Further Information
Sources on the topics
Legal regulations
Gesetz zur Umsetzung der Richtlinie über Tabakerzeugnisse und verwandte Erzeugnisse dated April 4, 2016 in Bundesgesetzblatt
Overview of non-smoker protection laws in German federal laender
Cultivation, production, trade, prices
The website maintained by the World Lung Foundation and the American Cancer Society offers a variety of graphics, tables and maps: http://www.tobaccoatlas.org/
Report of the British Commission of Inquiry led by Sir Cyril Chantler of April 3, 2014 on the benefits of plain packaging for public health, especially children:
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/health/10035-TSO-2901853-Chantler-Review-ACCESSIBLE.PDF
A loss of revenue from tobacco advertising would “lead to a very minor loss of revenue at best”, city press spokesman Joachim Schiek explains
“Tabak-Werbeverbot: Kaum Verluste für die Stadt” cited in the article of 5.2.2019.
The report „Tobacco’s Hidden Children“ documents the conditions under which children work in the four US states that account for 90 percent of all US tobacco production: North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.
Cigarette ingredients
The Search Engine on the website of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture can be used to find out which additives are contained in each approved type and brand of tobacco product.
Documentary on ZDF in the series planet e – available on youtube: Gift im Zigarettenfilter – wie Glimmstängel der Umwelt schaden
How quickly nicotine turns from a stimulant into a carcinogen:
http://www.netdoktor.de/news/rauchen-qualm-rueckstaende-gefaehrlicher-als-gedacht/
“Are you still smoking or are you already living?” An experiment: What remains after burning 400 cigarettes? Length: 4:17 minutes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV8uRhZSrDs
Smoking is so destructive for the human lung (video, approx. 1 min.)
New processes for reducing nicotine in tobacco plants (up to 1% of the previous concentration) have been patented. This should enable tobacco products to be manufactured in any nicotine strength:
Cigarette filters
Thomas E. Novotny, Kristen Lum, Elizabeth Smith, Vivian Wang, Richard Barnes, Cigarette Butts and the Case for an Evironmental Policy on Hazardous cigarette Waste, published online on Mai 20, 2009 on http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2697937/
Thomas E. Novotny, Sarah N. Hardin, Lynn R. Hovda, Dale J. Novotny, Mary Kay McLean, Safdar Khan, Tobacco and cigarette butt consumption in humans and animals, published in February of 2011 on http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/20/Suppl_1/i17.full
At the annual “International Coastal Cleanup” of the non-profit organization Ocean Conservancy, in which around 500,000 people take part, the individual items found are sorted and catalogued. The results are published. The reports, e.g. the current one for 2020, can be downloaded from the website of oceanconservancy.org
E-Cigarette
Introductory article on the health risks of e-cigarettes: http://www.faz.net/aktuell/lebensstil/leib-seele/e-zigaretten-vernebelte-wahrheiten-12563732.html
DKFZ brochure “E-cigarettes – an overview”, 52 pages
Dowonload at http://www.dkfz.de/de/tabakkontrolle/download/Publikationen/RoteReihe/Band_19_e-zigaretten_ein_ueberblick.pdf
E-cigarettes could jeopardize the positive health effects of non-smoker protection laws and are not a healthier alternative to smoking based on current knowledge, according to the following article: http://www.proplanta.de/Agrar-Nachrichten/Medizin-Splitter/E-Zigarette-gefaehrdet-positiven-Trend-der-Nichtrauchergesetze_article1393323930.html
E-cigarettes contain propylene glycol as a vaporizing agent, glycerine, nitrosamines, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acrolein. More here: http://www.faz.net/aktuell/wissen/mensch-gene/e-zigaretten-ein-fall-von-vernebelung-12283593.html?printPagedArticle=true#pageIndex_2
List of risky ingredients of e-cigarettes: http://www.srf.ch/konsum/services/die-giftstoffe-in-der-e-zigi-und-ihre-wirkung
Study: e-cigarettes could weaken the immune system: http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/02/e-cigs-shut-down-hundreds-of-immune-system-genes-regular-cigs-dont/
Secondhand smoke
Two-page compilation on carcinogenic substances in tobacco smoke, DKFZ 2009, PDF
http://www.dkfz.de/de/tabakkontrolle/download/Publikationen/FzR/FzR_Kanzerogene_im_Tabakrauch.pdf
The Hessian State Social Court (LAG) has ruled that an employee who resigns because of the dangers of passive smoking at his workplace may not be denied unemployment benefits: AZ L 6 AL 24/05
http://www.n-tv.de/ratgeber/Wenn-wegen-Passivrauchens-gekuendigt-wird-article13652741.html
Living smoke-free
Summary of the current legal situation (as at 14.07.2014) – Interview with a lawyer:
http://www.123recht.net/Mietrecht-Kann-man-Rauchern-kuendigen-__a155765.html
The first non-smoking residential complex in Halle, co-designed by the chairman of Pro Rauchfrei e.V., has been completed:
Article in Naumburger Tageblatt
Smoke-free public transport
You can report a complaint about non-compliance with smoking bans in Deutsche Bahn’s area of responsibility to one of the 3-S centers (Safety, Cleanliness and Service) around the clock. The telephone numbers can be found under the following link:
Tobacco lobbying
Article on massive PMI lobbying to water down the EU tobacco directive:
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/lobbyisten-in-der-tabakindustrie-rot-wie-risiko-1.1788444
British study from 2014 on the same subject: https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/25/1/108
Dalli case: At the request of the organization Corporate Europe Observatory, the report of the OLAF (European Anti-Fraud Office) Supervisory Committee of 11 December 2012 on irregularities in the case of former EU Health Commissioner John Dalli, who was forced to resign, was released to the public. To be found here.
A documentary on behalf of the Federal Agency for Civic Education NRW about the connection between lust and suffering: “Komm ins Land der Leichen – die Droge Tabak und ihre Opfer”. From 1992 and still relevant today. Length: 44 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ7L_fET9c0
“Doubt is our product,” a cigarette executive once observed, “since it is the best means of competing with the ‘body of fact’ that exists in the minds of the general public. It is also the means of establishing a controversy.”
The book “Doubt is Their Product” by David Michaels explains how the tobacco lobby has been trying to restore its image for decades by casting doubt on scientific findings.
Book presentation at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2685872/
Tobacco use
A classic, still up to date (at least in Germany):
Komm ins Land der Leichen. Die Droge Tabak und ihre Opfer.(1992)
44,05 min., on youtube
Many useful facts and figures on tobacco products and related products:
Current national statistics on the DEBRA website (German Smoking Behavior Survey):
http://debra-study.info/wordpress/
The top 10 smoking nations in Europe. Infographic on Statista; as at: March 2017:
EU-countries with the highest smoking rates
Scented trees and candles are full of chemicals and significantly increase the risk of cancer in smokers: