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"Oceanside may pass
head shop ordinance" (Dana Littlefield,
The San Diego Union Tribune,
June 28, 2003) -- OCEANSIDE
– It may soon be illegal for anyone younger than 18 to
enter businesses here that sell or display tobacco along
with drug paraphernalia. The City Council is expected to
vote Wednesday on an ordinance intended to protect youth
from exposure to items like pipes and bongs – which
can be used for legal and illegal drugs – by keeping
them out of so-called head shops. There are at least
three such businesses in Oceanside, the city staff said.
The council voted unanimously to adopt the proposed
ordinance on its first reading June 18, but it has to go
through a second reading to become law. Wednesday's
meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 300 N.
Coast Highway.— ID# 6945
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"Global Tobacco
Treaty Opens for Signature at UN in New York" (Yahoo
News,
June 30, 2003) -- BOSTON,
June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The Framework Convention on
Tobacco Control (FCTC), the world's first public health
treaty, opens for signature at the United Nations in New
York today. Infact and other members of the Network for
Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT) are
applauding the commitment of the 40 countries that
already signed the treaty at World Health Organization
(WHO) headquarters in Geneva earlier this month, and
urging the US to ratify the groundbreaking treaty
quickly. The WHO-initiated treaty bans tobacco
advertising, promotion and sponsorship with exceptions
only for constitutional reasons, and protects public
health policy from tobacco industry interference. The
FCTC, which sets precedents for international regulation
of other industries that threaten health, the
environment and human rights, enters into force and
becomes international law after 40 countries ratify it.— ID#
6948
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"Cigarette Tax Increases Take Effect in 6 States
July 1; Cigarette Taxes Continue to Help States Reduce
Smoking, Raise Revenue" (Yahoo News,
June 26, 2003) -- WASHINGTON,
June 26 /U.S. Newswire/ -- On July 1, cigarette tax
increases will take effect in six more states - Georgia,
Hawaii, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wyoming.
This will bring to 29, along with the District of
Columbia and Puerto Rico, the number of states that have
increased cigarette taxes since January 1, 2002 (several
of these states have increased their cigarette taxes
more than once). On July 31, Delaware will become the
30th state to increase its cigarette tax.— ID# 6936
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"The California
Pharmacists Association Plays a Key Role in California
Pharmacies Becoming Tobacco Free" (Yahoo
News,
June 26, 2003) -- SACRAMENTO,
Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 26, 2003-- The California
Pharmacists Association (CPhA) announced today that
nearly 1000 California pharmacies, including all 37
Northern California Leader Pharmacies, are now tobacco
free. These pharmacies have taken part in Prescription
for Change (PfC), a project of the California Medical
Association Foundation, whose goal is to eliminate
tobacco promotions and sales in California pharmacies.
"The California Pharmacists Association has been
very supportive of the Prescription for Change project
since its inception," said Carlo Michelotti, CEO of
the California Pharmacists Association.— ID# 6935
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"`Smoking
kills,' warn new cigarette labels" (The
Chicago Tribune,
June 27, 2003) -- PARIS,
FRANCE -- Warning labels on cigarette packs have not
significantly dented the French passion for smoking. But
new regulations requiring much larger labels are
confronting smokers with the message "SMOKING
KILLS. "The labels -- warning of heart attacks,
lung cancer, impotence, aging skin and harm to children
-- began appearing this week and are the result of tough
anti-smoking regulations adopted in the European Union
to discourage tobacco consumption.— ID# 6929
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"Most Euros in Germany Carry Cocaine Traces" (Reuters,
June 24, 2003) - BERLIN
(Reuters) - Almost all euro banknotes circulating in
Germany contain traces of cocaine, scientists said on
Wednesday, as notes rolled up by users to snort the
illegal drug contaminate the cash system. "Nine out
of 10 banknotes show clearly measurable amounts of
cocaine," Fritz Soergel from the Institute for
Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research in Nuremberg told
Reuters on Wednesday. Some 600 euro notes were examined
in the study. The study could not provide conclusive
evidence on levels of cocaine usage in Germany and the
euro zone but Soergel said there was a clear correlation
between the findings and levels of recorded cocaine
abuse in European countries.— ID# 6937— (go
to article)
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"Tobacco-vendor ordinance adopted" (Hal
Dardick,
The Chicago Tribune,
June 26, 2003) --MONTGOMERY -- In two months all
tobacco vendors in the village will have to have a
license, after the Village Board this week adopted an
ordinance regulating tobacco products. The ordinance for
the first time requires tobacco vendors to be licensed,
which will cost $50 a year, unless the vendor also has a
liquor license, in which case there will be no
additional cost. With the ordinance the village will be
able to issue tickets to vendors who sell to minors or
to minors caught with tobacco. Currently police charge
tobacco offenders under state laws, which require an
appearance by the defendant in state court.— ID#
6915
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"Formula One Backs Off Tobacco Ban" (Yahoo
News,
June 25, 2003) -- PARIS
- Formula One's governing body is backing off plans to
ban tobacco sponsorship throughout the sport. FIA
said Wednesday it will now only "recommend"
that the sport refrain from tobacco advertising starting
in the 2007 season. The European Union (news - web
sites) imposed a ban on tobacco advertising for
2005, but FIA took the union to court in April in an
effort to push back the date. No settlement has been
reached.. — ID# 6919
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"Formula One sets
date for tobacco ban" (Yahoo News,
June 25, 2003) -- PARIS
(AFP) - Formula One authorities said they planned to bar
tobacco sponsorship after the 2006 world championship
season. The International Automobile Federation (FIA)
have been haggling with the European Commission (news
- web sites) for 10 years on plans to outlaw
tobacco advertising. The EU wants tobacco advertising
