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January, 2008:

Chinese Tobacco Economy

Jan 10th, 2008
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Effects of cigarette tax on cigarette consumption and the Chinese economy.

Hu TW, Mao Z. – University of California at Berkeley, California 94720, USA. thu@uclink4.berkeley.edu

OBJECTIVES: To analyse a policy dilemma in China on public health versus the tobacco economy through additional cigarette tax.

METHODS: Using published statistics from 1980 through 1997 to estimate the impact of tobacco production and consumption on government revenue and the entire economy. These estimates relied on the results of estimated price elasticities of the demand for cigarettes in China.

RESULTS: Given the estimated price elasticities (-0.54), by introducing an additional 10% increase in cigarette tax per pack (from the current 40% to 50% tax rate), the central government tax revenue would twice exceed total losses in industry revenue, tobacco farmers’ income, and local tax revenue. In addition, between 1.44 and 2.16 million lives would be saved by this tax increase.

CONCLUSIONS: Additional taxation on cigarettes in China would be a desirable public policy for the Chinese government to consider.

New Study Confirms Smoking Dangers For Elderly Chinese

Jan 9th, 2008
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Lina Lim – Updated on Jan 09, 2008 SCMP

Smoking among ethnic Chinese carries an increased risk of death in old age, a new study by the University of Hong Kong released on Wednesday has confirmed.

The study found that if elderly Chinese gave up the habit this would significantly reduce their risk of getting smoking-related diseases.

The study was carried out to ascertain the effects of smoking in old age among Chinese people. A university spokesman said although the dangers of smoking were well known, it was still unclear how smoking affected Chinese people in old age.

He explained that some studies had shown lower mortality rates for certain diseases in the elderly smokers compared with people who had never smoked. These studies had also shown that people who gave up smoking had higher mortality rates than those continuing to smoke.

“Hence, some mistakenly believe that smoking in the elderly is not that harmful and quitting may even cause harm,” the spokesman added.

The study was carried out by medical experts from the university and the Elderly Health Service of the Department of Health. It examined 56,000 elderly adults, aged 65 years or above, between July 1998 to December 2000.

Results from the study were later compared with the mortality statistics of non-smokers. In the study, people who gave up smoking had significantly lower risks of death than smokers, who had a 75 per cent risk of getting smoking-related diseases.

Among smoking-related diseases, smokers were more susceptible to lung cancer (58 per cent risk), strokes (67 per cent risk) and cardiovascular diseases (79 per cent risk).

People who gave up, however, had a reduced risk of 16 per cent to lung cancer, 31 per cent for strokes and 21 per cent for all cardiovascular diseases.

Current and former smokers were more likely to die from lung cancer or other cancers into very old age (85 years of age and up). Women smokers had a consistently higher risk of mortality from all causes and respiratory diseases than women who had never smoked.

The university spokesman said: “With a shorter history of smoking and longer survival in women, the harmful effects of smoking were clearly evident even in the oldest group of elderly people.”

He said the study showed a much higher risk of death from all causes “cancer, cardiovascular diseases and respiratory diseases” for current smokers and former smokers in both older men and older women.

“Smoking increased mortality risks even in the oldest-old, but quitting reduced these risks,” the spokesman said. He urged people to stop smoking even in old age. Giving up should be an urgent priority, not only in Hong Kong but in other developing countries.

According to government statistics, smoking is the cause, on average, of 5,700 deaths annually in Hong Kong. As of 2006, there were slightly more than 793,200 smokers in the territory, 14 per cent of which are aged 15 or under.

Quit Smoking? Move to California

Jan 9th, 2008
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Date: January 09, 2008 http://health.ucsd.edu/news/2008/1-9-smoking.htm

New Year’s Resolution: Quit Smoking? Move to California

Social Pressure May Be More Effective in Encouraging Life-long Smokers to Quit

Sun. Sand. Surf. And no smoking. California’s attitude toward smoking may be the best recipe for success when trying to quit. New research shows that social pressure plays a key role in getting smokers to quit.

