Coxhealth Helping Pregnant Women and Parents Stop Smoking

Stop Smoking SPRINGFIELD, Mo.  Congratulations goes out to CoxHealth who will be the host of a no cost Freedom From Smoking course starting on Sept. 26.  The curse is for pregnant women and their significant others who smoke.

CoxHealth is urging women who smoke or who are around second-hand smoke to participate in the this free event.  Cox has partnered up with the American Lung Association on this one.

Denise Vaughan who is a nurse educator for the CoxHealth Women's Center says that, “The dangers of cigarette smoke to an unborn child are well-documented.  We also know that many women return to smoking as soon as they deliver and we want to do everything we can to help mothers and their significant others quit smoking for good."

Good job Denise!

Research will show that smoking can double the risk of placenta problems, both of which can put mother and child in grave danger.  Cigarette smoke can also slow a child’s growth, which increases the likelihood that the baby will be born under weight, with an increase in the chances of a premature birth, and the odds of SIDS goes up by two.

Denise also points out that, "There is no question that quitting smoking is best for baby. But it’s important to remember that it’s best for a family’s long-term health, too.”

So, if you're in the Springfield are and want to attend, here are the details of the class:

When:  The Freedom From Smoking course will be offered as a seven-week session beginning on Thursday, Sept. 26 from 6-7 p.m.

Where:  Classes will be held in room 006 at Olin Library on the Drury University campus, 900 N. Benton Ave., Springfield, Mo.

Parking:  Participants may park along Drury Lane and Burnham Circle, and in lots #1 and #2 at the corner of Durry Lane and Centeral St.

Registration is required for this program, which is made possible by a grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health.

To register, or for more information, call 417-269-LADY.

BONUS OFFERING:  Anyone who attends this event, email me a copy of your registration and I will send you an autographed copy of my book, "How To Stop Smoking Without Killing Anyone" at 50% off.  You will be able to use this book to support what you learned and reinforce your resolve to stop smoking for your child and your family.  My email:  puravidaetc@gmail.com

Smoking, Obama, Free-Trade and States Rights

Stop Smoking Cleveland - From Washington D.C., Plain Bureau Chief Stephen Koff, brings to light (pun intended) a challenging question:  

"Should trade treaties, which encourage the global flow of goods and services, trump public health and safety?"

In Steven's article from Cleveland.com, there comes this question that I hadn't considered.  What if all these restrictions on cigarette packaging and marketing could actually violate international trade rules?  This is the debate on tobacco and trade right now championed by Sen. Sherrod Brown who wrote a letter to Obama administration asking that basic question.

How this pans out will determine how hard (or not so hard) it is going to be for Big Tobacco to challenge a country's laws and regulations regarding the marketing of cigarettes.  The tobacco industry is playing the free trade card.  It seems their logic is; if it has worked for the steel industry and the textile industry, maybe Big Tobacco can take a shot and get busy working the system in the trade courts.  

Big Tobacco is already attacking package restrictions in the land down under and in Uruguay.
Packaging laws in both countries are designed to inhibit the ability of flashy marketing and style to influence smokers.  

Tobacco giant Philip Morris says this is a violation of their free-trade rights.  Anti-smoking advocates want to make it even harder for Big Tobacco to use this "free-trade" argument to fight public health laws, but Brown and others feel the Obama administration isn't fully helping with the cause.  

So here's the question:  Does a free nation have the right to determine how a product is marketed in their country?  Especially if that product is a danger to public health.

"The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, specifically state that countries have a right to uphold their tobacco rules and laws, despite the free-trade goal of an unhampered exchange of agricultural products."

This trade agreement gives preference to a country's health policy over a company's trade rights.  

The Obama administration, reversed course on this last month which is why Brown and company is upset. They are looking for Obama to go back to the earlier proposal, which is equally important "that cigarette smoking is deadly and countries have a right to regulate and restrict the product."

The rest of Koff's report goes on to show the struggle of the Obama Administration trying to burn the candle on both ends and again avoid making a clear and decisive decision.  

Here's the bottom line and my two cents.  

