News

Health

smoking stories

Joan Gralla and Ted Phillips

New York State’s sweeping ban on smoking cigarettes in state parks was upheld Thursday by the state’s highest court.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation did not overstep its authority when it barred people from smoking cigarettes at its nearly 215 parks and historic sites.
Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey said in a statement: “As today’s decision unanimously affirms, no smoking in designated areas of State Parks is a sound public policy that protects public health and safety, and makes our pools, playgrounds, beaches and other outdoor facilities healthier and cleaner places for all.”
A parks spokesman had no immediate comment on whether the agency now might restrict electronic cigarettes.
Over the years, the National Park Service increasingly has limited smoking; last year, e-cigarettes were folded into regulations that allow visitors to light up, except when and where the superintendent already has barred smoking.
Smoking, for example, is prohibited if it imposes a burden on maintenance workers, might cause fires or other damage or prompt conflicts among visitors, who are on group hikes, for example, Jeffrey Olson, a National Park Service spokesman, said by email. 
And no smoking is allowed in caves and caverns.
Similarly, in 2014 New York City added e-cigarettes to its ban on smoking in parks. 
That year, Nassau joined Suffolk in enacting a smoking ban, ensuring that playgrounds, athletic fields, county preserves and the like were off limits. But smoking still was allowed at golf courses and in parking lots.
The state parks department first proposed its smoking ban in 2012, saying it was “needed to allow all of [its] patrons to enjoy the outdoors, breathe fresh air, walk, swim, exercise and experience amenities and programs without being exposed to secondhand smoke and tobacco litter,” the court said.
A pro-smoking advocacy group, NYC Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment, filed a lawsuit and successfully persuaded the trial court that the agency had violated the separation of powers doctrine, usurping the legislature’s role.
However, the appellate court overturned that decision, and the Court of Appeals agreed with it, ruling that lawmakers gave the parks department the power to “provide for the health, safety, and welfare of the public in connection with its oversight of the state park system.”

Region/State

STSMOK0401

Court of Appeals upholds state parks smoke ban

Top NY court upholds smoke ban in parks

A fiscal consultant to Suffolk County warns that county officials may face restrictions on a significant portion of the $14.4 million in tobacco settlement money they hope to use to help balance the proposed 2016 budget.
County Comptroller John Kennedy confirmed that Capital Markets Advisors, a firm Suffolk uses in borrowings and refinancings, has issued a memo indicating the county may be restricted in using from $5.8 million to $8.6 million to offset sales tax shortfalls in the $2.9 billion budget.
Kennedy said the consultants have indicated that a portion of the money is restricted because of provisions in a 2008 bond deal in which Suffolk sold the rights to future tobacco settlement money to private investors.
However, Kennedy said the law firm of Hawkins, Delafield and Wood, Suffolk's bond counsel at the time of the deal has indicated that the county can properly include the entire $14.4 million as revenue in the county budget. The county's current bond counsel, Harris Beach, has taken no position on the issue, Kennedy said.
"There's a difference of opinion on how much will be forthcoming and the matter is being reviewed by the county attorney," Kennedy said. Because of the dispute, Kennedy declined to provide Newsday with a copy of the Capital Markets memo and could not say how long it would take to resolve the issue.
County Attorney Dennis Brown said the situation was "still under review" and that he could not say how long a final determination might take.
The county legislature last week added the $14.4 million to Bellone's original budget proposal as one of several steps to overcome a projected $51 million shortfall in sales tax receipts for 2015 and 2016. Lawmakers also added $10 million in revenue for a higher mortgage filing fee, cut $10 million in bus service funding and reduced sales tax revenue estimates by $30 million.
Justin Meyers, a spokesman for County Executive Steve Bellone, said the administration is still reviewing whether to veto the legislative amendments. Meyers said any money from the settlement is not expected until April.
The new money from the nationwide 1998 tobacco settlement became available after State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman reached a $550 million agreement with tobacco companies to end a decadelong dispute over how part of the settlement was to be distributed.
Legis. Kevin McCaffrey, the Republican caucus leader, said he was not aware of possible restrictions on the money, but warned it is only part of a larger problem with the county budget. "We're going to see more and more flaws in the budget where revenue are overestimated and expenses underestimated," he said.
Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory (D-Amityville) did not respond to a request for comment.

Long Island

Nassau

POSUFF13

Suffolk may face restrictions in using tobacco money to help balance budget

cigarette -- cropped

The deal announced Tuesday that ended a decade-old dispute will release $550 million tied up in fight between New York and tobacco companies while also giving a break of more than $126 million to cigarette makers. 
Nassau County will get almost $15.1 million and Suffolk County will get nearly $14.7 million as result of the agreement struck between state Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and tobacco companies. State government will get $281.5 million of the $550 million that was set aside pending the resolution of the dispute within the national 1998 master settlement, which cost cigarette companies billions of dollars. New York City will get $146.7 million under the deal announced Tuesday. 
Tobacco companies had argued they were being overcharged in annual payments required by the 1998 master settlement. That settlement allows for tobacco companies to be compensated for lost profits because of the manufacturing and untaxed sale of cigarettes by Native American tribes and other tobacco companies that didn't sign onto the settlement. 
The $126 million discount compensates the major tobacco companies for lost profits from 2004 to 2014. The companies currently send $775 million a year to New York under the 1998 master settlement to compensate for the toll smoking has taken on the cost of Medicaid health care. 
In addition, the companies will receive a discount on future payments based on the manufacture and sale of untaxed cigarettes. State officials said the annual discount will save companies no more than $100 million a year for the next several years based on a fixed cost per pack. 
"Like the other settlements we reached with the other states, we believe this agreement makes sense," said Denise F. Keane, counsel for Altria Group, which owns the PhilipMorrisUSA tobacco company. 
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the companies "abused the legal system to avoid giving New Yorkers the money they're owed." 
Schneiderman said he refused to join a previous settlement with 22 other states because it would have cut New York's share by half. 
"Big Tobacco must pay for the damage it has done and continues to inflict on communities," Schneiderman said. "Today's announcement is long overdue, but sure to be welcomed by communities and municipalities across our state." 
Since 1998, the master settlement has provided more than $16 billion to New York.

