June 2009 Archives

Landmark legislation giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to regulate tobacco products was signed into law at a White House ceremony today.

The federal government can now regulate the amount of nicotine in tobacco products, ban flavorful additives, require every chemical ingredient to be detailed on the label and prohibit deceptive marketing and ads that target the young.

Lung Cancer Alliance President Laurie Fenton-Ambrose said, "This puts us on a whole new track in helping current smokers to quit and in preventing new generations of young people from ever becoming addicted in the first place."

"And, hopefully," said Fenton, "this will also mark a new track for lung cancer research and early detection."

Congresswoman Donna M. Christensen (D-VI,) the first female physician in the House of Representatives and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus's Health Brain trust, was acknowledged by President Obama at the signing ceremony at the White House today for her leadership in Congress on the legislation.

The congresswoman is also the primary sponsor of the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act of 2009, H.R. 2112, which calls for a multi-agency comprehensive approach to all aspects of lung cancer from prevention to earlier detection, research and new treatments. .

"This comprehensive approach has never been done before and we are very grateful for her leadership and her commitment to this issue," said Fenton-Ambrose.

"Now with the highly addictive drug of nicotine under federal regulation, we must put aside the stigma of blame that has hurt so many patients whether they smoked or not, and has caused lung cancer to be the least funded of the major diseases," she added. "I believe that President Obama is sympathetic to this issue and hopefully will move to change public health policy on lung cancer as well."

Lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer in every ethnic group, taking more lives each year than breast, prostate, colon and pancreatic cancers combined. Over 50% of new cases are being diagnosed in former smokers and another 10% to 15% in people who have never smoked. The 5-year survival rate is still only 15%.

Lung Cancer Alliance is the only national non-profit organization dedicated solely to patient support and advocacy for people living with lung cancer and those at risk for the disease.

SOURCE Lung Cancer Alliance

In an effort to educate pregnant smokers about the harms of tobacco use on their unborn babies, the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Northwestern Pennsylvania (NWPA) Tobacco Control Program are launching a new smoking cessation campaign to target the 28 percent of pregnant women who smoke in that region of the state.

"More than one-quarter of expectant mothers in Northwestern Pennsylvania smoke cigarettes," said state Secretary of Health Everette James. "There are serious harms to both mother and child that can occur from tobacco use. We also understand that quitting takes practice. This campaign is geared to provide the necessary support and resources expectant mothers need to help them be successful in their quit attempts -- giving their unborn babies the best chance possible for a healthy start to life. The goal of this program is not only to help these women go tobacco free during pregnancy but for their entire life."

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, women who smoke during pregnancy are twice as likely to have health complications that may cause pre-term labor. In fact, babies born to smokers are 30 percent more likely to be born prematurely and/or with lower birth weights, increasing their risks of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS.

The pilot program will be overseen by the NWPA Tobacco Control Program, which provides direct services to individuals in the region. In addition to promoting the program and sharing resources available to pregnant smokers through regional media, the campaign also includes informational convenience store posters and radio advertisements encouraging listeners to use the PA Free Quitline, 1-800-QUIT NOW (1-800-784-8669) or by visiting www.DeterminedToQuit.com for cessation information and support.

The NWPA Tobacco Control Program regularly offers services to pregnant women in their attempts to quit using tobacco. All services are offered free of charge and include support for family members seeking cessation support.

The Department of Health's tobacco efforts are intended to help individuals to quit -- or never start -- using tobacco products, and to curb the retail sale of tobacco to minors.

Under a state law that took effect last September, smoking is now prohibited in most public places and workplaces across Pennsylvania.

For more cessation resource information, visit www.DeterminedToQuit.com or call 1-800-QUIT NOW.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Health

Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke on the House floor this morning in strong support of H.R. 1256, which will provide the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with authority to regulate tobacco products. The legislation passed the House by a vote of 307 to 97. It passed the Senate yesterday and now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature into law. Below are the Speaker's remarks.

"It's really a great day. It's momentous -- it's historic. We can't say that all the time about the legislation that we pass here, but it would be impossible to exaggerate the importance of what is happening here today.

"Today, we have an opportunity to protect public health and prevent disease. And today, we have an opportunity to honor our responsibility to our children to protect them from the harm that can come to them from the use of tobacco.

"Madam Speaker, tobacco is the number one cause of preventable deaths in the United States -- according to the Centers for Disease Control, it is responsible for about one in five, or 443,000, deaths annually.

"I want to acknowledge the great work of Chairman Waxman, Chairman Dingell, and Chairman Pallone. We passed this bill before Easter. Happily, yesterday, it passed the Senate, so that we can now pass the bill again and send it to the President's desk for his signature.

"There is so much support outside of the Congress as well. Thousands of organizations -- everyone from the American Cancer Society, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the AARP, and the Presbyterian Church -- just to name a few. They believe that passing this bill will save lives.

"Today, Americans benefit from the oversight of the FDA on foods that we eat, and medicines we take. Yet, despite the fact that tobacco is one of the deadliest products in America, the FDA has had no authority to regulate it. This is just not right. And today, we can correct that wrong.

