World No Tobacco Day: What Can You Do With 1,095 Hours and $2,131?

To help celebrate World No Tobacco Day, May 31, Quit Tobacco – Make Everyone Proud would like you to meet Lance Corporal Jason Miller – a Marine and a dual tobacco user. QTMEP created a Day-In-The-Life of Jason infographic that helps service members visualize how tobacco controls their own day. 

In one day, Jason spends 3 hours and $5.84 on tobacco. Compounded into a year, he will spend 1,095 hours and $2,131 on his tobacco habit. The infographic highlights other ways Jason could spend his time and money.

The full infographic can be found on UCanQuit2.org, and we also have a poster and social media images available for download to help promote World No Tobacco Day. 

Tough Enough to Defend Your Country?  Tough Enough to Quit Tobacco.

Quit Tobacco—Make Everyone Proud is encouraging our brave military men and woman to recognize how tough they are each and every day as they defend our country, and that reaching out for support in quitting tobacco is one of the strongest actions they can take.

While many smokers in the military want to quit, it’s a tough process. QTMEP’s Tough Enough campaign is intended to encourage service members who smoke, to visit the ucanquit2.org and to enroll in the SmokefreeMIL text messaging program for tailored cessation support. 

The campaign is launched May 1, so check out the UCanQuit2.org Partners section for social media messages and information that you can use for your cessation efforts.

---

Military Trying Hard To Reverse Rank Tobacco Has Among Troops

Every branch of the military struggles with tobacco use rates higher than those in the civilian world, especially in the young. Smoking cessation experts and researchers who have worked with and studied military men and women said studies show 20- and 30-somethings are the biggest tobacco users and weaning them off cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products is not as simple as tossing them a few packs of minty gum and offering nicotine patches. Social pressures, job stress and a youthful sense of invincibility — the risk-taking type of personality that’s attracted to the military — clash with efforts to get them to tamp out their butts. Military culture also has a tobacco tradition that’s tough to crack. While overall smoking rates have dropped in the military by about half over the past 30 years, it will likely take a couple more decades to unravel the old ways completely.

Click here to view the article from Al Jazeera America.

Senators Encourage Navy on Potential Tobacco Sales Ban

Five Democratic senators have written to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus encouraging him to ban the sale of tobacco products on bases and ships. Other lawmakers are opposing the idea, which is under consideration by Mabus and other Navy officials and has been encouraged by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Three Republican members of Congress have written to House Appropriations Committee leaders asking for language to be included in the 2015 defense appropriations bill that would prohibit DoD or any service branch from implementing any policy or regulation that would limit or prohibit troops’ access to legal tobacco products.

Click here to view the article from Military Times.

Master Sergeant Promotes Tobacco-Free Living 

Army Master Sergeant Jennifer Loredo wrote her sixth blog for Operation Live Well. Loredo is the noncommissioned officer in charge of strategy, policy and training for the Army’s Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness program. 

Click here to view the blog on Health.mil.

Smoking in the White House: Dick Cheney Recalls Days of Free Cigarettes from Tobacco Companies

While promoting his book about his 35-year battle with heart disease, former Vice President Dick Cheney talked about smoking in the White House and in the Boy Scouts – and the moment that led him to kick the habit.

Click here to view the article from MLive.

Recognize Tobacco in its Many Forms

Tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of disease and death in the United States, but can you recognize a tobacco product? Learn more about the array of new tobacco products on the market, many of which look very different from the traditional products you may know about.

Click here to view the information from FDA.

Internet, Social Media Expose Youth to Tobacco

Tobacco companies are barred by law from advertising their products to children, but researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that many teens and pre-teens are getting tobacco advertisements and promotions through social media outlets or text messaging on mobile phones. More than one in 10 children under 18 reported receiving tobacco coupons or promotions on their Facebook or MySpace pages or in text messages on their mobile phones. But it’s unclear whether the tobacco-related messages were meant for those kids or had been sought by Internet “friends” of those children and then passed along through social media.

Click here to view the article from the Washington University School of Medicine.

