Illicit tobacco: Governments continue to blow smoke

Illicit tobacco: Governments continue to blow smoke.

No one would dispute that measures to reduce smoking are one of the most effective public health initiatives that any community can deliver. Nor would they dispute that increases in the retail price of tobacco products are one of the most successful means of reducing tobacco consumption. In Canada, successive tax increases in the early 1990s drove down tobacco consumption before a concerted tob...

From cigarette smuggling to illicit tobacco trade.

BACKGROUND Tax policy is considered the most effective strategy to reduce tobacco consumption and prevalence. Tax avoidance and tax evasion therefore undermine the effectiveness of tax policies and result in less revenue for governments, cheaper prices for smokers and increased tobacco use. Tobacco smuggling and illicit tobacco trade have probably always existed, since tobacco's introduction as...

Lipid lowering drugs for patients who continue to smoke?

Biological activity of tobacco smoke and tobacco smoke-related chemicals.

Exposure to whole cigarette smoke from reference cigarettes results in the prompt (peak activity is 6 hrs), but fairly weak (similar to 2 fold), induction of murine pulmonary microsomal monooxygenase activity. This activity can be detected by using as substrates either benzo(a)pyrene or ethoxyresorufin, and can be inhibited by treatment with cycloheximide or actinomycin D. Unlike the induction ...

Transgenerational Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke

Traditionally, nicotine from second hand smoke (SHS), active or passive, has been considered the most prevalent substance of abuse used during pregnancy in industrialized countries. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is associated with a variety of health effects, including lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Tobacco is also a major burden to people who do not smoke. As developi...