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Thursday, July 07, 2005
Why cervical precancers disappear in some women and not in others
Women's Health News Published: Wednesday, 6-Jul-2005
New research sheds light on why cervical precancers disappear in some women and not in others. Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center report in the July 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research that the reason many of these lesions persist is an unlikely mix of human papilloma virus (HPV) strain and a woman's individual immune system.
For decades, scientists have known that HPV causes nearly all cases of cancer in the neck of the womb. Most sexually active women - some reports say up to 80 percent - are exposed to HPV and more than half of these women are infected with strains of the virus that could likely turn a precancerous lesion to cancer. But only a small percentage of precancers progress to full-blown cancer, a process that takes years.
To find out why, gynecologic oncologist Cornelia Trimble, M.D., closely monitored 100 women with high-grade, precancerous cervical lesions before standard surgery to remove the abnormal tissue. Some of the lesions - about 28 percent -- regressed by themselves before surgery within a time period considered within the bounds of care standards. But among patients whose pre-cancers lingered, Trimble discovered that women were three times less likely to resolve their lesions if they carried a certain immune system gene and did not have HPV16, the most common strain of the virus.
Trimble was particularly interested in these molecular differences because she is using HPV-targeted vaccines in related studies to treat early cervical lesions before they turn into cancer. "It's important for us to know the immunologic fingerprint of women who may best benefit from our vaccine," she says. "Some lesions are on the brink of resolving, but may need the vaccine to push them over."
Lesions containing HPV16 alone are the most troublesome and difficult to resolve. In the subset of 44 patients with HPV16 only, their type of immune system made no impact on whether or not their lesion resolved. But in 30 women with non-HPV16 lesions, those who carry a gene called HLA*A201 were three times less likely to clear up their lesions than those without the gene (14.3 percent vs. 42.3 percent). According to Trimble, 40 percent of people carry the HLA*A201 gene, which codes for certain white blood cell proteins.
None of the lesions got worse during the study period, and all unresolved lesions were surgically removed when the observation period ended. "Since none of the lesions progressed after 15 weeks, we can be reasonably assured that this window of time is safe for vaccine treatments," she said.
Trimble is studying a larger group of patients to confirm her results and rule out other potentially confounding factors such as age, smoking status, and contraceptive method, which may influence how these lesions clear. Trimble recently published results linking second-hand cigarette smoke to cervical cancer progression. She also is looking for additional immune system characteristics that could predict mechanisms of immune responses to HPV. This may provide more information on which women have lesions more likely to regress and potentially avoid surgery, plus provide the opportunity to treat early-stage disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 20 million people in the United States are infected with HPV and up to three-quarters of these have viral strains that are linked to cervical, oral and anal cancers. More than 10,000 cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed in the United States annually.
http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org/
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=11523
KY
New Study Released On Effects Of Secondhand Smoke
7/5/2005 11:06:47 PM
Reported by: AP/ 9News Web produced by: Neil Relyea Photographed by: 9News
As many Tri-state communities consider public smoking bans, a new study released on Tuesday provides new encouragement.
By using hair as a measure of nicotine exposure, University of Kentucky researchers have found that Lexington's smoking ban has halved exposure to secondhand smoke in three months.
Researchers took hair samples from 106 bar and restaurant workers and tested them.
It showed the amount of nicotine in their hair dropped by 56% three months after the ban went into effect.
The study shows hair samples are an indicator of exposure to secondhand smoke.
It also found that workers reported having fewer colds after the ban went into effect.
http://www.wcpo.com/news/2005/local/07/05/nicotine_study.html
Study to learn about metabolic syndrome -AU
AAP 11:37 AEST Mon Jul 4 2005
More than 4,000 people in Adelaide are taking part in a study to help researchers learn more about a little known but common medical condition, metabolic syndrome.
The condition affects almost one in four people in South Australia and is defined as central obesity, in which the fat is concentrated around the abdomen, usually accompanied by high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or elevated blood sugar levels.
"Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of heart attack and stroke and it is also largely contributing to the dramatic increase in the number of people with type two diabetes," said Health Minister Lea Stevens.
The Adelaide study has already conducted initial tests with the participants about to have their second health assessment.
It has found that metabolic syndrome is more prevalent among males than females and is also associated with increasing age.
Ms Stevens said the best way to avoid the condition is through physical activity and healthy eating.
"Increasing activity levels, such as daily walking and maintaining healthy eating habits play a major role in reducing risk factors," she said.
Those suffering the condition are urged not to smoke, to maintain a healthy body weight and to reduce stress levels.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=54355
Study To Determine If Air Pollution Accelerates Development Of Cardiovascular Disease
Piggybacking on a major national study, scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and several other centers will try to determine the degree to which air pollution accelerates development of cardiovascular diseases.
Winston-Salem, NC -- "The results of this new study, called MESA Air, can be used in future efforts to better define air pollution standards on both an individual and community basis," said Gregory L. Burke, MD, MS, professor and chairman of the Department of Public Health Sciences at Wake Forest.
With $30 million in funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency, the researchers will incorporate air pollution assessments in ongoing efforts that are following 6,814 participants from the six-city Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), a 10-year study that began in 1999. Participants from the ancillary MESA Family study and three new MESA Air study sites will bring the total number followed to 8,700.
Forsyth County is one of six MESA study sites. The others are Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Baltimore and St. Paul. In Los Angeles, in addition to the existing site, additional participants will be recruited from coastal parts of the city that have less pollution, and from a more central area with more pollution. Additional participants from New York will be recruited from an area with more pollution.
In atherosclerosis, also called hardening of the arteries, deposits of fatty substances, cholesterol, calcium and other substances build up in the inner lining of an artery. The narrower arteries are susceptible to blockages, which are related to heart attacks and most strokes.
The researchers will be measuring the effect of repeated exposure over a 10-year period to six major air pollutants: particulate matter (smoke, soot, airborne dirt and dust), sulfur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and lead. They will be measuring air pollution levels both outside participants' homes and at fixed monitoring stations in each community.
"Forsyth County has some of the highest ozone levels in the whole study," Burke said.
In MESA, researchers are using sophisticated imaging devices to detect atherosclerosis before there are symptoms, which they call sub-clinical atherosclerosis, including CT scanning to find calcification of coronary arteries and ultrasound measurements of the wall thickness of carotid arteries in the neck.
But the researchers also will be monitoring heart attacks and strokes and other cardiovascular "events," trying to determine whether long-term exposure to air pollution accelerated development of atherosclerosis, progressively increasing the likelihood of heart attack or stroke, or whether relatively recent exposure to air pollution triggered the event.
MESA Air is called a prospective study, because the researchers will make initial measurement of sub-clinical atherosclerosis and chart the progression of atherosclerosis against actual measurements of the air pollution over a 10-year period.
Burke noted the health effects caused by two catastrophic pollution events in the Meuse Valley in Belgium on Dec. 1-5, 1930, where several thousand people experienced an acute pulmonary attack and 60 people died in two days, and the Dec. 5-9, 1952 London smog, where as many as 12,000 deaths were attributed to pollution. In both cases, sulfur dioxide was a key ingredient.
"This study seeks to better understand the importance of more moderate longer-term elevations of air pollution on cardiovascular diseases," said Burke, principal investigator for the Forsyth County portion of the study. The national principal investigator for MESA Air is Joel Kaufman from the University of Washington in Seattle.
MESA is multi-ethnic because it includes white, black, Hispanic and Asian participants selected from populations in the six sites. Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
Rosemary Plybon , Web Producer
created: 7/6/2005 8:50:15 AM Last updated: 7/6/2005 8:50:27 AM
http://www.wfmynews2.com/news/health/health_article.aspx?storyid=44403
Snuff, Chew Tobacco Raise Heart Death Risk
Study suggests oral cancer not the only threat to users' health.
Study suggests oral cancer not the only threat to users' health
By Randy Dotinga HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, June 24 (HealthDay News) -- Besides raising the risk of oral cancer, smokeless tobacco -- also known as snuff, dip or chewing tobacco -- appears to boost the odds male users will die from heart disease, according to the largest study of its kind ever conducted.
The findings contradict earlier research, finding instead that people who chew or "dip" tobacco are 20 percent more likely to be killed by a heart attack or stroke than nonusers.
It isn't clear why smokeless tobacco might contribute to cardiovascular problems, and the study isn't the final word on the issue, said co-author Jane Henley, an epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society. Even so, the research, released this month in the journal Cancer Causes and Control, should give users another reason to kick their habit, she said.
Some chew users are ex-smokers who turn to smokeless tobacco to "tide them over" as they try to kick the smoking habit. But "any form of tobacco is harmful to your health," Henley said. "We should be encouraging smokers who want to quit to use nicotine-replacement and other safe therapies."
In their study, Henley and her colleagues examined two U.S. surveys of American adults, one spanning the years 1959-1972 and another from 1982-2000. Together, nearly 1 million men filled out questionnaires, including almost 10,000 smokeless tobacco users.
The studies encompassed both chewing tobacco, found in pouches and kept between the cheek and gums, and "dip," also known as "snuff," which comes in small tins and is "pinched" between the lower lip and gums.
Those who reported using smokeless tobacco when first surveyed were 20 percent more likely to die of cardiovascular diseases compared to those who never used any form of tobacco. They were also 20 percent more likely to die from all diseases combined.
The researchers adjusted the statistics in the study in an attempt to remove the influence of other factors such as age, race, occupation and diet.
Previous studies have both supported and debunked the link between smokeless tobacco and heart disease, said Henley, who believes more research needs to be done to confirm the findings.
Why would smokeless tobacco pose a risk to the heart? According to Henley, oral use of tobacco may increase heart rate and contribute to clots, which can block blood flow in the body.
Since nicotine replacement therapy seems to be safe, "tobacco itself is probably more harmful than just pure nicotine," she said.
An estimated 7.7 Americans, almost all male, use smokeless tobacco, Henley said. Part of its appeal is the rush delivered to users.
Also, "it's really easy to get hold of, and it's often sold in convenience stores right by the candy," said Elizabeth Rogers, spokeswoman for Oral Health America.
Smokeless tobacco now comes in several flavors, like wintergreen and cherry, that attract children, she said. Another key to its appeal is the ease of hiding the habit from adults.
Cigarettes, of course, leave telltale signs of smoke, while smokeless tobacco can disappear in an instant. "If the kid is swallowing instead of spitting, they could get away with it a lot easier," Rogers said.
http://www.drkoop.com/newsdetail/93/526450.html
Original Study: http://www.springerlink.com/app/home/contribution.asp?wasp=5c6fc59c06734c85a6b5e37c10bb1ad6&referrer=parent&backto=searcharticlesresults,2,2;
Bone mineral density, body mass index and cigarette smoking among Iranian women: implications for prevention
Azam Baheiraei , Nicholas A Pocock , John A Eisman , Nguyen D Nguyen and Tuan V Nguyen
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2005, 6:34 doi:10.1186/1471-2474-6-34
Published 24 June 2005
Abstract (provisional)
Background
While risk factors of osteoporosis in Western populations have been extensively documented, such a profile has not been well studied in Caucasians of non-European origin. This study was designed to estimate the modifiable distribution and determinants of bone mineral density (BMD) among Iranian women in Australia.
Methods
Ninety women aged 35 years and older completed a questionnaire on socio-demographic and lifestyle factors. BMD was measured at the lumbar spine (LS) and femoral neck (FN) using DXA (GE Lunar, WI, USA), and was expressed in g/cm2 as well as T-score.
Results
In multiple regression analysis, advancing age, lower body mass index (BMI), and smoking were independently associated with LS and FN BMD, with the 3 factors collectively accounting for 30% and 38% variance of LS and FN BMD, respectively. LS and FN BMD in smokers was 8% lower than that in non-smokers. Further analysis of interaction between BMI and smoking revealed that the effect of smoking was only observed in the obese group (p = 0.029 for LSBMD and p = 0.007 for FNBMD), but not in the overweight and normal groups. Using T-scores from two bone sites the prevalence of osteoporosis (T-scores < -2.5) was 3.8% and 26.3% in pre- and post-menopausal women, respectively. Among current smokers, the prevalence was higher (31.3%) than that among ex-smokers (28.6%) and non-smokers (7.5%).
Conclusion
These data, for the first time, indicate that apart from advancing age and lower body mass index, cigarette smoking is an important modifiable determinant of bone mineral density in these Caucasians of non-European origin.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2474/6/34/abstract
Better to Die Young Than Get Fat
By Sandy Szwarc Published 06/30/2005
The UN's World Health Organization has declared obesity a crisis of "epidemic proportions" in the developing world, with 300 million people globally deemed "obese." The UN has listed it among the world's top ten 'preventable risks,' along with unsafe sex. The reality of life in the developing world makes this agenda nothing short of genocidal.
Daniel J. Hoffman of Columbia University plotted rising BMIs in selected countries over the past fifty years and found a parallel with urbanization in the report "Obesity in developing countries: causes and implications" done for the UN's FAO. He also found higher healthcare expenditures as economies increased in developed countries. Lumping those correlations, with projections that in "less than 25 years it is anticipated almost two-thirds of world's population will be living in cities," formed the basis for claiming obesity economically threatened the developing world.
While admitting the lack of research for any economic impact of obesity in developing countries, he wrote "speculations ... can be made using data from developed countries." He cited studies finding associations between obesity and reduced productivity, including one claiming "obese" people were half as productive as "healthy" people. Hoffman opinioned that while fat people contribute less to the world economy, they require more food and health care costs because they are chronically ill. "Historically, health care systems in developing countries have been designed to treat and manage only acute diseases," he wrote. He questioned whether they could accommodate the burden of obesity-related chronic diseases.
This UN report used calculations of the "costs of obesity" to support that "obese" people were unhealthy drains on developed countries. Those studies, however, were stretches of creativity. They included indirect costs from reduced wages as a result of discrimination in employment, education and insurance coverage. They also piled on the costs for weight loss treatments and used computer modeling to project the costs for treating all of the conditions found in literature searches to be associated with obesity. As computer modeling is apt to do, errors can be built in that aren't apparent. In the cited study by Canadian researchers led by C. Laird Birmingham, for example, 80% of the "obesity-related" costs were just for heart disease, type-2 diabetes and hypertension, which are actually found in people of all weights and increase with aging. They further inflated medical costs attributable to the "obese" by defining obesity as BMIs of 27 and above - which is actually most of the population deemed "overweight."
Hoffman has predicted weight gains limit work capacity and will stagnate or send economic development backwards, although he admits "this idea has not been explored extensively."
Actually it has, but it appears Hoffman and the UN continue to ignore the positive realities in developed countries. When people have access to more food and the prevalence of starvation is reduced, average weights and heights of a population increase, but so does productivity, educational opportunities, prosperity and life expectancies. While one-third of Americans are deemed "obese," the Commerce Department just announced that U.S. incomes are rising at the fastest pace so far this year, outpacing growth in spending. A U.S. child has a life expectancy of 77 years, compared to just 33 years for a child in sub-Saharan Africa.
The UN has focused its objections on globalization and the spread of Western influences on diet. "The influx of multi-national supermarkets is creating unknown changes in the diets of populations," the FAO report stated. "It is important to prevent [developing countries] from succumbing to the dangers of processed foods and Western diets" including fats, meats, sweets and refined grains. To impede or reverse the trend of overweight and obesity, WHO advocates more fruits and vegetables, and public policies to "increase the surveillance of mildly overweight people in poor populations ... and guide social attitudes towards health weights and body sizes."
This is a debauched agenda for an organization whose mission since its foundation in 1945 is to "lead international efforts to defeat hunger" with a special focus on developing countries, home to most of the world's poor and hungry people. A study of more than 140,000 children in 34 countries in the May issue of Obesity Review found that only one-fifth of the countries had rates of childhood "obesity" of even at least 3%. Obesity is not a world crisis.
Contrast that 3% with a FAO report in 2000 which found an average of 33.2% of children in developing countries were malnourished. UNICEF's State of the World's Children 2005, reported 30 to 32% of babies are born with low birth weight. Among children under five years of age, 17 to 46% are moderately to severely underweight, with over 16% severely malnourished. Hunger is leaving millions of children developmentally delayed and vulnerable to diseases.
Compare the 300 million people around the globe WHO claims are "obese" and consider just the world's children. In developing countries, one in three children (more than 500 million) has no access to sanitation facilities; 1 in 5 (400 million) has no access to safe water; more than 640 million are without shelter; and 270 million have no access to healthcare services. Compared to hypothetical hand-wringing about obesity, these health risks kill for real. According to UNICEF, most of the 10.6 million deaths of children before their fifth birthday could have been prevented.
Equating fatness with sexually-transmitted diseases is especially heinous. Ninety percent of HIV/AIDS cases are in developing countries and 2.9 million people died of the virus in 2003, with another 4.8 million more newly diagnosed. And it left 15 million children orphaned, to starve.
For those who find "overweight to be just plain ugly" and "unacceptable from a moral point of view," most people would consider it immoral to focus on the small numbers who have enough to eat while letting hundreds of millions more suffer and die of starvation and disease.
http://www.techcentralstation.com/063005F.html
Canadian discovery has near-term potential for patients suffering from deadly cancers
MONTREAL, June 27 /CNW/ - Researchers at Montreal-based Supratek Pharma Inc. have discovered a new drug target that is expected to be useful in the fight against many of the most dangerous types of cancer.
Dr. Valery Alakhov, Chief Scientific Officer of the company, and his team have identified a new biological mechanism involved in the spread of cancer and the progression of the disease. They also demonstrated that blocking this process may prevent cancer from spreading.
"This is very exciting news in cancer research," says Dr. Francis Bellido, President of Supratek. "Ultimately, the cause of death for most cancer patients is metastasis, the spread of cancer from primary to distant sites. This is the first step towards developing drugs capable of halting this deadly process."
The research results were published in the May issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The article describes how a protein secreted by cancer cells, known as Metastasis Associated Protein, induces the formation of blood vessels that nourish cancer cells. This process is thought to play a major role in the spread of cancer.
Metastasis Associated Protein is associated with extremely aggressive forms of cancer of the breast, colon, rectum, bladder, lung, pancreas and stomach. Many advanced tumours over-express and secrete the protein which was suspected to be involved in cancer progression. It was not previously considered a target for drug discovery, because the mechanism underlying is effects was not understood.
"The protein has been studied for years, but its role in cancer progression eluded scientists until now," said Dr. Bellido. "Our research team has been working diligently to translate this new knowledge into new antimetastatic therapies."
Scientific discoveries typically require years of additional research to benefit patients. This may not be the case for this discovery. According to Dr. Bellido, the research team at Supratek has identified a number of drug candidates that appear to be effective against the new target. He expects Supratek to commence clinical development of the candidates in the near future.
"Our lead candidate is already prepared to enter human clinical trials," said Dr. Bellido.
About Supratek Pharma
Supratek Pharma is a pharmaceutical company focused on fighting metastatic cancers with innovative therapeutics. Our scientists are recognized leaders in the fields of polymer-based therapeutics and are at the forefront of the next generation pharmaceutical technology known as nanomedicine. In addition, Supratek Pharma's anti-metastasis research program led to the ground-breaking discovery of a new pathogenic pathway responsible for metastases formation and cancer progression.
Additional information on Supratek Pharma is available at http://www.supratek.com/. http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2005/27/c6216.html
State-Sponsored Anti-Tobacco Ads Linked to Reduced Youth Smoking
Posted by: laurakujawski on Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Youths who view anti-smoking television ads sponsored by states are less likely to smoke, according to a study published in the July 2005 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Researchers from Bridging the Gap, a policy research program based at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and the University of Michigan, found "strong associations" between state-sponsored anti-smoking media campaigns and the amount of youth smoking, as well as youth attitudes and beliefs about smoking. This is the first study to explore the impact of state-sponsored anti-tobacco advertising while controlling for other tobacco-related advertising. The National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded the study.
“Our research shows that kids reached by state-sponsored anti-smoking TV ads are less likely to smoke or believe their friends smoke, and more likely to perceive a risk of addiction and harm from smoking,” said Sherry Emery, a UIC researcher and the study’s lead author. “These findings lead us to believe that state-sponsored anti-tobacco ads have played an important role in reducing youth smoking and that cutting support for these ads, as so many states recently have, is a step in the wrong direction.”
To arrive at their findings, Emery and her colleagues combined two sets of data. First, they gathered Nielsen commercial ratings of network and cable television audience exposure to anti-tobacco advertising across the largest 75 U.S. media markets in 1999-2000. They merged that information with survey data from samples of school students in the contiguous 48 states taken in the same timeframe. The youth data, collected by the University of Michigan Monitoring the Future study, measured student characteristics, smoking-related attitudes and beliefs, and self-reported tobacco use by 8th, 10th and 12th graders. The final sample size for the report was 51,085 students.
Researchers used Targeted Ratings Points (TRPs) to determine the average reach and frequency of smoking-related advertisement among 12- to 17-year-olds for each of the 75 markets. They found that students from media markets with higher TRPs, or greater ratings, for state-sponsored anti-tobacco ads were significantly less likely to have smoked in the past 30 days than students from markets with lower TRPs. Additionally, adolescent smokers in markets with the higher TRP measure smoked fewer cigarettes per day compared to adolescent smokers in markets with lower TRPs.
The data also revealed that students from media markets with higher TRPs for the state-sponsored ads tended to have stronger attitudes and beliefs about the risks of tobacco use and the benefits of not starting smoking than students from markets with lower TRPs. Higher TRP students were more likely to perceive great harm from smoking one or more packs of cigarettes per day and less likely to report that most or all of their friends were smokers compared to their counterparts in lower TRP areas. Students in areas with higher TRPs also were more likely to report that they would not be smoking in five years’ time, indicating a reduced intention to smoke.
Bridging the Gap, which is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is a joint project of ImpacTeen, a program of the University of Illinois at Chicago's Institute for Health Research and Policy, and Youth Education and Society (YES!), a program of the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. Bridging the Gap improves understanding of the role of policy and environmental factors in youth alcohol, illicit drug, and tobacco use, as well as diet and physical activity, to evaluate their effectiveness in reducing substance use and obesity among youth.
For more information, visit the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Web site.
http://www.pnnonline.org/article.php?sid=6057&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
You might as well smoke; the misleading and harmful public message about smokeless tobacco
Carl V Phillips , Constance Wang and Brian Guenzel
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/5/31
Patterns of lung cancer mortality in 23 countries: Application of the Age-Period-Cohort model
Yung-Po Liaw1 , Yi-Chia Huang2 and Guang-Wen Lien
Dietary fat consumption has been found to be positively related to lung cancer mortality [18-20]. Our data from Japan, Taiwan and Cuba women (on Tables 2 and 5) also indicated that the percent increase of fat consumption was positively related to the percent increase of ASMR by using the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. Further study of factors other than smoking, like fat intake, on lung cancer mortality seems warranted, especially for women in Asian countries (Japan and Taiwan).
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/5/22
RICHMOND, Va. -- A decade ago, a car salesman turned entrepreneur began cooking tobacco leaves in a microwave with the lofty goal of creating less toxic products.
"I was in a race against myself to try to fix the tobacco industry," Jonnie R. Williams testified in a pending case over his patents. "And so I tested everything under the sun. When I ran out of tobacco, when the tobacco season was over, I switched to cabbage and to lettuce and to flowers."
Williams had little background in tobacco or science. But that didn't discourage the colorful venture capitalist, whose earlier adventures in business earned him several black marks along with riches.
Many failures and microwaves later, Williams claimed he had discovered how to substantially reduce a cocktail of cancer-causing toxins known as tobacco-specific nitrosamines, or TSNAs, which develop during the curing process. By 1998, he was also trying to limit the carcinogens by quickly drying leaves with high temperatures and increased air flow, according to court documents.
His company, Star Scientific Inc. of Chester, said in 1999 that Brown and Williamson had agreed to buy its "StarCured" tobacco. But shortly after learning of Star's innovation, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco announced a similar system to decrease nitrosamines, Star claims.
In May 2001, Star Scientific sued RJR for patent infringement in a case that could have enormous repercussions for the industry. Any day now, a federal judge in Baltimore could issue rulings that will determine whether the dispute goes before a jury.