Politics

STTOBA21

Deal between New York State, tobacco companies to send millions into local coffers

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County Executive Steve Bellone signed into law Monday a bill that would raise the age to purchase tobacco products from 19 to 21, one of the toughest anti-tobacco laws in the nation. 
Health advocates believe the new law, which would take effect Jan. 1, will help lower the number of new smokers, but convenience store owners said youth will only be driven to other sources for cigarettes, while their shops are hurt. 
"I have no doubt this will save lives," Bellone said at a Huntington community center, where he was flanked by lawmakers, health advocates and Nassau lawmakers who are pushing for similar legislation. Motioning to about two dozen kids, he said, "It will help young people like this be prevented from smoking." 
The law, sponsored by Legis. William Spencer (D-Centerport), a doctor, was passed by a 10-8 margin in March by the Suffolk County Legislature. 
Health advocates and Nassau County lawmakers who attended the signing Monday said they hoped Suffolk's bill would spur Nassau legislative leadership into entertaining similar legislation pending there. 
Nassau Legis. Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury) said Monday that "it's shameful" that Nassau has not raised the age to purchase tobacco. The county is sandwiched between Suffolk and New York City, which last year passed legislation to raise the age to purchase tobacco to 21. 
The proposed law in Nassau remains pending. Nassau Presiding Officer Norma L. Gonsalves (R-East Meadow) believes the issue should be decided at the state level, said Cristina Brennan, a spokeswoman for majority Republicans. County Executive Ed Mangano's spokesman, Brian Nevin, referred questions on the issue to Gonsalves. 
Convenience store owners said they were preparing for an economic hit from lost sales, not only on cigarettes, but from high-profit products such as cigars, rolling papers and e-cigarettes, which also will be off-limits to 19- and 20-year-olds under Suffolk's law. 
"I don't think they realize the gravity of it, really," said Jack Rugen, who owns a 7-11 franchise in Rocky Point and is vice president of the United Franchise Owners of Long Island. He estimated his store would lose $60 to $90 a day in sales to 19 and 20 year olds, who would go to stores in Nassau or online. 
Kevin Beyer, president of the 900-member Long Island Gasoline Retailers Association and the owner of a Smithtown gas station, said the bill in Suffolk won't work. "It will not achieve its intended goal. It will, however, drive more young people to the black market and to Nassau County, costing Suffolk County-based mom and pop retailers -- and Suffolk County -- much needed revenue streams," he said in a statement. 
A Suffolk legislative budget analysis estimated that the county could lose as much as $412,000 in sales tax revenue a year from lost sales, though there could be $2.9 billion in long-term health savings if the smoking rate decreases. 
Bellone said he listened to economic arguments, but noted that too many people die each year -- an estimated 443,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- from smoking related causes. "While we made progress, we still have a long way to go," he said. 
After years of decline, smoking rates among New York high school students have increased slightly in 2012, the latest numbers available. 
Stores face fines ranging from $300 to $1,000 for the first offense, up to $500 to $1,500 for the second offenses. 
Spencer, the bill's sponsor, said the public health aspect has always been the driving factor, but there's also a personal aspect to the bill. His mother died nine years ago, when she was 58. She had started smoking when she was 19. "She tried all her life to quit," he said. 
With Siobhan Barton

Suffolk

STTOBA15

Suffolk bill raising age to purchase tobacco to 21 becomes law

stSMOK15 cropped

A Long Island state senator has introduced legislation that would ban for sale in New York all so-called e-liquids, the fluids popularly used in e-cigarettes. 
State Sen. Kemp Hannon (R-Garden City) said he is well aware that his bill, which was introduced late last week, is bound to engender the ire of e-cigarette users, a majority of whom attest to the safety of the devices -- and the fluids -- and want them free of restrictions. 
There is no companion bill in the Assembly for Hannon's newly introduced Senate bill. 
E-liquids are generally sold in vials, which are used to refill electronic cigarettes, battery-powered devices that contain propylene glycol and a slurry of other chemicals and dyes. E-cigarettes are noteworthy for the clouds of vapor users produce. 
"I know this bill will make some people angry," Hannon said, "and I'll tell you how mad they are: The year we approved legislation saying e-cigarettes could be sold only to people who were 18 or older, I had a bill to ban e-cigarettes totally. 
"Even my colleagues did not agree with me on that." 
Hannon wrote the new measure because his research has shown "nicotine in liquid form can be absorbed more quickly, even when diluted." 
"Forms of liquid nicotine need to be reviewed and scrutinized," Hannon said. 
E-cigarettes can be nicotine-free but most are notable for their copious amounts of the compound, which can differ from one manufacturer to another. There are no guidelines or rules on the chemical composition of e-liquids, some of which come from unregulated sources abroad. 
A single e-liquid can contain the nicotine amount found in 20 conventional cigarettes, some studies have shown. E-liquids also come in fanciful flavors, which add to their allure. 
Hannon underscored that e-liquids, like electronic cigarettes, are not regulated by the federal government. "Between 2012 and 2013, calls to poison control centers involving e-liquids have increased by 300 percent," he said, "and many of these have been calls involving children under 6 years old." 
Dr. Shahriyour Andaz, director of thoracic oncology at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, said nicotine is not benign. It is not only highly addictive, the public has not been effectively educated on how easily liquefied nicotine can be absorbed through the skin. 
Andaz said nicotine is a notable poison. 
"Nicotine has been used as an insecticide," he said, emphasizing that he is aware of the compound's other property -- addictiveness -- based on his work with lung cancer patients who had long-standing conventional smoking habits. 
Manufacturers promote e-cigarettes as smoking cessation devices. 
Yet, many health officials note that people who switch from conventional cigarettes to electronic ones exchange one source of nicotine for another without the tapering-down process associated with other forms of smoking cessation. 
Hannon's concern about e-liquids, meanwhile, is shared by experts at the North Shore-LIJ Center for Tobacco Control in Great Neck. Team members at the center worry about added chemicals in some e-cigarettes, such as solvents and carcinogens. 
The North Shore center does not use e-cigarettes in its smoking cessation programs because the products are unregulated and the chemical contents are often a mystery. 
An analysis of e-cigarette chemicals by a team of U.S. Food and Drug Administration scientists, for instance, revealed a surprising number of ingredients. 
Taken from the cartridges of leading brands, investigators found e-liquids contained diethylene glycol, a chemical used in antifreeze that is toxic to humans. In several other samples, carcinogens, including nitrosamines, were found. 
"The potential for misuse of e-liquids is real," Hannon said. "This is another problem that's out there in the market. It didn't even exist as a commercial product initially."

