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Everyone interested including tobacco and beef producers is invited to be at the Highland Rim Research and Education Center on June 24 for the Tobacco, Beef and More Field Day.
In an effort to support the Mid-South’s beef and tobacco producers, the event will teach visitors how to overcome beef production challenges and allow them to learn about tobacco production developments.

Beef producers attending the field day will want to hear Neal Schrick’s presentation, titled, “How to Make a Calf!” He will discuss the reasons behind the success and failure of beef cattle pregnancies, as well as management strategies for improving reproductive performance during breeding season.

Beef sessions will also focus heavily on forage production. You can’t produce quality beef without quality forage. Researchers will highlight new developments in forages, such as high moisture hay. The presentation will include a demonstration of a bale wrapper. Plus, information will be available concerning UT investigations of nitrate toxicity in forages and how producers can prevent cattle poisoning.

For tobacco producers, many informative sessions are planned, as well. Learn about new insecticide technology and what you should know before purchasing insecticides. See the latest results of conservation tillage research in tobacco, and hear about both burley and dark-fire variety development.

Additionally, UT Extension specialists will discuss alternative enterprise considerations for tobacco growers in Tennessee and Kentucky. They will evaluate the pros and cons of news enterprises and share success stories from other farmer/entrepreneurs.

Another topic of interest will be the investigation of natural fertilizers. Fertilizer prices have impacted every producer of both livestock and crops. See results from current research projects and learn about future plans to assess Nashville Metro EQ biosolids and broiler litter as an alternative to inorganic fertilizers.

There is no cost to attend the field day. Registration begins at 6:45 a.m., with field tours beginning at 7:30 a.m. The tours will conclude at approximately 12:30 p.m. and will be followed by a complimentary lunch.

The Highland Rim AgResearch and Education Center is located 25 miles north of Nashville on Oakland Road in Springfield. For more information, you can call 615-382-3130, or visit http://highlandrim.tennessee.edu.

The Highland Rim AgResearch and Education Center is one of 10 research facilities operated by the UT Institute of Agriculture. In addition to its agricultural research programs, UTIA also provides instruction research and public service through the UT College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, the UT College of Veterinary Medicine and UT Extension offices in every county in the state.

Dimapur, June 10 (MExN): Commemorating the WHO’s No Tobacco Day , about 300 students and teachers drawn from five different High schools at Pfutsero took part in the programme for observation of NO TOBACCO DAY at Chakhesang Mission High School , Pfutsero on June 10 with the theme “ Illeffects of Tobacco products on our health”.
The chief guest of the occasion Kewekha Mero ADC, Pfutsero exhorted the students to abstain from taking all kinds of tobacco products stating that use of tobacco itself is a very dirty habit and adversely affects the economy of the family and society. He also pointed out that the Government has enacted laws for banning of smoking at all public places because of its health hazardous effects to the growth of a healthy society.
In his introductory speech Tuolie Seleyi, Project Co-coordinator, SCERT, Nagaland explained the circumstances leading to organizing this programme so as to really benefit the student’s community and not just for the sake of observation. Referring to official sources, Tuolie pointed out that Nagaland ranked the highest in Child Tobacco consumption in the country which poses a serious threat to the health of our society.
Dr. Chitale Hiese, Senior Medical Officer Community Health centre, Pfutsero spoke on the theme vividly through power point presentation. A Short Speech was delivered by Deo Dukru, DIS Pfutsero where he challenged the students’ community by sharing his own testimony of overcoming the evil habit through sheer will power and encouragement from his own children and family members.
After the Health break (Tea break) a role play was performed by the students of Tewelhi Medo Tyrannus School on the theme: Smoking is injurious to health and King David School, performed on the theme ‘Healthy relationship among adolescents.’ A debate was organized with two participants from each school on the motion topic: Consumption of Tobacco products should be declared as a punishable offence. The winning of the debate went in favour of the Motion with Nishan from TMT School adjudged as the best debater, followed by Kronulu of CMHS and Weto of Union Christian School respectively.
Earlier the programme was led by Zavise Rume, TRA SCERT, Nagaland with opening prayer by Vikuo Rhi Youth Secretary, CBCC. The programme was graced with a special numbers from the students of Chakhesang Mission High School. Vote of Thanks was pronounced by Neisakho Shunyu, TRA, SCERT, Nagaland. The Programme was successfully organized by the Adolescence Education Cell, SCERT, Nagaland and was attended by Officials from the Department, public leaders, church leaders and well wishers.

