Ontario told to restrict films with smoking –ON, CA

Shark tale would be 18A: On-screen puffing behind teen habit, U.S. advocate says

James Cowan National Post Saturday, October 30, 2004
Canadian children should be prevented from seeing any film featuring a lit cigarette, according to a prominent American anti-smoking advocate.

Stanton Glantz told the Ontario Film Review Board yesterday that movies featuring smoking scenes should receive an 18A rating, a designation that would prevent anyone under 18 from seeing the films without an adult. Among the recent films that could have received the restrictive rating are Shark Tale, Mean Girls and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Dr. Glantz contends tobacco use on the silver screen is the main reason teens start smoking.

"The more they see, the more likely they are to smoke," he said in an interview with the Post. "Filmmakers should calibrate smoking imagery, which kills, the same way they now calibrate offensive language, which harms no one."

Nancy Daigneault, the president of smokers' organization mychoice.ca, said giving a restrictive rating based on tobacco use would be nonsensical.

"There are teen movies out there that show decapitations, murders, sex, drunkenness, and that's all OK, as long as no one is smoking a cigarette. I think we're going a little extreme here," Ms. Daigneault said.

If the film review board followed through on Dr. Glantz's recommendations, Ontario would be the first jurisdiction in the world to calculate movie ratings based on instances of smoking (members of the OFRB were not available for comment).

The idea has also been endorsed by the WHO and the American Medical Association, among other public health organizations.

Several recent studies support the idea. A report published in The Lancet medical journal last summer found that children are three times more likely to try smoking if they regularly watch movies that show characters using tobacco.

The same study concluded 52% of the children who started smoking were primarily influenced by smoking in the movies, compared to 34% who were influenced by advertising. Overall, the study estimated 390,000 American teens start smoking each year because of the movies.

Because tobacco advertising is strictly regulated in Canada, Dr. Glantz speculated cinematic smoking could be even more influential in this country.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested 56% of G-rated family films released between 1937 and 1997 featured at least one instance of tobacco use. Several classic Disney films, including 101 Dalmations, Alice in Wonderland and Pinocchio are included in that group.

While Dr. Glantz does not advocate slapping new ratings on old films, he does believe any amount of smoking in a new film should spark an 18A rating, with only two exceptions.

If a film "clearly and unambiguously" shows the harms of tobacco use, that would be fine.

"The other exception is what I call the Winston Churchill exception," he said. "If you're making a historical film and you have a historical figure that actually smoked, that wouldn't trigger a rating."

Applying an 18A rating to movies featuring smoking would encourage studios to not include cigarettes in films aimed at children or youth, according to Dr. Glantz.

"If the rules were such that you got an R-rating in America or an 18A rating here, they would just get the smoking out of the youth oriented films."

Rod Gustafson, who runs a movie review Web site for parents called gradingthemovies.com, endorsed the idea of smoke dependent ratings.

"I think it's a wonderful idea. I think many parents are concerned about cigarette and tobacco use in films and it's still something we frequently see," Mr. Gustafson said.

http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/newsletter/story.html?id=9a2f056b-9cd3-400a-bdfd-13e18bbeca35

*my letter to the Nation Post editor:

Dr. Glantz, the Applied Mechanics Engineer is at it again.  He thinks that things will happen and just because he has the word doctor in his name were suppose to drop everything and listen.  I'm sorry, but shouldn't you look after your own backyard before starting to clean the neighbours? 

The good mechanic was before the senate as well in the states.  The bill didn't pass.  Now, he is trying to instil American morals onto Canadians.  We are different, and we have the same rights of taking our kids to movies we don't approve of.  If you don't want your child to see this then fine, don’t go. Does that now mean we have more legislation?  NO I think that if the American senate can't see a good reason for this why should we?  I don't agree with not allowing something based on a presumption. 

His study was observational, which is a flaw in itself.  How do we actually know what people think?  Especially teenagers!  Shouldn't we error on artist rights instead of a fear mongering mechanic? 

I am appalled that you would even write an article concerning this when it's a person from a different country telling Canadians what’s good for them.  Way to go!  We always listen to the elephant.  Just to impose my views on someone who has a artist right to characterize someone as bad.  Think about all the characters you remember that smoke, are they good or bad?  Now tell me, that’s the way children want to grow up (bad).  I’m sorry but relic on Beachcombers didn’t make me an alcoholic, so I don’t think that Cruella with a cigarette will make children into smokers.  Give your heads a shake.  The only thing a kid has to do is get his mother to buy it, or rent it on video.  Legislation isn't a proven to work unless they ban the movie, or have an nc17 rating.  Besides the study published in British Medical journal had so many assumptions, it looked like swiss cheese.  NO directional causation, just assumptions.  Enough from the fear mongers, let’s lessen the assumptions and go back to real scientific studies!!! The only person hurt in the end will be the scientists themselves; when we won't believe them for crying wolf one more time.

 

Health scare has students seeking pill-NC, USA
By TIM SIMMONS, Staff Writer
Hundreds of college students in Raleigh and Chapel Hill have been treated with antibiotics after a UNC-Chapel Hill freshman was hospitalized with bacterial meningitis.

Jonathan Parker Davis, 18, was listed in serious condition Friday in the intensive care unit at UNC Hospitals. He was diagnosed Thursday with the disease, an acute infection of the brain lining that can cause permanent disabilities or death.

Because bacterial meningitis can be spread through close contact, health officials spent Friday retracing Davis' steps since Oct. 22 and notifying those who might be infected.

If the infection is caught early enough, treatment is a simple one-time dose of the antibiotic pill Cipro. Student health centers will remain open today to offer the medication.

UNC Health Service had administered more than 500 doses of the drug through Friday afternoon. The N.C. State University Student Health Center had given more than 900 doses by 9 p.m.

The two schools are the focus of the treatment because Davis lives in Granville Towers, a private, off-campus dormitory at UNC-CH. He attended a party near NCSU on Oct. 22 at 611 Chamberlain Road.

"The disease we are talking about is a serious disease," said Dr. Mary Bengtson, director of the NCSU Student Health Services. "If there is a possibility that you had close contact with the individual involved, then it is reasonable to take the medication."

Health officials have compiled a short list of times when Davis might have infected others, beginning with the Oct. 22 party.

"It was a very crowded party," said James Kellermann, an NCSU sophomore who picked up an antibiotic after learning of the risks. "It was the kind where you couldn't move from one room to the next, there were so many people."

It is possible that students could contract the bacteria in such tight quarters, Bengtson said.

But the bacteria are more likely to spread through interactions such as kissing, sharing a cigarette, drinking from the same glass or using the same eating utensil.

Health officials are particularly interested in Davis' movements during the past week because antibiotics are most effective when used during the bacteria's early incubation period in the body.

