To reduce smoking and combat budget deficits, five states will implement cigarette tax increases on July 1. 

The five states are: New York, $1.60 increase to $4.35 per pack; Hawai'i, 40 cents to $3 per pack; New Mexico, 75 cents to $1.66 per pack; South Carolina, 50 cents to 57 cents per pack; and Utah, $1 to $1.70 per pack. On May 1, Washington increased its cigarette tax by $1 to $3.025 per pack.

New York's increase will give it the highest state cigarette tax at $4.35 per pack, while South Carolina's increase - its first since 1977 - means it will no longer have the lowest cigarette tax in the nation.  Missouri will now have the lowest cigarette tax at just 17 cents a pack.  After the July 1 increases, the average state cigarette tax will be $1.45 per pack, while the federal government levies an additional $1.01 per pack.

Also taking effect this week, a new federal law will curb tobacco tax evasion and curtail sales of low-cost cigarettes and other tobacco products over the Internet and through the mail.  As required by the law, the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act, the U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday will institute a ban on mailing tobacco products (with very minor exceptions).  The law also requires Internet tobacco sellers to pay all applicable taxes and affix tax stamps before delivery to any customer; requires that age and identification of purchasers be checked at both purchase and delivery; and provides government officials with new tools to crack down on tobacco tax evasion.

"These actions to increase tobacco taxes and prevent tax evasion are a huge victory for the nation's health that will save many lives and billions of dollars in tobacco-related health care costs," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.  "Higher tobacco taxes continue to be a win-win-win for the states - a health win that reduces smoking and saves lives, a revenue win that helps balance budgets and fund critical programs, and a political win that is popular with voters.  We applaud the state and federal officials who have supported these important measures."

The evidence is clear that increasing the cigarette tax is one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking, especially among kids.  Scientific studies show that every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces youth smoking rates by about 6.5 percent and overall cigarette consumption by about four percent.  The combined effect of the state cigarette tax increases approved so far this year will be to:

• Prevent more than 262,000 kids from starting to smoke;
• Spur more than 140,000 adult smokers to quit;
• Prevent more than 120,000 smoking-caused deaths;
• Produce more than $5.9 billion in long-term health care savings;
• Raise more than $561 million in annual revenue.

States with the lowest cigarette tax rates are Missouri (17 cents per pack), Virginia (30 cents), Louisiana (36 cents), Georgia (37 cents) and Alabama (42.5 cents).

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids urges all states to increase tobacco taxes as a proven way to reduce smoking and other tobacco use, save lives and raise revenue.  The Campaign also urges states to use more of their tobacco tax and tobacco settlement revenues to fund tobacco prevention and cessation programs at levels recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, killing more than 400,000 people and costing $96 billion a year in health care costs.  Every day, another 1,000 kids become regular smokers - one-third of them will die prematurely as a result.

More information on tobacco taxes, including tax rates in each state: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/prices/

More information on the PACT Act: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/internet/

International public health advocates are calling on U.S. singing star and American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson to withdraw tobacco industry sponsorship of her April 29 concert in Jakarta, Indonesia. Health advocates expressed alarm that the concert and associated advertising are being used to promote cigarettes to Indonesian youth.

Clarkson has not responded to letters and online fan requests urging her to withdraw tobacco industry sponsorship of the concert. The Indonesian National Commission on Child Protection, the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) and the U.S.-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids have all urged Clarkson to withdraw tobacco sponsorship of the concert.

The concert is being sponsored and heavily promoted by the tobacco company PT Djarum under the name of its cigarette brand LA Lights. Television, billboard and online ads for the concert feature Clarkson's image and the LA Lights logo and even carry health warnings, making clear they are cigarette ads (for an ad image, go to www.tobaccofreekids.org/kellyclarkson).

"If Kelly Clarkson goes ahead with this concert, she is choosing to be a spokesperson for the tobacco industry and helping them to market cigarettes to children," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "If she rejects tobacco industry sponsorship, she can send a powerful message to children in Indonesia and around the world that they, too, should reject the tobacco industry's deadly products and marketing."