Analysts say RJR, owned by Reynolds American Inc., conceivably could be forced to pay billions of dollars in royalties and damages. For Star Scientific, the stakes are even higher. Without additional capital or financial improvements, the company may have difficulty funding its operations next year, according to Star's financial reports.
Already, Star's regulatory filings paint a dismal picture of a company grappling with high litigation costs, industry woes and competitive issues. Last year, the company, which also sells discount cigarettes and spit-free hard tobacco pellets, lost $16.6 million on $66.7 million in sales.
In the fall of 2003, Star's worst nightmare occurred: RJR and Brown and Williamson announced plans to merge. Not surprisingly, Brown and Williamson's contract to buy StarCured tobacco, which had resulted in more than $100 million in revenue for Star over three years, was not renewed. That was followed by more bad news. A year later, RJR informed Star of the unsuccessful market test of a hard smokeless tobacco product that Star had made for Brown and Williamson.
If Star wins the lawsuit, though, it could collect money not only from RJR but also from other tobacco companies that might have infringed on patents licensed to Star, said Mike Niehuser, an analyst with The Robins Group. A Star victory would hand Williams, the company's chief executive officer, a resounding success.
Whatever the outcome, anti-smoking advocates caution that government regulation and independent research are needed to evaluate claims of low TNSA tobacco.
Danny McGoldrick, research director for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, says cigarettes contain toxins other than nitrosamines. And even if Star has managed to knock out the TSNAs, he says, there's no way to tell whether its processes influence levels of other dangerous agents.
"In an unregulated environment, we have no idea what the impact of the changes are," McGoldrick said.
Philip Morris clearly has a vested interest in the Star-Reynolds dispute.
William Phelps, a spokesman for Philip Morris USA, said Star had threatened to sue the company over its use of low TSNA tobacco _ a claim that Star has denied. Perhaps as a pre-emptive strike, Philip Morris sued Star in federal court in Richmond in 2002, seeking to invalidate the smaller company's patents. A judge dismissed the lawsuit, noting that the Maryland case involved the same issue.
Star and RJR declined to comment on the litigation.
In the Maryland lawsuit, a bench trial was held earlier this year on RJR's inequitable conduct defense, which essentially alleges that Star failed to disclose all necessary information when it filed for two patents in the late '90s. U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis is expected to rule on that issue and two motions for summary judgment.
It has been difficult for outsiders to analyze the companies' arguments because of the number of sealed court documents. But in general, inequitable conduct is a common defense that rarely gets past a judge, said Alexander Raring, an intellectual property attorney in Richmond.
"It's raised in almost every patent infringement case, because it's an easy defense to raise," said Raring, who is unfamiliar with the Star case. "A successful inequitable conduct defense means you never get to the question of infringement. And that's why you raise it."
The two motions involve whether the invention was already in the public domain and whether the patents made distinct claims. Rulings on these motions, as well as the inequitable conduct defense, could render the patents invalid, Raring said.
Of course, what Garbis decides may depend on whether he believes the 50-year-old Williams, who is perhaps better known for his charisma and salesmanship than some of the failed startups and irate investors in his past.
Early in his career, Williams, a native of Fredericksburg, established himself as a brilliant car and real estate salesman in his hometown. By the time he was 24, he drove a gold Mercedes, owned two homes and had started a local optical shop, according to articles in The Free Lance-Star from the '70s and '80s.
In 1979, a Spotsylvania County judge fined him $100 for fitting contact lenses without a license, the newspaper reported. The optical business collapsed, leaving tens of thousands of dollars in debts. As the shop's equipment was auctioned off, one person remarked to the paper: "If the auctioneer really wanted to make some money, he'd auction off Jonnie's address and phone number."
Williams, in a later interview with The Free Lance-Star, blamed the situation on his lack of business knowledge.
But similar reactions followed him after he invested in a business that provided medical training and then in Spectra Pharmaceutical Services Inc., a Hanover, Mass., company that touted an ointment that could possibly cure eye diseases, The Boston Globe reported in 1988. Both companies failed.
The Securities and Exchange Commission accused Williams of carrying out a publicity campaign to promote Spectra's stock by using research reports that included false claims. In 1994, a federal judge in Massachusetts ruled against Williams and two others. Williams, without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations, agreed to the disgorgement of alleged ill-gotten gains, plus interest, totaling $295,000.
Williams has had several successes, including his large investments in the companies LaserVision and Visx Inc., a maker of laser vision-correction systems.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Williams said his early business mistakes could have been avoided if his reading skills were better and if he had the legal counsel he has today.
Supporters of Williams say he is a classic entrepreneur who managed to outthink a well-heeled industry.
"One of the things I like about Jonnie Williams is he approached solving the problem of TSNAs in the curing process of tobacco in a way that appears to be unlike anybody informed in the industry," analyst Niehuser said. "He came in with an entirely new approach. That's how the world advances."
http://www.wkyt.com/Global/story.asp?S=3492825
Polymorphisms in signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 and lung function in asthma
Augusto A Litonjua , Kelan G Tantisira , Stephen Lake, Ross Lazarus, Brent G Richter, Stacey Gabriel, Eric S Silverman and Scott T Weiss
Respiratory Research 2005, 6:52 doi:10.1186/1465-9921-6-52
Published 3 June 2005
http://respiratory-research.com/content/6/1/52
Discovery will lead to more effective treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension
Medical Research News Published: Sunday, 5-Jun-2005
A University of Alberta research team has discovered important new information they hope will lead to more effective treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)--a deadly form of high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries caused by uncontrolled cell growth. Therapies are currently limited for a disease that can lead to heart failure and death within a few years.
The researchers have shown that Survivin, a protein almost exclusively expressed in cancer, is also heavily expressed in both human and animal lung arteries with PAH. Survivin is an inhibitor of apoptosis--or programmed cell death--which promotes cancer by suppressing the body's ability to limit excessive cell growth.
Armed with this new information and using animal models, the researchers developed a nebulized and inhaled gene therapy to deliver an inactive Survivin-mutant via a virus--known in science as a "dominant negative construct"--effectively inhibiting endogenous Survivin. The therapy reversed PAH in rats and improved their heart function and their survival, thus holding out some promising avenues of treatment for human PAH. The team members believe that as in cancer, Survivin drives excessive cell growth in the PAH lung blood vessels.
"The most intriguing aspect," explains principal researcher Evangelos Michelakis, "is we've shown for the first time that this cancer protein is also expressed within the blood vessels of the lung in patients suffering with PAH, but not in normal human blood vessels, making survivin a very attractive target for selective intervention.
"This makes the proliferation of lung blood vessels in this disease a 'form of cancer' or a form of neoplasia to be more precise, first proposed by Drs. Voelkel and Tuder from the University of Colorado. We've demonstrated for the first time that, like cancer, apoptosis is suppressed in the lung blood vessel wall in this disease."
"Our biggest challenge in treating PAH is the fact we don't know what makes the cells in the lung blood vessel wall grow excessively," says the University of Alberta cardiology professor and Canada Research Chair holder. "And therapies also have to target the lung blood vessels and spare the normal cells in the rest of the body."
The paper is entitled Gene therapy targeting survivin selectively induces pulmonary vascular apoptosis and reverses pulmonary arterial hypertension. It's published in the June issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation. In an accompanying editorial entitled Lessons learned from cancer may help in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension, written by French researcher Serge Adnot, the journal stated: "These findings raise important issues regarding the role of survivin in the pathogenesis of PAH, its value as a prognostic indicator, and its use as a target for new therapeutic strategies."
Other authors include: Sean McMurtry, Pulmonary Hypertension Program; Stephen Archer, Canada Research Chair in Translational Cardiovascular Research; Dario Altieri, Department of Cancer Biology and the Cancer Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School; Sebastien Bonnet, Alois Haromy, Gwyneth Harry and Sandra Bonnet, the Vascular Biology Group and Pulmonary Hypertension Program; and Lakshmi Puttagunta, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, U of A.
The latest research builds on previous work by the group, published a few months ago in Circulation Research, showing that an orally available drug, Dichloroacetate, selectively enhances apoptosis in PAH and thus reverses PAH, prolonging the survival of rats. Because this oral therapy has already been tried in humans with congenital mitochondrial diseases, the team is initiating a clinical trial in human PAH. Similarly, newer drugs that inhibit Survivin, currently in trials in oncology, might also be directly applicable to PAH patients, Dr. Michelakis explains.
The researchers are supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Canada Research Chair Program, the Alberta Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the National Institutes of Health, and the Alberta Cardiovascular and Stroke Research Centre (ABACUS). Dr. McMurtry is supported by the University's clinician investigator program and TORCH, a CIHR-sponsored multidisciplinary training program in cardiovascular disease, and a training grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=10704
Smoking ban prosecution stubbed out -NZ
The first prosecution under legislation banning smoking in bars and pubs will not be going ahead.
Bank's Peninsula publican John van Buren was accused of breaching the act by allowing patrons to smoke at the Wheatsheaf Tavern. He was planning to defend the charge.
However, at the Christchurch District Court the prosecution said while the proceedings were alive, the company, which has gone into liquidation, is not.
The prosecution has asked that the charges be stayed but not withdrawn and has made an application for costs.
Judge Couch said it may be more appropriate for the matter to be withdrawn entirely and said he would make a decision on this and on costs later.
Van Buren is also head of the WIN political party formed to fight the law banning smoking in bars and restaurants.
The WIN party includes two other publicans who are facing charges under the Smoke-free Environments Amendment Act
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411319/595810/
Kangaroo Court and Bush Justice -NZ
Tuesday, 5 July 2005, 3:32 pm Press Release: WIN Party
Ministry of Health Public Health Programmes Manager Graeme Gillespie has stated he could not understand why former Wheatsheaf Tavern owner John van Buren liquidated his company to avoid prosecution under the Smokefree Environments Amendment Act when he was ‘only facing fines of a few thousand dollars if convicted’.
“Gillespie understated the penalties for breaches of the Act’, says WIN Party spokesperson Dave Clarke, “as he is well aware his department actively seeks liquor licence suspension for any alleged breaking of the smoking ban in bars, prior to any charges being heard in court”.
On 14 June 2005, the Liquor Licensing Authority suspended Cambridge hotel owner Dean Risi’s liquor on-licence for three weeks. The Authority took into account Risi’s alleged breaches of the Smokefree Environments Amendment Act when determining the length of suspension.
“Risi has never been convicted of any offence under the Smokefree Environments Amendment Act”, says Clarke, “but in Paragraph [61] of their decision (No. PH 430 - 432/2005), the Authority clearly states the period of suspension reflects Risi's misguided attitude to his responsibilities to the Smoke-free Environments Act”.
“The Ministry of Health sought to have Risi’s licence suspended for alleged breaches of the Act and the LLA delivered, dealing out punishment for yet to be proven offences”, says Clarke,” which can be likened to nothing more than a kangaroo court hearing and bush justice”.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0507/S00042.htm
First prosecution under smokefree laws halted -NZ
04 July 2005
The first prosecution under laws banning smoking in bars is not going ahead.
Former Banks Peninsula publican John van Buren's company Wheatsheaf Tavern (2004) Ltd was to be the first in New Zealand to defend a criminal charge for breaching the Smokefree Environments Amendment Act.
But he placed the company into voluntary liquidation on Friday.
In Christchurch District Court today the prosecution sought to have the charge stayed, but not withdrawn, Mr van Buren told NZPA.
Judge Tony Couch was expected to decide later today whether to stay or withdraw the charge.
Putting the company into liquidation was something that had only been considered last week, as a certain way of getting off the charge, Mr van Buren said.
"To us that was going to be the certain way of having a win...obviously when you go to court, by any means you try and get off with those charges."
Despite that, he had been looking forward to arguing the case in court but had not been looking forward to the costs that would have incurred.
"I walked out of the pub with quite a bit of debt, that I've now got to work to pay off. Obviously liquidation helps that as well."
He was sure that without the smokefree law he would have stayed in business, rather than walking out of the pub in March.
"Even though I allowed smokers in my bar it got down to a stage later on where I was being given a hard time by the authorities and that affected my custom," he said.
While he could have fought the case, his personal circumstances with the amount of debt he had from the pub weren't "that flash".
"So I was a bit worried financially about how we were going to chase it, or how long we could chase it for.
"Ultimately we felt we had a pretty good chance of getting off anyway," Mr van Buren said.
With the court case dealt with he now had more time to work on the WIN political party, set up in the wake of the smokefree law, of which he is the leader.
He would also be working as a fencing contractor, truck driving and gorse spraying in season to pay off some debt.
Party deputy leader Timaru publican Geoff Mulvihill is himself due in court in August to defend six charges under the smokefree legislation against his Carlton Hotel.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3334547a10,00.html
Posted at 11:27 am by looped_ca
Remarks by André Calantzopoulos, President and Chief Executive Officer, PMI at JP Morgan Conference
London, UK June 29, 2005
Good morning everyone. It is a pleasure to be here today. Before I begin, let me say that my remarks today contain projections of future results. I direct your attention to the Forward Looking and Cautionary Statements section at the end of today’s news release for a review of the various factors that could cause actual results to differ from projections. A copy of my remarks will be posted later today to the Altria Web site.
This morning, I will cover first-quarter 2005 results for Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI), including a region-by-region review. Thereafter, I will discuss the global strategies we have in place for driving long-term growth. I will conclude with an outlook for our 2005 full-year results.
In the first quarter of 2005, PMI volume rose 2.1% to 201 billion units. This performance was driven by higher volume in Italy as a result of a one-time inventory sale to our new distributor, volume recovery in France and gains in many Central European, Eastern European and Asian markets, partially offset by lower shipments in Germany. Excluding the inventory sale in Italy, PMI first quarter volume was 197 billion units, essentially flat versus the same period a year ago.
Operating companies income (OCI) rose 13.1% to $2.1 billion. The increase was generated by higher pricing, favorable currency and the inventory sale in Italy, partially offset by unfavorable mix, expenses related to the European Community (EC) agreement and a one-time charge for a factory closure in Hungary. Excluding the one-time charges and inventory sales, underlying OCI was up 8% to $2.0 billion.
Now, let me review our business on a regional basis. PMI volume in Western Europe rose 0.6% during the first quarter of 2005. However, excluding the one-time inventory sales in Italy, our regional volume declined 7.2%, principally due to the continuing contraction of the overall cigarette market in Western Europe.
In 2004, the total cigarette market in Western Europe declined 45 billion units, or 8%, mainly due to sharp drops in Germany and France following tax-driven price increases. A portion of the German decline was also due to consumer switching from cigarettes to lower-taxed and lower-priced tobacco portions. In the first quarter of 2005, aggregate market volume fell 9%.
In Germany, cigarette sales declined 20%, reflecting one less selling day, the impact of tax-driven price increases in March and December 2004, and down trading to the tobacco portions segment, which almost tripled versus the first quarter of 2004 to over five billion units. The decline in Italy is attributable to December 2004 tax-driven price increases and to recently enacted smoking restrictions. In Spain, the decrease reflects declines in smoking incidence and some down trading to roll-your-own products. The notable exception to these trends was France, where the market was flat, reflecting recent price stability.
While these market declines impaired our shipment volume performance in the first quarter, we nevertheless increased our leading share of this high-margin region. Our overall regional share grew 0.1 percentage point to 38.6% and we held or added share in seven of 10 Western European markets.
As I mentioned earlier, the total market in France has stabilized, after declining more than 20% in 2004 following tax and price increases that raised the Marlboro retail price from 3.80 euros to 5.00 euros.
Another important development in France has been the government’s introduction in July 2004 of a minimum reference price law, which prohibits pricing below a certain level. Overall price gaps are currently reasonable, and we have been able to generate share gains for Marlboro and for our overall portfolio. We also successfully entered the roll-your-own segment with Chesterfield in mid-2004. Despite the sharp tax-driven retail price increases, the gap between the lowest price in the market and Marlboro is 50 euro cents or 10%. With the minimum reference price set by government at 4.46 euros per pack of 20 cigarettes, gaps should remain at or near current levels. In the context of higher prices and lower consumption, we have nevertheless continued to gain market share. Driven by Marlboro, we have added more than two share points since the first quarter of 2004, to attain a leading 41.5% share of the market.
We also continue to gain share in Spain. Our share in the first quarter improved 0.1 point to 36.7%, with three of our key brands, Marlboro, Chesterfield and Philip Morris, each contributing to this growth. More recently, we have witnessed the rapid emergence of an ultra low-price segment in Spain. Facing significant tax revenue losses, the Spanish government has announced it will undertake a full review of tobacco fiscal and regulatory policies. We are hopeful that this review will lead to the introduction of a minimum excise tax.
Clearly, our biggest challenge in Western European today is Germany. The cigarette market is in severe decline, prompted by both tax-driven price increases and significant down trading to other tobacco products, mainly tobacco portions, which benefit from lower taxation. Since September 2001, cigarette excise taxes have increased four times, and are scheduled to increase further this coming September.
A look at the relative retail prices and tax levels clearly illustrates the issue posed by other tobacco products. Tax represents 75% of the retail price of Marlboro cigarettes, but just 51% of the price of Marlboro portions. As a result, portions sell at a much lower price but generate similar net manufacturers’ selling prices and margins as cigarettes.
The impact on tobacco consumption patterns has been dramatic. Last year, the cigarette segment lost over 20 billion units, while cigarette portions volume more than doubled to 14 billion units. This trend continued during the first quarter. Cigarette volumes were down 20% versus the first quarter of 2004 and the volume of portions almost tripled to five billion units.
While the European Commission has started proceedings to challenge Germany’s application of the excise law on portions, this process will be lengthy. Consequently, we entered the portions segment last April with Marlboro and Next. We held 13% of the segment in the first quarter.
Despite the challenging operating environment, Marlboro remains by far the leading brand in Germany. To broaden its appeal, we introduced Marlboro Blend 29 in October last year. Marlboro Blend 29 is a new American blend of high-quality tobaccos that provides a new mix of flavor, new and fresh packaging and a novel way of presenting Marlboro’s core values and imagery. The launch focused on legal age meeting places in selected cities. First results have been encouraging and we have since extended Marlboro Blend 29’s distribution.
In Italy, we have witnessed a number of positive developments. Following the government’s implementation of a minimum excise tax in mid-2004, retail price gaps have narrowed and we have begun to increase market share for the first time since early 2002. The wide gap of 1.10 euros between Marlboro and super low-price brands fuelled the emergence of this segment, which contained competitive international brands such as Pall Mall, Winston and Benson & Hedges American Blend. After the government’s implementation of the minimum excise tax, retail prices of the super low-price brands increased and their price gap to Marlboro narrowed to 80 euro cents in September.
With closer price gaps, our market share began to improve and we have added a full percentage point since July of 2004. Importantly, Marlboro remains vibrant and relevant for legal-age to 24-year-old smokers, with a 47% smoker share of this group versus its total smoker share of 22%. In addition, we have entered into new distribution arrangements that provide better service levels, lower costs and improved cash flow.
In summary, tax increases have become a fact of life in Western Europe, but fiscal structures have and should improve with the implementation of minimum excise tax or reference prices in many regional markets. While overall consumption has declined sharply in recent years, we expect the decline rates to ease. Importantly, PMI is gaining share overall in the region and in most individual markets. We are also improving our total profitability in the region through selective price increases, which have more than offset the impact of volume declines this year.
In Central Europe, our volume was up 5.2% in the first quarter of 2005, including gains in Poland and Romania. While industry volume declined in the region, we gained share. Regionally, we added 1.7 share points, to reach a leading 37.3%. We recorded share gains of two percentage points or better in Slovakia, Poland, Romania and Hungary. However, we lost share in the Czech Republic, due to intense price competition at the bottom of the market.
In Poland, our first quarter volume and share were up significantly versus 2004, aided by the November 2004 introduction of a minimum excise tax and the May 2004 reduction of the tax differential between cigarettes and other tobacco products. PMI also entered the sizeable roll-your-own segment last year, and garnered 35% of this segment in the first quarter of 2005.
Low-price Red & White, launched in July 2004, has driven our recent share improvement of nearly five points. Our overall share of 40.1%, achieved in the first quarter, was a new record for PMI in Poland.
In the Czech Republic, our share erosion is principally due to competitive launches in the ultra low-price segment. In response, we have launched Clea, Next and Bond Street into the segment, and we presently hold a segment share of nearly 70%. We also are supporting the government’s consideration of an increase in the level of minimum excise tax or the introduction of a minimum reference price mechanism to protect government revenues and avert a debilitating tax increase. While we have not yet reversed the share loss, the success of Clea and Next have served to moderate the share decline.
The 10 new EU member states within our Central Europe region are undergoing significant change. The gradual harmonization with EU tax norms has forced tax-driven price increases and has led to a decline in industry volumes, some down trading to low-price brands and increased inflow of contraband and counterfeit product. We are successfully addressing these challenges by leveraging our comprehensive brand portfolio, supporting improved fiscal structures and working with governments to fight illicit trade. As a result, we continue to add volume and share in the overall Central Europe region.
In the markets of Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMA), PMI volume grew 7.8% in the first quarter. Our estimated share of the vast EEMA region increased 2.5 percentage points in the first quarter, to reach 22.7%. Among individual markets, we added share in Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, our four most important income contributors in the region.
In Russia, we increased our leading share position to 27.2% in the first quarter. One of our priorities this year is to improve distribution of our brands in major urban areas through direct store delivery. We have also improved the presentation of L&M, the leading international brand on the Russian market, through pack upgrades.
Since 2000, our share of the Russian market is up a cumulative 10.5 points. While we have a broad portfolio in Russia, L&M has been a particularly important contributor to our share gains, super premium-price Parliament has captured nearly 2% of the Russian market, and Marlboro volume is growing steadily.
In addition to holding a leading 27.2% share of volume in Russia, we are by far the most profitable competitor in the market, and generated an estimated 50% share of industry income in the first quarter.
In Turkey, PMI achieved record market shares last year and in the first quarter of 2005. This performance has been achieved despite frequent changes to the cigarette excise tax system that have encouraged the launch of new brands and blends.
Since January 2004, the government has enacted five different excise tax regimes in Turkey in an effort to support the privatization of Tekel, including a fully ad valorem system, a mixed system with a multi-tiered specific component based on retail price levels, and a mixed system with a multi-tiered specific component based on blend inclusion rates of Turkish oriental tobacco. In response, we have made significant changes to our blends and portfolio, including increases in the Turkish oriental tobacco component for L&M, and launches of new brands such as Bond Street and a fully oriental blend brand, Turku. However, the current ill-conceived tax regime has regretfully put pressure on both industry profitability and government revenues, and we are actively pursuing revisions to the fiscal structure.
As a result of timely PMI responses to these frequent tax changes, our overall share has continued to increase during this period of market instability. Bond Street has been an important contributor to our share performance, while Marlboro share growth has resumed. Notably, PMI has recently surpassed Tekel as the leading cigarette company in Turkey.
In Ukraine, our portfolio has benefited from general consumer up trading and we continue to record strong volume and share gains in this sizeable market of over 100 billion units. In order to meet the increased demand for our products, we are in the process of completing a new manufacturing facility near Kharkiv that will be fully operational in the fourth quarter.
Ukraine has been one of PMI’s strongest growth markets over the past several years. This is reflected in our share performance since 2002, as we have added more than eight share points with gains generated by L&M, Marlboro and Bond Street.
In the EEMA region, PMI is generating outstanding volume and share opportunities with the prospect of margin improvements over the longer term. While we are working to improve the excise tax situation in Turkey, this will remain a short-term challenge. Finally, there are plentiful opportunities for geographic expansion to markets where PMI is currently not present or is under-represented. Recent market entries have included South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, Iraq and Libya.
In the Asia Pacific region, our volume was down 1.1% in the first quarter, due to lower industry volume in Korea, Japan and Malaysia. We recorded share gains in our key Asian markets in the first quarter and our regional share was up by 0.7 percentage points to 12.7%. While our Malaysia share was up in the quarter, the situation there has become more volatile due to increased price competition.
Please note that these statistics exclude Sampoerna, a leading kretek manufacturer in Indonesia, which we acquired in the second quarter. This was the largest acquisition PMI has ever made, and the combination of Sampoerna’s business with our existing Marlboro business makes us the number two company in the world’s fifth-largest cigarette market.
