Cigarettes and Alcohol, Irish Teens

In the 12 months prior to a European-wide survey, just 14 per cent of Irish teens had used cannabis, down from 33 per cent 17 years earlier. The comprehensive research by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction also found that just 19 per cent of 15 and 16-year-olds in Ireland had ever used any illicit drugs. This was down from 37 per cent in 1995. Ireland was one of only a few countries where the proportion was lower last year than in the first survey of the the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (EPSAD) in 1995. The UK was the other nation to see a significant decrease in the lifetime use of cannabis. In Ireland, only one in ten boys had used cannabis, with that dropping to just one in 20 when examining the use of the substance by girls in the 30 days prior to the survey.

Suit Against Tobacco Companies

A federal jury in Florida has ruled against a family that had been among thousands of plaintiffs in a class-action suit against tobacco companies. The case had been brought by Anita Young McCray, representing the estate of her father, Mercedia Wilbert Walker. McCray is one of about 8,000 plaintiffs who had filed lawsuits against the tobacco industry following a Florida Supreme Court ruling in 2006 that de-certified a $145 billion jury's award in a class-action suit, The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union reported. The Supreme Court allowed the plaintiffs to file individual suits using factual findings from the jury's 2000 verdict. Less than a month ago, a jury ruled in favor of the tobacco industry in the first case from the class-action ruling tried at the federal level.

Smokers in South Korea Highest Smoking Rates

After decades of indifference, big businesses and the government are turning up the heat on smokers in South Korea, a nation with one of the developed world’s highest male smoking rates. Some firms are pressing workers to kick the habit or miss out on promotion and the health ministry will toughen warnings on cigarette packs. Seoul council plans eventually to make one fifth of the city’s total area smoke-free. Even the military is getting in on the act: army draftees undergoing basic training will get advice from a clinic on ways to quit. But successive national governments — fearful of an electoral backlash — have held back from raising the tax on cigarettes. Some 44.3 percent of South Korean men smoked in 2009, according to the latest available data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This compares to an average among all member nations of 26.5 percent for men. The smoking rate among Korean women is low due to social taboos.

Anti-Smoking Legislation in Nigeria

At 27, Lanre Lawal seemed to have a bright future. He had distinguished himself as a fine student with a degree in civil engineering. For the young man from Osun state in southwestern Nigeria, a promising job with a good income was almost certain. But Lanre’s joy was short lived. One day he slumped to the floor and was rushed to the hospital. That was in 2007. He died three months later from lung cancer. Peter Oguns, Lawal's childhood friend, said Lawal had been a regular smoker since their secondary school years.

Anti-Smoking Regulations Stricter

The Ministerial Committee on Legislation approved on Monday the Health Ministry’s proposal to severely restrict the advertising and marketing of tobacco products. If approved as law, the legislation will constitute a major boost to the effort to minimize smoking and a considerable change to the advertising sector in Israel. The proposals have been vigorously opposed by the tobacco lobby. Under the new proposal, which is aimed at reducing the “attractiveness” of cancer-causing goods, tobacco products may not be advertised in newspapers and on the Internet, although advertising in tobacco shops may continue.

Cigarette Packs Hard to Open

Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley is said to have come up with the idea while attempting to open the plastic packaging on some batteries he’d just bought. “I’d tried tearing it with my hands and biting the plastic, but it was just so frustrating,” said Lansley. “I almost gave up, which gave me an idea – what if I was to make the packaging on cigarettes just as annoying?” The new guidelines will force manufacturers to seal cigarette packages in the seemingly unbreakable plastic, and the cigarette boxes themselves will have no lid – instead smokers will have to steam them open with a kettle. “Obviously the next step is to make cigarettes really hard to light,” said Lansley. “I’m also looking into making them taste of rotten fish and invisible.”

E Cigarettes, the UK’s Premium Smoking Brand

Yesterday Freedom celebrated St George’s Day and gave away over 200 free disposable e cigarettes to Londoners from their new range, which will be soon available on their new website and via many retail outlets nationwide. The disposable e cigarette is a great way for tobacco smokers to see whether the experience of inhaling vapour rather than tobacco smoke is a viable alternative to smoking. Over the past year Freedom Cigarettes has convinced over 20,000 smokers to change their smoking habit and take up vaping e cigarettes. Electric cigarettes are a healthier and more social alternative to smoking tobacco, so for many people the decision to switch is easy. During this year Freedom will be running events, experiential stands and giving away loads of goodies as they make more smokers aware of the benefits of e cigarettes and the great flavors in their new range.