| |  April 2011
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President's Corner Blog: Save the Earth - Not the 'Smokes'
In
observance of Earth Day 2011, Legacy is raising awareness about the
environmental impact of cigarettes. Discarded cigarette butts and
filters top the list of littered items collected from waterways and
beaches worldwide. In the public health community, we are aware that
even one cigarette can have an immediate negative impact on our bodies.
But do we think about how it impacts our planet as well?
Read more from Dr. Healton's Blog |
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Butt Blight: New Studies Confirm Toxic Impact of Cigarette Butts
 According
to a recent report by the Ocean Conservancy, nearly two million
cigarettes or cigarette filters/butts were picked up internationally
from beaches and inland waterways as part of the annual International
Coastal Cleanup in 2010. This number includes more than one million from
the United States alone, making it the No. 1 littered item found on
beaches and in urban environments.
New
research released on April 19, 2011, further demonstrates the negative
impact cigarette filters and discarded cigarette butts have on the
environment. The new data is part of a special supplement - funded by
Legacy - in the journal Tobacco Control.
Highlights from the supplement include:
- Cigarette butts contain heavy metals that can leach into waterways, posing a threat to aquatic life. In one laboratory test, one cigarette butt soaked in a liter of water was lethal to half of the fish exposed.
- Poison
centers report hundreds of cases of cigarette butt consumption among
children under six years old, with some cases of moderate toxicity due
to nicotine poisoning.
- Tobacco products are the single largest type of litter collected along U.S. roadways and on beaches.
- Tobacco
industry research reveals there may be misconceptions that cigarette
filters are readily biodegradable or inconsequential as litter. However,
in reality, even under ideal conditions, cigarette butts can take years
to degrade, merely breaking up into small particles of plastic, toxic
waste.
- Cigarette litter clean-up costs can be substantial to local authorities.
The
special supplement brings together the currently known science about
cigarette butt waste and sets the stage for a new research agenda - one
focused both on preserving the environment and protecting our public
health.
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Celebrities Appear in New Sharable Video to show "Our Planet is Not an Ashtray" for Earth Day
Musicians Ziggy Marley and Michael Franti
and comedian Andy Dick, amongst other well know actors, musicians and
athletes are raising awareness of the high cost tobacco-related litter
takes on our planet. Via a new, sharable video, Legacy draws a parallel
between the commonplace act of flicking cigarette butts and throwing out
trash - urging smokers to think twice before tossing a toxic cigarette
butt on the ground. Because tobacco is organic, misperceptions exist
that its waste is harmless. In fact, cigarette butts can take years to
degrade, merely breaking up into small particles of plastic, toxic
waste. In the video, the celebrity participants put their spin on this
issue by drawing parallels between the activities that made them famous
and the discarding of everyday items - items like water bottles, CD
cases, paper cups and magazines. This Earth Day 2011, environmental
activists, public health organizations, and concerned members of the
general public are urged to help raise awareness and call attention to
the toxic toll discarded cigarette butts take on the earth. See the
video online and learn more about the issue at www.legacyforhealth.org/buttreally.
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New Legacy Educational Resources Help Smokers Better Understand CT Technology
Legacy
recently launched two new resources devoted to helping smokers
understand their risks for lung cancer and reduce their risks for
mortality. Funding for the resources came through an unrestricted
educational grant from Genentech, a leading biotechnology company that
discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines to treat
patients with serious or life-threatening medical conditions. Lung
cancer is the nation's number one cancer killer of both men and women,
accounting for 28 percent of all cancer deaths. More Americans are
killed by lung cancer than by breast cancer, prostate cancer, or any
other cancer. Since up to 90 percent of lung cancer cases result from
smoking and no current treatment can cure lung cancer, early detection
is the key to better quality and longevity of life. The two new
resources include:
- Ask The Expert Videos on Lung Cancer Screening is
a series of videos that provides expert commentary from Dr. James
Mulshine, M.D., Vice President of Research at Rush University Medical
Center in Chicago, about using spiral computerized tomography (CT) scans
to detect lung cancer. The set of videos aims to educate former and
current smokers on the process of lung cancer screenings. Downloadable
fact sheets answer questions about spiral CT scans and promote
conversations that smokers should have with their clinicians about
accessing spiral CT scans.
- In conjunction with the CT scan videos and downloadable factsheets, a discussion group for Cancer Survivors has been launched on the BecomeAnEX.org
website, Legacy's online resource to help smokers re-learn life without
cigarettes and receive valuable quitting help. This new online group
within the EX community is a place for cancer survivors to share
stories, discuss their challenges and victories, and support one another in their quit smoking attempts.
