Tobacco.org

• Heart Attack Grill Customer Collapses While Eating Double Bypass Burger, Smoking 

Not this again. A Las Vegas woman in her 40s collapsed at the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas while dining on a double bypass burger, smoking cigarettes and drinking a margarita. She was found unconscious at the restaurant and during resuscitation.

Jump to full article »

Editorial: Nonsmoking New Jersey casino should be watched closely  

BLOOMER: Youth and smoking: Let's keep our kids tobacco-free  

LETTER: POLITO: Quitting smoking? Go cold turkey  

Cy Ryan’s March 19 online article, “TV ad campaign aimed at curbing tobacco use,” reviews the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new hard-hitting quit-smoking campaign, which uses tragic tobacco-victim stories to motivate cessation. It’d be great if the campaign could reduce Nevada’s 3,300 annual smoking-related deaths or its 21 percent smoking rate, but it’s unlikely.

It isn’t that fear can’t motivate. It’s the failure of CDC to immediately channel that fear into a meaningful cessation opportunity. The new campaign pipelines motivated smokers to either SmokeFree.gov or 800-QUIT-NOW, where the primary objective is to get smokers to obtain and use the nicotine patch, gum, lozenge, spray, inhaler, Zyban or Chantix.

Jump to full article »

LETTER: Poor parenting is reason more kids are smoking  

PACKHAM: Nevada Health Matters: Reversing the influence of big tobacco  

Last week, the Office of the Surgeon General released an important report, "Preventing Tobacco Use among Youth and Young Adults." Since the landmark report in 1964 on smoking and health, every Surgeon General has weighed in on the health consequences of tobacco use.

In addition to an update to previous reports on tobacco use among young people, the new report details the pernicious influence of marketing by big tobacco on tobacco use among teenagers and young adults. . . .

In Nevada, measures needed to reverse the influence of big tobacco include protecting and extending smoke-free laws, such as the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act passed in 2006, and increasing tobacco excise taxes, such as the boost in the cigarette tax by 45 cents to a total of 80 cents per pack in 2003. Such measures discourage initiation and use of tobacco by price-sensitive youth and counter messages by big tobacco that, in the words of Assistant Secretary of Health Howard Koh continue to "normalize smoking and nicotine dependence" in our society. . . .

This year, the state of Nevada had an estimated $147 million from the 1997 tobacco Master Settlement Agreement at its disposal to fund some of those proven prevention and cessation strategies.

Unfortunately, state lawmakers have diverted every penny of our state's share of MSA dollars to the general fund. Thus, Nevada will spend $0 on tobacco control during this year and the next year of the current biennium.

One rarely hears a campaign speech these days that isn't prefaced with some solemn and professed concern for the well-being of future generations. If that were true, one of our state's top priorities would be to embrace the Surgeon General's message and immediately begin reversing the influence of big tobacco on the health of our kids.

Jump to full article »

• Smoking out the money  

State legislators last month approved $260,000 for the Nevada Taxation Department to hire a team of auditors to track cigarette sales by smaller tobacco corporations who were not participants in the 1998 national tobacco lawsuit settlement.

Under that settlement, negotiated between several state attorneys general and the major tobacco corporations, payments are made to state governments to cover Medicaid and other costs caused by tobacco-related illnesses and paid for by taxpayers. Nevada was one of the last states to join the lawsuits.

The manufacturers who were a party to that agreement were Philip Morris USA, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., and Lorillard Tobacco Company.

But there are a number of smaller, little-known corporations that comply with the settlement but were not a party of it. They pay a portion of their tobacco sales into an escrow account. Up to now, no one has tracked whether the amounts they pay correctly reflect their share of the settlement. . . .

