Why Non Filtered Cigarettes

Menthol is a chemical compound which is made of natural extract, and when inhaled it gives a cool sensation to the lungs. The flavor of menthol cigarettes is very light, and slim body of the cigarette has made people long for it. There are manufacturers who make only menthol cigarettes, but most of them who create for the masses have both menthol and the regular ones. The most famous menthol brands are the Kool, Salem and Maverick. Marlboro has launched menthol cigarettes recently, too, which is becoming very popular.

Menthol cigarettes were first developed by Lloyd "Spud" Hughes in 1924, though the idea did not become popular until the Axton-Fisher Tobacco Company acquired the patent in 1927, marketing them nationwide as "Spud Menthol Cooled Cigarettes" R.J. Reynolds Company launched the first menthol filter-tip cigarettes in 1956 under the Salem brand^. Less heavily mentholated than Kools, Salems were positioned as an all-purpose cigarette, and captured 0.8% market share within their first year.

Menthol cigarettes are constructed similarly to non-mentholated cigarettes, with menthol added at any of several stages during the manufacturing process. Menthol may be derived from distilled corn mint oil, or produced synthetically. While trace amounts of menthol may be added to non-mentholated cigarettes for flavor or other reasons, a menthol cigarette typically has at least 0.3% menthol content by weight. Lower-tar menthol cigarettes may have menthol levels up to 2%, in order to keep menthol delivery constant despite the filtration and ventilation designs used to reduce tar.
Compared to tobacco blends for non-mentholated cigarettes, a menthol cigarette will tend to have more flue-cured than burley tobacco, and less oriental tobacco.

Biology Nicotiana

There are many species of tobacco, which are encompassed by the genus of herbs Nicotiana. It is part of the nightshade family (Solanaceae) indigenous to North and South America, Australia, south west Africa and the South Pacific. Many plants contain nicotine, a powerful neurotoxin, that is particularly harmful to insects. However, tobaccos contain a higher concentration of nicotine than most other plants. Unlike many other Solanaceae, they do not contain tropane alkaloids, which are often poisonous to humans and other animals.

Despite containing enough nicotine and other compounds such as germacrene and anabasine and other piperidine alkaloids (varying between species) to deter most herbivores, a number of such animals have evolved the ability to feed on Nicotiana species without being harmed. Nonetheless, tobacco is unpalatable to many species, and therefore some tobacco plants (chiefly tree tobacco, N. glauca) have become established as invasive weeds in some places.

History developments of tobacco

Tobacco had already long been used in the Americas when European settlers arrived and

introduced the practice to Europe, where it became popular. At high doses, tobacco can become hallucinogenic ; accordingly, Native Americans never used the drug recreationally. Instead, it was often consumed as an entheogen; among some tribes, this was done only by experienced shamans or medicine men. Eastern North American tribes would carry large amounts of tobacco in pouches as a readily accepted trade item, and would often smoke it in pipes, either in defined ceremonies that were considered sacred, or to seal a bargain, and they would smoke it at such occasions in all stages of life, even in childhood. It is believed that tobacco is a gift from the Creator and that the exhaled tobacco smoke carries one's thoughts and prayers to heaven.

Popularization
Following the arrival of the Europeans, tobacco became increasingly popular as a trade item. It fostered the economy for the southern United States until it was replaced by cotton. Following the American civil war, a change in demand and a change in labor force allowed inventor James Bonsack to create a machine which automated cigarette sale production.

This increase in production allowed tremendous growth in the tobacco industry until the scientific revelations of the mid-1900s.

Contemporary
Following the scientific revelations of the mid-1900s, tobacco became condemned as a health hazard, and eventually became encompassed as a cause for cancer, as well as other respiratory and circulatory diseases. This led to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) which settled the lawsuit in exchange for a combination of yearly payments to the states and voluntary restrictions on advertising and marketing of tobacco products.