banned from 2006 but the FIA world motor sport council
proposed Wednesday that promoters, circuit owners, event
organisers, teams and drivers should cease all forms of
tobacco sponsorship from October 1, 2006, when the
season finishes. FIA president Max Mosley said in March
a ban from the end of the 2005 season could result in
there being only a handful of F1 Grand Prix in Europe in
future.— ID# 6908
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"Forty countries
sign anti-smoking treaty" (Reuters Health,
June 24, 2003) -- GENEVA,
Switzerland (Reuters) - Forty countries have already
signed a recently agreed anti-smoking pact, a
significant step toward ensuring the landmark global
treaty comes into force, the World Health Organization
(WHO) said Tuesday. The pact, which was concluded in
March after four years of hard negotiations, needs to be
signed and then ratified by 40 states for it to become
law in those countries. The treaty was opened for
signature on June 16 and within the first week 40 states
and the European Commission had signed the document, WHO
spokesman Iain Simpson told a news conference.— ID#
6906
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"Delaware bill
would penalize smoking violators, not establishments" (Joe
Rogalsky, NewsZap
June 23, 2003) -- DOVER
- Though an attempt to weaken the state's smoking ban
failed earlier this year, some lawmakers continue to try
to alter the prohibition against lighting up in most
indoor public places. Last week, the state House of
Representatives passed a measure 38-0 that would require
the state to hand out fines to individuals illegally
smoking instead of the owners of the establishments
where violations occur. Supporters praise the measure as
equitable. Opponents, including Gov. Ruth Ann Minner,
say the bill would make the smoking ban almost
"impossible to enforce."— ID# 6890
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"Hookah called a
pleasing smoke--or a smoke screen" (Lisa
Black,
The Chicago
Tribune,
June 24, 2003) -- Despite
notorious links to the drug culture, the hookah is
enjoying a whiff of mainstream popularity as college
students flock to new cafes, where it's become trendy to
spend the evening puffing on the exotic water pipes.
Concerns about the danger of smoking have not dampened
the appeal of restaurants like Evanston's Cafe Hookah,
which offers dozens of fruity tobacco blends in a
rekindling of a centuries-old Middle Eastern tradition.
"It's neat because it's ancient," said Luke
Griffiths, 20, a Northwestern University student from
Athens, Ill. — ID#
6891
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"Judge Won't Block
Internet Cigarette Ban" (The New York
Times,
June 23, 2003) -- BUFFALO,
N.Y. (AP) -- A judge refused Monday to temporarily block
the state's ban on Internet cigarette sales while
several online retailers challenge the law in court. The
law, passed in 2000 but not enforced until last week,
prohibits Internet and mail-order sales of cigarettes to
private individuals in the state who are not licensed by
New York to receive them. Attorneys for the state said
the law, passed as a public health statute, is intended
to keep cigarettes out of the hands of children.— ID#
6893
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"For the zoo,
problems on the grounds and off" (Debra
Kelly,
The San Diego Union
Tribune,
June 14, 2003) -- The
American Lung Association's Tobacco-Free Communities
Coalition is challenging the San Diego Zoological
Society to follow the lead of the Los Angeles Zoo and
make the grounds of both the San Diego Zoo and the Wild
Animal Park smoke-free. What a gift to visitors such as
Orem Spiegler of Pennsylvania, whose letter of June 6
encourages this move. California leads the nation in
smoke-free environments. As an example of environmental
stewardship, the Zoo and Wild Animal Park would be
widely congratulated for going smoke-free.— ID#
6878
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"Health-Care Costs
Offset Tobacco Tax Revenue" (The Los
Angeles Times,
June 22, 2003) -- Re
"Addicted to Tobacco," by Tommy J. Payne,
Commentary, June 18 What a piece of trash! Here is the
executive vice president for external relations of R.J.
Reynolds Tobacco Holdings saying, in effect, "Naner,
naner, naner. We have the product you local, state and
federal governments need because it generates over $30
billion a year in tax revenues. By the way, please don't
restrict our ability to make this carcinogen more
'palatable' to the smokers, and please don't limit our
ability to market and promote our poisonous products to
adults who choose to smoke them."— ID# 6888
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"Canadian
no-smoking law beneficial, study shows" (Juhie
Bhatia, Reuters Health,
June 22, 2003) -- TORONTO
(Reuters Health) - Canada's first bylaw banning smoking
in public places has not had the negative social or
economic impact predicted by opponents, researchers
reported this week. The researchers, attending the
Canadian Pediatric Society's 80th annual meeting in
Calgary, Alberta, revealed that the legislation has
greater public support and hasn't hurt local businesses
since its implementation. The CRD Clean Air Bylaw
prohibits smoking on all public premises, including
restaurants, bars, clubs, bingo halls and casinos. It
was implemented in British Columbia's Capital Regional
District (CRD) on January 1, 1999.— ID# 6886
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"AMA to seek
stronger tobacco warnings" (Lindsey Tanner,
The San Diego Union
Tribune,
June 16, 2003) -- CHICAGO
– The American Medical Association voted Wednesday to
seek stronger health warnings on tobacco products,
including pictures and larger, more pithy messages. The
nation's largest doctors' group also adopted a policy
calling for increased awareness for underage drinking
and supporting excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco. The
votes came at the AMA's annual meeting after Dr. Julie
Gerberding, director of the federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, told the gathering that tobacco
and alcohol remain top killers nationwide.— ID#
6864
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"Study rejects
smoking-ban cost concerns" (Andre Picard, The
Globe and Mail,
June 19, 2003) -- Ottawa's
antismoking bylaws -- among the toughest in the country
because they ban smoking in public places such as bars
and restaurants -- have had no discernible impact on
sales of food or liquor, a study shows. Researchers
found that contrary to fears in the hospitality
industry, sales at restaurants and bars in the country's
capital did not decline after the smoking ban was
implemented in August, 2001. But the research reveals
sales of food and drink had been slipping steadily for