In 2004, Sampoerna was the third-largest tobacco company in the growing and profitable Indonesian market. It held a 19.4% market share, recorded volume of 41 billion units and generated operating income equivalent to U.S. $351 million. The company’s strong portfolio, its premium focus, proven Low Tar and Nicotine (LTN) kretek brands and strong business performance provide excellent platforms to accelerate PMI growth in the region.
In Japan, a major change this year has been the take back of the Marlboro brand from Japan Tobacco (JT) on May 1. In anticipation of this change, we have made significant vending machine investments to ensure optimal consumer availability of our products. We have also improved our Marlboro merchandising materials, upgraded outdoor signage and prepared a range of exciting promotions. Our recent performance in Japan was also marked by the very successful launch last year of Virginia Slims Rosé, which captured a 0.6% share of market in the first quarter of 2005.
The vending machine channel in Japan accounts for over 40% of total cigarette sales. Consequently, we have substantially increased our machine pool and vending columns. We have improved the quality of the Marlboro presentation by consistently merchandising the brand family in the machine. We have also introduced unique Marlboro-only vending units in selected high-quality locations.
In the increasingly competitive Japanese market, PMI was the only company to have gained market share in 2004 and our share reached a record 24.8% in the first quarter of 2005. Cumulatively, our share has grown more than four points since 1999.
We are well positioned demographically for continued share growth in Japan. Our share among smokers in their early twenties greatly exceeds our overall share and is larger than the JT share of this critical consumer group.
In summary, tax-driven price increases are driving declines in several regional markets, particularly Korea and Malaysia. However, the Marlboro take back in Japan will significantly improve Asia Pacific profitability and we are strengthening our regional position via acquisitions. In particular, recently purchased Sampoerna offers outstanding growth prospects.
In the Latin America region, PMI volume was down 3.7% in the first quarter. This was due primarily to lower volume in Argentina and Brazil, resulting from a market decline in Argentina and consumer down trading to ultra low-price brands of small manufacturers in both markets. As a result of Argentina and Brazil, our regional market share decreased by one point to 30.4% during the first quarter of 2005.
However, we continued to extend our leadership position in Mexico, adding 2.5 share points in the first quarter. The continued share growth momentum in Mexico was supported by a number of important line extensions. We launched two new variants of Marlboro and introduced a filter version of Delicados in the low-price segment. Marlboro Medium and Marlboro Mild Flavor achieved a combined share of 1.6 points in the first quarter, while Delicados Filter had a 2.7% share of market in April. Driven by the outstanding performance of Marlboro, we have added more than 10 share points in Mexico since 1998 and achieved a record share of 61.6% in the first quarter.
In Argentina, we have improved our profitability, but tax-driven price increases have resulted in overall market contraction and down trading to the ultra low-price segment. As an initial response, we introduced Bond Street in the low-price segment last October. We also understand the minimum reference price and minimum tax concepts are currently under discussion by the Argentine authorities.
Our second 2005 acquisition was the purchase of Coltabaco. We now own 98% of the largest tobacco entity in Colombia, the fourth-largest market in Latin America. The company holds approximately half of the Colombian market, led by its key brands, Boston, Caribe and Green. The acquisition also strengthens our overall presence in the Andean Pact zone.
In summary, we have improved profitability in our two Latin America strongholds, Mexico and Argentina, and have substantially improved our Andean presence through the Coltabaco acquisition.
Globally, PMI is focused on three key long-term strategies. First, we actively promote harm reduction to address the regulatory and societal issues of our products. Next, we strive to build and maintain an agile and winning organization that is talented, diverse, responsive, decisive and cost-effective. Finally, we continually pursue profitable business growth, both organically and through acquisitions and other new business development activities.
Harm reduction can be accomplished through three related approaches: fiscal measures, regulatory measures and the development of potentially less harmful products. We seek to work closely with regulators and we encourage and support regulation of our industry, including licensing of the supply chain to support the fight against counterfeit and contraband. In this regard, we are delighted with the actions taken to date under our wide-ranging agreement with the EU to combat illicit trade and with the agreement’s impact on our relationships with relevant EU and member state institutions.
Second, we pursue fiscal policies that provide equal, non-discriminatory treatment of all tobacco products and that address both harm reduction and government revenue objectives. These include minimum excise taxes, minimum reference prices and fully specific tax structures, elements of which have been implemented in 17 of our top 20 income markets thus far.
Third, we continue to invest in research and development to improve our understanding of smoking-related disease mechanisms and to develop potentially reduced exposure products.
Finally, we have and will transparently communicate the health effects of smoking. In this regard, we have a worldwide program to provide relevant information through cigarette pack onserts and other communications, including our Internet Web site. We also continue to support Youth Smoking Prevention initiatives with 100 programs in almost 70 markets.
Our ability to succeed in an increasingly competitive operating environment will also depend on an agile, winning and cost-effective organization. Our people are the cornerstone of our current and future success. Consequently, we are committed to hiring and retaining the best talent. We have a wide range of programs to assess and develop our current and future leaders. We also keep a close eye on our organizational structure and processes to ensure they are efficient and cost effective.
Our productivity efforts are targeted to generate annual cost reductions of at least $100 million. Part of these savings is invested in product quality improvements. We have a wide range of productivity initiatives to address direct materials and leaf, our two largest cost components, and to optimize our manufacturing base. Recently, these have included the repatriation of PMI brand volume from third-party manufacturers, and PMI factory closures in Belgium and Hungary. A current productivity initiative will streamline our support organization.
Our third global strategy is the pursuit of profitable business growth. This strategy has three principal components: organic growth through the strengthening of our existing brand portfolio, new business development and investments to support this growth. For example, we increased our spending behind marketing, field forces and research and development a cumulative 15% between 2001 and 2004.
Our growth strategy is focused on improving our share of all profitable segments and markets. These include the premium, blended, LTN and menthol segments, where we are relatively well represented. More recently, we have increased our focus on areas where we are under-represented and where it makes sense to participate, including mid- and low-price segments in various individual markets and the kretek segment in Indonesia.
Within our portfolio, our focus remains on Marlboro, the world’s best-selling cigarette. In an increasingly restricted marketing environment, Marlboro is the greatest asset in the industry, and we will use all means to enhance its equity and expand the appeal of the brand through new offerings.
The Marlboro marketing strategy is built on strong support behind superior products and innovative line extensions, the selective use of special packaging, outstanding advertising, exciting equity-building promotional programs, and a leading presence at the point of sale.
We continue to develop innovative line extensions and special packaging that provide a wider range of blends and formats that are true to the Marlboro spirit. These initiatives include the launch of Marlboro Blend 29 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland last October.
In the UK, we introduced Marlboro Blend 28, a full-flavor offering that addresses consumer taste preferences in a predominantly Virginia market. The distinctive and modern pack incorporates the Marlboro red rooftop design and initial distribution has focused on high-end bars and clubs.
Smooth tasting Marlboro Mild was successfully launched in Mexico and has been introduced more recently in Brazil. The unconventional advertising under the copy line, “Born Blue,” reinforces the novel character of the product and the innovative use of the electric blue color within the Marlboro family.
We also make selective use of innovative Marlboro packaging. This year, we are expanding the availability of the racing edition pack, which complements our sponsorship of the world champion Ferrari Formula 1 team.
We continue to add depth and vitality to the unique Marlboro Country advertising campaign with strong, fresh executions. Our latest print advertising uses a variety of new backgrounds and shapes to present the traditional themes of Marlboro Country.
We are also strengthening Marlboro’s appeal through a variety of promotional platforms. Our successful Marlboro Adventure Team program features summer and winter programs and will run in 32 markets this year. Our sponsorship of the Ferrari and Ducatti racing teams provides us with exciting promotional opportunities, such as this ad for the Marlboro Red Racing School promotion, which offers a consumer or retailer the chance to ride in a specially adapted three-seater F1 Ferrari. For legal-age meeting points, we have developed specific Marlboro materials for age-controlled venues, such as bars and discotheques. Among our Marlboro activities at the point of sale, we are building a premium brand environment in the high-end trade with Marlboro Experience Outlets in 19 markets around the world.
While the most significant part of our marketing activities is behind Marlboro, we also support the growth of L&M, the world’s third-largest cigarette brand. L&M has generated outstanding growth over the last four years, more than doubling its volume. A contributing factor to this growth has been L&M’s geographic expansion from 59 to 76 markets between 2001 and 2004. L&M has established significant shares in diverse markets throughout the world and is the number one international brand in key markets such as Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Poland and Romania. We are continually evolving L&M advertising with visuals such as this one from the latest campaign created around the theme, “Our taste, our world.”
We also seek to develop a wide range of differentiated brands to tap particular segments and markets. We have a formidable and diverse portfolio to work with. In addition to Marlboro and L&M, we have five other brands among the world’s top 20: Philip Morris, Chesterfield, Lark, Bond Street and Parliament.
We have also developed our value brand portfolio in order to capture down traders or address competitive products in all price segments. For example, we have expanded the international presence of Next and Basic, and they are now available in 25 and 13 markets, respectively. Both Next and Basic have performed well, and their combined volume was up over 62% in 2004.
In the other tobacco products category, we are present in various segments and markets. In some cases, the segments offer interesting income opportunities. In other cases, our entry may be more defensive, particularly when these segments unfairly benefit from discriminatory taxation versus cigarettes.
In order to supplement organic growth generated by our existing portfolio, we pursue all new business development opportunities that offer strategic fit, strong trademarks, strong growth potential, attractive returns and entry into new markets or segments. There are a myriad of markets where we have less than 15% share and that consequently offer substantial development opportunities.
PMI has been particularly active in the business development area over the past three years. The most significant recent events include the acquisition of Sampoerna in Indonesia, Coltabaco in Colombia, DIN in Serbia, Papastratos in Greece, the tobacco assets of Amer Tobacco in Finland, the cigarette trademarks of Sterling Tobacco in the Philippines and market entry in South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, Libya and Iraq.
Clearly, one of our greatest long-term opportunities is China, a growing market of 1.8 trillion cigarettes, or about one third of the world’s consumption. We are currently exploring different opportunities for this market.
In conclusion, I would like to share our current outlook for PMI total-year performance in 2005. We expect volume growth to be approximately 5% this year, including the acquisitions of Coltabaco and Sampoerna. Excluding acquisitions, we project volume growth of approximately 1%, reflecting the adverse impact of the excise tax increase scheduled for this September in Germany and continuing changes to the tax system in Turkey. In addition, we project double-digit operating companies’ income growth for the full year 2005, including the benefit of the Sampoerna acquisition, and despite challenges in Germany and Turkey and the recent strengthening of the U.S. dollar.
Longer term, PMI continues to have outstanding growth prospects. With only a 15% share of world cigarette consumption, the world’s leading brands, the strongest international infrastructure, the best people and a host of business development opportunities, I believe that PMI is very well placed to continue to add volume, share and profitability in the years ahead.
Thank you very much
http://www.altria.com/media/press_release/03_02_pr_2005_06_29_02.asp
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AU
Smoking row lit a legal bushfire
Natalie Gregg 20jun05
WHAT began as a minor argument about smoking in a shopping centre car park snowballed into a $40,000 dispute in Queensland's highest court.
Before the dispute even reached court, it was the subject of two reports – one a 72-page investigation.
The situation has angered judges who are tired of "trivial" cases wasting their time.
The bureaucratic and legal storm in a cigarette packet began in September two years ago when three members of a fire ant crew argued with a security guard about their right to smoke in the car park at Toombul Shopping Centre, in Brisbane's north.
The crew later complained to their superior, David John Ivers, and a letter was sent to the shopping centre management.
Mr Ivers, who was not present during the car park argument, detailed the complaints in what was supposed to be a private letter.
But the letter was sent in a Department of Primary Industries envelope, which is the State Government body overseeing the fire ant eradication program.
Four fire ant employees signed the letter, including a female relieving supervisor.
When shopping centre management replied to the DPI, the relieving supervisor made a complaint against Mr Ivers.
Other complaints, including allegations of bullying, were made against Mr Ivers and a private consultant was employed to investigate.
The DPI prepared a 72-page report which had some adverse findings about Mr Ivers's behaviour and recommended he show cause why he should not face disciplinary action.
Unhappy with the turn of events, Mr Ivers decided to take the State Government and five fire ant employees to court, applying for a judicial review against the show-cause notice.
In that time, Mr Ivers developed anxiety as a result of the dispute. He believed the report had "an adverse affect on his reputation" and he made a claim for HealthCover.
Independent investigators the LKA Group produced the second bureaucratic report – "a detailed investigation" – examining Mr Ivers's claim and medical condition. His application for WorkCover was rejected.
When the Supreme Court refused him leave to argue the matter he went to the highest court in the state – the Court of Appeal.
Mr Ivers won his application for leave in the Court of Appeal, but the drawn-out legal saga led Court of Appeal Justices Bruce McPherson, John Jerrard and Margaret Wilson to express concern about the process of handling public service complaints.
Justice McPherson said the case had "engendered ill-feeling and consequences well beyond the relative triviality of the original incident".
Justice White said the matter could have been better managed and was a "troubling snowballing" of events.
Additional reporting Mark Oberhardt
http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,15665914%255E36399,00.html
Community action in the field of public health (2003-2008) Work plan 2005
The priorities identified for 2005 are the following: 2.3.1. Supporting key Community strategies on addictive substances (1) In support of further developing the Community’s strategy on tobacco, proposals should focus on: • Mapping, assessment and evaluation of recent developments in Member States including measures and actions inter alia on preventing sales to children and adolescents, pricing and taxation, prohibiting advertising and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), in line with the Council Recommendation on the prevention of smoking and on initiatives to improve tobacco control31; • The impact of health warnings and colour photographs on tobacco packages on consumer habits in particular of young people, including recommendations for improvement and adaptation of the warnings; • Providing scientific basis to progress the measurement methods for tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide and other substances and the marking for identification and tracing purposes of tobacco products; • Develop and network prevention activities, focussing on specific settings, de-normalisation, encouraging health professionals’ involvement, and reducing exposure to ETS. Collect and disseminate information and best practice on tobacco control to the general public; • Develop and network activities on best practice regarding tobacco cessation strategies.
The global budget for 2005 is therefore estimated at € 61,460,4117 8.
http://www.ensp.org /files/workplan2005_en.pdf
Norway smoking ban survey.
http://www.sirus.no/cwobjekter/SmokefreebarsandrestaurantsinNorway.pdf
WI
Appleton's Neighboring Towns See New Business After Smoking Ban
July 6, 2005, 08:39 AM
By Jason Zimmerman
Bar owners just outside of Appleton say they saw plenty of new faces this weekend. Those in Grand Chute and Greenville say many people are simply crossing the city line to their businesses where smoking is still allowed.
Mr. G's Bar and Restaurant in Grand Chute is right on the city line of Appleton. If you go across the street, there is Appleton's citywide workplace smoking ban. Take a few steps back and it's not only okay to light up but it's being advertised.
At Mr. G's, city boundaries have never been so clear. The signs are meant to welcome smokers who may have been shown the door in neighboring Appleton. So far, it's attracting attention.
"We saw eight, ten new faces on Friday and probably another 15 to 20 on Saturday," Guy Wanta of Mr. G's said.
Dean Parkin was there from Appleton. He said, "I haven't seen it this busy on a Tuesday afternoon forever."
He consciously made the trip to get outside the smoke-free zone. "I won't go downtown after work. That's just the way I feel about it," Parkin said.
Even a few miles out from Appleton, in Greenville, at Spectator's Bar, smokers are showing up in numbers larger than expected.
Kevin Geurts of Spectator's Bar said, "We notice a little bit of difference already. Our sales are up in June from last year. Whether it's to do with the smoking ban is tough to say but sales are a little bit better."
"I'm hoping it just keeps growing," Wanta said.
Wanta said he doesn't support the smoking ban, and says it's now giving his bar a competitive edge just being on the right side of the road.
"I believe it's going to increase because, come wintertime, people are not going to be outside to smoke. I mean, they're going to find your local pubs to go to, and where they can sit down, have a soda and beer, brat and beer-- whatever they want to have-- and a cigarette."
Appleton police say they responded to only one smoking complaint during the past weekend, and the city health department has yet to issue any citations. Bar owners say so far most people have been complying -- or at least traveling to places where it's okay to light up.
AL
New Law To Cost Governor More In Health Insurance
POSTED: 12:11 pm CDT July 6, 2005
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Gov. Bob Riley is literally paying for one of his successes in the Alabama legislature.
The governor helped pass a law to require state employees to pay more for insurance if they smoke.
A spokesperson for the governor says Riley is an "occasional" smoker. So he'll have to fork over an extra $20 per month for insurance, starting in November.
http://www.nbc13.com/health/4689355/detail.html
NY
Judge Tosses LI Smoking-Cancer Lawsuit
(1010 WINS) Jun 21, 2005 7:06 am US/Eastern
MINEOLA, Long Island A State Supreme Court Judge has thrown out a tobacco suit brought by a woman who claimed that her lung cancer was caused by decades of smoking. Justice Ute Wolfe Lallly said there was no proof that the 61-year-old woman's cancer was caused by the company she was suing.
Selma Rosen of East Norwich was suing Brown and Williamson - the company that made Lucky Strike cigarettes. Rosen claimed that was the first brand she smoked and she got hooked on tobacco.
But Justice Lally ruled that by the time the woman was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1995 she had stopped and started smoking a couple of times and switched brands.
Lally's decision came after Rosen's attorneys rested their case and the lawyers for the tobacco company asked for a dismissal because of lack of evidence.
The company's attorney - Harold Gordon - says smokers should not be suing tobacco companies anymore than alcoholics should be suing beer companies.
http://1010wins.com/topstories/local_story_172070950.html
Some question propriety of accepting donation
(Stamford-AP, June 19, 2005 10:55 AM)_ Some anti-smoking advocates say Norwalk and Stamford hospitals should have refused million dollar donations from the chief executive of a Connecticut-based cigar company.
William Ziegler the Third's company, Swisher International, makes cigars and smokeless tobacco.
The Darien man donated a million dollars to each hospital to be used for information technology to improve patient care.
John Banzhaf, of Action on Smoking and Health, says the hospitals should have refused the donations.
Other anti-smoking advocates, however, say it's not so black-and-white.
Julia Cartwright of Washington, D-C-based American Legacy Foundation, which helps young people quit smoking, says because this was a personal donation, it was different than one provided by his company.
http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=3492709&nav=3YeXbCX1
US
An Excess of Power
Posted by Radley Balko - Cato Institute on Sunday July 3, 2005 at 11:54 pm MST
This past term, the Supreme Court handed down two rulings that will have a catastrophic effect on our personal freedom. In Raich v. Gonzaelez, the Court ruled that the Constitution's provision to regulate interstate commerce permitted federal agents to raid the home of a sick woman and confiscate the six marijuana plants she was growing for her own medication -- all in a state whose population had overwhelmingly voted to make medical marijuana legal. In Kelo v. New London, the Court found that the phrase "public use" in the Fifth Amendment allows local governments to snatch land from law abiding people, and sell it off to wealthy developers.
Both cases will have negative repercussions for liberty that reach far beyond their specific facts. The founding fathers understood that every right we have emanates from our right to private property. In this sense, "private property" means not only the right to one's home and land, but also the right to own the product of one's labor. James Madison, the father of the U.S. Constitution, wrote in 1789, "A man is said to have a right to his property, he may be equally said to have a property in his rights. Where an excess of power prevails, property of no sort is duly respected. No man is safe in his opinions, his person, his faculties, or his possessions."
Every right we have stems from government's recognition that we, the people, are born with our rights intact. We own them. We have property in them. We voluntarily forfeit some of these rights to government, in exchange for protection from outside threats, the administration of justice, and the rule of law. The purpose of the U.S. Constitution, then, is not to tell us what rights we have. We're born with the right to do as we please, so long as we don't harm others. The Constitution's purpose is to outline what rights we give to the government, and to firmly define the limits of government power.
Unfortunately, this isn't widely understood. Commonly, we hear people say things like, "where in the Constitution does it say you have the right to smoke a cigarette?" Or, "where in the Constitution does it say you're allowed to look at pornography?" James Madison worried about questions like these. He feared that if we included a Bill of Rights in the Constitution, people would eventually come to assume the rights it listed would be the only rights we have. Others felt some rights -- speech, arms, etc. -- were so vital as to merit explicit mention. As a compromise, they included the Ninth Amendment, which says that the enumeration of some rights should not be construed to exclude rights not enumerated. So to answer the questions above, your right to smoke a cigarette or consume pornography are both in the Ninth Amendment.
This is why the decision in Raich is so important, and so devastating. While the Supreme Court has ignored the Ninth Amendment for decades, Raich may serve as its obituary. If the Ninth Amendment doesn't protect a man's right to consume whatever medicine might give him relief from pain -- or that in some cases could save his life -- what's left that it could possibly protect?
If the Supreme Court killed off the Ninth Amendment with Raich, Kelo in many ways represents the culmination of its complete disregard for even our explicitly enumerated rights.
Go back to Madison's quote above. A government that doesn't respect the title to your land is in all likelihood a government that will in time lose respect for your property in your right to speech, arms, and due process. And indeed in recent years, with help from the Supreme Court, government at all levels has run roughshod over even our explicitly enumerated rights.
With increasingly restrictive campaign laws, for example, we've lost the most important of our First Amendment protections -- the right to criticize the people who govern us at election time. The Second Amendment has been trampled by gun control legislation. In our nation's capital, for example, guns of any kind have been all but outlawed. The PATRIOT Act and a spate of Supreme Court Drug War decisions have rendered our Fourth Amendment protections from warrantless searches meaningless. Our Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination has been diluted in many contexts, and outright suspended in others (drunk driving cases, for example). Many prosecutors treat its grand jury provision not as a criminal protection, but as an invitation to abuse. And, of course, Kelo wrecked the Fifth's takings protections. There are only cursory examples. There are many more.
In this sense, Kelo's symbolic significance is probably more damaging than its practical application. By deferring to state and local governments, who may now seize property for virtually any reason at all, the Supreme Court has announced its complete disregard for private property. Which means that America may have finally achieved Madison's dim vision: "An excess of power" now prevails, and we're now living under a government that neither respects our right to property, nor acknowledges the property we own in our rights.
Perhaps this isn't the cheeriest of columns to write for Independence Day. But it's certainly appropriate. Thomas Jefferson famously wrote that, "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." We obviously haven't been vigilant enough. Coincidentally, July 4 marks not only the birth of America, but the death of two of its founders -- Jefferson, and John Adams died on this day in 1826. Perhaps we should mark the date not only by celebrating America's independence, but by working to insure that this July 4 doesn't also mark the death of the ideas that animated its founding.
http://www.phxnews.com/fullstory.php?article=22846 or http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3974
NY
Employers act to curb costs associated with smoking
From the July 1, 2005 print edition
Barbara Pinckney The Business Review
At Farm Family Holdings Inc., smoking is forbidden anywhere on the property.
MVP Health Plan allows smoking, but only in two designated, and not so attractive, spots in the company's parking garage.
The American Cancer Society's Loudonville office will not even hire someone who smokes.
There was a time, not long ago, when smoking was an issue few employers wanted to tackle. It was considered a personal matter, and a personal liberty.
"They'd think 'it's their business, not my business,' " said Michael Seserman, director of cancer prevention strategies for the Eastern division of the American Cancer Society.
Then employers began to realize it was very much their business. Clearing the smoke out of the workplace has a direct, and significant, impact on the bottom line.
"I think we're going through a societal paradigm shift," Seserman said. "We're seeing smoking less as a personal wellness thing and more as what it is."
First, there is the matter of health insurance, and the skyrocketing premiums businesses have struggled to control. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the average company loses $1,600 a year in direct medical costs for each smoking employee. Smokers use 50 percent more health services than nonsmoking employees, and 19 percent of health care expenses for the children of smokers are directly related to second-hand smoke inhalation.
Then there are the indirect costs associated with smoking employees, costs the CDC has put at an average of $1,700 a year.
"Smokers are absent more than non-smokers--some studies show 50 percent more," Seserman said. "And that doesn't even include the fact that 8 percent of the employee's time is spent in the whole smoking ritual. When you add that all up, smokers are getting an extra three weeks of vacation each year."
