When Quebec Tobacco-Free Week starts on Sunday, smokers will be reminded that there’s a one in two chance they’ll die prematurely, and health professionals will get on their cases more than ever.

“We keep hearing about road deaths as a public safety crisis, but we don’t talk about deaths caused by tobacco,” Mario Bujold, director-general of the Conseil québécois sur le tabac et la santé, said at a news conference Thursday.

The spectre of death will be a main theme, as health warnings and disturbing pictures on cigarettes packages no longer hold sway among persistent smokers.

“The information has been trivialized, but the problem is not trivial, Bujold said. “It’s a major problem and we need to tell people that if they don’t do something, they will die.”

The centrepiece of the campaign will be a TV ad that resembles a trailer for a disaster film. It shows dramatic scenes in a hospital of doctors overwhelmed by a torrent of patients and family members mourning. “28 deaths a day in Quebec,” a menacing voice narrates.

Health professionals are expected to be more proactive. Seven professional orders representing 115,000 workers were advised to act as counsellors to smokers, and to follow their attempts to quit.

“Every time they come across a smoker, they will do a quick intervention, just three to five minutes long,” said Luc Boileau, head of the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ).

These initiatives come in light of new data showing fewer Quebec smokers are making attempts to quit.

The proportion of smokers in Quebec has hovered between 18 and 22 per cent since 2004 after dropping from more than 30 per cent since 1999, according to Health Canada.

Tighter restrictions on smoking were discussed during a hearing in Norway’s Parliament Friday, the Norway Post reported.

Strom-Erichsen said the sale of 10-packs of cigarettes is likely to be banned. The government is also considering legislation that would ban students from smoking during school hours and make all entrances of public buildings smoke-free, Strom-Erichsen said.

The efforts are part of a large goal of making Norway completely free of tobacco products in the future, the newspaper said.

Frode Jahren, the secretary-general of the Norwegian Heart and Lung Patient Organization, said he wished the proposed legislation was even stricter.

“They could have set the minimum age for buying cigarettes to 20 years. They could also have suggested a ban against smoking during work hours,” he said.

Strom-Erichsen said she agrees with Jahren, adding “We take the Tobacco Act step by step.”

To strengthen its mission, the company has invested heavily for a 40% stake in the Canadian biotech company Medicago Inc., helping the latter to develop influenza vaccines. Incidentally and interestingly, the vaccine for flu is being developed using tobacco leaves.

Philip Morris’ relation with Medicago dates back to 2007, through a small research contract of $500,000. In November 2008, the tobacco major invested $15 million in Medicago and in April last year, Philip Morris bought more than $9 million worth of shares in Medicago, which gave it 9.86% of Medicago’s issued and outstanding shares.

After that, Philip Morris increased its stake in the company in phases. Finally in October, 2011, it entered into a subscription agreement with Medicago to complete a private placement of $22.5 million through the issuance of an aggregate of 34,550,000 common shares at a price of 65 cents per common share in two tranches.

Before the first tranche, Philip Morris held 30.2% of the outstanding common shares of Medicago. The first tranche gave Philip Morris control over 35.5% of the common shares, and following the second tranche the percentage of common shares held by the retail giant went up to 40%.

Proceeds from the private placement were used for clinical development, manufacture of the plant-based VLP vaccines, general corporate and working capital purposes.

Medicago started functioning in 1999, and it was trying to develop vaccines for flu from the herb Alfalfa. However, since it was taking a long time to develop products from Alfalfa, Medicago decided to shift its focus to tobacco.

As per Medicago, it expects to bring the vaccine to the market and get it licensed by 2014.

Philip Morris has always been keen on using product innovation through research and development to make tobacco smoking more user-friendly and reduce the harmful effects of puffing. In May 2011, it bought the patent and global rights to an aerosol nicotine-delivery system developed by Jed Rose, director of Duke’s Center for Nicotine and Smoking Cessation Research. The new technology delivers nicotine to users’ lungs but doesn’t involve smoking.

This technology will help the smokers to get the nicotine straight from the cigarette without generating the accompanied smoke and the toxic substances. This endeavor resonates the company’s effort to reduce death and diseases associated with smoking.

