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tobacco

E-cigarettes proving to be a danger to teens

In 2014, e-cigarettes surpassed cigarettes as the most commonly used tobacco product by middle school and high school students, according to an annual U.S. survey. Teens’ fascination with this nicotine-dispensing smoking alternative worries physicians and toxicologists. Data from a growing number of studies indicate that electronic cigarettes are far from

Will Trans-Pacific trade deal go up in smoke over anti-tobacco proposal?

Big Tobacco is pushing back against a strict anti-smoking provision in the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and has enlisted the support of the most powerful Republican in the Senate to help quash it. The ire of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other tobacco-state lawmakers could throw a wrench

The cool factor: Teens report positive feedback to using e-cigarettes

An estimated 40 percent of teen users of e-cigarettes have never smoked tobacco, a new report finds, adding to the worries that the devices are attracting a whole new group of underage user, not just teens trying to quit regular cigarettes. Even more alarming, 91 percent of teens who use

Why we need to tax tobacco

Let’s be clear. Tobacco use, and its negative health, social and economic impact, is not a global problem that is simply going away. As documented in a recent study, despite significant reductions in the estimated prevalence of daily smoking observed at the global level for both men and women since

Canada on edge of global fight over tobacco packaging

Canada’s government is watching and waiting as a global fight over tobacco packaging laws plays out. Tobacco companies and business lobbyists around the world are pushing back against rules that further restrict the design of tobacco product packaging. That includes efforts to ensure the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement doesn’t include

Eight Senators Appeal to Chamber of Commerce President

July 8, 2015 – Senators Richard Blumenthal, Richard Durbin, Jack Reed, Sheldon Whitehouse, Sherrod Brown, Al Franken, Elizabeth Warren, and Jeffrey A. Merkley sent a letter to U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue, calling on him “to reconsider and to refocus” the Chamber’s efforts “in a more positive direction.”

CVS Health Quits U.S. Chamber Over Stance on Smoking

The CVS Health Corporation said on Tuesday that it would resign from theU.S. Chamber of Commerce after revelations that the chamber and its foreign affiliates were undertaking a global lobbying campaign against antismoking laws. CVS, which last year stopped selling tobacco products in its stores, said the lobbying activity ran

#USChamberExposed

On June 30, 2015, The New York Times released a tiered investigation to expose the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) affiliates as a front group for Big Tobacco. The New York Times reported that the US Chamber and its affiliates, “use their access to

(RELEASE): BROWN, BLUMENTHAL AND DEMOCRATIC SENATE COLLEAGUES ISSUE JOINT STATEMENT ON U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE’S GLOBAL LOBBYING FOR BIG TOBACCO

For Immediate Release: July 2, 2015 Contact: Meghan Dubyak / Rachel Petri 202-224-1175 BROWN, BLUMENTHAL AND DEMOCRATIC SENATE COLLEAGUES ISSUE JOINT STATEMENT ON U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE’S GLOBAL LOBBYING FOR BIG TOBACCO WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jeff Merkley (D-OR),

A Victory for Standardized Packaging

Earlier this month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released figures showing that tobacco and cigarette consumption in Australia have dropped dramatically. Household tobacco consumption and expenditure volume has dropped 17.5% in the last two and a half years. This extraordinary decline can be linked to two things. First, Australia has

International Smoke-free Air Successes

Many Americans view smoking, and secondhand smoke, as a problem that has mostly been solved, at least in the United States. However, only half of all Americans are protected from exposure to secondhand smoke, whether in public places or at work. Several countries around the world have achieved complete protection

Tobacco Demonstrates Troubles for Trade Agreements

In 2012, Australia implemented tough anti-tobacco regulations, requiring that all cigarettes be sold in plain, logo-free brown packages dominated by health warnings. Philip Morris Asia filed suit, claiming that this violated its intellectual-property rights and would damage its investments. The company sued Australia in domestic court and lost. But it

Australian plain packaging leads to dramatic declines in tobacco use

The tobacco industry has been hit by the heaviest declines on record amid otherwise strong economic growth for the nation, the latest figures show. Treasurer Joe Hockey may have described the national accounts figures released Tuesday as a “terrific set of numbers”, but tobacco and cigarette consumption has taken a

Ukraine drops WTO action against Australian tobacco-packaging laws

(Reuters) – Ukraine has suspended a case it was pursuing through the World Trade Organization aimed at overturning Australia’s strict tobacco packaging laws, a WTO panel of adjudicators said in a statement published on Wednesday. Ukraine asked the panel to suspend the proceedings on May 28 and said it will

Tobacco & Human Rights in Latin America

An article written by ASH Staff Attorney Kelsey Romeo-Stuppy was recently published in the American Bar Association’s “International Law News.” The article discusses the growing problem of tobacco use in Latin American countries. There are 145 million current smokers in Latin America, more than half of whom will die from

Tobacco Companies Ordered to Pay $15B in Damages

Three tobacco companies have been ordered to pay $15 billion in damages after losing a historic court case. Judge Brian Riordan on Monday ruled in favour of two groups representing Quebec smokers, ordering Imperial Tobacco, Rothmans Benson & Hedges and JTI-MacDonald to pay for punitive and moral damages. “It’s a

Thailand Raises Minimum Age to 20 to Purchase Cigarettes

BANGKOK, 28 May 2014 (NNT) – The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the tobacco draft act which prohibits sale of cigarettes to those under 20 years old and raise punishment for offenders. Deputy Prime Minister YongyutnYuthawong said the draft act increased the minimum legal age for cigarette purchase from 18 to

The Wrinkler

We’ve unlocked the secret to expediting the aging process! You can now look far older than you really are. The secret is smoking!   Download a PDF of this page here> Where is a smoker’s face affected? How does a non-smoker’s face compare? Download a PDF of this page here:

Tobacco Taxes are Front & Center in Influential Post-2015 Report!

The UN’s post-2015 development goal process is still in full swing. Member states have spent the last week discussing ways to finance the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These discussions are all setting the stage for the Financing for Development (Ffd) conference in Addis Ababa this July, where UN member

Earth Day 2015 – The Unforeseen Consequences of Tobacco

Most people view cigarettes as a health problem, but they are a huge environmental problem as well. The entire life cycle of a cigarette has an impact on the environment – from growing the tobacco to throwing away the butt. Tobacco Farming Tobacco cultivation is responsible for a myriad of

Hillary pressed to take on Big Tobacco

Public health groups are urging newly minted Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to follow in her husband’s footsteps and take on Big Tobacco. The calls for Clinton to make the issue part of her campaign platform take place amid a growing push to raise the national smoking age to 21.