"Right now, tobacco is exempt from standards that apply to a can of soda or a box of pasta. Tobacco makers are exempt from the critical and basic consumer protections, such as ingredient disclosure, product testing, and restrictions -- and restrictions on marketing to children.

"This legislation grants the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products. It also requires detailed disclosures of tobacco product ingredients and restricts tobacco marketing and sales to young people, among other things.

"And this legislation does all of this in a fiscally responsible way -- funding the FDA tobacco activity through a user fee on tobacco manufacturers.

"Because of lost productivity and health care expenditures, cigarette smoking costs our nation more than $193 billion a year -- almost $200 billion a year. By reducing the number of smokers, not only will this legislation save lives and reduce chronic disease, it will also reduce health care costs.

"Today, approximately 3,500 young people will try a cigarette for the first time, and another 1,000 will become addicted and be new, regular, daily smokers. One-third of those children will eventually die prematurely because of smoking. We must do all that we can to prevent premature death from smoking. And today, we have that opportunity.

"Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support the aptly named Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. I hope that the children of America will see a strong, bipartisan vote. This legislation deserves it. And then we can send it onto the President Obama to be signed into law, hopefully no later than next week.

"Today in passing this legislation -- enabling the FDA to regulate tobacco, we are taking a giant step toward making America healthier.

"Thank you all for your leadership."

SOURCE Office of the Speaker of the House

It's common knowledge that smoking raises risks of lung cancer. And yet researchers haven't known whether continued smoking by lung cancer patients would increase the risk of the cancer's spread.

Researchers at West Virginia University - studying the relationship between death rates from lung cancer and how much a person smoked - have found that smoking intensity in fact predicts how the disease will progress.

Patients who smoked two packs a day had a 58 percent higher risk of their lung cancers returning or spreading compared with nonsmoking patients.

Smoking intensity is one of only two factors found to predict lung-cancer mortality, according to the study published in the May issue of the journal Lung Cancer. The other factor is the stage of the cancer when diagnosed. Almost 350 patients with non-small cell lung cancer were studied.

Males older than age 60 were found to be the heaviest smokers at the time of diagnosis. Patients who smoked more than 61 packs a year had the greatest risk of their cancers recurring, and their survival times were shortest. They were 41 percent more likely to die from lung cancer than patients who smoked less.

"This study is important because lung cancer causes more deaths than any other type of cancer," said lead investigator Nancy L. Guo, Ph.D., a researcher with the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center.

"Because five-year survival rates of patients with non-small cell lung cancer are only about 15 percent, it's useful to know which patients are most likely to have their tumors come back," she said. "Our study showed that those who smoked more than 61 packs a year are more likely to develop tumor recurrence and should be considered for more aggressive therapy."

Chemotherapy drugs could be offered to prevent recurrence and spread of tumors, the authors said. And the heaviest smokers might also be targeted for measures to help them quit smoking.

Patients older than age 60 smoked, on average, 164 packs a year. Males smoked 189 packs a year compared with females' average of 112.

Patients with stage 3 tumors smoked an average of 198 packs a year.

The study is titled "Impact and interactions between smoking and traditional prognostic factors in lung cancer progression."

SOURCE West Virginia University Health Sciences Center

The U.S. Senate today has taken a critical step toward enacting historic legislation to finally regulate tobacco products and reduce tobacco's devastating toll on our nation's children and health. We applaud the 61 senators who voted to limit debate on this legislation and ensure that a final vote takes place later this week. Today's vote clears the most significant obstacle remaining to enactment of this long-overdue legislation to give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory authority over tobacco products. This legislation will at long last end special protection for the tobacco industry and protect our nation's children and health instead. As Senate debate continues, we urge senators to reject all amendments to weaken the bill.

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

Today, Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) attended a press conference held by the Senate leadership team guiding consideration of historic legislation that would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory authority over tobacco products.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a senior member of the Senate Health, Labor, Education and Pensions Committee (HELP) and Chairman Edward Kennedy's chief deputy whip for health reform, reiterated his call for quick action to protect our children from tobacco addiction and save lives.

Dodd was joined by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Jack Reed (D-RI) and Matt Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

The legislation would give the FDA legal authority to regulate the sale, distribution and advertising of tobacco products in order to stop tobacco companies from targeting children and misleading the public. LCA has been a strong proponent of the legislation.

Dodd is playing a key leadership role in guiding the legislation through committee and Senate floor consideration.

LCA-Connecticut advocate and lung cancer survivor, Judi Levi, called Dodd's leadership critically important to passing this much needed legislation. "As a lung cancer survivor and former smoker, I understand the need to have a comprehensive plan in place to address lung cancer - strong prevention and control regulations - such as this FDA legislation -- and adequate research funding to advance early detection and better treatment options."

"The FDA bill is an historic opportunity to stop the deliberate targeting of and marketing to youth - just to addict them and recruit them as replacement smokers. I applaud Senator Dodd for his efforts to protect our children and save countless lives."

Lung Cancer Alliance is the only national non-profit organization solely dedicated to patient support and advocacy for the lung cancer community. LCA's mission is to lead the movement to reverse decades of stigma and neglect by empowering those with or at risk for the disease, elevating awareness and changing health policy.

Source: Lung Care Alliance