HALIFAX, NS – The Atlantic Convenience Stores Association (ACSA) said last week that contraband cigarettes are helping to drive Nova Scotia convenience stores out of business and fuel organized crime, The Chronicle Herald reports.

The ACSA recently hired a company to retrieve cigarette butts from 43 locations across Atlantic Canada, including provincial government buildings, and after analysis determined that 17.3 percent were from illegal cigarettes.

“The government building findings, for us, were a little surprising and a little shocking because it’s government that we’re lobbying to help us fight this problem and, at the same time, they’re kind of adding to the problem when employees are smoking contraband product,” said Mike Hammoud, president of the ACSA.

According to the ACSA, illegal cigarettes cost Canada $1.2 billion in lost tax revenue last year.

“We believe many people feel that this is a victimless crime, that they’re purchasing the product without hurting anyone other than the government,” Hammoud said, adding that the money that people spend on illegal cigarettes helps fund organized crime.

Hammoud said that nearly one in three cigarettes purchased in Canada is illegal, a figure that he expects to grow to 50 percent without government intervention.

As convenience stores rely heavily on tobacco sales, illegal sales are particularly harmful to them, and 12.8 percent of the province’s stores — 285 — went out of business last year.

“Our retailers simply cannot compete with contraband activities and the low prices of such illegal products,” Hammoud said.

The Canadian Convenience Store Association has called for a 10 percent reduction in contraband tobacco by year’s end, a goal that Hammoud said will require assistance from federal and provincial governments.

“Since smuggling is happening where they live, in their own backyards, in their own community, it is their responsibility. It’s their corner-store retailers that are suffering. It’s the teenagers of their ridings who are being provided cheap, illegal cigarettes by criminals,” Hammoud said.

Below are the top five companies in the Tobacco industry ranked by the lowest short interest ratio. A low short interest ratio may indicate that there are only a few people who are bearish on the stock.
British American Tobacco (AMEX:BTI) has a short interest ratio of 1 based on average daily volume of 210,000 shares and 210,000 shares short. That equates to 0% of the 998.4 million shares outstanding.
Philip Morris (NYSE:PM) has a short interest ratio of 1.5 based on average daily volume of 9 million shares and 14.9 million shares short. That equates to 0.8% of the 1.9 billion shares outstanding.
Reynolds American (NYSE:RAI) has a short interest ratio of 2.8 based on average daily volume of 1 million shares and 3.8 million shares short. That equates to 1.3% of the 291.5 million shares outstanding.
Altria Group (NYSE:MO) has a short interest ratio of 3 based on average daily volume of 18 million shares and 54.9 million shares short. That equates to 2.6% of the 2.1 billion shares outstanding.
Lorillard (NYSE:LO) has a short interest ratio of 4.3 based on average daily volume of 1 million shares and 7.4 million shares short. That equates to 4.8% of the 152.9 million shares outstanding.
SmarTrend is bullish on shares of MO and our subscribers were alerted to Buy on March 11, 2009 at $16.49. The stock has risen 23.1% since the alert was issued.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has ruled that use of a nicotine vaporizer, also known as an “e-cigarette,” doesn’t violate the state’s indoor smoking ban, the Washington Post reports. The heated vapor the devices emit doesn’t constitute “smoke” as the word is “commonly understood,” Cuccinelli decided, so Virginians are free to light up in restaurants and other public places.