Philip Morris currently holds a Zacks #2 Rank, which implies a short-term Buy rating. On a long-term basis, we have a Neutral recommendation on the stock.

Observing this at a seminar organised by the North East Cancer Hospital and Research Institute in association with the North East Community Health Association on Saturday, Dr Munindra Narayan Baruah, director of the North East Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, said that late detection of cancer had been a major stumbling block in successful treatment of cancer patients in the North-east. The seminar was organized on the occasion of World Cancer Day.

Quoting from the Union of International Cancer Congress (UICC), Dr Baruah said that the North-east had the maximum number of smokeless tobacco consumers and that consumption of tobacco had a direct bearing on throat and mouth cancers – which had the highest incidence in the region.

Underlining the importance of enhanced awareness and early detection, Dr Baruah said that a majority of the patients coming to his hospital were Stage-IV patients and it was not possible to cure them. The important thing, Dr Baruah said, was not which hospital a patient is treated in but how early he is getting treatment.

Former Vice Chancellor of Gauhati University Dr Nirmal Kumar Choudhury – the chief guest on the occasion – stressed the need for timely detection and treatment of cancer in the North-east, a region having a high incidence of the dreaded disease but with limited facilities to counter the scourge.

Dr Choudhury said that a cancer patient often tends to regard himself as good as dead which warrants the doctors attending on him to look after his mental needs as well – something termed as ‘personalized medicine.’

Lauding the cancer institute for ensuring modern cancer care to the region, Dr Choudhury said that an urgent need was to disseminate information on cancer among the masses so that they could avail timely treatment and defeat the disease.

Father George, director of the North East Community Health Association who was the guest of honour on the occasion also emphasized on enhancing people’s awareness levels on cancer, especially in a region like the North-east.

Net income rose 30 percent to $2.38 billion, or $1.35 a share, from $1.82 billion, or 99 cents, a year earlier, the New York-based maker of Marlboro cigarettes said in a statement. Excluding some items, profit was $1.37 a share, beating the $1.24 average of 14 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Chief Executive Officer Louis Camilleri raised prices in Japan, Australia and Indonesia, where demand pushed total shipments higher by 4.4 percent. Excluding excise taxes, total sales at Philip Morris, which generates all of its revenue outside the U.S., advanced 26 percent to $8.36 billion.

“Aided by Asia and the emerging markets, shipments were good, and they’re not having any problem getting price increases,” Jack Russo, an analyst at Edward Jones & Co. in St. Louis, said today in an interview. He rates the shares as “buy.” “They blew by the consensus pretty easily.”

The company raised the low end of its 2011 profit forecast by 5 cents to $4.75 a share, and left unchanged the high end of $4.80. Analysts projected $4.74, the average of 16 estimates.

Philip Morris rose 3.3 percent to $68.19 at 4 p.m. in New York. The shares have climbed 17 percent this year.

Most Profitable

Lorillard Inc., the third-largest U.S. cigarette maker, is scheduled to release its results on Oct. 24, followed by Reynolds American Inc., the second-biggest, on Oct. 25 and Altria Group Inc., the largest, on Oct. 27.

Philip Morris is the second most profitable company in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, after Linear Technology Corp., according to earnings rankings compiled by Bloomberg through Oct. 18. The analysis gave equal weight to five variables, including profit margin and return on invested capital. Lorillard, based in Greensboro, North Carolina, ranked 10th.

“When we saw that number, we were surprised that it was that high,” said health promoter Rose Atkins. “Since we’ve seen that, we’ve been trying to do a few things to bring it down.”

As part of its “You can make it happen” campaign, the health unit is urging local health care providers to talk with women about tobacco use, and the means to help them quit.

Packages containing information and posters have been delivered across the county, reminding health care workers to talk with patients about smoking, and encouraging women to ask for help.

“I think people just don’t know where to go for help,” she said, noting that expectant dads are also the focus of a new “Right Time, Right Reasons” campaign.

“It’s just another way to help — if dad quits smoking, then maybe that will help mom,” she said. “So we’re trying to approach both sides of the equation.”

The latest numbers from Health Canada show 17 per cent of Canadians, or about five million people age 15 years or older, are smokers.