LIECIG06

Ban on e-liquids for e-cigarettes proposed in State Senate

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Accidental exposure to nicotine in e-cigarette refills has fueled a dramatic jump in calls to poison control centers, according to federal health authorities, who say the substance triggered eye, skin and inhalation injuries. 
Kids drank flavored e-liquids, lured by deceptively sweet odors. Adults got squirts of nicotine in their eyes and through the skin. Nicotine poisons people when appreciable amounts of the substance are absorbed, inhaled or swallowed. 
Calls to poison centers have largely involved e-cigarette vials used to refill the devices. Phone calls to poison centers rose from one per month in September 2010 to 215 monthly by February of this year, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 
More than half the calls to poison centers were about children exposed to toxic levels of nicotine, but 42 percent involved people 20 and older, also suffering from nicotine exposure. 
By comparison, monthly calls involving conventional cigarettes didn't show a similar increase during the same time period. Hazards linked to cigarettes ranged from 301 to 512 calls per month and were more frequent in summer, researchers found. 
"When e-cigarettes first came out, the nicotine was contained in a cartridge," said Dan Jacobsen of the North Shore-LIJ Center for Tobacco Control in Great Neck. 
"Now, to make them cheaper and easier to use, they are refillable and because these refills have flavors, they entice children," he said. Flavors include chocolate, strawberry and bubble gum. 
Jacobsen said it's time the U.S. Food and Drug Administration considered regulating the products, which have evolved from disposable devices resembling cigarettes to trendy wands from which billowing clouds of vapor are emitted. 
He said there are no quality-control guidelines on their manufacture in the U.S. or abroad. 
Dr. Tim McAfee, director of the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health, said the new report is designed as a wake-up call to the public and health care professionals. 
"People are reporting symptoms through inhalation, eye exposure and skin exposure," McAfee said. "E-cigarettes have a reservoir of liquid that has a heavy concentration of nicotine." 
The devices are battery-powered and also contain an atomizer with propylene glycol that can produce a vapor. 
Among 9,839 poison control calls with information about severity of injuries, those from e-cigarettes were more likely to report adverse health effects. 
Nicotine, a highly addictive substance that targets the brain, can cause serious cardiovascular side effects, such as dramatic palpitations and racing heart rate. The devices, however, are marketed as safe. 
Dr. Shahriyour Andaz, director of thoracic oncology at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, said although his work largely involves patients who've developed lung cancer caused by conventional cigarettes, the culprit in their addiction, he added, was also nicotine. 
"There is 1 milligram of nicotine in a conventional cigarette, but an e-cigarette can have amounts several times as high," he said. 
In high concentrations, nicotine can be deadly, say experts who warned Thursday that guidelines need to be set on the amount in e-cigarettes, which are highlighted as smoking-cessation devices. Nicotine patches and gum are regulated by the FDA. 
The nicotine amount varies with the e-cigarette maker. The lowest concentrations are about 1.5 percent per volume But some sell e-liquids online with higher concentrations. 
Brandon Rockstad, manager of Vapor World in Midwest City, Okla., sells e-liquids and nicotine. He said the amount of nicotine in his products varies, depending on the purchaser. 
Vapor World can sell a gallon or more of e-liquids to brick and mortar stores, Rockstad said. "For personal use we do not sell products with a high nicotine concentration," he said. 
The leader of an e-cigarette trade organization -- Smoke Free Alternatives Trade Association -- said in a statement she supports child-safety measures. 
"We are aware of reports of increased calls to poison control centers that involve e-liquid and support federal age restrictions on the purchase of vapor products, childproof caps and proper labeling to safeguard against accidental ingestion," said Cynthia Cabrera, executive director. 
Dave Dobbins, chief operating officer of the Legacy Foundation in Washington, an anti-smoking research group, said unless the FDA enacts guidelines -- as it said it will do -- e-cigarette poisonings will only increase. 
"When you buy these products you don't even know how much nicotine is in them . . . it's the wild, wild West out there," he said. 
Clearette, one of the nation's largest e-cigarette retailers, which has headquarters in Great River, did not answer calls Thursday. However, regional sales manager Michele Spierto told Newsday last year that e-cigarette sales are increasing worldwide, and that locally, sales are most vigorous on the South Shore.

LIECIG04

Report: Complaints of e-cigarette poisonings on the rise

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Nassau County's decision to punt on raising the legal age to buy tobacco products from 19 to 21 leaves young people in Suffolk and New York City free to purchase smokes in the county wedged in between.
It's a bad move.
And arguments that the state ought to raise the smoking age for every New York county -- or that 19- and 20-year-olds, as adults, should have the right to smoke as they please, as business owners contend -- just don't make the cut.
For one, there's no legislation pending in Albany to raise the legal age to buy tobacco and tobacco products to 21 -- despite decades of medical and other research that make it abundantly clear that smoking kills.
There are more recent studies to take into account as well. Researchers using magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, were surprised after mapping the brain's development from early childhood into adulthood.
Before, it was assumed human brains were fully developed by young adulthood. Now, it appears the brain keeps changing into the early 20s, with the frontal lobes, which govern reasoning and problem solving, developing last. That makes sense, if only because many of us realize -- usually in our 30s -- just how brave, bold and downright reckless we were in our early 20s.
In Suffolk, Legis. William Spencer (D-Centerport), a pediatric surgeon, pushed the measure to raise the age for tobacco purchases.
It passed a county legislature that for decades has prided itself on being ahead of the pack on everything from regulating phosphates in detergents to outlawing driving while talking on cellphones.
In 2002, Nassau actually was at the forefront on the issue of smoking legislation when it became the first county in New York State to ban smoking in bars, restaurants, bowling alleys and bingo halls.
The move created a domino-effect, as Suffolk, Westchester, New York City and, in 2003, New York State passed similar measures.
This time around, Nassau is lagging.
Earlier this month, Suffolk passed a bill -- effective in January 2015 -- raising the age limit for purchasing tobacco products to 21 from 19. New York City's law raising the age to 21 takes effect on May 19.
But in Nassau, the Republican majority in the legislature decided to block a vote on the measure, sponsored by a Democrat, Legis. Judy Jacobs of Woodbury. Presiding Officer Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow) said state legislators in Albany should deal with the issue to ensure "statewide uniformity."
That leaves Nassau in the company of shrinking numbers of downstate counties that still allow 19- and 20-year olds to buy tobacco -- despite studies showing that 90 percent of smokers pick up the habit before they turn 21.
"We don't need another generation of kids addicted to this deadly product," Michael Seilback, a spokesman for the American Lung Association, told Newsday.
And yet, Nassau opts to remain passive on an issue where it once led the state.
What a difference a decade makes.

