You Can Help Transform Wisconsin

Earlier this week, we launched Transform Wisconsin – an exciting effort to help Wisconsin communities become healthier.

Every person in Wisconsin has the right to breathe smoke-free air and have a healthy and safe place to live, work and play. The bottom line is that living in healthy communities makes it is easier for everyone to make healthier choices, like eating more fruits and vegetables and being more physically active.

To move us toward healthier communities, Transform Wisconsin is offering competitive grants to non-profit and local government groups seeking to promote active communities, smoke-free living and access to fresh, local foods.

Transform Wisconsin will bring together parents, farmers, landlords, schools – and people like you – to find innovative solutions to improve the health and quality of life in communities across the state.

From May 1-June 15, local governments and non-profit organizations can apply to receive Transform Wisconsin grants. Potential applicants can also sign up and participate in a webinar on Tuesday, May 8th at 10am to learn more about the grant application process.

Transform Wisconsin is built on the idea that when we invest in communities, we invest in health and make lives better. We have a tremendous opportunity to make the kinds of changes now that will benefit our health for generations to come.

Want to join the movement? Follow TransformWI on Facebook and Twitter and be sure to visit the website for updates and the opportunity to vote for your favorite project proposals in the coming weeks.

Together, we can Transform Wisconsin into a place where everyone can access fresh fruits and vegetables, breathe smoke free air, and have safe places to play.

That will be a beautiful thing.

Wisconsin Voters Support New Rules on Tobacco Product Placement and Equal Taxation

A recent poll found strong, bi-partisan, statewide support for proposals to move all
tobacco products behind the counter, close tax loopholes that allow some tobacco products to be
taxed less than others and continue funding the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program to keep
tobacco out of our kids’ hands.

Tobacco is the number one cause of preventable death in Wisconsin and 80 percent of those addicted
to tobacco begin using it before the age of 18. Recently, the tobacco industry has developed more
ways to target youth by disguising their newest products to look and smell like kids favorite candies,
mints and gum. Currently, there is no state law that requires these other tobacco products be sold
behind the counter. Furthermore, these products are cheaper and are taxed less than cigarettes,
making them more appealing and accessible to kids.

In early May, a coalition of public health groups commissioned Public Opinion Strategies to conduct a
poll on tobacco issues. The poll, which surveyed 500 likely Wisconsin voters, found three out of four
respondents were concerned about tobacco use among youth and supported the Joint Finance
Committee’s recent decision to maintain funding for the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program.
In addition, pollsters found nearly eight in ten voters favor a behind-the-counter proposal for candy
flavored tobacco and 71 percent want to close the tobacco tax loophole and tax all tobacco products at
the same rate as cigarettes.

The poll illustrates strong public support for the ongoing efforts of the Tobacco Prevention and
Control program and for legislative action to close tobacco loopholes that target kids and jeopardize
the fiscal and physical health of Wisconsin and its citizens.

To read survey click here.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Reacts to CDC Report

Credit: CDC

The CDC released a report yesterday with state-by-state data on smokeless tobacco use rates. (We blogged about it below.) Here is an article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on what these numbers mean for Wisconsin and why smokeless tobacco products worry health officials.

Check out the full article here!

CDC Releases First-Ever, State-by-State Smokeless Tobacco Data

For the first time ever, the CDC has released state-by-state data on smokeless tobacco use compared to smoking rates. They found many who smoke cigarettes also use smokeless tobacco products.

Here's where WI came in:

Current smoking rates among adults: 18.8% (that's down not even 1%)
    WI men smoke at a 3% higher rate than WI women
Current smokeless tobacco use rates among adults: 3.7 %
    WI men are 6 times more likely than WI women to use smokeless tobacco products
Current rate of cigarette smokers who also currently use smokeless tobacco: 6.1%
    WI men are 5% more likely to use these two products together than women.

In analyzing the data, the CDC also found...