By analyzing the smoking patterns of Asian immigrants from countries where smoking is socially acceptable, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have shown that smokers are far more likely to try to quit when living where smoking is not socially acceptable. And the more these smokers try to quit, the more they succeed.

People say they don’t want to conform but in reality, the desire to conform is strong,” said principal investigator Shu-Hong Zhu, Ph.D., of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Moores UCSD Cancer Center, and Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at UCSD School of Medicine. “For a study like this, you have to create a different social norm and then allow people to experience it, so immigrants are an ideal group to study.”

Using data from three previous tobacco studies conducted in California, Zhu’s team looked at smokers who are recent immigrants to California from China and Korea, where smoking is still widely accepted. They found that the California immigrants have a smoking cessation rate much higher than their counterparts in their native countries, where about two thirds of all men smoke, and smoking is a common and expected social interaction.

California provides a radically different setting. The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows that only about 14 percent of California’s adults smoke. With a strong state tobacco control program in place since 1989, most Californians see smoking as socially unacceptable. Smoking has been banned in restaurants and bars statewide for nearly a decade, and more than half the Californians who have ever smoked have now successfully quit, one of the highest quit rates in the nation.

The Numbers

In their study, published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research (November 2007: Volume 9, Supplement 3) researchers note that more than half of all Chinese and Korean immigrants in California who ever smoked have quit. Chinese immigrant smokers in California stop smoking at roughly seven times the rate of their counterparts in China. In Korea, a recent, aggressive tobacco control campaign is starting to boost the quit rate, but Korean immigrants in California still stop smoking at more than three times the rate of their counterparts in Korea.

Anti-smoking Campaigns Work

The researchers attribute this marked difference to the difference in social norms. According to the UC San Diego study, over 82 percent of Chinese and Korean immigrant smokers in California reported that they were familiar with the state’s anti-smoking campaigns through print, television, or radio. This familiarity shows an awareness of the new social norm.

Changing the social norm not only makes more smokers try to quit, it also makes them more likely to keep on trying, even if earlier tries ended in relapse. Repeated tries will ultimately lead to success.

Zhu points out, “The large difference in annual quit rates is almost completely explained by the difference in proportions of smokers trying to quit. In China, for example, the quit rate is low because a very low proportion of smokers try to quit each year. In California, by contrast, a very high proportion of Chinese smokers try to quit each year. More tries means more success. Cessation aids like nicotine patches, gum, and so on, contribute only in a minor way to these smokers’ dramatically higher quit rate because few of these immigrants use them.”

What does the UCSD study mean for tobacco control? Social norm change is more powerful than people may have realized, said Zhu. Passing new laws and mounting media campaigns is not only a cost effective plan, but will also have dramatic, population-wide impact, the report concludes.

The study, supported by the National Cancer Institute, was conducted by a team of California healthcare professionals, including: lead investigator Shu-Hong Zhu, Ph.D., UCSD; research fellow Shiushing Wong, Ph.D., UCSD; Chih-Wen Shi, M.D. assistant adjunct professor, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, UCSD; Hao Tang, M.D., Ph.D., California Department of Health Services; and Moon Chen, Ph.D., M.P.H, University of California, Davis.

The Data

Data for the study came from three tobacco surveys conducted in California. Two focused specifically on Asian populations:

The 2003 California Chinese American Tobacco Use Survey (Carr et al., 2005a) and The 2003 California Korean American Tobacco Use Survey (Carr et al., 2005b).

Both surveys recruited respondents by randomly telephoning numbers from purchased lists of households with Chinese and Korean surnames. A professional survey research service, Strategic Research Group, Inc. used a computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) system and trained telephone interviewers to screen people at random from the telephone lists.

The third source of data for this present study was the 2002 California Tobacco Survey (CTS), a population-based, random-digit-dialed survey conducted in English and Spanish, every 3 years, for evaluation of the California Tobacco Control Program (Gilpin et al., 2003).