Columnists

Joye Brown

LIJOY01

Nassau makes the wrong move on smoking age

poSMOKE31 cropped

Majority Republicans in the Nassau County Legislature have decided to block a vote on a bill that would raise the age to purchase tobacco products to 21, placing Nassau among the dwindling number of downstate counties allowing 19- and 20-year-olds to buy them.
Presiding Officer Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow) said she will not call a vote on the Nassau bill sponsored by Legis. Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury) to raise the age from 19 to 21, arguing that state legislators in Albany should deal with the issue to ensure "statewide uniformity."
Jacobs said the county risks gaining a reputation as the region's go-to locale for young smokers.
"Why would we want to be labeled as a haven for ill health?" asked Jacobs. "The losers here are our young people."
A bill passed this month by the Suffolk County Legislature, raising the age limit from 19 to 21, goes into effect Jan. 1, and a New York City law raising the age to 21 takes effect May 19. The minimum age is 18 in Westchester County.
Nassau in the past was at the forefront of antismoking legislation.
Under majority Democrats in 2002, Nassau became the first county in New York to ban smoking in bars, restaurants, bowling alleys and bingo halls. Suffolk, Westchester and New York City then passed similar bills, and a statewide ban on smoking in those establishments was enacted in 2003.
In 2006, the Democrat-led Nassau Legislature increased the age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 19. Suffolk passed a similar law in 2005.
Michael Seilback, a spokesman for the American Lung Association, said 90 percent of smokers pick up the habit before they turn 21. He argued that Jacobs' bill would make it more difficult for young people in Nassau to buy cigarettes and begin smoking.
"We don't need another generation of kids addicted to this deadly product," Seilback said. 
But Kevin Beyer, president and chief executive of the Long Island Gasoline Retailers Association, said if 19- and 20-year-olds are old enough to go to war, get married and vote, they can make their own decisions about smoking.
Beyer said he expects Nassau retailers in areas including Valley Stream and Elmont, near the Queens border, and in Syosset, Jericho and other areas near Suffolk, to see increased business once the New York City and Suffolk laws go into effect. 
"Nassau businesses stand to benefit, especially in these border areas," Beyer said. 
The Long Island retailers lobbied against the Suffolk and the Nassau legislation, Beyer said. 
Bills to raise the age statewide haven't gained traction.
Assemb. Sandy Galef (D-Ossining) sponsored a bill last year to increase the age to purchase tobacco products statewide from 18 to 19. The measure never made it out of the Assembly's Committee on Codes, and the GOP-led State Senate did not introduce a similar bill. There is no state legislation in play this year.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's office did not respond to a request for comment.
Robert Degirmenci, manager of H &amp; R Services, a gas station in Farmingdale in Suffolk County, near the Nassau border, said counties shouldn't be enacting laws piecemeal. He said Suffolk's new law could cost him up to 20 percent of his tobacco business. 
"Every little bit hurts small businesses," Degirmenci said. "They can't keep changing the law on the county level. They should change it statewide."
Philip Castaldo, who owns two 7-Eleven stores in Commack, said 19- and 20-year-olds in Suffolk will shop in Nassau or on Indian reservations, or find adults to buy cigarettes on their behalf. 
"The goal of the bill is great, but it will do nothing," Castaldo said. "All it is doing is punishing legal business owners."
Gonsalves said she is "not concerned" about young smokers flocking to Nassau.
"The people who want to smoke will find a way to purchase it," she said.

POSMOK31

Nassau GOP to block vote on bill raising age limit to buy tobacco products

I am disappointed with the outcome of Suffolk County's decision to raise the age to buy cigarettes ["Suffolk's new age to buy cigs: 21," News, March 19]. 
In my opinion, this was a feel-good initiative to promote political careers. 
It is not that I support smoking at any age. Since students can still be in high school at 18, raising the legal age to 19 in 2005 was appropriate to curb underage smoking in our schools. Changing the law to 21, however, essentially goes against the legal adult age for voting, enlisting in the armed services and other rights in the United States and much of the Western world. The law against selling alcohol to anyone younger than 21 hasn't stopped high school students from drinking. 
How will this law be enforced? It's left up to the businesses of Suffolk County. Why should we be responsible for policing this bill? 
If the legislators who voted for this bill truly wanted to make a difference, they would have amended it to say that the use or possession of cigarettes by anyone younger than 21 will be punished by a fine or community service. 
That would have the added benefit of balancing the county budget in no time. 
Dorothy Castaldo, Smithtown 
Editor's note: The writer owns a 7-Eleven franchise in Commack. &nbsp;

Opinion

Letters

OPLTR31B.WEB

Letter: '21 and over' law adds burden to biz

Cigarettes Cropped

E-cigarettes do not help smokers quit, according to a new analysis that flies in the face of "e-cig" promotional material labeling them as safe and effective cessation devices.
The research is the second cautionary study in recent weeks to emerge from the Center for Tobacco Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco. Earlier this month, the center's head, Dr. Stanton Glantz, found in a study of thousands of youths that the addictive nicotine in e-cigs may lure teens to more potent sources of the substance. 
Now, Drs. Pamela Ling and Rachel Grana, also researchers at the center, have found that smokers who used them found they were not helpful in stopping the urge to smoke.
"We looked at a national panel of smokers and examined whether they were more likely to quit with electronic cigarettes or less likely at one-year follow up." Grana said Monday, referring to her national sample of more than 900 smokers, 88 of whom were trying to quit using e-cigarettes.
"We found there were no differences in rates of quitting between those who used electronic cigarettes and those who did not," Grana said. The findings are reported in Monday's edition of JAMA Internal Medicine.
Patricia Folan, director of the North Shore-LIJ Center for Tobacco Control in Great Neck, where smokers attend sessions to kick the habit, said she is not surprised by the study's results.
"We don't use them and we don't recommend them," Folan said Monday of electronic cigarettes. "They haven't been regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and there really is not much research on their effectiveness to stop people from smoking.
"The patients we've seen use them while they are smoking tend to use them in places where cigarettes are not allowed. But even that is becoming more difficult because in Suffolk County electronic cigarettes are covered under the same bans as cigarettes," Folan said.
Popular yet controversial, e-cigs are formally known as electronic nicotine delivery systems and in recent years have been at the center of a stormy public health debate.
The American Council on Science and Health, a Manhattan-based nonprofit, is a leading advocate for electronic cigarettes. This month, the group's executive director of consumer education, Dr. Gilbert Ross, criticized e-cigarette's detractors, including major health organizations such as the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society.
He told Newsday the devices are safe and effective at helping to stop smoking. Ross' organization, however, tends to endorse many chemical industry safety claims.
In a policy statement, the American Lung Association reports being "very concerned about the potential safety and health consequences of electronic cigarettes, as well as claims that they can be used to help smokers quit."American Cancer Society policy experts write "the makers of e-cigarettes say that the ingredients are safe, but inhaling a substance is not the same as swallowing it.
"There are questions about how safe it is to inhale some substances in the e-cigarette vapor into the lungs," according to the cancer society.