In the 1970s, Brown & Williamson cross-bred a strain of tobacco to produce Y1. This strain of tobacco contained an unusually high amount of nicotine, nearly doubling its content from 3.2-3.5% to 6.5%. In the 1990s, this prompted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to use this strain as evidence that tobacco companies were intentionally manipulating the nicotine content of cigarettes.

In 2003, in response to growth of tobacco use in developing countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) successfully rallied 168 countries to sign the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The Convention is designed to push for effective legislation and its enforcement in all countries to reduce the harmful effects of tobacco. This led to the development of tobacco cessation products.

Smoking Women Color

Taiwan Children Health Study

The Taiwan Children Health Study (TCHS) has a multipurpose nationwide design, and is focused on common environmental factors such as outdoor pollutants and household ETS exposure. Communities in Taiwan were selected with the aim of maximizing the variability and minimizing the correlations of exposures to outdoor pollutants based on historic routine air monitoring data. In communities with pollution patterns of interest, neighborhoods with stable, largely middle-income populations were identified from 2004 census data.
To address community-level sources of variability, we randomly sought participating communities within existing financial constraints. School district representatives in participating communities were consulted to identify suitable schools, based on demographic stability, likely parental cooperation, and absence of local pollution sources. Our study population finally comprised middleschool children from 14 diverse communities in Taiwan. To permit cross-sectional assessment of environmental factors, we recruited 350-450 participants from each of the study communities. In each classroom targeted for participation, every student was invited to volunteer.
Classroom-level incentives were used to encourage participation. In each school, science, health, or physical education classes were targeted, excluding any special classes for gifted or learning-disabled subjects. The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board at our university hospital, and it complied with the principles outlined in the Helsinki Declaration [28]. Questionnaire of respiratory health A total of 5,804 seventh and eighth-grade children were recruited from public schools in 14 Taiwanese communities in 2007.
The questionnaire was distributed in all communities simultaneously; subjects were given the forms by project staff following their pulmonary function tests and asked to complete and return them the following day. Questionnaire responses by parents or guardians were used to categorize children’s asthma status, age at asthma diagnosis, wheeze, and history of bronchitic symptoms. Children were considered to have asthma if there was a positive answer to the question “Has a doctor ever diagnosed this child as having asthma?” Active asthma was defined as physician-diagnosed asthma with any asthma-related symptoms or illness in the previous 12 months. Serious asthma was defined as ever visit emergency rooms or ever hospitalized. Early-onset asthma was defined as age of onset for asthma before 5 years of age. Late-onset asthma was onset after 5 years of age. Wheeze was defined as any occurrence of the child’s chest sounding wheezy or whistling.
Current wheeze was defined as wheezing for 3 or more days out of the week for a month or longer in the previous year. Bronchitis status was positive if subjects had a physician-diagnosed episode in the prior 12 months. Chronic cough was defined as cough in the morning or at other times of the day that lasted for three months in a row or more during the prior 12 months. Chronic phlegm was defined by a “yes” answer to the question “Other than with colds, does this child usually seem congested in the chest or bring up phlegm?”

Policies to prevent public subsidy of tobacco imagery in youthrated films

Film producers are by no means automatically entitled to public subsidies.
They must apply for them and meet a state’s particular requirements, which are
often quite stringently designed to minimize abuse of these programs. Eligibility
procedures in different states require applicants to submit shooting scripts,
production budgets, and day‐by‐day production schedules for state review before
shooting begins; prove the residency of crew members; contribute to local
educational and training programs; and supply the state with certified accounts
after production. States may require producers and directors to be interviewed, in
person, by program staff before an eligibility ruling. Many states require an
acknowledgment in the film’s final credits; some specify precise wording or size.

Most states disqualify certain kinds of media productions from subsidies,
such as: news, weather, and sports programs; reality shows and daytime TV;
political commercials and digital gambling projects. All except Louisiana and Puerto
Rico specifically disqualify obscene material, the definition referring either to a state
statute or to the federal age‐recording requirements for performers in sexually
explicit material.