years and have been stagnant since early 2000.— ID#
6865
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"Tobacco Company
Chided for War Freebies" (Nancy
Zuckerbrod, Yahoo News,
June 17, 2003) -- WASHINGTON
- The nation's leading snuff maker flouted military
policy and tried to attract new customers by sending
free samples to Marines stationed in Iraq (news -
web sites), two lawmakers contend. Reps. Henry
Waxman, D-Calif., and Bill Janklow, R-S.D., said the
giveaway and subsequent marketing by U.S. Smokeless
Tobacco Co. amounted to an irresponsible attempt to
return to the days in which service members were given
free cigarettes in their ration kits, which ended in
1975. "It appears that U.S. Smokeless Tobacco is
seeking to revive the disastrous policy of distributing
free tobacco products to men and women in the armed
services," the lawmakers wrote in a letter sent to
the company Tuesday.— ID# 6855
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"Cigarette machine
curbs in works" (Mark Shuman, The
Chicago Tribune,
June 17, 2003) -- DES
PLAINES -- The city is moving to crack down on tobacco
purchases by minors. Aldermen voted 8-0 Monday to get an
ordinance drafted that would require about 100
businesses to place electronic regulating devices on
self-service cigarette vending machines. The devices,
which cost about $150, require store and restaurant
employees to turn the vending machines on and off by
remote control after determining the age of buyers.— ID#
6854
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"Bill to ban
smoking is filtered some more" (David
Kinney, The Star Ledger,
June 17, 2003) -- It
began as a New York City-style push to ban smoking in
virtually every public place in New Jersey bars,
restaurants, museums, office buildings, ballparks. But
that was before the casinos, restaurant operators, bar
owners, cigarette makers and their lobbyists showed up
in force. "It's like a toothless tiger now,"
one of the ban's proponents, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora
(D-Mercer), said yesterday after an Assembly committee
amended the proposal to allow smoking in bars and in
designated areas in restaurants and casinos. The action
followed a Senate committee's vote last week to exempt
casinos and small, owner-operated bars from its version
of the smoking prohibition bill.— ID# 6851
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"Legislature
approves statewide smoking restrictions" (Bob
Johnson, The Times Daily
June 16, 2003) -- State
Sen. Vivian Figures was finally successful Monday night
after trying for six years to pass a bill that restricts
smoking in Alabama buildings.The House passed the bill
80-0 Monday night. It does not allow smoking in most
public buildings, such as hospitals, schools, theaters,
museums and day care centers, except in private offices.
The bill is weaker than the one Figures' originally
introduced, but she said she sees it as a positive first
step.The bill now goes to Gov. Bob Riley for his
signature."I know the effects of second-hand smoke.
That's why I feel so passionate on this issue,"
said Figures, who said she suffers from chronic
bronchitis and asthma.— ID# 6857
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"Tobacco firms
under fire again for "light" label" (Yahoo
News,
June 16, 2003) -- OTTAWA
(AFP) - An anti-tobacco coalition filed a consumer fraud
complaint with the federal government against
manufacturers of "light" and "mild"
labeled cigarettes, saying the labels deceive consumers.
David Sweanor with the Non-Smokers' Rights Association
told reporters here Monday that smokers who buy
"mild" or "light" cigarettes
"believe they are getting less tar, less nicotine.
They're not." Another lawyer in the anti-tobacco
coalition, David Hill, added that for consumers who buy
"light" and "mild" cigarettes the
result "is virtually the same as in the regular
product.— ID# 6843
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"Nations flock to
sign U.N. anti-tobacco treaty" (Robert
Evans, Reuters Health,
June 16, 2003) -- GENEVA
(Reuters) - A total of 28 countries from around the
world plus the European Commission lined up on Monday to
endorse a landmark global anti-smoking treaty on
the first day it was open for signature. Officials
behind the pact, which emerged in March after four years
of hard negotiations at the World Health Organisation
(WHO), said commitment appeared to be so high that the
pact could be in force by the end of the year. "I
urge countries throughout the world to follow the
example of those here today -- to swiftly sign and then
ratify this treaty," WHO Director-General Gro
Harlem Brundtland, who steps down next month, said in a
statement..— ID# 6841
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"Youths busy on
both sides of smoking-ban issue" (Martha
Irvine, The San Diego Tribune,
June 15, 2003) -- CHICAGO
– You could say Kyle Damitz, 14, helped pioneer a
movement that has snuffed out smoking in many
restaurants and bars nationwide. More than eight years
ago, he and his brother talked the owners of their local
bowling alley into a ban on cigarettes and cigars during
youth leagues – a minor coup in smoker-friendly
Chicago. Now the eighth-grader is helping push proposals
that would make it illegal to smoke in many public
places in his city and neighboring Skokie, Ill. He's
among the young people nationwide getting involved in
the tobacco debate – an issue that resonates strongly
with them since many take up smoking during their teen
years, while others make a conscious decision not to.— ID#
6834
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"Regulate tobacco?" (The
San Diego Tribune,
June 16, 2003) -- Breezes
of change are beginning to stir the old oaks in
Washington regarding tobacco, its health dangers, and
what to do about a legal product that experts say kills
400,000 Americans every year. U.S. Surgeon General
Richard Carmona surprised many at a House subcommittee
hearing earlier this month when, in response to a
question, he said he would support the banning of all
tobacco products. "If Congress chose to go that
way, that would be up to them," he said. "But
I see no need for any tobacco products in society."
It was the first time that any surgeon general had
supported such a far-reaching step, going significantly
further even than one of his outspoken predecessors, C.
Everett Koop, who said in the mid-1980s that he
supported a ban on all cigarette advertising and
promotion.— ID# 6833
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"Online and
Mail-Order Sales of Tobacco Face a State Ban" (Patrick
Healy, The
New York Times, June 13, 2003) --
New York smokers already
exiled from restaurants, nightclubs, office lounges and
taxis are about to lose one more perch the Internet.
