February 2010 Archives

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