to perceive brands as lower-risk products. Click here to read more. According to the researchers, these findings suggest that existing regulations have not been effective in removing misleading content from cigarette packaging. Click here to read the abstract of the study, which was published in the Journal of Public Health.

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State

Arkansas lawmakers take look at tobacco settlement (AR)
Arkansas legislators are deciding whether to utilize the state’s tobacco settlement money to fund other health programs. To do this, lawmakers are considering changing a law that voters approved in 2000 to ensure that the settlement money would adequately fund state health programs such as smoking cessation programs and quit-smoking hotlines. A series of 10 hearings will be held within the next several months to determine whether the settlement money has been used effectively, and to decide whether to reallocate the money. Approval of the proposed changes to the voter-approved law will require a two-thirds vote from the House of Representatives and Senate. Read more here.

Smoking ban at state beaches one step closer to reality after Assembly environmental review (CA)
Members of a key California Assembly environmental committee approved a plan to ban smoking at state beaches and designated areas of state parks. The Assembly acknowledged the risk cigarettes pose to California’s coastal landscape including the persistent and serious threat to marine life and beachgoers. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, cigarette butts are the most frequently found marine debris item in the United States, and the Ocean Conservancy stated that in 2003 smoking-related items accounted for 38% of all debris found on beaches in the United States. Senate Bill 4 is to go to the Assembly Appropriations, but no date has been set yet. Click here for more information.

Attorney General marks anniversary of state smoking ban (IA)
On July 1, one year after Iowa’s comprehensive smokefree law took effect, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller reflected on the impact the law has had. The ban has contributed to a drop in the state’s smoking prevalence from 19% in 2007 to 14% in 2009. Miller also stated that less than one percent of Iowa’s businesses were in violation of the Smokefree Air Act. Despite initial resistance from some bars, Miller concluded that “the message has gotten through.” Click here for more details.

Businesses make moves to ban smoking (MI)
While lawmakers deliberate over six proposals for a state smokefree air law, business owners in Michigan are taking the reins by voluntarily initiating smokefree policies in their businesses. The trend of going smoke-free is increasing amongst the state’s restaurants and bars as business owners are becoming concerned for the health of their workers and customers due to secondhand smoke. Click here for more details.

NC Hospital Association and NC Prevention Partners receive additional $250,000 grant (NC)
In July, NC Prevention Partners announced that all acute care hospitals in the state of North Carolina have passed 100% tobacco-free campus policies. Tobacco has been completely banned on the hospitals’ premises, including buildings, sidewalks, entrances, and parking lots. This measure is a bold step toward improving the health of every patient, visitor, and employee within these hospitals. Additionally, NC Prevention Partners announced the approval of a $250,000 grant from The Duke Endowment to coordinate a tobacco cessation system for North Carolina hospitals. Click here for more information.

Complete smoking ban begins at state psychiatric facilities (NJ)
This month, two state psychiatric hospitals in New Jersey have completely banned smoking in all areas, and three more facilities are soon to follow. Smoking is already banned inside all state psychiatric hospitals, but this ban takes a step further by banning smoking in outdoor areas to protect patients, employees, and visitors from secondhand smoke. Deputy Human Services Commissioner Kevin Martone cited a national study from 2006 that indicated people with mental illnesses live an average of 25 years less than the general population, and approximately 75% are addicted to nicotine, which contributes to the premature deaths. Advocates and critics share mixed opinions about the new ban. Click here for more.

City proposes antismoking signs at cash registers (NY)
New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has proposed requiring cigarette retailers to put large antismoking signs at the cash register and where cigarettes are displayed. This regulation is a first for the United States, but similar requirements have been made in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. These signs would contain graphic elements portraying gruesome health effects, and will also contain information on getting help to quit. The regulation does not require City Council approval, but does need to pass a vote by the Board of Health. At the earliest, the board is to vote in September to pass the regulation. Read more here. Click here to read the Notice of Public Hearing, which includes the rationale and full proposal. The public hearing is scheduled for July 30.

Insurers may soon help kick the habit (OR)
The Governor of Oregon is expected to sign a bill that would require health insurance companies to cover the costs of tobacco cessation education and medications. The bill, which passed the state Legislature, requires insurance companies to cover three months of cessation classes or a three-month supply of cessation medications. According to information from the American Cancer Society, 70% of smokers want to quit, yet few quit attempts are successful. Click here to read more.

Smoking restrictions, tax increases take effect in Vermont (VT)
Two new tobacco control laws have taken effect this month in Vermont. The state cigarette tax has increased by 25 cents, and stricter restrictions on smoking in public are in place. The smoking ban amends a previous, partial ban by banning smoking in the workplace entirely. The goals for these new laws are to help more people quit and to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke. Click here to read more, or click here for more details about the new smokefree policy.