The tobacco industry has long used sponsorship of music concerts popular with young people to promote its products and tobacco use among youth. In the United States, a new federal law bans tobacco companies from engaging in brand name sponsorships of entertainment and sports events. Other countries have enacted similar bans.

However, in Indonesia and other developing countries, tobacco companies continue to sponsor concerts by famous musicians, a practice that health advocates have condemned as a means to market cigarettes to children and to circumvent restrictions on more traditional tobacco advertising. Indonesia is one of the few countries that has yet to ratify the international tobacco control treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which requires countries to ban all tobacco advertising, promotions and sponsorships.

In an April 8 letter, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids wrote, "We call on you to put the health of Indonesians first and require the withdrawal of PT Djarum's LA Lights sponsorship of this concert and any other tobacco sponsorship in your upcoming concert series in Asia. We also urge you to publicly announce that you will no longer allow PT Djarum or any other tobacco company to sponsor your concerts or promote their products through events in which you are participating."

A letter from SEATCA stated, "It is not too late to rectify the situation. We urge you to halt the tobacco sponsorship of your concert in Indonesia and pull back all promotional materials for your concert that carries the L.A. Lights brand. It is important that you and your music are not associated with cigarettes and ill health."

Clarkson's fans around the world, including Indonesia, have also expressed their disapproval of the tobacco sponsorship. Fans have posted hundreds of messages on Clarkson's Facebook fan page urging her to renounce the sponsorship and sent more than 1,300 e-mails to Clarkson's management.

Clarkson can look to singing star Alicia Keys as an example of how to effectively stop the tobacco industry from using internationally renowned artists as a marketing tool. In July 2008, Keys' Jakarta concert was initially sponsored by "A Mild" cigarettes, which is produced by Philip Morris International and its Indonesian subsidiary Sampoerna. When this was brought to her attention, Keys withdrew tobacco sponsorship of the concert and had related advertising removed.

About 35 percent of the Indonesian population smokes, and tobacco use kills more than 200,000 Indonesians each year. An estimated 78 percent of Indonesian smokers started before the age of 19.

The letters to Kelly Clarkson can be found at www.tobaccofreekids.org/kellyclarkson.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is a leading force in the fight to reduce tobacco use and its devastating consequences in the United States and around the world. The Campaign advocates for proven policies that prevent kids from smoking, help smokers quit and protect everyone from secondhand smoke.

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

We applaud the U.S. Navy for acting to protect sailors' health by adopting a new policy that bans smoking below decks aboard all Navy submarines. This policy recognizes that secondhand smoke is a serious, scientifically proven threat to human health, and no one should be exposed to it in the workplace, including the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces.  This policy will improve the health of all sailors aboard submarines and sends a powerful message that all workplaces should be smoke-free.

The Navy has also taken another important and necessary step to protect sailors' health by providing smoking cessation medication and support programs to sailors on every boat.  Nicotine is highly addictive, and smokers often make several attempts before they succeed in quitting. By making smoking cessation medication and support programs widely available, the Navy will help more smoking personnel to quit and reap both immediate and long-term benefits to their health.

Background on Secondhand Smoke and Smoke-Free Laws

The need for protection from secondhand smoke in all workplaces and public places has never been clearer. In issuing a groundbreaking report on secondhand smoke in June 2006, U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona stated, "The debate is over. The science is clear: Secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance, but a serious health hazard that causes premature death and disease in children and nonsmoking adults."

Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, including at least 69 carcinogens. The Surgeon General found that secondhand smoke is a proven cause of lung cancer, heart disease, serious respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis and asthma, low birth weight and sudden infant death syndrome. The Surgeon General also found that secondhand smoke is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in the United States each year, there is no safe level of exposure, and only smoke-free laws provide effective protection from secondhand smoke.  A report released last year by the Institute of Medicine concluded that secondhand smoke causes heart attacks while smoke-free laws prevent them.

In the U.S., 28 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and hundreds of cities and counties have passed smoke-free laws that cover restaurants and bars. The states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas (effective July 1, 2010), Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan (May 1, 2010), Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin (July 5, 2010).