Davis remained with friends at NCSU's University Towers after the Oct. 22 party and attended the NCSU football game Oct. 23.

Gibbie Harris, Wake County's director of community health, said it's not likely that anyone was infected at the game because Davis sat on a grassy bank near the field's end zone. At one point, he went to a first-aid tent because he was not feeling well. Workers there suggested he see a doctor.

Davis returned to UNC-CH and apparently resumed his routines after that, said Rosemary Summers, director of the Orange County Health Department.

He attended a social mixer at the Top of the Hill restaurant in Chapel Hill late Tuesday night.

The mixer, from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m., was co-sponsored by four UNC Greek organizations: Tri Delta and Alpha Delta Phi sororities and Alpha Tao Omega and Kappa Alpha fraternities.

Those who ate earlier Tuesday at Top of the Hill or have been to the restaurant since are not in any danger, health officials said.

Davis was admitted Wednesday afternoon to UNC Hospitals.

Students who lined up in the basement of South Granville Towers to get medication understood the chances of getting the disease were small, but many said the antibiotic brought peace of mind.

"Better safe than sorry," said UNC-CH senior Scott Batchelor.

Health officials say most of the people who might have been exposed have probably been notified directly or through media coverage. But the circumstances of the NCSU party and the relatively long time period involved make it impossible to know.

"The only way to be sure is to wait two weeks and hope no more cases are reported," Harris said.

(Staff writer Anne Blythe contributed to this report.)

http://newsobserver.com/news/story/1780759p-8070603c.html

 

Report singles out trash as environmental threat- CA, USA
By: KATHERINE MARKS - Staff Writer

PALA INDIAN RESERVATION ---- A recent UCLA report that found Indian reservations "face an onslaught of illegal dumping" came as little surprise this week to the tribal leaders on the Pala Indian Reservation in the northeast part of the county.
For years, the reservation has been a dumping ground, a problem complicated by limited resources and legal loopholes.

"I see everything from beds to refrigerators to stoves to residuals of people cooking drugs ... and just plain garbage," said Stan McGarr, the Pala band's secretary.

The UCLA Institute of the Environment Report Card, the study released this week by the university, said illegal dumping and unauthorized landfill operations at Southern California's 35 Indian reservations present serious environmental hazards.
The report singled out Pala and the Torres-Martinez reservation, southeast of Palm Springs, noting the same things McGarr reported ---- waste from methamphetamine labs, old appliances and other trash left beside a tributary of the San Luis Rey River.
"The laws pertaining to illegal dumping on reservations are so complex and deficient that reservations are perceived as a kind of legal no-man's land," said Carole Goldberg, faculty chairwoman of the Native Nations Law and Policy Center at the UCLA School of Law.
The Pala and Torres-Martinez tribes have environmental protection units, but neither has a police force or a functioning tribal court, the report noted. State and local agencies have little or no authority to regulate dumping, and the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and other federal agencies have been slow to respond, Goldberg wrote.
McGarr knows the situation all too well.
"We've been working on this for years," he said.
The tribe has received some help from the county and Supervisor Bill Horn's office. The roads are the county's responsibility, according to the county. The land where most dumping occurs, however, belongs to the tribe, and a cleanup is the tribe's responsibility, the county says.
Bill Pollack, a spokesman for the Department of Public Works, said the county tries to keep its right of way clean, but much of the dumping takes place just past the right of way.
A cleanup, to which the California Integrated Waste Management Board contributed $96,129, has netted tons of garbage since July, county and state officials said Friday. The cleanup effort is nearing completion.
"We've been successful at cleaning up garbage that's thrown out," McGarr said. "We haven't been successful at getting rid of (dumping)"
Hiring people to watch for offenders and report them to law enforcement would be too expensive, McGarr said. He said he understands that dumping isn't as high a priority for law enforcement agencies that are already stretched thin. Horn said the county has asked for increased enforcement. He said he would like to see more involvement from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Fences aimed at curbing illegal dumping haven't helped, McGarr said.
He said the problem is one that isn't unique to the reservation, but plagues the backcountry. Trash isn't the only thing people are dumping, he added. Many people still drive out to the country to get rid of unwanted pets.
One possible solution, in McGarr's eyes, is a public awareness campaign similar to one conducted to keep drivers from throwing cigarette butts out their car windows ---- an action that can easily spark a wildfire.
Contact staff writer Katherine Marks at (760) 740-3529 or kmarks@nctimes.com.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/10/30/news/top_stories/23_30_1910_29_04.txt

 

Candidates not pushing for smoking ban –DE, USA

By KEITH ROYSDON

MUNCIE - Ralph Kennedy said his phone started ringing the last time Delaware County officials started talking about a smoking ban.

Kennedy, owner of westside bar Timbers for 22 years, said the possibility made his customers uneasy.

"The first time they announced something about a smoking ban in all public places, that same day I had three customers call and ask if they could still come in and have a beer and smoke a cigarette," Kennedy said.

"I'm a non-smoker and if they stopped selling cigarettes tomorrow it wouldn't hurt my feelings," Kennedy said. "But if people couldn't smoke and socialize, none of them would be here more than maybe 30 or 45 minutes.

"Eighty-five percent of our customers are smokers. I think our business would take a big hit."

Kennedy probably doesn't need to worry just yet.

Although the Delaware County Health Department recently endorsed a proposal to ban smoking in restaurants - a proposal opposed by the Delaware County Tavern Owners Association - the current county commissioners have expressed no interest in it.

And while all four commissioner candidates have said they favor some kind of limitations on smoking, they added that they did not want to impose rules on private business owners.

Tracy Barton, a Democrat seeking the District 2 commissioner seat, said he opposes a ban.

"I don't feel officials should be able to dictate to private businesses," Barton said.

Barton's Republican opponent, Tom Bennington, said he also have "a problem telling private businesses how to conduct their affairs."

Bennington added, however, that he would "support some kind of a smoking control ordinance that would protect children but not limit adults" and would likely exclude bars.

John Brooke, the Democrat seeking the District 1 commissioner seat, said he "would support a ban where children would be."

Brooke noted that as attorney for the health department he helped create a smoking ordinance.

Bob Wilson, Brooke's Republican opponent, said he smoked two to three packs of cigarettes a day for many years before quitting.

"I would support some kind of ordinance that would ban smoking where children are present, but not in bars," Wilson said.

Tonya Miller Bailey, coordinator of the Tobacco Free Coalition, said that history indicated that smoking bans did not harm businesses.

"It is a tobacco industry tactic to spread this [harm to small businesses] myth," Bailey said.

"All credible, reputable studies based on the impartial data of sales tax receipts clearly show that there is no adverse impact on businesses."

