Last night, CBS's 60 Minutes aired a story about the debate about lowering the legal drinking age. One of the main reasons, supporters say, is to reduce the number of non-traffic deaths due to alcohol poisoning/injury. They belive underage drinkers are less likely to call for help because they don't want to get in trouble for drinking underage. I thought it was a really good news story and covered both sides equally. If you've got 15 minutes, click on the link below and watch the video from February 22.
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml
-emily
Monday, February 23, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Girls and Young Women Newest Targets of Big Tobacco
excerpts from a report released Feb 18, 2009 from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
The tobacco industry has a long history of developing cigarette brands and marketing campaigns that target women and girls, with devastating consequences for women's health.
In the last two years, the industry has launched its most aggressive marketing campaigns aimed at women and girls in over a decade. These campaigns are again putting the health of women and girls at risk and underscore the need for Congress to pass legislation granting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products.
The nation's two largest tobacco companies-Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds-have launched new marketing campaigns that depict cigarette smoking as feminine and fashionable, rather than the harmful and deadly addiction it really is:
In October 2008, Philip Morris USA announced a makeover of its Virginia Slims brand into "purse packs"-- small, rectangular cigarette packs that contain "superslim" cigarettes. Available in mauve and teal and half the size of regular cigarette packs, the sleek "purse packs" resemble packages of cosmetics and fit easily in small purses. They come in "Superslims Lights" and "Superslims Ultra Lights" versions, continuing the tobacco industry's history of associating smoking with weight control and of appealing to women's health concerns with misleading claims such as "light" and "low-tar." http://tobaccofreekids.org/slideshow/deadlyinpink_2009_01/slideshow_full.html
In January 2007, R.J. Reynolds launched a new version of its Camel cigarettes, called Camel No. 9, packaged in shiny black boxes with hot pink and teal borders. The name evoked famous Chanel perfumes, and magazine advertising featured flowery imagery and vintage fashion. The ads carried slogans including "Light and luscious" and "Now available in stiletto," the latter for a thin version of the cigarette pitched to "the most fashion forward woman." Ads ran in magazines popular with women and girls, including: Vogue, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire and InStyle. Promotional giveaways included flavored lip balm, cell phone jewelry, tiny purses and wristbands, all in hot pink.
http://tobaccofreekids.org/slideshow/deadlyinpink_2009_02/slideshow_full.html
Previous marketing campaigns have had a devastating impact on women's health. The nation's latest cancer statistics, released in December 2008, showed that while lung cancer death rates are decreasing for men, and overall cancer death rates are decreasing for both men and women, lung cancer death rates have yet to decline for women.
Watch the video: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/microsites/deadlyinpink/?autologin=true
To read the entire report, visit the Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids website (link located under "tobacco links").
The tobacco industry has a long history of developing cigarette brands and marketing campaigns that target women and girls, with devastating consequences for women's health.
In the last two years, the industry has launched its most aggressive marketing campaigns aimed at women and girls in over a decade. These campaigns are again putting the health of women and girls at risk and underscore the need for Congress to pass legislation granting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products.
The nation's two largest tobacco companies-Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds-have launched new marketing campaigns that depict cigarette smoking as feminine and fashionable, rather than the harmful and deadly addiction it really is:
In October 2008, Philip Morris USA announced a makeover of its Virginia Slims brand into "purse packs"-- small, rectangular cigarette packs that contain "superslim" cigarettes. Available in mauve and teal and half the size of regular cigarette packs, the sleek "purse packs" resemble packages of cosmetics and fit easily in small purses. They come in "Superslims Lights" and "Superslims Ultra Lights" versions, continuing the tobacco industry's history of associating smoking with weight control and of appealing to women's health concerns with misleading claims such as "light" and "low-tar." http://tobaccofreekids.org/slideshow/deadlyinpink_2009_01/slideshow_full.html
In January 2007, R.J. Reynolds launched a new version of its Camel cigarettes, called Camel No. 9, packaged in shiny black boxes with hot pink and teal borders. The name evoked famous Chanel perfumes, and magazine advertising featured flowery imagery and vintage fashion. The ads carried slogans including "Light and luscious" and "Now available in stiletto," the latter for a thin version of the cigarette pitched to "the most fashion forward woman." Ads ran in magazines popular with women and girls, including: Vogue, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire and InStyle. Promotional giveaways included flavored lip balm, cell phone jewelry, tiny purses and wristbands, all in hot pink.
http://tobaccofreekids.org/slideshow/deadlyinpink_2009_02/slideshow_full.html
Previous marketing campaigns have had a devastating impact on women's health. The nation's latest cancer statistics, released in December 2008, showed that while lung cancer death rates are decreasing for men, and overall cancer death rates are decreasing for both men and women, lung cancer death rates have yet to decline for women.
Watch the video: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/microsites/deadlyinpink/?autologin=true
To read the entire report, visit the Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids website (link located under "tobacco links").
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Doyle to Call for 75cent Hike in Cigarette Tax
By Steven Walters And Patrick Marley
Posted on www.jsonline.com
Feb. 17, 2009 5:48 a.m. Madison – Gov. Jim Doyle will call for a 75-cent increase in the state tax on a pack of cigarettes in the budget he will announce at 7 p.m. today – a change that would raise the state tax on smokers to $2.52 per pack, three sources confirmed.
If approved by the Legislature, the increase would mean that the state tax on a pack of cigarettes would have tripled in the six years that the two-term Democratic governor has been in office – from 77-cents to $2.52. The $1 per pack increase – from 77-cents to $1.77 – approved two years ago cost smokers about $110 million more a year, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
A 75-cent increase in the state tax would follow a 62-cent increase per pack in the federal tax, which was raised to pay for health-care programs for children.
