Domestic Tobacco Research Articles

Women & smoking: becoming part of the solution.

Globally, 12% of women smoke, 22% in developed and 9% in developing countries. While smoking has peaked in men and begun a slow decline, it is predicted that by 2025, 20% of women worldwide will be smokers, with so many younger women taking up the habit.(1) Closing the smokers' between men and women isn't happening spontaneously: it's due to worldwide social, economic and political processes, to changes in the image and role of women in society, and to aggressive gender-targeted marketing by the tobacco companies. As male smokers quit or die of smoking-related illnesses, women— young women in particular—are the market the tobacco industry goes after to survive, and gender-specic research on what moti- vates women to smoke is aimed at the feminization of tobacco. But there's more to it, as we can see from the case of Cuba, where tobacco advertising was prohibited as far back as 1960. Yet, the country has among the highest rates of women smokers in Latin America.(2) So, it is worth considering the long-term effects of marketing on our perspectives, but also the roles played by society as a whole, health institutions and women ourselves in this smoking epidemic. Part of Cuba's story isn't unique when it comes to women and smoking: it has to do with the changing gender roles in contemporary society. Related to this, global advertising—to which Cuba isn't immune—has succeeded in associating smoking with freedom, independence, modernity and empowerment; identifying a cigarette-in-hand with women's self-esteem, sensuality, and sophistication; a product synonymous with recreation, relaxation and fun. Not to mention those of us who have bought into the virtues of smoking to lose weight or alleviate stress. All these connotations have permeated Cuban women's social environment, passed down to the present generation. Today in our media, images of female movie and TV characters smoking to play up their status, increase their sex appeal, or just relieve tension, conict with health promotion spots on the dangers of smoking. Cuba has the added challenge of producing what many consider the world's best tobacco: put another way, we are a country of smokers by tradition. Tobacco is in our culture, associated with our music, even our social and political struggles. Tobacco's role in the Cuban economy is so important that it is critical to under- standing the context of Cuban life itself, irrespective of gender, although women are the majority of employees in the domestic tobacco industry. All these factors contribute to the high rates of smoking in Cuba. Although moderate overall declines occurred from 1984 to 2010, smoking among women actually increased between 1984 and 1995, only later dropping to 2010 levels. Declines since 1995 have been more marked in men (17.0%) than in women (9.7%). (3) Thus, while women have never smoked as much as men, the male-female gap is narrowing. And, alarmingly, women's morbidity and mortality rates from smoking-related causes are approaching men's, particularly for cancer. Clearly we have to go beyond banning tobacco advertising: we have to demarket smoking and counter the positive images that permeate our culture with more sophisticated presentations of the threat to health. We also need to create more barriers to tobacco access—in addition to those already banning sales to youngsters and raising cigarette prices—aligning education and legislation for greater effect. Andwe need to understand more fully the forces that inuence people—particularly young women—to start smoking. Is it enough to increase their knowledge about smoking's harmful effects? If it were, no health workers would smoke. Yet, a 2008 study in the Habana Vieja municipality of Cuba's capital found that over 50% of women had smoked at one time; and worse yet, 36.7% of female health professionals who smoked had continued to do so during their pregnancies.(4)

Automatic Ventilation Control of Curing House for Domestic Tobacco Based on Dew-point Temperature

Automatic Ventilation Control of Curing House for Domestic Tobacco Based on Dew-point Temperature

P2-421 Women, violence and tobacco: are we missing an important link?

IntroductionThe tobacco industry now aggressively targets women in order to increase its consumer base, since fewer women than men use tobacco all over the world. In response to the call...