The most recent attempt at a ban on smoking in restaurants was voted down in 2002 by commissioners Jack Stonebraker and James St. Myer. The two will leave office at the end of this year.

http://www.thestarpress.com/articles/1/028737-5641-004.html

 

Men sentenced for trafficking $2 million in counterfeit cigarettes -PA, USA
By MIKE MATHIS
Burlington County Times

MOUNT HOLLY - Two men were sentenced to state prison terms yesterday for trafficking about $2 million in counterfeit cigarettes last year.

Kenny Choi, 41, of Galloway, Atlantic County, and Nhi Lam Wiget, 47, of South El Monte, Calif., pleaded guilty in March to failure to pay or turn over taxes.

Wiget received a five-year sentence for his role in the scheme and Choi got a three-year sentence.

The men also were ordered to pay $797,946 in restitution, which represents the amount of lost tax revenue to the state.

"The sentences are on the lenient side," Superior Court Judge John A. Almeida said before sentencing the pair. "This was a massive tax fraud without anyone from the state of New Jersey knowing how, when, or why this occurred."

The case was documented in a series of articles in the Burlington County Times in July that detailed the increase in interstate cigarette smuggling.

Choi and Wiget were traveling to North Jersey when they were arrested Oct. 15, 2003, after an inspection stop by police officers along Route 206 in Mansfield.

Officers discovered the truck occupied by Choi and Wiget carried 22,750 cartons of cigarettes that did not bear the required New Jersey tax stamp and were not manufactured by a legitimate trademark holder, police said.

State treasury agents also seized 10,800 cartons of contraband cigarettes at a commercial storage site in Tabernacle, police said.

The cigarettes were valued at a total of $1.9 million, prosecutors said.

Attorney William Menges, who represented Choi, told Almeida his client was "like a small flea on the back of a big dog" who simply transported the cigarettes for someone else.

"I met the wrong people at the wrong time," Wiget told the judge before he was sentenced. "I'll do anything to pay back the state of New Jersey for what I did wrong."

Burlington County Assistant Prosecutor Thaddeus Drummond said he would not oppose admitting the men into the Intensive Supervisory Program, which allows some offenders to serve sentences outside prison through alternative, intermediate forms of community-based correctional supervision,

However, Almeida said he would oppose admission to the program if he determines Choi and Wiget have not cooperated with authorities to identify those for whom they transported the cigarettes.

Most of the cigarettes have been destroyed, an agent with the state Division of Taxation told Almeida during yesterday's hearing.

E-ail: mmathis@phillyBurbs.com

October 30, 2004 7:49 AM

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/112-10302004-392311.html

 

MP Warns over Risk of 'Super-Casinos' - UK
By John Deane, Chief Political Correspondent, PA News

A new generation of “super-casinos” will increase the extent of gambling addiction and could lure serious criminals into the British industry, a Labour backbencher warned today.
Stephen Pound, the Ealing North MP, issued the warning as he explained his reasons for opposing the clauses of the controversial Gambling Bill, which would pave the way for the new casinos.
Interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Pound cautioned: “There is a really magnetic effect about these casinos.
“At the moment there are about 134 in the country. People are talking about building these great glittering palaces in Blackpool and places as part of a regeneration package as if the only way you can regenerate cities in this country is by selling your soul to Las Vegas and Sun City in South Africa, which I think is a pile of pants.
“90% of this Bill is perfectly sound. There is a lot of stuff about regulation that I rather like, about protecting vulnerable young people. I just can’t understand why on earth we have gone out so far to actually bring in this other nonsensical aspect of it.
“I just really think that we have made a terrible mistake here.
“And over all of it hangs the shadow of the men in the chalk-stripe suits with names that rhyme with spaghetti.
“Frankly, the Methodists don’t like it, you don’t mess with the Methodists. A lot of ordinary decent people say why on earth is this Government actually talking about bringing in a Bill like this when all the good is going to be lost in this image of the casinos.
Mr Pound continued: “You look at some of the people who are involved. These people are not in it for philanthropy. They aren’t in there to regenerate Blackpool. They are in it to fill their boots.
“As far as I am concerned we have got a decent balance in this country. We have good high street betting, we have got no criminality, we don’t have a massive (addiction) problem, we have a difficulty but we don’t have a huge problem, so why on earth make it worse?”
But spread betting magnate Stewart Wheeler told the programme that the new casinos should be welcomed.
Mr Wheeler, who has been a major donor to the Conservative Party, insisted: “People must be allowed to do what they want to do unless there is some extremely good reason to the contrary. It is absolutely fundamental, the Government shouldn’t interfere with what people want to do.
“Take something which is far worse than gambling, which is cigarette smoking. We don’t say people can’t smoke cigarettes even though it kills goodness knows how many people.
“I’m certainly in favour of warning people that they are likely to lose if they gamble, that is absolutely fine.
“People say we don’t want to be like Las Vegas, but why not? One of the best hotels in the world is in Las Vegas ... if that kind of thing comes over here it is to the benefit of this country, not the contrary.”

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3693279

 

Boyfriend allegedly kills woman over smoking –NY, USA

BY LINDSAY FABER
Staff Writer October 26, 2004, 6:08 PM EDT

A Bushwick woman was fatally beaten and strangled,allegedly by her live-in boyfriend in an argument over smoking in their apartment, police said.
Linda Ingram, 56, was found dead in her Cornelia Street apartment Monday after her boss and her niece called police because she hadn't shown up for work.
When police went into Ingram's apartment, which she shared with her long-time boyfriend, Leslie Beech, 39, they found her dead on the kitchen floor, according to neighbors' accounts.
Yesterday, Beech was arrested and charged with murder, police and the Brooklyn district attorney's office said.
The medical examiner ruled that Ingram was killed by blunt impact injuries and asphyxia, according to an office spokeswoman.
One neighbor, who knew the couple well, said Beech was constantly threatening Ingram.
"She was a low-key person but there is no doubt she was afraid of him," the neighbor said. "Everyone has heard him say things to her. This time he must have just snapped."
Ingram had filed for an order of protection in the past, but police had never responded to the home on a report of a domestic incident, police said.
The couple had no children in common.
Police said the slaying was the third domestic homicide in the city in two days.
On Sunday, Marvin Woodrufe, 30, of Queens shot his girlfriend, Adesola Keiler, 22, and then turned the gun on himself, police said.
On Monday, Julio Garcia, 55, strangled his girlfriend, Milagros Tavares, 36, with a nylon cloth in their Lower East Side apartment, then hung himself from a pipe, police said.

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/crime/nyc-murd1027,0,5108328.story?coll=nyc-manheadlines-crime

---

 

Here is a letter I wrote to ctv.ca about a story idea.  I will also post this same sort of thing to the complaints area posted in mychoice.ca,  of the stop charities being involved in politics.

 In the policies and practises there is a law stating that charities can’t be involved in politics.  I have one question.  Who is paying for Heather Crowe to do her public speaking work? 

