E-cigarettes not advisable for smokers

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), increasingly popular among young Filipinos, are not advisable for those who want to quit smoking, the Department of Health (DOH) warned last week.
Anthony Leachon, DOH consultant for non-communicable diseases, e-cigarettes could not help a person who wants to stop smoking.
“Electronic cigarettes are not advisable since you don’t kick the habit. You can easily go back to smoking,” said Leachon.
He said if a person wants to quit but can’t do it on his own, he should consult a doctor for proper counseling and medication.
Maricar Limpin, executive director of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance Philippines, has expressed concern over the proliferation of e-cigarettes.
Limpin warned that e-cigarettes give a false sense of security because these are being marketed as something that would help one quit smoking “when, in fact, there is no evidence to prove that.”

Leonardo DiCaprio lights up an electronic cigarette to get his nicotine fix on film set

He reportedly tried to help friend Robert Pattinson quit smoking at the end of last year.
And Leonardo DiCaprio is seemingly becoming an expert at quitting the bad habit himself as he was spotted puffing on an electronic cigarette on the set of his new movie.
The actor – who is filming The Wolf of Wall Street – could be seen with the nifty device in his hand as he sat inside an eatery in East Harlem, New York.
Leo seemed in good spirits in between recording scenes at Rao's Restaurant, smiling as he got his nicotine fix in a healthier way than using a normal cigarette.
The star happily blew out rings of smoke between takes while filming on his last day for new movie.

Smoking Ban is a Big Change for Residents

Some local apartments are banning smoking indoors amidst encouragement from the federal government.
In Fort Atkinson, the Parkview and Rockland Court Apartments will begin banning smoking in individual units next month. The facilities get rental assistance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which has encouraged management companies to make the switch with additional grant points and repeated health notices.
At Rockland, staff plan to designate a smoking gazebo, but some residents still say the new rules do not make sense.
"It's okay to have a grill ten feet away, and while you're grilling under what they're saying you could not smoke a cigarette or you could face termination from your apartment," said Vern Zech, a resident for more than six years. The new rules will prevent smoking within 20 feet of any door.
Still, the property manager says some residents are excited about the change. But, he notes challenge in quitting and remains concerned about some long-time smokers who use walkers or other mobility devices possibly making the trips outside a struggle, reports nbc15.com.
"I'm worried about my long-term smokers, what it's going to do to them, because even if they don't live here they've got to live someplace, they've got to adjust and that will be hard thing," said Property Manager Dan Rankin.

Tobacco sales drop sharply as anti-smoking campaign intensifies

Tobacco sales are reported to have slumped as much as 40 percent this year as anti-smoking campaigns intensify in the city and the industry is bracing for another bleak year in 2013 with an expected 10 percent decline as a new regulation requiring a larger space of health warning on cigarette boxes is taking effect from the beginning of next month. Industry players are being warned of possible layoffs in some companies.

The new law requires all cigarette packages to reserve at least 50 percent of their spaces for warning slogans or pictures provided by the Health Bureau on the possible risks caused by smoking. Starting from the 1st of January, retailers selling cigarettes that fail to comply with the new rules will face a MOP 2,000 penalty. In the newspaper stalls where cigarettes are also sold, some operators said they didn’t know much about the details of the new rules and fine, they blamed the government for insufficient publicity on the issue.

Some dealers also said producers could not change the old packages by this year and some cigarettes might have to be recalled next month for re-packaging. The retail sector would suffer losses as much as hundreds of thousands of patacas for those cigarettes that can’t be returned to producers for re-packaging, according to Macau Daily Times.