Taking action
The July 2003 passage of the Indoor Clean Air Act provided the impetus many companies needed. The state law prohibited smoking in nearly all workplaces. Although employers could comply by merely asking smokers to step outside to light up, many seized the opportunity to encourage workers to kick the habit.
For most, this took the form of on-site smoking-cessation programs.
"There was a lot of enthusiasm," said Peggy Keigley, director of the Center for Smoking Cessation at Seton Health, the parent of St. Mary's Hospital in Troy. The center used a grant from the state Department of Health to offer free classes at area businesses.
"We were conducting hundreds of classes at worksites," Keigley said. "We did 150 in one year."
Cathi Sawchuk, director of human resources for Comfortex Corp., a Maplewood-based manufacturer of decorative window coverings, was among the employees of that company to go through a six-week smoking cessation program. About half of the 40 employees to sign up for the program completed it and are still smoke free a year later.
Sawchuk was unable to say how much the company has saved by turning these workers into non-smokers, but based on the CDC's figures, the total could be as much as $66,000 a year.
"I haven't calculated that, but I do think we are all healthier, happier, more productive employees," Sawchuk said.
Smoking cessation programs appear to be increasing in popularity all over the country. In an October survey by the New York City-based American Management Association, 49 percent of companies polled offered such classes, up from 41 percent a year earlier.
The next step
Many companies now are looking for other ways to help employees quit, including expanding their benefit packages to cover cessation aids, such as Zyban, the nicotine patch and gum. The CDC said this adds $1.20 to $4.80 per employee to the cost of health insurance, but that this investment can yield a return of as high as 300 percent.
Some businesses have decided to encourage quitting by making the smoke break less appealing.
"They are saying 'why are we making it comfortable for people to smoke when we know it is hurting our bottom line?'" Seserman said. "You're seeing the butt huts come down."
This was part of the plan for MVP. The Schenectady-based health insurer took four parking spaces in its garage, on two floors, put cones around them, set up benches and called it the smoking area.
"We're not saying you can't smoke, but you have to go here, and here is not a very nice place," said Gary Hughes, spokesman for MVP.
In contrast, MVP employees who want to adopt a healthier lifestyle have a fancy in-house gym to work out in.
Just say no
For some businesses, even the parking garage is off-limits. When the Society for Human Resource Management, an Alexandria, Va.-based trade group, asked its members about smoking policies in an online survey in December, 19 percent joined Farm Family in banning smoking anywhere on company property.
Vandy Veeder, director of human resources for Farm Family, said the Glenmont-based group of insurance companies has been a smoke-free workplace for about five years.
"I know some people get in their cars at lunch time and drive somewhere to smoke, but they can't smoke here," Veeder said. "We're not trying to push our views on them, but we think we should have a healthier workplace."
Other companies have gone even further. Nationwide, more than 6,000 companies, including Union Pacific Corp., Alaska Airlines, and the Fortunoff department store chain, refuse to hire smokers.
The law in New York, as well as 16 other states, allows some companies to receive a waiver allowing them to hire only non-smokers.
"We have a waiver because smoking is inconsistent with our mission," Seserman said of the Cancer Society. "We inform people during the interview, and they take themselves out of the process if they so choose."
Common ground
In a competitive environment, it can be difficult for one employer to prohibit smoking while a rival allows it. The area's hospitals have decided to work together to develop a plan to encourage employees to quit. It is not yet known if their efforts will extend to an outright ban.
"You really have to be thoughtful in how you roll these policy changes out," said Kathleen Occhiogrosso, vice president of human resources for Seton Health. "It's a very sensitive topic."
http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2005/07/04/story1.html
Posted at 11:25 am by looped_ca
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Canadian Cancer Society Applauds Support for Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control
OTTAWA, June 7 /CNW/ - The Canadian Cancer Society applauds a motion passed today by the House of Commons calling on the Federal Government to fund and implement the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control.
"This is great news for Canadians," says Dr. Barbara Whylie, CEO, Canadian Cancer Society. "A well-funded national Strategy means we have the potential to save the lives of more than 420,000 Canadians and save more than $39 billion in direct healthcare costs associated with cancer over the next 30 years."
Whylie adds that she was heartened to see parties come together to support the motion tabled today by Steven Fletcher, Conservative Party Health Critic. "Cancer touches so many people and causes immeasurable suffering.
"The Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control is ready to go and now the government needs to step up and provide the $260 million needed over five years. The Parliament of Canada has been clear; the government must now act."
Implementing the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control will mean, over the next 30 years:
- preventing over 1.2 million Canadians from developing cancer;
- preventing the loss of more than $101 billion in wage-based
productivity;
- preventing the loss of more than $34 billion in total government tax revenues.
The Canadian Cancer Society has been a leader in the development of the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control and has been advocating for federal funding to implement it since 2002.
The Canadian Cancer Society is a national community-based organization of volunteers whose mission is to eradicate cancer and to enhance the quality of life of people living with cancer. When you want to know more about cancer, visit our website at www.cancer.ca or call our toll-free, bilingual Cancer Information Service at 1 888 939-3333.
For further information: Until 8 p.m., June 7, Rebecca Finlay, Canadian Cancer Society, Communications, (416) 312-0524; On June 8 contact: Kerstin Ring, Canadian Cancer Society, Communications, (416) 934-5664
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2005/07/c8993.html
Police Reports - Monday June 13, 2005
Break and Enter - The Hasty Market on Downey Road was broken into on Saturday morning. The culprit(s) had smashed the front glass door with a rock and made off with a quantity of cigarette packages.
http://www.thefountainpen.com/cgi-bin/showstory?id=3717
Police Reports June 15
Web posted on June 15, 2005
A Break, Enter and Theft occurred on June 15 at about 4:53 am to the Hasty Market, 115 Downey Road in Guelph. Entry was g
ained by smashing the glass out of the front door with a rock. Several cartons of cigarettes were taken. The suspects are described as two males, one 5'l1" the other around 6', both with thin builds, wearing work gloves, The first suspect had on a red hooded sweatshirt. The second suspect had a black hooded sweater with a blue and green plaid work jacket.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Guelph Police or CRIMESTOPPERS 1-800-222-8477.
http://www.thefountainpen.com/cgi-bin/showstory?id=3734
Are we done dithering on smoking bans? -ON
By Lloyd Mack Miner and News Wednesday June 22, 2005
You’ll read a lot in Canadian newspapers these days about dithering. Most, if not all the commentary -- until now -- has been aimed at Prime Minister Paul Martin. For my purpose -- and the issue I want to raise -- Martin has a lot of company in the field of indecisive politicians.
Few jurisdictions have been able to get smoking bans on the books without first pointing a finger in another direction and claiming it was someone else’s responsibility to accomplish the dirty deed. Kenora city council, for one, had no intestinal fortitude for the matter when it was raised a few years back.
Council left Dr. Pete Sarsfield, chief medical officer of health at the Northwestern Health Unit, to become the martyr if he felt strongly enough about banning smoking from the workplace for health reasons. Sarsfield’s authority was challenged by the Freedom of Choice Coalition, a group of local restaurant and bar owners who sought a reprieve from possible business loss more than anything else.
The coalition won a stay of execution -- if you accept the picture of doom and gloom painted by the pessimistic when it comes to banning smoking in public places -- but will return to court in September for a provincial appeal of the ruling that said the medical officer of health overstepped his authority. And, win or lose, the provincial government earlier this month passed anti-tobacco legislation banning smoking in public places beginning in June 2006.
Ontario is a Johnny-Come-Lately among the growing number of provinces finally taking responsibility for prohibitions on smoking in public places. Three provinces and two territories have banned smoking 100 per cent in bars and restaurants since the Northwest Territories and Nunavut did so on May 1, 2004, and three others -- beginning with B.C. on May 1, 2002 -- have legislation requiring designated smoking rooms in bars and restaurants.
Newfoundland will become the fourth province to force bars and bingo halls to tell customers to butt out on July 1 -- just seven weeks after passing legislation, while Quebec and Ontario’s respective provincial legislation takes effect May 31, 2006 on World No-Tobacco Day.
Alberta, which just likes to be different, passed a watered-down anti-smoking bill this spring which originally would have banned smoking in all workplaces, but instead now limits the ban to public facilities in which children are permitted. Bars and casinos are among the places where smoking may continue, subject to municipal bylaws. Edmonton, for one, has a tough new ordinance taking effect July 1.
Personally, I think it is time that Ontario adopts provincewide no smoking regulations in the workplace. Sure, I would have liked the city to have been on the cutting edge on the issue a few years ago as a dozen or more municipal jurisdictions have passed legislation since the Capital Regional District (Victoria, B.C.) on Jan. 1, 1999. But bigger -- and more extensive -- is better in this case.
The dangers of smoking are well documented, but a few statistics are worth mentioning again. Premier Dalton McGuinty, who boasted Ontario’s new anti-tobacco legislation is the most aggressive in North America, also noted tobacco is the No. 1 cause of preventable illness in the province, killing 16,000 Ontarians a year and costing the provincial economy $2.7 billion annually in lost productivity. “It costs the health-care system alone $1.6 billion,” he said.
I don’t want to concentrate on numbers too much and I’ll explain why in a minute. But I don’t think there are many who will argue with the Canadian Lung Association or the Canadian Cancer Society about the dangers of smoking and secondhand smoke and the deaths from lung cancer, heart disease and other cancers the two cause.
Even Human Resources Development Canada has been unable to argue two Employment Insurance claims to date based on second-hand smoke. The latest case came this spring when a non-smoking Ontario casino worker quit and qualified for EI benefits because second-hand smoke was making him ill. You can bet there will be more.
There is also at least one television ad which drives home the point of the dangers of working in the hospitality industry and being put at risk by second-hand smoke. There is the argument that says individual business owners should decide whether or not to allow smoking, but that idea ignores the fact the people who have to work in those businesses are at risk. We don’t allow businesses to willfully pose a health risk to employees with other toxins. We should not be allowing it from cigarettes.
After the tired-old freedom-of-choice argument, the first and only argument opponents to a smoking ban raise is that a ban will hurt business. Much of the opposition to workplace smoking bans comes from owners of restaurants and bars who say that many of their customers enjoy smoking a cigarette after a meal or while socializing over drinks.
This is where numbers would be useful if not for concern numbers can -- and are often -- manipulated by those wanting to favour their position. For example, look at New York City, where the International Communication Industry conducted a survey with 300 hospitality businesses to learn the effects of the smoking ban passed in March, 2003. The survey reported that 100 of the businesses laid off serving staff, noting the ban as the reason.
About 200 said they had fewer customers but only 77 of the 300 provided monthly sales figures. Comparing the month before the ban with the month after the ban, the report found an eight per cent decrease in liquor sales.
Yet the president of the Staten Island Restaurant and Tavern Association told the New York Times in February the two-year-old New York City ban had not plunged restaurants and bars into the doldrums, as some expected. “I have to admit I’ve seen no fall-off in business in either (restaurants or bars).”
Critics say the predictions of widespread devastation in the hospitality industry are nothing more than Chicken Little crying that “the sky is falling.” They warn that people should realize where the message is coming from and not to believe it just because it is oft repeated.
In fact, a study released in April by the Harvard School of Public Health found that the smoke-free law in Massachusetts hasn’t affected sales or employment in the state’s restaurants, bars and nightclubs.
Patronage went up slightly after the law came into effect and there were no statistically significant changes in meals tax collections or alcoholic beverage excise tax collections.
“These study findings underscore the importance of comprehensive smoke-free policies,” the authors conclude.
Research cited by the tobacco industry that suggests smoking bans have a negative effect on the hospitality sector are based on “invalid and weak evaluation approaches” and are, therefore, misleading, the report says.
Granted, recovery may be slow or stagnated if, as I experienced on a trip to Saskatchewan two weeks ago, the smell of stale cigarettes hangs in the air of small-town hotel lobbies five months after a ban is implemented. Sure, this wasn’t a tourist town and the core business in the coffee shop and pub that sandwich the lobby is retired farmers who gather for coffee and tales of yesteryear or oilfield workers, but no one was lighting up.
In Saskatoon, the bar patrons were noticeable in respecting the law in that a group of smokers held to the covered veranda along the hitching rail of the western-themed pub adjoined to our hotel in order to keep out of the light rain.
From my own perspective, people are still going to eat and drink. I wish I could have added my voice to the federal government survey released on World No-Tobacco Day which suggests most Canadians would more often visit eating and drinking establishments if a smoking ban was in effect. That is where my business goes already -- particularly if we are dining out as a family.
http://www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/index.php?id=858
Ontario smoking ban to boost Detroit gaming
Casino officials, analysts expect law will discourage many who now cross border to play.
By Joel J. Smith and Tenisha Mercer / The Detroit News June 22, 2005
http://www.detnews.com/2005/business/0506/22/D01-224023.htm
Canada Day will see city smoke-free
Brooke Hogemann Staff Writer Wednesday June 22, 2005
Airdrie Echo — Canada Day might have to be celebrated a little differently for some people this year in Airdrie, as that is the day the city goes smoke-free.
As of July 1, all public establishments and all workplaces, including restaurants, bars and gaming establishments, will be smoke-free.
"Anywhere the public has access to is non-smoking, whether children are there or not," said Tara Richards, the communications coordinator for the City of Airdrie.
The smoke-free bylaw does not apply to home-based businesses, but it does apply to all public places and city property, such as Nose Creek Park.
"Smoking will not be allowed in bus shelters either," Richards said.
Members of private clubs will not be allowed to smoke in the clubhouse during meetings, even though no public is present, since the definition of a public building under the smoking bylaw means any enclosed building or structure – as defined in this bylaw – to which the public can and does have access to or by invitation, regardless of whether or not:
• all classes of the public are invited;
• the proprietor has the right to exclude any particular person;
• payment, membership or the performance of some formality is required prior to access;
• the public has access to the building only at certain times, or from time to time; or
• a member of the public has access only if they are a member or if they are accompanied by a member.
If the public has access only to a portion of a building or structure – such as a building including a private residence – the entire building or structure will be deemed to be a public building, under the smoke-free bylaw.
"Under this definition, the Royal Canadian Legion and Woodside Senior’s Club, will be smoke-free buildings," Richards said.
Since the bylaw also requires smokers to be three metres, or 10 feet, from the entrance or exit of a business building, all outdoor ashtrays will be required to be that far away from the doors, as well. Signage must also be posted at entrances to workplaces, public buildings, city buildings, washrooms and in the vicinity of any seating area where food or beverages are sold, declaring these places to be smoke-free.
"I think there will be a lot of warnings (from bylaw officers), because this is very new," Richards said.
Non-complying businesses and individuals can be fined – individuals $250 and businesses $1,000 – if they do not follow the bylaw regulations. If the fine is not paid, it could be determined through a court appearance that the individual pays up to $1,000 or the business up to $10,000.
For more information on the smoke-free bylaw, go to the City of Airdrie Web site at: www.airdrie.ca
http://www.airdrieecho.com/story.php?id=168603
Illegal bars spring up in Saskatoon homes -SK
Booze cans' attract attention of police, new provincial agency
Darren Bernhardt The StarPhoenix Thursday, June 23, 2005
Every Saturday at 8 a.m., a new black Ford truck pulls up at a house on Avenue P South.
A man gets out, opens the door for his wife, and they spend the day drinking and smoking at an illegal drinking establishment operating out of the home, according to Karen, who lives on the block.
Other regulars include the driver of a carpet cleaning van belonging to a major retailer and the operator of a City of Saskatoon truck. Those vehicles both park at the end of the street, but Karen said she watches the drivers walk to the house.
"The final straw for me was (June 10) when my son, who is in Grade 12, was with his friends out front. These people from the house paid my son and his friends to get more beer," Karen said. "I flipped. I went over there to complain, but they don't care."
Illegal "booze cans" operating covertly in some private Saskatoon homes have attracted the attention of police, the province and residents who want to reclaim their neighbourhoods.
The booze can harkens to the days of prohibition and bootlegging, but now it's the smoking bylaw that is driving people to secret locations where they can drink and smoke at the same time, some frustrated neighbours say.
"I'm fed up. It's like watching Jerry Springer or Cops but instead of it being on TV it's outside our window," said Karen (not her real name). "These guys come out and they're drunk -- and it doesn't matter what time of day it is. Occasionally, there's yelling and fights and there's little kids on the street watching this."
The booze can across her Holiday Park street is a tiny, nondescript wartime bungalow with an aluminum awning over the front entrance and a refrigerator at the side near the back patio. A half-ton truck regularly pulls up and unloads 20 cases of beer, says Karen, who watches as people load them onto trolleys and disappear into the home.
A man at the house refused to talk to The StarPhoenix, insisting nothing was going on.
Drugs and prostitution are also on the menu at some residences, according to Justice Minister Frank Quennell, whose department recently established a government-funded agency to deal with booze cans. The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) legislation was passed in spring 2004 and began operating that fall.
SCAN investigators will look into complaints from residents about questionable activities at other houses or apartment buildings. Evidence is gathered from observing the goings-on. The property owner or landlord will then be contacted and ordered to halt the activity or have the property locked up by court order.
"You get a lot of co-operation from landlords because they don't want their properties shut down," said Quennell.
The legislation is applauded by Const. Debbie Altrogge of the Saskatoon Police Service's organized crime and vice-unit. About three months ago, her unit was assisted by SCAN in shutting down a booze can on Avenue I.
"They (SCAN) don't replace us, they work with us," she said.
Police action on such complaints might take a long time because there must be undeniable evidence to secure a search warrant. Then a lengthy investigation and charges would follow, Altrogge said
By pressuring the property owner, SCAN works a lot faster. And it puts the power back in the hands of communities because all tips are anonymous and investigated, said Quennell.
Prior to the legislation, buildings could only be condemned for fire or health-related reasons. Someone had to be convicted of a criminal offence to be forcibly removed from a premises where an illegal business was operating.
"Even then, someone else could just step into their place and carry on the business," said Quennell. "So the activities continued despite the best police efforts. We felt there was a need for stronger legislation to fill that gap. If a child doesn't have to live in a fire trap, a child shouldn't have to live next to a drug house."
The initial office and investigators were based in Regina but a Saskatoon office and two more investigators were added through funding in the 2005 budget, as the breadth of the problem was larger than expected. But Quennell doesn't agree booze cans are being stoked in part by the provincial smoking ban.
"A lot of the houses we're shutting down are where people go to abuse solvents, to drink alcohol in illegal, unlicensed establishments, to use intravenous drugs or sell drugs from, or they are using it as a brothel. But I don't think a desire to smoke is contributing to it," he said, adding he hopes SCAN can also help prevent crystal meth labs from developing.
BOOZE CAN SHUT DOWN
Karen says she's been told of similar booze cans in the north end, off 20th Street and downtown.
Altrogge hadn't heard of these cases, but noted one on Avenue G was shut down a few years ago.
There used to be a lot more of them before city bars began staying open later and on Sundays. The 24-hour wine and beer stores have also helped alleviate them, "but you can't totally eliminate illegal activity," Altrogge said.
Icicle-style Christmas lights on the exterior of the Avenue P house are used year-round as a signal to customers that the liquor is flowing, Karen has deduced from her observations. She has lived in the tidy, treed neighbourhood for 13 years and insists it is a nice community "except for this."
Although she has spoken to police, it's hard to lay a charge. It's not illegal to have people over for drinks. The police would need an undercover officer to be sold some beer, "but they're pretty careful about who goes in," Karen said.
"They keep saying they'll watch but it seems the second I call police or try to do something about it, it's quiet. I'm sure the police think I'm crazy."
Altrogge has promised to look into Karen's situation and inform SCAN about it.
http://www.canada.com/fortstjohn/story.html?id=9c179b8e-95ea-4399-9d14-727829808f04
RE: LINDA Duguay's June 22 letter on Mindelle Jacobs' June 21 column. If Duguay actually read the study, she would see that there are proposals for both public sector and private sector tobacco manufacturers. Of course it's easier to rant when you don't bother with such details. Meanwhile, Big Tobacco kills 47,000 Canadians per year.
David Thompson
(It's a staggering figure.)
-----------------------------------------------------
L. POLSOM'S June 22 letter about alcohol being the driving force behind the murder of that man in a small town was a poor example of alcohol being much more dangerous than cigarettes. Look at the shooting of the Mac's store clerk last week. What was the robber demanding besides cash? He was trying to steal the worst drug of all: cigarettes. Both deaths were tragic and should never have happened.
S. Thomas
(On that we can agree.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
RE: SMOKING bylaw. What's next? Banning smoking in our homes, and telling drunks how, when and what they can drink? Then they'll tell us when to have sex and how many children to have. When will people wake up and do something about these crazy bylaws? The smoking ban on patios is ridiculous! We have to smell the exhaust from vehicles and refineries. Isn't that worse than a little cigarette? Cigarettes are a legal product. But, hey, communism rules.
Sandi Martin
(The patio ban is odd.)
http://www.edmontonsun.com/Comment/Letters/2005/06/24/1102079.html
Max attacks feared -AB
Overcrowding, smoke-free policy may combine to make jail more of a hell
By AJAY BHARDWAJ, EDMONTON SUN Fri, June 24, 2005
Overcrowding at the Edmonton Max has guards and inmates fearing bloodshed, days after 25 prisoners rioted in the jail's gymnasium.
And the situation is only going to get worse when the north Edmonton maximum-security facility goes tobacco-free later this year, fears the Prairie regional president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers.
"I guess it's going to be a very hot summer for the institution," Kevin Grabowsky said yesterday.
"We're probably looking at a lot of incidents if we don't get a handle on managing this inmate population."
On Monday night some 25 inmates rioted in the jail's gymnasium.
Two correctional officers, caught inside an office at the gym, had to use an escape door to get out before inmates got to them.
A guard on a catwalk fired two warning shots in the air. Guards also used gas and percussion grenades to put down the uprising.
Nine other prisoners negotiated for two cigarettes apiece before surrendering.
Damage is estimated between $15,000 and $20,000.
Guards and the institution's emergency response team went cell to cell searching for a homemade zip gun - used to fire needles, pieces of lead or a shell casing - and other contraband after the riot, Grabowsky said.
The institution was under lockdown.
The Max's segregation unit is full and other prisoners requiring solitary confinement are being housed on regular ranges, creating tension between inmates.
"There's a lot of guys down here that are scared. They're not eating. They're not doing their laundry," one prisoner said.
"We'd probably get killed or hurt if we were in the population. I'm down in (segregation) right now because they received information that I would be seriously harmed or murdered because I won't get involved with bringing in drugs ..."
Prison spokesman Gary Sears said while the Max houses prisoners deemed a risk to the public, the prison workers can handle the situation.
"If you're asking if there is an increased risk at Edmonton Institution, I'd say the population profile is similar to the past and that officers at the institution are well-trained professionals who are capable of managing these individuals," he said.
Sears agreed that the situation has to be watched carefully.
Problems could worsen when the institution goes smoke-free, likely later this year.
"There's going to be lots of blood over that," he said.
Another inmate, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said guards have been staging incidents to build statistics so they can procure stab-proof vests, pepper spray and handcuffs.
But Grabowsky said that's bunk.
"How do we stage something?" he said, adding prisoners don't seem to respect each other, their property or guards like they did in the past.
"When I walked the ranges 15 years ago I didn't need all that stuff.
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2005/06/24/1102595-sun.html
Police Reports
Monday June 20, 2005
Break and Enter – The Victoria Variety on Speedvale Ave was broken into at about 4:00 this morning. The building was entered through a forced door, and some cigarettes and lottery tickets were stolen. The first suspect is described as male, white, 5'10" and was wearing baggy jeans and a green hoodie. The second suspect is described as male, white, 5'6" - 5'8" and was wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and a hat. The final suspect is male, white, 5'8", wearing a grey hoodie, jeans and a baseball hat. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Guelph Police or CRIMESTOPPERS 1-800-222-8477.
http://www.thefountainpen.com/cgi-bin/showstory?id=3751
Big Tobacco can be put on trial: court
Camille Bains Canadian Press June 23, 2005
VANCOUVER (CP) -- A judge has dismissed an application by at least nine foreign tobacco manufacturers to remove them as defendants in British Columbia's lawsuit aimed at recovering medicare costs.
