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February, 2013:
Buying ‘Double Happiness’ Reveals China’s Tobacco Battle
http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/422802?type=bloomberg
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-02-05/buying-double-happiness-reveals-china-s-tobacco-battle
As Gao Jie browses a Beijing tobacco store for Lunar New Year gifts, she sees little to deter her except possibly the price.
The 23-year-old office worker pays 240 yuan ($39) — more than a day’s average wage in the Chinese capital — for a carton of locally made Shuangxi (or “Double Happiness”) cigarettes. The package is wrapped in shiny red paper with gold writing and bears no graphic reminders that tobacco use is the biggest killer in China. Only a note in plain type at the bottom of the pack warns that “smoking causes harm to health.”
“My father feels very proud when he can say ‘my daughter bought these for me in Beijing’ when passing out cigarettes to his friends,” Gao said, clutching the purchase she plans to take on the 11-hour train ride to her family in Dalian.
In the war against tobacco in China, the world’s largest cigarette market, the toughest battle happens at Lunar New Year. As countries from Canada to Australia intensify warnings, raise taxes and remove logos from packs, China has balked at tarnishing the image of cigarettes, the most commonly exchanged gift during the week-long holiday, which begins Saturday. That’s helped preserve tobacco’s prestige and served to promote the addictive habit, blamed for 1 million deaths in the country each year.
Tobacco presents a dilemma in China, also the world’s biggest producer of the aromatic leaves. The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, the industry regulator, runs the world’s biggest cigarette maker, China National Tobacco Corp. Even male doctors, 60 percent of whom smoked in 1996, find exchanging cigarettes to be a sign of professional and personal success, a 2011 study in the Journal Tobacco Control found.
Hard to Refuse
Smokers find it hard to quit because it’s difficult to refuse offers of cigarettes from others, and taking offers of cigarettes is one of the most frequently cited reasons for initiating smoking, according to the research, which was supported by the National Cancer Institute.
Cigarettes are given as gifts in many societies and were frequently exchanged in the U.S. from at least the 1930s before falling out of favor in the 60s. British American Tobacco Plc and Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) studied the culture of gifting and offering cigarettes among Chinese and used the information to establish a premium image for their brands, Alexandria Chu and colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco, wrote in the study.
‘Social Currency’
“What is unique to China, however, is the existence of certain domestic, luxury-branded cigarettes, which may cost more than a month’s salary,” said Yvette Chang, associate director at the World Lung Foundation in New York. “It is this perception of high value, and the aspiration to that value, that makes cigarettes such a pervasive social currency.”
The World Lung Foundation, the World Health Organization and Chinese health authorities implemented mass media campaigns in 2009 and 2010 portraying cigarette gifts as offensive and ominous of illness and death rather than being respectful gestures. The foundation is a beneficiary of Bloomberg Philanthropies, set up by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.
Premium cigarettes, which are typically bought as gifts costing more than 15 yuan ($2.40) a pack, contribute 60 percent of the profit at China National Tobacco, said Cui Xiaobo, a health researcher at the Capital Medical University in Beijing. One in six people in Beijing have received cigarettes as a gift, according to a 2011 survey Cui conducted of 1,343 smokers in Beijing.
China National Tobacco has a 40.6 percent hold on global cigarette sales, ahead of Philip Morris International with 14.9 percent, British American Tobacco with 12.2 percent, and Japan Tobacco Inc. with 8.3 percent, according to Euromonitor International.
$19 Billion Profit
China’s cigarette monopoly had net income of 117.7 billion yuan ($19 billion) in 2010 on sales of 770.4 billion yuan, according to a rare release of the company’s financial data last year. The company “will never allow” policies designed to reduce their attraction, Cui said in an interview.
“It’s impossible for people in China to send gifts printed with pictures of rotting teeth and cancerous lungs — that would be too disgusting,” he said.
Graphic Opposition
Cigarette companies are especially incensed about graphic warnings because they hurt consumption, said Judith Mackay, a Hong Kong-based doctor who advises groups such as the World Lung Foundation on tobacco control.
“They scream if they think anything is effective,” said Mackay, who was named one of the most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2007 in recognition of her work campaigning for stricter tobacco controls.