Women & Smoking: Becoming Part of the Solution

Globally, 12% of women smoke, 22% in developed and 9% in developing countries. While smoking has peaked in men and begun a slow decline, it is predicted that by 2025, 20% of women worldwide will be smokers, with so many younger women taking up the habit.(1) Closing the "smokers' gap" between men and women isn't happening spontaneously: it's due to worldwide social, economic and political processes, to changes in the image and role of women in society, and to aggressive gender-targeted marketing by the tobacco companies. As male smokers quit or die of smoking-related illnesses, women— young women in particular—are the market the tobacco industry goes after to survive, and gender-specic research on what moti- vates women to smoke is aimed at the "feminization of tobacco". But there's more to it, as we can see from the case of Cuba, where tobacco advertising was prohibited as far back as 1960. Yet, the country has among the highest rates of women smokers in Latin America.(2) So, it is worth considering the long-term effects of marketing on our perspectives, but also the roles played by society as a whole, health institutions and women ourselves in this smoking epidemic. Part of Cuba's story isn't unique when it comes to women and smoking: it has to do with the changing gender roles in contemporary society. Related to this, global advertising—to which Cuba isn't immune—has succeeded in associating smoking with freedom, independence, modernity and empowerment; identifying a cigarette-in-hand with women's self-esteem, sensuality, and sophistication; a product synonymous with recreation, relaxation and fun. Not to mention those of us who have bought into the "virtues" of smoking to lose weight or alleviate stress. All these connotations have permeated Cuban women's social environment, passed down to the present generation. Today in our media, images of female movie and TV characters smoking to play up their status, increase their sex appeal, or just relieve tension, conict with health promotion spots on the dangers of smoking. Cuba has the added challenge of producing what many consider the world's best tobacco: put another way, we are a country of smokers by tradition. Tobacco is in our culture, associated with our music, even our social and political struggles. Tobacco's role in the Cuban economy is so important that it is critical to under- standing the context of Cuban life itself, irrespective of gender, although women are the majority of employees in the domestic tobacco industry. All these factors contribute to the high rates of smoking in Cuba. Although moderate overall declines occurred from 1984 to 2010, smoking among women actually increased between 1984 and 1995, only later dropping to 2010 levels. Declines since 1995 have been more marked in men (17.0%) than in women (9.7%). (3) Thus, while women have never smoked as much as men, the male-female gap is narrowing. And, alarmingly, women's morbidity and mortality rates from smoking-related causes are approaching men's, particularly for cancer. Clearly we have to go beyond banning tobacco advertising: we have to "demarket" smoking and counter the positive images that permeate our culture with more sophisticated presentations of the threat to health. We also need to create more barriers to tobacco access—in addition to those already banning sales to youngsters and raising cigarette prices—aligning education and legislation for greater effect. Andwe need to understand more fully the forces that inuence people—particularly young women—to start smoking. Is it enough to increase their knowledge about smoking's harmful effects? If it were, no health workers would smoke. Yet, a 2008 study in the Habana Vieja municipality of Cuba's capital found that over 50% of women had smoked at one time; and worse yet, 36.7% of female health professionals who smoked had continued to do so during their pregnancies.(4)

Suppression of the population of Lasioderma serricorne in stored tobacco by relocation of warehouses to cooler areas

To suppress populations of cigarette beetles, Lasioderma serricorne , during winter, domestic tobacco warehouses in Japan have been relocated since 2004. Warehouses located in warmer tobacco-cultivated areas were closed, and new ones were constructed in places where the daily mean temperature is below 5oC for over 70 d per year, a value chosen based on lethal low temperature conditions determined under constant laboratory and fluctuating field situations. In 2008, with relocations almost complete, the total number of beetles captured in pheromone traps in all warehouses had decreased by 98% compared to the 2001-2002 levels. Domestic tobacco production and the number of warehouses were reduced by 40% during the time. Keywords : Lasioderma serricorne ; Cigarette beetle; Tobacco warehouse; Low temperature; Winter survival

A multi-level bioreactor to remove organic matter and metals, together with its associated bacterial diversity

The purpose of this study was to treat complex wastewater consisting of domestic wastewater, tobacco processing and building materials washings. The proposed multi-level bioreactor consists of a biopond-biofilter, anoxic/aerobic (A/O) fluidized beds and a photoautotrophic system. The results show that when the hydraulic load of the bioreactor was 200 m3/d, it successfully and simultaneously removed the organic matter and metals. When the bioreactor was in a relatively steady-state condition, the overall average organic matter and metals removal efficiencies are as follows, COD (89%), UV245 nm-matter (91%), Cu (78%), Zn (79%) and Fe (84%). The growth conditions of the native bacterial habitat were improved, which resulted from the increase of the in bacterial diversity under the rejuvenated conditions induced by the bioreactor. The results demonstrate that the multi-level bioreactor, without a sludge treatment system, can remove heterogeneous organic matter and metals from wastewater.

Follow the money: How the billions of dollars that flow from smokers in poor nations to companies in rich nations greatly exceed funding for global tobacco control and what might be done about it

The business of selling cigarettes is increasingly concentrated in the hands of five tobacco companies that collectively control almost 90% of the world's cigarette market, four of which are publicly...