An American Cancer Society spokesman is quoted by the Post as saying the ruling “would really be turning back the clock on what we’re trying to do in Virginia to create smoke-free workplaces and environments that promote health.”

“Who are they to tell smokers they can’t use these devices to quit, because some smokers might use them to get around the state’s smoking ban?” asks Dr. Ross. “It’s like saying, keep on smoking.”

“The ACS is basically saying, ‘Just stick with the real thing — cigarettes’,'” says Dr. Whelan, who praised Cuccinelli for his ruling. “Someone with scientific knowledge got to him and explained the facts.”

Every time Ryan Ludwick comes to the plate and the camera comes in tight on his face, he’s ashamed of what it shows. Look closely and you’ll see it, that little bulge under his lower lip. It’s smokeless tobacco, more commonly called “dip.”

Ludwick is one of the hundreds of major leaguers who uses dip, even though he is well aware that he’s doing no favors for himself or those who are watching him.

“I know it’s not a healthy habit,” the Cardinals outfielder said. “It’s not something I’m proud of doing. I’ve built up to a point where it makes me feel relaxed when I hit.”

Giants outfielder Mark DeRosa started using tobacco to pass the time on long bus rides in the minor leagues – where it is banned, by the way – and now he relies on four cans a week to help him get through his days and his at-bats in the big leagues.

“It’s not something I’m proud of or something I want to continue doing,” DeRosa said, echoing a common theme. “It’s like any addiction. It calms me down before I go to the plate. You tell yourself that. Even though you know it’s not reality, it’s my reality.”

It is a reality that could be changing, if Congress or Major League Baseball gets its way. Last month the House Energy and Commerce Committee convened a hearing focusing on the use of smokeless tobacco by major leaguers. The goal of chairman Henry Waxman (D.-Calif.) was to encourage MLB to ban the products in the big leagues, expanding a ban that’s been in effect in the minors since 1993.MLB Executive Vice President Rob Manfred told the committee that a tobacco ban in the big leagues is a “laudable goal,” but the players’ union stands in the way.

With the next Collective Bargaining Agreement set to expire in December 2011, a big-league tobacco ban is on MLB’s wish list. While the union has said it is willing to discuss the issue, it is going to be tough to convince the players to accept a ban on an activity that is otherwise legal.

“They should worry about other things than dip,” said one National League player who asked to remain anonymous because he said his wife doesn’t know that he uses tobacco at the ballpark. “It’s not against the law. Everyone else can do it. Why can’t we?”

Giants reliever Jeremy Affeldt, who does not dip, said: “If it’s legal in the United States of America, you can’t say someone can’t do it. It’s a free country. You start going down those roads, taking away freedoms this country is based on. … I think we are seeing signs of more and more of that happening and we need to back off.”

Truth be told, companies restrict their employees from perfectly legal activities and behaviors all the time. MLB currently bans smoking cigarettes within view of fans or cameras. There are numerous rules mandating the way players must wear their uniforms. Any player who has been tossed for saying the wrong thing to an umpire will tell you that freedom of speech doesn’t apply on a big-league field.

So the issue of banning dip in the big leagues is not about the law or freedom. It’s just another term of employment, to be negotiated between the players and owners. As the sides go into their next labor negotiation, the question will be how hard the owners push for a tobacco ban, and how much the players resist.

By most estimates, about one-third of the players in the majors use tobacco. That vocal minority would obviously be against any sort of ban, so the question becomes how strongly the other two-thirds of the players feel about it. Most of them seem to want to support their dipping union brothers.

“Grown men can make decisions on what they put in their bodies,” said the Rockies’ Ryan Spilborghs, who is a non-user. “If a guy wants to dip, he can dip.”

That feeling is not unanimous though. There are players who believe that, as role models, they ought to set a better example.