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

2010 marks the ten-year anniversary of the country's most successful youth smoking prevention campaign -- truth®.  In the past decade, the truth® campaign has kept hundreds of thousands of teens from smoking, protecting them from years of addiction and tobacco-related disease and saving countless lives.

The campaign is directed and funded by Legacy, a national public health foundation with the dual mission of keeping young people from smoking and helping all smokers quit. Over the past decade, the campaign has:

• Seen a growing body of research illustrate the efficacy of the campaign in saving lives by keeping teens from starting to smoke.  Research published in the April 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that truth® is responsible for keeping 450,000 teens from starting to smoke between 2000-2004. A second study published in that same journal in April 2009 found that the campaign not only paid for itself in its first two years, but also saved between $1.9 and $5.4 billion in medical care costs to society.
• Become a summer concert institution through a grassroots tour. Traveling with the VANS Warped Tour for ten summers, truth® brand ambassadors have connected personally with more than five million teens with anti-tobacco messages.
• Successfully prevailed in the court of law after a nearly six-year lawsuit with a tobacco company regarding the content of select truth® advertisements.
• Produced groundbreaking and highly-lauded advertising, winning more than 400 awards, including Emmys, ADDYs, Clios and a Grand Effie.

"Looking back over the accomplishments of the truth® campaign in the last decade reveals a host of milestones in the fight for a healthier America, by reducing the impact of tobacco on our teens," said Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH, President and CEO of Legacy.  "truth® has become an iconic part of teen popular culture by not compromising on the idea that teens appreciate being asked to make their own, informed decisions and not being told what to do. Of course, the way in which truth® presents information has been, and will continue to be provocative because that is what teens most at risk of smoking respond to best."

The campaign was born out of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between three of the largest tobacco companies, and 46 states and five U.S. territories. Funds from the MSA were directed to create a national public health organization devoted to helping adults who want to quit and keeping teens from starting. Foundation leaders, partners and an expert panel funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked to the latest social science, marketing and public health research - along with the State of Florida's successful truth® youth smoking campaign -- to expand the truth® campaign and bring it to a national audience. 

"With truth®, we knew that preaching to kids about not smoking wouldn't work," said Pete Favat, Chief Creative Officer at Arnold Worldwide, Legacy's advertising partner.  "So we wanted to do something different. We set out to harness teenage rebellion and make an intangible thing like

'anti-smoking' into a tangible brand. To have youth communicate to other youth about the real, unfiltered facts involving cigarettes and the manipulative tobacco industry. Then kids could make up their own minds about smoking.  It's been a lot of work and a great partnership over the years and it's been exciting to see how the campaign has evolved.  But most importantly we're so proud of the way truth® has been able to impact teenager's lives in such a positive and meaningful way."

truth® is the largest national youth smoking prevention campaign and the only national campaign not directed by the tobacco industry. The campaign exposes the tactics of the tobacco industry, the truth about addiction, and the health effects and social consequences of smoking - allowing teens to make informed choices about tobacco use by giving them the facts about the industry and its products. It is designed to engage teens by exposing Big Tobacco's marketing and manufacturing practices, as well as highlighting the toll of tobacco in relevant and innovative ways.

truth® remains a multi-channel, constantly evolving campaign. From its beginnings in iconic television ads, the campaign has also included radio, print and cinema advertising. Over the decade, the campaign has had an increasingly comprehensive online presence, and an experiential presence via a popular summer tour. All efforts are focused directly to teens that are most likely to smoke and need information most.

In its ten years, truth® has had 3 distinct phases, as the campaign's audience has "migrated", and outreach efforts reflect that:

• traditional advertising: TV spots, truth® ads in print publications popular with teens, and radio.
• traditional advertising to online: In response, the campaign boosted its interactive presence, built social networking profiles, and continues to grow and build a robust Web site with polls, games, interactive activities, video, etc
• online to experiential - Responding to an audience that is creating its own content and looking for further engagement with brands and campaigns, the truth® tour will take on an even more central role in the years to come, and the truth® "experience" will be enhanced further through engaging content and integrations.