Wisconsin tobacco tax increase is positive step for health, but budget disappoints by cutting funding for tobacco prevention programs (WI)
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle signed a state budget that will save lives by increasing the state cigarette tax; however, the budget also cuts state funding for tobacco control programs. The state cigarette tax will increase from $1.77 to $2.52 per pack on September 1. The tax, combined with the state’s recently-approved comprehensive smokefree law, is expected to decrease tobacco use in the state. The new budget trims state funding for Wisconsin’s tobacco prevention and cessation programs to $6.85 million a year. The new funding level is about one-tenth of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funding recommendation for such programs. Click here to read more. Click here to read a statement from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids that outlines the benefits of the tax increase, while also encouraging legislators to take corrective steps to reinstate funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

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National

FDA seeks public input on tobacco regulation
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is seeking public input on the implementation of its historic new authority overseeing tobacco products in the United States. In a Federal Register notice, the agency invites the public to provide information and share views on a wide range of topics, from product content to advertising and marketing. Comments are being accepted electronically and by mail through September 29. Electronic comments can be submitted here [use the Search Documents option to search the site for FDA–2009–N–0294]. All public comments will be posted online. Click here to read the FDA’s announcement of the public comment period, which links to the Federal Register notice. Click here to visit the FDA website about tobacco regulation.

FDA to create new Center for Tobacco Products
In order to meet deadlines in the new tobacco legislation, the Food and Drug Administration is setting up the agency that will oversee the tobacco industry. The language of the bill, which was signed on June 22, states that the FDA has 90 days to create a Center for Tobacco Products. Hiring for a director for the Center closed in July, and the director is expected to be named within 45 days. The FDA must also appoint a 12-member scientific advisory board that will make recommendations on tobacco product regulations. The law also stipulates that a ban on candy-flavored tobacco products must be implemented by September. Click here to read more.

Compromise or capitulation? US Food and Drug Administration jurisdiction over tobacco products
A policy critique of the legislation that gave the FDA the power to regulate tobacco was published this month in PLoS Medicine. Authors Stanton Glantz and colleagues refer to the legislation as a compromise between public health advocates and tobacco companies. They note that past legislative compromises with the tobacco industry have led to short-term public health gains at the expense of long-term progress. The article concludes with a challenge to advocates of the law to accept responsibility for the law’s weak points, and to ensure that the potential negative consequences of the law do not materialize. Click here to read the full text of the article.

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International

INB-3 reports: Stakes get higher in tobacco smuggling
The illicit trade in cigarettes costs governments $40.5 billion in lost revenue every year, with losses falling disproportionately on low and middle income countries, and the benefits of international action are likely to far outweigh the costs, new research has shown. Two reports were released for the opening of the third Intergovernmental Negotiating Body on a Protocol on the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (INB-3) in Geneva at the end of June. The reports, “How eliminating the global illicit cigarette trade would increase tax revenue and save lives” written by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, and “Cost benefit analysis of the FCTC protocol on illicit trade in tobacco products,” by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) UK, add to mounting evidence that the costs of smuggling and other forms of illicit trade in tobacco are counted not only in the millions of lives lost but also in billions of dollars of government revenue lost through inaction. Click here for more information, and to download the full reports. Click here to download a fact sheet with key findings from the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease report.

Cigarette companies kicked out of tobacco meeting
Over 130 countries attending the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body on a Protocol on Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, a U.N.-backed meeting on tobacco smuggling, agreed to ban tobacco companies from the meeting. Proponents of the move cited the importance of protecting the discussion from commercial interests. Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco both opposed the decision. Click here for more details.

New laws: No smoking in cars to protect children (Australia)
Two new tobacco control laws are in effect in New South Wales, Australia. The first bans drivers from smoking in cars when a passenger under the age of 16 is present. Any smoker caught in violation of the new law is subject to a $250 on-the-spot fine. As of July 1, the implementation period began for laws restricting tobacco displays and retail advertising. Tobacco products can no longer be displayed in plain view in stores, and tobacco advertising and promotions are banned from retail stores. Read more here.

Feds set new restrictions on tobacco marketing (Canada)
An amendment to Canada’s 1997 Tobacco Act has passed the House of Commons and is set to pass in the Senate. The 1997 law places heavy restrictions on print advertisements for tobacco products. A 2007 update to the law limited tobacco industry marketing claims to “factual” information and restricted marketing to publications with 85% adult readership. The new amendment to the law will completely ban print ads for tobacco products. Click here to learn more.

Shanghai World Expo ditches 200-million yuan tobacco sponsorship (China)
After public health experts raised concerns about a tobacco company’s 200 million yuan ($29.3 million) sponsorship of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, the event organizers have decided to return the money. Health officials noted that the sponsorship would be in apparent violation of Article 13 of the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which mandates a ban on tobacco industry advertising, promotions, and sponsorship. In response to those who believe that tobacco companies should be allowed to contribute to society as purveyors of legal products, one of the health experts who supported the ban on industry sponsorship stated that tobacco companies wanting to contribute to society should do so anonymously. Read more here.

EU calls for smoke-free Europe by 2012 (European Union)
The European Union commission, the EU's executive arm, recently adopted a proposal calling for public places throughout Europe to be smoke-free by 2012. In order to tackle the deadly effects of passive smoking, the proposal calls for a firm deadline to require all member nations in the EU to implement smokefree laws. There would also be national and EU-wide reporting and monitoring mechanisms. Click here for more details.

Ireland first to ban tobacco advertising (Ireland)
This month, Ireland became the first country in Europe to ban all tobacco advertising from retail outlets. The ban requires that all tobacco products in shops are stored out of view, within a closed container or dispenser only accessible by retail staff. A pictorial list may be used to inform customers over 18 of the products available. Also, a sign must be shown to advise that tobacco products are sold at the location. Click here for more information regarding the advertising ban.

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