Cigarettes Clients Age Limit Increased

Walpole’s Board of Health may consider upping the allowable age to purchase tobacco and cigarettes from 18 to 21 years old after hearing an area doctor’s plea Tuesday night. Dr. Lester Hartman, a physician at Westwood Mansfield Pediatrics, told the board he’s asking more than a dozen area towns to raise the age to curb teen tobacco use. “If we want to prevent addiction in children, this is what we need to do,” Hartman said. In October of 2010, Walpole was one of the first towns to ban the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products in pharmacies. Selectmen, police officers and school leaders are also focusing on youth substance abuse as of late, helping the coalition on drug and alcohol abuse take more initiative in the community. “As a town and board we’ve been very active in that area,” chairman Bill Morris said. Morris already expressed support for upping the age to 21. “I absolutely agree with you, and I don’t know very many adults who just decide to take up smoking,” Morris said. “It’s an intriguing concept.”

Tobacco Use on Campus Examined

St. Olaf may be a dry campus, but it is certainly not to- bacco-free. It is not uncommon to walk out of Buntrock Commons and bump into several students smoking on sur- rounding benches or just outside of the doors. This occurs outside of the entrance to dorms as well, and the phenom- enon is not limited to cigarettes. Students also use pipes, hookahs and cigars. The fact that some students on campus smoke does not mean that St. Olaf is experiencing a tobacco-addiction epi- demic. However, the amount of tobacco use on campus gave students Miriam Brown ’12 and Juliette Gibes ’14 enough cause to present a documentary entitled “Tobacco: The Un- filtered Truth” in Viking Theater on Tuesday, March 27. By doing so, they sought to educate students about the hard- ships of tobacco addiction and quitting.

Smoking Ban in Parks

The Board of Clark County Commissioners on Wednesday indicated they will not support a ban on smoking in county parks. The Vancouver City Council voted in December to ban all smoking and tobacco use in city parks and recreation centers. The three county commissioners, however, said during a work session that they like a 2005 policy that declared outdoor recreation sites as voluntary tobacco-free zones. Signs are posted at designated areas — such as playgrounds and restrooms — but there’s no penalty for lighting up. Pete Mayer, director of Vancouver-Clark Parks & Recreation, said the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission recommended a smoking ban in 2010.

Lowest Smoking Rate in Canada

The 2010 Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS) report is out, and as per the report, British Columbia has again succeeded in counting lowest in the smoking rates all over in Canada. This is for the 12th year in a row that B. C. has topped this list with 14.3 %.

The survey also highlighted that the smoking rate of B. C. in 2009 was 14.9 % but this figure further reduced to 14.3% in 2010. On an average, Canada has 17% smoking rate, out of which B. C. has the lowest with 14.3%, Ontario has the second-lowest at 15% and the highest rate of 21% was noticed in Saskatchewan.

The maximum fall in the B. C’s smoking rate was noticed among the youth aged between 15 - 19 years, which cited a fall of approx 4.1% from 2009 to the figures in 2010, the lowest rate achieved since 1999. Secondly calculated figures were among the current smokers of age group 25 - 44 years, among which the smoking rates decreased from 21% in 2009 to 16% in 2010. The rate for daily L&M cigarettes smokers aged between 25 - 44 years also went down from 18.5 percent in 2009 to 11% in 2010.

Cigarettes Use is Ugly & Deadly for Someone

Governments around the world should try to address the epidemic brought by “ugly” and “deadly” tobacco use, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday.

“We must turn back the global tobacco epidemic. On World No Tobacco Day, I urge all governments to address this public health threat. Tobacco use is not stylish or empowering. It is ugly and deadly,” he said in a statement issued on the observance of World No Tobacco Day.

Noting that tobacco marketing has targeted women by associating cigarettes like Lady, Karelia etc and their use with beauty and liberation, Ban urged governments to act accordingly.

“Governments everywhere must take action to protect women from tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, as stipulated in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control,” he said.

Studies show that some 200 million women worldwide smoke and the number is growing.

The Convention also calls on governments to protect women from second-hand tobacco smoke, especially in countries where women feel powerless to protect themselves and their children.

As World Health Organization data show, of the 600,000 people who die each year from second-hand smoke, nearly two-thirds are women.

Around the world, more than 1.5 million women die each year from tobacco use. Most of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Without concerted action, that number could rise to 2.5 million women by the year 2030.

Citing a recent WHO study showing that the number of girls and boys who smoked was about equal in half the 151 countries surveyed, Ban said: “This finding is even more worrisome since young people who smoke are likely to continue in adulthood.”