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High cigarette prices can really make you quit smoking

Jun 1st, 2017
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WHO says increased taxation on tobacco is least expensive and most effective tool in reducing smoking worldwide.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2017/05/high-cigarette-prices-quit-smoking-170525092939544.html

Tobacco remains one of the major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, including cancer, lung and cardiovascular diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that tobacco is responsible for the death of around seven million people across the globe every year.

Over the last two decades, there has been a significant reduction in the percentage of people smoking every day across the world, but the WHO says a lot more needs to be done to deter people from smoking cigarettes.

In a bid to curb consumption, governments have been enforcing stricter regulations on tobacco products and their usage.

Several countries are increasingly implementing strategies to tighten their tobacco policies in the hopes of deterring smoking, especially among young people.

Raising taxes on tobacco products is seen to be one of the least expensive and the most effective tools in countering the influence of tobacco companies. But it is also the least implemented, with only 10 percent of the world’s population currently living in countries with sufficiently high taxes.

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A 2010 WHO report found that 78 percent of those aged 15 years and over in the WHO member states were non-smokers.

By 2025, the number of non-smokers is expected to rise to around 5 billion out of a projected 6.1 billion people aged 15 and over.

Currently, nearly a third of all men are smokers, making the prevalence of smoking among men considerably higher than among women. Over the past 30 years, smoking among men has decreased by 10 percent.

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The price of a pack of cigarettes

Increasing prices and adding tax measures on tobacco products has been used to decrease the demand for cigarettes.

Many countries have successfully used tax policies to regulate the price of cigarette products. In Australia, a pack of cigarettes can cost up to $18, making it the most expensive country to buy cigarettes.

A report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) in 2016 found that the smoking rate in the country was at an all time low. In the last 20 years, smoking had decreased by almost 50 percent.

The study showed that less than 13 percent of Australians are daily smokers and fewer people are starting to smoke.

The report cites Australia as having one of the lowest smoking rates in the world, in part because of their implementation of increased taxes on tobacco products, plain packaging, and more restrictive smoke-free environment laws.

prices-cigs

Illicit trade in tobacco products

The tobacco industry and other interest groups argue that increased taxes on tobacco products allows an illicit black market trade in tobacco to thrive.

But the WHO says that high-income countries with taxes on tobacco products do not face widespread issues related to illicit trade, while low-income countries continue to do so, precisely because of weaker tobacco-control programmes and taxes. Nearly 80% of the world’s smokers live in low to middle-income countries.

cig-consumption

High cigarette prices can really make you quit smoking

Jun 1st, 2017
by Editor.
No comments yet

WHO says increased taxation on tobacco is least expensive and most effective tool in reducing smoking worldwide.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2017/05/high-cigarette-prices-quit-smoking-170525092939544.html

Tobacco remains one of the major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, including cancer, lung and cardiovascular diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that tobacco is responsible for the death of around seven million people across the globe every year.

Over the last two decades, there has been a significant reduction in the percentage of people smoking every day across the world, but the WHO says a lot more needs to be done to deter people from smoking cigarettes.

In a bid to curb consumption, governments have been enforcing stricter regulations on tobacco products and their usage.

Several countries are increasingly implementing strategies to tighten their tobacco policies in the hopes of deterring smoking, especially among young people.

Raising taxes on tobacco products is seen to be one of the least expensive and the most effective tools in countering the influence of tobacco companies. But it is also the least implemented, with only 10 percent of the world’s population currently living in countries with sufficiently high taxes.

A 2010 WHO report found that 78 percent of those aged 15 years and over in the WHO member states were non-smokers.

By 2025, the number of non-smokers is expected to rise to around 5 billion out of a projected 6.1 billion people aged 15 and over.

Currently, nearly a third of all men are smokers, making the prevalence of smoking among men considerably higher than among women. Over the past 30 years, smoking among men has decreased by 10 percent.

The price of a pack of cigarettes

Increasing prices and adding tax measures on tobacco products has been used to decrease the demand for cigarettes.

Many countries have successfully used tax policies to regulate the price of cigarette products. In Australia, a pack of cigarettes can cost up to $18, making it the most expensive country to buy cigarettes.

A report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) in 2016 found that the smoking rate in the country was at an all time low. In the last 20 years, smoking had decreased by almost 50 percent.

The study showed that less than 13 percent of Australians are daily smokers and fewer people are starting to smoke.