States often allow for administrative discretion in the final decision about
which films to subsidize, based on general economic benefits to the state or, as in
Texas and Utah, how the film portrays the state’s citizens. In Georgia, “NC‐1717 or
unrated movies may not qualify at the sole discretion of the [Georgia Film Office].”
Also, projects “determined not to have positive marketing value for the State and
which are deemed not beneficial to the State of Georgia's branding initiatives and
goals" may be denied use of the “Georgia Entertainment Promotion” logo and the
additional 10 percent tax credit that goes along with it. Florida offers a bonus 2
percent tax credit to “family friendly” films, as determined by “review of the script
and an interview with the director.”

Florida states:
Family‐friendly productions are those that have cross‐generational appeal;
would be considered suitable for viewing by children age 5 and older; are
appropriate in theme, content, and language for a broad family audience;
embody a responsible resolution of issues; and do not exhibit any act of
smoking, sex, nudity, or vulgar or profane language.

Recovery memory suppression

It’s normal to slowly grow complacent during the
months and years after ending nicotine use. Complacency is fueled by quickly failing
memories of the daily captivity stress factors that compelled us to seek freedom. It’s also
fueled by an inability to recall the intensity of early withdrawal anxieties, the power of
cue triggered crave episodes or the duration of conscious fixation.

Most of us failed to keep a detailed record of why we commenced recovery or what those
first two weeks were like. Without a record to remind us, we are forced to rely upon our
memory to accurately and vividly preserve the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the
truth. But now, the memory in which we placed our trust has failed us.
It isn’t that our memory is bad, faulty or doing anything wrong. In fact, it’s working as
designed to preserve in as much detail as possible the joyful events of life, while
suppressing and helping us forget life’s stressful events, anxieties, trauma and pain. To
do otherwise would make life inside these minds unbearable. In fact, post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) is believed to reflect a breakdown in the mind’s ability to forget.396
If women were forced to remember the agony and pain of childbirth, most would likely
have just one. We are each blessed with the ability to forget.
So how does the recovered nicotine addict who failed to record their journey home revive
their passion for freedom and recall liberty's price? If we forget the past are we destined
to repeat it? Not necessarily. But just as any loving relationship needs nourishment to
flourish, we should not take our recovery for granted or the flame could eventually die
and the fire go out. It’s my dream to protect my freedom until that final breath. If you
feel the same then we need to nourish our desires. If we do, we win. If not, we risk
complacency allowing nicotine back into our bloodstream. We risk dying as slaves.
Whether daily, monthly or just once a year, our recovery benefits from care. But where
do we turn if our recovery memories have been suppressed and we have kept no record?
Our best resource is probably our brothers and sisters still in bondage. Why not enlist
their help in revitalizing our own memories of active dependency? Talk to them. Let
them know what you seek. Encourage them to be as candid and truthful as possible.
Although it may look like they’re enjoying their addiction, their primary objective is to
stay one step ahead of insula driven urges and craves. Tell them the truth about where
you now find yourself. Although not always the case, with most you’ll find their
responses inspiring. Be kind and sincere. It wasn't long ago that those were our shoes.
Try hard to recall those first two weeks without nicotine. Think about earlier uneducated
attempts. What were they like? Can you recall your mind begging to be fed? Feel the
anxieties. Were you able to concentrate? How was your sleep? Did you feel depressed,
angry, irritable, frustrated, restless or anxious? Were there rapidly cycling emotions,
irrational thinking or emotional outbursts? Do you remember these things? Do you
remember the price you paid? Do you recall the reasons you willingly paid it?
We can go on-line if we have access to a computer, visit scores of smoking cessation
support groups and find thousands of battles being fought, hear a multitude of cries and
watch hundreds struggling for survival as they dream of the calmness and quiet you now
call home. They cannot begin to imagine traveling so far that remembering their turmoil
becomes the greatest challenge of all.
If permitted, send a message to those in need. The most important thing you can tell
them is the truth about why you came. If still in the first few days they may be facing
hurricane anxieties. Their mind may have them convinced that their emotional storm will
never end. Don’t pretend that you can feel their anxiety. Instead give them what they
need, the truth! Let them know that you’ve traveled so far that it’s now hard to relate.
Tell them how comfortable and complacent you’ve grown. Describe last week and how
many seconds, if any, that you devoted to thinking about using. Fear of the unknown is
frightening. Teach them what life on Easy Street is like. By aiding them we aid
ourselves.
It may be that complacency has you at a point where thoughts of wanting are again taking
root. But think back. How long had you gone without wanting? If it is happening,
rekindling pride in the amazing journey you once made may silence such chatter. If not
I’d encourage you to re-read Chapters 3 and 12, as I suspect that you’ve either developed
a romantic fixation with using or failed to let go of one during recovery.