Under a state law that goes into effect Wednesday, New
York residents will no longer be able to buy cigarettes
from online or mail-order dealers. Tobacco distributors
face heavy fines if they sell cigarettes to anyone in
New York State except licensed dealers. Antismoking
groups said the ban, instituted after a three-year legal
battle, marks a victory.— ID# 6822
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"Cigarette Ad
Spending Jumps, FTC Says" (The New York
Times, June 13, 2003) -- WASHINGTON
(AP) -- Cigarette manufacturers are spending more to
advertise and promote their products, but selling fewer
cigarettes. The largest companies spent a record $11.2
billion on advertising and promotions nationwide in
2001, the last year for which such figures were
available, according to a study released Thursday by the
Federal Trade Commission. That was a 17 percent increase
from 2000, when the industry spent $9.6 billion. Despite
the increase, cigarette sales to retailers and
wholesalers dropped 3.8 percent from 2000, according to
the commission. The manufacturers spent most of their
money -- $4.8 billion -- on free cigarettes or
merchandise given out with purchases. — ID# 6823
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"Businesses Benefit
From Smoking Ban" (Mort Paulson, The
Washington Post
June 13, 2003) -- A
ban on smoking in Montgomery County eating and drinking
places would have a "devastating economic
impact" on bars and restaurants and cause some to
fail, writes Melvin R. Thompson, a spokesperson for the
Maryland and Montgomery County restaurant associations
["Measure Would Do More Harm Than Good,"
Montgomery Extra, June 5]. Yet Thompson doesn't cite a
single example of a bar or restaurant failing anyplace
in the United States because of smoking restrictions.
More than half of Montgomery's 1,403 restaurants have
outlawed smoking voluntarily.— ID# 6824
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"Tobacco giants,
state face off before judge" (Denny Walsh, The
Sacramento Bee,
June 12, 2003) -- Two
tobacco giants asked a Sacramento federal judge
Wednesday to ban California's anti-smoking
advertisements "vilifying" the industry, while
the Davis administration asked that the lawsuit be
tossed out. The ads are "wrong, and we shouldn't
have it in the United States," tobacco attorney H.
Joseph Escher III proclaimed. "The government has
gone overboard in its zealotry to stamp out smoking.
"While we may be unpopular, this is what the First
Amendment is for; it is designed to protect unpopular
groups." "I hear the passion," rejoined
state Deputy Attorney General Karen Leaf. "But it's
a legal issue, not a moral one, and the law does not
preclude this public health campaign."— ID#
6808
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"Philip Morris
Continues Efforts to Buy Bad Public Policy with
Political Contributions, Says Campaign for Tobacco-Free
Kids" (Yahoo News,
June 12, 2003) --WASHINGTON,
June 12 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following statement by
William V. Corr, executive director of Campaign for
Tobacco-Free Kids, on Philip Morris was released today
"A story in today's issue of The Washington Post
exposes Philip Morris' continuing efforts to use huge
political contributions to buy bad public policy that
protects the company's bottom line rather than the
public's health. In this case, the story details the
efforts of U.S. House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) to
insert a provision in a bill creating the Department of
Homeland Security that would enhance Philip Morris'
profits by reducing the sale of counterfeit cigarettes.— ID#
6812
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"Senate plan banks
on sin taxes" (David Rice, The
Winston-Salem Journal,
June 12, 2003) -- RALEIGH-Leaders
in the N.C. Senate offered a proposal yesterday that
relies on increases in so-called sin taxes -taxes on
cigarettes and alcohol - to balance the state budget in
2004-05. But leaders in the House, which is split evenly
between 60 Democrats and 60 Republicans, continued to
say they don't have the votes to raise any taxes or
approve a state lottery...The tax package would raise
the state cigarette tax by 25 cents a pack on major
brands and double the beer tax, which is now 5 cents a
can.— ID# 6811
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"Lawsuit to stop
anti-smoking ads gets court hearing Wednesday" (Jessica
Brice, The San Diego Union Tribune,
June 10, 2003) -- SACRAMENTO
– Two of the nation's largest cigarette makers will
bring their fight against tough anti-smoking ads to a
federal Sacramento courtroom Wednesday. It's part of a
bicoastal battle against advertisements that tobacco
companies say violate their constitutional rights to a
fair trial. Tobacco giants R.J. Reynolds and Lorillard
allege California's television and print advertisements
unfairly portray tobacco executives as deviously
plotting to hook teens on smoking. One such television
spot shows children in a playground with cigarettes
raining down on them, said Charles A. Blixt, executive
vice president and chief counsel for R.J. Reynolds,
which is based in Winston-Salem, N.C.— ID# 6800
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"Take it outside" (Crystal
Yednak, The
Chicago Tribune,
June 11, 2003) -- BOSTON
-- Cigarette smoke now triggers curious looks from
people gathered in bars around their pints.If someone
lights up in violation of the city's new smoking ban,
"you look around to see who's smoking," said
Jeff Korzon, 33, a financial analyst in Boston. A month
into the smoke ban, life in Boston is already different.
While places such as California have had smoking bans
for years, Chicago is not sunny, mild California. The
reaction in Boston may provide better insight into what
could happen if the Chicago City Council does move ahead
with the smoking ban they've been tossing around for
several months now.— ID# 6802
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"Governor will
crack down on illegal tobacco sales to minors" (The
Sacramento Bee ,
June 10, 2003) -- SACRAMENTO
(AP) - Because of an increase in illegal tobacco sales
to minors that may threaten California's share of some
federal funds, Gov. Gray Davis will issue an executive
order aimed at cutting those sales, a Davis spokesman
said Monday. Davis will issue the order Tuesday,
spokesman Russ Lopez said. "We're finding that
these illegal sales are increasing. People are still
selling to minors," said Lopez.— ID# 6793
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"'Club'
keeps tobacco from minors" (Dave Moller,
The Union,
June 4, 2003) -- Many
merchants in Nevada County are diligent about not
selling tobacco products to those under 18. After all,
it's the law. There are also those who are not so
diligent, and six stores were busted by the state last
summer for selling tobacco to minors, said Patti Carter,
the county's tobacco education prevention coordinator.
