Women Smoke Menthol Cigarettes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently considering whether to ban the use of menthol as an additive to cigarettes. Mentholated cigarettes account for roughly 30 percent of cigarettes sold in the United States, and they are favored by African-American smokers by roughly a threefold margin compared to white smokers. They are also favored by women smokers. A major aspect of the FDA charge is to determine whether use of mentholated cigarettes is more harmful than use of non-mentholated cigarettes.

Cigarettes Packages Lead to Health Risks

A recent test on gutkha packets by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revealed that most tobacco packets contain the banned toxic chemical magnesium carbonate, the quantity of which is as high as seven per cent. According to oncologists, magnesium carbonate can cause unusual health risks, which include stomach ulcers, irreparable damage to lining of oral cavity among others. Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, neck, and head cancer surgeon at Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) said, “Magnesium carbonate can cause numerous complications; these range from hypo-tension, nausea, vomiting, respiratory depression, loss of deep tendon reflex, dilated pupils, altered mental status, and coma.

Tax-Free Tobacco Limit Suspended

Due to strong lobbying by the duty free shops at Ben-Gurion Airport and the tobacco companies, the limit of one carton of tax-free cigarettes Israelis traveling abroad will be allowed to purchase – instead of the current two – will take effect only on April 24. The World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control – which Israel ratified – calls for the complete barring of duty-free tobacco products at airports and seaports. The Knesset Finance Committee approved on Monday morning the Finance Ministry’s orders to halve the number of cigarette cartons allowed for sale without duty. The Health Ministry recommended that no tobacco products at all be given duty-free status, but pressure from vested interests watered down the legislative action. The duty-free chain James Richardson told the committee that without such cigarette sales, their profits would plummet and airport taxes for passengers would rise.

Tobacco Market a Hard Business

Somebody forgot to tell investors that cigarettes are a declining business.The S&P 500 tobacco index has beaten the market, jumping 13% so far this year after surging 36% in 2011. While the U.S. tobacco industry must wrestle with falling cigarette sales, rising taxes and potential litigation headaches, dividend hunters can't kick the industry's lush payouts. "The products tobacco companies make are abhorrent, . . . but they are amazing businesses," says Darren McKiernan, a portfolio manager with Invesco Canada. "The beautiful thing about it is that these companies generate so much cash," he added. "They pay out 50% to 75% of their earnings in the form of dividends, and they buy back stock."

Smoking Regulations Stricter in Santa Monica

That's the message in Hermosa Beach, where a push to comprehensively stamp out smoking is under way. And four months after approving a ban on smoking in public gathering areas - including outdoor dining areas on Pier Plaza - city leaders have embarked on an outreach program to spread the word. Based on smoking regulations in Santa Monica and Calabasas, the Hermosa Beach smoking law all but bans lighting up in places where the public congregates. Smoking will be outlawed in Pier Plaza and outdoor dining areas, public parks and parking lots, the pier and Strand, and the greenbelt, the pedestrian path between Valley Drive and Ardmore Avenue The ordinance takes effect Thursday. "While California has some of the strictest laws in the nation regarding tobacco control, it's clear state law falls short when it comes to protecting the public from second-hand smoke in outdoor gathering areas," said Councilman Jeff Duclos, who first proposed the ordinance in November 2010. "It's because of this that it has become the mantle of the city to take this on and protect the public safety and health of its residents."