I include the link to the policies pages of the revenue Canada website.  http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/charities/policy/cps/cps-022-e.html#P162_15960     

I also include the one area that I am inquiring about.

Here is a document about what the regulations are
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/rc4108/rc4108eq.html

Charitable organization
A registered charity is designated as a "charitable organization" if:
(a)it devotes its resources mainly to charitable activities carried on by itself;
(b)more than 50% of its directors/trustees deal with each other and with each of the other directors/trustees at arm's length (see definition of "arm's length"); and
(c)not more than 50% of the funds that the charity has received have come from one person or organization, or from a group of people or organizations that do not deal with each other at arm's length. However, some organizations are excepted, so that large gifts from them do not affect the charity's designation. The excepted organizations are:
* the federal government,
* a provincial government,
* a municipality,
* another registered charity that is not a "private foundation," or
* a club, society, or association that the Act treats as a non-profit organization.

How can a registered charity use its resources?
To qualify for and maintain its registered status under the Income Tax Act, a charity must be created for charitable purposes and devote substantially all its resources to charitable activities. Here are some specific areas of interest.
Ancillary and incidental non-partisan political activities
Under the Income Tax Act, a registered charity can undertake political activities as long as:
* it devotes substantially all its resources to charitable activities; and
* the political activities are non-partisan and help accomplish the charity's purposes.
 For more information on political activities, see Information Circular 87-1, Registered Charities - Ancillary and Incidental Political Activities

They are not unbiased, and how does flying over to the UK help with their Canadian cause?

 

As with anything political you can't take the dictionary and paste it onto here. Here is the policy statement on political activities.
this is the area that pertains to the political activities:
In addition, a charity in this situation is also subject to the restrictions this guidance places on non-partisan political activity, public awareness campaigns and communications with an elected representative or public official.
Finally, a charity may provide information to its supporters or the public on how all the Members of Parliament or the legislature of a province, territory or municipal council voted on an issue connected with the charity's purpose.
Found at:
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/charities/policy/cps/cps-022-e.html#P162_15960

I also include an article link to several areas that revolve around Heather Crowe. She is influencing (or trying to) the way that the electorate works.  She visited the AUPE (Alberta Union of Public Employees) two weeks before the same city was voting on a smoking bylaw.  Getting an emotional reaction to her story is one that would influence their views.  The union has had a protection policy for several years.  Why do they need to hear about the harms?   Why is she speaking just before the same vote and telling the public how to vote?  Who paid for her expenses to fly and stay at the area?   Isn’t she affecting the vote with the fact that she is connected to a charity (paid by a charity) and writing in the Jasper booster that they should vote for a smoke free bylaw? 

One more thing, I notice is from the canoe website.  

Smoke attack
ANDREA SANDS, CITY HALL BUREAU
Albertans must demand provincial anti-smoking legislation similar to rules that will soon protect Canadians in five other provinces and territories, says a coalition of 14 health groups. "Don't Albertans deserve the same protection?" said Les Hagen of Action on Smoking and Health. "Albertans do not have second-class lungs."
Governments in New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories have all approved new smoking rules to protect workers from second-hand smoke, Hagen noted.
And the Campaign for a Smoke-Free Alberta - a group of non-profit groups including the Alberta Cancer Board, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Alberta and the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees - is urging Alberta voters to make this an election issue.
The group vowed at a press conference yesterday to organize a provincial letter-writing campaign, run media advertisements, launch an online petition and run a high-profile campaign leading up to the November provincial election.
Albertans must push their provincial representatives to protect all workers from second-hand smoke, including people working in bars, bingos and casinos, the group argued.
AUPE boss Dan MacLennan noted such legislation would give staff in a bar the same right to clean air as workers now enjoy in provincial jails, which went smoke-free last week.
"If it wasn't social engineering to bring in seat-belt legislation, it's not social engineering to bring in tobacco legislation" MacLennan reasoned. "I think a lot of MLAs, including Conservatives, support it."
Bartender Justin Derush, 32, said he breathes easier now that Edmonton's city bylaw has forced his employer to go smoke-free.
"When you're having a cigarette, you're done, then the person next to you lights up, and so it's like I'm having a continuous cigarette all night," he explained.
And local songbird Amber Suchy - who fronts the popular band King Muskafa - said it was a pleasure to play in smoke-free Saskatoon two weeks ago.
"It's great for my voice - I'm a powerhouse all night. I don't have this gross cough where people think I'm diseased all week long."
The province is working to protect workers, and has introduced a tobacco-reduction strategy along with rules that make it an offence for anyone under 18 to possess tobacco, said a spokesman for Premier Ralph Klein.
"We don't believe they have second-class lungs either, but the government's position has been and is that it's better left up to the municipalities to decide," said Marisa Etmanski.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/News/2004/10/05/656281.html

 

Isn’t this trying to affect the way that the government runs?  They are using the same public group that they spoke to earlier to speak for them to the public.  Plus they are telling people how to vote on an issue.

 

The news reports are slowing down!  Could it be that they are busy doing something we started?  Lol

 

Workplace smoking bans help smokers cut back, says study –ON, CA

Daily consumption drops

Employees in workplaces with no smoking restrictions smoke almost five more cigarettes daily than those whose workplaces completely ban smoking, says a study by the University of Toronto’s Ontario Tobacco Research Unit (OTRU).

“Usually, the reason given for banning smoking in the workplace is to benefit non-smokers and this is a valid and important reason,” says OTRU’s Dr. Thomas Stephens. “What this study shows is that the bans also have health benefits for smokers themselves.

“A lot of people assume smokers in smoke-free workplaces compensate for being without cigarettes while at work by smoking more at lunch, during breaks or after work but overall they don’t. People are more likely to cut down or to give up cigarettes.”

Using data from Statistics Canada’s comprehensive 2001 Canadian Community Health Survey, the study determined that 24 per cent of employed adult Canadians are daily smokers who consume an average of 17 cigarettes daily.

In workplaces where smoking is banned, 18 per cent of workers smoke daily and their average consumption drops to 15.4 cigarettes per day. By contrast, when there are no bans, 40 per cent of workers are daily smokers and average 20.1 cigarettes daily.

The OTRU study results, presented recently at the International Congress of Behavioral Medicine, apply to adults between the ages of 20 and 64, regardless of age, sex, occupation, education or income. The results were not affected by work stress, depression or attempts to quit smoking within the past 12 months.

Stephens says the data (http://www.otru.org) have particular impact because they apply to “workers in all kinds of occupations and conditions and it’s recent data that’s Canadian.”

In Canada, two provinces (Manitoba and New Brunswick) and two territories (Northwest Territories and Nunavut) have recently introduced comprehensive legislation banning smoking in all indoor enclosed workplaces. In Ontario, smoking in the workplace is restricted to a lesser extent by the Smoking in the Workplace Act, the Tobacco Control Act and a variety of municipal bylaws. The Ontario government has promised to introduce provincewide legislation restricting smoking in public workplaces and public places.