The new 75-cent increase in Wisconsin's tax would be part of an attempt to raise money to pay for health care and smoking cessation programs and make the price of smoking so high it forces smokers to quit and stops children and teens from starting to smoke.
Tonight, Doyle will also again call for a ban on smoking in workplaces statewide, including restaurants and taverns. The governor's push for a similar smoking ban two years ago never got a vote in either the Assembly or Senate, but some form of it is expected to pass the Legislature this session.
Posted on www.jsonline.com
Feb. 17, 2009 5:48 a.m. Madison – Gov. Jim Doyle will call for a 75-cent increase in the state tax on a pack of cigarettes in the budget he will announce at 7 p.m. today – a change that would raise the state tax on smokers to $2.52 per pack, three sources confirmed.
If approved by the Legislature, the increase would mean that the state tax on a pack of cigarettes would have tripled in the six years that the two-term Democratic governor has been in office – from 77-cents to $2.52. The $1 per pack increase – from 77-cents to $1.77 – approved two years ago cost smokers about $110 million more a year, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
A 75-cent increase in the state tax would follow a 62-cent increase per pack in the federal tax, which was raised to pay for health-care programs for children.
The new 75-cent increase in Wisconsin's tax would be part of an attempt to raise money to pay for health care and smoking cessation programs and make the price of smoking so high it forces smokers to quit and stops children and teens from starting to smoke.
Tonight, Doyle will also again call for a ban on smoking in workplaces statewide, including restaurants and taverns. The governor's push for a similar smoking ban two years ago never got a vote in either the Assembly or Senate, but some form of it is expected to pass the Legislature this session.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Virginia Lawmakers Approve Statewide Smoking Ban
The following summary was posted on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation website. If VIRGINIA can do it, I'd sure hope Wisconsin could do it (and with less exemptions)!
The Virginia House of Delegates on Monday approved sweeping legislation that would ban smoking in bars and restaurants in the state, the Washington Post reports. Currently, individual bars and restaurants in Virginia are permitted to enforce their own smoking restrictions. However, the new bill, which was revised several times before being approved, bans smoking in all restaurants and bars. Exceptions to the bill allow for smoking in outdoor patio areas, at restaurants during private functions that use the entire facility, and at clubs and bars when underage patrons are not admitted. In addition, the law would permit smoking in rooms that are separated by doors, regardless of whether the room has a separate ventilation system. Violations for noncompliance would result in a $25 fine, a figure that has drawn criticism from the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society and other smoke-free policy proponents for being too lenient. If approved by the state Senate as expected, Virginia would become the first state in the south to institute a full smoking ban (Kumar, Washington Post, 2/10/09).
The Virginia House of Delegates on Monday approved sweeping legislation that would ban smoking in bars and restaurants in the state, the Washington Post reports. Currently, individual bars and restaurants in Virginia are permitted to enforce their own smoking restrictions. However, the new bill, which was revised several times before being approved, bans smoking in all restaurants and bars. Exceptions to the bill allow for smoking in outdoor patio areas, at restaurants during private functions that use the entire facility, and at clubs and bars when underage patrons are not admitted. In addition, the law would permit smoking in rooms that are separated by doors, regardless of whether the room has a separate ventilation system. Violations for noncompliance would result in a $25 fine, a figure that has drawn criticism from the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society and other smoke-free policy proponents for being too lenient. If approved by the state Senate as expected, Virginia would become the first state in the south to institute a full smoking ban (Kumar, Washington Post, 2/10/09).
Cigarette Brand Preference Among Middle and High School Students Who are Established Smokers--United States, 2004 and 2006
The following summary appeared in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report MMWR News Synopsis for February 12, 2009
Research suggests that exposure to tobacco advertising and promotional activities play a role in influencing youth to start smoking. Knowing the cigarette brand preferences of student smokers, and the advertising and marketing used to promote these brands, provides vital information that can be incorporated into public health efforts to reduce youth smoking.
The three most heavily advertised brands--Marlboro, Newport, and Camel--continue to be the preferred brand of cigarettes smoked by middle and high school student smokers. According to this new study, 78 percent of middle school students and 87 percent of high school students prefer to smoke these three brands. The report found a considerable difference in brand preference among students by gender and ethnicity.
Marlboro is the preferred brand for middle and high school females (50 percent and 54 percent, respectively) compared to males (38 percent and 50 percent, respectively). The use of Camel was higher for middle school males (12 percent) than middle school females (4 percent). The report also found that black middle and high school students (60 percent and 79 percent, respectively) preferred Newport, a menthol cigarette that is strategically marketed to black communities.
Research suggests that exposure to tobacco advertising and promotional activities play a role in influencing youth to start smoking. Knowing the cigarette brand preferences of student smokers, and the advertising and marketing used to promote these brands, provides vital information that can be incorporated into public health efforts to reduce youth smoking.
The three most heavily advertised brands--Marlboro, Newport, and Camel--continue to be the preferred brand of cigarettes smoked by middle and high school student smokers. According to this new study, 78 percent of middle school students and 87 percent of high school students prefer to smoke these three brands. The report found a considerable difference in brand preference among students by gender and ethnicity.
Marlboro is the preferred brand for middle and high school females (50 percent and 54 percent, respectively) compared to males (38 percent and 50 percent, respectively). The use of Camel was higher for middle school males (12 percent) than middle school females (4 percent). The report also found that black middle and high school students (60 percent and 79 percent, respectively) preferred Newport, a menthol cigarette that is strategically marketed to black communities.
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