There is an astonishing number of companies currently selling in Nevada that were not participants in the 1998 lawsuit settlement: Chancellor Tobacco Co, American Cigarette Company, Cheyenne International LLC, Commonwealth Brands, Dosal Tobacco Corporation, Grand Tobacco LLC, Imperial Tobacco Limited/ITD (USA) Limited, Japan Tobacco International U.S.A., King Maker Marketing, Inc, King Mountain Tobacco Company, Konci G&D Management Group (USA) Inc., KT&G Corporation, Lane Limited, Liggett Group, Lorillard Tobacco Company, Native Trading Associates, Ohsearase Manufacturing, People's True Taste, Peter Stokkebye, Premier Manufacturing, Inc., Procesadora Nacional Cigarrillera S.A./Pronalci S.A., P.T. Djarum, Rouseco , Inc., Sandia Tobacco Manufacturers, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Seneca Cayuga Tobacco Company,

Jump to full article »

Doctor Says Smoke-free Ordinances Drop Heart Attack Rates 

Within five minutes of entering a smoke-filled room, a person's heart will begin to stiffen. Within 20 minute a person's platelets will start to lose their ability to clot and become as sticky as those of a chronic smoker. Within thirty minutes, arteries will decrease in size and hinder the flow of blood and oxygen as the heart begins to spasm. So reports Dr. Robert M. Shepard, MD.

Shepard, a mover and shaker in the effort to pass a no-smoking ordinance in Helena, MT, was in Mesquite on Tuesday, Jan. 24, to deliver his message that "it's easy to drop the heart attack rate simply by passing an ordinance."

"When you enter a smoke filled room, you might as well be standing downstream from a campfire," he told two different audiences during his visit.

Shepard pointed to a study showing that the New York Port Authority in New York had 48 micrograms per cubic meter of carbon monoxide in the air. Bars that allowed smoking had 866 micrograms per cubic meter.

Jump to full article »

Mud Jug Portable Spittoons Attends The Tobacco Plus Expo In Las Vegas Nevada This Week 

The Tobacco Plus Expo will be held on February 1-2, 2012 at the Convention Center in Las Vegas. Tobacco industry manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers are all invited to attend this exciting tobacco trade show. The Tobacco Plus Show is a trade show for manufacturers and distributors who are provided a venue for exhibiting their tobacco products and related merchandise.. "This show is one of the best tobacco category trade shows to attend" says Mud Jug President, Darcy Compton.

With the tobacco industry being assaulted on many fronts, smokeless tobacco sales continue to rise. This puts Mud Jug Portable Spittoons in a great position to continue to grow their business. Say goodbye to nasty spit cups and spit bottles. Now spit and not worry about spilling or drinking from the wrong cup. Made of high impact injection molded plastic, the Mud Jug boasts a weighted base and easily removable, snap-fit funnel lid. Its ergonomic design fits securely in a hand and its innovative shape conceals odors and virtually eliminates spills.

Jump to full article »

LETTER: Don't take away smokers' rights 

In response to Mr.Toval who wants to make Mesquite a smoke-free community, I would like to know if he or his wife have ever smoked in their lifetime? I would also like to know if he is a 12-month resident or a snowbird?

When he addressed the city council previously, he said his wife is on oxygen. . . .

Why we should give up our rights to smoke to protect his right to not smoke. The restaurants are smoke free. Therefore, why doesn't you buy her a computer so she can gamble online at home where it is smoke free? Has he been on the hills around Mesquite and seen the polluted air from the blowing sand and dust that is in our desert? The air in the casinos is cleaner than the air outdoors. Has he fought for the freedoms of all and not just one? Why does he think he deserves the right to take away our freedom to justify his wants? I bet he voted for Obama.

Jump to full article »

LETTER: Majority supports indoor smoking ban 

The editor of the MLN has taken the position that the government should get out of the ban on smoking effort that the majority of residents and visitors demand. Apparently the editor does not know that the government is already banning smoking.

The Nevada Legislature has banned smoking in all public places except casinos, bars, bordellos and smoke shops. Thus, they protected some people but ignored the health of those who, for whatever reason, endanger their health in casinos and bars. The Legislature left it to local governments to further the ban on smoking. . . .

Virtually all communities that have completely banned indoor (and in some cases outdoor) smoking have seen increased business growth, reduction in health costs and increased property values. They know that health sells.