Food balance sheet and household budget survey dietary data and mortality patterns in Europe

Worldwide dietary data for nutrition monitoring and surveillance are commonly derived from food balance sheets (FBS) and household budget surveys (HBS). We have compared food supply from FBS and food availability data from HBS among eighteen European countries and have estimated the extent to which they correlate, focusing on food groups which are comparably captured by FBS and HBS and for which there is epidemiological evidence that they can have a noticeable impact on population mortality. Spearman's correlation coefficient was +0.78 (P < 10- 3) for vegetables (including legumes),+0.76 (P < 10- 3) for fruits, +0.69 (P < 10- 3) for fish and seafood and +0.93 (P < 10- 3) for olive oil. With respect to meat and meat products, the coefficient was lower at +0.39 (P = 0.08). Moreover, we have examined whether the supply (FBS) or the availability (HBS) of food groups known or presumed to have beneficial effect on the occurrence of CHD and total cancer can predict overall, coronary and cancer mortality in ecological analyses. After controlling for purchasing power parity-adjusted gross domestic product and tobacco smoking we found that for vegetables, fruits, fish and seafood, as well as for olive oil, both the FBS and the HBS estimates were inversely associated with all three indicators of mortality, although the number of countries with complete information on all study variables hindered formal statistical documentation (P>0.05 in some instances). FBS and HBS have their own strengths and weaknesses, but they may complement each other in dietary assessments at the population level.

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and the adoption of domestic tobacco control policies: the Ecuadorian experience

Background:The present work concerns the adoption of domestic tobacco control legislation in Ecuador after ratification of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).Methods:Analysis of legislation, and...

Altria Group Inc

AbstractTobacco Products (MIC: 4.2 SIC: 2111 NAIC: 312221)Altria Group is a holding company. Co., through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Philip Morris USA Inc. and Philip Morris International Inc. are engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Co.'s 89.0% majority‐ owned subsidiary Kraft Foods Inc., is engaged in the manufacture and sale of packaged foods and beverages. Philip Morris Capital Corporation, another wholly owned subsidiary of Co., maintains a portfolio of controlled and direct finance leases. As of Dec 31 2006, Co. operated in five segments: domestic tobacco, international tobacco, North American food, international food and financial services.

Exposure to domestic violence associated with adult smoking in India: a population based study

Objective:To investigate the relation between domestic violence and tobacco use among adults in India.Design:Multilevel cross sectional analyses of a nationally representative population based sample from the 1998–9 Indian national family...

Altria Group Inc

AbstractTobacco Products (MIC: 4.2 SIC: 2111 NAIC:312221)Altria Group is a holding company. Co., through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Philip Morris USA Inc. and Philip Morris International Inc. are engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Co.'s 89.0% majority‐ owned subsidiary Kraft Foods Inc., is engaged in the manufacture and sale of packaged foods and beverages. Philip Morris Capital Corporation, another wholly owned subsidiary of Co., maintains a portfolio of controlled and direct finance leases. As of Dec 13 2006, Co. operated in five segments: domestic tobacco, international tobacco, North American food, international food and financial services.

Altria Group Inc

AbstractTobacco Products (MIC: 4.2 SIC: 2111 NAIC: 312221)Altria Group is a holding company. Co., through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Philip Morris USA Inc. and Philip Morris International Inc. are engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Co.'s 89.0% majority‐ owned subsidiary Kraft Foods Inc., is engaged in the manufacture and sale of packaged foods and beverages. Philip Morris Capital Corporation, another wholly owned subsidiary of Co., maintains a portfolio of controlled and direct finance leases. As of Dec 31 2006, Co. operates in five segments: domestic tobacco, international tobacco, North American food, international food and financial services.

Altria Group Inc

AbstractTobacco Products (MIC: 4.2 SIC: 2111 NAIC: 312221)Altria Group is a holding company. Co., through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Philip Morris USA Inc. and Philip Morris International Inc. are engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Co.'s 89.0% majority‐ owned subsidiary Kraft Foods Inc., is engaged in the manufacture and sale of packaged foods and beverages. Philip Morris Capital Corporation, another wholly owned subsidiary of Co., maintains a portfolio of controlled and direct finance leases. As of Dec 31 2006, Co. operates in five segments: domestic tobacco, international tobacco, North American food, international food and financial services.

Market power in tobacco: Measuring multiple markets

AbstractTraditional market power analyses of the U.S. cigarette manufacturing industry consider monopoly power exertion by manufacturers in selling cigarettes to consumers. Market characteristics combined with government policy make it plausible that manufacturers exert monopsony market power in procuring tobacco. We investigate this possibility in the U.S. and international tobacco markets by extending nonparametric tests to include simultaneously potential monopoly market power with potential monopsony market power in multiple input markets, allowing both Hicks‐neutral and biased technical change. We use annual data from the cigarette manufacturing industry from 1977 to 1993. Results indicate substantial departures from competitive pricing in the procurement of domestic tobacco, supporting the postulate that cigarette manufacturers appropriate monopsony rents despite, and perhaps at times through, U.S. tobacco farm policy. Results are less clear with respect to monopsony market power exertion in imported leaf tobacco procurement by cigarette manufacturers. Finally, results indicate that monopoly market power exertion is relatively small and that, when the possibility of monopsony market power exertion is admitted, monopoly market power exertion is no longer problematic.[EconLit citations: L100, L660]. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 23: 35–55, 2007.