The report cites Australia as having one of the lowest smoking rates in the world, in part because of their implementation of increased taxes on tobacco products, plain packaging, and more restrictive smoke-free environment laws.

Illicit trade in tobacco products

The tobacco industry and other interest groups argue that increased taxes on tobacco products allows an illicit black market trade in tobacco to thrive.

But the WHO says that high-income countries with taxes on tobacco products do not face widespread issues related to illicit trade, while low-income countries continue to do so, precisely because of weaker tobacco-control programmes and taxes. Nearly 80% of the world’s smokers live in low to middle-income countries.

The Law on Labels

May 31st, 2017
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Noah Steinsapir, general counsel for Kretek International, offers a legal look at what the FDA’s new warning label requirements mean for manufacturers and retailers.

http://tobaccobusiness.com/fda-law-on-warning-labels/

The FDA’s Deeming Regulations are now in full swing, and several deadlines have come and gone since its implementation on August 8, 2016. Currently, the tobacco industry is working hard to comply with the imminent deadlines in connection to the FDA’s new labeling requirements. Manufacturers/importers of cigars are required to submit a rotational warning plan in compliance with FDA regulations by May 10, 2017, and the new labels must be implemented and in commerce no later than May 10, 2018.

The material aspects of the new FDA warning plan are fairly straightforward. Manufacturers and importers of cigars must rotate six warnings:

  1. WARNING: Cigar smoking can cause cancers of the mouth and throat, even if you do not inhale;
  2. WARNING: Cigar smoking can cause lung cancer and heart disease;
  3. WARNING: Cigars are not a safe alternative to cigarettes;
  4. WARNING: Tobacco smoke increases the risk of lung cancer and heart disease, even in nonsmokers;
  5. WARNING: Cigar use while pregnant can harm you and your baby; or SURGEON GENERAL WARNING: Tobacco Use Increases the Risk of Infertility, Stillbirth, and Low Birth Weight; and
  6. WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

These rotated warnings must be permanently affixed to the cigar packaging and advertisements. For packaging, the warning must encompass no less than 30 percent of the two principal display panels of the product’s packaging (a principal display panel being defined by the Deeming Regulations as the panels of the package that are most likely to be displayed, presented, shown or examined by the consumer) and no less than 20 percent of the total display area of the advertisement, with the caveat that the warning on advertisements appear in the upper portion of the advertisement within the trim area of the advertisement. The warnings have some other requirements such as font size, capitalization and color.

Although the rule is relatively straightforward, the industry still remains confused in connection with two looming issues: First, how will this warning coalesce with California’s current Proposition 65 warning requirements? Second, how will the timing of selling through products with older warnings on them work?

Prop 65 vs. FDA Warning

For Prop 65, certain industry groups are working to devise a plan. The purpose of California’s Proposition 65 is to warn the consumer and the public at large that tobacco products contain toxic chemicals. The new FDA warning plan achieves California’s objective and does so in a meaningful manner such that 30 percent of the principal display panels of the product’s packaging will notify the consumer of the health warnings of the tobacco product. In terms of size and visibility, the FDA’s rule goes above and beyond what is required by California’s Proposition 65. Therefore, a proposed and reasonable outcome is that California determines that the additional Prop 65 warning is unnecessary, duplicative and may cause customer confusion in light of the new federal guidelines that require such a clear and conspicuous warning. In either event, hopefully the State of California will provide clarity in connection with this issue.

Products Already in the Retail Pipeline
Another common concern is that the May 10, 2018 deadline for implementing the new warning scheme may create challenges in light of the fact that product can sit in a warehouse or on a retail shelf for extended periods of time. This may result in the sale of product without the adequate warning to the consumer after the May 10, 2018 deadline, which would not be the fault of the manufacturer/importer or the retailer. While the answer is not crystal clear yet, the Deeming Regulations appear to have considered this issue and provide a safe harbor to both the manufacturer/importer, as well as to the retailer. The manufacturer and importer appear to be allowed to introduce product without the current warning requirements into commerce up until May 10, 2018. They then have an additional 30 days after this deadline as a safe harbor to continue selling the last of the product.

In addition, retailers appear to be provided a safe harbor as long as the retailer purchased the product from a licensed manufacturer, the packaging contains some type of health warning, and the retailer has not altered the packaging. Both the FDA and the industry want to provide clear and conspicuous warnings so that consenting adults may make informed decisions. With time, the new FDA warning plan will be further clarified.

