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• November 17, 2009 6:58 p.m.

  Hi, I'm a student at Metro State of Denver. I'm researching a new product possibility; the product would be a "Quit Smoking" aide that offers a stepping down approach. I am a former smoker myself but I'm addicted to Commit lozenges and they contain nicotine. I would still buy them if they had zero mg of nicotine but they don't offer that. I would like to market a product that does. Anyways, I made this survey for my research project and it would really help me if anyone could take it [smokers, former smokers, and non-smokers are all welcome] Thanks so much. -- Casey Here's the link to the survey. http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/206243/r2zgt

  - Casey

• August 24, 2009 3:01 p.m.

  This is a wonderful informative website and I applaud your efforts and all the important hard work you're doing. It gives me hope!

  - Amanda

• July 26, 2009 7:40 a.m.

  To Gunbarrel Force: I don't want to sound rude (though this probably will) but you seem far more concerned with your right to choose than the safety of others. Did it occur to you that when you smoke, not only are you killing yourself (and this you choose to do), but you're also killing those around you? The government is doing what it can to stop children from smoking. Parents only have so much control - do you really think that parents just let their children freely wander and smoke whatever they want? Um... I'm going to go with: No. Furthermore, how can you possibly talk about self control when cigarettes contain nicotine: a highly addictive substance? That totally negates the idea of self control: It's addicting! How many people do you know that want to quit but can't? Did you think maybe there was a reason? Nic-o-tine. I think it's admirable that President Obama is trying to stop Big Tobacco. Finally: to all those demanding to know why the government is targetting this "instead" of underage drinking/driving... Have you totally missed out on the last few years when that's all they've been targetting? Did you miss the fact that underage drinking/driving is already illegal? You want to talk about parental and self control, but that applies to drinking/driving as well. Just because the government is targetting a new problem doesn't mean they've forgotten about the others.

  - Kim

• July 24, 2009 5:39 p.m.

  The new taxes imposed on current smokers is simply another way for the government to acquire our money to be used "at the discretion of" someone in their system. Originally, the extra money in taxes was to be used for smoking-related health care in our communities. Unfortunately, as is being done by the governor of Wisconsin...discretion can be used to appropriate the cigarette tax increase into an entirely different and unrelated program the government wants to fund. I have requested a simple answer of our governor as to why he isn't concerned about the fact that underage people can drive, and thus be exposed to the sale of alcoholic products at gas stations? Doesn't this pose a risk to teenagers that is potentially far more deadly a combination than having the teenager see people buying booze at their local gas station and driving away? As it is, I believe selling alcohol at gas stations provides another source of additonal income to the government at the expense of our families and underage drivers.

  - Cheryl

• July 24, 2009 2:20 p.m.

  "Control the industry as much as you like, but the real issue is how to help nicotine addicts kick the habit for good." I don’t mean to sound rude, but I disagree with your comment. If a person makes the choice to start smoking cigarettes, knowing they can cause addiction and other problems (it's a warning on practically every cig box), then why shouldn’t they have to live with the consequences of their actions? Smoking can be addictive, but remember that not everyone who smokes becomes addicted. What happened to self control? How about some discipline in a person’s actions? And when it becomes too much to handle, why go after the industry when the individual smoker put every single cigarette up to their own mouth? What if I want to come home on Friday, after a long week of work, and have a flavored cigarette? Well, now I don’t have the freedom to make that choice for myself. Someone has said it’s illegal because children might start smoking due to the tasty flavors. So why can't their own parents stop them? That’s not my responsibility – in fact, I don’t have any kids, so why do I get punished too? Treatment for addiction is absolutely an individual's responsibility, and when it's tough, don't call out the industry to be punished for choices you made.

  - gunbarrel force

• July 23, 2009 4:27 p.m.

  The government needs to get out of my life

  - Sharon

• July 23, 2009 3:41 p.m.

  Control the industry as much as you like, but the real issue is how to help nicotine addicts kick the habit for good. Patches, gum, inhalers, etc. do not address the whole problem of physical and psychological addiction. I have smoked for 35 years (yes, 15 year old teen becomes addicted), have stopped for as long as 2.5 years, but can still not ever feel "normal" as a non-smoker. After starting back after the 2.5 years hiatus, it was like a huge weight had been lifted and I hadn't even realized that I was feeling that way before I started smoking again. So, yes, please stop others from becoming addicted, but please devise a "cure" for nicotine addiction. It is not fair to the addicted to just ban the product or price it out of most peoples reach because that will not help the addict stop!

  - Lesia

• July 23, 2009 1:21 a.m.

  I wish the goverment would get as serious about teen age drinking as they do about smoking. I haven't heard to many reports of a car load of teens dying in an vehicle accident because they were smoking a cigarette. They keep raising the tax on cigarettes because they say it will cause more people to quit and defray medical costs for smokers.What about the accute and chronic conditions of alcohol use. The whole thing is hypocritical

  - Bob

• July 22, 2009 10:23 a.m.

  Seems we didn't learn anything from prohibition?

  - Pete

• July 21, 2009 9:12 p.m.

  This is a good idea. Well, this act benefits not all those smokers but to everyone, especially the non-smokers, it's not that limiting the freedom of an individual it 's about the benefit of all individual and also our environment..

  - kristen

• July 21, 2009 6:41 p.m.

  i think it's a great idea. i am a smoker that quits off and on trying to quit for good i hate the smell and taste of cigarettes so i find myself not being able to smoke a whole cigarette. so yes it is a great idea

  - kim

• July 21, 2009 2:57 p.m.

  So, we're free as adults in America to make our own choices... except we're not free to decide whether or not we would like a flavored cigarette? What about wine coolers? Are the alcohol companies marketing to children by having sweet alcoholic beverages? And that’s supposedly okay, but flavored cigarettes aren’t? Where’s the logic?? This isn't about children, or even people becoming a "customer for life" - this is about the government limiting an individual's right to choose how to live their own lives, as they see fit. While I appreciate that smoking does come with certain health risks, and some people will go on to develop cancer, that is their CHOICE. Before getting too sad, ponder for a moment that these people had the FREEDOM TO CHOOSE whether or not to smoke; no one else put a cigarette up to their mouth. If they smoked 2 packs a day for 50 years and got cancer, then that’s what they have to deal with; they’re responsible for their OWN actions. I would rather get cancer 10x over than be forced into to live a certain way, because someone thinks they know better than me. It's a slippery slope when you start limiting personal freedom. People need to wake up and realize that creating laws to control behavior is the real cancer of humanity; cigarettes are just the current whipping boy.

  - gunbarrel force

• July 21, 2009 1:39 p.m.

  This is great!

  - Rachel