The big tobacco companies, mostly based in the United States and Britain, argued the province couldn't recover billions of dollars in health-care costs from them because provincial legislation applies only to local matters.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ronald Holmes ruled on Thursday there was a connection between the companies and the sale of cigarettes in the province.
Philip Morris had argued it would be better to have the case tried in the United States, something Holmes dismissed.
"The factual underpinning of the (B.C. government's) action clearly identifies British Columbia as the jurisdiction most closely connected to the action," the judge said in his written decision.
Another company said the case was a violation of NAFTA, an argument Holmes also quashed.
In May 2004, an appeals court judge ruled the province's Tobacco Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act was constitutional.
Last December, the Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear an appeal by three tobacco companies fighting the B.C. legislation. It gave the province the green light to proceed with a lawsuit seeking $10 billion from the tobacco industry.
Health Minister George Abbott said he's pleased with the ruling. "Obviously, it is a very important clarification of British Columbia's jurisdiction in relation to foreign tobacco companies," Abbott said.
"We look forward now to continuing our aim of securing some accountability from the tobacco industry for the harm that is caused by its products."
Rob Cunningham, a senior policy analyst with the Canadian Cancer Society, said the fact that multinational tobacco companies can now be named as defendants is a victory for British Columbia.
"It's a big one for B.C. in terms of the allegations of the worldwide conspiracy by the tobacco companies to deny the health effects of smoking and to engage in wrongful behaviour," Cunningham said from Ottawa.
"It's a big blow for tobacco companies because now they can be put on trial."
Dave Laundy, vice-president of the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers' Council, said three Canadian companies are named among the various foreign cigarette manufacturers in the ruling released on Thursday.
He said B.C. taxpayers have been on the hook for millions of dollars for the government's legal proceedings to seek damages that tobacco companies can't afford to pay.
This has been a long, drawn-out, very expensive process," Laundy said.
"The government of British Columbia is saying it's going to seek an award of $10 billion and we've been saying all along that there's no way that these companies could withstand the settlement, even a fraction of that magnitude," he said.
"We'd be happy to work with the government and support them in some of their programs that they launch for discouraging youth smoking and that kind of thing."
As defendants, the tobacco companies' internal documents must be produced as evidence, making them potentially liable for damages, Cunningham said
"The tobacco industry has a history of seeking to avoid accountability anywhere and everywhere," he said. "This court has said that they have to be ready to stand trial in British Columbia."
The B.C. government has previously said it is trying to recover costs from cigarette manufacturers because medical costs for smoking-related illnesses have spiralled to beyond $500 million a year.
http://www.canada.com/vancouver/globaltv/story.html?id
=68ffc779-8d65-4edd-930f-8fdbf7e27b52
Canada Court keeps foreign firms in tobacco suit
By Allan Dowd Thu June 23, 2005 6:04 PM GMT-04:00
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - A Canadian judge ruled on Thursday that British Columbia can include foreign-based tobacco firms in a lawsuit seeking damages for the health costs of smoking.
http://www.reuters.ca/locales/c_newsArticle.jsp?type=topNews&localeKey=en_CA&storyID=8875869
In 2005, an estimated 22,200 Canadians will be diagnosed with lung cancer; 19,000 will die of the disease. It is the leading cause of cancer death for women and men.
Lung cancer is also the most preventable of all cancers. Most cases are due to smoking. But even if everyone stopped smoking, there would still be lung cancer.
A significant number of cases -- between 6 and 15 per cent of the total, according to research -- are caused by exposure to radon, a natural radioactive gas that emanates from the ground into the air.
"Radon is all around us," said Dr. Mike Repacholi, co-ordinator of the radiation and environmental health unit at the World Health Organization. "Radon in our homes is the main source of exposure." (High concentrations can be found in caves, mines and water-treatment centres, so workers toiling in those settings need to be particularly aware.) The concentration of radon in a home depends on the amount of uranium that is producing the radon in the underlying rocks and soils, and in the clay used in bricks, and in the aggregate used in concrete.
The concentration also depends on the routes available for the radioactive gas to seep into the home. Radon gas enters houses through openings -- cracks at concrete floor/wall junctions, gaps in the floor, small pores in hollow-block walls, sump pumps, drains. Consequently, radon levels are usually higher in basements, cellars or other structural areas in contact with soil. Concentrations can vary widely from one house to another.
Earlier this week, the WHO launched a global campaign to raise awareness about radon, a common carcinogen that has sometimes been described as a silent monster lurking in the basement. The issue should be of particular interest in Canada because radon exposure is highest in cold climates, where people huddle indoors, with doors and windows shut. It's a potential problem in every home -- depending on the soil on which it's built. There have been scares all over the country at various times.
"Radon accumulates within the house, so people are breathing this radioactive gas, which is tasteless, colourless," Dr. Repacholi said.
The good news is that high household exposure to radon can be easily prevented by improving construction regulations and, for existing housing, by increasing under-floor ventilation and sealing cracks and gaps in floors. This is particularly important in radon-rich areas like those that exist across northern Canada.
Radon can also be found in drinking water. A significant number of Canadians get their water from groundwater sources such as wells, springs and boreholes. Underground water can become contaminated with radon.
The problem is Canadians know virtually nothing about radon. The issue made headlines three decades ago, but has faded from the public consciousness.
Canada also has quite lax standards about acceptable radon levels, particularly compared to other Nordic countries. (But, unlike some European countries and Japan, Canada does not have radon spas, where people deliberately expose themselves to radiation in the belief it stimulates the immune system.) Radon radioactivity is measured in becquerels per cubic metre of air (Bq/m3) -- a measure of the disintegration of one radioactive atom per second.
The Canadian standard for acceptable exposure to radon is 800 Bq/m3. By contrast, in Sweden and the U.S., the standard is 160 Bq/m3. The WHO hopes, in coming years, to establish an international standard.
What is most important, however, is individual exposure. For those who are concerned about the soil under their home, there are radon detectors.
Because radon can build up over time, single measures are not that useful; the level of gas needs to be measured over a substantial period, several months.
It should be noted, too, that smokers are at greatest risk from radon exposure, because the radiation works in concert with the toxins in tobacco. According to the WHO, even moderate exposure to radon can increase the risk of lung cancer in a smoker 25-fold.
According to the WHO, among people exposed to the acceptable Canadian level of radon of 800 Bq/m3, about 15 per every 1,000 would develop lung cancer. By contrast, among smokers exposed to radon at that level, about 350 per 1,000 would develop cancer.
Like tobacco, we know the risks of radon. We also know how to mitigate those risks. The missing element is public education and, perhaps, regulation. "Radon poses an easily reducible health risk to populations all over the world," Dr. Repacholi said. "But it has not, up to now, received widespread attention."
A little awareness, and a little action could prevent tens of thousands of lung-cancer deaths worldwide each year.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC
/20050623/PICARD23/TPHealth/
The right to smoke
National Post Friday, June 24, 2005
Re: Finally, A Smart Regulation, Rachel Marsden, June 18.
I am glad Ms. Marsden took the time before writing her column to visit the Web site of Canada's largest smokers' rights association, mychoice.ca, which has gained more than 22,000 registered members since being launched nine months ago. But I am disappointed that she already had her mind made up before doing so and did not pay closer attention.
For the record, any references on our site to veterans are made in support of the veterans themselves. Perhaps Ms. Marsden would like to lecture Windsor Legion president Dennis Holmes when he said this about his members: "When you consider 112,000 of their friends were killed, you can understand why they need to go out once in a while and have a cigarette and reminisce with their buddies."
Ms. Marsden also mentions references on our site to the impact on businesses, and scoffs at the idea that smokers will avoid going out just because of the ban. She might want to check with Ontario's own Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. I would be happy to share a report obtained under Freedom of Information that confirms that smokers will stay home more and spend less time and money when they do go out.
Ms. Marsden says she opposes excessive government intervention, except when it comes to smokers. She apparently has bought into the government denormalization of smokers, and the portrayal of second-hand smoke as the number-one public health enemy. If Ms. Marsden believes the claims and estimates of second-hand smoke, what actions would she deem appropriate to protect us from killer smog, which is estimated to cause over 800 deaths annually in Toronto. I suppose banning gas guzzling vehicles and factories would be justified in her world.
Perhaps Ms. Marsden doesn't care about the real facts, and simply accepts the most dangerous argument of all -- that if the bans force smokers to quit then the infringement on their rights is justified. Where will this end? For example, there is at least as strong, if not an even greater argument to be made that our overweight, under-exercised population needs saving from itself. Does Ms. Marsden really think that now that it has established a huge precedent with this new law, the nanny state will stop at smokers?
Nancy Daigneault, president, mychoice.ca, Aurora, Ont.
http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/comment/letters_
story.html?id=b48c87c4-2788-4df3-a732-82456c4c6d42
Charity bingo revenues take massive drop
Frank Matys Published: Fri, Jun 24th, 2005
Orillia's mayor is standing firmly behind a city-wide smoking ban that some are blaming for a dramatic drop in charity-bingo revenues.
"It was a decision that had to be made, and we made it," Ron Stevens said.
"Do I regret it? No. It is very clearly a health issue."
More than 30 non-profit groups share in funds raised at the Gates of Orillia Bingo Hall each month, relying on the money for a range of programs and services benefiting children, seniors and others.
Results for the first five months of 2005 show a marked decline in revenues, with local groups bringing in just $209,000 compared with the $385,000 collected during the same period last year.
"It is having an impact on our program," said Martine Quin, office manager at Big Sisters Association of Orillia and District. "We have had to become more creative as to how we raise funds and less dependent on bingo." Bingo representatives last year asked council to extend the hall's exemption from Orillia's stringent smoking bylaw until Dec. 2007.
That request that was defeated in a tie vote.
"I have a problem with fund-raising in that type of (smoking) environment," Stevens added.
Neither does he buy the argument that a ban in Orillia is driving bingo players from the downtown hall into the hands of communities where smoking is still allowed.
City staff in Barrie and Penetanguishene have reported no increase in revenues at halls located in their respective municipalities, said Lori Bolton, Orillia's chief lottery licensing officer.
"If they are not coming to Orillia because of the no-smoking, and they
are
not going to Barrie and Penetanguishene where there is smoking, then where are they going?" asked Stevens.
Overall attendance at the local hall was down 23 per cent between January and May of this year, while revenues fell by 45 per cent over the same period in 2004.
The situation has led organizers to eliminate two late-night sessions and three afternoon sessions, general manager Andy LaCroix confirmed in a letter to the city.
"Our goal is to hopefully last until the provincial government passes a provincial smoke-free bylaw in June 2006," he said.
Added Quin of the Ontario-wide ban: "It will put us all on a level playing field."
Council in October agreed to reduce the bingo licensing fee for each bingo event held in 2005.
http://www.simcoe.com/sc/orillia/v-scv2/story/2875756p-3331038c.html
Stripped of rights -MB
Public trustee takes control of man's life without consent
By TOM BRODBECK Sat, June 25, 2005
Thomas Hanaway, 80, never asked the government to take over his life.
But that's exactly what they've done to the Second World War veteran, cleaning out his bank account, seizing his pension cheques and assuming complete control over his life -- without even asking him or his family.
Hanaway was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease last year but lives with his wife Grace Hanaway, 79, and their son Thomas Hanaway Jr., 47, who care for him in their two-storey North End home.
Hanaway, a bit of a surly old guy with a good sense of humour, can walk and carry on a conversation. He eats on his own. He receives daily visits from home care workers, who bath and care for him.
He appears clean and well taken care of and he likes to watch TV in his living room.
For an 80-year-old man, he seems relatively lucid.
Despite that, the province's chief provincial psychiatrist has deemed him unfit and has appointed the Office of the Public Trustee to take over all of his affairs.
His family can no longer make medical decisions on his behalf. And if he wants to spend his money, he has to get permission from the Public Trustee, which has stripped him of some of his most basic rights.
"I never asked for this," he told me, after I spent a couple of days with the family this week. "I don't want to be under their wing."
Should scare families
This is a story that should scare the living hell out of anyone approaching old age. And it should scare their families, too.
This isn't just a story about our nanny state overstepping its bounds a little.
This is about state control of our lives. It's about the arbitrary loss of your freedom.
"It's not like he's living alone and not being taken care of," said Tom Hanaway, Jr., who says he's in disbelief over what's happened the past two months. "We look after him."
Hanaway attends a day program for geriatric people. Staff recommended he undergo a psychiatric assessment, which took place in April. The assessment concluded Hanaway was not capable of managing his affairs due to "health problems."
The assessment was forwarded to the chief provincial psychiatrist, according to documents obtained by The Sun.
And on May 24, the director of psychiatric services, Dr. Donald Rodgers, wrote Hanaway stating he planned to issue an "order of committeeship" that would allow the Public Trustee to take over his affairs.
Amazingly, this is all legal.
The order was made June 6 and the Public Trustee immediately seized Hanaway's bank account -- without the consent of him or his family -- and began taking over all of his financial affairs. They took $900 out of a joint account shared by him and his wife Grace, even though some of the money came from Grace's pension cheques.
"I can't believe something like this is possible," said Louise Lamaga, 57, Hanaway's daughter, an elementary school teacher living in Hadashville, about 100 km east of Winnipeg. "This is too ridiculous to even be believable."
Lamaga is in close contact with her father and visits the family home regularly. She says he's cared for, he's fed and his affairs are all taken care of by family.
The decision to take over Hanaway's life appears to revolve entirely around the psychiatric assessment. It's unknown what Hanaway did or said that triggered the Public Trustee order.
Lamaga said she has asked the chief provincial psychiatrist for her father's file but they refused, saying it was "confidential medical information."
Lamaga says if her father is incompetent, then why would the chief provincial psychiatrist base his decision to take over her father's affairs solely on what he said without investigating further?
No home visit or face-to-face interviews were conducted with Hanaway's family before the order was made, the family says.
Dr. Rogers was unavailable for comment yesterday.
To add insult to injury, the Public Trustee is now charging Hanaway to take care of him.
They charge $60 an hour for inspection visits and $40 an hour for travel time. They take a 3% cut of his income -- in his case, Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security cheques -- and if there are any legal fees, Hanaway has to pay those, too.
They even charge him GST on the fees.
I sat in on the first face-to-face meeting between the family and the Public Trustee this week at Hanaway's home, unbeknownst to the bureaucrats in the room.
It was shocking to say the least.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2005/06/25/1103871-sun.html
RE: SANDI Martin's June 24 letter. Martin thinks the ban on smoking on the patio is wrong. Well, then, my mother who had half of a lung removed and who doesn't smoke shouldn't be able to sit in the sun and enjoy her lunch while breathing?
S. Hamelin
(There are worse things in outdoor air.)
http://www.edmontonsun.com/Comment/Letters/2005/06/25/1103845.html
Smog kills 260 locally each year
Brian Cross Windsor Star
Death rate 35% higher here than Ontario average: OMA Saturday, June 25, 2005
Two hundred and sixty people will die here from smog this year, at a rate 35-per-cent higher than the provincial average, the Ontario Medical Association reported Friday.
The smog death figures clearly show the southwestern tip of Ontario -- Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent and Sarnia-Lambton -- is paying the largest human toll, primarily because this is the point of entry for prevailing winds that carry the pollution from coal-fired power plants in the Ohio Valley. Just last week, the Ontario Environment Ministry revealed that on bad air days, 90 per cent of Windsor's air pollution comes from the U.S. midwest.
Elsewhere in the province, transborder pollution accounts for 55 per cent of the bad air.
"We are the front-line troops in the invasion of bad air from the Ohio Valley," said Ron Elliott, co-ordinator of the Windsor Essex County Environment Committee.
Friday's OMA report follows up on one released last week in which the doctors' association forecast that 5,800 Ontarians -- about 48 per 100,000 population -- will die this year prematurely due to air pollution. If nothing is done, the death toll will hit 10,000 by 2026, the OMA says. In many cases, these are people whose pre-existing health problems are exacerbated by pollution.
Windsor's death rate of 65 per 100,000 population is higher than Toronto's 55, Hamilton's 56, London's 53 and Ottawa's 35. The report estimates that bad air will annually result locally in: 900 hospital admissions, 2,750 emergency room visits, 1.3 million sick days, health-care costs of $23 million and lost productivity for employers equal to $17 million.
"It impacts everyone," said Dr. Deborah Hellyer, a Windsor respirologist who sits on the OMA board.
"Yes, it impacts children and the elderly, but smog really does impact everyone's health."
People with asthma, heart disease and chronic lung diseases like emphysema tend to get sicker on bad air days, and these problems become more difficult to control, Hellyer said.
But smog affects more than people who are already sick. The fine particles that come primarily from diesel truck fumes and coal-fired plants are absorbed by the lungs of healthy people, too. Over a long time, they can lead to a dramatic decline in health, Hellyer said. "It can result in elevated blood pressure, heart disease such as heart attack, congestive heart failure, asthma, chronic lung disease."
Friday's information reinforces the need to take action against the smog days that have become so commonplace this time of year, Hellyer said. They lead to lost days at work and school. Even when people get in to work they're not performing at their optimum level.
"People have to start taking these smog alert days seriously," she said.
"We don't need to barbeque on days like (Friday). We don't need to mow our lawns. We can take public transit or drive others to work."
Although the biggest culprit may be cross-border pollution, "that's not to say we shouldn't be doing things locally to reduce our impact, because that stuff sticks around here," Elliott said. "If you can smell your neighbour's lawnmower, you know you're getting it."
Because cross-border pollution is such a big local contributor to bad air, Elliott's group has been taking its fight to Michigan and Ohio in recent years, fighting applications for new Michigan incinerators and a new coke plant in Toledo.
MP Brian Masse (NDP -- Windsor West) said the federal government must become more forceful in opposing the firing up of more U.S. coal-powered plants and other operations that affect our quality of life.
"It's a major international problem for our country that has to be put to the front of our priority list, and I don't think (Prime Minister Paul) Martin has done that," Masse said.
POLLUTANTS:
Ground-level ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide are the four pollutants examined by the OMA for their effect on health and longevity.
Ran with fact box "Pollutants" which has been appended to the story.
http://www.canada.com/windsor/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=
d738c6d9-bca5-4f02-bac7-f923a923a90e
Posted at 12:46 am by looped_ca
Thursday, June 23, 2005
The push for the elimination
Butting in to butt out young smokers
Retailers must get more serious about tobacco compliance strategy
It was an embarrassing enough situation for local retailers earlier this month when a recent sting conducted by tobacco compliance inspectors found that 12 of 44 stores checked were willing to sell cigarettes to minors.
The 27 per cent who failed the test represented an even lower compliance rate than when last checked on in December. At that time, 22 per cent failed the grade.
As disappointing as those numbers were, Wednesday’s release of a nationwide Health Canada report on the issue really made Grande Prairie stick out like a sore thumb.
The report found that the number of retailers who were playing by the rules and selling smokes only to those of legal age had gone up significantly since 2003.
A total of 82.3 per cent of retailers refused to sell cigarettes to minors – an increase of a whopping 13.3 percentage points over last year.
That means while most retailers are getting on board with the notion of not allowing kids to purchase tobacco products, Grande Prairie retailers are going the other way.
The tobacco inspector who conducted the last check locally vowed to come back after the disappointing results and that’ll probably happen sooner than later. Grande Prairie has now been singled out as one of the communities bucking the nationwide trend and there’s a big red circle around our name on the map at the offices of Health Canada.
The answer for retailers, of course, is simply to take the matter seriously and do something about it. Staff need to be trained that it’s a no-no to dole out cigarettes to just anyone who has scraped the money together to buy them.
But what’s going to inspire the retailers to take such action? While repeat offenders can be fined as much as $50,000, the fact of the matter is that the monetary penalties actually doled out are nowhere near as steep.
At least, it seems, not steep enough to get everyone’s attention. So far, the penalties on the Grande Prairie situation have pretty much amounted to sending out a bunch of warning letters, although one repeat offender has a court date next month to answer to a charge under the Tobacco Act.
Judging by the success stories in other areas of the country, the long-term solution appears to be developing and promoting awareness programs on the issue.
That worked in Quebec, where the compliance rate nearly doubled with more than 75 per cent turning away under-aged agents after the province launched a major initiative.
And the word certainly got out in Red Deer, which had an astounding – and admirable – 100 per cent compliance rate.
That shows it can be done.
So perhaps the local retailers here ought to get together and come up with some ideas on how to help curb the problem.
Leaving it up to the tobacco inspector’s semi-regular visits doesn’t seem to be working and it’s also getting to be a little embarrassing.
http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/1editorial4.lasso
RE "Smokin' Family Feud" -ON
RE "Smokin' Family Feud" (Michele Mandel, Sunday Sun, June 12): I am appalled that you would print this sickening story about a husband inflicting mental abuse upon his wife because she smokes. Was Mandel's intent to defend the husband's tactics? Or was it a message to all smokers that they must give up smoking habits or else? At the very least, he should resume taking his medication and the couple should seek marriage counselling. This article brings to mind the image of a spoiled child threatening to hold his or her breath until he gets his way. This column exposes the anti-smoking fanatics for the selfish, mentally unfit, control-freaks they really are.
Craig Anctil
Burnaby, B.C.
(And the unrepentant smoker is blameless? Guess we know where you're coming from)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I read with great disdain about Richard Kaczmarczyk's hunger strike to get his wife to quit smoking ("Smokin' family feud," Michele Mandel, June 12). I must ask him, was your wife a smoker when she married you? And, if she was, were your vows not for better or worse? People can't quit smoking for other people. Smoking, as proven, is more addictive than heroin. When she feels it's her time to quit, she'll do it. If this man is stupid enough to jeopardize his life by not eating, then he needs his head examined. Mrs. Kaczmarczyk, I say throw the bum out.
Kathy Bines
Niagara Falls, Ont.
(Apparently eating is more addictive than smoking. The hunger strike appears to be off)
http://www.torontosun.com/Comment/Letters/2005/06/19/1094688.html
Letter to editor June 19,2005 -AB
RE: "SHAPE up or pay: Iris," June 15. Are Iris Evans' comments about promoting a culture of intolerance towards behaviour that is unhealthy consistent with the government's amendments to the smoking legislation allowing people to continue to smoke in "adult only" areas? Alberta is swimming in oil revenue and instead of talking about eliminating health-care premiums they are talking about pay raises. That's it for me - they have lost my support.
Dave Ferretti
(Evans is chewing the fat.)
http://www.edmontonsun.com/Comment/Letters/2005/06/19/1094717.html
A side issue is emerging in the smoking debate that is an ugly aspect of empowering certain personality types with freedom to hate and allowing it to be socially acceptable. I can handle dirty looks when I light up, but insulting comments go beyond exercising someone's right to express themself. Smokers would like to have their own smoking rooms where our behaviour is understood and peaceful socializing can occur. We do not want to infringe on anyone's right to clean air, just share space with consenting adults with a legal addiction that has high punitive taxes instead of real solutions. I realize we are all under stress these days, but just because society has sanctioned extermination of smoking does not mean venting rage on a group should be justified, nor is it healthy for your own mental health.
Cyril Collingwood
(It's a hot issue.)
http://www.canoe.ca/CalgarySun/editorial.html#letters
Friendly, hard-working immigrant loses life confronting robbers -AB
Bill Mah, Florence Loyie, Renata D'Aliesio and Shauna Rempel The Edmonton Journal June 18, 2005
EDMONTON - A clerk who confronted two armed robbers at a Mill Woods neighbourhood store was killed with a shotgun blast early Friday.
Authorities have identified the shooting victim as 29-year-old Dilbag Singh Sandhu. He was slain moments after trading angry words with two hooded men who had just robbed his shop of cash and cigarettes and were leaving the premises, police said.
"There was a minor confrontation between the victim and one of the suspects, although the confrontation that took place was certainly not the type of confrontation or interaction that would provoke a person to feel that they needed to discharge a firearm," said homicide Det. Brian Robertson.
Sandhu and an older co-worker were working in the Mac's Convenience Store at 4412 36th Ave. when two men, their faces hidden with hoodies, entered with a shotgun at about 1 a.m.
One of the workers pushed the store's panic alarm.
When police arrived, they found Sandhu bleeding on the floor near the front counter. Officers gave him emergency medical attention.
Sandhu died shortly after he was taken to University Hospital from a single gunshot wound to the abdomen.
At his family home in Jackson Heights, loved ones described him as shy and quiet, with a constant smile.
