Guest opinion: America can raise a tobacco-free generation

By KATHLEEN SEBELIUS U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services

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Here’s a sobering statistic about the tobacco epidemic – a battle many Americans think is already won: If we continue at current smoking rates, 5.6 million children alive today will ultimately die prematurely from smoking. That’s one in 13 kids gone too early due to an entirely preventable cause. That is unacceptable.
That’s why we are asking every American to join our efforts to make the next generation tobacco-free.
Today, we are at a crossroads. In the past 50 years, we’ve more than cut the adult smoking rate in half from nearly 43 percent down to 18 percent, and we’ve reduced 12th grade students’ smoking rate to 16 percent in 2013 from a high of 38 percent in 1976. Yet nearly 500,000 Americans die of smoking-related disease each year. What’s more, the tobacco epidemic costs us nearly $300 billion in productivity and direct medical costs annually.
I believe a tobacco-free generation is within our reach, but it will take commitment from across the spectrum – from federal, state and local governments, but also from businesses, educators, the entertainment industry and beyond.
Praise for CVS
Already, we are seeing leadership from the private sector. This month, CVS, the second largest pharmacy chain in the country announced it will no longer sell tobacco products. In doing so, CVS is at once reducing access to these harmful products and helping to make smoking less attractive.
3,200 new smokers daily
We know that consumers, especially children, are influenced by pro-smoking messages when they shop in stores that sell tobacco products. This includes the display of cigarettes behind the register known as the “power wall.” For young people, “power walls” help shape cigarette brand awareness and the sense that smoking is normal and accepted.
In multiple ways, CVS’ decision will have impact. I applaud this private sector health leader for taking an important new step to curtail tobacco use. I hope that other retailers will take up this pro-health mantle.
The stakes are high. Each day, more than 3,200 youth under age 18 in the United States try their first cigarette, and another 700 kids under age 18 who’ve been occasional smokers become daily smokers.
I am thrilled that earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration launched its first national tobacco education campaign, TheRealCost.gov. The campaign is targeting on-the-cusp youth – the 12 to 17 year old kids who are open to smoking or have experimented with cigarettes, but are not regular smokers.
But creating a tobacco-free generation cannot start and end with our youngest citizens: working toward this goal begins in the present, and reaching adult smokers is essential.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has started the third season of their impactful Tips From Former Smokers campaign. The 2012 Tips series alone prompted an estimated 1.6 million smokers to try to quit, resulting in more than 200,000 additional calls to 1-800-QUIT-NOW, and helped at least 100,000 smokers quit for good.
Whether it’s other retailers following CVS’ lead, more colleges and universities joining the 2,000 schools that are part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Tobacco-Free College Campus Initiative (tobaccofreecampus.org), or movie studios taking tobacco use and imagery out of youth-rated films, I encourage new partners to help us stop the cycle of sickness, disability and death caused by tobacco. Victory will require bold action. What will you do to help make the next generation tobacco-free?

GCC Joins Initiative to Help Students Quit Smoking

Genesee Community College is encouraging students who want to quit smoking to join a state-wide study that uses an innovative, Internet-based program to help beat the cigarette habit.
Conducted by University of Rochester researcher Dr. Scott McIntosh, the study is testing the effectiveness of a promising new tool in smoking cessation, Web-Assisted Tobacco Intervention (WATI).

McIntosh hopes to recruit 1,440 community college students of all ages from around New York to participate in the study. So far 400 students from SUNY community colleges have signed up.
"Community college students are a growing population, and smoking remains a substantial health concern in their demographic," McIntosh said.
Statistics indicate that while 16 percent of the general population smokes, the number is substantially higher, 28 percent to 30 percent, at community colleges.
Students can register online to participate in the study or they may call (585) 276-6243. Once registered, they'll be asked to complete surveys at one, six, and 12 months into the program. Each completed survey earns them a financial reward; $10 at one month, $15 at six months, and $20 at 12 months for a total of $45, whether or not they quit smoking.
"This is a great opportunity for students who want to quit smoking but haven't figured out what the first step is," said Dr. Virginia Taylor, GCC vice president for Student and Enrollment Services. "We hope many of our students who smoke will give quitting a try. They have nothing to lose and much to gain."
WATI requires no special travel and students are able to go at their own pace. All they need is an Internet connection. All students who are ready to quit and who want help quitting on the internet will be referred to a free treatment website, even if they decide not to join this study. The study is being funded by the National Institutes of Health (National Cancer Institute).