This story first appeared in the May/June 2017 issue of Tobacco Business magazine. Members of the tobacco industry are eligible for a complimentary subscription to our magazine. Click here for details.

Stronger Tobacco-control Measures Vital, WHO Warns

May 30th, 2017
by Editor.
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The World Health Organization warns that more than 7 million people die prematurely every year from tobacco-related causes, and it’s a costly drain on national economies.

https://www.voanews.com/a/stronger-tobacco-control-measures-vital-world-health-organization-says/3878184.html

In advance of World No Tobacco day, to be observed Wednesday, the global health agency urged governments to implement strong tobacco control measures for the health of their people and their economies.

WHO calls tobacco a threat to development. Besides the heavy toll in lives lost, global estimates show that “tobacco costs the global economy $1.4 trillion a year,” or 1.8 percent of global gross domestic product. The WHO notes this estimate takes into consideration “only medical expenses and lost productive capacities.”

Despite effective tobacco control measures, WHO reports the number of people dying from smoking is increasing because those dying today have mostly been long-term smokers and it takes time for tobacco control policies to make an impact.

Vinayak Prasad, program manager of the WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative, told VOA, “What we are seeing is that if the policies were not in place, the number of 7.2 million would have been higher. We are seeing a reduction of tobacco use prevalence in most countries. The only regions now which are seeing higher growth are the African continent and Middle Eastern region. The rest of the world is seeing a decline.”

Diseases, disabilities

Besides leading to premature death, the WHO has found, countless millions of people who smoke suffer from a wide variety of tobacco-related diseases and resultant serious disabilities, including blindness, amputation, impotence and poor oral health.

Andrew Black of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Secretariat noted that smoking is an addiction largely taken up in childhood and adolescence, “so it is crucial to reduce the number of young people taking up smoking in the first place. We must stop the tobacco industry’s powerful advertising and promotion, which can all too often be oriented toward young people.”

Black said tobacco widens social inequalities and is a driver of poverty around the world.

“We know that those living on lower incomes in virtually all countries are likely to smoke, and therefore more likely to suffer the consequences of tobacco use,” he said.

Black said that by 2030, about 80 percent of the world’s tobacco-related mortality will be in low- and middle-income countries.

“High rates of tobacco use being promoted by aggressive strategies from the tobacco industry are projected to lead to a doubling of the number of tobacco-related deaths in low- and middle-income countries between 2010 and 2030,” he said.

Study issued

To mark World No-Tobacco Day, the U.N. Development Program and the Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control issued a study that focuses on the harmful effects of tobacco on both health and on efforts aimed at achieving the U.N.’s sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Dudley Tarlton, UNDP program specialist on health and development, told VOA that tobacco undermines the SDGs because “household consumption on tobacco displaces consumption on other goods and services that might lead to a better end.

“So, it affects poverty. It affects hunger. Education is affected. Children get ear infections because they are exposed to household smoke in the home,” he said.

For the first time, the WHO and UNDP released a joint report showing the bad impact tobacco has on the environment.

Prasad acknowledged that the data received from the tobacco industry and from governments were relatively weak. Nevertheless, he said, “the evidence is really astounding as to how tobacco is extremely dangerous and harming the environment.”

He said using land to grow tobacco “can lead to severe damage because of the widespread use of agrochemicals.”

Use of trees

Prasad noted that more than 11 million metric tons of wood was required to cure and dry tobacco, “which essentially means deforestation is already happening.”

The report found that tobacco waste contains over 7,000 toxic chemicals that poison the environment, including human carcinogens, and that tobacco smoke contributes “thousands of tons of human carcinogens, toxicants and greenhouse gases to the environment.”

Prasad said that cigarettes are bad news for tree lovers because “for every 300 cigarettes, we need to cut a tree. … Even conservatively, if we are looking at 6 trillion cigarettes, we are looking at almost 15 to 20 billion trees to cut.

“We have 6 trillion trees in the world, so we are almost looking at a big cut, which is going to happen, if we do not hold this,” he said.

And regarding the sullying of the world’s environment, he noted that cigarette butts “account for 30 to 40 percent of all items collected in coastal and urban cleanups.”

Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to receive WHO World No Tobacco Day Award

May 30th, 2017
by Editor.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) will distinguish Colombia, Ecuador and Peru with its 2017 World No Tobacco Day Award, which recognizes institutions, organizations and individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the fight against smoking in their country.

http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13381%3Acolombia-ecuador-y-peru-recibiran-el-premio-del-dia-mundial

In total, 29 countries from all regions of the world will be awarded by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the framework of World No Tobacco Day (31 May), whose theme this year seeks to highlight the threat posed by tobacco to social development.

The winners have contributed to the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and its Protocol for the Elimination of Illicit Trade.

The three winners of the award in the Americas region are:

  • Ministry of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia, Ministry of Health and Social Protection of Colombia and the Citizens coalition to oversee tobacco control policy (Veeduría ciudadana para el Control de Tabaco).
  • Internal Revenue Agency of Ecuador (Servicio de Rentas Internas – SRI).
  • Ministry of Economy and Finance of Peru.

The awards to the winners of the region will be presented by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), regional office for the Americas of the World Health Organisation, starting on May 31.

The FCTC was the world’s first health treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO and went into effect in 2005. A legally binding accord, it commits States Parties to implementing a series of tobacco control measures aimed at reducing tobacco consumption and saving lives.

In the Americas, 30 countries have ratified the Convention, and a number have made significant progress in implementing its provisions, particularly smoke-free indoor public spaces and health warnings on tobacco packages.

Tobacco is the only legal consumer product that kills up to half its regular users when consumed exactly as the manufacturer intends. Worldwide, approximately 14 persons die from a tobacco-related disease every minute, equivalent to nearly 7 million lives lost each year.

World No Tobacco Day 2017

May 30th, 2017
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World No Tobacco Day 2017: Beating tobacco for health, prosperity, the environment and national development

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2017/no-tobacco-day/en/

Action to stamp out tobacco use can help countries prevent millions of people falling ill and dying from tobacco-related disease, combat poverty and, according to a first-ever WHO report, reduce large-scale environmental degradation.

On World No Tobacco Day 2017, WHO is highlighting how tobacco threatens the development of nations worldwide, and is calling on governments to implement strong tobacco control measures. These include banning marketing and advertising of tobacco, promoting plain packaging of tobacco products, raising excise taxes, and making indoor public places and workplaces smoke-free.

Tobacco’s health and economic costs

Tobacco use kills more than 7 million people every year and costs households and governments over US$ 1.4 trillion through healthcare expenditure and lost productivity.

“Tobacco threatens us all,” says WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan. “Tobacco exacerbates poverty, reduces economic productivity, contributes to poor household food choices, and pollutes indoor air.”

Dr Chan adds: “But by taking robust tobacco control measures, governments can safeguard their countries’ futures by protecting tobacco users and non-users from these deadly products, generating revenues to fund health and other social services, and saving their environments from the ravages tobacco causes.”

All countries have committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which aims to strengthen universal peace and eradicate poverty. Key elements of this agenda include implementing the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and by 2030 reducing by one third premature death from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including heart and lung diseases, cancer, and diabetes, for which tobacco use is a key risk factor.

Tobacco scars the environment

The first-ever WHO report, Tobacco and its environmental impact: an overview, also shows the impact of this product on nature, including:

  • Tobacco waste contains over 7000 toxic chemicals that poison the environment, including human carcinogens.
  • Tobacco smoke emissions contribute thousands of tons of human carcinogens, toxicants, and greenhouse gases to the environment. And tobacco waste is the largest type of litter by count globally.
  • Up to 10 billion of the 15 billion cigarettes sold daily are disposed in the environment.
  • Cigarette butts account for 30–40% of all items collected in coastal and urban clean-ups.

Tobacco threatens women, children, and livelihoods

Tobacco threatens all people, and national and regional development, in many ways, including:

  • Poverty: Around 860 million adult smokers live in low- and middle-income countries. Many studies have shown that in the poorest households, spending on tobacco products often represents more than 10% of total household expenditure – meaning less money for food, education and healthcare.
  • Children and education: Tobacco farming stops children attending school. 10%–14% of children from tobacco-growing families miss class because of working in tobacco fields.
  • Women: 60%–70% of tobacco farm workers are women, putting them in close contact with often hazardous chemicals.
  • Health: Tobacco contributes to 16% of all noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) deaths.

Taxation: a powerful tobacco control tool

“Many governments are taking action against tobacco, from banning advertising and marketing, to introducing plain packaging for tobacco products, and smoke-free work and public places,” says Dr Oleg Chestnov, WHO’s Assistant Director-General for NCDs and Mental Health. “But one of the least used, but most effective, tobacco control measures to help countries address development needs is through increasing tobacco tax and prices.”

