THIS TOBACCO-ADVERTISING-FREE ISSUE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY STAMP OUT SMOKING.

Big Tobacco spends over $8.5 billion a year marketing their products in the U.S. So, even if it’s just for one week, we’re taking this space back. If you’re ready to quit, we can help. Just call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

Every year, tobacco kills more Americans than alcohol, car accidents, murders, suicides, drugs, AIDS, and fires combined. If you’re ready to quit, we can help. Just call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

Over 400,000 people die annually from smoking. If you’re ready to quit, we can help. Just call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

Smoking for Two: The Challenges and Risks Faced by Pregnant Smokers and Their BabiesIn spite of extensive research that demonstrates the health conse-quences of smoking during preg-nancy for both the mother and child, 16.5 percent of pregnant women in Arkansas smoke. The majority of these women continue to smoke throughout their pregnancy and, of those who do quit, the majority return to smoking during the pregnancy or shortly after delivering the child.

According to the U.S. Surgeon Gen-eral, a pregnant woman who smokes is 1.5 to 3.5 times more likely than a non-smoker to have a low birth weight baby. It is important to point out that one of the major challenges facing preventive maternal and child health services today is the incidence of low birth weight. Numerous stud-ies have also found that smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke among pregnant women is a primary cause of spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) after birth.

Aside from the health risks that it creates for their babies, smoking increases the likelihood of women having a heart attack, stroke, lung cancer, emphysema, and other life-threatening illnesses. Consequently, more than 170,000 women die of smoking-caused diseases each year, with additional deaths perpetuated by the use of other tobacco products such as smokeless tobacco.

The risks and challenges caused from smoking extend beyond preg-nancy; for example, parental or other household members smoking after a

newborn is brought home further in-creases the chances that children will suffer from smoke-caused coughs and wheezing, bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, potentially fatal lower re-spiratory tract infections, meningitis, SIDS, eye and ear problems, or injury or death from cigarette-caused fires. Each year, in the U.S., more than 20,000 children are hospitalized for respiratory illnesses caused by their parents’ tobacco use and over 1,000 die as a result.

To best address this important public health concern, three critical goals must be accomplished: development of effective interventions to help women quit smoking during pregnan-cy; development of effective interven-tions to help women stay smoke-free during and after pregnancy; and, identification of effective methods of reaching women who smoke during pregnancy.

Sources:http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/re-search/factsheets/pdf/0007.pdf

http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/re-search/factsheets/pdf/0004.pdf

http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/re-search/factsheets/pdf/0176.pdfPubMed database (2 articles)

Big Tobacco needs young people to replace all the dying smokers. So

they create candy-like products with vanilla, grape, and green apple

flavors. If you’re ready to quit, we can help. Just call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

Big Tobacco uses large, flashy storefront signage to attract young people.

They place products near candy to attract young people.

They offer cigars in sweet flavors to attract young people.

Big Tobacco advertising

uses bright colors,

fun graphics, and

glamorous models to

attract young people.

If you’re ready to quit,

we can help. Just call

1-800-QUIT-NOW.

One in three youth smokers will eventually die

from a tobacco-related disease. If you’re ready

to quit, we can help. Just call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

Of current smokers, over 400,000 have some

form of cancer from smoking. If you’re ready to

quit, we can help. Just call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

Not worried about cancer? Then how do heart

attacks, strokes, emphysema, and chronic

bronchitis grab you? If you’re ready to quit, we

can help. Just call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

To get around no-smoking ordinances, Big

Tobacco has designed new smokeless nicotine-

delivery products, like snus, orbs, and sticks.

If you’re ready to quit, we can help. Just call

1-800-QUIT-NOW.

In 2012, youth-rated movies delivered 14.8 billion tobacco impressions, an

increase of 33 percent over 2011. If you’re ready to quit, we can help. Just

call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

There are 69 human

carcinogens in

tobacco smoke. If

you’re ready to quit,

we can help. Just call

1-800-QUIT-NOW.

Big Tobacco has targeted African-American

communities, using urban culture and

language to promote menthol cigarettes. If

you’re ready to quit, we can help. Just call

1-800-QUIT-NOW.

The Bitter Truth: How Big Tobacco Targets Youth with Candy Flavored ProductsBig Tobacco may offer its younger customers a seemingly sweet alternative to conventional tobacco products, but their tactics leave a bitter taste in the mouths of those who know better. Between 2000 and 2012, cigar sales in the U.S. more than doubled, increasing from six billion to more than 13 billion cigars a year. This surge can be attributed to a dramatic increase in the number and types of smaller cigar products available – many of which are flavored, priced, and packaged to appeal to young people.