Cigarette sales in China will expand an average of 13.5 percent a year to reach 2 trillion yuan ($321 billion) by 2016, according to London-based Euromonitor. Rules banning smoking in public places from May 2011 have been criticized for being ineffective because of poor enforcement and smoking cessation aids, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Nicorette gum, have struggled to attract customers.
The measures the government has taken “are not forecast to have much impact on the volume consumption of tobacco,”Euromonitor said in a November report, adding that the market for smoking cessation aids remains “negligible.”
320 Million Smokers
The country has about 320 million smokers. The government pledged in December to try to reduce smoking prevalence to a quarter of the adult population by 2015 from 28 percent in 2010. Still, it avoided adopting a WHO recommendation that packs carry graphic deterrents.
In the U.S., 19 percent of adults smoke cigarettes, the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates.
Over the next two years, the WHO will work with China’s Ministry of Health to introduce a national smoke-free law.
“This needs to be an important health and economic development priority for China, and having a national law with teeth and with an enforcement mechanism is really badly needed,” said Douglas Bettcher, Geneva-based director of the organization’s Tobacco Free Initiative, in a telephone interview.
Reducing deaths in China from heart disease and stroke, for which smoking is a main contributor, by 1 percent a year through 2040 could generate economic value equal to 68 percent of China’s 2010 real gross domestic product, or $10.7 trillion, the World Bank said in a report published in 2011.
Even still, the consequences of smoking aren’t enough to dissuade Gao, the Beijing office worker, from buying cigarettes for relatives and bosses.
“I know it’s unhealthy, but they will still smoke even if I don’t buy,” she said.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Daryl Loo in Beijing at dloo7@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jason Gale at j.gale@bloomberg.net
Bulgarian tobacco harvest relies on help from children
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/05/bulgaria-children-tobacco-industry
Children must quit the classroom in some villages on the border with Greece to tend crops
- Cécile Allegra
- Guardian Weekly, Tuesday 5 February 2013 14.00 GMT
- Jump to comments (0)
Smoked out … the financial crisis has forced many Bulgarian children out of education in order to help their parents with the tobacco crop. Photograph: Petar Petrov/AP
For the children of Ribnovo, the winter marks a brief respite, when the tobacco crop in this Bulgarian village on the border with Greece needs no tending. In spring schoolchildren aged from seven to 17 work up to nine hours a day planting. In summer they weed, then harvest, bent double under the burning sun. Come autumn they iron leaves, stifled by clouds of dust. Now at last they may sell their meagre tobacco harvest.
Giultena Gusderov, 13, is stacking leaves. “It’s a relief,” when the season is over, she says, straightening up. “The planting part is back-breaking and when you’re ironing, you cough all the time,” she adds, wiping her brow. Even in the fields she dresses smartly, although she doesn’t get paid for her work. She knows all about the latest mobile phones, has a Facebook account and would love to see the film Twilight. Her teachers hope she will continue her studies, but Giultena knows otherwise. “In the country dreams don’t often come true,” she says.
“None of the families can do without their children,” says Feim Talamanov, Giultena’s chemistry teacher. “They’re hard-working kids but they have no time to study.”
Kadri Gusderov, 45, Giultena’s father, picks her up every day from school and takes her to the fields. Until recently he worked as a farm labourer abroad for six to eight months a year. “I’ve never been afraid of hard work,” he says. He used to bring home €2,000 to €3,000 ($2,500 to $3,750) a month. The tobacco was just a sideline, looked after by his wife. “My father was able to set aside money for my studies,” Giultena explains. But since the start of the financial crisis, work has dried up across Europe.
In the early 2000s the outlook for the Rhodope mountains in southern Bulgaria was rosy. Bulgaria was poised to join the European Union, growth was touching 6%, and everyone thought the area would become a tourist destination. Three huge ski resorts were built on the edge of the national park.
In the five years from 2004, dozens of NGOs toured the country, packing farmers’ children off to school as part of a programme to eradicate child labour led by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). In 2007 Bulgaria joined the EU, but a year later the economic crash halted hopes of development and the children returned to the fields.
The walls in Dragisa Pejovic’s office are bare, but for the tobacco-related calendar. The leader of Ribnovo town council is also a tobacco farmer and he is fed up. “It’s high time Europe opened its eyes. International buyers are trampling tobacco farmers underfoot … Just look at my contract,” he says, brandishing a form. “The buyers turn up at the start of the season, dish out seeds and get us to sign agreements which don’t mention the price.” He points out the parts left blank. “When it is time to sell, either you accept their price or you have to refund the seeds.”