LIECIG25

Study: E-cigs don't help smokers quit

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Rhoda Nichter could never stomach the smell of secondhand cigarette smoke. After putting up with a smoke-filled workplace while employed as a collections assistant in the early 1970s, Nichter, then a young mother of two, decided she'd had enough. 
"I always had a dry nose and throat and a respiratory infection from the smoke," recalls Nichter, now an 80-something grandmother of four. "My bosses smoked. . . . How could I tell the treasurer, 'Your smoke is bothering me'?" 
She quit her job after several months and complained in a letter to a local newspaper that she had no rights when confronted by smokers in public. "I said I couldn't hold a job because the people I was working with smoked, and I got sick from their smoke," she recalls. "I said something has to be done about educating these people." 
The day Nichter's letter was published, she noticed two more writers had objected to secondhand smoke. "I looked up their phone numbers and invited the others to my house," she says. That led to her starting GASP (Group Against Smoking Pollution) of New York in 1974. 
Claire Millman of Plainview, who also had two young children, was fed up with being "assaulted" by secondhand smoke. "In those days, wherever you went to purchase goods and services, and even in doctors' waiting rooms, people were allowed to smoke," recalls Millman, now 81 and a grandmother of four. "I felt the necessity to start working to eliminate smoking in public places." She found a friend and fellow anti-smoking activist in Nichter and joined GASP. "Rhoda and I had the same goals, and together we started the appeals for smoke-free air in both counties," she says. "We had to reverse the norm and educate people so they understood that they could live in a smoke-free environment." 
Nichter and Millman were at the forefront of a widely derided movement to prohibit smoking in public buildings and restaurants on Long Island and in New York City. Working alongside nonprofit health advocacy organizations and other grassroots groups, they lobbied for the adoption of smoking restrictions considered extremely tough at the time. Their campaign pressed for nonsmokers' rights, when lighting up in public was the norm. 
Marianne Zacharia, senior director of community tobacco education for the American Lung Association of the Northeast, says organizations such as hers and the American Cancer Society worked "to create laws to protect the health of nonsmokers." However, "change would never happen as quickly without your movers and shakers like Rhoda and Claire." 
Eventually, Nichter and Millman branched out into different areas of the anti-smoking arena, but four decades since GASP was started, they're still at it. 
'Uphill battle' 
Nichter, author of "How to Quit Smoking Once and for All" and "Yes, I Do Mind If You Smoke," described the early anti-smoking campaign as an uphill battle. "At first, it was difficult to get legislators to listen to us and to consider putting the bill up for a vote, because they were being pressured by the tobacco industry and restaurants not to pass the legislation," she says. To reach a wider audience, GASP published and mailed a quarterly newsletter she and her late husband, Murray, mostly funded until the group received tax-exempt nonprofit status. 
Within a couple of years, she says, there was a GASP chapter in almost every state. The campaign was a lot of "hard work and required a lot of tenacity," she says, but "GASP made smoking socially unacceptable through consciousness-raising, and that was the whole point in what we did." 
It was not an easy fight. "There was a big uproar that went out from the restaurants," recalls Nichter, who was fast becoming the media's anti-smoking go-to source. "They said they would lose business and that people wouldn't come and eat out if they couldn't smoke." 
Rick Sampson, past president and CEO of the New York Restaurant Association based in Albany, says restaurants experienced economic hardship when the smoking ban was enacted initially. However, he says, "When we realized that secondhand smoke was harmful, we had to support the bans, but we took a lot of abuse from the industry, and the customers were holding the restaurateurs responsible for banning smoking and didn't frequent their restaurants." 
Now, Sampson says, "Smokers are used to going outside to have a cigarette and then returning to their meal. It's working for the restaurants and the patrons." 
 Educating the doctors 
The first surgeon general's warning about the health hazards of smoking was issued in 1964. But during the 1970s, when Nichter began her campaign, "people didn't understand the hazards of secondhand smoke," she says. Even doctors were unfamiliar with the concept. That was clear, she says, when she spoke to the Nassau Academy of Medicine, a doctors' group in Garden City, about dangers of passive smoke. 
"There were 300 or 400 doctors there, and they had no idea secondhand smoke was harmful," she recalls. "I told them I didn't have the science to back it up but that when I was exposed to smoke, I would cough and a couple of days later I'd get a respiratory infection." 
It wasn't until 1986 that then-Surgeon General C. Everett Koop issued "The Health Consequences of Involuntary Smoking." Koop's report defined secondhand smoke as not just an annoyance, "but as a quantifiable health risk," according to the National Library of Medicine Profiles in Science. 
After Nichter's presentation to the academy, a couple of doctors asked her if she would give a smoking-cessation seminar at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, provided they mentored her. She quickly agreed. Nearly four decades later, Nichter says, thousands have signed up for her program. During one five-year period, she says, she followed up with former students and found that about 70 percent of them were still smoke-free after a year. 
The hospital doesn't track Nichter's classes, but "overwhelmingly, participants say they quit smoking by the end of her class," says Sue Palo, director of rehabilitation and community services at the hospital's DeMatteis Center for Cardiac Research and Education. 
 Branching out 
Nichter and Millman parted ways in the mid-1980s. While Nichter focused on smoking cessation, Millman formed Alliance for Smoke-free Air and concentrated on nonsmokers' rights, becoming a charter member of the Tobacco Action Coalition of Long Island, among other groups. "Smoke-free was a new concept because smoking was a part of everyday life," says Millman. 
Long Island's first anti-smoking ordinances were passed in stages, she says, beginning in the mid-1980s and culminating in the tougher smoking bans in Nassau in 2002 and Suffolk in 2003. "The early laws were not comprehensive, and we had to ask them to strengthen them," says Millman. She also pushed legislators to ban smoking on town playgrounds and beaches. 
Millman's enthusiasm led to her writing a song describing the plight of nonsmokers, and her remarks on the subject frequently appeared in the media. She also made her voice heard at the New York City Council and shortly before lawmakers passed New York City's Smoke-Free Air Act in 2003, she says, she and the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), along with other activists, were summoned to City Hall to weigh in on the proposed legislation. 
"When she started, they didn't take her seriously," recalls Millman's husband, Stanley, a retired engineering executive. "Come on, a housewife, taking on the entire tobacco industry?" 
Claire Millman recently received Lifetime Achievement awards from Brooklyn College, her alma mater, and the Association of Generational Experts for Seniors, a network of professionals from family and senior-related fields. 
Elected officials and others who remember what it took for Nichter and Millman to see success say the women needed "strong shoulders" to take on opponents of the smoking bans. "They blazed a trail when the trail wasn't being listened to very well," says Nassau County Legislator Judy Jacobs. "They never gave up trying to convince people of the dangers of cigarette smoking, and they deserve a lot of credit for opening everyone's eyes as to what should and could be done." 
Nichter and Millman forge on as anti-smoking advocates. Nichter plans to keep teaching her smoking-cessation class at St. Francis. And, most recently, Millman lobbied Suffolk legislators to raise the minimum age requirement for cigarette purchases to 21 was passed this month. 
"The fight has taken more than 40 years," says Millman. "And it's not over yet." 
 READY TO STOP SMOKING? 
Here's a sampling of some free smoking-cessation classes on Long Island 
* North Shore-LIJ Center for Tobacco Control 
6-week stop-smoking classes: 225 Community Dr., Great Neck; call 516-466-1980 
* Suffolk County Department of Health's Learn to be Tobacco Free Program 
For Suffolk residents, go online to <a href="http://bit.ly/1eG4ynu">bit.ly/1eG4ynu</a> 
* St. Francis Hospital's DeMatteis Center for Cardiac Research &amp; Education 
7-session stop-smoking clinic: 101 Northern Blvd., Old Brookville; call Rhoda Nichter at 516-938-0080 or St. Francis Hospital's DeMatteis Center at 516-629-2038