To help bring merchants into compliance and to support
efforts to stop youth tobacco use, Carter will start an
organization called the Caring Retailers Club in the
coming weeks. By signing a pledge, retailers will show
their commitment to youth health and good choices,
Carter said.— ID# 6775
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"Pushing
Accountability on Hollywood" (Ronald
Brownstein,
The Los Angeles Times,
June 9, 2003) -- SAN
FRANCISCO — Why are Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts
stonewalling thousands of middle and high school
students writing to ask them to stop glamorizing smoking
in their films?Probably because that's how the
entertainment industry almost always reacts when
challenged on the social effect of its products,
especially on children. As a group, the big
entertainment interests — movie studios, record
companies, television networks — have pushed away
parents demanding greater accountability as if they were
so many stalkers trying to crash the red carpet at a
premiere.— ID# 6776
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"Underage Smoking's
Low-Key Opponent" (Hamil
R. Harris,
The Washington Post,
June 8, 2003) -- The
CVS at the Pointer Ridge Shopping Center in Bowie was
filled with customers early one recent evening when a
tall youth stepped up to the counter. "Let me have
a pack of Newports," he said. Without asking for
identification, the clerk retrieved the cigarettes. As
the youth left the store, Ron Salisbury moved in.
"I need to speak to your manager," he
said...Salisbury, the tobacco enforcement officer for
the Prince George's County Health Department, is a
former Baltimore street patrol officer with a unique
mission. He is the county's thin brown line against
illegal sales in the 1,040 establishments licensed to
carry cigarettes and other tobacco products. According
to a national study, 4.5 million teenagers, ages 12 to
17, smoke cigarettes.— ID# 6778
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"Tobacco execs
launch attack on anti-smoking ads" (Martin
Kasindorf, Yahoo News,
June 9, 2003) -- LOS
ANGELES -- After smoldering for years, tobacco
executives are asking courts to ban anti-smoking ads
that portray them as callous killers who try to get kids
addicted to nicotine At issue are aggressive campaigns
aimed at teenagers and funded by 13 state governments
and an anti-tobacco foundation. Tobacco companies say
they don't mind radio and TV spots that say smoking is
unhealthful. But in a lawsuit filed in California, the
companies say that nasty personal attacks are unfairly
tipping juries against them in smokers' personal-injury
suits. In a Delaware complaint, one company says that
Delaware, California and 44 other states promised they
wouldn't pillory cigarette makers when the states signed
a $206 billion settlement in 1998 that repaid their
Medicaid costs of treating sick smokers.— ID# 6781
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"Lawmakers
mull promotion of "safer" cigarettes" (Reuters
Health,
June 4, 2003) -- WASHINGTON
(Reuters Health) - Experts urged lawmakers Tuesday to
move cautiously on proposals allowing tobacco companies
to tout the relative safety of "light" or
"low-tar" products, warning that they could
worsen the public health damage wrought by smoking.
Meanwhile, one major cigarette maker renewed its plea
for federal health regulation of tobacco products as a
way to encourage development and sales of potentially
lower-risk tobacco products. More than 400,000 Americans
die each year from smoking-related illnesses like cancer
and emphysema. Still, about 23 percent of adult
Americans continue to smoke regularly, according to
federal health statistics.— ID# 6769
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"As smoking ban
movement gains momentum, youth get involved – on both
sides of the issue" (Martha Irvine,
The
San Diego Union Tribune,
June 4, 2003) -- CHICAGO
– You could say 14-year-old Kyle Damitz helped pioneer
a movement that has snuffed out smoking in many
restaurants and bars nationwide. More than eight years
ago, he and his brother talked the owners of their local
bowling alley into a ban on cigarettes and cigars during
youth leagues – a minor coup in smoker-friendly
Chicago. Now the eighth-grader is helping push proposals
that would make it illegal to smoke in many public
places in his city and neighboring Skokie, Ill. He's
among the young people nationwide getting involved in
the tobacco debate – an issue that resonates strongly
with them since many take up smoking during their teen
years, while others make a conscious decision not to.— ID#
6765
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"Measure Would Do
More Harm Than Good" (Melvin R. Thompson, The
Washington Post,
June 5, 2003) -- Now
that the Montgomery County Council has completed the
county budget and cheerfully levied new taxes on
residents, it's time to return to what the county
government does best -- infringe upon the personal
choices of individuals and what few small-business
owners remain in the county. Once again, it's the
public-place smoking issue front and center. Never mind
that there have been few problems with statewide smoking
restrictions passed eight years ago that prohibit
smoking in all workplaces, with certain exemptions for
bars, taverns, nightclubs, private clubs, hotel and
motel bars, and restaurant bars. Members of the County
Council, a majority of whom have spent little time
working in the private sector, are compelled to
demonstrate that they know what's best for those who
don't know what's best for themselves.— ID# 6766
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"Anti-smoking group
says movie trailers contain too much smoking" (The
North
County Times,
June 1, 2003) -- LOS
ANGELES (AP) ---- An anti-smoking group said Saturday
that youngsters are seeing too much smoking when they
watch commercials for many popular movies. Tobacco use
was found in 14 percent of the movie trailers that
appeared on television and were studied by the American
Legacy Foundation. They included trailers for some of
the biggest hits of 2001, including the Oscar-winning
"A Beautiful Mind," the group said. The
foundation estimated that during the yearlong period
studied, more than 90 percent of all U.S. youngsters 12
to 17 years old had seen at least one trailer with
smoking.— ID# 6760
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"Surgeon General
Says He'd Back Tobacco Ban" (The
Los Angeles Times,
June 4, 2003) -- WASHINGTON
— Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona said Tuesday that
he supports the banning of tobacco products — the
first time that the government's top doctor and public
health advocate has made such a strong statement about
the contentious subject. Testifying at a House Energy
and Commerce subcommittee hearing on smokeless tobacco
and "reduced risk" tobacco products, Carmona
was asked whether he would "support the abolition
of all tobacco products." "I would at this
point, yes," he replied. He declined to say whether
he would support a specific law to ban tobacco —
saying that "legislation is not my field" —
but did say he "would support banning or abolishing
tobacco products."
