When Veronica Yanez lights up a cigarette, her two cats, Lola and Riley, run away. Her 12-year-old Pomeranian dog, Sasha, isn't far behind.

The Dallas woman knows smoking is bad for her health, but seeing her pets' reactions and talking with her veterinarian about the effect of smoking on their health have given her other factors to consider. The question is whether it will be enough to make her quit.

"I know it's something I need to do," said Yanez, 26. "It's just an addiction that I have that I can't get over. The last thing that I would want to do is hurt my animals in any way."

New research from the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit suggests that cigarette smokers are more likely to quit the habit for the sake of their pets' health than for their own. But many people in the Dallas area say quitting smoking is so difficult that worries over their pets' health might not be enough to make a permanent lifestyle change.

"Unless [people] know for sure it's messing their pet up, I don't think they'll [quit]," said Greg Barr, who cares for his 86-year-old mother's Yorkie named Pepper. Both of them smoke around the dog.

The research, which was based on a Web survey, showed that few people know that secondhand smoking has been tied to cancers, respiratory problems, skin diseases and other health problems in cats and dogs.

Dickson Bain, a veterinarian at the Hillside Veterinary Clinic in Dallas, said he's seen pet owners bring in dogs and cats with coughs and asthma due to their owners' heavy smoking.

He has advised some owners to quit smoking inside to limit their pet's exposure to smoke.

In those cases, the animals' health has improved, he said.

Still, Bain said he's skeptical about whether a broader animal campaign would stop smokers from lighting up.

"Most people are so addicted, they can't stop," he said.

In his office, technician Gabby Redmon, 24, bashfully admitted smoking around her two dogs and two cats.

When Redmon lights up, her Rottweiler Layla gives her a look and walks out of the room. Redmon, who has asthma, said she would quit if something bad happened to her pets or if her own health worsened.

"I know better, and that's the sad part," she said.

Redmon said learning more about the effect of smoking on pets has prompted her to take her habit outside.

Sharon Milberger, who conducted the research, said a nationwide education campaign could encourage more people to make those kinds of changes for their own interests and that of their pets.

Her research has been published by the international medical journal Tobacco Control.

"They just forget that the pets breathe in the smoke just the way humans do," Milberger said. "[Pets] can't articulate that, so [owners] don't think about it."

Local lawmakers and smokers commented on the bill approved last week that will raise the state's tax on cigarettes by 56 cents a pack as well as increasing other tobacco taxes to pay for a statewide trauma system and other health programs.

Speaker of the House Robbie Wills said, "I'm certainly glad it passed the Senate. We worked hard on the House end. Now we have the funding we need to get a statewide trauma system, to help us keep our community health centers open and the in-home care program for seniors. I think it's a great day for Arkansas and the health care for our people."

Kareem Kattom, manager of the Horton's Sinclair gas station on Harkrider Street, reaches for a pack of cigars for a customer on Saturday. LIBERTY PARKS PHOTO

Wills noted Arkansas is the only state in the country without a level one trauma center and one of three without a trauma system. The new funding will go toward technology upgrades, training for first responders and funding for staffing of the trauma team, he said.

State Sen. Gilbert Baker said "I voted against the tax. I strongly support funding a level one trauma system. I just don't think in these hard economic times that we should be raising taxes on anybody."

According to the AP, Gov. Mike Beebe's office is planning a signing ceremony this week, and the tax increase will become effective March 1. The increase will place the tax on cigarettes at $1.15 per pack. The legislation will also raise the tax on other tobacco products, such as cigars and pipe and chewing tobacco, from 32 percent of the wholesale price to 68 percent.

Some local smokers say they are not happy about the new state tax.

LaToya Robinson of Conway said, "I think it's unfair. I think it's hypocritical. The argument was because cigarette smoking is bad for you and it affects the quality of life, to tax the smokers. Why not do something to help people stop smoking?" She favored funding children's education and adult smoking cessation programs.

"I think that's a better method than raising taxes," she said. "Now not only are we hurting our lungs and our heart, now we're hurting our pocket."

Upon hearing information about the statewide trauma system, she said, "If it's going to something like this, that's cool." She insisted some of the revenue should go toward youth smoking prevention."

"Unless you want to create more smokers to make money off us," she added.

Michelle McDaniel of Conway said of the tax, "I don't like it. I feel like all smokers are being picked on. I'll probably buy less cigarettes."

Kareem Kattom of Horton's Sinclair convenience store said he has not seen a change in people's smoking habits when prices have increased in the past.

"The bad thing about it for me, I have to keep the same inventory, but it's worth more," Kattom said. "People complain, but they're still buying them."

The increase precedes a federal tax increase on cigarettes from 39 cents a pack to almost $1.01 on April 1, the AP reported. Two major U.S. cigarette companies, Altria Group Inc., which owns Philip Morris USA, and Lorillard Inc., which makes Newport brand cigarettes, increased their carton and pack prices recently, the AP said.