Sandhu came to Canada from his native India in July 2003, and worked hard at both the store and a bottle depot to save money for a new life, family friend Charan Saggu said Friday night.
Saggu said the family was having trouble understanding Sandhu's death.
"They were born on opposite parts of the world," Saggu said of Sandhu and his killers.
Sandhu, unmarried and the youngest of a family of four sons and a daughter, had been working at the convenience store for only a few months.
His funeral is scheduled for next Saturday.
His 63-year-old co-worker was hospitalized after the robbery with an unknown medical condition brought on by shock.
The co-worker, appearing shaken, was helped into a waiting ambulance by police officers. "He was obviously in shock," said Insp. Dennis Pysyk at the scene.
The man remained in hospital Friday afternoon, reportedly sedated and with his family by his side.
The contracted operator of the store, Dil Billing, also spent the morning at the hospital, said a woman at his home.
Billing and his wife, Manjit, run a store that is known by residents in the Minchau neighbourhood for its friendliness.
Minutes after the shooting, as Pysyk delivered news of the clerk's death to reporters, people who knew the man watched and listened.
"They're innocent guys," said Landon Conrad, who visits the store daily. "They would never hurt a soul. This just makes me mad."
Later Friday, Conrad returned to lay a yellow rose on the sidewalk under the police tape that cordoned off the store from the rest of the mall. "I'm just coming to pay my respects," he said.
By Friday night, more flowers, a teddy bear and a card of condolence were added at a makeshift memorial on the grass outside the store.
"These gentlemen who run the store are friendly, they're committed to the neighbourhood -- you can tell that with the kids," said Darlene Dalgleish, who lives across the street and frequents the store several times a day.
"The kids come in to buy a slurpee and they don't have enough money -- it's not an issue -- they just let them have it and get them the next time they come in."
Officers searching the area early Friday found three unopened packages of Number 7 cigarettes in a yard two blocks away. Robertson asked residents to check their property and the streets near the store for anything the suspects may have left.
"Because there was a firearm involved in this offence, I would urge them, if they believe it's suspicious, to not touch it or deal with it in any way. Make sure no one else goes near it and contact police."
Officers were reviewing the store's surveillance videotape, trying to enhance its quality and waiting to interview the hospitalized employee, Robertson said.
Until then, he could not provide detailed descriptions of the suspects.
This has been a bloody and disturbing week in Edmonton.
Kevin Edward Kozicki, newly married, died Monday after he was stabbed several times in an alley behind Bubbles Car Wash near 105th Street and 82nd Avenue. Ronald James Harrison, 20, is charged with second-degree murder.
Two days later, Betty May Kozak, 50, died of a gunshot wound after making a frantic 911. Clarence Melvin Caron, who was her boyfriend, is charged with first-degree murder.
http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=897d8ffa-3cb6-4fc8-b8d0-84e0416d02a0
RE: "SHAPE up or pay: Iris," June 20, 2005 -AB
I AGREE with Lisa Kitt's June 16 letter. I also have my kids in lots of different sports and visit the gym daily. Why should I have to pay higher health-care premiums for somebody else's bad choices? Now I do not agree with higher premiums for people who have things like slow, degenerative diseases or genetic predispositions to illnesses. The thing that I do agree with is higher premiums for people who choose harmful things like smoking or drugs.
J. Doig
(See the next letter.)
SO IRIS Evans wants smokers to pay more for health insurance. The taxes on a pack of smokes is at least $6, which means at a pack a day smokers kick in an extra $2,190 per year, per smoker.
D. Hathaway
(Iris has really caused a stir.)
http://www.edmontonsun.com/Comment/Letters/2005/06/20/1096029.html
Thrilled at Smoking Ban -ON
I'm thrilled that Ottawa has banned smoking in public places but what about apartment buildings and condos? It doesn't matter how swanky the building or how thick the walls. Tobacco smoke is very potent and will always, without exception, drift into nearby units and even more so if the tenant smokes on their balcony.
I'm frequently awoken between 1-3: am by the stench of cigarette smoke coming into my bedroom, from the tenant above me. However there is nothing I can do about it, apart from begging him to quit smoking or at least beg him to smoke in another room during normal sleeping hours or else beg him to move out altogether (preferably to a deserted island).
Another reason smokers should be banned from apartment buildings, duplexes and condos, is the pollution their littered butts cause (on the grass, in the gardens, lobby, driveway, stairwells, elevators, garage), not to mention the added potential for accidental fires and the fact that secondhand smoke can and does cause cancer in some people (although it may not show up for another 20 years). As a solution, they should build apartment, duplex and condo buildings, specifically for non-smokers only.
Jacqueline Verville
(We're sure there would be a market for them)
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/OttawaSun/Letters/
CPP stocking up on tobacco
By KATHLEEN HARRIS, OTTAWA BUREAU Mon, June 20, 2005
DOCTORS WANT MPS TO BAN CIGARETTE INVESTMENTS
OTTAWA -- A lobby group for Canada's doctors wants MPs to outlaw investment in big tobacco by the Canada Pension Plan.
In a report to be tabled today, the Canadian Medical Association argues that shedding $100 million in tobacco stocks would have a minimal impact on the CPP bottom line but would send a strong message that the federal government is serious about fighting the deadly, addictive weed.
"It legitimizes and normalizes tobacco products in this country, and we've been making every effort to do the opposite for 50 years," said CMA president Dr. Albert Schumacher. "We don't want that conflicting message sent."
The report calls on MPs to table a motion that would establish a CPP policy prohibiting investments in the tobacco industry and require the CPP Investment Board to divest existing holdings.
Pointing to $131 million in government spending on tobacco control programs in 2004, Schumacher said it's "counterproductive" to spend money to stop smoking yet make a capital investment in tobacco.
"This is the only licensed, legal product that, when used as directed, kills people," he said.
The report estimates cigarette smoking takes a staggering $18 billion annual toll on the Canadian economy through health-care costs, lost productivity and decreased personal income.
ECONOMY AFFECTED
That includes a $10.5 billion net cost for premature tobacco deaths and foregone taxes, $100 million spent on drugs for tobacco-related illnesses and $156 million on related physician visits.
Another $2.3 billion is swallowed by absenteeism due to smoking-related disease.
"Tobacco investments are not only a suspect part of the CPP's investment plan -- they also support an industry that costs the government and the Canadian economy a lot of money," the report concludes.
http://www.torontosun.com/News/Canada/2005/06/20/1096232-sun.html
Clear air is near -AB
By STEVEN SANDOR, SPECIAL TO THE EDMONTON SUN Mon, June 20, 2005
Some smokers welcome approach of new butt ban
With one smoking weekend remaining, Edmonton pub- and club-goers have resigned themselves to the fact that they will have to butt out when the city's new no-smoking bylaw comes into effect July 1.
The new bylaw will ban smoking in all Edmonton pubs, clubs and restaurants - including patios.
And some city smokers are actually looking forward to the ban.
"The harder it gets for me to smoke, the easier it is for me to quit," said 36-year-old smoker Chris Bowie, who frequents many live music events in the city.
He doesn't agree with smokers who claim the city has no right to tell them how they can lead their lives.
"I don't know one smoker of sane mind who doesn't want to quit," said Bowie.
Sarah-Amalia Lawrence, a bartender who works downtown, is a smoker herself, but she is looking forward to Canada Day, when her workplace will no longer smell of cigarette smoke.
"I am a smoker but I support the smoking ban," she said.
"Basically, the smell of smoke is disgusting. When I get home from work, the smell of smoke is everywhere - in my clothes, on me. I have to shower right after work.
"And, for health reasons, it will be nice to work in a place where I can breathe fresh air."
Club-goer Nicki Gendive, 29, came to Edmonton from Vancouver, where there was already a smoking ban in place.
"I think it's fine," she said. "I understand the law is for the common good.
Non-smoker Benny Raho, 25, moved to Edmonton from Victoria, which, like Vancouver, has a smoking ban.
He said that he did not notice any lack of enthusiasm from the clubbing and bar-hopping crowd in Victoria when smokers were ordered to butt out.
"I think everything pretty much stayed the same," he said.
O'Byrne's Irish Pub on Whyte Avenue went non-smoking - save for the patio - June 1. Bartender Adam Culligan, 26, said he has received very few complaints from patrons about the rule.
"People have been very positive about the change," Culligan said.
But at least one Edmonton smoker is ticked off she'll be forced to butt out. Christine Wolfe, 25, regularly watches soccer matches at the Elephant & Castle on Whyte Avenue.
"I don't like it," she said. "I can accept not smoking in restaurants where people are trying to eat. I don't like smoke when I am eating myself. But a bar is casual. You play pool, watch games and have a couple of drinks and smoke."
She said non-smokers will still have to deal with plumes of smoke - just in different places.
"What's going to happen is the smokers are all going to gather right in front of the bar, and you will still have to go through all the smoke to get in."
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2005/06/20/1096370-sun.html
Take tobacco out of the hands of business corporations—report
News releases June 20, 2005
Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada
(Ottawa) – Because the public health goal of reducing tobacco use directly conflicts with the tobacco industry’s profit motive, the way to overcome the health, social and economic problems caused by “big tobacco” is to take the business of supplying cigarettes out of their hands and put it into the hands of. public organizations with a clear public health mandate. This is the main recommendation of a new study published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and prepared by Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada.
http://www.smoke-free.ca/eng_home/news_press_June20-2005.htm
Doctors, drug companies, and gifts
By ARTHUR SCHAFER Sun Mar 20 2005
Three years ago, the American drug industry adopted a new voluntary code of conduct, pledging to terminate its practice of lavishing gifts on doctors. The Canadian drug industry has now decided to follow this lead. However, from dramatic testimony before the U.S. Senate, we learn that despite the guidelines, Big Pharma continues to invite doctors to exotic resorts, all expenses paid.
If you're like most people, you don't much care whether your doctor is treated to a round of golf or free travel. You are confident that she would always put your interests first, ahead of any material benefits she might derive from prescribing the company's drugs.
Your doctor is similarly convinced of her own rectitude. She bristles at the suggestion that her professional judgement could be influenced by company gifts. Whether the gifts are trinkets, such as pens, or more substantial, such as tickets to watch the Blue Bombers or the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, she confidently believes that she would never alter her prescribing choices in order to curry drug company favour. Even free travel wouldn't bias her judgement: "I can't be bought for a trip to Paris", she will insist.
So, if doctors, patients and drug companies are all happy, do we really need new guidelines which restrict expensive gifts to individual physicians?
Actually, we need even stricter guidelines. Empirical evidence shows that both doctors and patients are naive in their assessment of the biasing potential of gifts. Drug companies employ the world's most sophisticated marketing experts. What they understand is that even apparently trivial gifts can influence doctors' judgement and, subsequently, their behaviour. If the companies spend millions of promotional dollars distributing trinkets to docs and sponsoring "educational" events, it's because this investment pays big-time dividends in increased sales.
It's a major goal of pharmaceutical salespeople to establish a close rapport with "their" doctors. Alliances are forged and cemented primarily by a constant flow of gifts, large and small -- free samples, pens, Frisbees, food, clothes, books, luggage, crystal bowls, tickets, money and expensive travel. The list is virtually endless.
From the time they are residents in training, the shower of coffee mugs and free pizza, pen lights and expensive textbooks teaches the young doctors that accepting gifts from the drug industry is a normal part of professional life. Medical school is where it begins, but scarcely where it ends. The "gift economy", whether in the setting of the hospital or your doctor's office, on the golf course or in the restaurant, establishes a strong bond between the doc and the rep.
From the company's perspective, the social fabric of doctor-industry exchanges exists to generate unnecessary or inappropriate prescriptions. When the drug rep becomes your doctor's "pal" or "buddy", this commitment can generate serious risks and side-effects for patients. Keep in mind that when the published evidence shows that a new drug is significantly better for patients than what currently exists, it doesn't need to be heavily promoted. Often, however, the new drug differs only slightly from older, well-established drugs which have come off-patent, but is vastly more expensive for the patients. It is no coincidence that the most rapidly escalating costs in our health-care system are for pharmaceutical products.
Of course, very few doctors would intentionally prescribe inappropriate or inferior drugs for their patients. But studies demonstrate clearly that when doctors have been treated to a round of golf or a fine dinner they are much more likely to prescribe the products of the company which paid for these treats, even when scientific evidence points in a different direction.
In a curious way, doctors themselves half-recognize this moral problem. One recent study showed that more than 80 per cent of medical residents surveyed recognized that their colleagues were inappropriately influenced by industry promotions. With exquisite self-deception, however, 61 per cent denied that their own practice was in any way influenced. That is, doctors can see the dangers of bias in their colleagues' judgement, even when they are purblind to the danger that their own judgement can also be compromised.
Physician bias is almost always unconscious and unintentional. Its effect is morally insidious, however, because it can easily result in serious harm to patients. To honour their vow -- "The life and health of my patient will be my first consideration" -- doctors must conscientiously avoid making themselves beholden to companies, whose raison d'etre, profitability, is potentially at odds with the needs of patients.
Here's a non-medical example of how conflicts of interest can unconsciously bias one's judgement. When volunteer research subjects are invited to divide money between themselves and another person, their notion of fairness is highly plastic. Subjects told that they had worked more productively than the other person quickly decide that they deserve more pay. After all, they reason, those who work better deserve greater reward.
But when subjects are informed that the other person has worked more productively, then the subjects are drawn strongly to the view that an equal distribution would be fairest. In other words, the manner in which individuals see the world tends to be influenced, unconsciously, by their self-interest.
Nor is self-interest the only biasing factor at play when doctors accept gifts. Much of social life is based upon reciprocity. When we accept gifts, even piddly gifts, we make ourselves beholden to the gift-giver. The need to return kindness for kindness is a basic motivator in every human society. None of us is immune. Thus, every gift from a drug rep to your doctor comes with strings attached. Strings that pull her away from her professional commitment.
Under pressure from critics, the Canadian drug industry is modifying its code of conduct. Only modest gifts will now be permitted. We know, however, that voluntary codes have failed in the U.S. Clearly, something much tougher is needed. We need the Canadian medical profession to bite the hand that feeds it, by requiring that its members buy their own meals and pay for their own green fees and travel. The moral cost of the free lunch is too high.
Professor Schafer is Director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics, at the University of Manitoba. His article, "Biomedical conflicts of interest" is published by The Journal of Medical Ethics. Schafer@cc.umanitoba.ca
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com
We all invest in big tobacco
Editorial for Monday, June 20, 2005
It’s our pension plan. In fact, it’s our money and Canadians should be a lot more concerned about the sort of things the Canada Pension Plan invests in.
The Canada Pension plan has about $100 million invested in big tobacco companies. Those holdings include shares in Rothmans worth $14 million; $11 million with British American Tobacco and $31 million with infamous tobacco giant Philip Morris International.
The facts speak volumes, and being a part owner of tobacco companies as a shareholder, you are part of what’s happening; it is immoral. Not only does smoking kill 45,000 Canadians each year, now big tobacco is spreading a ruthless campaign to convince people in other parts of the world, most notably China, to take up the habit.
But there’s more to this than being immoral. It also makes no fiscal sense.
On one hand, we’re making money from tobacco and the returns and dividends are going into our pension funds. Therefore, we benefit when more people smoke and tobacco companies make money. (By the way there’s nothing to suggest that the returns on our tobacco investments are inordinate and any greater than could be achieved through other less deadly holdings.)
Meanwhile, Ottawa is spending millions of dollars to get people to quit smoking.
Last year alone, Health Canada spent $5 million on anti-smoking campaigns. That’s in addition to an estimated $4 billion (that’s with a b) in health-care costs related to tobacco-related illnesses.
And that does not even address the money both the federal and provincial governments are spending on programs to get tobacco farmers to grow something else.
Sure, the job of the CPP is to invest our money and get the best return possible. But is it a good return if we’re making money and spending money on the same thing. And would Canadians stand idly by and say it was OK to invest in, say, al-Qaida, as long as it made money? That sounds like a horrible and ridiculous analogy but the fact is, tobacco will kill a lot more people this year than al-Qaida — many more. In 1998 there were 47,000 deaths in Canada linked to smoking, accounting for one in four deaths.
Last week, provincial Health Minister George Smitherman and the Ontario government did its part with what some are calling the toughest tobacco laws in North America.
The bill signals the end of designated smoking rooms in Ontario. Currently, bars and restaurants in some cities allow smoking as long as it takes place in separate rooms with their own ventilation systems. In essence, the act would prohibit smoking indoors almost anywhere except in people’s homes or temporary accommodation such as hotel rooms.
The public areas where it would be forbidden to smoke include: restaurants and bars, schools, private clubs, healthcare facilities, sports arenas, entertainment venues and work vehicles and offices including government buildings.
It would ban all countertop displays, including what is called the power wall behind the counter, at retail outlets and prohibit the promotion of tobacco products at entertainment venues.
That’s all well and good, in fact admirable that a level of government is doing something that will make us safer and healthier.
But the irony of this situation is undeniable. Our provincial government is fighting smoking, our federal government is fighting smoking, all paid for with our tax dollars and we, in turn, through the Canadian Pension Plan, are investing in big tobacco.
It just doesn’t make sense.
http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/editorials/editorial.html
Peel Regional Police - Peel Crime Stoppers
BRAMPTON, ON, June 20 /CNW/ - The Peel Regional Police Central Robbery Bureau and Peel Crime Stoppers are seeking the public's assistance solving an early morning armed robbery where a handgun was used Thursday, June 16th in Brampton.
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2005/20/c3612.html
Brenda Langille -ON
Monday June 20, 2005
Smokers should fight city hall bylaw
Editor:
I am writing to you in regards to the discrimination that our mayor and city council made by exempting Bingo Country and Valleyview from the smoking bylaw.
It was decent of the city to give it to the elderly at Valleyview to let them live their last days as they wish (by having a smoke if they so choose). But what about our veterans?
I have been before city council on two different occasions and both times they never had the decency to put forth an answer to my letters and to answer me on the discrimination they have made.
I feel that they are cowards running with their tails between their legs on their indiscretions and that is all they have proven to me and the 930 people who signed my petition.
Citizens of St. Thomas, is this the kind of people we want running our city?
I know I have made a grave mistake, because I helped vote these cowards into office and I regret it.
Citizens of St. Thomas, stop sitting around and do something about our rights. Why let city hall treat us like people in communist countries.
Why should we sit back and let city hall take our rights away from us. We have to join together against city hall.
I have been fighting city hall for sometime now on this smoking bylaw and city council and our mayor disregard us few as dirt beneath their feet. Aren’t we as good as them?
Let’s join together and all of us fight city hall and make them address their indiscretions and discrimination against us. Call 637-5801 ask for Brenda.
Brenda Langille St. Thomas
http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/story.php?id=167649
Butt out the profits
By Mindelle Jacobs June 21, 2005
A think-tank is trumpeting an unusual way of ending the war between the titans of Big Tobacco and the champions of public health: make it a non-profit industry.
The business of supplying cigarettes should be taken away from Big Tobacco and placed in the hands of public organizations dedicated to reducing smoking, says a study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Tobacco companies could either be bought out or forcibly taken over in the public interest and compensated, says the study, released yesterday.
And the profits made by the new tobacco manufacturer would be plowed into anti-smoking initiatives.
"There is no reason that tobacco has to be sold by business corporations," says the study prepared by Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada.
"Changing the tobacco market from one where cigarettes are supplied by business corporations programmed to maximize profits to one where cigarettes are supplied by a public interest agency mandated to phase out smoking would be transformative."
The study offers three possible models for tobacco sales: a public agency, a private-sector group serving the public interest and a hybrid licensing commission.
Such an enterprise could take the form of a Crown corporation, a co-operative or a non-profit group.
Buying out Big Tobacco might cost as much as $15 billion, but that only represents two years of tobacco tax revenues, the study notes.
"Tobacco corporations, if left in their current position in the industry, will continue to work to expand their markets and their sales, and to defeat, weaken and violate public health measures," it warns.
The authors envisage that a non-profit enterprise would gradually change the current retail environment to one more appropriate for addiction treatment.
Under the new system, "de-marketing" campaigns would replace tobacco advertising, cigarettes would be designed to encourage quitting and funding would be available for other tobacco-reduction initiatives.
"This would help create a corporate culture of commitment to public health improvement," says the study.
It might be expensive to buy out Big Tobacco but the human and financial cost of leaving business corporations in charge of supplying cigarettes is far greater, it adds.
Essentially, the study promotes a harm-reduction approach to tobacco use, says study co-author Dave Thompson, an Edmonton researcher and consultant.
The aim is not to punish smokers but to help them quit, he says.
"Tobacco is not going away immediately. It's highly addictive," says Thompson. But if you use a harm-reduction model to supply cigarettes, you can reduce smoking over the long term much quicker, he argues.
While Big Tobacco is already enmeshed in a variety of lawsuits, Thompson doesn't envisage smokers suing if a health-promotion group takes over the sales of cigarettes.
"It would be kind of like suing a methadone clinic," he says.
With all the headaches tobacco companies are facing in the courts, shareholders probably wouldn't mind selling out, Thompson says.
Alternatively, companies should be forced to sell in the interests of the public good, he says.
The three models outlined in the study all have one thing in common, he adds. They'd be non-profit. "We'd break the connection between profit and tobacco sales," he says.
It's an intriguing idea and, legislatively, the groundwork has already been laid for such a takeover. The Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, aimed at supporting activities that benefit the community, was introduced last year.
This seems like a perfect vehicle to create a health-promoting tobacco manufacturer.
"Do we care enough about those people who are dying and sick or do we care more about profits?" wonders Thompson.
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Columnists/Jacobs_Mindelle/2005/06/21/1097835.html
Liberals want crack down on movies containing smoking
Broadcast News Tuesday, June 21, 2005
WINNIPEG -- Manitoba Liberals say the province should crack down on smoking in movies.
Liberal Leader Jon Gerrard says many young people think smoking is cool, because they see movie stars light up on the big screen.
Gerrard says the government should consider rating any movie with smoking as 18A -- which means minors could only watch the film with an adult.
He also says the government should consider putting anti-smoking advertisements in movie theatres.
The province's healthy living minister, Theresa Oswald, isn't very taken with the idea.
Oswald and Gerrard were both on a task force that recently toured the province and held hearings on children's health.
Oswald says the issue of smoking in movies was barely mentioned.
http://www.canada.com/winnipeg/globaltv/story.html?id=5177fd27-ad2a-4153-ad63-90dffebe9ce7
We Can Do Better, Much Better - Canada Has A Long Way To Go In The Fight Against Tobacco
OTTAWA, June 21 /CNW Telbec/ - Canadians are on their way to living longer, healthier lives thanks to recent major moves by numerous provinces to go smoke-free. But delegates at the 4th National Conference on Tobacco or Health learned today that the work is far from complete.
"As the tobacco industry tries to recoup the costs of what Rothmans predicts to be a 'natural decline of 5.7 per cent in per capita sales' and even larger if significant tax or other measures are implemented, Canadians must be strong and fight back," said Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst with the Canadian Cancer Society. "We can do better, much better!"
For example, taxes on tobacco products are inconsistent across the country. By filling the gap and increasing taxes on roll-your-own tobacco to the same level as cartons, and raising taxes to $12 per carton, tobacco sales are sure to decrease.
Packaging is another element in the battle. Attractive, positive images on packaging encourage people to smoke. With the promise of sophistication, social acceptability, status, masculinity, and conversely, femininity of brands, cigarettes and tobacco products are "normalized."
By removing appealing brand images from packaging, and standardizing packages with an unattractive colour, the fight against the tobacco industrywill be advanced even further. Package warnings should be increased from 50 per cent to 80 per cent, and should contain new, enhanced, and more effective messaging.
Advertising and point-of-purchase signs are another crucial step. Many provinces are moving towards a ban on power walls: the overwhelming displays found in convenience stores and gas bars. Tobacco companies are still allowed to advertise in certain publications, through direct mail and in some bars. This must also stop.
As Canada expects new nutrition labelling guidelines to come into effect December 2005, an expansion on the contents of cigarette labelling should follow suit. Lars Ramstrom, director of the Institute for Tobacco Studies in Stockholm suggests making cigarette labelling more comprehensive, breaking down the contents of cigarettes, so consumers can make informed decision on the level of harm produced by their cigarette of choice, including how much tar and nicotine smokers are inhaling, levels of carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, and benzene.
