SGA to vote on tobacco-free resolution

The Student Government Association will vote this Tuesday about whether it supports WKU as a tobacco-free campus.

A recent survey conducted by Madisonville senior Jack Jackson, a political science major, determined for SGA that 47.82 percent of students are in support of a tobacco-free campus, said Kaylee Egerer, campus improvements chairperson.

Egerer said 23.47 percent were opposed to the ban, and 28.71 percent polled were neutral on the issue.

Because the poll showed a majority of students support a ban, Egerer will write up a resolution for Tuesday’s meeting to support a tobacco-free campus.

Tobacco War Brewing

A battle between the nation’s largest cigarette makers and a Florida company is heating up at the state Capitol. Price is the issue. Dosal Tobacco was left out of the states settlement with cigarette makers and is able to sell more cheaply, which has given them market share and upset traditional tobacco companies.

Florida made 305 brand cigarettes are popular. Chris Askey smokes them because the are as much as three dollars a pack cheaper than some of the traditional brands.

“ Five dollars a pack….Six dollars a pack….that is just too high for me,” he said.

Menthol cigarette use on the rise among young people

Teen smokers are increasingly choosing menthol cigarettes over ordinary brands - and 80 per cent of black adolescent smokers buy minty versions.

Brands like Lorillard's Newport account for nearly one-third of America's $83billion annual cigarette sales, and more and more of those come from minority youth smokers.

A draft report by the Food and Drug Administration in Washington found more than half of Hispanic teenage smokers use menthols, and there is a 'significant increase' in white youths smoking them, too.

The draft chapter, released today, is a blow to cigarette manufacturers who are fighting FDA proposals to ban or limit the sale and manufacture of menthol cigarettes.

Anti-smoking campaigners argue they are dangerous because the mint flavouring hides the harsh taste of tobacco, making them more appealing to young smokers.

Lawmaker Proposes Tobacco Sales Bans around Schools

A Chinese lawmaker has said tobacco sales bans around the nation's schools should be imposed, noting that cigarettes are currently too easy for youngsters to obtain.

Jin Changrong, councilor for Shanghai municipal government and also a judge, said the current laws banning tobacco sales to youngsters were too general and hard to enforce, during the ongoing parliamentary session.

According to law, tobacco can not be sold to people under 18 years old but they can buy it even so, Jin added.

He said there should be a national regulation of a 500-meter radius ban of tobacco from schools, although some local governments have imposed the 50 or 100-meter radius ban from elementary and middle schools.