On June 22nd, President Obama signed a bill into law that will allow the FDA to regulate the content, flavor and advertisement of cigarettes. Passing with overwhelming bipartisan support, the tobacco regulation bill is a huge victory for health advocates looking to decrease the use of cigarettes, which is still the number one cause of preventable disease and death in the United States.
Does tobacco-use in popular media have a negative impact on youth? CNN Health recently posted a well-researched article about the relationship between smoking among youth and smoking on screen.
Free Youth Summit Organized by the Center and BREATHE
What is YOUTH SUMMIT? -Youth Summit is a free three day fun filled event at Valley of the Moon Camp in Sonoma County, California, July 22nd to 24th. The purpose of Youth Summit is to prepare students to participate in tobacco-free campaigns, in their schools and communities. There will be exciting workshops in the daytime and fun activities at night!Students will have fun, learn skills, and become positive active members in our community.The Youth Summit is sponsored by Breathe California – Sacramento Emigrant Trails, SacramentoChineseCommunityServiceCenter, and funded by the Sacramento County Health & Human Services Department and Sacramento County Tobacco Litigation Settlement Funds.
Sunday was World no Tobacco Day. In the world-wide effort, The World Health Organization is recommending stronger labeling and placing graphic images on the packaging of cigarettes. The WHO claim that graphic images and clear labels educate consumers and decrease smoking rates.
India recently joined 20 other countries such as Australia by implementing a policy to place graphic images and warnings on their cigarette packages. Realizing the cost in human lives and health care expenditures, India has been making strong advances in tobacco control in the last couple of years. They currently have a policy for smoke-free public places, bars and restaurants.
CYAN Reports - This morning the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report recommending that all future movies with smoking scenes be given an adult rating. The report also recommends that movie studios should:
certify that they received no payoffs from tobacco companies to display tobacco products or their use
stop displaying tobacco brands onscreen
require strong anti-tobacco advertisements before all movies that have tobacco imagery