1.  A sovereign nation trumps a corporation all day long
2.  Consumers since Adam and Eve have a God given right to choose
3.  While tobacco is a plant, it should be treated and regulated like a drugs, not agriculture.

An of age consumer who wishes to use tobacco should have every right to do so.  The free nation that the tobacco is sold in has every right to determine exactly how and where that product is sold and how it can be used in a public place.  The next step then is to eliminate the whole agriculture crap.  Tobacco, while a plant, is also a drug and should be treated as such.

Why the gov needs to complicate this to such a degree is beyond me.

Said Brown: "It's too weak.  Americans are willing to support international agreements when there is a clear public good," he said in his letter. But in the case of tobacco, "such an upside-down approach will lead to greater global public health risk, disease, and premature death."

You can read Stephen's full report here:  http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2013/09/did_obama_administration_duck.html

Make sure to put your two cents in on it too...

Beware of Dorffs Baring Gifts

Claudette Colbert circa 1942, dressed as a nurse passes out Chesterfields to GI's during WWII.

Implications are smoking is safe because a nurse is handing them out like candy and it's American because the guys bringing down Hitler and Japan all smoke.

Fast forward to 2013, Lorillard owner of Newport and Kent amungst other cigarette brands also owns Blu e-cigarettes and has recently returned to advertising.

Celebrity endorsements and television commercials rise from the ashes to promote, justify and encourage those addicted to nicotine switch their delivery device to electronic cigarettes verses the traditional tobacco cigarette.

Stephen Dorff and Jenny McCarthy have whored themselves out to Lorillard and joined in this new deception and virtual hedge against the declining cigarette industry.  E-cigarettes, while supposedly "vapor" do contain carcinogens such as formaldehyde and acrolein.  And while admittedly safer than a traditional cigarette, what will the long term effects be?  No one really knows.

I find it HIGHLY irresponsible of any celebrity to hop into bed with any company or industry who has spent the last 90 plus years lying to it's customer base, manipulating the addictive properties of it's product and packaging it's product to minimize the perceived risk.  If you smoke a "light" cigarette, keep in mind, there's no such think as "light" cancer.  You don't get "light" emphysema and there is no "light" trachea.

Dorff, you're too cool for your own good.  You and McCarthy over there are both being used by a company in desperation with years of experience in manipulation.  Selling your soul didn't end well for Robert Johnson or Jerry Garcia.  Both of those cats were way cooler than you so what chance you think you got?  Get out now and step up.

Teens are picking these up because of you and the e-cigarette is becoming a gate way for traditional cigarettes.  Is this the legacy you want to leave?  30 years from now will you be going into radiation therapy saying (assuming you're still with us and not another early departure caused by big tobacco) "we all thought it was just vapor..."

Name this drug for a chance to win real freedom

This drug has mood-altering effects.  In particular it is both a stimulant and a relaxant.  First it causes a release of glucose from the liver and epinephrine (think adrenaline), which causes stimulation. Users will have feelings of relaxation, sharpness, calmness, and alertness.  This drug can also reduce the appetite and boost the metabolism.  This drug can pass the blood brain barrier within seven seconds of ingestion and immediately stimulates the release of many chemical messengers such as acetylcholine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, vasopressin, histamine, arginine, serotonin, dopamine, autocrine agents, and beta-endorphin.  This release of neurotransmitters and hormones is responsible for most of this drug's effects. This drug can enhance concentration and memory due to the increase of acetylcholine. It also appears to enhance alertness due to the increases of acetylcholine and norepinephrine. Arousal is increased by the increase of norepinephrine. Pain is reduced by the increases of acetylcholine and beta-endorphin. Anxiety is reduced by the increase of beta-endorphin. This drug also extends the duration of positive effects of dopamine and increases sensitivity in the brain's reward systems.  These effects can be seen in doses of only 1 to 3 milligrams.

How much tar is in 20 packs of cigarettes (shocking video)

This should be motivating....

Punitive damages upheld in Miami-Dade County smoker case

FROM:  The News Service of Florida  Pointing to decades of efforts by the tobacco industry to mislead the public, a state appeals court Wednesday upheld a $25 million punitive-damages award against Lorillard Tobacco Co.  [FYI:  Lorillard, also owns Blu e-Cigarettes]

The 3rd District Court of Appeal also said Lorillard should pay $8 million in compensatory damages to Dorothy Alexander, whose husband, Coleman, started smoking cigarettes while in sixth grade and died at age 59.

