Thousands of young people at hundreds of events from coast-to-coast are taking action against tobacco use today — the 16th annual Kick Butts Day!
Kick Butts Day is a national day of activism that empowers youth to speak up and take action against Big Tobacco at hundreds of events across the USA — and even abroad.
If you’re having a pint for St. Patrick's Day — and sipping in a smoke-free bar — be sure to tip your hat to Ireland, too.
In March 2004, the Republic of Ireland became the first country in the world to implement a comprehensive, nationwide smoke-free law for all workplaces, including restaurants and pubs. At first, there was widespread disbelief that it could happen in a nation where smoking and drinking were so much a part of local culture. Television crews from around the world turned up in Dublin to record what was heralded as a stunning — if uncertain — change.
The tobacco industry’s spin machine has gone into overdrive as we near the March 23 deadline for an Food and Drug Administration science advisory committee to issue a report on menthol cigarettes.
It's trying to convince the media — and nervous investors — that the committee will find menthol does not make cigarettes any more harmful, and nothing should be done about it.
In the spirit of Nick Naylor, the fictitious tobacco-industry lobbyist lampooned in the 2005 film Thank You for Smoking, lobbyists seeking to keep Oklahoma cities and towns from setting their own smoke-free policies are enjoying a business boom.
The Oklahoman reports that big tobacco companies have hired at least 13 lobbyists to try to defeat legislation that would let cities regulate smoking in public places.
Strong and effective tobacco control laws in several Latin America countries, including Peru and Honduras, have been challenged recently and they’re at risk of being weakened.
We're two weeks away from Kick Butts Day, and more than 500 events from coast to coast already are registered.
On March 23, thousands of youth will create pledge walls, hold rallies and stand out, speak out and seize control against Big Tobacco.
This interactive map shows registered events so that people in your community, the press and other Kick Butts Day participants can see how YOU are taking action. It also provides KickButtsDay.org viewers with contact information for event organizers, so other organizers can partner, combine events or share ideas!
Last year's pay packages for tobacco chief executives are now being disclosed in financial filings with the government, and once again a big winner is Susan Ivey, the former CEO of Reynolds American Inc., the nation's second-biggest tobacco company.
Ivey retired in February and she received a 2010 compensation package of $16.8 million, according to an analysis by the Associated Press. That's a 4 percent increase compared with 2009 — a year in which Ivey's compensation had soared by 84 percent.
Leading newspapers around the country have joined the call for Major League Baseball and the players union to prohibit the use of smokeless tobacco at games.
In recent weeks, the Philadelphia Inquirer (hometown paper to the Phillies), the San Diego Union-Tribune (Padres) and the Star-Ledger of New Jersey (Yankees or Mets—you make the call!) have all spoken out in support of a ban.
Thousands of international, scientific studies have proved the addictive power of nicotine, the essential element in tobacco products that gets people hooked and keeps them using a product that kills them.
That arresting video of a chain-smoking Indonesian toddler that went viral on the Web last year was clear and disturbing proof that this potent drug can work its deadly grip on anyone, of any age.
It turns out that we can all get along.
State lawmakers immersed in contentious legislative sessions can find welcome relief from partisan combat on an issue where voter support transcends party lines and ideological leanings: Backing for comprehensive smoke-free air laws.
The tobacco companies claim they've changed and are now responsible corporate citizens. All the while, they continue to market to kids, deceive the public and fight proven measures to reduce tobacco use.
The proof is in recent headlines:
Tinsel Town and tobacco have a long and unhealthy relationship. Movies often glamorize smoking and in years past, the tobacco companies paid millions to film producers to get their brands placed on screen.
Society's attitudes about smoking have changed a lot over the past few decades. Hollywood's? Not so much.
Tobacco companies have never let the facts get in the way of their deadly marketing.
So it's no surprise that they're still trying to thwart the Justice Department — and a federal judge — even though they've been found guilty of a long conspiracy to deceive and defraud the American people.
The Tampa Bay Rays will have to play the 2011 season to see if they're winners on the field again — but they're already champions in the growing movement to get smokeless tobacco out of Major League Baseball.
The 2010 American League East division winners took time out from spring training to talk to the Fox News affiliate in Tampa about their distaste for the widespread use of smokeless tobacco in Major League Baseball, and the desire of many on the team and among its fans to see baseball go tobacco-free.
Facing a public outcry, the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas has rescinded its new $20 per day fee for customers to “guarantee” a non-smoking room. It's the right thing to do. As we said in a public statement earlier this week, no one should have to pay extra to avoid exposure to a toxic substance that causes lung cancer, heart disease and other serious illnesses.
The 16th annual Kick Butts Day is coming on March 23, 2011.
What is it?
A nationwide event where young people stand out, speak up and seize control against tobacco! All day, and all across the country, youth hold events that educate their peers about tobacco, advocate for strong tobacco-control policies and protest cuts in funding for programs that keep kids from smoking and help smokers quit.
As the March 23 deadline approaches for a science advisory panel to recommend how the Food and Drug Administration should regulate menthol cigarettes, the biggest menthol maker – Lorillard Inc. – is doing what Big Tobacco usually does: blowing smoke.
Lorillard argues FDA should take no action to restrict menthol cigarettes such as its Newports. A Lorillard executive even claimed that when Congress granted FDA authority to regulate tobacco in 2009, the purpose was to “create order and supervision of the industry.”
No.
With spring training for the 2011 season about to begin, two U.S. senators have formally called on Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association to prohibit the use of all tobacco products on the field, in the dugout and in locker rooms at MLB venues.
Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin of Illinois and Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey wrote to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and Michael Weiner, executive director of the Players Association, asking them to protect players and their young fans by finally ending the use of tobacco in baseball.
Most people know that smoking causes cancer. But it also causes one in five deaths from heart disease in the United States. The risk of stroke is nearly doubled by smoking. And secondhand smoke increases the risk of heart attacks in non-smokers. Our partners at the American Heart Association have comprehensive information on how smoking harms cardiovascular health.
Welcome to Tobacco Unfiltered, a new blog where you can find news and information about the global movement to reduce tobacco use and its terrible toll of death and disease.
We'll keep you up-to-date on the work of dedicated citizens and public officials in the United States and around the globe who are battling the world's leading cause of preventable death. And of course, we'll expose the tobacco industry's insidious marketing schemes and the smarmy political tactics it uses to block progress.
This blog is for and about the incredible community of people who work to save lives now and protect the next generation from the devastating illnesses caused by tobacco use.