In 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes; however, because the FDA does not currently regulate cigars, tobacco companies continue to market them similarly. Alternatively, some companies have modified their flavored cigarettes to meet the legal definition of cigars (e.g., by adding tobacco to the wrapper) – continuing to market them with sweet flavors.When another 2009 federal law significantly increased taxes on cigarettes and small cigars yet taxed larger cigars at lower rates, some manufacturers added weight to their products to qualify for the lower tax rate. For example, one manufacturer has reportedly increased the weight of its cigars by adding a clay material used in kitty litter. This knowledge should deter youth from smoking; yet, 18.2 percent of high school students in Arkansas smoke.

Cigars today are no longer just the “big stogies” smoked by older men. Flavored cigars are the most popular among youth. The top three brands – Black & Mild, Swisher Sweets, and White Owl – come in a wide variety of flavors, including peach, strawberry, chocolate, grape,

blueberry, wild apple, pineapple, and watermelon. Some cigars also have flavor-oriented names, such as “Da Bomb Blueberry” and “Banana Split,” with obvious appeal to children and young adults. The tobacco industry capitalizes on this knowledge; as one tobacco retailer pointed out, “While different cigars target a variety of markets, all flavored tobacco products tend to appeal primarily to younger consumers.”

Until Congress and the FDA ensure that all tobacco products are properly regulated and taxed to prevent children and young adults from using them, the tobacco industry will continue to sugar-coat its intentions and products – leaving consumers with the bitter taste of their consequences.

Sources:

http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/press_releases/post/2013_03_13_cigar

http://www.legacyforhealth.org/content/download/642/7502/version/2/file/Fact_Sheet-Cigars_Cigarillos_LittleCigars.pdf

http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/content/what_we_do/industry_watch/store_report/deadlyalliance_full_report.pdf

http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/facts_issues/toll_us/arkansashttp://www.tobaccofreekids.org/what_we_do/industry_watch/cigar_report/

Big Tobacco has targeted women, producing brands with ads featuring slim, attractive, and athletic models.

If you’re ready to quit, we can help. Just call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

Not Your Grandpa’s Chew: Recruiting a New Generation of Smokeless UsersTobacco companies know that virtually all tobacco users start as children; consequently, they develop novel products, with kid-friendly flavors (e.g., Cherry Skoal) and packaging to attract new users. Tobacco documents show that the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company created a specific strategy to ‘graduate’ new, young smokeless tobacco users from candy or fruit-flavored “starter products” to more potent varieties.

In addition to novelty and the appeal of more ‘palatable’ flavors, tobacco companies market smokeless tobacco products as a way to use tobacco in locations or settings where smoking is not allowed or socially ac-ceptable. Responding to the downward trend in smoking rates and the increasing popularity of smokeless tobacco products, cigarette compa-nies continue to develop products that draw on popular cigarette brand names to attract new users; for example, R.J. Reynold’s Camel Snus and Philip Morris USA’s Marlboro Snus. Snus are small, teabag-like pouches containing tobacco and other flavorings that users place between their up-per gum and lip. Since these products do not require spitting, their use is easily concealed. Teens have admitted to using them in class due to their discreetness and ability to conceal them.

In addition to Snus, other emerging novelties include tobacco lozenges and pellets, like Camel Orbs, which are dissolvable tobacco products that look like Tic Tac brand breath mints. Camel Strips are flat sheets of ground tobacco that work like dissolvable breath strips and Camel Sticks are toothpick-like sticks of ground tobacco. These new products concern public health organizations for numerous reasons: they may attract even more children and young adults into smokeless tobacco use and ad-

diction; they create the misconception that they are a harmless form of tobacco use; and they can be consumed at home, in school, and in other locations much less conspicuously than either cigarettes or existing spit tobacco products. Furthermore, for individuals trying to quit cigarettes, these new smokeless products may wrongly be used as a ‘tool’ for ces-sation and instead end up perpetuating and increasing nicotine addiction – an addiction that can prove fatal.

Constant exposure to tobacco juice causes cancer of the esophagus, pharynx, larynx, stomach, and pancreas. Smokeless tobacco users run a higher risk of developing oral cancer compared to non-users; these can-cers can form within five years of regular use. Smokeless tobacco users also have a 60 percent higher risk of developing pancreatic and esopha-geal cancer. Despite these alarming statistics, currently 20.3 percent of male high school students in Arkansas use smokeless or spit tobacco. A new generation is using a new line of smokeless tobacco products and compromising the same old thing: their health.

Sources:

http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/facts_issues/toll_us/arkansas

http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/research/factsheets/pdf/0363.pdf

http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/research/factsheets/pdf/0003.pdf

Don’t let Big Tobacco manipulate you, or our children, with their deceptive advertising and marketing tricks. If you’re ready to quit, we can help. Just call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.