A2COV29.WEB

Pair in their 80s still fight smoking

ACT2 JCM CROPPED

Suffolk County raised the age for tobacco sales from 19 to 21 last night, passing a bill with some of the tightest restrictions over cigarette sales in the country. 
"This will save lives," Legis. William Spencer (D-Centerport), the bill's sponsor and a pediatric surgeon, said after the 10-8 vote. 
The bill restricts stores in Suffolk County from selling cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, herbal cigarettes, rolling papers, pipes, as well as e-cigarettes, to those over 21. The law goes into effect Jan. 1. 
New York City late last year passed a similar age restriction, while the town of Needham, Mass., has instituted another proposal, according to the American Lung Association. 
After a lengthy debate, in which convenience store owners said their businesses would be hurt and the rights of legal adults would be curtailed, health advocates applauded when the vote concluded. 
Minority Leader Legis. John M. Kennedy Jr. (R-Nesconset) argued that by age 19 consumers can make their own decisions: "Nineteen-year-olds have a bundle of rights -- they can vote, they can marry, they can enter contracts and serve in the military -- but to say they don't have the innate ability to make a choice about tobacco consumption gravely concerns me as overreaching." 
The six Republicans were joined by Legis. Kate Browning (WFP-Shirley) and Legis. Louis D'Amaro (D-North Babylon). 
Legis. Steve Stern (D-Huntington) was the key swing vote. He said during the debate he would vote to raise the age only because of the highly addictive nature of cigarettes. 
D'Amaro voted against the proposal. He said this bill unfairly targets 19- and 20-year-olds and puts the burden of enforcement on retailers. 
"Twenty-one is an arbitrary number once you get talking about minors," he said. 
Spencer introduced his bill after the Suffolk Board of Health recommended raising the age for tobacco sales in November. Legislative budget analysts have estimated that the proposal could cost the county $412,000 lost in sales tax from tobacco sales, but provide long-term health savings of $2.9 billion. 
The law would impose fines of up to $1,000 for businesses that sell tobacco to customers younger than 21 on a first offense and up to $1,500 for second offenses. 
Gas station and convenience store owners attacked the proposal as an economic hardship on their businesses and an assault on the rights of 19- and 20-year-olds. 
Patricia Orzano, a 7-Eleven store owner who lives in West Babylon, said, "These people vote, they serve in the military, have abortions, get married." 
Jack Rugen, who owns a 7-Eleven store in Rocky Point, said his outlet sells about $70 a day in tobacco products to 19- and 20-year-olds. Rugen also has criticized the law, since there will be no penalty for those under 21 who are smoking or buy cigarettes -- only on the retailers caught selling the cigarettes. 
But Long Island health advocates said raising the age would cut the number of young smokers, saving the county long-term in health care costs and in the number of older smokers. 
In a 2000 study, 90 percent of adults who smoked started by 21, and half of them became regular smokers by their 18th birthday. 
"Suffolk County will once again be a leader in public health law," said Michael Seilback, vice president of the American Lung Association of the Northeast, citing the county's early adoption of a ban of smoking in restaurants and other indoor places. 
Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. James L. Tomarken urged lawmakers to pass the bill. "Rarely do you get the chance to pass legislation that could literally save lives. I urge you to do so," he said.Also Tuesday, lawmakers were expected to vote on a home-rule measure asking the State Legislature to allow the county to transfer 33 park police and make them county police officers. Suffolk then plans to hire about 45 seasonal park rangers to work during the busy summer months. 
Legislative budget analysts issued a report saying the move would save $2.97 million in 2014 and $27.1 million through 2018. However, the analysts warned that any delay -- including a possible lawsuit from those on the existing police hiring list -- may add $1 million in police overtime costs this summer. 
The legislature also was expected to vote on a proposal that would double traffic fines within 30 days and triple them in 60 days in an effort to relieve the backlog of 14,754 tickets that have gone unpaid at the county's traffic and parking violations bureau. 
Some legislators have raised concerns that the hike would most harshly impact the poor who have less ability to pay.

POSUFF19

Suffolk lawmakers raise age for buying tobacco to 21

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Democrats in the U.S. Senate this week introduced a bill that would ban the marketing of electronic cigarettes to minors. "We cannot risk undoing decades of progress in reducing youth smoking by allowing e-cigarette makers to target our kids," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., one of the bill's co-sponsors. 
E-cigarettes are a burgeoning trend and growing share of the $40 billion U.S. tobacco market. Virtually unknown five years ago, e-cigarette sales could reach $1.5 billion this year, according to industry groups. 
Unlike traditional cigarettes, which burn processed tobacco leaves, e-cigarette users inhale and exhale a nicotine-laced vapor. Critics say fruit- or candy-flavored vapors are designed to appeal to kids. 
Should the government regulate or even ban e-cigarettes to protect kids? Ben Boychuk and Joel Mathis, the RedBlueAmerica columnists, weigh in. 
BEN BOYCHUK Tobacco use - any kind of tobacco use - brings out the Puritan in people who might otherwise espouse a live-and-let-live, "keep-your-laws-off-my-body" philosophy. 
For a certain type of busybody, if it looks like a cigarette, smells like a cigarette, tastes like a cigarette, then it must be a cigarette - and therefore it's rotten, no good, probably deadly, and in desperate demand of government regulation as soon as possible. A half-century of public education warning Americans against smoking's dangers is bound to do that. 
Without question, cigarette smoking is bad for your health. You shouldn't smoke - even though, despite all of those anti-smoking campaigns, public bans and high taxes, about 18 percent of American adults still smoke. 
Fact is, e-cigarettes sort of resemble old-fashioned cigarettes. But they don't taste like cigarettes - in fact, many former smokers who have turned to e-cigs as a way to help kick their nasty old habit quickly realize that traditional cigarettes taste terrible. 
And e-cigarettes don't smell like cigarettes, either. Vapor isn't smoke. E-cigarettes don't produce the same nasty byproducts as cigarettes, such as tar. What little research we have suggests e-cigarettes might emit trace amounts of bad stuff - hardly a cause for panic. 
But the anti-smoking movement has too much invested to let a new vice that looks like a despised old one gain too much ground. 
Several cities and states have already passed bans on "vaping" in the strange belief that old regulations are good enough for new technology. Now Senate Democrats would summon the ghost of Joe Camel to argue that e-cigarettes are just a high-tech version of the same old cancer sticks, using "the children" once again as human shields for their policy preferences. 
Although e-cigarette makers don't market the devices as a way to quit smoking, that's how many "vapers" use them. One unintended consequence of regulating e-cigarettes the same as traditional cigarettes may be to discourage people from quitting the more dangerous habit. 
Politicians are always in a rush to "do something." But a little less hyperbole, and a great deal more evidence, would do this debate a world of good. 
JOEL MATHIS Have e-cigarettes demonstrated enough harm to invite regulation? Probably not yet - the science, as they say, isn't there yet. From that standpoint, anti-smoking advocates and legislators would be wise to keep their powder dry instead of launching a crusade right away. 
But there's an ancient principle that suggests e-cigs are deserving, at the very least, of some regulatory scrutiny: If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck. And e-cigarettes - which are designed to emulate the look and feel of regular cigarettes, right down to the glowing battery-powered tips - sure do quack like a duck, don't they? What's more, they even do a duck's job. (OK, enough of that metaphor.) A cigarette's function, after all, is to deliver a dose of sweet, stimulating nicotine to the smoker's bloodstream - which is exactly the same function of the vapor hits produced by e-cigs. 
Now the vapor is probably an improvement over smoke, which contains all kinds of cancerous, unhealthy chemicals. Then again: Nicotine tends to be extremely addictive. Authorities quite rightly take a dim view of any product whose primary purpose is to create a bodily craving to use the product again and again. From that standpoint, the need for regulation starts to look compelling. 
The case may become more compelling when you consider this: E-cig critics see the devices as toy versions of the real thing - and thus a gateway drug to real cigarettes. Critics will scoff, but it wouldn't be the first time the tobacco industry has taken a back door to wooing new, younger customers: American society was once awash in candy cigarettes and Joe Camel cartoons designed to lure youngsters into a lifetime of smoking. 
Anti-tobacco advocates have been, perhaps, too quick to threaten regulations and possible bans against e-cigarettes. It's tough to blame them, however. Cigarettes have killed millions of Americans. Better to stop the next needless holocaust in its tracks, before it gets started. 
Ben Boychuk is associate editor of the Manhattan Institute's City Journal. Joel Mathis is associate editor for Philadelphia Magazine.

