CHENNAI: The Cancer Institute (Women India Association) Chennai has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ban all tobacco-related products from being manufactured or sold in the country. E Vidhubala, assistant professor and principal investigator, department of psycho-oncology and Tobacco Cessation Centre, Cancer Institute (WIA), Adyar told City Express that the regional directors of the cancer centres had written letters to Prime Minister Manm ... Jump to full article >>

New Delhi: After a ban on plastic packaging for tobacco products, the Supreme Court is now considering a total ban on gutka and other smokeless tobacco products. Srinath Reddy, PHFI said, “Tobacco is the number one killer. It kills more than 1 million Indians every year. If you are considering this as a food product, clearly its a very hazardous food product. So the PAFA act comes into play.” Meera Aghi, activist said, “We wan ... Jump to full article >>

MINNEAPOLIS — Much to Commissioner Bud Selig’s chagrin, chewing tobacco has been almost as much a part of Major League Baseball over the years as “Play Ball!” and the seventh-inning stretch. It’s ingrained in the culture of the game and is evident anytime a player steps on the sticky floor of a big-league dugout. As owners and the players’ union begin negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement, Selig hopes the time has fi ... Jump to full article >>

If health officials and Major League Baseball prevail, this might be the last season a professional baseball player will be on the field with a wad of tobacco in his cheek. Health officials from 15 cities — including Seattle — signed a letter last week to Bud Selig, Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner, and Michael Weiner, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, calling for a ban on players and coaches using ... Jump to full article >>

While shifting the focus on ‘smokeless tobacco’, the Centre on Monday said that it would now work on improving the pictorial warnings to curb the use of tobacco. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which focused the most of the anti-tobacco campaign on the issue of smoking, for the first time, admitted that pictorial warnings were not so effective. Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Keshav Desiraju ... Jump to full article >>

Smokeless tobacco, whether it’s a plug in the cheek or a pinch under the lip, has long been associated with baseball. It’s also associated with oral cancer, pancreatic cancer, tooth decay, gum disease and mouth lesions. Nicotine is addictive, whether it’s smoked or chewed, so the step from smokeless tobacco to cigarettes is a small one. Nicotine addiction, scientists have found, is an illness acquired in childhood. Almost no one starts usi ... Jump to full article >>

Chewing tobacco — like the Yankees’ starting lineup — is a relic of the past. And while New York’s aging superstars might still be able to pull together a winning season, it’s past time for Major League Baseball to ban this dangerous habit from the diamond. About a third of major leaguers still chew. But with every passing season, baseball’s tolerance for tobacco use, and the disgusting spectacle of grown men spitting on the field l ... Jump to full article >>

Local health officials looking to knock tobacco all the way out of Fenway Park [map] are lining up behind a Washington, D.C., nonprofit to urge Major League Baseball and the players’ union to ban players, coaches and managers from using the smokeless variety at all games and ballparks. “I understand this issue as a former smoker, but I also feel like we all have roles to play as we’re adults, and making sure that we’re not modeling unhea ... Jump to full article >>

How dissolvable tobacco products are made could determine whether or not they fall under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration. Star Scientific Inc., a maker of dissolvable tobacco lozenges, announced Wednesday that it received an FDA notice saying that two of its products are not subject to regulations in the federal Food Drug & Cosmetic Act. The determination could open the door for other dissolvable tobacco products, such ... Jump to full article >>

Altria Group Inc.’s Philip Morris USA and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco operating companies are planning to test-market a new type of smokeless tobacco product in Kansas starting in March. The product, called a smokeless tobacco stick, is designed for smokers or snuff tobacco users looking for a spit-free alternative to traditional oral tobacco such as snuff, a company spokesman said Wednesday. Top U.S. cigarette maker Philip Morris USA will test ... Jump to full article >>