Governments collect nearly US$ 270 billion in tobacco excise tax revenues each year, but this could increase by over 50%, generating an additional US$ 141 billion, simply from raising taxes on cigarettes by just US$ 0.80 per pack (equivalent to one international dollar) in all countries. Increased tobacco taxation revenues will strengthen domestic resource mobilization, creating the fiscal space needed for countries to meet development priorities under the 2030 Agenda.

“Tobacco is a major barrier to development globally;” says Dr Douglas Bettcher, Director of WHO’s Department for the Prevention on NCDs. “Tobacco-related death and illness are drivers of poverty, leaving households without breadwinners, diverting limited household resources to purchase tobacco products rather than food and school materials, and forcing many people to pay for medical expenses.”

“But action to control it will provide countries with a powerful tool to protect their citizens and futures,” Dr Bettcher adds.

Editor’s note

Tobacco-related illness is one of the biggest public health threats the world faces, killing more than 7 million people a year. But tobacco use is one of the largest preventable causes of noncommunicable diseases.

Tobacco control represents a powerful tool in improving health in communities and in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG target 3.4 is to reduce premature deaths from NCDs by one third by 2030, including cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases, cancers, and diabetes.

Another SDG target, 3.a, calls for implementation of the WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). The WHO FCTC entered into force in 2005, and its Parties are obliged to take a number of steps to reduce demand and supply for tobacco products. Actions addressed in the Convention include protecting people from exposure to tobacco smoke; banning tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; banning sales to minors; requiring health warnings on tobacco packaging; promoting tobacco cessation; increasing tobacco taxes; and creating a national coordinating mechanism for tobacco control. There are 180 Parties to the Convention.

For more information, please contact:

Paul Garwood
WHO Department of Communications
Telephone: +41 22 791 15 78
Mobile: +41 79 603 72 94
Email: garwoodp@who.int

Christian Lindmeier
WHO Department of Communications
Telephone: +41 22 791 1948
Mobile: +41 79 500 6552
Email: lindmeierch@who.int

Implementing rules for smoking ban out in July Tuesday, May 30, 2017

May 30th, 2017
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THE implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Executive Order (EO) 26, which sets strict guidelines on designated smoking areas, will be released in July,

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2017/05/30/implementing-rules-smoking-ban-out-july-544704

Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial said Tuesday. “We are looking at coming out with the IRR inside the 60-day effectivity period provided by the EO, likely before SONA,” said Ubial. Ubial said they are already crafting the IRR along with Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Philippine Ports Authority, Land Transportation Office, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Maritime Industry Authority, Department of Tourism, Office of the President, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Justice, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Education, and Civil Service Commission.

Noticeably absent from the list is a representative from the tobacco industry. “We don’t think that their representation would in fact add value to the EO,” said Ubial.

To note, the Inter-Agency Committee-Tobacco (IAC-Tobacco) created under the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003, has a representative of the tobacco industry as among its members.

Earlier this month, President Rodrigo Duterte signed EO 26, which imposes a nationwide smoking ban in public places. The IRR is expected to complement the provisions of the EO 26. But even without the IRR, the health chief said local government units (LGUs) may already come out with their respective tobacco control ordinances. “We hope that if we come up with the IRR, the specifics there will be clearer in the implementation. But even without the IRR, it is already implementable,” said Ubial.

She said LGUs can easily refer to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) as basis for their ordinances. “The FCTC is an international treaty that we signed and ratified. That can be the reference point of local ordinances,” said Ubial.

The health chief noted how there are local ordinances that are even stricter than the EO 26’s provisions as they are anchored on the FCTC, such as the LGU recipients of the Red Orchid Awards. “Actually, there are LGUs with ordinances stricter than our EOs. That can continue,” said Ubial. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)

Tobacco kills 7 million a year, wreaks environmental havoc: WHO

May 30th, 2017
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Smoking and other tobacco use kills more than seven million people each year, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, also warning of the dire environmental impact of tobacco production, distribution and waste.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/world/2017/05/30/Tobacco-kills-7-million-a-year-wreaks-environmental-havoc-WHO

The UN agency said tougher measures were needed to rein in tobacco use, urging countries to ban smoking in the workplace and indoor public spaces, outlaw marketing of tobacco products and hike cigarette prices.