Commentary

OPMATHIS27

Debate: Should e-cigarettes have regulation immunity?

e-cigarette cropped

Cigarettes kill, but menthol isn't the culprit. Nevertheless the Food and Drug Administration is moving toward regulating, maybe even banning, menthol in cigarettes, while leaving cigarettes without the minty, cool additive available for public consumption. That makes no sense. 
 OK, it makes a little sense. Just not enough to justify banning menthol smokes. 
 More than 440,000 people in the United States die every year due to tobacco use, according to the FDA, which nailed tobacco as the nation's leading cause of preventable death and disease. But the agency found no evidence that menthol cigarettes are more toxic than non-menthol brands, or pose a heightened risk of disease for smokers. 
 Young people who pick up the habit, however, are more likely to begin with menthol smokes. And menthol smokers are less likely to successfully quit, suggesting the additive may be associated with more powerful addiction. Those are the recently released conclusions of an FDA survey of available research, which mirror the findings of an FDA advisory committee that said in 2011 that removing menthol cigarettes from the market would benefit public health. 
 A ban would also be consistent with a 2009 ban on fruit-, herb- and spice-flavored cigarettes -- varieties attractive to young smokers and a transparent attempt to hook new customers. The FDA was right to ban those, just as it should also ban cigars with kid-magnet flavors like chocolate and blueberry. 
 But menthol cigarettes are a large, established segment of the market. One in four cigarettes sold in this country is mentholated. About four in five African-American smokers choose them, and women, Hispanics and young people favor them more often than do other smokers. 
 Banning a product popular with so many consumers would spawn a lucrative criminal black market. And in our litigious society, it could invite lawsuits by African-American smokers challenging a decision to ban a product they overwhelmingly favor, while leaving the equally lethal, non-menthol cigarettes other smokers prefer on the market. 
 The FDA announced last month that it will fund three new, menthol-related studies to evaluate factors such as whether genetic differences in taste perceptions explain why certain racial and ethnic populations are more likely to smoke menthol cigarettes. 
 Fortunately, this is not an all-or-nothing proposition. The FDA could and should stop short of a ban. The agency is seeking public comment for another month to inform its eventual rule-making decision on menthol cigarettes. It already regulates menthol in medical products as a drug, and imposes restrictions on allowable doses and use. The FDA should explore whether restricting the amount of menthol in cigarettes would effectively curtail their attraction for new smokers and make them easier to quit. 
 Smoking is often a death sentence. It causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, and lung diseases such as emphysema and bronchitis. That's a stunning health risk for the 44 million Americans who smoke cigarettes. Eventually the nation will have to decide whether to continue allowing the legal sale of a product that causes so much sickness and death. Until it does, the FDA shouldn't take the quarter-step of banning cigarettes with menthol.

VPMENTHOL30

Editorial: Ban on menthol cigarettes isn't the answer

smoking -cropped

The Central Islip school board plans to ramp up efforts to curb suspected marijuana and cigarette use on high school property, where it has banned e-cigarettes and tobacco use. 
At Monday night's school board meeting, two relatives of students spoke about marijuana and tobacco issues they say plague the health of students at Central Islip Senior High School. 
Ruben Vallejo, 54, of Central Islip, said his son, who is in 10th grade, complains that he smells marijuana smoke while sitting in class. 
"From what I understand, there's kids smoking in the [vacant] rooms . . .," Vallejo told the board. "My kid is in one of the classes, and he says . . . people are getting dizzy in the classroom. What are we doing about it?" 
Rosa Quiles, 73, a retired teacher in Hempstead, has two granddaughters at the high school. She asked that the board "eliminate sources of secondhand smoke in any area in our schools." 
During the meeting, the school board unanimously passed several new policies and policy amendments, including the ban of e-cigarettes and all tobacco use on school property. 
Craig Carr, schools superintendent, said he has asked the high school principal to investigate reports of marijuana smoking. "We all know that there is use of marijuana and of tobacco products. We are not fooled," he said. 
Security personnel will be asked to stop students from leaving and re-entering the building during school hours, Carr said. Security cameras are also in place, and "whenever possible," a teacher or security guard is on duty outside of all open bathrooms, Carr said. 
Students thought to be under the influence of a substance will be sent to the nurse's office to have vital signs checked, Carr said. If there are signs "the child is under the influence, the parents will be notified, and the student will be searched," Carr said. If evidence is found, appropriate measures will be taken, ranging from suspension to arrest, Carr said. The new policies can be viewed in full on the school's website at centralislip.k12.ny.us. Cyberbullying and harassment are also prohibited, and the board has implemented rules on public conduct on school property as well as guidelines for maintaining professional staff/student boundaries and for teachers who use personal electronics during school hours.