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"Cal Expo board
limits smoking at fairgrounds" (Gwendolyn
Crump, The Sacramento Bee,
June 3, 2003) -- Smokers
visiting Cal Expo will no longer be allowed to smoke
while strolling the fairgrounds and will be asked to
smoke only in designated areas, officials announced
Monday. The California Exposition and State Fair board
of directors approved the policy change during its
monthly meeting Friday, designating certain areas of Cal
Expo as smoke-free. "This policy has been a long
time in the making," Norbert Bartosik, Cal Expo's
chief executive officer and general manager, said in a
news release.— ID#
6752
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"New York's
Barkeeps Are Steamed at Smoking Ban" (Christine
Haughney, The New
York Times,
June 3, 2003) -- NEW
YORK -- Three facts of life defined the Lower East
Side's Whiskey Ward -- peanut bowls, Wild Turkey shot
specials and smokes. Now New York City's smoking ban has
taken away the smokes, and saloon owner Sandee Wright
says that has messed with her bar's groove. Her
customers, an amalgam of tattoo artists and dot-com
suits, are staying away -- business is down 40 percent.
She has laid off her bouncer. And with her customers
popping outside for a puff, she is irritating her
neighbors -- who recently poured buckets of water on
some overly garrulous patrons. It's just going to get
worse this summer, she expects.— ID# 6753
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"Study Tobacco
giant targeted gay market" (Christopher
Lisotta, Yahoo News
May 30, 2003) -- University
of California at San Francisco researchers have
published two papers that document the tobacco
industry's attempts to target gay men to increase
cigarette sales, and quell protest from gay political
groups by giving money to AIDS (news - web
sites) charities. In the June issue of the American
Journal of Public Health, UCSF School of Nursing
research associate Elizabeth A. Smith wrote that the
cigarette maker Philip Morris (now known as Altria)
began advertising in the gay magazine Genre in the early
1990s in order to "own the market," but then
immediately denied it was interested in gay male smokers
after the mainstream media picked up on the move,
arguing that Genre was not a gay magazine. — ID#
6749
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"Cancer Doctors
Urge Focused War Against Tobacco" (Yahoo
News
May 31, 2003) -- CHICAGO
(Reuters) - The leading U.S. group of cancer physicians
on Saturday urged an immediate $2-per-pack increase in
taxes on cigarettes and other steps to curb smoking,
which is projected to kill a billion people worldwide
this century. "Oncologists see the end product from
smoking. To see a preventable form of cancer is a
tragedy," said Dr. Paul Bunn, president of the
American Society of Clinical Oncologists at a news
conference at the group's annual meeting. In a new
policy statement, the group representing tens of
thousands of cancer experts globally, recommended
creation of a "blue-ribbon" panel to focus
U.S. government tobacco policy.— ID# 6742
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"World No Tobacco
Day Targets Film, Fashion" (Yahoo News,
May 30, 2003) -- The
World Health Organization (news - web sites)
is urging Hollywood to do more to keep tobacco off the
silver screen. It's made smoking in the movies the focus
of Saturday's World No Tobacco Day. "The WHO is
calling on the entertainment industry, in particular the
world of films and fashion, to stop promoting a product
that kills every second regular user," the global
health organization said. World No Tobacco Day is
celebrated every year on May 31 as a way to draw
attention to the dangers of tobacco use. Global
activities this year include fashion shows, art
exhibits, seminars, and petitions urging an end to
tobacco use in film and fashion. Images Influence Kids— ID#
6747
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"Stamp out smoking" (The San Diego Union Tribune, May
24, 2003) -- From
our vantage point in one of the world's healthiest
cities, a place where cigarette smokers are decidedly
scarce compared to the rest of the world, the World
Health Organization's international treaty to discourage
smoking makes eminent good sense. Imagine a place where
over 60 percent of all men above age 15 smoke (China,
Russia, Romania, Kenya, Tunisia, Bosnia). In Bosnia,
more than half of all physicians smoke. While the war
against tobacco-related diseases is going well in the
United States, it isn't being waged at all in most parts
of the world. Developing nations, where 50 percent of
men smoke, are a major target of tobacco companies. — ID#
6705
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"2 Bills Would Soften Smoking Ban Approved 2 Months
Ago" (Winnie Hu, The New York Times, May 22, 2003) --
ALBANY, May 22 — State
legislators are considering two proposals that would
weaken a new state smoking ban by allowing people to
light up in bars and restaurants that build stand-alone
smoking rooms, or are operated by their owners. The
proposals, which were introduced in separate Assembly
and Senate bills on Wednesday, come less than two months
after the Legislature enacted a tough antismoking law in
nearly all workplaces. These proposals reflect the
mounting opposition to the new law among politicians,
smokers, and bar and restaurant owners across the state.
