Conservative Health Minister Andrea Kdolsky and the Social Democrats want to protect non-smokers without hurting businesses, while the environmental Greens and trade unions are calling for a total ban.

The new law, which will come into force in Austria on January 1, 2009, will limit smoking in bars and restaurants.

The new antismoking law will force all establishments of 80 square metres (861 square feet) or more to build separate smoking-rooms if they choose to serve smokers. But restaurants and cafes which have more than 50 square metres or less will be allowed to decide whether or not to allow smoking.

Under the new legislation, any place of 75 square metres or more had to provide a no-smoking area. But the measure was rarely enforced and often consisted of just a few tables in the middle of a room, with no-smoking signs.

Austria is one of the last countries in Europe that still allows smoking in public places.

In Austria the new legislation will now also require smoking areas to bear signs warning of the risks of lighting up. And also youngsters and pregnant women will not be allowed to work in places where they might be exposed to smoke.

Restaurant and cafe owners would face fines of up to 10,000 euros (15,740 dollars) for failing to comply with the new legislation, while patrons may have to pay up to 1,000 euros.

The new law was approved by the ruling Social Democrats and conservative People's Party as well as the opposition Greens, but opposed by the two far-right parties in parliament.

Source: OurCigarettes.net

Chief Executive Michael Szymanczyk told shareholders that while Altria will still be able to build market share in the declining cigarette business, success depends on finding alternative products that are satisfying to consumers and reduce health risks.

Mr. Szymanczyk sustained: "As the company looks to the future, it has clear recognition of the fact that conventional cigarettes are harmful in society and we'd like to make some progress on improving that situation."

Szymanczyk said that even Philip Morris USA (the nation's No. 1 cigarette manufacturer) will deal with fewer cigarette sales by capitalizing on its Marlboro brand and selling more smokeless products. It has projected that cigarette sales volume will fall between 2.5% to 3% in the United States over the next few years.

Last year, Philip Morris began testing of its Marlboro-branded moist smokeless tobacco product - cut tobacco placed in the mouth --in Atlanta and recently expanded to counties in the surrounding metropolitan area. It also began testing its spit less product, which is a moist powdered tobacco, called Marlboro Snus (pronounced "snoose") in Dallas last year, and also has expanded to Indianapolis.

Szymanczyk said that the company already has made a number of modifications to those products based on input from consumers in the test markets.

Altria now consists mainly of Philip Morris USA, cigar manufacturer John Middleton Inc., Philip Morris Capital Corp. and a 29% stake in London-based SABMiller PLC, brewer of Miller beer.

Source: TobaccoandCigarettes.com

Children aged between 6 and 16 were included in the analysis if their blood cotinine levels were at or below 15 ng/ml – if they denied using any tobacco products in the previous 5 days and if a level consistent with environmental tobacco smoke exposure.

Dr Kimberly Yolton’s team then studied the children’s cognitive and academic abilities in reading, maths, reasoning and logic. There was a one-point decline in reading scores for each unit increase in cotinine at levels above 1 ng/ml. There was a five-point decline for each unit increase in cotinine at levels below 1 ng/ml. The researchers suggested that even low levels of exposure to tobacco can reduce brain function. Passive smoking was linked with nearly a two-point decline in a math test.

Dr Yolton said: “These declines may not be clinically meaningful for an individual child, but they have huge implications for our society because millions of children are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke. More studies looking at the effects of passive smoking over time as children grow will be useful.” She also said they added incentive for countries to set public health standards to protect kids from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.

The UK government launched a series of hard-hitting TV advertisements to encourage smokers to give up. But campaigners are worried this will not protect kids against exposure to amounts of smoke in their own homes.

Amanda Sandford, research manager at Action on Smoking and Health, said: “This shocking study strengthens the case for protecting children from second-hand smoke in all indoor environments. Banning smoking in all public places where children have access should be a priority, but all adults should refrain from smoking when children are present and that includes the home environment.”

Dr Lawrence, research manager, “This fits in with what we know about the effects of tobacco smoke, even though it is not conclusive. Smoking is bad for children. Smoking in pregnancy causes low weight babies who do not fare as well in later years. It also causes respiratory diseases.”