The Ontario Tobacco Research Unit (OTRU) is a unit of U of T’s Department of Public Health Sciences. It was established in 1993 with funding from the Ontario Ministry of Health to foster and conduct research, monitoring and evaluation contributing to programs and policies to eliminate tobacco-related health problems in Ontario. The Unit’s co-sponsors include the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the University of Toronto, the University of Waterloo and the University of Ottawa.

CONTACT:
Dr. Thomas Stephens
Ontario Tobacco Research Unit
613-692-6092
tom.stephens@magma.ca

Elaine Smith
U of T Public Affairs
416-978-5949
elaine.smith@utoronto.ca

 

The owners of Bewley’s Oriental Cafes, Ireland’s famous tea and coffee shops have announced that two of their landmark Dublin cafes are to close. - UK

Many Dubliners are dismayed that the Grafton Street shop, used by writer James Joyce, and Westmoreland Street premises will close on 30 November.

The owners, coffee and tea suppliers, blame running costs, the “coffee to go” culture and the public smoking ban.

They say the two cafes are no longer profitable.

The Westmoreland Street shop has been in business since 1896, while the Grafton Street premises, with three floors decorated with stained-glass windows, opened in 1927.

Bewley’s, established in 1840 as a coffee and tea import business, was bought by the Campbell family in 1996 and injected with a multi-million pound investment.

While the coffee and tea products sold worldwide, the 3.5 million people who came through the cafes’ doors in 1996 have since dwindled to one million.

Bewley’s company chairman Paddy Campbell says there are many people who love the place but also “a lot of people who say they love it but they didn’t love it enough to put their hands deep into their pockets”.

He added: “People complain about prices, but they don’t seem to understand the reality that it costs money just to sit here, just the cost of this place that I am sitting in, leaving aside the coffee.”

He described the decision to close as “a very emotional event, like a death in the family - it’s like a part of Dublin dying.”

End of era

A Bewley’s spokeswoman said Ireland’s public smoking ban had also contributed, especially as a request for outside seating was rejected.

“People who used to come in for a coffee and a cigarette don’t do that now,” she told BBC News Online.

The BBC’s James Helm in Dublin describes Bewley’s as an old-fashioned institution, both a tourist attraction and part of the daily routine for many Dubliners.

It is a quirky place on busy Grafton Street, with three floors and even its own small theatre, he says.

He says that for staff and for regulars its closure will be the end of an era.

The company plans to keep operating cafe outlets at Dublin Airport and in two book stores in Dublin and Belfast.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3966217.stm

 

FDA approves drug for early breast cancer

WASHINGTON The Food and Drug Administration has agreed to allow broader application of a breast cancer drug.

The drug (letrozole) is currently used against advanced breast cancer and the F-D-A will now allow it to be prescribed to prevent the disease from recurring in women who have been treated for early forms of the disease.

The manufacturer, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, says the daily tablet costs about 210 dollars a month.

The drug offers new therapy to about 100-thousand people each year who complete treatment with another drug, tamoxifen.

A clinical study of the drug showed it cut the risk of recurrence by half.

Hot flashes and arthritis were the most common side effects reported in the study.

http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2500655

 

Settlement agreement in breast cancer vaccine lawsuit IL, USA

CHICAGO A North Chicago medical school and about 50 breast cancer patients have agreed to settle a lawsuit over an experimental vaccine that some recipients claimed kept them alive.

The lawsuit accused the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science of violating medical ethics and breaching contracts by ending the program. School officials said the program failed to show any clinical benefit.

The school says that the university agreed to fund the plaintiffs' pursuit of Food and Drug Administration approval for the vaccine. The settlement must be approved by the school's board of trustees. Testimony had already begun in the case in federal court in Chicago.

A plaintiffs attorney says his clients agreed to settle because they'll now be able to obtain the vaccine if the F-D-A approves it.

http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2500635

 

Pennsylvania Revenue Department Releases October Collections -PA, USA

    HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania Secretary of RevenueGregory C. Fajt today reported that the state collected $1.7 billion in

General Fund revenue in October, $99 million or 6 percent more than anticipated.  Fiscal year-to-date General Fund collections total $7 billion, which is $166.2 million or 2.4 percent above estimate.

    Sales Tax receipts totaled $700.9 million for October, which was $13.3 million above estimate.  Sales Tax collections year-to-date total $2.7 billion, which is $11.7 million above estimate or 0.4 percent more than anticipated.

    Personal Income Tax (PIT) revenue in October was $619.2 million, which was $3.7 million above estimate.  This brings year-to-date PIT collections to $2.5 billion, which is $41.6 million or 1.7 percent above estimate.

    October Corporation Tax revenue of $188.8 million was $41.9 million above estimate.  Year-to-date Corporation Tax collections total $807.6 million, which is $54 million above estimate.  Fajt said October’s 7.2 percent increase in Corporation Tax revenue was not a reflection of generally higher revenue from Corporate Taxes.  He said about 80 percent of the month’s Corporation Tax overage came from an unexpected payment from a single taxpayer.

    Other General Fund revenue figures for the month included $52.2 million in Inheritance Tax, which was $8.3 million below estimate, bringing the year-to-date total to $235 million, which is $24.1 million below estimate.

    Realty Transfer Tax was $37.9 million for October, bringing the total to $169.9 million for the year, which is $18.4 million more than anticipated.  Other General Fund revenue including the Cigarette, Malt Beverage and Liquor Tax totaled $150 million for the month, $42.1 million above estimate, bringing the year-to-date total to $534.1 million, which is $64.6 million above estimate.

    In addition to the General Fund collections, the Motor License Fund received $175 million for the month, $1.2 million above estimate.  Fiscal year-to-date collections for the fund total $767.1 million, which is $6.5 million or 0.9 percent above estimate.

    CONTACT:  Steve Kniley, Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, +1-717-787-6960.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Revenue
Web Site: http://www.state.pa.us

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/10-29-2004/0002317889&EDATE=

 

Clogging up the works –PA, USA
By Linda Hudkins
John Greene doesn't blink when he pulls 25 to 30 pounds of dirt out of furnace ductwork to help ease breathing problems in a home.

He doesn't sneeze either.

In fact, says the owner of J&J Cleaning Service, Altoona, he's among those people who don't react at all to indoor pollutants like dirt, mold, cigarette smoke or spray products.

For more details, see Page D1 of the Oct. 30 Altoona Mirror.

Section: LIFEPost Date:Saturday, October 30, 2004

http://www.altoonamirror.com/articles.asp?ID=12301

 

Students embrace anti-drug campaign –PA, USA

By TONY BRITT tbritt@lakecityreporter.com
  Friday,October 29, 2004 11:13 PM EDT

Watching a piece of paper turn black with smoke stains may not affect an adult's decision to smoke. But for a 10-year-old child, the display may stop the student from ever putting a cigarette to his or her lips.