For more detailed information on the study, please visit:
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a783693058~db=all~order=page

Electronic Cigarette To Be Tested On Smokers In Trial

Jan 9th, 2008
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NZPA | Wednesday, 09 January 2008

Smokers are being asked to trial their habit with an electronic cigarette which delivers nicotine but not the harmful effects of tobacco, in an Auckland University study.

Researchers from the Clinical Trials Research Unit at the university are calling for volunteers from the Auckland area for the trial.

The trial is one of two aimed specifically at smokers that the university is undertaking.

Investigator on the trial Dr Hayden McRobbie said he hoped research would show if the e-cigarette might provide nicotine faster than available nicotine replacement treatments.

The e-cigarette is smoked like a normal cigarette, and even glows at the tip when inhaled, but delivers a measured dose of nicotine similar to other products such as patches and gum.

“On the whole nicotine is not the dangerous element in tobacco smoke.

“However, smokers miss the nicotine when they stop and they often experience nicotine withdrawal symptoms such as cravings.

“By using a product like the e-cigarette nicotine is still delivered and so cravings and withdrawal symptoms are reduced.

“The e-cigarette might be a good way to help people stop smoking as it addresses `the habit’ of smoking whilst still providing nicotine but without the harmful substances in tobacco such as carbon monoxide and tar.”

Dr McRobbie said the trial was for the benefit of smokers.

“We’ve had enough of the finger-wagging.

“At the moment the message is quit or die and we’ve got to give people other ways of stopping smoking and other options.”

While not available in New Zealand, the Hong Kong-made e-cigarette can be bought on the internet for about $200, he said.

The research team is looking for 50 Aucklanders over the age of 18, who smoke mainly factory-made cigarettes, to participate in the study which gets under way at the end of January.

Dr McRobbie also wants smokers who want to quit to take part in a study looking at the changes to their voice as they quit.

“Smoking kills around 4500 New Zealanders every year and causes damage to many parts of the body.

“Most people are aware that smoking causes lung cancer, but less know that smoking can damage the organs such as the vocal cords, causing the vocal cords to become thick and boggy – resulting in a deeper voice.

“By studying smokers’ voices as they quit, we hope to see whether this change is reversible.”

If researchers detect a change in voice quality they may also be able to use technology to monitor the outcome of stop-smoking studies making it easier to test new ways to help smokers quit, he said.

Raise Smoking Age to 21

Jan 9th, 2008
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Raise Smoking Age to 21, says doc

09/01/2008 08:50 – Morning Advertiser

The smoking age should be raised to 21 – that’s the view of a leading cancer specialist in Dundee.
The age for purchasing tobacco was only raised to 18 in October last month but already campaigners are pushing for more.

Dr Jayant Vaidya also wants increased tax on cigarettes and a ban on vending machines.
“Most people start smoking before they are 21, and after they are 21 they are wise enough to realise that it’s not in their interest to smoke,” he told the BBC.

“It is a very addictive drug, it contains 4,000 poisons and it has been shown very clearly that when you start young, you start causing all the damage in your body at a young age as well, and it’s very difficult to stop.“

Smoking Fine May Rise In Hong Kong

Jan 8th, 2008
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Source: CCTV.com | 01-08-2008 10:06

Hong Kong plans to increase the initial fine for smoking violations to 1500 HK dollars, or 190 US dollars, three times more than the previous minimum level.

A year ago, the Hong Kong SAR government expanded its smoking-ban in public places, including KTVs and restaurants.

The new proposal is intended to prevent more people from smoking in public places. It is likely to come before the city’s Legislative Council later this year. If passed, the new regulation will take effect in 10 months.

A year ago, the Hong Kong SAR government expanded its smoking-ban in public places, including KTVs and restaurants. By the end of last year, over 3000 smokers had been fined for violations.

Bars Keep Right To Host Smokers

Jan 7th, 2008
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Bars keep right to host smokers ( SCMP 6 Jan)

Mary Ann Benitez – Jan 06, 2008

A year after smoking was banned in public places, only one of 1,300 entertainment establishments granted exemption from the law until mid-2009 has lost that status.