“I would be for [a ban],” A’s infielder Eric Chavez said. “I don’t do it. Sometimes when I’m watching the games you see a guy throw in a big dip and the camera focuses in on it, I know kids are watching. You want guys to be able to do what they want. Everyone is an adult, but you also have to be aware of the message that you send to kids. … Since I don’t dip, I think I’d be an advocate for trying to get it out of the game, or at least off the field.”

Times Have Changed

When Bruce Bochy got into professional baseball in the 1970s, he heard that smokeless tobacco was a “healthy alternative” to cigarettes. The products were supplied in the clubhouse and many players chewed without giving it a second thought.

Over the years, though, things have changed. For starters, players rarely use chewing tobacco at all. Rather than the leaf style tobacco that comes in pouches, players prefer the finely ground tobacco that is packaged in cans. Users take a pinch and stick it between their cheek and gum and, essentially, suck on it. While it may be a little less noticeable than a guy chewing on a big wad of tobacco, it’s no more healthy.

Cancer of the throat and mouth are commonly known to be directly caused by the use of smokeless tobacco. It is not a healthy alternative to smoking,

In the ’90s, former big league Joe Garagiola Sr. began campaigning for players to quit using tobacco products. Garagiola visited clubs in spring training and showed them graphic images of former major leaguer Bill Tuttle, who lost most of his jaw to cancer. Tuttle died in 1998. Garagiola and Tuttle traveled the country on behalf of the National Spit Tobacco Education Program (NSTEP) of Oral Health America.

Garagiola, who is now 74, doesn’t get around to speak to players as much now, but he was in Washington to plead his case last month.

“I would like the players … who are role models; I don’t care what anybody says … to quit carrying a can of dip in their uniform pockets,” Garagiola told the committee in a 15-minute speech during the April 14 hearing.

“Why can’t baseball and the players’ association right here get together and ban it? Take it off the field,” Garagiola said. “Tobacco is tobacco is tobacco. … Get it out of our game.”

It has been out of minor-league baseball since 1993. Players are prohibited from using tobacco at the ballpark, on team buses or in team hotels. Umpires are responsible for reporting players who violate rules at the ballpark, and the managers are expected to police their clubs elsewhere. If a player is fined, the manager is also fined.

Former minor-league manager Todd Steverson said enforcement is difficult, though.

“I’m not checking pockets down there,” said Steverson, now the A’s first base coach. “If they have it, they have made the conscious decision to do it, knowing the rules. I’m not going to come to the ballpark every day and ask everyone if they have a can of snuff. …You can’t exactly tell what’s in someone’s mouth. But you have to assume a few have it in there, or have it well hidden.”

Steverson said that MLB conducts unannounced spot checks of the clubhouse periodically during the season. The “dip police,” as players refer to them, comb through the clubhouse and look for signs of tobacco, although they aren’t allowed to touch anything, Steverson said.

The fines, which can be around $200, can be a hit to a minor-league paycheck.

“A lot of guys can’t afford to take that risk,” said A’s reliever Brad Ziegler.

Once the players get to the big leagues, though, the only way MLB can deter the use of tobacco is by prohibiting teams from providing it in clubhouse. In fact, club employees are not even allowed to purchase tobacco products outside the clubhouse on behalf of players. A’s equipment manager Steve Vucinich said that when Jim Fregosi was managing the Blue Jays, a member of the Oakland visiting clubhouse staff had to drive him to a nearby gas station, in his uniform, so he could buy cigarettes himself.

Vucinich, who has worked in big league clubhouses for more than 40 years, said that tobacco use “is not down as much as baseball thought.”

A Part of The Game

Fact is, tobacco is still a cultural part of the game. Many players who use it insist that they only do it when they are at the ballpark.

“I’m not even close to being quote-unquote addicted,” the anonymous NL player said. “I just do it at the field, because you are out on the grass with the guys. I don’t do it at home with the spit cup and all that. I do it at the field. I have no urge to do it any other time.”