Exhibits about the dangers of drug, alcohol and tobacco use have taken center stage in schools this week as part of the National Red Ribbon Week Celebration, but local fifth graders have been learning about the dangers of drugs and alcohol for months through the Too Good For Drugs program.

"The program is actually taught to first - fifth grade students, but local school resource officers teach it to the fifth grade level at all the elementary schools," said David Greene, Columbia County Sheriff's Office deputy and elementary school resource officer.

The Too Good For Drugs program has been in use in local schools for two years. It's estimated that 800 local fifth-graders take part in the program.

Greene said the program is an educational awareness program for children to be able to learn about the harmful effects that drugs can cause on them and some of the consequences of using those substance to themselves and to others in their lives.

"The kids love the program," Greene said. "We try to implement a lot of good visual aids and things that interest the kids where they can reach-out and really put their hands-on... The kids feed on what we do. It's just a matter of getting them motivated and keeping them motivated throughout the class."

"I like the Too Good For Drugs program because it teaches kids not to smoke drugs because if you do your lungs will get bad and you will get cancer," said Chrissy Reichert, a Summers Elementary fifth-grader.

"I like the program because it teaches us not to do drugs," added 11-year-old Kimbridge Wilkison. "I think it's a good program."

The Too Good For Drugs program is a 10-week program and at the end of the program, there is a test the children must pass to be able to participate in a formal graduation.

Four Columbia County Sheriff's Office deputies work as school resource officers in elementary schools as part of the program.

"The purpose of the program is to educate the children so they can make good decisions, good choices and so they will stop and think before they decide what or what not to do," Greene said. "They'll make good choices and good consequences are the results of good choices."Jim Poole, executive director of the Lake City-Columbia County Chamber of Commerce and Industrial Development Authority, said he was pleased with the event that had been originally scheduled for August but postponed by hurricanes.

"I just believe it was a good day for [the county]."

Meally Jenkins, employer services coordinator for Florida Crown Workforce, which is providing complimentary employee screening, testing and temporary office space to New Millennium, said more than 800 job applications for the company have already been received, mostly from local people.

 http://www.lakecityreporter.com/articles/2004/10/30/news/top_story/news01.txt

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Health Canada would deny justice to victims of the tobacco industry's 'light' and 'mild' consumer fraud

TORONTO, Oct. 25 /CNW/ - David will take on Goliath today in a British

Columbia courtroom when Kenneth Knight of Roberts Creek, B.C. attempts to

obtain certification of a class action lawsuit over the 'light' and 'mild'

cigarette consumer fraud. Mr. Knight will face formidable opponents, said the

Non-Smokers' Rights Association, with the federal government having decided to

get into bed with Big Tobacco in an attempt to block the suit from proceeding

on behalf of all victims of the fraud.

    "The 'light' and 'mild' fraud is one of the most serious deceptions in

the sorry history of tobacco marketing," said Garfield Mahood, the

Association's Executive Director. "It has contributed to the deaths of

hundreds of thousands of Canadians. And it will contribute to the deaths of

thousands more in the future. Yet the federal government does not care enough

about smokers, or about adolescent starters, to stop the practice.

    "Kids who are starting their cigarette addiction believe their risks from

tobacco are lower with 'light' and 'mild' cigarettes. And addicted smokers

stay in the market because they believe so-called low-tar cigarettes are

accompanied by decreased risks when compared to their full-strength

counterparts," said Mahood.

    The Association compared the failure of Health Canada to address the

'light' and 'mild' fraud with the department's failure to remove defective

blood products from the market during the tainted blood affair. The tainted

blood affair was an horrendous saga in the history of public health and the

Association does not make this reference lightly. But the federal government

has been warned repeatedly that the 'light' and 'mild' fraud is killing

people. Yet it sits on its hands and lets the industry continue this

deception.

    The Knight suit was filed to address a problem which the federal

government refuses to tackle. The government was named as a third party

defendant by a tobacco company which claims that the government compelled it

to market 'light' products and that it was relying on the expertise of federal

bureaucrats.

    It is hoped that Kenneth Knight will force a change in the behaviour of

tobacco manufacturers that the federal government refuses to demand. The

government's failure to act on 'light' and 'mild' greatly exceeds its

negligence in the tainted blood affair, in terms of the illness and death that

accompanies the negligence.

    "The government had ethical choices to make before deciding how to defend

itself in court today," said Mahood. "Based on the facts of the case, it could

have decided to simply fight off the attempt by the tobacco company to name

the government as a third party in the suit. The second choice -- one we

believe was highly unethical, and the one the government took -- was to try to

prevent certification of the lawsuit itself and to deny justice to thousands

of people who have been harmed by the industry's predatory practice. The

government has a fundamental responsibility to those affected by the fraud but

it seems to have forgotten this responsibility."

    The Non-Smokers' Rights Association is a national tobacco control

association with members across Canada. It considers the elimination of the

entire family of 'light' and 'mild' descriptors, including other deceptive

examples like 'extra light' and 'extra mild,' to be a priority of the health

community.

For further information: Garfield Mahood, (416) 928-2900,          

(416) 964-6279 (res), (416) 451-4285 (cell)

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2004/25/c3966.html

 

Coalition expected more ‘YES’ votes on smoking bylaw -AB, CA

by Kevin Gill Wednesday October 27, 2004
Jasper Booster — Although smoking bylaw #57 was defeated during the municipal election last week the coalition that brought it forward is remaining hopeful that council will create a strong bylaw of its own.
A total of 1,050 people voted against bylaw #57 and 318 voted for it.
Ginette Marcoux-Frigon, a member of Smoke Free Jasper, admitted she thought the ‘YES’ vote would be higher.
“I was surprised,” she said. “I thought there would be more people in favour of adopting bylaw #57.”
She added that voters were likely influenced by a two-page advertisement by the municipality, which appeared in the Oct. 13 Booster. It advocated a ‘NO’ vote on the first question and a ‘YES’ vote on the second question, and included reasoning behind those choices.
“I think that was wrong,” said Marcoux-Frigon. “I don’t believe it is the municipality’s role to do that if this is a democratic process. Buying advertising and using taxpayers’ dollars to put a ballot in the paper and tell people exactly how to vote I thought was inappropriate.”
Mayor Richard Ireland said the municipality decided to purchase the ad because it was part of council’s duty to the public.
“Council has a duty to ensure that bylaws in the community are fair, effective and enforceable,” said Ireland. “Council was responding to that duty in stating its position and the reasons supporting that position. Others stated their position. The community has spoken. It’s time to move on.”
Vote was a win-win situation
While Smoke Free Jasper didn’t see the results in the smoking bylaw vote it wold have preferred, the coalition is remaining positive.
“From a coalition point of view we see this as a win-win anyway,” said Marcoux-Frigon. “Even though the bylaw was not adopted there is still overwhelming support in the community that says they do want a smoke-free bylaw in place.”
She added that Smoke Free Jasper will remain involved as the public process to craft a new bylaw unfolds.
“The main issue or concern seemed to be around the six-metre rule and the enforceability,” said Marcoux-Frigon. “I think we’re still very hopeful that it will still be a gold standard bylaw as far as not impacting the inside of workplaces...and they’ll work with the outside nuances of the bylaw.”
Looking back at the process, she said the coalition might only do one thing differently.
“One of the things that we certainly did not anticipate was the whole issue around the six-metre rule,” she said. “Had we foreseen that would become ‘the issue’ of the bylaw we would have looked at that more carefully. Certainly not changing the spirit of the bylaw, but looking at the small pieces and the enforceability.”

