Friday, April 18, 2014
Benefits of Smoking Cessation
Smoking kills -Remember smokers
Touching on a subject that has stirred controversy in countries where pro- and anti-tobacco lobbies are fighting over smoking controls, investigators looked at data from a large survey among British teenagers.
More than a thousand 11- to 16-year-olds took part in the survey, which unfolded in two waves, in 2008 and a followup in 2011.
In 2008, cigarette packets sold in Britain had large text warnings on the front and back.
In 2011, these were joined by anti-smoking pictures on the back panel of the pack.
Between two-thirds and three-quarters of respondents in the survey had never smoked.
Between 17 and 22 percent had experimented with cigarettes.
Around one in 10 were already "regular" smokers, defined as smoking at least one cigarette a week.
All were asked if they recalled the text message or the picture, and say which warning was likely to discourage them from smoking.
The most commonly recalled messages were the two types of general warnings on the packet front.
"Smoking kills" was remembered by 58 percent in 2008, while "Smoking seriously harms you and others around you" by 41 percent.
These rates fell to 47 percent and 25 percent respectively in 2011.
In contrast, the more specific text messages on the back of the pack were recalled by less than one percent of participants both 2008 and 2011.
Recall of the back-of-the-pack images was generally below 10 percent in both waves.
The exception was three scary pictures of rotting teeth, diseased lungs and neck cancer, for which recall increased between 2008 and 2011, reaching a maximum of 33 percent for the diseased lung image.
The research say the pictures had most effect on "never" or experimental smokers.
But the impact was negligible on regular smokers -- except to prompt some of them to buy special "hiding packs" to mask the nasty images.
"As warnings need to be salient to be effective, positioning pictorial warnings only on the less visible reverse panel limits their impact," says the study.
"While recall was high at both waves for pack-front (text) warnings, it was low -- below 10 percent -- for the pictorial warnings on the pack reverse, fear-appeal pictures aside."
The study, appearing in the specialist journal Tobacco Control published by the British Medical Journal (BMJ), also points to the "wear-out" factor, of text and visual warnings that go unchanged for years and fail to make an impact on regular smokers.
More than 60 countries now require pictorial health warnings on packs, according to the paper.
In five countries - Australia, Brunei, Canada, Sri Lanka and Uruguay - the law stipulates that they cover 75 percent of the main surfaces.
European Union (EU) countries must follow a 2001 directive that gives one of two general warnings covering 30-35 percent on the pack front, and 14 specific warnings, covering 40-50 percent of the reverse.
There are also 42 possible images that member states can use on the reverse of packs.
Less than half of the EU's member-states have adopted these pictorial warnings, and none has warnings covering 50 percent of the main pack surfaces overall, a guideline set by the UN's World Health Organisation (WHO).
Smokeless tobacco products and tobacco sales
Lately have appeared
new kinds of smokeless tobacco products on the tobacco markets like "Camel
Orbs" for example, which is tested by Reynolds American Inc. (RAI).
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--New types of smokeless tobacco products
like the "Camel Orbs" being tested by Reynolds American Inc. (RAI)
could accidentally draw young children because of their candy-like appearance,
researchers said in the Pediatrics journal Monday.
Unintentional
ingestion of tobacco products is a major reason for infant and child toxic
exposures reported to poison-control centers throughout the nation, the article
says. The Camel Orbs product named in the article was launched by Reynolds
American unit R.J. Reynolds in the first quarter of 2009 and the orbs are small
pellets made of finely milled tobacco and contain nicotine.
Smokeless tobacco
products have become increasingly important to the sales of the U.S. tobacco
industry. Americans are smoking fewer cigarettes amid bans on smoking in public
places and other factors.
A Reynolds spokesman
countered that the Camel Orbs products are made for adult tobacco users, sales
are age restricted, they carry the same warning as any other smokeless tobacco
products and they are sold in child resistant packaging. Reynolds maintains
that accidental ingestion of tobacco products isn't a major reason for infant
and child toxic exposures reported to poison-control centers.
The published piece
in the Pediatrics journal suggests that public health authorities study such
products to determine the appropriate regulatory approach. Gregory Connolly,
director of the tobacco control research program at the Harvard School of
Public Health, was the lead author of the study.
Other tobacco
industry critics have had similar concerns. The Food and Drug Administration
was recently given powers to regulate the tobacco industry and its approach to
such products will be closely watched.
