Methods To Quit Smoking

By John Crane

Published: February 21, 2009

Virginia is on its way to tighter regulation against smoking in restaurants, and local politicos and tobacco supporters are not happy.

With the stroke of a pen, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine will restrict lighting up in eateries to those with separate, ventilated rooms and to private clubs. The House and Senate passed House Bill 1105, and it’s headed to the governor’s desk for his quick signature, while an identical bill, House Bill 1703, seems destined for General Assembly approval as well.

But local delegates and an area state senator voted against the measure. They and tobacco-industry insiders say smoking strictures should be left up to restaurant owners and managers. Government has no business telling business what to do, and smoke-averse patrons can vote with their dollars by dining elsewhere, they said.

“It’s a freedom issue to me,” Delegate Danny Marshall, R-Danville, said Friday. “It’s taking the choice away from managers and owners of those businesses.”

For Delegate Donald Merricks, R-Pittsylvania County, the no-smoking issue is also an economic one. Some restaurants can’t afford to revamp their interior to accommodate smokers, he said. Restricting smoking should be left up to restaurateurs and their customers, he said. Merricks, a non-smoker, said many restaurants across the state have already banned the practice when their customers demanded it.

“That’s how the free market works,” Merricks said.

Chain restaurants will be able to handle the expense of upgrading their establishments, but the mom-and-pops will suffer or be forced to go non-smoking, Sen. Robert Hurt, R-Chatham, said. The Southside region has at least 10 percent unemployment and the prohibition will hurt already struggling small businesses, he said.

“Who’s going to be able to afford a separate smoking room?” Hurt said.

Hurt said he supports discouraging smoking and keeping children away from tobacco products “but this is not the way to go about it,” he said. The legislation was never about smoking, he said, but about government dictating what private-property owners can and can’t do at their business.

“I just don’t support that philosophically,” he said.

Harry Lea, a former tobacco warehouse operator and co-owner and former president of the past Danville Tobacco Association, said the government crackdown on tobacco has gone too far. Lea, who is retired, said he cannot believe how much money has been made off litigation, regulation and taxation surrounding a legal product.

“The whole situation has gotten totally out of hand,” Lea said.

Lea, a non-smoker, said if he’s in a place where the cigarette smoke is bothering him, he leaves.

The legislation will have a detrimental effect according to one local tobacco grower. Clarence Emerson Jr., a fourth-generation tobacco farmer in Dry Fork, said he will grow less tobacco in the coming years because of it.

“People are going to quit smoking; they’re going to quit buying cigarettes,” Emerson said. “That’s going to affect us.”

For Emerson, who grows a little more than 100 acres of the leaf, the anti-tobacco measure could sound a death knell for his livelihood.

“Tobacco is my main cash crop,” he said. “If I lose that, I have to get out of farming.”

The smoking ban law takes effect Dec. 1.

Source: http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/area_officials_fume_about_smoking_ban/9254/

he Feb. 2 editorial “The New Poor Tax” is based on the same old faulty logic that manufacturers have been making for decades whenever cigarette tax hikes are suggested as a means of paying for social programs. There is no argument that cigarette taxes discourage consumption especially among the poor, who can least afford to be addicted to cigarettes.

Ninety-five percent of those who smoke say they regret their decision ever to start. The majority of smokers say they want to quit, so why is it so bad for the government to provide an economic incentive to help move smokers to cut down or quit? The U.S. has one of the lowest tax rates on tobacco in the world and the meager 39 cents-per-pack tax is hardly enough to pay for the massive annual medical bill caused by smoking.

By boosting the federal tax by the proposed 61 cents-per-pack to pay for the children’s insurance fund, Congress will not only maintain a much-needed health insurance program but will also help reduce smoking.

TWO local shops have been banned from selling cigarettes and tobacco for six months, following action by Lancashire County Council trading standards officers.
Pound Fever Ltd., which has discount shops in Lancaster and Morecambe pleaded guilty to two offences under the Tobacco Products Duty Act 1979 at Lancaster Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

Zaphar Naviya, secretary of the company, also pleaded guilty
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to offences brought against him under the same legislation.

The court heard that, on July 31, 2008, a trading standards officer visited Pound Fever in Euston Road in Morecambe where he bought a sleeve containing ten packs of Capital brand cigarettes for £25 – equivalent to just £2.50 per pack.

