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The FDA’s Dr. Lawrence Deyton on the tests of leadership
One thing that comes to mind was back early in the HIV era. I was at the National Institutes of Health. We were just beginning the early HIV clinical research. We were learning a lot, but not fast enough. People were dying, and we didn’t have the knowledge or the medicines to effectively treat HIV infection. We were just beginning to test the first antiviral drugs, and people living with HIV and their advocates were upset because they weren’t hearing as much as they wanted to hear from NIH or from government. There were demonstrations at FDA, at NIH, downtown on the National Mall. During one of those demonstrations, an effigy of me was burned. Yes, a straw figure with my … Read entire article »
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Cigarette agent’s report
I just stubbed a cigarette before I wrote this line. Before I write more, I will have smoked a few. It’s an acquired taste I share with an estimated billion people of the world, a 7000-year-old habit of the human race, and a decade-old personal quirk, for me. I light up in almost the same way I occasionally pick my toothbrush eyebrows, or gently sniff the hair over my wrist when no one’s looking (unfortunately, someone always is). The latter two won’t cause me cancer of the lung. Neither may the first. I could acquire that from carcinogenic pollution and civic filth of the Indian cities I have lived in (Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai). You can’t foretell death anyway; let alone its causes. … Read entire article »
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As others see it: Smoking decision is right
Not much good, if any, can come from an addiction to smoking manufactured cigarettes. How anyone could claim differently is a mystery.The tobacco itself isn’t necessarily the culprit. Smoking “pure” tobacco, in moderation and on celebratory occasions, or drinking alcohol at the same moderate levels, might even be considered by some as a good thing.And for the moment, let’s not even get into the claims of medicinal marijuana alleviating chronic pain. It might very well, but the legality of it in some states should remain confined to the home. The contents of a cigarette are, in a word, deadly, with more than 4,000 chemicals — 43 known to cause cancer and 400 others listed as toxins. A dirty laundry list of the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, New tobacco
5 Big Tobacco Stocks Providing Solid Yields In A Downturn
It seems to be the positon of the majority that we are either heading for another recession or a prolonged period of slow growth.Based on public sentiment and the degrading economic indicators, I am of the opinion that there is between a 25 and 40 percent chance of recession. So it would seem prudent to look at one of the most recession resistant industries: Big Tobacco. A negative economic outlook seems to do little to inhibit consumers from lighting up. So with the threat of a double dip recession looming and the Fed pledging to keep interest rates low until at least 2013, I feel that the tabacco industry is a great place to look for possible investments. Altria (MO) Description: Altria … Read entire article »
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Parish anti-smoking drive ‘a success’ – CathNews India
A parish in Ho Chi Minh City says an anti-smoking awareness campaign it launched recently is proving a success.“We are very happy that many people have given up smoking or simply not smoked in the compound of the church since we started the anti-smoking campaign in July,” said Father Joachim Nguyen Thanh Tuu, assistant priest of Tan Dinh parish.Fr Tuu, 39, said quite a few women have personally thanked the parish for encouraging their husbands not to light up. “The campaign aims to promote better health among local people and environmental protection,” the priest said. The parish is publishing articles on the damage caused by smoking and Catholic doctors are giving talks at the church. Local Catholics are also urged to attend Eucharist adoration on Tuesday evenings … Read entire article »
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Orangutan forced to quit smoking
Government authorities seized the adult ape named Shirley from a state-run zoo in Malaysia’s southern Johor state last week after she and several other animals there were deemed to be living in poor conditions.Shirley is now being quarantined at another zoo in a neighbouring state and is expected to be sent to a wildlife center on Borneo island within weeks. Melaka Zoo Director Ahmad Azhar Mohammed said Monday that Shirley is not being provided with any more cigarettes because “smoking is not normal behaviour for orangutans.” … Read entire article »
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Danville moves to ban marijuana dispensaries, and cigarette smoking in parks