While campaign funds have been in decline since 2003, Legacy has evolved the campaign to extend the truth® message in even more efficient and cost-effective ways. Partnerships with like-minded brands, such as MTV, Virgin Mobile, fuse and fuel extended the campaign's reach and provided value-added opportunities. Grant funding from such partners as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allowed the campaign to grow its presence in many smaller and rural communities throughout the nation. In addition, campaign managers constantly assess the media channels used by the campaign and its creative approach to make sure truth® continues to hit teens with relevant messages in relevant mediums.

While ten years ago much of truth®'s efforts were focused around traditional advertising, with iconic TV spots like Body Bags putting truth® on the map and highly-visible with teens, significant changes in media tools and consumption with the teen audience over the last decade has driven routine shifts in strategy to embrace other marketing tools. To meet these challenges, truth® continues to look beyond traditional means and the 30-second spot.

"With the campaign now facing a funding cliff and the tobacco industry spending approximately $34 million per day on marketing, truth® will continue to work hard to reach teens and help them make informed decisions about tobacco use," said Dr. Benjamin Chu, chairman of the Legacy Board of Directors. "As we enter the next decade, the landscape around youth marketing continues to shift, presenting both opportunities and challenges.  Digital media will continue to be the driving force for engagement with teens, message distribution, and for fundraising with audiences beyond the core audience.  The truth® campaign has recognized these trends and will continue to embrace new methods of youth engagement."

To learn more about highlights from the last ten years of truth®, please visit: http://www.legacyforhealth.org/truthnews.aspx

BACKGROUND ON THE truth® CAMPAIGN

truth®, launched in February 2000, is the largest national youth smoking prevention campaign and the only national campaign not directed by the tobacco industry. The campaign exposes the tactics of the tobacco industry, the truth about addiction, and the health effects and social consequences of smoking.  truth® allows teens to make informed choices about tobacco use by giving them the facts about the industry and its products. The campaign was created by Legacy and its partners, Arnold Worldwide of Boston (2000-present), and Crispin Porter + Bogusky of Miami (2000-2007).

Legacy is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the national public health organization helps Americans live longer, healthier lives.  Legacy develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use, especially among vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco, through grants, technical assistance and training, partnerships, youth activism, and counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns.  The foundation's programs include truth®, a national youth smoking prevention campaign that has been cited as having contributed to significant declines in youth smoking; EX®, an innovative public health program designed to speak to smokers in their own language and change the way they approach quitting; and research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use.  The American Legacy Foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. Visit www.legacyforhealth.org.

The following is a statement of Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids:

President  Obama continued his strong leadership in the fight against tobacco use today when he signed the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT), which will curb tax evasion and curtail the growing sales of low-cost cigarettes and other tobacco products over the Internet and through the mail.

Enactment of this legislation is a milestone in the fight to keep kids from smoking and prevent tax evasion that costs taxpayers billions each year. Internet sales of tobacco products are a serious and growing problem that illegally keeps prices down and smoking levels up. Such sales also make it easier and cheaper for kids to buy cigarettes and facilitate tax evasion. Many vendors that sell cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products over the Internet or through other mail-order sales do not pay applicable tobacco taxes and do not have sufficient safeguards to prevent sales to children, such as effective policies to verify a purchaser's age.

Both houses of Congress approved the legislation with wide, bipartisan support earlier this month. We applaud Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), the chief House sponsor, and Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), the Senate sponsor, for their leadership and persistence in pursuing this legislation and winning its approval.

We thank President Obama for continuing to display strong and consistent leadership in the fight against tobacco use, the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.  The President has also signed legislation increasing the federal cigarette tax to fund expansion of children's health insurance and the landmark law giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products and marketing. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 already has led to restrictions on tobacco marketing and sales to kids.

The newly enacted PACT Act will:

• Require Internet sellers to pay all federal, state, local or Tribal tobacco taxes and affix tax stamps before delivery to any customer;
• Mandate that the age and identification of purchasers be checked at purchase and at delivery;
• Require Internet vendors to comply with state and local laws as if they were located in the same state as their customers;
• Provide federal and state enforcement officials with new tools to block delivery of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products that evade federal or state laws; and
• Ban the delivery of tobacco products through the U.S. mail.