In 2009 the EU ended subsidies for Bulgaria’s tobacco farmers. At the same time Sofia opened the market to competition. The multinationals could then negotiate better terms for the tobacco preferred in the developed world. The price paid to farmers plummeted. “At best we only earn €300 a month,” Pejovic protests.
But price is not the only issue. In 2001 Dr Sdravka Tonova, of the Academy of Science in Sofia, produced a report for the ILO on child labour in Bulgaria. “We highlighted the many diseases affecting children who work on tobacco farms,” she says. “Because they bend over to work, their lungs cannot develop properly. During the harvest they inhale tobacco dust containing carcinogenic substances. As adults they suffer from chronic bronchitis, TB, sometimes even cancer.”
Four men have arrived at Debren, south of Ribnovo. They work for one of the largest tobacco merchants. They settle themselves in village’s concrete market hall and wait for sellers. The harvest was good and farmers hope their crop will fetch €2.80 a kilo, but most get little more than €1.50. Bulgarian tobacco is the cheapest in the EU.
• This article appeared in the Guardian Weekly, which incorporates material from Le Monde
China Cigarette Gifts Spur Smoking That Kills 1 Million: Health
2013-02-05 20:06:38.342 GMT
By Bloomberg News
Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) — As Gao Jie browses a Beijing tobacco store for Lunar New Year gifts, she sees little to deter her except possibly the price.
The 23-year-old office worker pays 240 yuan ($39) — more than a day’s average wage in the Chinese capital — for a carton of locally made Shuangxi (or “Double Happiness”) cigarettes.
The package is wrapped in shiny red paper with gold writing and bears no graphic reminders that tobacco use is the biggest killer in China. Only a note in plain type at the bottom of the pack warns that “smoking causes harm to health.”
“My father feels very proud when he can say ‘my daughter bought these for me in Beijing’ when passing out cigarettes to his friends,” Gao said, clutching the purchase she plans to take on the 11-hour train ride to her family in Dalian.
In the war against tobacco in China, the world’s largest cigarette market, the toughest battle happens at Lunar New Year.
As countries from Canada to Australia intensify warnings, raise taxes and remove logos from packs, China has balked at tarnishing the image of cigarettes, the most commonly exchanged gift during the week-long holiday, which begins Saturday. That’s helped preserve tobacco’s prestige and served to promote the addictive habit, blamed for 1 million deaths annually.
Tobacco presents a dilemma in China, also the world’s biggest producer of the aromatic leaves. The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, the industry regulator, runs the world’s biggest cigarette maker, China National Tobacco Corp.
Even male doctors, 60 percent of whom smoked in 1996, find exchanging cigarettes to be a sign of professional and personal success, a 2011 study in the Journal Tobacco Control found.
Hard to Refuse
Smokers find it hard to quit because it’s difficult to refuse offers of cigarettes from others, and taking offers of cigarettes is one of the most frequently cited reasons for initiating smoking, according to the research, which was supported by the National Cancer Institute.
Cigarettes are given as gifts in many societies and were frequently exchanged in the U.S. from at least the 1930s before falling out of favor in the 60s. British American Tobacco Plc and Philip Morris International Inc. studied the culture of gifting and offering cigarettes among Chinese and used the information to establish a premium image for their brands, Alexandria Chu and colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco, wrote in the study.
‘Social Currency’
“What is unique to China, however, is the existence of certain domestic, luxury-branded cigarettes, which may cost more than a month’s salary,” said Yvette Chang, associate director at the World Lung Foundation in New York. “It is this perception of high value, and the aspiration to that value, that makes cigarettes such a pervasive social currency.”
The World Lung Foundation, the World Health Organization and Chinese health authorities implemented mass media campaigns in 2009 and 2010 portraying cigarette gifts as offensive and ominous of illness and death rather than being respectful gestures. The foundation is a beneficiary of Bloomberg Philanthropies, set up by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.
Premium cigarettes, which are typically bought as gifts costing more than 15 yuan ($2.40) a pack, contribute 60 percent of the profit at China National Tobacco, said Cui Xiaobo, a health researcher at the Capital Medical University in Beijing.
One in six people in Beijing have received cigarettes as a gift, according to a 2011 survey Cui conducted of 1,343 smokers in Beijing.