“Tobacco threatens us all,” WHO chief Margaret Chan said in a statement.

“Tobacco exacerbates poverty, reduces economic productivity, contributes to poor household food choices, and pollutes indoor air,” she said.

In a report released ahead of World No Tobacco Day on Wednesday, WHO warned that the annual death toll of seven million people had jumped from four million at the turn of the century, making tobacco the world’s single biggest cause of preventable death.

And the death toll is expected to keep rising, with WHO bracing for more than one billion deaths this century.

“By 2030, more than 80 percent of the deaths will occur in developing countries, which have been increasingly targeted by tobacco companies seeking new markets to circumvent tightening regulation in developed nations.”

Tobacco use also brings an economic cost: WHO estimates that it drains more than $1.4 trillion (1.3 trillion euros) from households and governments each year in healthcare expenditures and lost productivity, or nearly two percent of the global gross domestic product.

In addition to the health and economic costs linked to smoking, the WHO report for the first time delved into the environmental impact of everything from tobacco production to the cigarette butts and other waste produced by smokers.

“From start to finish, the tobacco life cycle is an overwhelmingly polluting and damaging process,” WHO Assistant Director-General Oleg Chestnov said in the report.

The report detailed how growing tobacco often requires large quantities of fertilisers and pesticides, and it warned that tobacco farming had become the main cause of deforestation in several countries.

This is largely due to the amount of wood needed for curing tobacco, with WHO estimating that one tree is needed for every 300 cigarettes produced.

WHO also highlighted the pollution generated during the production, transport and distribution of tobacco products.

The report estimates that the industry emits nearly four million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually — the same as around three million transatlantic flights.

And waste from the process contains over 7,000 toxic chemicals that poison the environment, including human carcinogens, WHO said.

Once in the hands of the consumer, tobacco smoke emissions spewed thousands of tonnes of human carcinogens, toxic substances and greenhouse gases into the environment.

Cigarette butts and other tobacco waste make up the largest number of individual pieces of litter in the world, the agency said.

Two thirds of the 15 billion cigarettes sold each day are thrown on to the street or elsewhere in the environment, it said, adding that butts account for up to 40 percent of all items collected in coastal and urban clean-ups.

WHO urged governments to take strong measures to rein in tobacco use.

“One of the least used, but most effective tobacco control measures… is through increasing tobacco tax and prices,” Chestnov said.

Indonesian tobacco watchdog urges govt to sign FCTC to protect people

May 30th, 2017
by Editor.
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Ahead of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, the National Commission on Tobacco Control (Komnas PT), a coalition of organizations that has been staunchly campaigning on tobacco issues in Indonesia, has asked the government to draft a comprehensive regulation on tobacco control to protect society.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/05/30/indonesian-tobacco-watchdog-urges-govt-to-sign-fctc-to-protect-people.html

Komnas PT chairman Prijo Sidipratomo said on Tuesday that the most important thing was for the government to immediately sign the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to protect society from the dangers of smoking.

“Second, the existed tobacco bill that is being discussed by the government and the House of Representatives must be dropped,” Prijo asserted in a press statement.

Prijo said the demand was in line with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s statement in February during the 2017 National Health Meeting, saying that we should not let the money that was supposed to increase children’s nutrition to be instead used to buy cigarettes.

The Komnas PT asked every party to join hands to protect the young generation from the dangers of nicotine addiction that could degrade the nation’s productivity.

Without a comprehensive regulation, more than 250 million people are left unprotected when facing the dangers of the cigarette industry that always looks for profits while harming the environment, economy, society and human rights, he added.

The commission criticized the House for wanting to delete the existing article declaring a “total ban of cigarettes advertisement in broadcasting” in a revision of the Broadcasting Law. (hol/dan)

World No Tobacco Day 2017: Beating tobacco for health, prosperity, the environment and national development

May 30th, 2017
by Editor.
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Action to stamp out tobacco use can help countries prevent millions of people falling ill and dying from tobacco-related disease, combat poverty and, according to a first-ever WHO report, reduce large-scale environmental degradation.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2017/no-tobacco-day/en/

On World No Tobacco Day 2017, WHO is highlighting how tobacco threatens the development of nations worldwide, and is calling on governments to implement strong tobacco control measures. These include banning marketing and advertising of tobacco, promoting plain packaging of tobacco products, raising excise taxes, and making indoor public places and workplaces smoke-free.

Tobacco’s health and economic costs

Tobacco use kills more than 7 million people every year and costs households and governments over US$ 1.4 trillion through healthcare expenditure and lost productivity.

“Tobacco threatens us all,” says WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan. “Tobacco exacerbates poverty, reduces economic productivity, contributes to poor household food choices, and pollutes indoor air.”

Dr Chan adds: “But by taking robust tobacco control measures, governments can safeguard their countries’ futures by protecting tobacco users and non-users from these deadly products, generating revenues to fund health and other social services, and saving their environments from the ravages tobacco causes.”

All countries have committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which aims to strengthen universal peace and eradicate poverty. Key elements of this agenda include implementing the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and by 2030 reducing by one third premature death from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including heart and lung diseases, cancer, and diabetes, for which tobacco use is a key risk factor.

Tobacco scars the environment

The first-ever WHO report, Tobacco and its environmental impact: an overview, also shows the impact of this product on nature, including:

Tobacco waste contains over 7000 toxic chemicals that poison the environment, including human carcinogens.
Tobacco smoke emissions contribute thousands of tons of human carcinogens, toxicants, and greenhouse gases to the environment. And tobacco waste is the largest type of litter by count globally.
Up to 10 billion of the 15 billion cigarettes sold daily are disposed in the environment.
Cigarette butts account for 30–40% of all items collected in coastal and urban clean-ups.
Tobacco threatens women, children, and livelihoods

Tobacco threatens all people, and national and regional development, in many ways, including:

Poverty: Around 860 million adult smokers live in low- and middle-income countries. Many studies have shown that in the poorest households, spending on tobacco products often represents more than 10% of total household expenditure – meaning less money for food, education and healthcare.
Children and education: Tobacco farming stops children attending school. 10%–14% of children from tobacco-growing families miss class because of working in tobacco fields.
Women: 60%–70% of tobacco farm workers are women, putting them in close contact with often hazardous chemicals.
Health: Tobacco contributes to 16% of all noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) deaths.
Taxation: a powerful tobacco control tool

“Many governments are taking action against tobacco, from banning advertising and marketing, to introducing plain packaging for tobacco products, and smoke-free work and public places,” says Dr Oleg Chestnov, WHO’s Assistant Director-General for NCDs and Mental Health. “But one of the least used, but most effective, tobacco control measures to help countries address development needs is through increasing tobacco tax and prices.”

Governments collect nearly US$ 270 billion in tobacco excise tax revenues each year, but this could increase by over 50%, generating an additional US$ 141 billion, simply from raising taxes on cigarettes by just US$ 0.80 per pack (equivalent to one international dollar) in all countries. Increased tobacco taxation revenues will strengthen domestic resource mobilization, creating the fiscal space needed for countries to meet development priorities under the 2030 Agenda.

“Tobacco is a major barrier to development globally;” says Dr Douglas Bettcher, Director of WHO’s Department for the Prevention on NCDs. “Tobacco-related death and illness are drivers of poverty, leaving households without breadwinners, diverting limited household resources to purchase tobacco products rather than food and school materials, and forcing many people to pay for medical expenses.”

“But action to control it will provide countries with a powerful tool to protect their citizens and futures,” Dr Bettcher adds.

Editor’s note

Tobacco-related illness is one of the biggest public health threats the world faces, killing more than 7 million people a year. But tobacco use is one of the largest preventable causes of noncommunicable diseases.

Tobacco control represents a powerful tool in improving health in communities and in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG target 3.4 is to reduce premature deaths from NCDs by one third by 2030, including cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases, cancers, and diabetes.

Another SDG target, 3.a, calls for implementation of the WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). The WHO FCTC entered into force in 2005, and its Parties are obliged to take a number of steps to reduce demand and supply for tobacco products. Actions addressed in the Convention include protecting people from exposure to tobacco smoke; banning tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; banning sales to minors; requiring health warnings on tobacco packaging; promoting tobacco cessation; increasing tobacco taxes; and creating a national coordinating mechanism for tobacco control. There are 180 Parties to the Convention.

For more information, please contact:

Paul Garwood
WHO Department of Communications
Telephone: +41 22 791 15 78
Mobile: +41 79 603 72 94
Email: garwoodp@who.int

Christian Lindmeier
WHO Department of Communications
Telephone: +41 22 791 1948
Mobile: +41 79 500 6552
Email: lindmeierch@who.int

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