How Will Altria Benefit From Green Smoke Purchase?

Altria Group executives are hopeful their acquisition of an electronic-vapor cigarette manufacturer will bring added insight to its own Nu Mark e-cigarette company as it prepares to roll out its MarkTen brand.
As reported in a 21^st Century Smoke/CSP Daily News Flash, Altria Group Inc. announced that its subsidiary Nu Mark LLC entered into an agreement to acquire the e-vapor business of Green Smoke Inc. and its affiliates for approximately $110 million in cash, subject to closing adjustments, and up to $20 million in incentive payments. Davidoff iD Orange
“Nu Mark’s entry into the e-vapor category with its MarkTen product was an important development in Altria’s innovation strategy,” said Marty Barrington, Altria’s chairman and CEO. “Adding Green Smoke’s significant e-vapor expertise and experience, along with its supply chain, product lines and customer service, will complement Nu Mark’s capabilities and enhance its competitive position. Further, Green Smoke’s culture of innovation and history of producing high-quality products are consistent with Altria’s culture.”
Green Smoke was founded in 2008 and has operations in the United States and Israel. Green Smoke has sold e-vapor products since 2009 and its revenues for 2013 were approximately $40 million. Green Smoke sells premium products, with most of its sales in the United States. Its product lines, which are sold under the Green Smoke e-vapor brand, include both rechargeable and disposable versions. Green Smoke brings a team of talented employees with significant experience in developing, manufacturing and marketing high-quality e-cigarettes.
The agreement contains provisions to retain key management infrastructure and talent. Subject to closing conditions, Nu Mark anticipates that the transaction will be completed in the second quarter of 2014.
“We are very pleased to be joining the Altria family of companies,” said Robert Levitz, Green Smoke’s CEO. “We are dedicated to innovation and believe joining Nu Mark will help us deepen that expertise and create new opportunities for our customers, our employees and our products.”
Tobacco analyst Bonnie Herzog of Wells Fargo Securities, New York, said the acquisition is a positive for Altria.
“We have long believed companies would develop portfolios of e-cig brands that cater to different consumers,” she said in a research note today.
She also reported that the majority of Green Smoke's sales are online in the United States, though the company does have a small presence in convenience stores. According to Nielsen, Green Smoke's retail sales in c-stores for the past 52 weeks through the period ending Dec. 21, 2013, were $3.9MM for 0.8% share.
“Altria took a ‘deep scan’ of the entire e-vapor space and felt Green Smoke was the right fit at the right time,” Herzog said, enumerating several reasons, including:

• Green Smoke presents an opportunity for Philip Morris to develop a portfolio of e-vapor brands, complementing its existing MarkTen e-vapor product, as Green Smoke can reach a different consumer since it doesn't look like a traditional cig and it is bigger than MarkTen with a stronger battery.
• Altria can leverage its sales, distribution and infrastructure (Green Smoke has 140 employees, or 40 in the U.S., compared to Altria's 2,000 person sales force).
• Green Smoke's proprietary technology.
• Altria will likely include Green Smoke's technology in its technology and distribution sharing agreement with PMI as Green Smoke has minimal international distribution.

Altria Group directly or indirectly owns 100% of each of Philip Morris USA Inc, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. LLC, John Middleton Co., Nu Mark, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Ltd. and Philip Morris Capital Corp. Altria holds a continuing economic and voting interest in SABMiller plc. The brand portfolios of Altria’s tobacco operating companies include Marlboro, Black & Mild, Copenhagen, Skoal and MarkTen.