Defendants liability

Defendants complain that the district court failed to identify the racketeering acts that support the finding of liability. While 27 it is true the district court’s opinion provided no single, discrete list of specific racketeering acts, the comprehensive findings— detailing over one-hundred racketeering acts—are sufficient to warrant affirmance.
Defendants raise numerous challenges to the correctness of the district court’s findings that they committed racketeering acts, which we take up in Parts III and IV. In this section, however, we are concerned only with the existence of these findings, not their validity. By statutory definition, any violation of the mail or wire fraud statutes can qualify as “racketeering activity.”
To prove a violation of the mail and wire fraud statutes, the government must show a scheme or artifice to defraud and a mailing or wire transmission in furtherance thereof. “Where one scheme involves several mailings, the law is settled that each mailing constitutes a violation of the statute.”
Where, as here, the mail and wire fraud statutes serve as the predicate offenses for a RICO violation, each racketeering act must be a mailing or wire transmission made in furtherance of a “scheme or artifice to defraud.” Thus, in order to identify the racketeering acts, the district court must first have found a scheme to defraud, then concluded the alleged mailings or wire transmissions were in furtherance of such scheme.

Kiss flavour

Sobranie become in style among smokers

Sobranie has become in style among smokers because of its fine components and exceptional way of preparing the tobacco. The cigarettes manufactured by this company are of the best quality is recognized by the smokers all over the world. Its exclusive taste and special aroma make it highly recognized in the tobacco markets today. Gallaher Group distributes their cigarettes to United Kingdom and Europe, some parts of Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It was first established in London in 1879.
Sobranie cigarettes were first of all produced in Ukraine and since 2005 in Russia. These cigarettes are the most expensive Russian cigarettes that have a leading place on the tobacco market.
Today, it still produced at Old Bond Street in London. Sobraine can be balanced to Dunhill cigarettes because it is considered to be one of the most expensive cigarette brands particularly in Russia.

Big boost in tobacco tax

The fast-growing group of big names endorsing a big increase in the state tax on online cigarettes sale tobacco products can add the founder of the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
Jon Huntsman Sr., the philanthropist and businessman who has donated more than $350 million of his wealth to underwrite research, treatment and prevention of cancers, said Friday the tax is another tool in the fight against what he called "this horrifying disease."
Speaking in the top-floor auditorium of the newest addition to the cancer research center that bears his name and employs 1,600 researchers and staff, Huntsman said institute research has helped make some remarkable advances in the nature and course of cancers.
With each revelation comes more evidence that tobacco use, particularly smoking, is a leading environmental cause of several cancers.
"It's not just lung cancer," Huntsman said, noting that his own father's death was no doubt hastened by smoking. "There are multiple hazards serious enough that you have at best a 50-50 chance of not only getting sick but dying from smoking-related complications."
Huntsman, who has had pancreatic cancer, said life in general is pretty risky and no one gets through it without some kind serious health problem.