•     Smokeless tobacco use tends to decrease as education increases
•    "Smokeless tobacco use is predominantly a public health problem among men, young adults and persons with lower education..."
•     Young men have a high prevalence of using both cigarettes and smokeless tobacco 
•     It is necessary that tobacco control groups push for media messages, policies and interventions to keep people from starting any of these products and to help those who already have quit
•    Using both smokeless tobacco products and cigarettes together may hinder successful smoking cessation
• To prevent tobacco-related deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that health care providers find out which tobacco products their patients use and advise them to quit. In combination with this effort, WHO recommends that taxes on tobacco be raised and smoke-free policies also be strengthened to reduce tobacco-related deaths.

To read the full Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report click here!

No Treats Just Tricks

Now that you know what new tobacco products are hitting the stores, how they're being marketed and what risks they carry, you can see the OTPs as the tricks they are. These products appeal to our youth, a vulnerable group that does not need early exposure to tobacco's control. Let's close the tax loophole on these products and protect our kids.

Make sure you pass the information along. Let your friends and family know what's out there so they can make the right decision for their health and help steer our youth away from the road to a lifetime of addiction that the Industry would prefer they walk down.

So I will leave you with some more resources below. Thanks for taking the time to follow along with our Trick or Treat OTP Series and have a safe and tobacco-free Halloween!

Additional Resources:

From 2006 - 2008 there were 13,705 cases of poisoning in young children and infants from accidental ingestion of tobacco products reports WebMD. "Of particular concern are new dissolvable, compressed tobacco products that come in small pellets, such as Camel Orbs. Researchers say their packaging resembles mints and the products themselves have a candy-like appearance and added flavorings that make them attractive to young children," the article states.

The American Cancer Society on risks of using smokeless tobacco

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids  "The Danger from Dissolvable Tobacco and Other Smokeless Tobacco Products"

Trick or Treat: Camel Strips

"'The consumer should be aware of the information available about the potential risks of each tobacco product. There are none that are safe and there are none that are without risks,' said RJ Reynolds rep David Howard." - This quote is pulled from an article in Brandweek written specifically about the emerging products, Camel Orbs, Camel Sticks and our product of the day today - Camel Strips.

This slick, attractive package contains 20 dissolvable "Fresh" strips of tobacco. The product comes with instructions on how to open it and "How to Enjoy." Strips are placed on the tongue or folded up and placed between the lip and gum of the user. The Strip is then left to fully dissolve, lasting about 3 minutes. Strips are just bigger than a quarter, and look very similar to Listerine breath mint strips, but they won't leave your breath smelling too sweet.

Like the other dissolvable tobacco products, the Strips packing must carry a warning for it's users. "WARNING: THIS PRODUCT MAY CAUSE MOUTH CANCER" is displayed on the thin side of each pack.

As mentioned earlier this week, products like this one, and other OTPs, are not taxed equally to cigarettes. This, along with their flashy packaging and sweet flavors mimicking popular candies and gums kids love, send the wrong message to our youth. The health risks posed by these products are not ones we'd wish on any of our own children. There are efforts we can take to protect them from these products such as closing the tax loophole. Make sure your kids see this as the trick it is and not a new kind of treat.

For today, I'll leave you with this quote from U.S. Tobacco. "Cherry Skoal is for somebody who likes the taste of candy, if you know what I'm saying." That quote comes from a Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids fact sheet on tobacco and kids.

For more information on these products and youth, you can also check out the press release from Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids released in 2008 .

Trick or Treat: Camel Sticks

Sticks are another new product the Tobacco Industry is introducing as one that you can "Enjoy Anywhere. Anytime. Anyplace."
(As a writer, the grammar of that catchphrase drives me nuts, but that's perhaps beside the point.)

These Sticks are finely milled tobacco twisted into a stick form about the size of a tooth pick. The tobacco is also mixed with sweetener and flavor and of course nicotine is present too. They last a little bit longer than the Orbs do, 20 - 30 minutes total. Each Stick is placed in between the inside of one's cheek and their gum and the packaging directs you to "let each Stick dissolve completely in your mouth." The Sticks come with directions on how to use them, including how to get them out of the package.