The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Tobacco Control in Pakistan has advised the Ministry of Health to issue by May 31, 2009, a notification that makes the printing of picture-based health warnings on cigarette packs and cartons mandatory at the manufacturer, importer and retailer levels with effect from January 1, 2010.

In their fourth meeting held here on Tuesday, TAG members unanimously recommended that “any packages on the market without the package warning and labeling requirements will be subject to be confiscated and forfeited.”

The meeting adopted a series of recommendations that not only have the potential to help reverse the tide of death and disability resulting from rising tobacco use, but also to build Pakistan’s image as a country that can do a lot more than merely bowing to the influence of the powerful tobacco industry.

Director General Implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Shaheen Masud, WHO Representative Dr. Khalif Bile Mohamud, senior policy analyst, Canadian Cancer Society, Rob Cunningham, and Dr. Farrukh Qureshi from the Tobacco Free Initiative, Eastern Mediterranean Region, WHO, addressed the meeting.

The members advised the Ministry of Health that in preparing the May 2009 notification, the FCTC Article 11 guidelines adopted at Conference of Parties (COP3) meeting held in Durban, South Africa, in November 2008 should be followed to the maximum extent possible. These guidelines stipulate that health warnings be in the form of culturally appropriate pictures or pictograms; in full colour rather than black-and-white; and on both principal display areas (or on all main faces if there are more than two) of the tobacco products packaging.

TAG recommended that pictures be included as part of tobacco package warnings; that the size of the warnings be at least 50 to 60 percent of the top of the package front and back, with Urdu on the front and English on the back; and that the series of picture warnings should include images that are “shocking” in nature. It was agreed that the above recommendations would apply to all types of tobacco products, as well as the ‘outers’ or cartons of tobacco products.

There was consensus over the need for a series of warnings appearing at the same time, rather than a singular message, so that each time a tobacco consumer picks up a cigarette pack, they have a new health warning to read. Rob told the meeting that Canada has 16 different warnings while some European countries have 14 warnings appearing at the same time.

The TAG members also recommended that a descriptive statement of the harmful emissions in smoke be included on the side panel of cigarette packages; and that there be no requirement to include machine test numbers for tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide or other substances.

Talking to ‘The News’ on the sidelines of the two-day meeting, Rob said, “Picture health warnings are specifically beneficial for Pakistan due to its relatively high rate of illiteracy. A text warning is useless for someone who cannot read.”

Article 11 of the FCTC also favours picture-based warnings because they have the added benefit of potentially reaching people with low levels of literacy and those who cannot read the language in which the text of the health warning in written. Additionally, picture warnings may also disrupt the impact of brand imagery on packaging and decrease the overall effectiveness of the package.

Rob said, “The guidelines adopted by 163 countries at COP 3 are very persuasive about the importance of picture health warnings, for which there is rising worldwide momentum.” He said the tobacco industry is opposed to picture warnings because of the fear of reduced sales, which is precisely the health objective of the intervention.

Rob, who has been involved with package warnings for several years now, informed that 28 countries have already required picture warnings on cigarette packs and cartons, and 57 countries have warnings that are bigger than those in Pakistan. He referred to the introduction of picture-based warnings as an intervention “where the Ministry of Health determines the content and the tobacco industry pays the cost!” “What a wonderful thing for a country of 170 million people,” he remarked in excitement. He said, “If Kyrghzstan can have picture warnings in two languages, covering 52 percent of the front and back of the cigarette pack, Pakistan can do it too. If Djibouti, a small, poor country, can have picture health warnings covering 50 percent of the front and back packing, Pakistan can too.”

Rob was of the view that even though Pakistan has made some progress, it still falls behind the international trend. “For a developing country, where resources are scarce, package warnings reach the entire country every day without costing anything. These mini-billboards are always there; they work 24 hours a day. What a cost-effective way to reach every person - be they in the mountains or deserts. Pakistan must capitalise this tremendous public health education opportunity,” he emphasised, adding that a person who smokes 20 cigarettes a day, is exposed to the package 7,300 times a year.

Rob said the future lies in having a health warning on each cigarette stick, a measure which no country has taken so far, and which is particularly relevant for countries like Pakistan where individual sticks are available for sale to trap young people who cannot afford to buy a whole pack.

Earlier, Dr. Bile emphasised that failures in tobacco control do not signify failure of strategies, but of implementation. “We have a strong opponent that spends billions to lure new targets. These MNCs have on their payroll, senior policy-makers who are supposed to fight tobacco. The amount spent on promotion of tobacco versus that available for health promotion has a ratio of 1:100,” he said, suggesting that a certain chunk of the revenue to the tune of Rs35 billion generated through tobacco sales in Pakistan should be channelled in the direction of health education. “The WHO pursues the government of Pakistan to proceed towards rotational as well as graphical messages, as early as possible,” he stated.

Sharing the progress achieved by Pakistan so far, Shaheen Masud said that for the first time, health warning has been extended from packs to outers as well. The packs with new health warning are required to be printed and sent to market with effect from July 1, 2009. She informed that the Tobacco Control Cell has already ordered picture-based posters and stickers. The meeting will continue today (Wednesday).