The state ban, which goes into effect July 24, would
apply to localities that either do not have antismoking
laws, or that have less restrictive ones.— ID# 6703
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"Study Downplays the Health Risks From Secondhand
Smoke" (Rosie Mestel, The Los Angeles
Times, May 16, 2003) -- ISecondhand
smoke does not appear to increase the risk for lung
cancer and heart disease, according to a study in the
British Medical Journal that was partially funded by the
tobacco industry. The study was quickly criticized by
the American Cancer Society and other health groups as
misleading and unreliable. "We are appalled that
the tobacco industry has succeeded in giving visibility
to a study with so many problems it literally failed to
get a government grant," said Dr. Michael J. Thun,
the society's national vice president of epidemiology
and surveillance research. "This study is neither
reliable nor independent." — ID# 6686
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"Secondhand Smoke" (Darlene Spratt, The
Los Angeles Times, May 20, 2003) -- It's
hardly surprising the tobacco industry has funded a
study that suggests there is no link between secondhand
smoke and lung cancer or heart disease (May 16). What
did surprise me, however, was UCLA's willingness to
accept partial funding from the tobacco industry for a
secondhand-smoke study — ID#
6685
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"Global Pact Would Ban Cigarette Ads" (Myron
Levin, The Los Angeles Times, May 21, 2003) --
An international panel
Tuesday endorsed a global anti-tobacco treaty that calls
for a ban on cigarette advertising, in a move supporters
called a watershed in combating the largest cause of
disease and death. With delegates from more than 40
nations voicing support and only one speaking against
the treaty, final approval by the World Health Assembly
in Geneva is expected as early as today. The treaty,
sponsored by the World Health Organization and
negotiated by more than 170 nations, is meant to reduce
the rising toll from smoking-related diseases.— ID#
6684
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"WHO Agrees to Anti-Tobacco Convention" (Clare
Nullis, Yahoo News, May 20, 2003) --
GENEVA — The World Health
Organization (news - web sites) gave
preliminary approval Tuesday to a landmark anti-tobacco
treaty, with speaker after speaker saying it will save
millions of lives. The treaty would ban or restrict
cigarette advertising, reduce second-hand smoke,
introduce more prominent health warnings and control use
of terms like 'low-tar' on cigarette packs. It also
provides for tougher international measures against
smuggling and introduces the concept of manufacturer
liability. "What we are doing today will be written
in bold letters in world history," said Mauritian
Health Minister Ashok Jugnauth. "Generations to
come will not only thank us, but a lot of them will owe
their lives to us." — ID# 6670
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"U.S. may now back anti-tobacco treaty" (Clare
Nullis, The San Diego Union Tribune, May 19, 2003) --
In a major shift in
position, the United States indicated yesterday that it
would back a global anti-tobacco treaty due to be
adopted at the World Health Organization's annual
assembly. The treaty, four years in the making,
envisages total bans or restrictions on advertising and
marketing, new labeling controls and a clamp on
smuggling and secondhand smoke. Besides the treaty, the
192-nation health assembly, which opens today, will be
dominated by discussions of the SARS virus and WHO's
efforts to change global health regulations to cope with
new infectious diseases and the threat of bioterrorism. — ID#
6657
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"Condo smoking lamp is still lit" (Andrew
LePage, The Sacramento Bee, May 15, 2003) --
A proposed state law that would have restricted smokers
from lighting up in their own apartment or condominium
has been shelved until next year. The author of the
bill, state Assemblyman Joe Nation, D-San Rafael, said
he decided not to try to "muscle" it through
the Legislature this year, given the number of concerns
raised and lawmakers' preoccupation with the state's
fiscal crisis. "In a year in which 90 percent of
the attention is focused on resolving the budget
deficit, it's hard to get people to focus on issues like
this," Nation said. "I think there are
legitimate issues about how we address the legitimate
concern about secondhand smoke in multifamily dwellings.
We'll work through those issues this fall."— ID#
6650
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"Cigarette tax will improve the state's fiscal
health" (Rob
O'Dell, The San Diego Union Tribune, May 15, 2003) --
Leary is chairman of the board of the American Cancer
Society. Moore is president of the American Heart
Association, Western States Affiliate. Kennedy is
chairman of the board of the American Lung Association
of California. Gov. Gray Davis and the Legislature face
tough decisions to close a record budget shortfall and
protect essential state services. But one decision
should be easy because it would significantly improve
both the fiscal health of California and the health of
Californians.— ID# 6652
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"Smoking foes urge tougher online tobacco curbs" (Todd
Zwillich, Reuters Health, May 1, 2003) --
Anti-smoking
activists refused Thursday to back a U.S. House bill
designed to reign in sales of tax-free cigarettes over
the Internet, calling the measure too soft on
enforcement against the vendors. The proposal aims to
force Web site operators to begin paying excise taxes by
making them report details of their sales to state
governments where sales are made. It also gives state
attorneys general the authority to sue vendors for the
uncollected tax money in federal court. Hundreds of Web
sites offer consumers discounted cigarettes by skirting
state excise taxes that often run over a dollar per
pack. — ID# 6583
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"Tobacco tax crackdown considered by Senate
committee" (Jessica Brice, The San Diego
Union Tribune, Apr 30, 2003) --
As state officials consider
a hike in cigarette taxes to boost state revenues, a
Senate committee on Wednesday approved a bill that could
make it more difficult for smokers to dodge state taxes.
The bill, by Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Marina del Rey, would
ban the sale of tobacco and cigarettes by Internet or
mail-order companies that skirt federal and state tax
laws. If passed, the bill would help state officials tap
into the estimated $40 million to $50 million that the
state loses annually by smokers who find ways to avoid
the tax. — ID# 6576
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"Stiff Fines Accompany City's Smoking Ban" (Michael
Brick, The New York Times, Apr 30, 2003) --
For smokers, and the New
York City bars that still harbor them in defiance of the
law, the night of reckoning has arrived. Stiff new fines
go into effect at midnight. Since the smoking ban
started in early March, city officials said yesterday,
they have issued 71 violation notices — essentially
toothless warnings — to owners of bars and restaurants
for failing to enforce it. And the City Department of
Health and Mental Hygiene has also received 331
complaints about places that still allow smoking. Most
of the complaints have been against restaurants and
bars, but some have been against places like nursing
homes and bingo parlors, said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the
city health commissioner, in an interview yesterday. — ID#
6570
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"Bill to raise legal smoking age founders" (James
P. Sweeney, The San Diego Union Tribune, Apr
29, 2003) -- Portrayed
against images of young soldiers fighting abroad, a
proposal to boost the legal smoking age to 21 in
California failed to clear its first committee yesterday
and may be finished for the year. The legislation
sponsored by a powerful doctors' lobby attracted
national attention and enjoyed a brief run in the state
Senate last year. The bill would raise the legal smoking
age in California from 18 to 21, more restrictive than
any other state. But the measure by Assemblyman Paul
Koretz, D-West Hollywood, was sent packing yesterday on
a 12-6 vote – two short of passage – in the
Governmental Organization Committee.