While some argue Sticks, and other OTPs, can be used in place of cigarettes and will reduce harm to the user, I encourage you to look back at the CDC's claims that smokeless tobacco products are NOT a safe alternative to smoking and that smokeless tobacco products are a significant health risk. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids references a 2008 study from the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer which found, "smokeless tobacco users have an 80 percent higher risk of developing oral cancer and a 60 percent higher risk of developing pancreatic and esophageal cancer." The Smokeless Tobacco Outreach and Prevention Guide referenced in a Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids fact sheet says, "constant exposure to tobacco juice causes cancer of the esophagus, pharynx, larynx, stomach and pancreas." These numbers are in comparison to those of non-users.

You will also see right on the Sticks container, "WARNING: THIS PRODUCT IS NOT A SAFE ALTERNATIVE TO CIGARETTES."

It's just a new kind of "cancer stick."
Nice trick.

Trick or Treat: Camel Orbs

Camel Orbs are dissolvable tobacco pellets, that, as you can see here, are about the size of a tic tac. The product is made from finely milled tobacco and are said to last about 15 to 20 minutes. The user simply puts the mint on their tongue or in between their cheek and their gum. The product comes in two different flavors; "Fresh" and "Mellow." The industry calls these smokeless and spitless products, "the best tobacco you've never smoked." The label on each package directs you to "let each Orb dissolve completely in your mouth." The package will also tell you, in a less so prominent place, "Warning: This product may cause mouth cancer." The CDC will tell you the risks don't end there. According to the CDC, smokeless tobacco contains 28 known, cancer-causing toxins, that it is not only known to cause cancer of the mouth, but to also increase the risk of developing cancer of the pancreas. The CDC will tell you it's strongly associated with leukoplakia, a precancerous lesion in your mouth, recession of gums, gum disease and tooth decay. They can lead to preeclampsia, low birth weight and premature birth in pregnant women and reduced sperm count and abnormal sperm cells in males.

Another ingredient you won't find on the Orbs packaging is nicotine, especially not the fact that the mints can lead to nicotine overdoses, according to Oral Cancer News. This report in Oral Cancer News, claims Camel dissolvable products deliver up to three times the amount of nicotine that's in a cigarette.

This poisonous product mimics the look of candy products like tic tacs right down to the leafy shape around their logo. So teach your kids these products are dangerous and NOT a safe alternative to cigarettes, a claim the CDC has backed up. A lion in sheep's clothing is still a lion.

Now that you know about this product, how to identify it and what's really on the inside, spread the word. Let's teach our youth to opt for the treat and not this highly-addictive, toxic trick!

OTPs... More Trick Than Treat

"Trick or treat!"

You'll be hearing this line all weekend. It's a phrase that brings to mind bags full of candy and kids running around dressed up like their favorite characters. After collecting as many goodies as they can, trick-or-treaters all over the country will dump out their candy bags on the floor at home and sort each piece into piles by favorites, colors, brands or whichever organizational tactic they prefer.

Big Tobacco is playing a similar game. "Trick or treat?" is what many are asking themselves when they see the Industry's latest products. These products, or OTPs (other tobacco products), disguise themselves as their favorite characters too, candy treats. The OTPs' packages look very familiar to candy and some of the products are even flavored with sweet tastes like grape, berry, watermelon, dreamsicle, cookie dough, even chocolate covered cherries. Big Tobacco brags you can take these products anywhere and use them everywhere because they are smokeless and spitless. With these qualities, smokeless and spitless, they become very easy for our kids to use without anyone knowing. Students can sit in class with a tobacco mint in their mouth and their teachers would have no idea. The sounds of a kid dumping out a tobacco mint into their mouths behind you in the car sounds the same as one dumping out a few tic tacs. Trick or treat?!

So to help you answer that question when you're standing in your local convenience store, we'll be taking a closer look at some of these products all week. Each day, Tuesday- Friday, we'll highlight a different product, help you to identify it and let you know the dangers of it. Some of the products we'll look at are Orbs (tobacco mints with nicotine), sticks (dissolvable tobacco sticks with nicotine that you place inside your mouth), strips (dissolvable strips, much like Listerine strips only instead of a minty fresh taste you're slowly taking in... you guessed it... nicotine and tobacco), and other similar products. (You do have to be 18 to purchase these products.)