In Lambton, smoking rates are significantly higher compared to the provincial average, particularly among females (24.5% vs. 17.1%).

“Cigarette smoke contains 4,000 chemicals, including 69 that cause cancer, and pregnant women risk passing these to their unborn child through the placenta,” said Atkins. “Smoking while pregnant causes serious risk for a baby. The sooner a smoker quits, the lower the risk of chemicals being passed on to a fetus.”

Tobacco use during pregnancy is linked to increased risk of stillbirth, premature and low weight, reduced neo-natal lung function, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and neurological and developmental disabilities. Harmful chemicals can also pass to the child through breast milk.

Atkins pointed to the Smoker’s Helpline as another valuable resource for women looking to quit.

“They will connect with the moms before the due date, and up to six months after birth,” said Atkins. “Many people quit during pregnancy and then start back up again. So the Helpline follows up on a more long-term basis, which might give them more motivation to quit.”

Bonnie Kriz, senior coordinator with Smokers’ Helpline, said studies show that pregnant women are more motivated to quit than any other time in their lives.

The cities and counties grades are based on a review of their codes/laws in three key areas: smoke-free outdoor air, smoke-free multiunit housing and reducing tobacco sales. This yearly report reminds us all that there is still is much work to be done and improvements to be made for a healthier city, county, state and nation.

Solana Beach was the first city in San Diego County to prohibit smoking on its beaches and in its parks. Solana Beach understood this action would create a healthier environment with reduced pollution from cigarette butts and less secondhand smoke for cleaner air. We also eliminated smoking from outdoor dining and most public venues.

The decisions that I made as a city council person regarding reducing tobacco smoking exposure are important to me and straightforward. I have pledged as a city council member to uphold the health, safety and welfare of my city and its citizens. And I have received significant support from them and visitors who are excited to enjoy our smoke-free beaches and parks, and the eating and shopping experience in our town unencumbered by inhalation of smoke.

Strong anti-smoking policies assist in maintaining healthy communities, and in reducing and preventing tobacco use. Helping smokers quit saves lives, but it also saves everyone money. These savings benefit former smokers, insurance companies, employers, state budgets and taxpayers. Studies have shown that helping smokers quit actually saves thousands of dollars in health care expenditures per smoker. According to the American Lung Association, these savings come from lower health care costs, increased workplace productivity and averted premature deaths.

And we know a smoker’s health improves immediately once they’ve quit. Within the first day of quitting smoking the heart rate and the amount of carbon monoxide in the bloodstream will return to normal levels. Within weeks, a former smoker’s lung function improves and the risk of heart attacks drops. He or she may experience fewer colds, respiratory infections, and in general just feel better.

Studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that smokers’ lives are more than 13 years shorter than nonsmokers.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in the long term, a smoker who quits considerably reduces his or her risk of diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis), heart disease, lung cancer and many other cancers, creating untold medical costs.

Any way we can save precious citizens’ lives and taxpayers’ dollars is vitally important. Much attention and improvements are happening at the state and national level, which is great, but let’s work right now too with our local cities.

My hope is that in North County, our cities will make local tobacco control policies a priority. We can be the healthy trendsetter for our county, the state, and nation by implementing policies that create smokefree outdoor air (specifically in restaurant patio dining), smoke-free multiunit housing and reduce tobacco sales to minors through retail licensing.

Nomura analysts had urged investors to hold their horses over a possible deal, suggesting in November that it might be at least a year before the cigarette maker receives an approach, given uncertainty over when the Japanese government will sell its stake in Japan Tobacco.

But yesterday, analysts suggested that the upcoming resolution of the government stake sale means that Imperial’s prospects of being taken over are set to increasingly be a focus for the market.

Nomura previously thought that any deal could be delayed until the end of this year or into 2013. But with budgetary changes in Japan compelling the government to sell part of its 50pc stake in Japan Tobacco from April, Nomura thinks this will give the company more freedom over its business decisions. “We now see Japan Tobacco as potentially more confident to enact any plans in terms of major developments of its international presence,” said analysts, who upped their rating on Imperial to “neutral” from “reduce”.