The mayor and the city council were elected to protect the public and that means, among other things, regulation and enforcement. The majority of visitors and residents want all indoor smoking banned. They know that the future of Mesquite relies on being the first in Nevada to establish a citywide, healthy environment.

Jump to full article »

LETTER: MLN incorrect on second-hand smoke  

I had the opportunity to speak with the Mesquite Local News editor, Kent Harper. I so appreciated the time he gave me to discuss his background and credentials. While I respect all that he brings to the table, I do understand that he feels obligated to his advertisers, their fears and is making outlandish statements based on an agenda that has no base in reality. His comments that second hand smoke, which effect every person who enters our local establishments to dine and game are the same as restaurants/fast food that serve high-fat food is totally misguided.

I feel sad that as a local Mesquite resident, we cannot step ahead and set ourselves aside from other Nevada communities. In California, New York and other states throughout the USA there was no loss in restaurant/bar expenditures after passing no-smoking laws inside while allowing smoking areas outside. Fred Toval presented to our local City Council the opinions of not only residents, but frequent visitors to our city - 89 percent said they would spend more time or just as must time in a smoke free environment.

Jump to full article »

ETCHISON: Tobacco Free UNLV budget: School saves money, staff pay remains fixed 

The grant associated with Tobacco Free UNLV has brought a net financial gain to the university.

None of the project’s staff has seen an increase to their pay as a result of the grant, but the money did provide employment for two graduate assistants and four undergraduate student workers.

Tobacco Free UNLV director Susan VanBeuge received $102,853 in base pay and benefits in fiscal year 2010, but grant funding paid 25 percent of her salary and benefits, which saved UNLV $25,713.

The grant has bought out part of the salaries of each of the project’s staff, compensating them for the amount of work they devote to Tobacco Free UNLV in place of their usual work for the university.

While directing Tobacco Free UNLV, VanBeuge has still taught courses at UNLV, published scholarly work and maintained a clinical practice.

Jump to full article »

City council told most voters want smoke-free environment  

When Fred Toval spoke before the city council last week he said "unsubstantiated fallacies" pose a major obstacle blocking a smoke-free, indoor environment in Mesquite.

Toval is the Mesquite representative for the American Lung Association who has been spearheading the drive to create a smoke-free Mesquite.

Because of all the false claims about the economic harm creating legislation to ban cigarettes from Mesquite's businesses and casinos, Toval presented data that showed community support for the city council to ban the practice.

Toval wasn't alone. Dozens of Mesquite residents crowded the Mesquite City Council chamber Tuesday night to show their support for the Smoke-Free Mesquite drive and for making Mesquite Nevada's first smoke-free destination.

"We have an opportunity to set ourselves apart as a city," Toval told the council, "while at the same time providing healthier work environments for hundreds of Mesquite citizens."

Jump to full article »

EDITORIAL: Smoke-free effort should target private sector  

The MLN applauds Fred Toval, the Mesquite representative of the American Lung Association who spearheaded the drive, for his diligence and effort.

But the MLN just can't support his solution.

Toval would like to see the city council pass ordinances banning cigarette smoking in all bars and casinos, much like the Nevada Clean Air Act, passed in 2006, banned smoking in most businesses, excluding casinos and stand-alone bars that did not serve food. The Nevada Legislature later modified the act allowing free-standing bars to serve food as long as minors never entered the premises. . . .

It's unhealthy for us not to get enough exercise. Should the council pass an ordinance requiring all of us gather each morning as a community in ranks and files to be led in Tai Chi as if we were living in Bejing?

As for healthy air, should the council also ban automobiles, buses, trucks and every kind of vehicle that belches carbon monoxide into our no-longer pristine desert air?

Not hardly. Clean air is preferable. Tobacco smoking is dangerous.

We all need to take personal responsibility for our health: eat better, exercise more, and quit smoking if we do.

And we encourage local casino owners to sit down with Toval and listen to his arguments. There may be hidden, unexpected profits in opening a smoke-free casino in Mesquite.

Fresh, clean air is sweet. But so is liberty and life without the ever-deepening encroachment of government rules and regulations.

Jump to full article »