Obama And Cigarettes

In tonight's Web-only Inauguration wrap-up, Katie Couric mentioned a question she asked President Barack Obama in an interview shown in tonight's prime-time special, "Change and Challenge: The Inauguration of Barack Obama." It was about a subject that’s still a little touchy to him: cigarettes smoking.
COURIC: You don't really think of this job as working at home, do you, necessarily (laughter). But speaking of stress, what's going on with the discount cigarettes smoking thing?
PRES. OBAMA: You know, we're doing fine with it. I know everybody likes to poke, you know. I haven't had an interview yet where this one doesn't get raised.
COURIC: Well, I think people just wanna know how it's going. And I think – they feel for you.
PRES. OBAMA: Yeah, we're doing fine. I'll do better if people don't keep on bringing it up
So Couric asked Politico.com's Mike Allen if he could read anything between the lines of Mr. Obama's answer, such as, that he still is wrestling with the habit.
Allen concurred that it's possible, but suggested that perhaps we might all go a bit easier on the new president. After all, he spent an altogether frantic day looking completely cool, poised and collected.
"If you look at the way President Obama has handled himself and the way he's been portrayed, I'm happy he has a few faults, weaknesses," Allen laughed. "That shirtless photo op sure gives guys a lot to worry about. I'm happy he has a few hidden habits like that."
Plus, Couric said: "You also do have to appreciate that the guy's under a lot of pressure."
Allen added a zinger: "If he wants to get in his Audi* and have a cigarette, he ought to be able to."

Tobacco companies do battle

Two tobacco companies are battling it out at Competition Commission Tribunal hearings.

At issue is access to retail channels.

The tribunal's ruling is likely to affect the cigarette brands that are immediately visible to consumers at retail outlets.

Japan Tobacco International South Africa (JTISA) has accused British American Tobacco South Africa (Batsa) of being involved in conduct aimed at denying its competitors access to various retail channels.

These include hotels, restaurants and cafes.

JTISA manufactures brands that include Winston, Camel and Benson & Hedges.

Batsa's flagship brands include Peter Stuyvesant, Dunhill and Kent.

JTISA lodged a complaint with the Competition Commission in 2003, saying Batsa was the dominant cigarette manufacturer in the country.

Fire-Safe Cigarettes Will Prevent Fires

HONOLULU -- The Honolulu Fire Department said it is already looking forward to next year, when a new law kicks in aimed to making cigarettes less likely to start fires.
KITV's Shayne Enright reported that a home in Kapolei was destroyed last year by a cigarette thrown in the trash.
One person was injured and a family was left without a home.
The HFD said it hopes to avoid incidences like that when the new law is enacted.
"Actually, what we want to do is put ourselves out of business if we can prevent a fire. Not only do we help the community, but we also help the responders," said HFD Chief Kenneth Silva.
The new cigarettes have bands of paper that have a higher density, and if a cigarette is left unattended, it will self-extinguish, Enright said.
Lawmakers said cigarette manufactures support the safety measure, and smokers shouldn't expect to pay higher costs, they said.
"When the fires came through, it shut down our only highway that we have, stranding tons of visitors and residents who couldn't get to the airport," said Rep. Angus McKelvey. "The thing grew out of control so fast, and a lot of it could have been prevented."
A large brushfire last year in Lahaina prompted Maui officials to take action.
Some smokers said fire-safe cigarettes will prevent fires from starting.
"Normally I try to avoid smoking in the bedroom and places like that, and you try to keep an eye on it. It could be potential danger -- you never know what happens," smoker Bart Van Kerkhove.
The special cigarettes show up on store shelves in September 2009, Enright said.

SMOKING CELEBRITIES

There's absolutely no doubt that celebrities have an impact on the rest of us and there's a hot debate currently on whether the influence that fame brings should also demand a certain amount of responsibility.

Is it true that celebrities really desist from endorsing cigarettes of all hues? Is it because they are conscious of their social responsibilities? Pictures of celebrities smoking appear glamorous and civilized, regardless of the context of the scene in a movie and thus it strikes a cord with teens. They are shown at parties with a cigarette which pushes young people to emulate them. The brands they smoke, cigarettes , Camel, Winston, Virginia Slims, Salem etc, become a point of campus discussion.

Could it be that the stars themselves have been influenced by the glamour that was once associated with cigarettes? Perhaps if you spend long enough in the fantasy world of film you start to believe in the celluloid image. Just like Gloria Swanson in 'Sunset Boulevard' you lose touch with reality.