http://jasperbooster.com/story.php?id=123541

 

Council formulating public process for smoking bylaw –AB, USA
Municipal council briefs

by Kevin Gill
Wednesday October 27, 2004

Jasper Booster — Municipal council’s plan of attack for creating a smoking bylaw with community input will take shape within the next few weeks.
Council discussed the issue at its last regular meeting, which happened to fall the day after the municipal election. During the election bylaw #57 was defeated and residents voted overwhelmingly in favour of council drafting a new smoking bylaw.
“We’ve made a serious commitment and feel we should act on it as soon as possible,” said Coun. Andy Walker. “The sooner we get at it, the more comfortable the community will be.”
Mayor Richard Ireland said that before council begins to even think about bylaw details, it has to come up with a public process to engage the residents. Council planned to discuss the issue before the next regular council meeting on Nov. 2, and hoped to have a plan for community involvement on a smoking bylaw ready to talk about by then.
Signage for Marmot Basin buses
Council approved a request to add signage in several locations around town for buses that take people up to the hill at Marmot Basin.
The signage will be put up in the winter months only and will list the departure time schedule for Marmot Basin ski buses from various hotel locations in town.
Most of the signage will be added to existing municipal loading and unloading zone signage posts, but two new loading/unloading zones will be added at two spots - near the Lobstick Lodge and Mount Robson Inn.
All theses unloading/loading zones with the new ski bus signage will remain open to the public - they will not be for the exclusive use of the buses going to Marmot Basin. The cost for the signage will be covered by Marmot Basin, not the municipality.
“I like the idea of having a sign and schedule - I think it serves the public well,” said Coun. Mike Day.
The rest of council agreed, but Mayor Richard Ireland did bring up the point that allowing the signage could lead to the municipality being inundated with other bus companies coming and saying they all want special signage too.
“I can’t imagine what grief could come of it, but I’d like to see it go for a year and see if anything unexpected comes up and look at it again,” said Mayor Richard Ireland.
Council agreed to approve the signage request, but will review the move after the upcoming ski season.
Fire Department statistics
Council received the Jasper Fire Chief’s report, covering the period from the time of the last report, submitted in August.
The new report included the following response statistics: one chimney fire, one camp stove fire, two vehicle fires, one hazardous materials fire, five motor vehicle collisions, and four alarm investigations.
The fire department reported that it has also been involved with numerous fire prevention education initiatives and community events.
Bylaws
First and second readings were approved for Bylaw #60, a bylaw to provide for the establishment of a health advisory committee in Jasper. A similar bylaw had already been approved, but a change has been made to it requiring a new replacement bylaw.
The original bylaw provided for four members at large and one council representative. In order to provide for more flexibility in member appointments, the new bylaw will allow for not fewer than four and not more than six members at large.
If the new bylaw is approved on third reading at the next council meeting, it will repeal the original health advisory bylaw (#53).

http://jasperbooster.com/story.php?id=123547

 

Professor Says Pressured to Be Tobacco Advocate

October 28, 2004

WASHINGTON - A pharmacology professor testifying in the U.S. government's $280 billion suit against the cigarette industry said on Monday he quit working as an expert witness for a tobacco trade group after it pressured him to be more of an advocate.

Georgetown University professor Sorell Schwartz, who studies the effects of drugs, said the Tobacco Institute urged him and other researchers during the 1980s to "take a more advocative position" in addressing concerns about the hazards of secondhand smoke.

That position deviated from the original job "to have an open discussion of the science" that Schwartz and other academics at his consulting firm were hired to do, he said, adding that he stopped testifying on the institute's behalf after three years in 1987.

In pre-written testimony before U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler, Schwartz said that his group, the Center for Environmental Health and Human Toxicology, was supposed to review scientific data, including on the effects of second-hand smoke on non-smokers.

Schwartz said he continued working as a consultant for years for other tobacco interests after he quit serving as the institute's witness, including training and briefing others "who might be more amenable" to testifying.

Philip Morris, a subsidiary of Altria Group Inc., paid for those services, Schwartz recalled.

His testimony came at the start of the sixth week of the government's case, which charges cigarette makers conspired for 50 years to lie and confuse the public about the dangers of smoking.

The government suit, launched in 1999, targets Altria and its Philip Morris USA unit; Loews Corp.'s Lorillard Tobacco unit, which has a tracking stock, Carolina Group ; Vector Group Ltd.'s Liggett Group; Reynolds American Inc.'s RJ Reynolds Tobacco unit and British American Tobacco Plc unit British American Tobacco Investments Ltd.

The companies deny the allegations and say they have drastically changed their marketing practices since 1998, when they signed a landmark settlement with U.S. states that severely restricts marketing and subjects cigarette makers to oversight.

On the witness stand on Monday, Schwartz blamed the advocacy pressure on the Tobacco Institute's public relations team, "who felt that we were not being cooperative enough."

Government lawyers charged Schwartz's ties to tobacco companies made him a favorable witness for the industry, but he defended his work as independent as "first rate."

"It was, in fact, scientifically very productive ... and very satisfying," Schwartz said.

Story by Susan Heavey

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/27895/story.htm

 

Supreme Court gives stay to tobacco company
Wednesday,October27,2004,8:45 PM

SUPREME COURT The Supreme Court has agreed to let Philip Morris delay paying over ten (m) million dollars in damages to a former smoker in California.

The ruling is meant to allow the tobacco company to contest the amount.

Patricia Henley sued Philip Morris after she was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1997. Henley smoked for 35 years starting at age 15.

In September, the California Supreme Court refused to reduce the ten-point-five (m) million-dollar award for her.

Philip Morris claims that amount is excessive. The company is appealing to the Supreme Court.