Smoking bans and public policies
Smoking
bans represent
public policies, including occupational safety, criminal laws and health
regulations, which forbidden smoking tobacco in workplaces and/or other public
spaces. Legislation may also characterize smoking in a general way as being the
possessing or carrying of any tobacco product.
Smoke-free laws are very rationale because there are made to protect all the people
from the effects of second-hand and third hand smoke, which include a big risk
of cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and other diseases. Laws that are implementing
bans on indoor smoking were introduced by many countries in many forms in the
past years, with a few legislators citing scientific evidence that sustains
that tobacco smoking is harmful to the smokers themselves and to people that
are inhaling second-hand smoke.Such laws may lower health care and improve work productivity, and lower the overall cost of labor in a community, so that it could make the community more attractive for the employers. In
Another rationales for smoking restrictions include a reduced risk of fire in areas where it is possible explosions; cleanliness in places where pharmaceuticals, food, precision instruments and machinery are produced or semiconductors; decreased legal liability; reduced quantities of litter; giving smokers possibility to quit, and healthier environments.
The World Health Organization thinks that smoke-free laws have a big influence to reduce the demand for tobacco products by making an environment where smoking cigarettes for example is more difficult. Together with cessation measures, tax measures and education, smoking ban policy is now seen as an important part in making the smoking rates lower and promoting public health. When all of these are made correctly and strictly and are also implemented right it is considered as one important, useful policy agenda goal to change or at least transform human habits away from unhealthy behavior and towards a healthy lifestyle
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Reynolds American Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit more than doubled to $292
million as higher prices and lower legal expenses offset a decline in
cigarette sales, and it benefited from the year-ago comparison. The
maker of Camel, Pall Mall cigarettes and Natural American Spirit
cigarettes said revenue excluding excise taxes fell about 2 percent to
$2.04 billion.
The number of cigarettes sold by its R.J. Reynolds Tobacco subsidiary fell about 9 percent during the quarter to 15.6 billion. Volumes for Pall Mall fell more than 6 percent and volumes for Camel fell 3.5 percent. Both brands gained market share.
SMOKELESS TOBACCO: Volume for its smokeless tobacco brands including Grizzly and Kodiak rose about 8 percent compared with a year ago. The brands had a 33.3 percent share of the U.S. retail market, which is tiny compared with cigarettes.
The number of cigarettes sold by its R.J. Reynolds Tobacco subsidiary fell about 9 percent during the quarter to 15.6 billion. Volumes for Pall Mall fell more than 6 percent and volumes for Camel fell 3.5 percent. Both brands gained market share.
SMOKELESS TOBACCO: Volume for its smokeless tobacco brands including Grizzly and Kodiak rose about 8 percent compared with a year ago. The brands had a 33.3 percent share of the U.S. retail market, which is tiny compared with cigarettes.
Reynolds American Inc (RAI): New Analyst Report from Zacks Equity Research - Zacks Equity Research Report
Reynolds' fourth-quarter 2013 earnings of $0.77 per share lagged
the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.2% but increased 1.3% year over
year. Profit improved on the back of higher cigarette and moist
snuff pricing. Net sales however slipped 1.9% due to declining
cigarette volumes. However, core brands like Camel, Pall Mall and
Santa Fe gained market share backed by brand-building initiatives.
Reynolds' continuous innovations in the smokeless and moist snuff
products are helping it to maintain a dominant share in the
smokeless category. Moreover, the company's advancement in the
e-cigarette category with the Vuse brand is encouraging. However,
the high excise tax imposed by governments around the world is
pressuring the company's margins. Additionally, anti-smoking
regulations remain a persistent overhang. Again the tobacco sector
is facing declining volume for the past few quarters due to shift
of demand from cigarettes to other non-tobacco products. We,
therefore, prefer to stay on the sidelines
Overview: Headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Reynolds American, producer of Camel cigarettes , Inc. (RAI) came into existence in 2004. Its subsidiaries include R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR), American Snuff Company, LLC, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. and Niconovum AB.
In Jul 2004, the U.S. business of Brown & Williamson Holdings, Inc. (B&W), an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of British American Tobacco plc was combined with R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR). This merger is generally referred to as the B&W business combination. Post the merger, B&W owns approximately 42% of Reynolds' outstanding common stock.
Reynolds' reportable segments comprise of RJR Tobacco, American Snuff and Santa Fe and All Other.