Summary of the PACT Act: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/research/factsheets/pdf/0361.pdf.

More on Internet tobacco sales: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/internet/.

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

The Coalition to Stop Contraband Tobacco today praised the New York Association of Counties for passing a resolution calling for the federal government to support and implement the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act of 2009, S. 1147.  The resolution, passed by NYSAC on Feb. 11, 2010, calls on Congress "to take any and all necessary action to insure the passage" of the PACT Act.

This legislation will help combat online cigarette sales that have robbed hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues from the states and that undermine state laws that prevent youth access to tobacco products.  

"Passage of the PACT Act would be a huge victory for American tax payers, American small business owners and America's youth," said Scott Ramminger, AWMA president and CEO and coalition spokesperson. "This bill will ensure that states, like New York, can collect tax revenue and that purchasers of tobacco products abide by already enacted state and federal laws."

Numerous stakeholders support the PACT Act, which was passed in the House of Representatives last May. S. 1147 closes gaps in current federal laws regulating "remote" or "delivery" sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products.

"In a recent study we found that illegal cigarette sales cost states $5 billion per year, and that with online sales there is almost no age verification at the time of purchase," continued Ramminger.

"We hope that the Senate will act swiftly to pass this common sense legislation so that we can put an end to the illegal sale of tobacco products," concluded Ramminger.

Read the full resolution text at: http://www.nysac.org/Legislative_Action_Center/PACT_Reso2010.php.

SOURCE Coalition to Stop Contraband Tobacco

State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, M.D., announced today that New York is continuing to work with an innovative national effort to curb smoking by providing smokers with resources specifically designed to help those struggling with quitting.

New York State has renewed its membership to the National Alliance for Tobacco Cessation (NATC), a public health coalition of national organizations and state health agencies that sponsors the EX^® campaign. The State Health Department's Tobacco Control Program hopes to reduce the number of adult smokers by linking New Yorkers with the EX campaign's online and informational resources, as well as the New York State Smokers' Quitline.

"New York continues to take significant steps to help reduce state smoking rates," Commissioner Daines said. "We are pleased to be one of a number of organizations in several states and at the national level in this timely effort to focus on reducing smoking rates in New York and across the country. The EX program augments our own efforts to give New Yorkers the tools they need to re-learn their life without cigarettes and will ultimately extend and save lives. New York is proud to have been a part of this groundbreaking initiative since it began in 2008."

With the latest research estimating that nearly 6 million people will lose their lives to tobacco next year, the NATC has created a campaign that will provide direct assistance to help the 46 million Americans who smoke--including 2.5 million New Yorkers--to finally quit.

EX assists smokers in changing the way they feel about the process of quitting, guiding them to valuable resources, such as the New York State Smokers Quitline at 1-866-NY-QUITS (1-866-697-8487) or online community at www.BecomeAnEX.org. Such tools help provide the accountability and support needed for a successful quit attempt.

This new public education effort will encourage the 16.8 percent of New York adults who smoke to approach quitting smoking as "re-learning life without cigarettes." EX provides smokers with information that can help them prepare for and guide a quit attempt by:

• "Re-learning" their thinking on the behavioral aspects of smoking and how different smoking triggers can be overcome with practice and preparation;
• "Re-learning" their knowledge of addiction and how medications can increase their chances for quitting success; and
• "Re-learning" their ideas of how support from friends and family members can play a critical role in quitting.

"We are thrilled to have New York join the national effort to help smokers quit," said Cheryl G. Healton, Dr.PH., president and CEO of Legacy. "Most smokers underestimate how powerful tobacco addiction can be. The approach provided by EX changes that equation by showing them how they can quit--namely by combining coaching, pharmacotherapy and social support, so that smokers have the support they need at the times when they're most likely to crave a cigarette and smoke."

Nationally, EX will continue to educate smokers through advertisements on television, radio and online and through events. Because social support is so important, EX offers a state-of-the-art Web site (www.BecomeAnEX.org) as a convening point for smokers who want to quit and share their successes and challenges in the difficult quit process. Since March 2008, when the national program debuted, 1.4 million people have visited the site, and more than 215,000 smokers have joined the online community, forming customized support groups.