Other measures include: effective enforcement of policy, a single regulatory framework for nicotine-containing products, an adult accompaniment rating in those movies that continue to show smoking, CPP divestment of tobacco stocks, disclosure of industry marketing research, and addictive disclosure.
And there is a new serious problem. Discount cigarettes, legally priced at $10 to $12 per carton less than more recognized brands, now comprise of almost 40 per cent of the market.
"We have enormous work to do," said Cunningham, "but the potential to reduce disease and death is huge by protecting the continuation of our existing interventions and by implementing an extremely long to-do list. The future is in our hands."
For further information: Lauren Wolff, (613) 286-4135
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2005/21/c4256.html
Canadian Youth Call on Feds to Ban Power Walls - On the steps of Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers' Council, Youth Demand to Take Death Off Display
OTTAWA, June 21 /CNW Telbec/ - Canadian Youth Against Tobacco (CYAT), consisting of student activists from coast to coast are converging on the steps of the World Exchange Plaza, where Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers' Council resides, today at 12:00 noon. These young Canadians are calling on the federal government to remove tobacco power walls from all stores across the
country.
CYAT members, joined together by the 4th National Conference on Tobacco or Health, will draw body outlines around the plaza to represent the 130 people who die each day in Canada from tobacco related illness. The youth will also be asking Ottawa citizens to sign postcards to cover a mock "deadly display."
Power walls are highly visible, bold, colourful, behind-the-counter displays of cigarette packaging, available in convenience stores, grocery stores, and gas bars. Power walls are one of the last forms of tobacco advertising allowed in Canada. Some provinces have already banned these kinds of displays; others are moving to implement similar sanctions. But it is time for a nation-wide movement towards out-of-sight, out-of-mind.
"Tobacco companies spend approximately $88 million dollars on Power Wall advertising, and it is so overwhelming when I go into a store and I see 800 to 900 packs of cigarettes," says Mohamed Saeed, a young Ottawatonian. "It's a visual assault, when all I want is a chocolate bar."
Visual prominence of cigarette packaging inflates perceived popularity and social acceptability of tobacco products and "normalizes" them. The size of tobacco displays in many stores gives a false impression as to how many Canadians actually smoke.
"People would never think of putting up displays of crack or heroin behind store counters, yet advertised in full force is the most addictive drug available," says Jenna Elzeine.
When: June 21, 2005
What: Canadian Youth Against Tobacco (CYAT) street marketing and theatre
Where: World Exchange Plaza
Who: CYAT members and YOU! (That includes media!)
Why: Canadian Youth want Tobacco Manufacturers and the Federal Government to know it is time to ban Power Walls
For further information: Lauren Wolff, (613) 286-4135
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2005/21/c4252.html
Still Too Many Canadians Dying From Tobacco Use - Tobacco Control Leaders To Meet In Ottawa
OTTAWA, June 21 /CNW Telbec/ - The Honourable will speak at the Tuesday morning plenary session of the 4th National Conference on Tobacco or Health.
Also presenting at this session are:
- Dr. K. Srinath Reddy, Professor, All India Institute of Medical Sciences on Implementing the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in India
- Neil Collishaw, Research Director, Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada on Strengthening Global Tobacco Control: Nations Must Help Each Other, and
- Dr. Jean Rochon, former Minister of Health and Social Services, Quebec and director of Health Protection and Promotion, World Health Organization on The Way Forward for Global Tobacco Control.
The plenary chair will be Denis Choiničre, Director, Office of Regulations and Compliance, Tobacco Control Programme, Health Canada.
Details of the conference program can be found at www.4ncth.ca
When: Tuesday, June 21st 8:30 to 10 AM
Where: The Westin Ottawa 11 Colonel By Drive Ottawa, Ontario Registration: 4th Floor, PEI Room
For further information: Lauren Wolff, (613) 286-4135
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2005/21/c4236.html
Smoking Comments -AB
June 22, 2005
RE: SMOKING. How many deaths have occurred lately that were a direct result from alcohol or drug use? There were two people a year ago drinking in a bar in a small northern Alberta town. One was being harassed by the other.
So he chose to be responsible and leave. The other waited a few minutes, then also left. The harasser got into a vehicle, drove to find his victim, ran him over and killed him. The killer has never been caught. Now all you non-smokers tell me that smoking is worse than drugs or alcohol.
L. Polsom
(Alcohol can be abused, of course.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RE: "BUTT out the profits," by Mindelle Jacobs, June 21. Jacobs seems to have a preoccupation with nannyism. She wants better controls on liquor and now she wants the government to take over tobacco. We all know how well government is at looking after business. They just sold Petro-Canada, and we can see the great benefits in the Canadian Wheat Board. Shall I go on?
L Duguay
(Oh, please do.)
http://www.edmontonsun.com/Comment/Letters/2005/06/22/1098715.html
Posted at 1:07 am by looped_ca
The deadly price of dirty air -ON
TANYA TALAGA HEALTH POLICY REPORTER Jun. 14, 2005. 06:31 AM
5,800 fatalities expected this year $1B for health care, lost workdays
More than 5,800 Ontario residents are expected to die prematurely this year because they are breathing dirty air, warns a new report from the Ontario Medical Association.
Breathing pollutant-laden air will cost the province almost $1 billion this year in lost productivity and treatment of smog-related illnesses, the OMA says in the report obtained by the Star.
The Greater Toronto Area was under a smog alert yesterday.
"The impact polluted air is having on the health of Ontarians is dramatically worse than we had initially estimated," said Dr. Greg Flynn, president of the OMA. "We are paying the price for poor air quality with our lives and if we don't take action immediately, the cost will continue to rise significantly."
Science is now available to see the long-term effects of pollution, of how the toxins affect tissue, causing adverse health reactions beyond asthma attacks and breathing difficulties — including contributing to heart attacks and lung cancer.
Smog is a mix of pollutants, made up of mostly ground-level ozone, created from burning gasoline and from other volatile organic compounds found in things like solvents and paints.
The OMA says it now has "clear scientific evidence" of premature deaths for a number of other pollutants such as ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide.
"The cost of inaction is clearly much higher than any price our province could pay to improve air quality," Flynn said.
The report estimates the cost of lost workdays from illnesses related to air pollution — including caregivers' time — at $374 million this year, rising to almost $467 million by 2026.
Health care for air pollution related illnesses, including hospital stays and medications, will cost about $507 million this year, and nearly $702 million by 2026.
The last OMA study, released five years ago, estimated 1,900 deaths that year due to smog-related illnesses.
The sharp increase is a result of two factors: Improved understanding of how pollutants harm the body over time and the fact many more pollutants are now being tracked.
The additional deaths expected this year are also the result of lifetime exposure to dangerous pollutants and the permanent effects on our body, the OMA report notes.
"A physician cannot cure someone whose tissue has accumulated the effects of smog over time," the report says. "All that we can do then is try to manage the illness."
People with asthma suffer greatly for days, even weeks, after a smog alert, said Dr. Mark Greenwald, vice-president of the Asthma Society of Canada, and co-founder of the Asthma Summit happening at York University today. "The asthmatic takes a much longer time to recover," he said. "The trigger is sudden but the effects are longstanding."
Asthmatics say breathing the bad air feels like a plastic bag is over their heads, said Greenwald. "They are afraid and living with this on a daily basis."
Greenwald said the problem of premature deaths caused by air pollution is worse for asthmatics because they don't have good, long-term control of their disease.
A news conference today will outline some of the major findings of the Illness Costs of Air Pollution report, including:
Hospital admissions: More than 16,000 this year will be associated with exposure to air pollution, compared to 9,807 admissions to hospital in 2000.
Trips to emergency departments: Almost 60,000 air-pollution related visits are expected this year, mainly due to cardiovascular and respiratory illness such as asthma. By 2026, the number is seen climbing to 88,000 emergency room visits annually.
Premature deaths: The estimated 5,800 deaths this year is expected to rise to 7,436 by 2015 and 10,061 by 2026. The elderly will be the most vulnerable by far, but infants and children with compromised health conditions are also at risk, the report says.
The report was created using a sophisticated software model developed by the OMA in 2000 to estimate the health effects and economic costs of smog in Ontario.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1118700615678
Forum aims to boost charity bingo industry -ON
Windsor Star Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Local charitable gaming stakeholders are hoping a brainstorming session today will lead to a long-awaited jackpot: a freer, more fun bingo industry.
The City of Windsor will host the public meeting on charitable gaming -- betting that bingo supporters can devise ways to boost the sagging industry -- and will pass on the ideas to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
The meeting takes place at 6 p.m. today at the Fogolar Furlan Club, 1800 E.C. Row Ave.
The AGCO recently announced plans to "modernize charitable gaming in Ontario," and will accept written submissions on the topic until July 15. According to the AGCO, annual bingo wagering in the province dropped to $1 billion in 2003 from $1.2 billion in 1996.
"We're excited to finally have a forum like this," John Fairley, marketing director of CBC Bingo, said. "This is a breakthrough, really."
Fairley estimates the Windsor bingo scene, which has shrunk to eight halls from 13 halls five years ago, is off between 15 and 20 per cent in revenue since its pre-9-11 days, a casualty of border woes and increased gaming competition.
http://www.canada.com/windsor/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=5ea1a082-ee39-4746-a280-6f051dba331a
Smog plays havoc with heart: Study
OMA predicts 5,800 premature deaths in 2005
`Numbers are believable,' ministry says
EMILY CHUNGSTAFF REPORTER Jun. 15, 2005. 01:00 AM
It's no surprise that smog can trigger lung problems, but heart attacks and strokes caused by air pollution are twice as likely to put a person in hospital, according to a report released today by the Ontario Medical Association (OMA).
The report, "Illness Costs of Air Pollution 2005," calculates that air pollution will cost Ontario $1 billion this year in additional health care and lost productivity. Further, it predicts 5,800 premature deaths across the province.
Many of the deaths are from long-term smog effects and don't always occur on smoggy days, said Ted Boadway, executive director of health policy for the OMA. He said smog has been a notable health risk in Ontario for about 40 years.
"It's about 10 people a day, all year round, dying of something else where smog is a significant contributory factor," he said. The numbers were calculated using a computer model, and are much higher than previous estimates that excluded long-term effects. Smog, Boadway explained, harms your heart with stealth. Pollutants such as nitrous oxides damage blood vessels, leading to atherosclerosis, a disease that makes people susceptible to heart attacks and strokes. Smog contains other poisonous gases and tiny solid particles that are inhaled deep into the lungs, added Dr. Stephan van Eeden, a respirologist and professor at the University of British Columbia.
"In the process of clearing the particles and digesting them, they get activated and produce a lot of inflammation in the lungs and that inflammation spills over in the bloodstream," van Eeden said.
While the lung inflammation can cause breathing difficulties or even death for people with asthma or emphysema, the spill-over inflammation can be devastating to blood vessels. Studies show it causes them to narrow and increases the tendency of blood to clot.
That's not a problem for healthy people, said van Eeden. "But if you're a person with borderline heart disease ... that may be just the trigger that tips you over to get a heart attack."
While smoking, diet and aging also contribute to heart disease, smog is less picky about its victims, said Dr. Greg Flynn, president of the Ontario Medical Association. "We don't have any choices about the air we breathe."
A spokesperson for Ontario Minister of the Environment Leona Dombrowsky still agreed that the numbers show a need to improve air quality.
"I'm quite confident that the OMA's numbers are believable," said Art Chamberlain.
"I think our efforts to replace the coal plants and to work with our American neighbours on ways to decrease the amount of pollution that they create ... would cause a decrease in the deaths."
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1118785812825
Shape up or pay: Iris
By RICK BELL, SUN MEDIA June 15, 2005
Penalties for poor habits urged
CALGARY -- Alberta's vaunted health-care overhaul will mean penalities for poor habits, if Health Minister Iris Evans has her way.
Evans emerged from meetings in Calgary yesterday saying it's time that smokers and couch potatoes be held responsible for the greater burden their lifestyles place on the staggering health system.
"That's a very real thing to look at philosophically. I really believe we should be looking at things like that. Smokers? Should they pay more? Private insurance companies do that. If you're not looking after your body or walking or getting the right exercise or eating the right foods should you pay more?"
Private enterprises that assess risk and reward responsibility are a model of that thinking, the minister said.
"If you're smoking, if you're being reckless in your behaviour, to what extent should you be supported? In an auto insurance policy, if you're driving badly you pay more," Evans said. "The real question is in the future whether or not there will be opportunities for people who are abusive to themselves, deliberately so, making those choices, to get the same kind of treatment as they get from the auto insurance company."
Alberta's health-care spending will top $9 billion this year and top Tories have voiced fears it will eventually capture one-half of all government spending.
Evans said she wants Albertans to cultivate a "culture of intolerance toward bad behaviours" that add to those costs.
"The most important thing Albertans need to tell us is what do they see as their responsibility to improve their own health, first of all, and then use the health system in a way that supports it and doesn't waste it. If we change demand, it has a dramatic effect."
Evans has previously faced a mixed public reaction after suggesting tax credits could be offered to those who hold gym memberships or enrol in fitness-promoting activities.
But the minister said she's ready to truly test public appetite for what she called revolutionary change.
Evans told the Sun she intends to have a measure of public opinion and solid proposals to bring to a major Tory caucus meeting in Calgary next month.
And, she said, along with making people become more accountable for their choices, allowing Albertans to buy private insurance for quicker access is still an option, as is more private delivery of publicly insured medical services.
Ultimately, however, it will be up to the public to agree that major changes are required.
"If there's tremendous philosophical change, if we're turning the cart upside down, then we'll have to ask Albertans whether they're prepared for substantive change."
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2005/06/15/pf-1089381.html
Survey charts latest drinking, smoking trends
By Stephanie Waddell
With the Yukon Addictions Survey’s preliminary results released Monday, the Yukon government will now go into more detail on addictions issues before looking at a policy to deal with the issues.
“We think it’s a real good start,” Michael McCann, the territory’s director responsible for alcohol and drug services, told reporters at a briefing on the preliminary results Monday.
The survey cost approximately $150,000, with funding from Health Canada.
It found that in comparing the general population of the Yukon to the rest of Canada’s population, there aren’t a lot of major differences in the amount of alcohol, cannabis and tobacco being consumed.
“(There’s) just about the same rate (of) alcohol use,” said Flo Kellner, a professor of sociology and anthropology at Carleton University in Ottawa who has worked with the territory on the survey.
“Cannabis use though in Yukon is higher than the rate of use in the provinces and tobacco use has gone down – probably pretty much the same from the rest of the provinces.”
Kellner is also moderating the Yukon Substance Abuse Summit currently underway at the Yukon Convention Centre.
A chart showing the percentage of alcohol and other drug use in the past year for those more than 15 years old shows the Canadian average of 79 per cent for alcohol for the general population matches the Yukon average. The high-risk group in the Yukon is up to 81 per cent.
The percentage of cigarette users in the territory is at 28 per cent for the general population and 75 per cent in the high-risk group. This compares to 23 per cent for the rest of Canada.
A total of 21 per cent of the Yukon’s general population used cannabis in the last year with 74 per cent of the high-risk category using cannabis in the last year. The national average is 14 per cent.
Past statistics have shown the Yukon has the highest per capita liquor sales in the country.
“We have a lot of people who drink heavily,” said James Tousignant, a senior statistician with the territory.
“So you can have one person who usually consumes your, mine and a few other people’s per capita share per year. It doesn’t take very much for that to happen.”
There are also tourists who buy alcohol, and liquor sales also tend to spike around events like the annual Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous winter festival.
“So we do drink, and some of us drink a lot more than other people and it does show in the sales,” he said.
The myth that Yukoners drink more is based on a reality, he said.
“Even in 1990, one of the things we found out was the way the women drink and the men drink are usually different, but in the North, here in 1990, our women were drinking far more than the men in the South were drinking,” Tousignant said. “So you had those kind of things were happening, but that’s changed a little bit come 2005.”
Kellner said in a small community it can also appear there are more people with addiction problems than in other larger jurisdictions.
“It is in our face,” McCann added. “You walk around the block, you bump into someone and you see it. The next day the same thing happens, but very often it’s the same person.”
Whitehorse itself presents some unique circumstances, he explained.
Though it’s the largest community in the Yukon, it also has a small downtown. In a larger city like Vancouver, areas where there are a lot of addiction problems can be easier to avoid.
“You can go to certain places in Ottawa and find the same things,” Kellner said. “Yeah, you could go to the market area in Ottawa and the area just in front of, between Eaton’s and Sears now and find the same people and probably, I’m just guessing, they have access to more drugs than the Yukon people here.”
In Whitehorse, there can be fewer specific areas where drugs can be found.
“This is a small centre of town so they’re all there,” she said.
McCann noted the survey results are in line with some of the perceptions those working in the field have had for a long time.
“It helps us to know where the problem is and who’s being affected,” he said. “And I think what that will allow us to do, will be to better focus our resources in the right area.”
One of the surprising results was how easy it is to get illicit drugs like cannabis, cocaine and others.
“We split this into urban and rural respondents – surprising in all circumstances for all the drugs, the rural respondents would say it’s easier to get the drug than in the urban area,” Kellner said.
She noted, while it wasn’t part of the survey, her thought is that with fewer people to ask in a small community, it may be easier to zero in on where to go.
“We did scratch our heads,”Kellner said of the results on accessing drugs.
The survey was the only addictions survey in the country (similar initiatives were done in the provinces) which looked at both the general population and high-risk group.
The general population survey was done by telephone, where 1,240 respondents were interviewed.
The sample of those thought to be at a higher risk was done by speaking directly to those who may not have a phone at the Salvation Army, some street corners, a soup kitchen and the skateboard park. In exchange for their information, the 73 of those respondents were given meal vouchers to Subway.
“That information that’s coming out from the high-risk group is really important to look at because these are the people that we see; these are the people that are consuming three or four times the number of drinks per drinking occasion,” Tousignant said. “So if you come down and we go to the KK (Kopper King) or something ... and you have a couple of beer or a couple of drinks, well, these people might do three or four times that amount at one sitting and then later in the day they’ll do another three or four times that amount in another sitting.”
That survey of the high-risk group told a very different story than the general population survey did.
While Tousignant had expected some differences in the two surveys, he was surprised by the extent of those differences.
Not only were there a lot more users of cannabis and cocaine in the high-risk group, there were also enough users of hallucinogens, ecstatically and methamphetimine to create a percentage.
It showed that seven per cent in the high-risk group used methamphetimine in the last year. In the general population, that estimate was suppressed due to unacceptably high sampling variability.
A total of 16 per cent in the high-risk group reported using ecstasy, while one per cent of the general population reported using it.
Again, one per cent of the population reported using hallucinogens, while 18 per cent of the high-risk group reported using those drugs in the past year.
As the numbers are looked at in more detail such as race and culture, McCann said officials are interested in developing a “policy based on evidence.
And that’s what we’re really interested in doing is digging into the numbers, understanding – you know – go beyond the numbers, go to the people, find out who these people are.”
That will allow resources to be better directed at those affected.
If research is to be used to develop policy, vulnerable target groups have to be looked at, Kellner said.
“For instance, if you find it’s young people getting into trouble for the most part, you’re not going to target your message ... at people 45 and over,” she explained.
More information will likely be ready by the fall, McCann said, adding it’s hoped the information will feed into an action plan being developed sometime in the fall.
http://www.whitehorsestar.com/auth.php?r=38372
Smoking ban not so great when shoe on other foot
Monday, June 13, 2005
When Lakeshore and the rest of Essex County had to go no-smoking, Windsor said it would not hurt business, but they reaped the profit from the charity, bingos, legions, Knights of Columbus halls and restaurants.
These businesses didn't know if they could stay open, but now the shoe is on the other foot and Windsor is crying because it is their money and business which will be lost.
Well, too bad. The tears are running down my cheeks, but in laughter. It's about time.
Guy J. Lobzun
Emeryville
http://www.canada.com/windsor/windsorstar/news/letters/story.html?id=2a481c9d-e7b0-4295-a46b-b77dac795f1d
Canada first country to have national standard to reduce the fire risk of cigarettes
14 Jun 2005
OTTAWA - Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh today announced the enactment of regulations intended to reduce the risk of fire caused by lit cigarettes. Canada is the first country to have a national standard to reduce the fire risk of cigarettes.
"Reduced ignition propensity does not mean fire-safe; a burning object is never completely fire safe," said Minister Dosanjh. "These regulations are yet another example of Canada being a world leader in tobacco control. I am pleased to see them come to fruition."
Minister Dosanjh also highlighted the efforts of the Honourable John McKay, Member of Parliament for Scarborough-Guildwood, who brought this issue forward with his bill that became the Act to Amend the Hazardous Products Act.
Under the Cigarette Ignition Propensity Regulations, all cigarettes manufactured or imported for sale in Canada on or after October 1, 2005, must meet an ignition propensity standard intended to reduce fire risks. Under the new amendments to the Tobacco Reporting Regulations manufacturers and importers will also be required to perform annual toxicity testing on cigarette brands sold in Canada. Results that must be submitted to Health Canada will demonstrate the smoke toxicity of cigarettes both prior to and after the ignition propensity standard comes into force in the fall.
Smokers' materials are the leading cause of residential fire-related fatalities and loss in Canada each year. The Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs reported for the period 1995-1999 that at least 14,030 fires were started by smokers' materials. These fires killed 356 people, injured 1,615 and cost more than $200 million in property damage. The victims of these fires are often among society's most vulnerable, such as children, the elderly and the poor.
"The Regulations will result in as many as 1400 fewer fires per year across Canada and prevent up to 155 injuries and 36 deaths," said Chief Michael Eddy, President of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs. "The Canadian Fire Services commend Health Canada for this important initiative."
The regulations were registered on June 7, 2005 and are available for public review and purchase through the Privy Council Office, Orders in Council Division, Statutory Instruments, 4th Floor, 85 Sparks Street, Ottawa, K1A 0A3. Copies of the Order in Council can be found on the PCO website.
The regulations and associated Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement will also be published in Canada Gazette, Part II, on June 29, 2005 and will be available on-line. Both sets of regulations are made pursuant to the Tobacco Act.
For further information, please visit our website at http://www.gosmokefree.ca
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=26120
Smoking Ban: "Innisfail Butts Out" -ON
Shannon Pasiukn rdtv Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Randy McDonald has been coming to "Lau's Family Dining" on mainstreet Innisfail for his morning coffee every day, Monday to Friday, for over 10 years.
But this morning's coffee talk is more serious than usual.
Randy
I'm not sure that they should try and legislate smoking out.
Innisfail town council has approved a new "silver level" smoking bylaw. "silver Level" means a business can't allow smoking if it caters to clients younger than 18 years of age.
That's big news at "Lau's"...because this restaurant is directly attached to a lounge.
McDonald's hopeful the bylaw is lenient, giving businesses like "Lau's" time to adjust.
Randy
There are going to be businesses that do wish to cater to a smoking percentage and they're going to have to try and find a way to comply with the bylaw and that can't be done overnight.
But Innisfail's Chief Administrative Officer Dale Mather says Town Council had businesses in mind.
Dale
The reason they went with silver was to make sure businesses had time to adjust. They didn't want to all of a sudden make a decision and the next day have it affect businesses.
Shannon
Town council promised Innisfail residents they'd be considering achieving a gold standard by 2007. So what that means is that going silver is another step towards going completely smoke free.
Dale
With this decision the public will be protected and also businesses will have some time to lead up to the gold standard.
While McDonald understands the health concerns associated with smoking...he believes the current silver standard is enough.
Randy
Give the businesses that want to possibly cater to both sides the opportunity to do what they need to do to comply.
At Innisfail, Shannon Pasiuk, Newscrew
http://www.canada.com/search/story.html?id=835f3447-5d3b-410c-ad9a-43c6eec4c6f7
Province won't fan flames of tobacco-smuggling lawsuit -AB
Related revenue loss too tough to prove: spokesman
Susan Ruttan The Edmonton Journal Tuesday, June 14, 2005
EDMONTON - The Alberta government will not join a federal lawsuit against one of Canada's biggest tobacco companies, despite prodding from the Canadian Cancer Society.