Later that day the officer went to the company’s other shop, at Marketgate in Lancaster, where a single pack cost him only £3.20.

The high street price of a pack of 20 cigarettes is usually nearer £5.20.

Examination of the packs showed that none carried UK customs declarations making it illegal to sell them in this country.

When interviewed, Zaphar Naviya, 30, of Swallowfields, Blackburn told officers that the cigarettes were an unwanted present that he had decided to sell to regular customers.

But the court heard that, just five months earlier, the company had been cautioned for a similar offence, involving Capital cigarettes, at its Morecambe store.

For the offences magistrates imposed a fine of £500 against Pound Fever Ltd and £240 against Zaphar Naviya, together with costs of £200 and £87.75 respectively. Both defendants were also ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge.

In addition, six month bans against tobacco sales were imposed at both premises – the maximum period available to the court.

After Friday’s case Lancashire’s chief trading standards officer, Jim Potts, said: “This result marks another victory in our war on illicit tobacco sales. Cut-price imports undermine efforts to reduce tobacco consumption, harm local retailers and cost the UK economy over £3 billion a year in lost taxes.”

Feb 2 2009 by Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail

PATIENTS will be encouraged to stop smoking before undergoing an operation as a new scheme is launched today.

NHS staff will be trained to offer stop-smoking advice and patients will be referred to a special support scheme run by Stop Smoking Wales.

It is hoped that the initiative will lower the risks of complications for smokers following surgery.

Smoking increases the chance of complications such as breathing and lung problems, risk of infection and poorer healing of wounds, all of which mean that smokers are more likely to stay in hospital longer than non-smokers.

Stopping smoking at least eight weeks before an operation can reduce the chance of these complications and save the NHS up to 7,000 bed days a year in Wales.

Dr Tony Jewell, Wales’ chief medical officer, who will launch the new service today at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, in Llantrisant, said: “Currently around a quarter of the Welsh population smoke and the proportion of adults who smoke remains higher in the more deprived parts of Wales.

“This means there is a correlation between deprivation and poor health, with the pattern of inequalities in the health of the most deprived people in Wales continuing.

“This new initiative will help by signposting smokers to dedicated support to help them quit before their operation.

“Pre-operative smoking cessation encourages patients to take more responsibility for reducing their recovery time by quitting smoking before an operation.

“It is the collective responsibility of government, the health sector, communities and individuals to work towards improving the health of the people of Wales.”

All outpatient and vascular nurses will be trained to offer smoking cessation advice and refer patients to the Stop Smoking Wales specialist behavioural support programme.

Claire Bevan, divisional nurse in acute services at Cwm Taf NHS Trust, said: “More than 50 staff in Cwm Taf NHS Trust alone have already received free training from Stop Smoking Wales specialists and there is a programme of training under way across Wales.

“Working with Stop Smoking Wales will help to reduce the pressure on NHS staff by reducing post-operative complications.

“It’s estimated that around 700 hospital beds are used as a result of smoking-related illnesses every day in Wales.

“That’s why we’re welcoming this new initiative which will not only benefit the patients and the NHS, but also benefit the staff as they develop new skills.”

The National Public Health Service for Wales is working with NHS trusts and Stop Smoking Wales to support the roll out of the initiative across Wales.

Nicola John, the local public health director for Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil, said: “Smoking kills around 6,000 people in Wales every year and is the single most preventable cause of premature death.

“This new initiative is built on research which clearly shows the benefits of stopping smoking at least eight weeks before an operation.

“Smokers who stop before an operation are much less likely to suffer from infections, breathing and lung problems, and slow healing of wounds. Their stay in hospital could also be considerably shorter.

“We know that quitting smoking for good can seem like an impossible task to people who have been smoking for a long time or who have tried to quit before.

“That’s why we’re encouraging people to seek support from the specialists at Stop Smoking Wales and just give up for a short period of time before planned surgery in order to reduce their risk of post-operative complications.

“However, we also hope that once they’ve seen the benefits of not smoking for a short period of time they’ll kick the habit for good.”

Srouce: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/02/02/patients-to-be-urged-to-stop-smoking-before-surgery-91466-22832187/