"Ending tobacco use is one of our public health priorities, even during the State's fiscal crisis," Commissioner Daines said. "Our smoking rates are at the lowest ever - 16.8 percent for adults and 14.7 percent for teenagers. I support Governor Paterson's proposal to raise the cigarette tax by $1 this year, which will make New York's cigarette tax the highest in the nation. Raising the price of tobacco has consistently helped reduce the number of smokers."

To learn more, visit www.BecomeAnEX.org  and the State Health Department's Web site at www.nyhealth.gov/prevention/tobacco_control/

SOURCE Legacy

Six public health groups today asked the U. S. Supreme Court to authorize a trial court to require major cigarette manufacturers to pay for a broad public education campaign against smoking, as well as programs to help smokers quit. The groups also asked that the trial court be empowered to require the tobacco companies to forfeit profits they made during decades of illegal activity.

The request for the high court to consider the case stems from a landmark ruling in 2006 in which the cigarette manufacturers were found guilty of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).  In that ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler found that major cigarette manufacturers had violated civil racketeering laws, defrauded the American people by lying for decades about the health risks of smoking and aggressively marketed their deadly products to children.

However, Judge Kessler ruled that the penalties she could impose on the tobacco companies were limited by a controversial appeals court ruling that restricted the remedies she could impose under the civil RICO law. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld Judge Kessler's ruling on May 22, 2009.  The six public health groups are now asking the Supreme Court to overturn that part of the decision that restricted the penalties she could order.

The petition was filed by the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network and the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund (a 501(c)4 affiliate of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids). The groups are intervenors in the case making them formal parties to the lawsuit.

The public health groups are represented by Meyer, Glitzenstein & Crystal of Washington, D.C. and by G. Robert Blakey, William J. and Dorothy O'Neill Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame Law School.

The public health intervenors' petition can be found at: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/pressoffice/cert_petition_02192010.pdf

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

Saint Francis Hospital's keynote speaker at HeartFest 2010 will be Patrick Reynolds, grandson of  cigarette company founder R.J. Reynolds and president of the Foundation for a Smokefree America.  The keynote speech by Mr. Reynolds, a leading anti-smoking advocate, will be held Thursday, Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. in the auditorium at Saint Francis Hospital, 355 Ridge Avenue, Evanston, Ill.  Mr. Reynolds will discuss the dangers of tobacco in his address "Tobacco Wars: the Battle for a Smoke-free Society."  

Saint Francis Hospital's annual Heart Festival includes free health information, physician lectures, a healthy cooking demonstration, and free health screenings. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the hospital, with the keynote speaker beginning discussion promptly at 1 p.m.

Patrick Reynolds lost his father, R.J. Reynolds, Jr., his oldest brother R.J. Reynolds III, his aunt and other family members due to cigarette-induced emphysema, heart disease, and lung cancer.  Concerned about the mounting health evidence against tobacco, he made the decision to speak out against the industry his family helped build.  From family tragedy, a passionate advocate emerged.

Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop said of him, "Patrick Reynolds is one of the nation's most influential advocates of a smoke-free America.  His testimony is invaluable to our society."  Patrick first spoke out publicly at a Congressional hearing in favor of a ban on all cigarette advertising in 1986.  Reynolds' advocacy work, motivational talks to youth and appearances in the press have made him a well-known and respected champion of a smoke-free society.  He has made numerous television appearances, including the Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Larry King, ABC's Nightline, The Phil Donahue Show, Extra, Entertainment Tonight, and numerous other national and international television and radio shows.

In March 2009, Reynolds met in Washington, DC with Rep. Henry Waxman, a co-sponsor of the Congressional bill for FDA regulation of tobacco, to offer his support.  The bill passed both Houses, and President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act into law on June 22, 2009.