The cancer society wants provinces to file claims against JTI-Macdonald Corp. before June 27, a deadline set by the courts for any government to go after the company for revenue losses resulting from tobacco smuggling in the mid-1990s.
"This claim would demonstrate the provincial government's commitment to tobacco control," Yvonne Gaudet, spokeswoman for the society's Alberta branch, said in a statement.
Alberta Finance spokesman Gerald Kastendieck said that since Alberta didn't cut its tobacco tax rate in response to the smuggling crisis in the mid-1990s, it would be hard to prove the province lost any revenue because of the smuggling.
Quebec, Ontario and some Atlantic provinces were forced to cut their tobacco taxes when cheap contraband cigarettes started coming across the border from the United States.
Ottawa is suing tobacco companies for $1.2-billion in taxes and duties it says it lost when the companies exported cigarettes to the U.S. knowing they would be smuggled back into Canada for sale on the black market.
JTI-Macdonald Corp. received bankruptcy protection last August after the Quebec government claimed $1.36 billion for lost taxes from the smuggling.
A preliminary inquiry began in April into criminal charges for alleged tobacco smuggling laid against JTI-Macdonald Corp., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and two other affiliated U.S. companies.
Alberta is a legal intervener in yet another case, now before the Supreme Court of Canada.
The court will rule on the constitutionality of British Columbia legislation seeking compensation from the tobacco industry for health-care costs attributable to smoking.
http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=41f849ca-c560-4340-ac53-d522e5162c96
Stores still selling kids smokes -PE
CBC News Last updated Jun 14 2005 09:38 AM ADT
CHARLOTTETOWN – The Binns government continues to let retailers caught selling cigarettes to minors off the hook.
And that's left one Ottawa researcher saying that's why the Island continues to have one of the worst compliance rates in the country.
Around 20 stores are caught selling smokes to kids every year. None are charged, and the province has not fined a store for illegal sales in almost four years.
Last November, a health department spokesperson told the CBC a legal technicality prevented inspectors from laying charges.
Jerry Gavin explained the guilty person behind the counter wasn't always the vendor. So last fall, the province brought in a bill that was supposed to correct that.
But the regulations are not written yet.
Nik Nanos said P.E.I. should take this issue more seriously. He heads an Ottawa research company called SES.
His company sent under-aged mystery shoppers to 186 stores on the Island. Fifty agreed to sell to them cigarettes.
Nanos said this year's results are similar to other years, and P.E.I. continues to be significantly worse than the national average.
"If compliance is to improve in Prince Edward Island, and tobacco is to be kept out of the hands of children something will have to be done."
"The research shows that we're in a bit of a holding pattern, that for the numbers to move, there either has to be more education for retailers or laws that are enforced," added Nanos.
Dawn Binns, who is with the Canadian Cancer Society on P.E.I., is disappointed retailers here can still sell tobacco to kids without fear of consequence.
"We know that education alone isn't going to deter to sell to minors. So we really need to see charges being laid, so that becomes the deterrent to selling to minors in the future."
One of the province's lawyers said she hopes the new tobacco regulations will be ready in about a month.
http://pei.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=pe_smokes_20050614
Bar owners worry smokers may stay home -ON
By Wes Gilbertson Summer reporter June 15, 2005
New legislation that will outlaw smoking in all enclosed public venues province-wide next June has sparked concern amongst a pair of local bar owners who fear the ban will have an adverse impact on their bottom line.
Both Don Lee, owner of the Adventure Inn and Conference Centre, and Rainy Lake Hotel owner Larry Syrovy said yesterday they’re concerned that if patrons can’t light up in their bars, they won’t bother even going there.
Both estimate about half of their bar patrons are tobacco users.
“It’s going to hurt business,” said Lee. “We’ll lose the die-hard smokers. Some will still come but some won’t. They’ll just stay home.”
“[The legislation] will reduce the number of people who will go to the bars,” echoed Syrovy. “They can just smoke and drink at home, or at a friend’s home, and I think some of them will do exactly that.”
Under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, which passed third reading at Queen’s Park last Wednesday, smoking will not be allowed in workplaces or indoor public places, a list that includes bars, restaurants, nightclubs, Bingo halls, sports arenas, and offices.
Lee, who took over ownership of the Adventure Inn about a year-and-a-half ago, has seen firsthand the effect anti-smoking legislation can have on business at a bar.
He also has a stake in the Fifth Avenue Bar and Grill in Sioux Lookout, where the municipal government passed a bylaw prohibiting tobacco use in restaurants and bars nearly three years ago.
The result?
“We had a considerable decrease in business because smoking and drinking go hand in hand,” noted Lee, adding business at his bar there decreased by at least 25 percent in the first year the smoking ban was in place.
The same can be expected here, he said.
Business owners in the hospitality industry have been outspoken in their opposition to the idea of a provincial smoking ban since the legislation was introduced at Queen’s Park last December.
The fact the province has ignored their concerns is tough to swallow, Syrovy said.
“The government decided that keeping the bars in business wasn’t as important so they turned their backs on us,” he charged. “They are basically legislating our business, telling us what we can and can’t do, but they are not giving us any breaks.”
With Ontario one of the last provinces to adopt anti-smoking legislation, Lee said he’s not surprised by last week’s move, but felt Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal government could at least have given bar owners some options, like building separately-ventilated rooms where smokers can light up.
“I knew [a smoking ban] was going to come some day, but as far as I’m concerned, if they can send a man to the moon, they can filter smoke out of the air and have a separate room where people can smoke,” said Lee, himself a non-smoker.
“I can see not having it in a whole area, but just separate it so people who choose to smoke can go do it.”
Lee noted a good example of how separate smoking rooms can be used to solve the problem is found in British Columbia, where fully-enclosed smoking areas—like the ones seen in airports—are allowed in any establishments not accessible to children.
If given the option, he’d construct a similar room at the Adventure Inn.
“I wouldn’t think twice about not doing it if I was allowed,” Lee said. “I’m sure that if legislation would make it available, a lot of the bar owners would do it.”
Another alternative bar owners do still have is building a patio, where smoking would be allowed because it is not an enclosed space. Both Lee and Syrovy said they have considered that possibility, but aren’t sure if that’s an option they’d pursue.
The Adventure Inn and Rainy Lake Hotel also house restaurants, both of which are non-smoking.
Another establishment expected to feel the impact of the new smoking legislation is the Royal Canadian Legion. When reached yesterday, Br. #29 president Ron Mondor said he couldn’t comment on the ban until the executive had a chance to discuss the matter.
But Pat Scott, bartender at the Legion in Sioux Lookout, said the smoking ban there has put the future of that branch in question.
“We’re going in the hole every month,” he noted yesterday. “[The smoking ban] hurt big time. Nobody comes anymore. They’re staying home or they’re drinking where there are decks.
“Not even the non-smokers come anymore.”
Amanda French, manager of the Fort Frances Bingo Hall, said it’s impossible to predict how the smoking ban will impact business there.
“You really can’t tell until it happens,” she said, adding she’s pleased the government has given businesses a year to phase in the change.
Currently, the Bingo hall is divided into two separate rooms—one for smokers and one where smoking is not permitted.
Both areas will be smoke-free by this time next year, but French said she’s already had a couple customers comment they would continue to play regardless of whether they can smoke at the Bingo hall.
http://www.fftimes.com/index.php/6/2005-06-15/21653
Anti-smoking law far from perfect: Hampton -ON
By Wes Gilbertson Summer reporter June 15, 2005
A new law taking effect next June that will ban smoking in all indoor public places province-wide is a step in the right direction, Ontario NDP leader and local MPP Howard Hampton said Monday.
But he also said Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal government still missed its opportunity to prove it is serious about getting people to butt out, or better yet, to refrain from even picking up the habit in the first place.
The Smoke-Free Ontario Act, hailed by the McGuinty government as the “most aggressive anti-tobacco legislation in North America,” was approved at Queen’s Park last Wednesday.
It outlaws smoking in workplaces and all enclosed public places, including restaurants, bars, and Bingo halls, effective June 1, 2006.
The new law also clamps down on the display of cigarettes, requiring retailers to remove so-called “power wall” display cases by June, 2008. But Hampton said that’s not nearly soon enough.
“If they were serious, they’d take power walls out right now,” he argued. “2008 is frankly three years too late.”
While the ban will prevent people from lighting up in public places, it’s protecting Ontarians—especially young people—from the aggressive marketing techniques cigarette companies use that will make the real difference, Hampton said.
“I think that’s the crux of the matter,” he remarked. “We’ve known for a long time that the big tobacco companies have put a lot of money into trying to hook young people on cigarettes and smoking.”
Hampton also noted the anti-smoking legislation passed last week has garnered criticism for falling short in two other areas: providing adequate compensation for tobacco farmers to make the switch to new crops and help to those who want to quit by making stop-smoking products more affordable.
The anti-smoking legislation in place in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, which the Smoke-Free Ontario Act is modelled after, addresses all three issues more effectively, Hampton said.
“[McGuinty’s Liberals] are not moving fast enough on any of those three,” he charged.
In fact, some MPPs even voted against the smoking ban because they didn’t feel it was aggressive enough, Hampton said, although he was among the 71 MPPs who voted in favour of it.
Though not satisfied with all the details of the legislation, Hampton said he is pleased the province finally has acted on the concerns of the majority of its residents—the 80 percent who are non-smokers.
“The writing is on the wall. Public opposition is rising against smoking,” he remarked. “You’re not saying ‘You can’t smoke.’ You can smoke outside. . . . You can smoke walking down the street. You can smoke in your own home.
“But there is growing public opposition to people being forced to suck in someone else’s second-hand smoke and that’s what this legislation speaks to.
“Fewer and fewer people smoke,” Hampton added. “The public is coming to the view that the 80 percent who do not smoke should not have to breathe the second-hand smoke of the 20 percent that do.”
Linda Hamilton, president of both the local and regional chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society, agreed it’s nice to see the province finally is taking steps to protect non-smokers from the harmful effects of tobacco products.
“It’s not my business who smokes,” she said. “But I’m concerned about where they smoke. People shouldn’t be exposed to second-hand smoke, period.
“I’m a proponent of no smoking and I think people in the workplace are entitled to a smoke-free environment, and that’s what they’ll get,” he added.
According to information released by the province last week, smoking kills 16,000 Ontario residents every year—making it the number-one source of preventable illness in the province.
Tobacco-related illnesses cost Ontario’s health care system about $1.6 billion annually.
In addition to Saskatchewan and Manitoba, B.C., New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island all boast some type of anti-smoking regulation.
Smoking will be banned in all public places in Nova Scotia effective next year while the Quebec government recently tabled legislation that would mean the same there.
http://www.fftimes.com/index.php/6/2005-06-15/21652
Butting out at Taylor Field -SK
Veronica Rhodes The Leader-Post Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Saskatchewan Roughrider fans may soon be forced to butt out while they cheer on their team at Taylor Field.
Jim Hopson, president and CEO of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, said the team is currently reviewing its policy for allowing smoking at the stadium with the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region.
"We need to do a better job. I think that with everything that has happened around smoking in public places, we need to be part of that. I think we have to be more diligent in how we enforce smoking."
The current policy, which has been in place since 2003, restricts smoking in the stands but permits it in the concourse area. Hopson said the policy does comply with provincial legislation, but he believes it doesn't go far enough.
"With Taylor Field, it is an unusual situation, because it is an open area and with the concourses, some are very open to the elements, some are not. I think we have to do the right thing in terms of ensuring a safe and welcoming environment for all of our fans," he explained.
A provincewide ban restricting all smoking in enclosed public places came into effect Jan. 1. Stadiums such as Taylor Field do not fall under the provincial legislation but could be covered by city bylaws.
A City of Regina official has previously stated that the city is not currently pursuing any changes that would strengthen smoking bylaws.
Following Sunday's preseason home game, Hopson received only one complaint about smoking at the stadium. But, he believes if the policy is not updated, the organization will receive more complaints in the future.
He plans to have a revised policy in place in time for the Roughriders first home game on June 25. The policy will include designated smoking areas in the concourses and more enforcement of the smoking ban in the stands.
"We're going to have a very clear policy on it and we're going to make sure we have appropriate signage and we've done some education with our staff, as well as education with our fans. It's something we need to be very clear on," said Hopson.
Donna Pasiechnik, tobacco control co-ordinator with the Saskatchewan division of the Canadian Cancer Society, was pleased the organization will be updating the policy but insisted the entire facility should be smoke-free.
"I hear from a lot of people that smoking is an issue in the stands, that the current regulations aren't enforced. That is a problem but the concourse is also a problem because for non-smokers, they have to walk through smokers to get to the concession stand. We consider Taylor Field a public place and it should not allow smoking anywhere," said Pasiechnik.
Hopson admitted restricting all smoking inside the stadium and designating outdoor smoking areas as a possibility in the future.
Fans who have been drinking may not want to comply with further smoking restrictions but Hopson said stadium security and staff can handle it.
"It's the same thing in a hotel, a restaurant, a bar. Would it be difficult? I believe it would be a challenge but I believe it's doable. The hospitality industry is working through that right now and we'd have to do the same," said Hopson.
http://www.canada.com/components/printstory/printstory4.aspx?id=15f80064-e83a-4d9b-bca6-22bc2bdde096
Tobacco research helps stop smoking -ON
June 15, 2005
Regarding the letter, Smoking research funding seems a waste (June 10):
Clifford Burke is right when he says measures such as higher taxes and smoke-free legislation have helped to reduce smoking. We at the Canadian Cancer Society are extremely proud of the success of our tobacco control advocacy and are now celebrating the passage of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act.
Research such as Dr. John Koval's is critical to provide reliable and concrete evidence on smoking prevention and cessation for youth. As a charity accountable to our donors and volunteers, our prevention and advocacy programs must be based on hard evidence, not assumptions.
Koval's grant was considered highly meritorious by a National Cancer Institute of Canada panel of scientific experts through a review process considered the gold standard in Canada. This process ensures Cancer Society research dollars are spent effectively and efficiently on projects holding the most promise for all Canadians so that everyone benefits.
If the funding for Koval's research can save lives by preventing youth from becoming smokers and helping young smokers quit quickly and effectively, the money is well spent.
Laura Wall
Elgin-Middlesex unit manager , Canadian Cancer Society
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/Letters/
Underage tobacco control measures work: Dosanjh
Canadian Press June 14, 2005
OTTAWA— It's getting tougher for underage teens to buy cigarettes and Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh is delighted.
More than 80 per cent of retailers who were visited by Health Canada teams last year refused to sell tobacco to minors, the highest level in the 10 years. Health Canada sent teens aged 16 and 17 into more than 5,500 supermarkets, pharmacies, convenience stores and gas stations across the country, with instructions to ask for cigarettes and to lie about their age if asked.
The survey found that retail clerks were more willing to sell tobacco to underage boys than underage girls, and were stricter about checking age before noon, becoming less vigilant as the day went on.
Quebec has traditionally been the province where merchants are most lax about enforcing the law, but the survey found a huge improvement in 2004, with more than 75 per cent of retailers turning the minors away.
Dosanjh said the results show tobacco control measures are working.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1118784587506_26/?hub=Health
Banking on good health -AB
By RICK BELL, CALGARY SUN Wed, June 15, 2005
Unhealthy lifestyle could hit you where it hurts the most -- your wallet
Buy the ticket, take the ride. If you want to live an unhealthy lifestyle, then Iris Evans, the province's head honcho of health, has a most revolutionary thought for you. Simply shocking in its simplicity. Maybe you should just pay more for your health care.
Now Iris, in Calgary yesterday for meetings, including a good gab with the local health region, has already faced the whimpers of the whiners when she's even suggested offering tax credits for gym memberships and the cost of fitness activities.
But the cries will undoubtedly get a lot uglier when folks hear she figures it could be time to hit those who don't look after themselves right where it hurts, in the wallet.
"If you're smoking, if you're being reckless in your behaviour, to what extent should you be supported? In an auto insurance policy if you're driving badly you pay more," says Iris.
"The real question is in the future whether or not there will be opportunities for people who are abusive to themselves, deliberately so, making those choices, to get the same kind of treatment as they get from the auto insurance company."
"That's a very real thing to look at philosophically. I really believe we should be looking at things like that. Smokers? Should they pay more? Private insurance companies do that. If you're not looking after your body, or walking, or getting the right exercise, or eating the right foods should you pay more?"
Iris continues calling on the citizenry to cultivate a "culture of intolerance toward bad behaviours on the health side."
"The most important thing Albertans need to tell us is what do they see as their responsibility to improve their own health, first of all, and then use the health system in a way that supports it and doesn't waste it. If we change demand it has a dramatic effect."
But ... but ... that's not how our medical system is supposed to work. Aren't we allowed to do whatever we want to ourselves, as often and as much as we want, without any consequences?
Health care isn't REALLY an insurance plan. It's one big fat freebie, isn't it? But, as rude reality intrudes, as the ranks of the unhealthy balloon and lines for service get longer and the Supreme Court says waiting lists must shorten because Canadians deserve timely attention, every idea is on the table.
Before next month's Stampede hoedown of Tory MLAs, Iris tours the province and gauges the "political appetite" for a real medicare makeover. "People are looking at us to be creative, so people aren't waiting an indeterminate amount of time," she says.
Hear Iris articulate her opinions and you soon hear her desire for people to "take ownership" and "be accountable."
For the minister, those who don't take care of themselves are those who tie up "Alberta's most precious resources, the human resources that support health and the dollars."
At the Stampede meeting, Iris will offer concrete proposals, the first phase of Ralph's Third Way of delivering health. Along with people becoming more accountable for their choices, allowing Albertans to buy private insurance for quicker access is still very much an option, as is more private delivery of publicly insured medical services.
Jack Davis, poobah of the Calgary Health Region and one-time primo paper shuffler under Ralph, emerges from yesterday's high-level health headscratch as the echo of Iris.
He, too, wants to look at private insurance "more seriously" and mentions expansion of both public facilities and privately operated clinics performing publicly insured medical procedures. But Jack says the "resounding" tone of yesterday's discussion is about people staying healthy.
As always, Iris cautions it will be up to Albertans to determine if they have the courage to finally play grown-up. "If there's tremendous philosophical change, if we're turning the cart upside down, then we'll have to ask Albertans whether they're prepared for substantive change."
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/CalgarySun/News/2005/06/15/1089015-sun.html
McGuinty Government Unveils Bold Plan To Clean Up Ontario's Air -ON
Replacing Coal-Fired Generation Means Cleaner Air And Better Health For
Ontarians
TORONTO, June 15 /CNW/ - The McGuinty government's aggressive plan to
replace coal-fired generation with cleaner sources of energy and conservation
will clean up our air, improve the health of our citizens, and contribute to
the sustainability of our environment while ensuring a reliable supply of
electricity, Energy Minister Dwight Duncan said today.
"We are leading the way as the first jurisdiction in North America to put
the environment and health of our citizens first by saying 'no' to coal,"
Duncan said. "And as we have said all along, maintaining reliability is the
first principle of our plan. It's a prudent and responsible path that will
ensure cleaner air for the province."
"Our government's plan will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada by
up to 30 megatonnes a year - which is equivalent to taking almost seven
million cars off the road or removing every car and small truck in Ontario,"
said Environment Minister Leona Dombrowsky. "The closure of Ontario's coal-
fired generating stations is expected to provide up to half of the province's
greenhouse-gas-reduction contributions under the Kyoto Protocol."
The first of the five coal-fired plants, Lakeview Generating Station
(GS), was officially closed in April. The plan released today will see three
out of the four remaining coal-fired generating stations close by the end of
2007, with the remaining station, Nanticoke GS, to close in early 2009.
Under the coal replacement plan:
- Lakeview GS, representing 1,140 megawatts of generating capacity, was
closed in April 2005, following completion of projects to strengthen
the transmission system in the Toronto area.
- Thunder Bay GS, representing 310 megawatts, will be replaced by gas-
fired generation in 2007.
- Atikokan GS, representing 215 megawatts, will close by the end of
2007, following the replacement of Thunder Bay units and necessary
transmission upgrades, with no direct replacement necessary.
- Lambton GS, representing 1,975 megawatts, will be replaced by the end
of 2007 by two combined-cycle gas-fired generating stations in the
Sarnia area announced as a result of the government's request for
proposals for clean energy capacity.
- Nanticoke GS, representing 3,938 megawatts, will have units closed
through 2008 with the last unit to close in early 2009. In addition to
new generation capacity, transmission upgrades in southwestern Ontario
are necessary for the closure of Nanticoke.
To support the replacement of coal-fired generation in Ontario, the
McGuinty government has put the wheels in motion to produce well-over
7,500 megawatts of cleaner, more diversified power. Between 2004 and 2007,
Ontario will secure more new generating capacity than any other jurisdiction
in all of North America.
The government is also currently reviewing a tentative deal with Bruce
Power for the refurbishment of two laid-up nuclear reactors, which together
represent more than 1,500 megawatts of additional capacity. If concluded, this
agreement would raise the total of McGuinty government initiatives to
9,145 megawatts.
A cost benefit analysis released in April uncovered massive health and
environmental costs from coal-fired generation. The study found emissions from
all coal-fired stations were responsible for up to 668 premature deaths, 928
hospital admissions and 1,100 emergency room visits in Ontario per year. It
also found that with an annual cost of $4.4 billion, coal-fired generation is
significantly more expensive than other sources of electricity.
The plan is receiving praise from environment and healthcare experts and
regulatory agencies in charge of the reliability of Ontario's electricity
system.
"Premier McGuinty's coal replacement plan makes good sense to the Ontario
Clean Air Alliance," said Jack Gibbons, Chair of the Ontario Clean Air
Alliance. "While there is a delay for the complete phase-out of coal relative
to the original forecast, we believe it is worth taking the extra time
necessary to do the job right and ensure an orderly and sustained shutdown.
The benefits for all Ontarians will be enormous and long-lasting."
"The McGuinty government's plan means a significant reduction in harmful
airborne emissions, which will mean fewer cases of childhood asthma and better
health for Ontarians," said Dr. Anna Day, a respirologist at Sunnybrook and
Women's College Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.
"The phase out of coal represents one of the most significant
undertakings in the history of Ontario's electricity sector," said Dave
Goulding, President and CEO of the Independent Electricity System Operator
(IESO). "The implementation of the government's plan to stop burning coal in
2009 recognizes the need to maintain reliability as coal-fired generation is
phased out in favour of cleaner generating sources. The IESO is committed to
working with the provincial government and others to ensure that reliability
is not compromised during this transition period."
In order to ensure system reliability and to support the coal replacement
strategy, Minister Duncan has directed the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) to
launch new procurement processes for additional power in the downtown Toronto
core and west GTA, new demand-side management and demand response initiatives,
and industrial co-generation and district energy projects across the province.
The OPA will release further details on these processes, which will be
launched by the fall of 2005.
The government has also directed the OPA to begin discussions with the
owners of seven underutilized electricity generators, sometimes referred to as
"early movers", to increase the operation of the facilities at a reasonable
cost to Ontario consumers.
In creating new capacity, the government has placed particular emphasis
on expanding renewable generation in the province, and is well on its way to
meeting its target of adding five per cent, or 1,350 megawatts of new
renewable generating capacity by 2007. By the end of 2007, it is expected
Ontario will see a 75-fold increase in its wind capacity alone.
The Ministry of Energy is working together with Ontario Power Generation
and a number of ministries, including Northern Development and Mines, Natural
Resources, Economic Development and Trade, and Municipal Affairs and Housing,
to assess the impact of closures on the workers and their communities. The
government is asking Ontario Power Generation to engage its trade unions in
discussions designed to minimize the impact of plant closures on employees.
"We are replacing coal in Ontario for good - for the good of our air, for
the good of our health, and for the good of Ontario families," Duncan said.
To view coal replacement graphic, please visit: http://files.newswire.ca/415/coalreplacement.pdf
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2005/15/c1977.html
Doctors: Smog Will Kill 5,800 Ontarians This Year
Cost on healthcare system and economy almost $1 billion annually.
TORONTO, June 14 /CNW/ (released 11:11 AM)- Air pollution in Ontario will result in almost 5,800 premature deaths this year and cost the province almost a billion dollars, according to the latest report from the Ontario Me Posted at 12:30 am by looped_ca
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