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"Bill aims to
squeeze taxes out of Internet cigarette sales" (Michael
Gardner, The San Diego Union Tribune, Apr
23, 2003) -- With
California desperate for every dollar, Sen. Debra Bowen
is threatening to punish online and mail-order cigarette
retailers who refuse to aid state tax collectors. The
Redondo Beach Democrat on Wednesday unveiled legislation
that would give the state unilateral power to fine
retailers for failing to report online or mail-order
sales. "Cigarette retailers are making a fortune by
thumbing their noses at the federal law and misleading
California buyers into thinking they can duck nearly $9
in state tobacco taxes on every carton they order,"
Bowen said. The state lost an estimated $54 million in
unpaid cigarette taxes in 2001-2002, according to Dennis
Maciel of the Board of Equalization. — ID# 6552
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"Students keep an
eye on ads" (Coral Wilson, The Los
Angeles Times, Apr 24, 2003) --
Children in the market for
a soda or candy bar are frequent visitors of stores
where alcohol and tobacco are prominently advertised.
Although usually exposed only briefly, the tobacco and
alcohol ads on windows can influence children at a young
age, said Celeste Bentley, health educator for the
Community Service Programs, a nonprofit organization.
"If children enter frequently, it increases their
interest and increases the possibility of tobacco or
alcohol use later on," she said. Bentley and a
group of students from Dwyer Middle School, have been
working on a project to educate the community on the
affects of advertisement on children.
— ID# 6536
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"Online tobacco a growing hazard" (Adam
Tanner, Reuters Health, Apr 23, 2003) --
Erna Mueksch, a smoker
for 63 years, grows animated as she recalls how she took
up the habit, hoping to attract the attention of the
good-looking guys at dance halls in her native Estonia.
Mueksch, 83, is still smoking all these years
later, but has cut back from a pack a day to half a pack
a day, complaining that U.S. taxes have doubled prices
in the last five years. "It's no use, you can't
fight City Hall," the California woman said.
"I am a second-class citizen." But many other smokers
are fighting back by going online to find bargain prices
for cigarettes, a practice that is angering states,
health campaigners, traditional retailers and the big
tobacco companies themselves.— ID#
6535
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"Vista toughens smoking ban near playgrounds" (Matthew
T. Hall, The
San Diego Union Tribune, Apr 23, 2003) --
The City Council acted
unanimously and without a word yesterday to tighten a
ban on smoking near children's play areas at 10 public
parks. Afterward, smoke-free supporters more than made
up for the council's lack of commentary. "We hope
(this law) will be in every city," said John Byrom,
a spokesman with the Tri-City Prevention Collaborative.
"The kids are playing. There shouldn't be people
smoking around them." The ordinance makes it
illegal to smoke or use tobacco within 50 feet of tot
lots, or sand-filled play areas meant for young
children. — ID# 6524
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"Tobacco ban near
tot lots possible" (Matthew T. Hall, The
San Diego Union Tribune, Apr 19, 2003) --
Smoking cigarettes and
using tobacco will be illegal near the tot lots of 10
public parks if the City Council approves the ban
Tuesday. The ordinance would prohibit the use of tobacco
within 50 feet of the tot lots, which are sand-filled
play areas for young children. Violators would be
subject to a $250 fine. San Diego passed a similar law
three years ago, and Oceanside and Vista are being urged
to adopt the same ordinance by staff at the Vista
Community Clinic. "Parks are supposed to be
reserved for healthy activities like running and
playing," said Shannon Sellinger-Mertz, the
clinic's Smoke-Free Lifestyles project coordinator.
"Smoking doesn't really fit into that."— ID#
6517
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"Tax drinkers, not
smokers" (Chris Allen, The North
County Times, Apr
19, 2003) --If
you smoke, be ready to be persecuted and taxed some
more. Drinkers, have another beer, rejoice, get crazy.
Gov. Gray Davis and our misguided tobacco-tax proponents
just can't get enough. Davis must be a drinker.
Originally, the argument for raising tobacco taxes was
to offset society's expense to deal with smoking-related
diseases. What a farce. The money is going everywhere
but. A pack of smokes costs nearly the same as a 12-pack
of beer. I can smoke a pack of cigarettes and drive home
with no effect to my sobriety. Drink a few beers and
watch out. You'd better be home asleep in an upper-floor
bedroom, as I may plow my car into your living room.— ID#
6510
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"Media hold the
real smoking gun in anti-drug campaign" (Jessica
Kruskamp, The UCSD
Guardian, Apr
18, 2003) -- In
1998, the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy launched the National Youth Anti-Drug Media
Campaign. Aimed at youth aged nine to 18, the goal was
to prevent drug use through education and advertising.
In the process, the campaign has led to some extreme
claims and illogical connections that may miss its mark
completely. The immediate result was a sophisticated,
strategic media campaign that uses -- exploits, even --
television, the Internet and written materials as
vehicles for aggressive anti-drug advertising.
Commercials depicting "real-world" situations
imply that marijuana use is the root of every evil. — ID#
6505
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