The Effect of EU Accession on the Hungarian Tobacco Sector. The Evaluation of the Regulations

Tobacco growing can be regarded as a special small sector of Hungarian agriculture. However, studying it from a different point of view, we can see that it is an outstanding sector among others in agriculture. Not only is its budget importance that makes it significant (its total budgetary income is more than 200 billion HUF), and on the other hand it also plays an important role in employment and income output.Nevertheless questions of regulation arise, and especially those of its justification, methods and scope. Moreover, EU accession forces Hungary to redraw its regulatory statutes for legal harmonization. Below is a discussion of the impacts of this process, as well as of the domestic tobacco market itself.

Impacts of the Master Settlement Agreement on the tobacco industry

Objective: To assess effects of the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) and the four individual state settlements on tobacco company decisions and performance. Design: 10-K reports filed with the US Securities...

Time trends of female lung cancer in Hong Kong: Age, period and birth cohort analysis.

The study was conducted to estimate the effects of age, year of diagnosis (period) and year of birth (cohort) on the time trend of female lung cancer incidence between 1976 and 2000 in Hong Kong. Data were obtained from a population-based cancer registry and the Census and Statistics Department. Using the Hong Kong general population of 1990 as the reference, age-adjusted incidence rates were computed by using direct standardization. We also analyzed secular trends in 2 consecutive periods, 1976-1990 and 1991-2000, using a Poisson regression model to estimate the annual percentage change in incidence rate. Age, period and cohort effects were assessed employing the method proposed by Clayton and Schifflers with 3 Poisson regression models fitted separately for age alone, age and period, and age and cohort. The age-adjusted incidence rate increased steadily up to 1990, when a peak of 40.1 per 100,000 was reached. Thereafter, a downward trend was observed. The overall annual increase was 4.2% during the period 1976-1990 with the fastest increase observed in women aged 80-84 years. An overall decrease of 2.3% was seen in the period 1991-2000, with the greatest reduction occurring in the 35-39 age group. After the adjustment for age, significant period and cohort effects on the time trend of incidence were observed. The age-cohort model provided a better description of the data than the age-period model. The risk of successive 5-year birth cohorts increased from 1896 to 1925 and then decreased. The time trend of lung cancer incidence of Hong Kong female in 1976-2000 had a marked birth cohort effect. Our results imply that major sources of exposure, which carry an increased risk of lung cancer for Hong Kong women, have been becoming less common in recent decades. Domestic air pollution, poor nutrition and tobacco smoking might have played important roles in the change of risks in successive generations and provide guidance for future interventions.

Women Workers Confront One-Eyed Science: Building Alliances to Improve Women's Occupational Health

SUMMARY Women suffer many health problems related to their work, but attempts to improve their situation face obstacles at two levels: recognition of their problems and ability to organize to prevent them. Recognition by occupational health specialists has been delayed due in part to: A perception that women's issues have been included in research focussed on male workers; pressure to deal with more visible issues of mortality and well-established illness; ignorance of women's working conditions; methodological biases and inadequacies. Recognition by unions is slowed when women and their concerns are absent from union membership and/or governing structures. Feminist health advocates have not often participated in these struggles, due to social class differences and difficulties in linking with some male-dominated unions. Also, due to the wide variety of hazardous working conditions, they do not emerge from population-based analyses of health determinants in the same way as do domestic violence, tobacco or poverty. The authors describe three alliances necessary for successful research, policy and practice in women's occupational health: between feminist and working-class organizations; between feminists and occupational health scientists; between researchers and women workers.

Effect of the tobacco price support program on cigarette consumption in the United States: an updated model.

This study evaluated the direct effect of the tobacco price support program on domestic cigarette consumption. We developed an economic model of demand and supply of US tobacco to estimate how much the price support program increases the price of tobacco. We calculated the resultant increase in cigarette prices from the change in the tobacco price and the quantity of domestic tobacco contained in US cigarettes. We then assessed the reduction in cigarette consumption attributable to the price support program by applying the estimated increase in the cigarette price to assumed price elasticities of demand for cigarettes. We estimated that the tobacco price support program increased the price of tobacco leaf by $0.36 per pound. This higher tobacco price translates to a $0.01 increase in the price of a pack of cigarettes and an estimated 0.21% reduction in cigarette consumption. Because the tobacco price support program increases the price of cigarettes minimally, its potential health benefit is likely to be small. The adverse political effect of the tobacco program might substantially outweigh the potential direct benefit of the program on cigarette consumption.