The Miami-Dade County case is part of a wave of lawsuits against the tobacco industry stemming from a 2006 Florida Supreme Court decision. The lawsuits, known in the legal world as “Engle progeny” cases, have been bolstered by parts of the Supreme Court decision that established critical findings about the health dangers of smoking and misrepresentation by cigarette makers.

In the Alexander case, Lorillard argued, in part, that the $25 million in punitive damages was unconstitutionally excessive.

But a three-judge panel flatly rejected the arguments. “The plaintiff provided more than sufficient evidence to show Lorillard’s conduct, both individually and as a member of the tobacco industry, of continuous, repeated, and aggressive attempts to discredit the scientific research revealing the harmful and addictive nature of cigarettes and to cast doubt on the validity of the scientific research by mounting advertising and public relations campaigns,” the ruling said.

“The plaintiff similarly provided evidence of more than a half-century of Lorillard’s reckless disregard of the scientific findings and of its indifference to the potential physical harm to consumers caused by its product for its own purely economic gain.”

E-cigarette use more than doubles among U.S. middle and high school students from 2011-2012

According to the CDC, More than 75 percent of youth users smoke conventional cigarettes too...

The percentage of U.S. middle and high school students who use electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, more than doubled from 2011 to 2012, according to data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The findings from the National Youth Tobacco Survey, in today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, show that the percentage of high school students who reported ever using an e-cigarette rose from 4.7 percent in 2011 to 10.0 percent in 2012. In the same time period, high school students using e-cigarettes within the past 30 days rose from 1.5 percent to 2.8 percent.  Use also doubled among middle school students.  Altogether, in 2012 more than 1.78 million middle and high school students nationwide had tried e-cigarettes.

"The increased use of e-cigarettes by teens is deeply troubling," said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.  "Nicotine is a highly addictive drug.  Many teens who start with e-cigarettes may be condemned to struggling with a lifelong addiction to nicotine and conventional cigarettes."

The study also found that 76.3 percent of middle and high school students who used e-cigarettes within the past 30 days also smoked conventional cigarettes in the same period. In addition, 1 in 5 middle school students who reported ever using e-cigarettes say they have never tried conventional cigarettes. This raises concern that there may be young people for whom e-cigarettes could be an entry point to use of conventional tobacco products, including cigarettes.
 
“About 90 percent of all smokers begin smoking as teenagers,” said Tim McAfee, M.D., M.P.H., director of the CDC Office on Smoking and Health.  “We must keep our youth from experimenting or using any tobacco product. These dramatic increases suggest that developing strategies to prevent marketing, sales, and use of e-cigarettes among youth is critical.”

Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are battery-powered devices that provide doses of nicotine and other additives to the user in an aerosol. E-cigarettes not marketed for therapeutic purposes are currently unregulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA Center for Tobacco Products External Web Site Icon has announced that it intends to expand its jurisdiction over tobacco products to include e-cigarettes, but has not yet issued regulatory rules. Because e-cigarettes are largely unregulated, the agency does not have good information about them, such as the amounts and types of components and potentially harmful constituents.

“These data show a dramatic rise in usage of e-cigarettes by youth, and this is cause for great concern as we don’t yet understand the long-term effects of these novel tobacco products,” said Mitch Zeller, director of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “These findings reinforce why the FDA intends to expand its authority over all tobacco products and establish a comprehensive and appropriate regulatory framework to reduce disease and death from tobacco use.”

Although some e-cigarettes have been marketed as smoking cessation aids, there is no conclusive scientific evidence that e-cigarettes promote successful long-term quitting. However, there are proven cessation strategies and treatments, including counseling and FDA-approved cessation medications.
Cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable cause of dis­ease, dis­ability, and death in the United States, responsible for an estimated 443,000 deaths each year.  And for every one death, there are 20 people living with a smoking-related disease.

FROM:  http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2013/p0905-ecigarette-use.html