The Danville Town Council has voted to ban marijuana dispensaries and to prohibit tobacco smoking at all recreation areas. The council unanimously approved both bans at Tuesday’s meeting, Mayor Karen Stepper said. Both will return to the council Sept. 20 for a second reading, part of the regular approval process. The smoking ordinance bans smoking at all recreation areas owned or maintained by the town such as sports fields, parks and trails. Smoking is already largely banned. Smoking inside facilities currently is banned. State law also bans the use of tobacco products on school campuses, which account for 12 recreational sites — including parks — in Danville. It also is not allowed at outdoor areas including near tot lots and near building doors … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, New tobacco
Tobacco firms don’t want kids to smoke
Philip Morris USA, producer of Marlboro cigarettes U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. and John Middleton do not want kids to be able to buy or use any tobacco products. We support our retail partners’ efforts to educate store clerks that it’s not OK to sell tobacco products to kids. And we encourage states to enforce their laws and hold store owners and clerks accountable for selling tobacco to minors. Our companies supported the 2009 law giving the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products, reduce underage tobacco use and enforce retailer compliance with laws limiting access to tobacco products by minors. Under federal law, it’s illegal to sell tobacco products to minors. Additionally, we support the enactment of state legislation that would prohibit … Read entire article »
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Civic body likely to ban sale of tobacco products at eateries
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is planning to ban sale of tobacco products, including hookahs, at eating joints. The move follows a Bombay high court order upholding powers of municipal commissioners to impose conditions on eateries selling tobacco products, if he feels that it is a public health hazard. “The PMC will take steps to ban sale of tobacco products at eateries. Once we get the details of the court order, we will place a proposal before the municipal commissioner,” PMC’s health department head R R Pardeshi told TOI on Wednesday. Corporators have repeatedly demanded that the civic body should initiate action against the eateries providing tobacco products, especially hookahs. However, the PMC, police and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have … Read entire article »
Filed under: Cigarette taxes, Featured
Illinois Man Pleads Guilty to Contraband Cigarettes Charges in Huntington
Jamal Adil Makhlouf, 54, of Illinois, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to conspiracy to transport, receive, possess, purchase and sell contraband cigarettes.Makhlouf told investigators that he took part in a conspiracy to purchase and transport contraband cigarettes in and around Huntington from August 2010 to December 2010. Makhlouf also said he arranged for the purchase of about 120,000 contraband cigarettes from Huntington to Illinois. The state cigarette excise tax on a carton of cigarettes in West Virginia is $5.50. The cigarette excise tax in Illinois is $9.80 per carton. The total tax loss as a result of the defendant’s conduct is $18,200. Makhlouf faces as many as 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced Nov. 21. The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms … Read entire article »
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Teens hospitalized after smoking fake marijuana cigarette
Two Lincoln County, Tennessee teens ended up in the emergency room after smoking a fake marijuana cigarette.The fake pot is sometimes sold and marketed as “potpourri.” Fayetteville police say a 19-year-old man allegedly gave two 16-year-old girls a potpourri cigarette.”They had hallucinations, that type of thing,” said Detective Adam Eubanks of the Fayetteville Police Department. Eubanks says this is not the decorative potpourri that many of us have in our homes. The products look innocent enough though, with shiny, colorful packages, some even featuring popular cartoon characters. Both Alabama and Tennessee have passed laws banning formulations of this synthetic marijuana, but Eubanks says manufacturers are often a step ahead. “What the companies would do was tweak their formula,” he said. “Make a different formula. Make … Read entire article »
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Kid Cudi Warned Over Cigarette At MTV VMAs
Kid Cudi is NOT Don Draper, so he doesn’t get to smoke wherever he wants — and he learned that lesson the hard way when he sparked up at the MTV VMAs last night. Honchos at the Nokia Theater at L.A. Live spotted the rapper puffing away as Lady Gaga went on stage to accept the award for Best Female Video — which is a problem because the place is a non-smoking venue. A rep for the building tells TMZ an usher was dispatched to speak with Cudi — where, “He was asked to put it out and he complied.” … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Tobacco news
Tobacco facts
- Are state employees not fussing up to tobacco use? February 3, 2012
- Tobacco Lawsuit Helps Oregon February 2, 2012
- Can tobacco be used to treat cancer? February 1, 2012
- Tobacco sales tax January 31, 2012
- Tobacco giant January 30, 2012
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