After all, it's not so long ago that everybody who was somebody in Hollywood smoked and was proud of it. cigarettes smoking was glamorous and sophisticated. Just think of the iconic image of Audrey Hepburn in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' as Holly Golightly posing elegantly with her long cigarette holder, upswept chignon and little black dress.

What's not so elegant of course is the way Audrey Hepburn succumbed to the smoking habit herself. Ignoring her mother's 'beauty tip' to: "keep to six cigarettes a day only", Hepburn managed two or three packs at her worst times - even smoking in her nun's habit on the set of 'The Nun's Story' and chain smoking her way through 'My Fair Lady'. Unsurprisingly, she suffered from asthma for most of her life and died of cancer at only 63 - looking frail and old for her years. Not the kind of ending we like to imagine for the sublime Holly Golightly.

There's no doubt that the very nature of the movie business has caused many a celebrity to start treading the nicotine path. Smoking is as common in movies today as it was back in the 1950's although overall smoking in the population at large has reduced. Could it be that a cigarette has become the film prop of choice for actors looking for an easy way to inhabit another skin?

For some celebrities - tired of the constant criticism and the ciggy shots splashed across the tabloids - a kind of smoking defiance has crept in. As Gwyneth Paltrow once said, "I smoke and I'm not going to stop!" Paltrow - famous for getting through a pack of Camel Lights a day in her teens and twenties - has only very recently quit smoking. Perhaps she started to wonder how her fine, fair skin and ethereal beauty would cope with the collagen depletion in her fourties and fifties.

Some celebrities keep going with the smoking habit whatever the consequences and even if it impacts on their relationships. It's well known that smoking was a bone of contention between Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston during their marriage. Brad Pitt is on record as saying how much he hated his ex-wife's chain smoking. His disapproval didn't cut much ice with Jennifer though - as recent paparazzi photos show. You have to ask why one of the worlds most loved and naturally attractive women would do this to themselves?

Similarly, iconic top model Kate Moss is regularly photographed with her cigarettes , a lighter and a mobile phone as her only fashion accessory. As a supreme super model its probably not surprising that Moss still manages to appear effortlessly elegant and beautiful however she's photographed - at least for now. She certainly shows no signs of wanting to quit smoking any time soon. Perhaps like so many in her world - she associates smoking with thinness. Or perhaps, for her, it's the least troubling of her addictions.

When celebrities do chose to quit its fascinating that the reasons given are so often not about looks. Catherine Zeta-Jones for instance, quit smoking - so she said - because she didn't want her children to start asking questions. Not as you might have thought - because beauty is her personal trademark and smoking would kick-start skin aging and undermine her potential to earn huge sums of money.

Whatever the reasons celebrities have for smoking or for deciding to quit - the truth about skin damage and smoking very rarely features as a major factor in the debate. Well - we think it should. So our advice to all you celebrity smokers out there - carry on smoking if you want but don't expect your fickle public not to notice the effect on your looks. And when you hit a deluded middle age you may still be able to say, like Gloria Swanson in 'Sunset Boulevard': "I'm ready for my close-up now Mr de Mille" - but only if it's filmed in heavy soft-focus, expertly back-lit and then extensively re-touched afterwards.

Bill Would Mandate Fire-Safe Cigarettes Be Sold In Tennessee

Legislation that would allow only fire-safe cigarettes to be sold in Tennessee is headed to the governor for his consideration.

The measure sponsored by Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Rosalind Kurita, a Clarksville Democrat, unanimously passed the Senate last year and was approved in the House 97-1 earlier this month.

But the bill didn't go to the governor until Thursday because both chambers had to work out some differences.

The law would only allow the sale of cigarettes made with paper that self-extinguishes if left untouched by the smoker.

Supporters say they reduce the risk of accidental fires.

Six states have mandated the sale of fire-safe cigarettes and 20 others are considering it.

