Content about Tobacco

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has proposed increasing federal taxes on cigarettes, drawing criticism from tobacco companies and praise from anti-smoking groups.

As part of his proposed budget, Obama proposed raising the tax on cigarettes by 94 cents per pack, with similar increases on other tobacco products. The current tax is $1.01 per pack.

ATLANTA — Continuing with the success of last year’s national education ad campaign, "Tips from Former Smokers," a second series of ads was launched Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

NEW YORK — In spite of a court ruling striking down a ban on large-sized sugary drinks, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has another health initiative in the works: a requirement that retailers hide tobacco products.

Bloomberg's legislation, which would make New York the first city to keep tobacco products out of the sight of customers, will go to the city council for consideration. The New York Times noted that Bloomberg skipped this procedure with the soft drink rule.

ATLANTA — The number of adult smokers who had used electronic cigarettes more than doubled in the space of a year, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

ATLANTA - Smoking among adults with mental illnesses is 70% higher than among those without them, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SCHLIEREN, Switzerland — Cytos Biotechnology will regain rights to an experimental vaccine against nicotine addiction that it had licensed to Novartis, Cytos said Wednesday.

The company said that Novartis would discontinue the project, known as NIC002. Cytos granted Novartis a license for NIC002 in 2007, but phase-2 trial results in October 2009 indicated that the vaccine spurred the development of nicotine-specific antibodies in patients, but did not increase smoking cessation.

CHICAGO — Sales of smoking cessation aids are projected to reach $1 billion in 2012 with continued growth driving sales as high as $1.2 billion by 2017, market research firm Mintel reported Thursday. 

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — The consumer products division of British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline wants its voice heard at a Food and Drug Administration hearing scheduled for next year on a section in a 2009 law to regulate tobacco products that deals with smoking-cessation products, the company said Monday.

WASHINGTON — The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and other advocacy groups last week released a report claiming that states are spending only "a miniscule portion" of their tobacco revenues to fight tobacco use. "The states have failed to reverse deep cuts to tobacco prevention and cessation programs that have undermined the nation’s efforts to reduce tobacco use," the advocacy groups stated. 

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Current cigarette smoking among 12- to 17-year-olds fell significantly from 2002 to 2010 in 41 states, according to a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration issued last week. The report also found that during the same period, adolescent perception of risk from cigarette smoking has remained unchanged in most states.

SAN DIEGO — Health warning labels on cigarette packages that use pictures to show the health consequences of smoking are effective in reaching adult smokers, according to the results of a new study published in the December issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Watson Pharmaceuticals on Wednesday announced the sale of its Rugby over-the-counter business to the Harvard Drug Group — a distributor and provider of private-label OTCs and generic prescription products under the Major Pharmaceuticals brand — for approximately $117 million.  

"I am confident that Major, with its leadership position as a marketer of OTC products, will be more strategically positioned to maximize the value of the long-known and respected Rugby name," stated Paul Bisaro, president and CEO of Watson.