Smoke-free entrances : a resource booklet

(Disponible en anglais seulement.)

A message form the Durham Region Health Department - Workplace entrances and exits - Why consider smoke-free entrances? - Why develop a policy - Follow these three main steps to create smoke-free entrances - Appendix A: sample smoke-free entrance policy.

http://www.region.durham.on.ca/departments/health/idt/smokeFreeEntrances.pdf

Comment: Timely advice for businesses and property owners who want to eliminate cigarette smoke pollution from the entrances/exits into buildings and workplaces.

Cartoon characters as tobacco warning labels

(Disponible en anglais seulement.)
Purpose of this study was to 1) test the perceived importance and believability of familiar and novel tobacco warning messages with and without cartoons and 2) develop tobacco warning labels that feature cartoons with characteristics similar to the Joe Camel cartoon shown in cigarette advertisements. Findings showed that cartoon tobacco warning labels were more believable than plain warning labels.

http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/154/12/1230

Comment: Since warning labels are an effective smoking prevention tool in Canada, I wonder if adding these cartoons to Canadian warning labels would be effective.

Legal risks to employers who allow smoking in the workplace

(Disponible en anglais seulement.)

As scientists continue to provide evidence of the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, employers could soon face a clear choice: either voluntarily ban smoking in their workplace or face an increasing wave of costly legal actions.

http://dx.doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2006.094102


Comment: Voluntarily banning smoking in the workplace is a cheap and easy way of removing a cumbersome and costly liability.

The $5 man : the underground economic response to a large cigarette tax increase in New York City

(Disponible en anglais seulement.)

This study was conducted in the Spring of 2003, among Blacks aged 18 years and older living in Central Harlem, New York City. Researchers found that a large cigarette tax increase in New York City led to " a pervasive illegal cigarette market in a low-income minority community". Bootleggers created an environment in which low-price cigarettes were easier to access than cessation services.

http://dx.doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.079921

Comment: Shows how illegal cigarette sales continue to undermine the public health goal of reducing tobacco use.

Saliva cotinine and exhaled carbon monoxide levels in natural environment waterpipe smokers

(Disponible en anglais seulement.)
This study examined the variations in exhaled CO and saliva cotinine in natural environment waterpipe smokers and compared them with cigarette smokers and absolute non-smokers. Results confirm that, like cigarette smokers, waterpipe smokers are exposed to harmful substances, such as CO, which was found to be quite high.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08958370701401699

Comment: There is a misconception that smoking from a waterpipe is less hazardous than cigarette smoking, and this study helps disprove that.