 

FACTS ABOUT THE DANGERS OF SMOKING

Smoking is the single most preventable cause of death and disease:

• Cigarettes cause more deaths than cocaine, auto accidents, AIDS, alcohol, heroin, fire, suicide and homicide combined (1)
• Smokers die an average of 15 years earlier than nonsmokers
• Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer which kills more Americans every year than breast, colon and prostate cancer combined (2)
• In 2010, lung cancer will kill more than 165,000 Americans (2)
• In 2020, tobacco use will kill 6 million people from cancer, heart disease, emphysema and a range of other ills (3)

Cigarette smoking is the most important preventable cause of premature death in the United States:

• Accounts for more than 440,000 of the more than 2.4 million annual deaths
• Cigarette smokers have a higher risk of developing several chronic disorders including fatty buildups in arteries, several types of cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (lung problems)
• Atherosclerosis (buildup of fatty substances in the arteries) is a chief contributor to the high number of deaths from smoking
• Many studies detail the evidence that cigarette smoking is a major cause of coronary heart disease, which leads to heart attack. (4)

The societal costs of smoking include:

• Over 1200 lives lost each day in the U.S.
• Over 400,000 lives lost every year in the U.S.
• $50 billion annually in lost productivity and increased health care costs
• Worldwide, the toll exacted by tobacco use is one in every ten deaths
• Of the world's 1.2 billion smokers, the World Health Organization estimates that 500 million of them will die because of smoking (5)

In most cases, the decision to smoke or start smoking is not made by adults:

• 60% of smokers start by the age of 14
• 90% of smokers are firmly addicted before reaching age 19.
• Tobacco companies have spent over $4 billion annually on advertising, or $15 annually for every man, woman, and child in the country(6)

Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop alerted the nation that nicotine is as addictive as heroin or cocaine. (6)

(1)  Foundation for a Smokefree America, www.tobaccofree.org/theproblem.htm

(2)  Lung Cancer Alliance, www.lungcanceralliance.org/facing/facts.html

(3)  American Cancer Society Study, Tobacco Atlas, August 25, 2009

(4)  American Heart Association, www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4545

Foundation for a Smokefree America, www.tobaccofree.org/theproblem.htm

(5)  ibid.

(6)  ibid.

Media Contact: Margo Schafer, 847-316-4000.

SOURCE Saint Francis Hospital

The Department of Health will provide free nicotine patches to help Pennsylvanians who are trying to quit tobacco starting Monday, Jan. 25. Kits will be offered -- while supplies last -- through the PA Free Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

The Nicotine Replacement Therapy, or NRT, kits were paid for by funding from a legal settlement with the tobacco industry. No taxpayer funds were used.

"While many people use the start of a new year to make a new attempt at quitting tobacco, we know that quitting isn't easy. It takes practice and support," said Secretary of Health Everette James. "We hope that by providing free Nicotine Replacement Therapy and one-on-one support offered through our Quitline, more individuals will stay motivated to become tobacco-free."

Cigarette smoking continues to be the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, as well as a significant contributor to health care costs. Research by the federal Centers for Disease Control found nearly one of every five deaths nationwide is related to smoking - a staggering 440,000 preventable deaths each year.

The NRT kit promotion is in conjunction with Determined to Quit week, Jan. 24 - 30, as proclaimed by Governor Edward G. Rendell. The week is intended to raise awareness about the many resources available to help residents quit smoking.

Individuals interested in receiving a free NRT kit must call the PA Free Quitline. Quit coaches will ask whether callers have any medical conditions that would rule out the safe use of nicotine patches.  The kit includes a four-week supply of nicotine patches as well as other information to help make the quit attempt successful.  Those who qualify must be willing to enroll in the Quitline coaching program and set an actual quit date.

The PA Free Quitline is administered by Free and Clear, a national leader in the development, evaluation and delivery of evidence-based tobacco cessation programs. There is no cost for the phone support, which can range from three to five coaching sessions.

Additional information and support is offered through www.determinedtoquit.com.  The Web site provides guidance in developing a quit plan, a quit companion and calculator, and video blogs of Pennsylvanians sharing their own stories about quitting tobacco.  Those quitting can also engage family and friends.

Last year, as part of Determined To Quit Week, the Department of Health provided more than 2,200 free NRT kits to Quitline callers. This is the NRT program's second year.

For more information about the state's cessation resources, call the PA Free Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669).

Media contact: Stacy Kriedeman, 717-787-1783. SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Health