Albertans favour higher tobacco tax

Premier Alison Redford would have the support of most Albertans if she raises tobacco taxes in the upcoming provincial budget, according to a new poll. An online survey by Ipsos Reid, which polled 809 Albertans between Dec. 20 and 26, indicated that 70 per cent of the respondents support a $2-per-pack tax increase on best Ritm cigarettes if the proceeds are used to reduce tobacco use and promote healthy living. An increase in the cigarette tax could bring down smoking rates in Alberta, particularly among youths, said Candace Nykiforuk of the Alberta Policy Coalition of Chronic Disease Prevention and an assistant professor of public health at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

Tobacco Free Laws in Montague, Public Smoking Ban

It's taken three years, but the shaky marriage between coffee and cigarettes was snuffed out here when town council Monday night approved a tobacco free policy for town owned places. The vote was unanimous and means that smoking is prohibited on all town owned properties from the hockey rink to the marina and waterfront. No more lighting up at the waterfront and watching the ducks or even standing outside the doors of the local rink. "People knew it was coming and it's about time,'' offered Scott Bell, the president of the committee operating the Wellness Centre. "We've had nothing but trouble with butts all over the place and people having trouble recognizing the need not to smoke at the entrances." Frank Morrison, with the Council for a Smoke Free P.E.I., said Montague has taken a long time to initiate a tobacco free policy, but the end result is welcomed. "We have about 25 per cent of Island communities still working on such policies," he said from the town hall gallery after the vote was taken. "So it is slowly becoming the norm. Smoking tobacco is a killer."

Revolution in Smoking Cigarettes

We are on the brink of a revolution in smoking which aims to eradicate the tax free Viceroy cigarette. Companies, including some of the biggest names in tobacco, are poised to launch a generation of devices that mimic the experience of smoking without the lethal effects. One, being developed by a 29-year-old Oxford graduate, has attracted the attention of BAT, one of the world's largest tobacco companies, which has bought the rights to market it. A profusion of electronic and other devices has appeared in the past year, thanks to a legal loophole which allows them to be sold freely so long as they do not make any health claim . An estimated 10 million "e-cigarettes", which are shaped to look like the real thing and simulate smoking by heating nicotine to produce an inhaled mist, have been sold worldwide.

60% of Underage Girls Smoke Cigs

About 60% of the 359 underage people caught smoking over the past 11 months in Penang were girls. Penang Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environmental Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said the figure was alarming. “We have to ensure that juveniles are not exposed to smoking,” he said. Phee warned that those who offer or sell cigarettes to underage children are liable to a minimum RM10,000 compound. “The local councils also have the right to withdraw their operating licence,” he added in an interview. As for those smoking in prohibited areas, Phee said they would be asked to give their particulars which would go into a database.

Adult Smoking Rates Could Fall

Smoking rates could fall below 20 per cent this year as thousands of Kiwis are expected to kick the habit. Quitline's Bruce Bassett said adult smoking rates could fall to the lowest levels since records began. He said 21 per cent of adult New Zealanders smoked and about 9000 people were expected to use Quitline services in January. "It's going to be really busy." He said more than a fifth of those who used quitting services stayed smoke-free. Leone Landells chose to stop smoking cheap Davidoff cigarettes just before the New Year brought a wave of resolutions and a price rise reaching more than $15 for popular packs of 20. "I feel so much better," she said. "I didn't realise how unwell I felt as a smoker." Landells, 53, said seeing her close friend's mother suffer from emphysema was the tipping point.