Through
these materials Legacy will educate smokers about the life-saving
potential of spiral CT scan technology and encourage important
conversations between smokers and their doctors. Catching lung cancer in
the earliest stages makes it more likely for successful treatment
outcomes, a vitally important action with such a deadly disease.
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Discord on 'Dissolvables'
The
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently cleared the way for two
candy-like tobacco products to be marketed as less risky than
traditional tobacco products. In letters to the product manufacturer,
the FDA maintained it does not currently have regulatory authority over
two smokeless tobacco products - known as "dissolvables." Both products
are manufactured by the company Star Scientific, Inc. (Star) of Glen
Allen, Virginia. Legacy calls on the FDA to withdraw this ill-considered
decision - one that even surprised Star - and clarify that it currently
does have clear statutory authority to regulate all dissolvable tobacco
products, which are both a type of "tobacco product" and a type of
"smokeless tobacco product." Dissolvables are clearly tobacco
products-under both the ordinary meaning of the term and the 2009 law.
The FDA's decision is inconsistent with the clear language of the law,
which defines tobacco products to include "any product made or derived
from tobacco that is intended for human consumption."
In
response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from Legacy,
the FDA produced redacted versions of its letters notifying Star
Scientific of its determination that the STONEWALL-BDL™ and ARIVA-BDL™
products are not currently subject to the Family Smoking Prevention and
Tobacco Control Act's Chapter IX requirements, including its requirement
that tobacco manufacturers obtain FDA approval before making any claims
that a tobacco product poses a reduced harm to users. Because of the
deleted text, the basis for the FDA's determination that these products
are not currently subject to this portion of the Tobacco Control Act
remains unclear.
Since
the decisions from the FDA have enormous implications on the future of
tobacco control, Legacy urges the FDA to engage in transparent
decision-making by making the full text of its letter to Star publicly
available and addressing the concerns the public health community has
raised about this decision.
Read Legacy's full statement.
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FDA Panel Issues Long-Awaited Menthol Decision
Last
month, the FDA Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC)
determined that the scientific evidence establishes that removal of
menthol cigarettes from the market would benefit public health in the
United States. The announcement was much-anticipated by public health
groups and many in the African American community. Current research
shows menthol use is on the rise among young people, and public health
groups have long-contended that it is a major factor in youth smoking
initiation. If the FDA acts on TPSAC's compelling findings and requires
tobacco companies to take menthol cigarettes off the market, it is bound
to save hundreds of thousands of lives from the deadly toll of tobacco.
"We
believe that the best evidence shows that menthol cigarettes encourage
smoking initiation and decrease smoking cessation so we are thrilled
with TPSAC's conclusion. We urge the FDA to promptly act on TPSAC's
findings. Many menthol smokers will likely use a ban on menthol as an
opportunity to quit and it will save their lives," said Cheryl G.
Healton, DrPH, President and CEO of Legacy®. "Without the minty lure of
menthol cigarettes, fewer youth will be enticed to take up this deadly
addiction. The result will be many more Americans living longer,
healthier lives."
Legacy
has been a leading advocate in the public health community in urging a
ban on menthol cigarettes. Menthol is the only characterizing flavor in
cigarettes that had not been banned by the FDA since the agency acquired
regulatory authority over tobacco products in 2009. Research has shown
they are smoked disproportionately by minority youth and African
Americans.
Read the full release.
Download a fact sheet on Menthol.
Visit Legacy's menthol fact check page, Consider Your Source.
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Support Legacy's Life-Saving Work Today
Legacy,
a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization, gratefully accepts donations of
all sizes to help us in our life-saving work to eliminate the number-one
cause of preventable death in the United States. Here are just some of
the ways you can contribute to Legacy:
- To make a one-time or recurring gift to Legacy, visit www.legacyforhealth.org and click on "Donate.
- Have
an American Express card? Select "American Legacy Foundation" as your
charity of choice and donate through the American Express Take Part
Members Project at http://www.takepart.com/membersproject
- Donate to truth® through Facebook Causes.
- Donate to support EX. Go to BecomeAnEX.org and click on the red "Support EX"
- Share
a personal story about the importance of building a tobacco-free
legacy. Make a gift in honor of someone in your life who has been
impacted by tobacco at www.MyLegacyStory.org.
- Have a Donor Advised Fund? Please consider recommending a gift to support Legacy!
- Make a gift of appreciated stock or securities. Please call Anthony O'Toole at 202-454-5557 for more information.
- Include a bequest provision for American Legacy Foundation in your will or estate plan.
- Shopping online? Select American Legacy Foundation as your charity of choice on GoodSearch.com /GoodShop.com. Donate with each of your online searches and through your purchases.
- Know someone who is looking for a charity that does meaningful work? Recommend that they support Legacy!
Thank you so much for your kindness and support!
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