All nine justices participated in the decision, including Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who was hospitalized last week with thyroid cancer.

http://www.kfor.com/Global/story.asp?S=2488528

 

Tobacco workers face redundancy-uk

Efforts are under way to get the best possible deal for workers at a pipe tobacco plant in Belfast which is facing possible closure.

The owners of Murray and Sons is proposing to close its plant on Sandy Row, with the loss of 63 jobs.

The company is blaming a fall in global demand for pipe tobacco as well as rising costs.

The firm, which is owned by British American Tobacco, was established in Belfast nearly 200 years ago.

Its products are sold in 45 countries around the world.

The company has begun consultations with employees and unions, following an indepth review of the plant's future.

Keith Harvey, the firm's operations manager, said the decision was regrettable.

"Whilst our production is decreasing by an average of 7% per year, our costs are rising by 10%," he said.

"It has therefore been concluded that we can be more competitive if we outsource our pipe tobacco production to an external supplier.

"No final decision will be reached until we have consulted with our employees and their representatives, but in the event of closure we would aim to reach agreement on a social plan that would mitigate the impact of the proposed closure on our people."

Consultation process

The company was established in Belfast in 1810 and produces well-known pipe tobacco brands such as Dunhill, Erinmore and Craven.

It became a member of the British American Tobacco Group as part of the merger with Rothmans International in June 1999

In a statement, the company said the global pipe tobacco market was in long-term decline, at an average rate of 7-8% per annum. This is due to changing consumer preferences.

The company said production volumes at Murray Sons & Company are expected to drop by 20% between 2004 and 2007.

As part of the proposal, production would be outsourced to a third-party manufacturer, but there will be no final decision until the 30-day consultation process is concluded.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/3957589.stm

 

Appeals court: New trial for flight attendant against big tobacco
The Associated Press
MIAMI -- A split appeals court supports a new trial for a former American Airlines flight attendant who lost her claim against the tobacco industry that secondhand cigarette smoke caused her sinus disease.

A three-judge panel of the 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled 2-1 in favor of a new trial Wednesday for Suzette Janoff, which Circuit Judge Leslie Rothenberg ordered after trial.

The majority agreed with Rothenberg that expert testimony for cigarette makers was unfairly "bolstered" by a defense attorney after questions by the woman's attorney punched a hole in his conclusions.

After testifying that allergies caused the woman's condition, the expert conceded that one medical group's Web site said secondhand smoke could aggravate sinus conditions.

Cigarette makers argued that Janoff's attorney, Steven Hunter, opened the door for the testimony.

Hunter called the decision a "stinging rebuke" of conduct at the September 2002 trial. David Ross, an attorney for the cigarette companies, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

Janoff's jury agreed she suffered from sinusitis, rhinitis, allergies and other ear, nose and throat problems but concluded her on-the-job exposure to smoke was not the cause.

The trial grew out of a 1997 class-action settlement between four leading cigarette makers and nonsmoking flight attendants.

The settlement set up a $300 million foundation to study smoke-related illnesses and paved the way for a series of as many as 3,000 compensatory damage trials for individual attendants. Punitive damages are not allowed.

http://newsobserver.com/news/nc/ncwire_news/story/1771375p-8058136c.html

 

Warehouse fire destroys 200 tons of tobacco VA, USA

SOUTH BOSTON, Va. (AP) - Two hundred tons of tobacco have gone up in smoke in South Boston, Virginia.
Firefighters were brought in from more than 30 miles away to battle the blaze that destroyed a downtown tobacco warehouse yesterday in the community near the North Carolina border.
Investigators don't know yet what caused it.

cause of fire under investigation

 

Va. Warehouse Fire Destroys 400,000 Pounds Of Tobacco

POSTED: 8:19 am EDT October 27, 2004

SOUTH BOSTON, Va. -- Police say fire destroyed a tobacco warehouse in downtown South Boston early Wednesday.

The fire consumed about 400,000 pounds of tobacco and brought in firefighters from more than 30 miles away.

South Boston Police Chief G.M. Reed said the fire at Planter's Warehouse prompted the closure of a portion of Wilborn Avenue -- the main street through downtown -- for at least a day.

Reed said firefighters from the county's volunteer departments, and personnel from Danville and Roxboro, N.C., joined the town department in fighting the blaze.

http://www.wxii12.com/news/3859425/detail.html

 

Myers: If Philip Morris and RJR Don't Want Kids to Smoke, Why AreThey Spending $1.5M in Okla. to Defeat Cigarette Tax Increase?

10/27/2004 5:22:00 PM

To: State Desk

Contact: Jennifer Friedman of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 202-296-5469; Web: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Following is a statement by Matthew L. Myers, president, Campaign for Tobacco- Free Kids:

Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds and other tobacco companies never miss an opportunity to claim they do not want kids to smoke. But their actions continue to prove otherwise. In the latest evidence that the tobacco industry always put its own profits ahead of children's health, Philip Morris and RJR have contributed $1.3 million and $200,000 respectively to help defeat a November 2 ballot initiative to increase Oklahoma's cigarette tax by 55 cents a pack, according to the latest campaign contributions report. Philip Morris is by far the biggest funder of the opposition to the initiative.

Philip Morris and RJR are well aware that studies show every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces youth smoking rates by about seven percent and overall cigarette consumption by about four percent. Increasing Oklahoma's cigarette tax by 55 cents per pack would prevent some 27,000 Oklahoma kids alive today from starting to smoke, save 13,000 Oklahomans from smoking-caused deaths, produce $489 million in long-term health care savings, and raise $179 million a year in new revenue to improve health care for all Oklahomans. The fact that Philip Morris and RJR are leading the fight against Oklahoma's cigarette tax increase shows that they cannot be taken seriously when they say they have changed and do not want kids to smoke.

In addition to opposing proven measures to reduce youth smoking, the tobacco companies continue to aggressively market their deadly products in ways that impact kids. According to the Federal Trade Commission's latest annual report on cigarette marketing, released last Friday, cigarette manufacturers in 2002 increased cigarette marketing expenditures by 11 percent to a record $12.5 billion - $34.2 million a day. Nearly two-thirds of this total was spent on cigarette price discounts, which have the greatest impact on kids, who are the most price-sensitive customers. By fighting cigarette tax increases and spending so much to discount the price of cigarettes, Philip Morris, RJR and the other tobacco companies are keeping their deadly and addictive products affordable to our children.

Given their marketing practices, it's no wonder that Philip Morris and RJR continue to sell the first and third most popular cigarette brands among youth smokers. Philip Morris continues to have a corner on the youth market, with 49.2 percent of youth smokers preferring Marlboro. Another 9.7 percent of youth smokers prefer RJR's Camel. In recent months, RJR has been marketing candy-flavored versions of Camel, such as the coconut and pineapple-flavored Kauai Kolada and the citrus-flavored Twista Lime, and in 2001, it was fined $20 million by a California

Posted at 9:58 pm by looped_ca
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