Zimbabwe Has Increased Tobacco Exports

Since the beginning of 2013 Zimbabwe got 94 million US dollars from tobacco exports to different countries. There was sold 25 million kg of tobacco at an average price of 3,74 US dollars per kg.

This is double 59 million dollars obtained from 16 million kg which was exported during the same period of time in 2012  at an average price of 3,58 US dollars per kg.

Latest data provided by Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board reveal that South Africa paid 24,5 million dollars for 8,1 million kg of tobacco at 3,04 dollars  per kg

In 2012 during the same period of time got 1,7 million kg of tobacco to the value of 5,8 million dollars at 3,28 dollars per kg. The second highest importer is China that continues to buy it at very competitive prices. China has paid 16,6 million US dollars for 2 million kg at 8,76 dollars per kg.

During the same period of time in 2012 China paid 14,8 million dollars for 2,3 million kg at 6,35 dollars per kg. Third country that has high tobacco imports is The United Arab Emirates which bought tobacco worth 5,6 million dollars at 2,27 dollars per kg In 2012 the United Arab Emirates bought tobacco worth $1,6 million dollars.

Then comes Belgium with 2 million kg of tobacco worth 5,1 million dollars at a price of 2,56 dollars per kg. Last year they bought 1,6 million kg worth 2,3 million dollars at 1,43 dollars per kg.

Sudan greatly increased its imports of tobacco from Zimbabwe and since the beginning of 2013 it bought 1,5 million kg worth 5,36 million dollars at an average price of 3,46 dollars per kg

Agriculture experts say that consolidation in tobacco sales in Zimbabwe is connected to the high prices on the international tobacco markets. Thus Zimbabwe is able to return status of major tobacco producer in the world.

Should E-cigarettes Be Banned in Washington?

Two memebers of Washington DC council suggest to ban electronic cigarettes saying they may be dangerous for non-smokers. E-cigarettes became very popular today because they are used to help quit smoking tobacco. Smoker may choose among a number of flavors and here tobacco is not used at all. E-cigarettes are equipped with battery-operated inhalers which heat nicotine into vapor which has same effects as tobacco cigarettes do.

E-cigarettes produce no smoke and namely this characteristics helped them avoid state regulations.

In Washington it is a normal thing to see citizens smoking e-cigarettes in such public places as bars and restaurants. However, city councils  Yvette M. Alexander and David Grosso suggest to prohibit that. They want all kinds of cigarettes to be banned in public places. Nowadays, in Washington functionates a law that prohibits smoking in public places.

Alexander says smoking e-cigarettes is similar to smoking tobacco and the difference is that we do not know negative effects of e-cigarettes and therefore we cannot put on risk non-smokers.

Today in the USA many states want to ban e-cigarettes. In 2011 the FDA said it would regulate e-cigarettes as it does tobacco. Specialists say that studies of e-cigarettes effects are needed in order to know if they are dangerous for people who inhale their vapors.

In turn, manufacturers of electronic cigarettes claim that their products have no negative effects on smokers because they do not contain chemicals that tobacco cigarettes have. Big Cigs, the producer of e-cigarettes in the USA, says that with such statements tobacco industry wants to undervalue e-cigs industry.

Alexander says that e-cigarettes do not help stop smoking as they contain nicotine and besides this atrract more people.

Tobacco prevention programs successful in the Bitterroot

 The Ravalli County Tobacco Prevention office reports that the use of tobacco in Montana has decreased significantly over the past decade.

Ravalli County Tobacco Prevention Specialist Lyndsay Stover said that in Montana tobacco use rates have decreased between the ages of 12 and 18. In 2001, the tobacco use rate was 29 percent; in 2011, it dropped to 17 percent.
Stover said that recently the National Institute of Drug Abuse released a study that explains how tobacco products could act as a gateway drug.

Researchers at Columbia University identified a biological mechanism that could help explain how tobacco products possibly act as a gateway drug, increasing a person’s future likelihood of abusing cocaine and perhaps other drugs as well.
The recent study is the first to show that nicotine could prime the brain to enhance the behavioral effects of cocaine.

The National Institutes of Health conducted a survey that showed more than 90 percent of adult cocaine users between the ages of 18 and 34 had smoked cigarettes before they began using cocaine.

Stover said that tobacco is the first drug for kids and if its use is prevented at a younger age it will in turn help prevent further drug use.
“Smoking actually teaches kids how to use drugs. When they smoke, they are becoming aware of how to use drugs,” she said.

Stover said that kids who begin with tobacco often look for a greater thrill.
The researchers found that nicotine makes the brain more susceptible to cocaine addictions. The discovery suggests that lowering smoking rates in young people might help reduce cocaine abuse.

The Department of Education agrees with the Centers for Disease Control that the younger a child starts smoking the more addicted they become.
Smoking prevention efforts are not only preventing the negative health consequences with smoking, but can also decrease the risk of progression and addiction to cocaine and other drugs.

Source:  http://www.ravallirepublic.com