Laws Would Stop Flavored Tobacco Gap

Thunder Bay-based health groups that have long fought against flavored-tobacco products aimed at teenagers are applauding a private members bill expected to put the kibosh on those sales. “When you see these (flavored) products for the first time, you find it hard to believe that they’re even on the market at all,” Dan DePeuter, a youth development specialist with Thunder Bay District Health Unit, said Thursday. DePeuter was reacting to a bill introduced this week by Sudbury NDP MPP France Gelinas which intends to outlaw the sale of products like candy-flavored cigarillos that have managed to avoid current laws through size changes. Gelinas’ bill would also ban candy-flavored chewing tobacco.

Regulate Dogs and Not Smokers, Smoke-Free Parks

Two different proposals are before the Sammamish City Council that deal with parks rules, and each calls for a different response. There are already regulations that mandate dogs be on a leash. Finding a way to enforce this policy is worth the city’s time. Pet owners love their dogs, but that doesn’t mean others do. Sure, you know Fido wouldn’t hurt a fly, but people may have had bad experiences, and pet owners should be sensitive to them. Small children are especially vulnerable to unleashed dogs. There are also environmental reasons to stop dogs from crashing through bushes and accessing streams and lakes. The city spends money on maintaining an off-leash area, and most people in Sammamish have yards. There are ample opportunities for dogs to roam free without letting them off leash in city parks.

Smoking in Zoo Banned, Mysore Zoo News

Smokers, beware. The authorities at Mysore zoo will slap a visitor up to Rs 200 fine if (S)he is caught smoking tobacco inside the premises. There is general notification to ban smoking in public offices and facilities, but the zoo, of late, has taken it seriously. Executive director of the zoo is strict on this, and recently, the staff attached to the facility were fined for violating the regulation. They were caught red-handed by the head, a staff said. Mysore zoo authorities have decided to strictly say 'no' to smoking inside the premises. Irritating smoke and carelessly thrown cigarette butts will no longer bother either the visitors or the animals.

Stores Prohibited Tobacco Displays

Tobacco has been banned from displays in shops as the latest anti-smoking law comes into effect in England. The new rules mean all cigarettes and tobacco products will be kept hidden behind screens or under the counter in large shops and supermarkets. Small shops will follow suit in 2015, allowing them more time to refit shelves and cabinets. Smoking causes 80,000 preventable deaths each year and costs the NHS £5bn annually. Anti-smoking campaigners argue displays had become increasingly colourful and appealing as other forms of tobacco advertising were closed down. The changes are the latest in a long line of legislative measures aimed at reducing smoking rates. The Government hopes the move will discourage young people from taking up the habit and encourage established smokers to quit. Health Minister Anne Milton said: "We cannot ignore the fact that young people are recruited into smoking by colourful, eye-catching, cigarette displays.

Smoking Habit Hurts Relationships

Think smoking's popularity is in the past? For smokers, lighting up is still seen as stress relief, a part of a social life and less helpfully, an addiction to nicotine. Years of peer pressure, picking up old habits or just trying to fit in with the crowd, can leave people struggling to kick the butt when starting a new relationship. Canada's highest rate of smokers are adults aged 19 to 29, the largest age range in the dating pool. So it's no coincidence that the Canadian Cancer Society opted to launch a campaign entitled "Break It Off" this year, which focuses on the same problems people have in their relationships.

Smoking Dads bad for Kids

Research from Western Australia’s Telethon Institute for Child Health Research finds that heavy smoking by fathers around the time of conception greatly increases the risk of the child developing Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer. Published in the prestigious American Journal of Epidemiology, the study investigated the association between parental smoking and the occurrence of ALL in offspring. “The first step towards the development of leukemia is thought to occur in utero in a lot of cases,” lead author Dr Elizabeth Milne says.