These OTPs are not taxed equally to cigarettes sending a message that they are an ok alternative to smoking. The CDC has released a statement, backed by evidence, saying these products are NOT a safe alternative to cigarettes.

So trick..or treat... what do you think? We must not let Big Tobacco trick our kids with these products, leading them down a road to a lifetime of addiction. Stay tuned all week to learn about a new product each day.. and make sure your kids are aware of these "tricks" and stay away.

60 Minutes: Going smokeless

Watch CBS News Videos Online

I was pleased to see that the issue of smokeless tobacco is making national news in the form of a segment on 60 Minutes last night. They featured people from a variety of viewpoints from users to public health advocates. One important note is that the science presented from Sweden on Swedish Snus product is not valid or applicable when it comes to making claims about U.S. Snus. As the story indicates snus in the Sweden is regulated heavily by the government. Toxics are assessed and reduced to "safer" levels. The U.S. does not regulate snus in the same manner. Claims of harm reduction should be taken with great caution as there is not a scrap of scientific evidence proving snus has a reduced risk in the U.S., unless that is, you believe Big Tobacco's science. Big Tobacco makes claims of harm reduction with regards to these products- not exactly a reliable source of information. Another important point that the story makes is that Big Tobacco is working hard to protect its bottom line by moving into new markets.

Great Article & Video

This article from Fox News 21 out of the Duluth-Superior Area highlights the problems with the emerging products like snus, sticks, strips, and orbs.
Just like Pat and Michelle say- these products AREN'T safer despite what Big Tobacco might lead you to believe.

Take a look:
http://www.fox21online.com/healthreport/smoking

New York City: No more flavored tobacco products

New York is leading the way on prohibiting Tobacco Products like spit tobacco and flavored cigars

On Wednesday October 28th the Mayor of the City of New York signed an ordinance that would prohibit the sale of most forms of flavored tobacco products. This comes after the FDA prohibited the sale of flavored cigarettes late last month. The City Council approved restricting the sales of many flavors such as chocolate, honey, cherry, grape, or spice flavors but did not address menthol, mint, or evergreen.
This legislation is an important step forward for public health. Data shows that the sale of little cigars, like the Captain Black cherry variety shown to the right has increased by 240% between 1997-2007. Little cigars are sold in singles or packs of twenty for very low prices compared to a pack of cigarettes.


During that same time cigarillo sales increased by almost 150%. Cigarillos are smaller cigars, sold as singles or packs of five like what is shown to the left. This particular product is sour apple flavor. Again a pack of Phillies or Swisher Sweets are $1 for a single and $3-4 per 5-pack. Of note is the fact that larger cigars shown below actually DECREASED in sales by 6%. These are not usually sold in flavors, but are typically pretty expensive costing $10 or more dollars per cigar. These are not sold in gas stations like some of the other products discussed earlier.


The other product affected by this legislation is flavored chew, like the peach Skoal seen below. Skoal, Wolf, and other spit tobacco products are sold in single cans, sometimes in pre-measured pouches, or sometimes loose leaf or long-cut varieties. They are also sold in five packs. These sell in the range of $3-4 a can and a 5 pack is under $20.

This legislation will open the door for other communities to move forward.
The penalties for violators of the new city law may be fined up to $2,000 or have their tobacco-vending license suspended.These are pretty significant charges and hardly worth the sale of these products. Will Wisconsin be next to address this gap in the FDA legislation?

What can you do?

• Get out there and look at these products! 
• If you have not educated yourself on these products please do so. It is very enlightening to see the little cigars, cigarillos, and candy flavored spit tobacco. This is a new way Big Tobacco works around increased cigarette taxes and the lack of social acceptability of cigarette smoking.
• Let your elected officials know these products are out there and are dangerous.  
• Elected officials need to know that the work of tobacco control is not done yet in Wisconsin. Big Tobacco is far from gone and we have a long way to go to reduce our burden of tobacco. 

For more information:

Best resource on Cigars, Cigarillos, and Little Cigars

Full post from the NY Times