Moderate exercise reduced want and need to smoke

Quitting smoking is a tough task for most smokers. One healthy activity might be a great place to start. Following up on previous studies, two scientists conducted experiments to see if exercise could decrease how much people wanted to smoke. The researchers found that moderate exercise delayed the cravings and urge to smoke.

Players Find Tobacco Habit Hard To Shake 

Smokeless tobacco use stubbornly remains a part of baseball, even though Major League Baseball has tried to discourage its use for the last few years because it is known to increase the risk of cancer. While smokeless tobacco use is not as prevalent in baseball as it was several years ago, a survey of the 58 Red Sox players invited to spring training this year found 21 who admitted to using it.

Click here for the article from the Boston Globe.

National Ian Desmond Goes Tobacco-Free

The game winner in the April 7 National vs Braves game came from the bat of Ian Desmond, who clubbed a long solo homer in the seventh that broke a 1-1 tie. But for Desmond, the home run wasn't his major accomplishment yesterday. He was more proud of making it through the entire game without dipping, which, for those who are unaware, means using smokeless tobacco. "I made it through the whole game without dip, so that was a bigger victory than beating the Braves," a smiling Desmond said after the game. "I've dipped for a long time and I'm really trying hard to quit, so thank you for all those out there that supported me today."

Click here to view the article from MASN Sports.

Rockies Carlos Gonzalez Back In Lineup after Illness from Swallowing Smokeless Tobacco

Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez was forced to leave the game in the sixth inning because he swallowed his chew. Just one more reason you should think about pitching the dip.

Click here to view the article from SBNation.

Click here to view the article from Yahoo! Sports.

FDA Proposes First E-Cigarette Rules

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed asserting its authority over new tobacco products on April 24, including e-cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and nicotine gels. It’s a basic first step, extending the FDA’s regulatory power, but the rule would immediately make e-cigarettes off-limits to kids under 18 and would require makers to tell the agency what’s in their products.

Click here to view the article from NBC News.

Lawmakers to E-Cigarette Makers: Stop Preying on Minors

In a 43-page report, a group of congressional Democrats led by Dick Durbin of Illinois stressed the need for federal regulation of e-cigarettes, citing marketing efforts aimed at minors and a need for more information on health risks for consumers.

Click here to view the article from Time.

Click here to view the Gateway to Addiction report.

E-Cigarettes: Marketing Versus Public Health

Electronic cigarettes were heralded by some as a healthcare game changer, enabling smokers to switch to a new product which carried lower risk of cancer. However, there were concerns about the public health risk of e-cigarettes, particularly the chance that teens would easily develop nicotine addictions from smoking the fruit-flavored products. Manufacturers argued that current smokers, not teens were the target market, but laws regulating e-cigarettes were far less stringent than those governing tobacco products.

Click here to view the case study abstract from the Harvard Business School.

Click here to view the accompanying article from Forbes.

New Study Finds That E-Cigarette Vapor Affects Cells Similarly To Tobacco Smoke

Electronic cigarettes can change gene expression in a similar way to tobacco, according to one of the first studies to investigate the biological effects of the devices. Presented at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting on 6 April in San Diego, California, the research looked at human bronchial cells that contained some mutations found in smokers at risk of lung cancer. The cells were immortalized, grown in culture medium that had been exposed to e-cigarette vapor and their gene expression profiled.

Click here to view the article from Nature.com.

Altria Completes Acquisition of Green Smoke

Altria Group, Inc. announced that its subsidiary, Nu Mark LLC, has completed the acquisition of the e-vapor business of Green Smoke, Inc. and its affiliates. The transaction is valued at approximately $110 million in cash and up to $20 million in incentive payments.

Click here to view the article from the Wall Street Journal.

JAC Vapour to Light up E-Cigarette Industry with First Advertising Campaign in UK

JAC Vapour, the UK's leading high quality e-cigarette brand, has announced the launch of its first major advertising campaign, which will be rolled out across London and Edinburgh over the next 2 months. The innovative campaign will position the brand's e-cigarettes as high quality gadgets and avoid glamorizing their use through lifestyle imagery, which has traditionally been used across the industry to date. The campaign will incorporate a mix of digital and outdoor advertising, which will feature 6 sheets, taxi displays, and health screens in clinics and pharmacies.

Click here to view the article from Market Watch.