Health News
- Study: Raising Cigarette Taxes Does Curb Even Heavy Smoking
The more you raise cigarette taxes, the less people smoke. That presumption was confirmed this week in a study by the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. This has some resonance in Kentucky, where just last week the state?s Blue Ribbon...
- Teens Turning To Flavored Cigars
A study shows teens are dispensing with cigarettes and turning to flavored mini-cigars with fun flavors ? strawberry, chocolate, vanilla ? enticing to young palates. (National Cigar Museum picture) "Young smokers say these cigarette-size little cigars...
- Federal Judge Rules Proposed Warning Labels On Cigarettes Are Too Biased, Blocks Them From Appearing On Packs
The graphic warning labels that were going to start appearing on cigarette packages in the fall of 2012 have gotten hung up in court, with a federal judge ruling Monday they "impinge on the tobacco companies' right to free speech," reports James R....
- Smokeless Tobacco Can Help You Quit Cigarettes, Owensboro-area Residents Are Told (partly With Tobacco Money)
"Switch and quit" is the theme of an advertising campaign being promoted by a prominent cancer center in Kentucky, in which smokers are advised to lay off the cigarettes in favor of smokeless tobacco such as chew or snuff. "Supporters say smokers who...
- World No Tobacco Day To Be Observed Tuesday
World No Tobacco Day 2011 will be observed Tuesday, with goals of encouraging tobacco abstinence for a 24-hour period, as well as drawing attention to the dangers of tobacco use. The observance, created by the World Health Organization in 1987, occurs...
Health News
Studies conclude cigarette packaging misleading, needs changes
Tobacco manufacturers have misled consumers about the risks of their products and action is needed to help consumers make informed decisions about the products they intend to buy, three studies published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine have concluded.
"Tobacco companies have used attractive packaging and persuasive images to market their products for decades," said lead author Maansi Bansal-Travers, a behavioral research scientist at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. "These studies support efforts by the Federal Food and Drug Administration to regulate cigarette pack labeling."
Tobacco manufacturers have used design, colors and wording that create the illusion that filtered or "light/mild" cigarettes are safer, which is not the case, research-reporting news service Newswise reports. Since June 2010, tobacco companies have been prohibited from using "light" or "mild" terms on their packaging, according to provisions in the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. "While the removal of these obviously misleading terms was a good first step, we discovered that cigarette manufacturers have circumvented the regulation by using different terms such as 'gold' and 'silver' and changing the colors on the pack to continue to mislead consumers about their products," Bansal-Travers said.
The first study, "What Do Cigarette Pack Colors Communicate to Smokers in the U.S.?", recommended color-coding be restricted. The second paper found "larger graphic health warnings that convey negative messages are the most effective in communicating health risks to adults," Newswise reports. The third study, "Correcting Over 50 Years of Tobacco Industry Misinformation," found putting statements on tobacco packaging that correctly warn of the use of tobacco products makes a different in correcting false beliefs about smoking and health. (Read more)
- Study: Raising Cigarette Taxes Does Curb Even Heavy Smoking
The more you raise cigarette taxes, the less people smoke. That presumption was confirmed this week in a study by the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. This has some resonance in Kentucky, where just last week the state?s Blue Ribbon...
- Teens Turning To Flavored Cigars
A study shows teens are dispensing with cigarettes and turning to flavored mini-cigars with fun flavors ? strawberry, chocolate, vanilla ? enticing to young palates. (National Cigar Museum picture) "Young smokers say these cigarette-size little cigars...
- Federal Judge Rules Proposed Warning Labels On Cigarettes Are Too Biased, Blocks Them From Appearing On Packs
The graphic warning labels that were going to start appearing on cigarette packages in the fall of 2012 have gotten hung up in court, with a federal judge ruling Monday they "impinge on the tobacco companies' right to free speech," reports James R....
- Smokeless Tobacco Can Help You Quit Cigarettes, Owensboro-area Residents Are Told (partly With Tobacco Money)
"Switch and quit" is the theme of an advertising campaign being promoted by a prominent cancer center in Kentucky, in which smokers are advised to lay off the cigarettes in favor of smokeless tobacco such as chew or snuff. "Supporters say smokers who...
- World No Tobacco Day To Be Observed Tuesday
World No Tobacco Day 2011 will be observed Tuesday, with goals of encouraging tobacco abstinence for a 24-hour period, as well as drawing attention to the dangers of tobacco use. The observance, created by the World Health Organization in 1987, occurs...