Post 97 in Lan Kwai Fong lost its exemption 10 days ago after the Tobacco Control Office (TCO) deemed it to be a restaurant, meaning the ban should apply.

Six types of venues can apply to be exempt from the ban until July 1, 2009: bars that do not admit anyone under 18, mahjong clubs and parlours, commercial bath houses, massage establishments and nightclubs.

Since late 2006, the Tobacco Control Office said it had received about 1,500 applications for exemption, of which more than 1,280 were granted.

Delisted establishments may appeal to the Appeal Board within 14 days of losing their exemption.

Post 97 said it would not appeal. Its sister bars, La Dolce Vita and Club 97, are exempt from the ban.

Jamie Higgins, general manager of Post 97, was frank: “We are a restaurant, and we are not entitled to allow people to smoke. That is the law, in fact we were lucky to get away with it for as long as we did.”

He said that despite knowing the venue was a restaurant, they still applied for an exemption.

“Under the new law, so many restaurants and bars were applying for it, so we thought it would be easier to apply for it and then decide later on,” he said.

Mr Higgins added: “If anything, what the smoking ban will do is to bring us back more business at the weekend because children weren’t allowed to come to the restaurant because people were smoking.”

The TCO said: “We collect intelligence on non-compliance from various sources and upon receipt of such information, will investigate each and every case accordingly.”

Legislators have said the smoking ban is difficult to enforce because the TCO lacks inspectors.

Yesterday, anti-tobacco lobbyists wrote to legislators urging them to press the administration to “rescind these ludicrous politically motivated smoking exemptions”.

James Middleton of Clear the Air said there should be no exemptions. “To do otherwise is signing the death warrants of the staff and is encouraging our youth to smoke,” he said.

More Cigarettes Sold in Hong Kong After Smoking Ban

Jan 5th, 2008
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5 January 2008

RCP – passive smoking

Panel on Health Services

Dear Sir,

The recent release of Hong Kong Customs data on the numbers of legal cigarettes sold in Hong Kong during 2007 reveals that 12 million (600,000 packets of) cigarettes were sold here in 2007 more than were sold in 2006 prior to the implementation of the non -comprehensive smoking laws on January 1st 2007.

The policy is flawed and as demonstrated by the figures, a complete failure in weaning existing smokers off smoking and from preventing Hong Kong’s youth from starting on the deadly slope. The smoking exemptions for bar and restaurant ‘Qualified Establishments’ are one major reason for this deadly increase in smoking as well as the lack of free medications linked to an effective Quitline counselling to help nicotine addicts stop smoking and lack of increased tobacco taxation.

The expert report information from the Royal College of Physicians is provided for your download and review.
http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/pubs/contents/fe4ab715-2689-4a4a-b8c7-53e80386c893.pdf

The administration has a duty of care to ALL workers to provide smoke free workplaces, without exception. All employers have a legal duty of care under existing Occupational Health and Safety legislation to keep ALL workplaces safe and free from risks to the health of the workers.

The deadly dangers of passive cigarette smoke are proven beyond contest and even admitted on the Philip Morris (adjudicated racketeers) website.

The expert report states : ‘There is an unanswerable moral case to protect all people from passive smoking at work. All employees have a right to work in a safe environment, and all employers have a duty to ensure that they do. ‘ The same is applicable to Hong Kong.

Furthermore Hong Kong is obliged under its membership of FCTC to apply without change, the binding agreements within the treaty.

At the Second Session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO FCTC Bangkok, Thailand 30 June – 6 July 2007 was presented:

“JOINT BRIEFING PAPER: PROPOSED GUIDELINES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 8 OF THE WHO FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON TOBACCO CONTROL ”

Contained within the paper are the following demands:

Key elements of guidelines for implementation of Article 8:

1: Acknowledge that Article 8 is grounded in fundamental human rights Guidelines should affirm that the right to effective protection from exposure to tobacco smoke is implicit in the fundamental right of all persons to life, a healthy environment and the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health.

2: Legal protection, not voluntary measures Guidelines should acknowledge that Article 8 requires affirmative legal measures, and that voluntary agreements are not acceptable alternatives.

3: Protection for all Guidelines should emphasize the duty to protect all persons, not just “special” or “vulnerable” populations.

4: Create 100% smoke-free environments Guidelines should underscore that effective protection of health requires the creation of 100% smoke-free environments, and that ventilation and designated smoking rooms are not acceptable approaches.

5: Ensure comprehensive coverage Guidelines should emphasize the need for smoke-free environments in all indoor public places, all indoor workplaces, and all public transport.

The proposed guidelines properly recognize that “[t]he duty to protect from tobacco smoke, embodied in the text of Article 8, is grounded in fundamental human rights and freedoms” (para 4). This acknowledgement is extremely important. By emphasizing this point, the guidelines not only underscore the importance of Article 8, but also clarify its legal and conceptual underpinnings. Because breathing second-hand smoke endangers life, a duty to protect against this hazard is implicit in the right to life recognized by the universal Declaration of Human Rights; in the fundamental right of all persons to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health, as recognized in the Constitution of the World Health Organization, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the convention on the Rights of the Child, and other international legal instruments and custom; and as formally recognized in the Preamble to the FCTC itself. Parties’ obligations to protect their citizens from exposure to tobacco smoke also flow from the universal right of all persons to a healthy environment, as recognized in numerous other international instruments.

2: Legal protection, not voluntary measures

The proposed guidelines emphasize that Article 8 requires affirmative legal measures, and that voluntary agreements and informal arrangements are not acceptable alternatives. Principle 3 of the proposed guidelines states that:6 Legislation is necessary to protect people from exposure to tobacco smoke. Voluntary smoke free policies have repeatedly been shown to be ineffective and do not provide adequate protection. Protection from exposure to tobacco smoke requires the full backing of the law. While voluntary action by communities and businesses may serve to build support for smokefree places, self-regulatory measures or voluntary agreements between governments and business cannot fulfill Parties’ obligations under the FCTC. The evidence shows that the objective of effective, universal protection for all requires the capacity for legal sanctions and meaningful enforcement. Where governments have substituted voluntary agreements for meaningful legal restrictions on smoking, progress has been slow. In Scotland, for example, after four years of a voluntary agreement, not
one public house was smoke-free. Just one month after new smoke-free laws were implemented, inspections found 99% compliance with the law.5

3: Protection for all

The proposed guidelines correctly emphasize that the duty to protect individuals from tobacco smoke“extends to all persons, and not merely to certain populations”(para 4). The guidelines’ key principles reiterate that “[a]ll people should be protected from exposure to tobacco smoke” (para 7).

This principle is important. Certain jurisdictions have sought to focus on “special” or “vulnerable” populations — such as women and children — or to limit smoking in only certain venues or at certain times. However, tobacco smoke poses a real and substantial threat to the health of all, and policies must extend comprehensive protection to all.

Article 8.2 must be read in the light of the FCTC’s Guiding Principles: Article 4.1 explicitly states that the FCTC is meant “to protect all persons from exposure to tobacco smoke”.

This is not to ignore the fact that some populations may be especially vulnerable to smoke exposure because they are less able to speak out or act independently, without legal norms in place. This vulnerability only reinforces the need for comprehensive and enforceable legal standards to provide protection on their behalf.

4: Create 100% smoke-free environments

Tobacco smoke has been classified by leading authorities as a human carcinogen and a cause of lung cancer in humans.6 This is not surprising, because tobacco smoke is a potent cocktail of more than 4000 chemicals, including at least 250 known toxins

We urge the Panel to pressure the administration to immediately rescind these ludicrous politically motivated smoking exemptions , to enact comprehensive anti smoking policy forthwith without any exemptions , to abide by its membership requirements of the FCTC and to double the tax on tobacco products to prevent our youth from starting smoking. To do otherwise is signing the death warrants of the staff working in the ‘Qualified Establishments’ and is encouraging our youth to smoke.

kind regards

James Middleton
Clear the Air
www.cleartheair.org.hk

Smoking in Cars Hazardous

Jan 3rd, 2008
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Smoking in cars more hazardous than previously thought

www.chinaview.cn 2008-01-04 05:56:55

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) — Smoking inside a vehicle is more dangerous to health than previously thought, health experts said on Thursday.

Smoking inside vehicles makes the air 10 times more toxic than the federal government says is hazardous for breathing, said Kimberly Belshe, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency.

She was making the remarks in downtown Los Angeles while launching a campaign to ban smoking inside cars.

The city of Los Angeles enacted a newly enacted state law unveiled on Thursday, which bans drivers from lighting up in the presence of children.

“Our efforts to address the dangers of secondhand smoke in California began over a decade ago,” said Belshe.

“Today, our state continues to be a leader by ensuring that children and youth traveling in cars are not exposed to secondhand smoke,” she said.

Under the “Smoke-free Cars with Minors” law, a violation is punishable by a 100-dollar fine.

Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke have a greater risk of asthma attacks, ear infections, bronchitis and pneumonia, according to state health officials.

Long-term exposure has been linked to heart disease and lung cancer in adults.

“Infants and children are especially susceptible to the harmful effects of secondhand smoke,” said Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health.

“Smoking in a car, or any confined space, increases the level of pollution inhaled by children and adults, thereby increasing the likelihood of suffering from the negative health effects of secondhand smoke.”

In 1994, smoking was banned in California workplaces. Four years later, smoking was banned in bars.

Editor: Yan Liang

Electronic cigarettes go up in deep smoke

Jan 3rd, 2008
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Thursday, January 3, 2008

Health Ministry suspends the sale of electronic cigarettes, which were imported into the country under the definition of pesticide. Experts dismiss claims that it is a ‘harmless’ way to quit smoking, arguing that it is just as addictive and harmful as regular cigarettes

ISTANBUL – Turkish Daily News

A sales suspension imposed on electronic cigarettes and its cartridges by the Health Ministry due to the high risk of addiction they pose and the possibility of them hampering with efforts to quit smoking has spurred huge debate.

Serious question marks are being raised about the popular anti-smoking device and why it has taken so long for the ministry to intervene.
Health Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Turan Buzgan, speaking at a press conference Tuesday, said the ministry had found that there were certain problems linked to the import of the electronic cigarettes. “They are imported as insecticide even though they need to enter the country as anti-smoking drugs, or if they are medical tools then under the supervision of the Health Ministry. There was a procedural discrepancy which we warned authorities about,” Buzgan said.

Electronic cigarettes, which first entered the Turkish market a year and a half ago, sell for between YTL 200 and 500, with replacement cartridges costing YTL 30-40.

Buzgan said the decision to suspend the sale of electronic cigarettes should not be seen as a step toward banning them, and added, “these products should abide by Health Ministry standards. They should be inspected and the necessary regulations will be passed. There is no ban on the sale or the import of these products.”

He said the nicotine content of the product had to be at an acceptable level, or else it could become an addictive substance.

Confiscation:

Industry Minister Zafer Çağlayan, in a written statement regarding the suspension, said the product was currently being inspected and if there was a procedural deficiency, the product, which is sold both in pharmacies and other shops, may be confiscated nationwide.

He said investigation on the claims of deceiving consumers through electronic cigarettes will be assessed at the Advertising Council meeting
Jan. 15.

Causes cardiac disease and high blood pressure:

Health Ministry Drugs and Pharmacy Director Mahmut Tokaç said the electronic cigarettes could cause cardiac disease and high blood pressure due to its high nicotine content, just like regular cigarettes.

Tokaç said the product didn’t have any tar so may not be cancerous, but was just as harmful as regular cigarettes when it came to other diseases, the Anatolia news agency reported.