Gov. Phil Bredesen could not be immediately reached for comment about whether he will sign the bill.

Tobacco groups, retailers face OFT price fixing allegations

LONDON - The United Kingdom Office of Fair Trade is set to unveil wide-ranging allegations that tobacco companies and retailers fixed cigarettes prices, the Financial Times reported citing people familiar with the tobacco investigation.
The allegations come two days after the OFT was forced to apologise to Wm Morrisons and agreed to pay 100,000 pounds in damages and costs after admitting inaccuracies in another antitrust probe.
cigarettes announcement, expected today, relates to alleged deals between the tobacco companies and a range of retailers, with cigarette suppliers the main focus of the enquiry, the report added.
The OFT launched the probe in 2003 and both Gallaher and Imperial Tobacco have previously said they are complying with requests for information.
Companies involved in price-fixing face fines of up to 10 percent of annual turnover although this is usually lower if companies co-operate with an investigation.

Solons eye replacing text with pictures on cigarette packs

A bill aiming to replace the current text warnings on cigarettes packs with pictures on the effects of smoking will be discussed in the committee on health Tuesday at the House of Representatives.
Under HB 3364 or the Picture-Based Health Warning Bill, all packages of cigarettes and other tobacco products shall have colored and graphic health warnings on their front and back panels to warn the public about the hazardous effects of smoking.
"Madali lang po makinig [pero] hindi naman natin talaga nakikita yung mga nangyayari. Pag nakita po talaga natin, baka magdalawang isip na tayo, [It's easy to listen, we never really get to see the effects. Maybe if we do, we may change our minds]" Congresswoman Anna York Bondoc, co-author of the bill, said.
If the bill is implemented, the sale of cigarettes that do not have the graphic health warnings will be banned, while descriptions of the brand such as "low tar, "light," ultra-light," and "mild" that might mislead the public will be removed, Bondoc said.
Cigarette manufacturers will also be mandated to shoulder the printing expenses of the picture-based health warnings, she said.
Manufacturers, importers, exporters, and distributors not complying with the rules will pay a fine of P1 million on the first offense, P5 million on the second offense, and P20 million on the third offense. An imprisonment of not more than one year may also be imposed on the third offense upon the discretion of the court, according to the bill.
Implementation of the bill is targeted for Sept. 6, 2008, the deadline of the compliance of the Philippines with the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), according to Congresswoman Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, co-author of HB 3364.
The FCTC is a world treaty on smoking which took effect in 2005 with 350 countries, including the Philippines, as signatories. Other countries, such as Canada and Singapore have imposed the use of picture-based health warnings on cigarette packs.
"Kung nagawa nga ng iba, bakit hindi natin magawa dito [If other countries were able to implement it, why not here]?" said Dr. Ulysses Dorotheo, FCTC Program Manager of the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance.
He cited the cigarette packs with image warnings that were being sold in Thailand but manufactured in the Philippines.

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Hike Florida cigarette tax by $1 a pack

It’s time for our state to recommit to fighting tobacco use, especially among teens. The dangers of smoking and its toll on lives are not new, but 4,000 kids try their first cigarette every day. We must create ways to keep our young people from lighting up in the first place.
Raising the tax on cigarettes is a proven way to deter kids from starting, and gives current smokers another incentive to quit. Every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces youth smoking by about 7 percent and overall cigarette consumption by about 4 percent.
The District of Columbia and 43 states have raised their cigarettes tax rates more than 75 times since January 2002, more than doubling the national average cigarette tax from 43.4 cents to $1.07 per pack.
Our state is behind the times; Florida last raised its cigarette taxes in 1990. Florida ranks 46th in the nation, as our current taxes are just 34 cents per pack. Even Tennessee, a well-known tobacco-producing state, has introduced cigarette taxes nearly double those in our state.
Budget woes are grabbing headlines these days. Raising the tobacco tax by $1 per pack will raise $822 million annually — a simple solution to our state’s budget deficit and a highly effective way to reduce smoking. It seems like a reasonable solution to me.