When Bochy was asked if he’d ever tried to quit, he said: “I’ve quit. I quit every winter.”

He pointed out that he made it “deep into spring training” this year before he started up the habit again. Bochy said that the tobacco actually helps him manage.

“It raises your awareness, your alertness,” the Giants manager said. “It’s a stimulant. It intensifies your focus, I think. If you are used to playing and seeing the game a certain way, for as long as I’ve been doing it, it’s not easy to get off it.”

Bochy is currently trying replace his dip with a tobacco-free substitute. The product, which comes in a can and has a similar texture, is made from spices and other ground leaves.

DeRosa, who hears about it from his 6-year-old daughter when she says “Daddy is putting Yucky in his mouth,” said that he’s failed whenever he’s tried to find a substitute.

“I don’t know what a serious chemical dependency is like, but it has nothing to do with an oral fixation, because I’ve tried the fake stuff,” he said. “I’ve tried to go cold turkey. It has nothing to do with having it in your lip. It has to do with the nicotine going through your blood stream, either relaxing you or soothing you, pumping you up.”

Spilborghs said he’s tried dip, and he understands why players feel it helps.

“It’s something to take your mind off things,” Spilborghs said. “This is a high-pressure game, and nicotine helps take the edge off. There are other ways of doing it though.”

Ludwick said he doesn’t use tobacco in the offseason, but as soon as he gets into batting cage, he feels he needs it.

“I would love to quit eventually, especially because I have a 1 1/2-year-old son myself, but it’s one of those comfort things,” he said. “I’m sure when I’m done playing the game, I’ll be done with it, but if they take it away, it will be a huge adjustment for me.”

Kevin Kouzmanoff first identified himself as a non-user, but then he confessed to popping in a dip occasionally in the dugout: “I enjoy the flavor, but I’m not addicted.”

The A’s third baseman said the problem is not necessarily the tobacco use itself, but the visibility of it. There are plenty of players in the majors who use tobacco while hiding it as best as they can.

“You should at least make yourself look presentable,” Kouzmanoff said. “Try to hide it.”

Some will be careful to spit out whatever is in their mouths before doing television interviews. Some television crews also have a policy to cut away from players whenever possible if it’s obvious they are using tobacco.

“Just don’t have the can in your back pocket and don’t dip in the dugout,” Spilborghs said. “For the most part it’s hidden. You can’t tell who’s dipping unless you see someone put it in his mouth.”

During the Congressional hearing, Waxman cited a study by Harvard’s Gregory N. Connolly, who found that tobacco use was shown on television for an average of nine minutes per game during World Series games from 1998 to 2005. That’s the equivalent of millions of dollars worth of free advertising for the product, the study said.

It is an argument that is tough for the tobacco users to refute, especially because many of them are ashamed of the habit in the first place. Bochy said he strictly forbade his own two sons, who both played baseball, from using tobacco. Two big leaguers who are among the most media-friendly in baseball both refused to comment on their tobacco use.

Ludwick has trouble defending dipping.

“Do I think it’s a good thing for kids to see? No. I agree with that 100 percent, but it’s a decision I made,” he said. “It’s a nasty habit, a really nasty habit.”

Here’s how my June 14, 2006, column started: “Down through the years, I’ve attempted to warn my fellow Americans about the tyrannical precedent and template for further tyranny set by anti-tobacco zealots … .

“In the early stages of the anti-tobacco campaign, there were calls for ‘reasonable’ measures such as non-smoking sections on airplanes and health warnings on cigarette packs. In the 1970s, no one would have ever believed such measures would have evolved into today’s level of attack on smokers, which includes confiscatory cigarette taxes and bans on outdoor smoking. The door was opened, and the zealots took over.”