That helped Imperial edge ahead as M&A murmurings also hauled the heavyweight miners higher. Xstrata soared 111p to £12.30½ as the mining business said it was in talks with commodities trader Glencore International about an all-share deal that could create a combined group worth more than £50bn. Glencore, which put on 29.95 to 461.7p, already owns a 34pc stake in Xstrata and a tie-up between the pair has long been mooted. Their planned marriage heartened other miners, with Vedanta Resources rising 72p to £13.23 and Antofagasta putting on 36p to £13.66.

In an article called ‘The Toxic Truth About Sugar’, published in the journal Nature, a team of US scientists say that sugar is a poison and should be as tightly regulated as alcohol and cigarettes.

They claim that sugary food and drinks contributes to 25million deaths a year worldwide and is responsible for illnesses including obesity, heart disease, cancer and liver problems.

As a result, they believe that it should be controlled though taxation and legislation because the damage it causes mirrors the effects of drinking too much alcohol – which is made from distilling sugar.

They write: “A little is not a problem but a lot kills – slowly.”

They believe that the problem is exacerbated by the fact that sugar is widely available and easily abused.

The report authors, led by Robert Lustig, a leading child obesity expert, says that teaching children about diet and exercise isn’t an effective solution. Instead, he says that it would be better to double the price of fizzy drinks, restrict their sale to those over 17 or 18 and tighten regulations covering school vending machines and snack bars.

He told the BBC: “It [sugar] meets all the criteria for societal intervention that alcohol and tobacco meet.”

However the researchers admit that they face “an uphill political battle against a powerful sugar lobby.”

The study also points out that the consumption of sugar has tripled in the last 50 years and that there are now more obese people than malnourished people in the world.

One of the researchers, Dr Laura Schmidt, from California University, said: “We’re not talking about prohibition. We’re not advocating a major imposition of the government into people’s lives.

“What we want is to actually increase people’s choices by making foods that aren’t loaded with sugar comparatively easier and cheaper to get.”

However, the recommendation to tax sugar isn’t popular and other scientists claim that the report is ‘puritanical’.

Barbara Gallani, of the Food and Drink Federation, which represents the UK food and drink industry told the Daily Mail that it’s wrong to focus on sugar alone.

She says: “The causes of these diseases are multi-factorial and demonising food components does not help consumers to build a realistic approach to their diet.”

A study published online Sept. 19 in The American Journal of Cardiology found that 55% of female smokers experienced at least one cardiovascular problem within six months of having an acute coronary incident compared with half of nonsmoking women. The figure was 42% for nonsmoking males and 33% for male smokers.

“Smoking is not good for men or women, but our analysis shows that women who smoke do worse six months after a heart attack than men,” said senior study author Elizabeth Jackson, MD, MPH, a cardiologist at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center.

She recommends that primary care physicians “be aggressive about secondary prevention in female smokers by treating them with evidence-based medication such as aspirin and statins.”

Dr. Jackson said secondary prevention also should include helping patients quit smoking. “At every visit, they should ask patients if they’re contemplating quitting and then get them the tools to help them quit.”

An estimated 46 million U.S. adults (21% of the adult population) smoke cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The habit accounts for nearly one in five deaths in the U.S. each year. Smokers are up to four times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than nonsmokers, the CDC said.

Researchers assessed data on 3,588 patients 18 and older admitted to the University of Michigan Health System for an acute coronary syndrome event between Jan. 1, 1999, and Dec. 31, 2006. Patients were categorized as smokers or nonsmokers, which included people who quit the habit and those who never smoked. Twenty-four percent of patients reported smoking when they were hospitalized

Among men admitted for a cardiac event, smokers were an average age of 55 — more than nine years younger than nonsmoking men. The average age of hospitalized female smokers was 56, more than 13 years younger than women who did not smoke.

The medical community once thought that because smokers often are young when they have their first cardiac event, they have fewer subsequent cardiovascular problems than nonsmokers, said Dr. Jackson, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Michigan Health System. “That’s the case for men who smoke, but not for women,” she said.

Dr. Jackson said the different outcomes among male and female smokers could reflect inherent biological differences between the genders. She said the disparity also could be due to the less aggressive medical management women often receive after a cardiovascular incident.