Source: Ourcigarettes.net

John P. Pierce, director of the UC San Diego's Cancer Prevention and Control Program said, "Most previous studies focused on smokers aged 35 and older who have smoked for 20 years or more. That has led to an overemphasis on drug treatments to help cessation, whereas this study emphasized the importance of implementing a smoke free home if a smoker wants to quit successfully."

The goal of the investigation was to estimate the relationship between smoking cessation and tobacco-related behaviours between age groups.

In a study was showed that 84 percent of those aged 18 to 24 reported seriously trying to quit smoking compared to just 64 percent of those 50 to 64 years old. The older the smoker is the less likely to quit or even try to quit.

Young adults smokers can easier quit smoking if they come from smoke free homes, if use pharmaceutical aids or typically smoke fewer cigarettes a day.

"It is likely that high cessation rates among 18 to 24 year olds also reflect changing social norms over the previous decade," said Karen Messer, Ph.D., Moores UCSD Cancer Center. "Future tobacco control efforts aimed at increasing cessation rates among young adult smokers should continue to target social norms."

The study also showed that smokers who lived in a smoke free home were four times more successful at quitting than those who lived in a home with a smoker.

Pierce added, "It has been hypothesized that young people who take up smoking with restrictions at work and home are likely to develop lower levels of dependence than smokers who took up the habit without such restrictions. Smoke free homes place barriers around important potential smoking situations, such as after a meal. This study emphasizes that these barriers may be sufficient to prevent relapse and offer a partial explanation for the strong association of smoke free homes and successful quitting."

But for smokers aged 35 to 49 years old will help to quit smoking only pharmaceutical aids, such as inhalers, anti-depressive pills or nasal sprays.

Source:TobaccoandCigarettes.com

How Normal Is Smoking? Teens Don't Know, But Their Guesses Affect Their Habits

ScienceDaily (May 18, 2007) — The more a high school student overestimates the percentage of people in the general population who smoke cigarettes, the more likely he or she will be to smoke, reports a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study published in the current issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. The study sheds new light on this and other identifiable risk factors that may make teenagers susceptible to smoking and offers findings that may be particularly valuable for smoking intervention programs.
The study identifies three distinct ways to measure “normative beliefs” involving smoking, each of which it found to be significantly related to adolescents’ likelihoodof smoking. According to the study:

• The more an adolescent perceived that successful and elite people smoke cigarettes, the more likely that adolescent was to smoke.
• The more strongly an adolescent perceived that his or her parents or peers disapproved of smoking, the less likely that adolescent was to smoke.
• The more an adolescent overestimated the percentage of smokers in the general population, the more likely that adolescent was to smoke.

According to the study, nine out of 10 (93 percent) high school students overestimate the percentage of people who smoke in the United States. On average, they believe over half (56 percent) of Americans are smokers, while the actual figure is less than half that.
“These findings are of value to those who devote themselves to smoking intervention programs geared to teenage audiences,” said lead author, Brian Primack, M.D., Ed.M., assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., so any new information is welcome. Adolescents have important misconceptions about cigarette smoking that can place them at increased risk for smoking.”
More than 1,200 high school students who participated in the study were assigned normative beliefs scores based on their responses to survey items. Studentsresponded whether they agreed or disagreed with statements such as:

• “Most successful business people smoke cigarettes at least once a month.”
• “ In general, more ‘cool’ people smoke cigarettes than ‘uncool’ people.”
• “ Wealthy people are more likely to smoke cigarettes than poor people.”
• “ My favorite celebrities probably smoke cigarettes at least once a month.”

The students also responded to “perceived disapproval” statements, such as:

• “According to my parents, it is very important for me not to smoke cigarettes.”
• “ According to my friends, it is very important for me not to smoke cigarettes.”
• “ According to most people my age, it is very important for me not to smoke cigarettes.”

Finally, students were asked what percent of high school students and adults in the United States they thought smoked at least once each month.
Other study authors include Galen E. Switzer, Ph.D., also of the University of Pittsburgh, and Madeline A. Dalton, Ph.D., of the Dartmouth Medical School. The study was funded by the Maurice Falk Foundation and Tobacco-Free Allegheny. Dr. Primack is currently supported by the National Cancer Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Adapted from materials provided by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

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