Once A Tyrant

What the anti-tobacco zealots established is that government had the right to forcibly control our lives if it was done in the name of protecting our health. In the Foundation for Economic Education’s Freeman publication, I wrote a column titled “Nazi Tactics” (January 2003):

“These people who want to control our lives are almost finished with smokers, but never in history has a tyrant arisen one day and decided to tyrannize no more. The nation’s tyrants have now turned their attention to the vilification of fast-food chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken, charging them with having created an addiction to fatty foods.

“In their campaign against fast-food chains, restaurants and soda and candy manufacturers the nation’s food Nazis always refer to the anti-tobacco campaign as the model for their agenda.”

America’s tyrants have now turned their attention to salt, as reported in the Washington Post’s article “FDA plans to limit amount of salt allowed in processed foods for health reasons” (April 19, 2010).

Why do food processors put a certain quantity of salt in their products? The answer is the people who buy their product like it, and they earn profits by pleasing customers. The FDA has taken the position that what the American buying public wants is irrelevant. They know what’s best and if you disagree, they will fine, jail or put you out of business.

Tyranny knows no bounds. Let’s say that the FDA orders Stouffer’s to no longer put 970 mg of sodium in their roasted turkey dinner; they mandate a maximum of 400 mg. Suppose Stouffer’s customers, assuming they continue buying the product, add more salt — what will the FDA do?

The answer is easy. They will copy the successful anti-tobacco zealot template. They might start out with warning labels on salt. Congress will levy confiscatory taxes on salt. Maybe lawsuits will be brought against salt companies.

A prison officer, who took two cellular phones and cigarettes inside the Camp Street prison, was yesterday granted $30,000 bail on a charge that he took forbidden items into the prison.

David Wilson, 39, of Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara, pleaded not guilty when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

Wilson denied that on February 20, at the prison, without lawful authority, he had two cellular phones, six boxes of Bristol cigarettes, eighteen single Pall Mall cigarettes and a lighter.

His lawyer, Patrice Henry, applied for reasonable bail, saying that the incident took place two months ago but his client had reported to his post at the prison everyday. He stated that his client posed no risk of flight and would attend court when required.

Prosecutor Phillip Sherif stated that the articles mentioned in the charge were lodged at the Alberttown Police Station. He stated that on the day in question, a search was conducted on Wilson inside the prison and the phones and cigarettes were found in his pants pockets. He noted that Wilson’s personal items should have been in his locker provided by the prison and not on him.

Henry stated that it was impossible for his client to have all those articles in his pants pockets.

A majority of UW-Stout students who participated in an advisory vote Thursday agree all types of tobacco should be banned from campus.

A total of 449 students voted to ban all types of tobacco on campus compared with the 373 who opposed it. The question asked students if they wanted to expand on a campuswide smoking ban that was supported by students last year.

As part of its ongoing community campaign to combat obesity, smoking and other preventable health risks, Cherokee Nation announced in a media release it is developing additional strategies to promote healthy eating, physical activity and increase tobacco cessation throughout the tribe’s jurisdictional boundaries.

“Our goal is have healthy and happy people and families in our communities,” said Chad Smith, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. “These educational efforts and policy implementations will help us better achieve that goal.”

The tribe is partnering with U.S. Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control. Cherokee Nation was one of 44 entities across the United States chosen to receive funding through a special Communities Putting Prevention to Work grant through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act.

To combat obesity, localized media strategies will be developed to promote healthy food and beverage choices. In addition, the tribe will work closely with schools in the area to limit unhealthy food and beverage availability, implement farm-to-school programs, adopt quality physical education courses and activities, increase safe, attractive and accessible places in communities for physical activities, adopt procurement and purchasing policies, implement menu labeling, reduce the cost of recreation services, and help expand activity groups in workplaces, community centers, parks and neighborhoods.

Along with its existing tobacco use prevention efforts, the Nation will help communities and businesses implement tobacco-free policies, develop product placement guidelines for tribal-owned businesses and increase access to cessation services for citizens and other residents of tribal areas.