RJR Tobacco is a leading cigarette manufacturer, which operates mainly in the U.S. Its manufacturing facilities are located in the Winston-Salem area, known as the Tobaccoville manufacturing facility and the Whitaker Park complex. RJR Tobacco's largest selling cigarette brands Camel, Kool, Pall Mall, Doral and Winston are some of the best-selling cigarette brands in the U.S. RJR Tobacco also manages contract manufacturing of cigarette and tobacco products.
American Snuff is a leading smokeless tobacco product manufacturer in the U.S. It includes the primary operations of American Snuff Company, whose main products are its largest-selling moist snuff brands, Grizzly and Kodiak, Its manufacturing facilities are located in Memphis, Tennessee Clarksville, Tennessee Winston-Salem and Bowling Green, Kentucky. The American Snuff Company also makes loose-leaf tobacco (including Morgan's, Levi Garrett and Taylor's Pride brands), snuff (Garrett, Dental and Tube Rose brands) and an assortment of other smokeless tobacco products (including twist, moist and plug).
Santa Fe manufactures and markets cigarettes as well as other tobacco products under the Natural American Spirit brand. Its manufacturing facility is located in Oxford, North Carolina and its leased distribution center is located in Reno, Nevada.
Other segment describes the business of Reynolds subsidiary, Niconovum USA, which is a marketer of nicotine replacement therapy products in Sweden under the Zonnic brand name
Overview: Headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Reynolds American, producer of Camel cigarettes , Inc. (RAI) came into existence in 2004. Its subsidiaries include R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR), American Snuff Company, LLC, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. and Niconovum AB.
In Jul 2004, the U.S. business of Brown & Williamson Holdings, Inc. (B&W), an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of British American Tobacco plc was combined with R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR). This merger is generally referred to as the B&W business combination. Post the merger, B&W owns approximately 42% of Reynolds' outstanding common stock.
Reynolds' reportable segments comprise of RJR Tobacco, American Snuff and Santa Fe and All Other.
RJR Tobacco is a leading cigarette manufacturer, which operates mainly in the U.S. Its manufacturing facilities are located in the Winston-Salem area, known as the Tobaccoville manufacturing facility and the Whitaker Park complex. RJR Tobacco's largest selling cigarette brands Camel, Kool, Pall Mall, Doral and Winston are some of the best-selling cigarette brands in the U.S. RJR Tobacco also manages contract manufacturing of cigarette and tobacco products.
American Snuff is a leading smokeless tobacco product manufacturer in the U.S. It includes the primary operations of American Snuff Company, whose main products are its largest-selling moist snuff brands, Grizzly and Kodiak, Its manufacturing facilities are located in Memphis, Tennessee Clarksville, Tennessee Winston-Salem and Bowling Green, Kentucky. The American Snuff Company also makes loose-leaf tobacco (including Morgan's, Levi Garrett and Taylor's Pride brands), snuff (Garrett, Dental and Tube Rose brands) and an assortment of other smokeless tobacco products (including twist, moist and plug).
Santa Fe manufactures and markets cigarettes as well as other tobacco products under the Natural American Spirit brand. Its manufacturing facility is located in Oxford, North Carolina and its leased distribution center is located in Reno, Nevada.
Other segment describes the business of Reynolds subsidiary, Niconovum USA, which is a marketer of nicotine replacement therapy products in Sweden under the Zonnic brand name
Pot Smokers Perform Better Academically Than Cigarette Users
Here's some promising news for learning cannabis lovers. Scientists
from the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of public health have
reviewed reports from a study that involved 39,000 Ontario students
from 1981 to 2011. The studies show that straight up pot smokers perform
better in school than cigarette smokers and those who smoke both
substances. Not only that, but less kids are smoking tobacco now than 30
years ago.
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health asked students in Grades 7, 9 and 11 about their tobacco and marijuana use, and their academic performance. The study found that marijuana-only users did better at school than their counterparts who smoked only cigarettes or who smoked both cigarettes and marijuana. However, the findings reflect the fact that fewer students smoke tobacco today compared to 30 years ago, and those that do make up a very “marginalized, vulnerable” population, says lead study author Michael Chaiton, assistant professor in epidemiology and public health policy.Logically, students that don't part take in the wacky tobaccy do better, according to Chaiton.
“Now there is a distinction between marijuana use and co-use with other substances, and it’s an indication of the changing social norms. So it’s not an absolute that they do better; it’s that social norms have changed and the population of people who use marijuana are more like the general population.”Sometimes it's like everything from Cheech and Chong's Big Bambu album is coming true.
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