Youngsters in Sussex Buy Cigarettes

One in eight young people in Sussex are being hoodwinked by cigarette packaging. Just over 12% of 16-25 year-olds surveyed for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) believed one branded cigarette pack was less harmful than another based on the packet design alone. However all cigarettes contain harmful toxins, tar, and carbon monoxide. The report is published ahead of a government consultation on whether Britain should adopt plain packaging for tobacco products. One in six said they'd consider the pack design when deciding which cigarettes to buy while one in nine said they'd choose a brand because it was considered cool. Most of those surveyed, 88%, thought plain packs were less attractive than branded packs - showing how plain packaging could make a significant difference in deterring young smokers. A ban on selling cigarettes from vending machines came into force in October.

Open Air Smoking Ban Starts in East Bay

Starting Monday, smokers in Alameda are going to find the places they can light up cheap Classic cigarette much more limited. A law takes effect that cuts back the public locations and places of employment where smoking is legally allowed. The banned areas include any commercial-area sidewalks, including downtown shopping and business areas, and any outdoor seating at restaurants, bars and coffee shops. It will also include public events like farmers markets and fairs, and any parks, trails, sports fields or beaches.

Smoking Bans in Brazil, Bulgaria

From Bulgaria to Brazil, the push to ban smoking is firing up. As Agence France-Presse reports, the government of heavy-smoking Bulgaria is renewing its effort to prohibit puffing in all enclosed public places, including cafes, bars and restaurants. The government’s proposal, which would take effect June 1, would build on a 2005 ban that outlawed smoking in all government buildings, public transport, cinemas and schools. A previous effort to broaden the nation’s smoking ban failed last year. Bulgaria is second in the European Union only to Greece in the portion of its population that smokes. One survey, Reuters reports, found that 39 percent of the adult population smokes. Government figures put the nation’s smoking rate at 44 percent.

Too Little Known on Smokeless-Tobacco Risk

A key advisory committee warned the Food and Drug Administration Wednesday that little is known about the health effects of so-called modified-risk tobacco products, suggesting makers of smokeless tobacco and other alternatives to conventional cigarettes face high hurdles before they can market them as less harmful. The report by the Institute of Medicine coincided with another government-sponsored study showing cigarette use hitting historic lows among U.S. teenagers, even as more youths have turned in recent years to smokeless products such as moist snuff and pouches called snus. The FDA is studying whether to allow companies to advertise some tobacco products.

Regulate Sales of Electronic Cigarettes, Boston News

Boston city officials are stepping up efforts to regulate electronic cigarettes that deliver nicotine and individual cigars that have become popular with people looking for cheaper alternatives to discount Cigaronne cigarettes. E-cigarettes are battery-powered plastic and metal devices that heat a liquid nicotine solution in a disposable cartridge, creating vapor that users inhale. The Boston Public Health Commission on Thursday approved a proposal to immediately treat e-cigarettes like tobacco products. That includes requiring retailers to obtain permits to sell them, banning their use in the workplace and restricting their use to adults. The board also approved banning the sale of single-sale cigars by requiring that they be sold in their original manufacturer packaging of at least four. The rule becomes effective at the end of January. The board also doubled fines for retailers that violate tobacco control regulations.

More New York Railways Prohibit Platform Smoking

There’s one less place to enjoy a cigar outdoors as the anti-smoking annexation of New York continues. Metro North and Long Island Railroad platforms will join the list of territories lost as the campaign against outdoor smoking presses forward. Current rules already prohibit smoking on trains and in any indoor area associated with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. But the new law now extends to include ticketing and boarding areas and platforms with open air, effectively banning outdoor smoking from all railways. In order to smoke, rail patrons will now have to light up in parking lots or other off-premises locations before enter- ing their station, making hearing—and catching—a train much more difficult. Similar restrictions were already in place in New York City and New Jersey stations.

County Plans to Push Smokers Away from Entrances

Chester County employees and visitors to the county’s various buildings will have to haul their ashes away from public entrances if a new smoking policy is adopted Wednesday by county commissioners. The policy would forbid smokers from lighting up within 25 feet of any entrance to a county building, including the privately owned West Market Street building in West Chester where the county has administrative offices. Smoking would be permitted only in designated areas out of the way of the public. The new policy was suggested by the county’s Wellness Committee, made up of employees in the county’s Health Department and its Human Resources Department, said Karen Florentine, county human resources director.