TOCENT12

Central Islip school board ramps up curb of tobacco, marijuana

Central Islip Senior High School crop

A Nassau County legislator is proposing a series of anti-smoking bills -- including raising the age to purchase cigarettes and tobacco products to 21 -- to bring the county in line with recent initiatives approved or under discussion in New York City and Suffolk. 
Legis. Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury) on Friday filed three resolutions for consideration by Presiding Officer Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow). 
Besides raising the purchase age, Jacobs' bills also seek to ban smoking in county parks and within 20 feet of county buildings, and in vehicles occupied by minors. 
New York City passed its law raising the purchase age of tobacco products and cigarettes to 21 in October; Suffolk County is holding hearings on a bill to do the same. 
The minimum age to purchase tobacco products now is 19 in both counties. 
"We certainly don't want to be known as the oasis of smoking," Jacobs said of Nassau. "I'm hoping the majority will agree with me." 
Cristina Brennan, a spokeswoman for the majority Republicans, said Jacobs' bills are under review, and that a decision on whether to place them on an agenda is pending. 
During the recent hearings on Suffolk's proposal to raise its purchase to 21, supporters testified that smoking among high school students is beginning to rise again after a long period of decline. 
They cited the rise of popular, tobacco-free electronic cigarettes, which health advocates see as a gateway to real cigarettes. 
But Suffolk's bill is under heavy opposition from convenience store owners, who said it would drive young adults to Nassau. 
"It hurts business, no question about it," Kevin Beyer, head of the 900-member Long Island Gasoline Retailers Association, said yesterday. 
"These bills don't meet the intent. You're just pushing the business to the black market."

POSMOK11

Bill would raise age for tobacco purchases to 21 in Nassau

cigarette--CROP

Lane Filler's column "Illogical bans on tobacco sales" [Opinion, Feb. 26], on banning sales to anyone younger than 21, would be comical if it weren't so full of flawed logic and self-serving inaccuracies. Filler seems to promote his personal preferences at the expense of future generations, all in a supposed effort to protect our civil liberties. 
Filler quoted a British study showing that young people can safely smoke until age 30 with no adverse health effects. This study is encouraging for those who want to quit, but the point that is lost -- and which Filler admits -- is that it is extremely hard to quit. Very few people will smoke until they are 30 and then just toss out their cigarettes as easily as I'm gong to toss out his article tonight. 
Putting up barriers to smoking for 19- and 20-year-olds has the secondary benefit of making it difficult for them to supply their friends who are 18 or younger. 
Dr. Michael Melgar, Great Neck &nbsp; 
We couldn't disagree more with Lane Filler's column. Not only is Suffolk County's proposal "logical," it would undoubtedly further decrease youth smoking rates and save lives. 
Nearly 3,200 kids younger than 18 smoke their first cigarette each day. We know that nine out of 10 smokers started before they turned 18 and that 99 percent of smokers started before they turned 26. 
Raising the purchase age is an important countermeasure to the tobacco industry's relentless efforts to target young people when they are most vulnerable and can be more easily lured into a lifetime of addiction. If you disagree with our opinion, perhaps you could listen to Big Tobacco's own words. An RJ Reynolds researcher stated, "If a man has never smoked by age 18, the odds are three-to-one he never will. By age 21, the odds are twenty-to-one." 
The U.S. surgeon general recently concluded that if youth smoking rates continue on their current trend, 5.6 million American kids younger than 18 today will die prematurely from tobacco-related disease. This suggests that we must do more than the status quo. 
Michael Seilback, Hauppauge 
Editor's note: The writer is the vice president for public policy and communications for the American Lung Association of the Northeast. &nbsp; 
I applaud Suffolk County Community College for wanting to ban tobacco use on its three campuses ["SCCC seeking smoking ban at its 3 campuses" News, Feb. 25]. 
The surgeon general recommends developing smoke-free environments to help decrease tobacco initiation. Helping reduce the number of people who smoke will lower health care costs from tobacco-related illnesses and save lives. 
Christine Fardellone, East Meadow 
Editor's note: The writer is a registered nurse. &nbsp;

OPLTR05A.WEB

Letters: Raise tobacco age to 21

E-cigarettes appear to be a gateway product to cigarette smoking among youths, according to researchers who studied the "vaping" and smoking patterns of nearly 40,000 teens nationwide. 
The controversial nicotine-containing products used in smoking cessation programs to help cigarette smokers break their habit are having the opposite effect on some youths, according to a study in this month's Pediatrics, a journal of the American Medical Association. 
Once hooked on the nicotine in e-cigs, some kids graduate to the more powerful nicotine punch delivered by cigarettes, according to Stanton Glantz, lead investigator of the research, which analyzed data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey. 
He found that middle school and high school students who are current e-cigarette users have more than a seven times greater likelihood of turning to and using conventional cigarettes. 
E-cigarettes, which are an unregulated product, have become a target of fiery debate. Critics say guidelines are desperately needed because the products are also sold in flavors -- such as strawberry, licorice and chocolate -- that are especially enticing to kids. 
School districts in Nassau and Suffolk are cracking down on electronic cigarettes and have added bans on the devices, whether they contain nicotine or are nicotine-free, to their anti-tobacco policies. State law prohibits smoking on school grounds. 
The LIRR banned vaping on its trains as part of its overall smoking policies. In December, New York City banned vaping in public spaces. 
Dr. Stephen Dewey, a brain researcher at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset and a community-outreach speaker who gives weekly talks at local schools on addiction, said he's well aware of kids trying out e-cigs then moving to conventional products. 
"Some kids are saying it's cooler to smoke a real cigarette," Dewey said. 
Regardless of the product, it is nicotine's impact on the dopamine receptors of the brain that causes addiction, Dewey said. 
"Dopamine is a neurotransmitter and it plays an important role in pleasure. Playing a good game of Xbox can cause the release of dopamine," Dewey said of the popular video game console. 
But nicotine-containing products cause a more potent release of the pleasure-causing biochemical, Dewey said. E-cigarettes require more study because the long-term health effects are still unknown, Dewey said. 
Instead of tobacco, e-cigarettes contain an atomizer that releases a vapor of propylene glycol. The liquid is generally considered safe. 
Glantz found that in 2011, 3.1 percent of adolescents in the study had tried e-cigarettes at least once. By 2012, 6.5 percent had tried them. 
His research comes on the heels of a September federal study, which also found increasing use of e-cigarettes among teens. 
Dr. Gilbert Ross, executive director of consumer education at the American Council on Health and Science in Manhattan, took issue with Glantz's study and attempts to regulate e-cigarettes. 
"The campaigners against e-cigarettes, and I am including the federal government and the nonprofits, like the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association, are motivated to some extent by greed," Ross said. 
"The federal government is being funded by cigarette taxes. And big pharma is heavily invested in selling nicotine-replacement drugs," Ross said. 
But Glantz countered that youths are being lured into e-cig use by provocative advertising that largely mimics the way cigarettes were marketed in the 1950s and '60s. Glantz heads the Center for Tobacco Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco.

LIECIG07

Study: Youths who use e-cigs move on to cigarettes

LiCIG cropped

Seven -- yes, Middle school and high school students who use e-cigarettes are seven times more likely to begin smoking conventional cigarettes than those who shun the electronic nicotine delivery devices, according to data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey. And because unregulated e-cigs are cynically sold in kid-friendly flavors, such as chocolate and licorice, their potential to be a gateway to smoking tobacco is clear. Nicotine is addictive, even when delivered via an otherwise innocuous vapor. Kids need to know that.

VPBOX09

Editorial: E-cigarettes as training wheels

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