He said the advertisement that said electronic cigarettes were harmless is false, and added, “nicotine dosages in cartridges used in the cigarettes vary, but it is impossible to accurately adjust the dosage. There is nicotine in this product and it is seriously harmful to health.”

He said one firm had applied to them to get their approval but their application was rejected prior to sending a letter to the Industry Ministry
asking for a ban on the product.

Emphasizing that nicotine is the most dangerous element among 4,800 poisonous chemicals in cigarettes, the vice president of the Foundation Combating Smoking, Kıyas Güngör, argued nothing that contains nicotine can help people quit smoking. “Quitting smoking is possible only if one can stay away from nicotine, but these electronic cigarettes increase addiction,” he said, and added that he supports the Health Ministry’s sales suspension on these cigarettes.

“Apart from the other effects, electronic cigarettes that are used unconsciously is harmful for both the smoker and the people around,” said
Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty, Pulmonary Diseases professor Ahmet Rasim Küçükusta.

He said the cigarettes contain nicotine, which is indeed a chemical used as an insecticide.

People who are impressed with electronic cigarette advertisements that introduce these cigarettes as “harmless” and smoke it are deceived; moreover they might suffer seriously, according to Küçükusta.

The professor said those who had quit smoking in the past could also be deceived into smoking once again by using electronic cigarettes.

Ankara University Public Health Department Professor, Recep Akdur, said the electronic cigarettes are being presented as a tool for giving up smoking but this claim has not been proved yet. “Presenting the e-cigarettes as a tool of quitting smoking is misleading and unethical,” he said.

Suspension welcomed:

National Tobacco Control Program Coordinator Professor Nazmi Bilir from Hacettepe University welcomed the suspension, noting that addiction to tobacco had two aspects. The addiction to nicotine and the behavioral addiction. “Use of electronic cigarettes entails both these addictions. The smoker both gets the nicotine and also lights and smokes a cigarette.”

He said electronic cigarettes were not an advancement in combating smoking but just the opposite.

Ruyan: There must be imitations:

One producer, Hong-Kong based Ruyan’s Turkey representative, Selahattin Aygüler, released a statement soon after the suspension saying his firm was the creator and sole licensed seller of electronic cigarettes, arguing that their success rate in getting customers to quit stood at 77 percent.

He said that the new suspension must have been aimed at stopping the sale of imitation products, which the firm itself had lodged complaints about.

“No such decision has been communicated to us. Electronic cigarettes are based on World Health Organization (WHO) approved nicotine treatment methods,” he said.

Aygüler said their electronic cigarettes locked themselves once the user puffed on it 16 times in a row. “Ruyan cartridges were tested and approved by Eskişehir Anatolia University. We are establishing an electronic cigarette cartridge factory in Turkey. This will earn Turkey $100 million.

Countries like Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, which have stringent controls, have told us they would like to purchase these products from us.”

Not so successful:

Writer Hayri Cem is one of those who tried to quit smoking using electronic cigarettes, but he was better at quitting electronic cigarettes than he was with regular cigarettes.

“I smoked electronic cigarettes for a week. It doesn’t make you feel like you are smoking, neither does it stop you from getting the urge to smoke,” Cem said.

He also noted that advertisements promoting the harmlessness of electronic cigarettes made him smoke even more of them. “There is no way that it can help quit smoking. You don’t get the sense of joy you get from smoking normal cigarettes either,” he added.

Electronic cigarette:

It is rod slightly longer than an ordinary cigarette, with a mouthpiece that contains a replaceable cartridge filled with liquid.

The liquid contains nicotine and propylene glycol. When air flows through the device, a microprocessor activates an atomizer, which injects tiny droplets of the liquid into the flowing air. This produces a vapor mist that is inhaled by the user. The addition of propylene glycol to the liquid makes the mist better resemble regular cigarette smoke. It not only simulates cigarette smoke but also the temperature of common cigarette’s smoke (50-60 degrees Celsius).

The units use a rechargeable battery as a power source. Energy produced by the battery is enough to heat the nicotine inside and produce smoke like regular cigarettes do.

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