China National Tobacco has a 40.6 percent hold on global cigarette sales, ahead of Philip Morris International with 14.9 percent, British American Tobacco with 12.2 percent, and Japan Tobacco Inc. with 8.3 percent, according to Euromonitor International.
$19 Billion Profit
China’s cigarette monopoly had net income of 117.7 billion yuan ($19 billion) in 2010 on sales of 770.4 billion yuan, according to a rare release of the company’s financial data last year. The company “will never allow” policies designed to reduce their attraction, Cui said in an interview.
“It’s impossible for people in China to send gifts printed with pictures of rotting teeth and cancerous lungs — that would be too disgusting,” he said.
Cigarette sales in China will expand an average of 13.5 percent a year to reach 2 trillion yuan ($321 billion) by 2016, according to London-based Euromonitor. Rules banning smoking in public places from May 2011 have been criticized for being ineffective because of poor enforcement and smoking cessation aids, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Nicorette gum, have struggled to attract customers.
The measures the government has taken “are not forecast to have much impact on the volume consumption of tobacco,”
Euromonitor said in a November report, adding that the market for smoking cessation aids remains “negligible.”
320 Million Smokers
The country has about 320 million smokers. The government pledged in December to try to reduce smoking prevalence to a quarter of the adult population by 2015 from 28.1 percent in 2010. Still, it avoided adopting a WHO recommendation that packs carry graphic deterrents.
Over the next two years, the United Nations health agency will work with China’s Ministry of Health to introduce a national smoke-free law.
“This needs to be an important health and economic development priority for China, and having a national law with teeth and with an enforcement mechanism is really badly needed,” said Douglas Bettcher, Geneva-based director of the organization’s Tobacco Free Initiative, in a telephone interview.
Reducing deaths in China from heart disease and stroke, for which smoking is a main contributor, by 1 percent a year through
2040 could generate economic value equal to 68 percent of China’s 2010 real gross domestic product, or $10.7 trillion, the World Bank said in a report published in 2011.
Even still, the consequences of smoking aren’t enough to dissuade Gao, the Beijing office worker, from buying cigarettes for relatives and bosses.
“I know it’s unhealthy, but they will still smoke even if I don’t buy,” she said.
For Related News and Information:
Top stories: TOP<GO>
China health-care stories: TNI CHINA HEALTH <GO> China economic snapshot: ESNP CH <GO> Most-read stories about China: MNI CHINA <GO>
–Daryl Loo, with assistance from Natasha Khan in Hong Kong.
Editor: Robert Fenner, Jason Gale
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story:
Daryl Loo in Beijing at +86-10-6649-7540 or dloo7@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Jason Gale at +61-3-9228-8733 or
Tobacco display ban in Scotland to come into effect on 29 April
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-21370801?print=true
The cigarette display ban will come into force on 29 April
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
The Scottish government has announced that a ban on the display of cigarettes in Scotland’s large shops will come into effect on 29 April this year.
Self-service tobacco vending machines will also be banned on the same day.
Smaller retailers will be given until 6 April, 2015, to fully comply with the new legislation.
At the end of last year Imperial Tobacco lost its legal challenge against the ban after bringing the issue before Supreme Court judges.
The company had claimed the act was outside the competence of Holyrood as sales supply and product safety were matters reserved to Westminster.
A panel of five judges unanimously ruled against the company, saying its challenges were not well-founded.
Continue reading the main story
Display ban dates
- Large retailers – 29 April, 2013
- Vending machines – 29 April, 2013
- Small retailers – 6 April, 2015
The Scottish government believes the steps will remove the temptation for young people to take up smoking.
Public Health Michael Matheson said: “We know that reducing the number of people that smoke will have wide benefits for Scotland’s health and evidence shows that these bans will help prevent young people from taking up smoking.
“That is why we believe this is the right approach for Scotland and I am delighted that we are now in a position to implement these bans, which is a key step in maintaining Scotland’s position as a world leader on tobacco control.
“We have worked closely with retailers to set this date. We appreciate that smaller retailers need extra time to make the necessary changes and so we have decided that April 2015 represents a fair timescale for implementing the display ban for them
World’s biggest cigarette warning labels
http://www.tobaccojournal.com/World’s_biggest_cigarette_warning_labels.51593.0.html
| THAILAND |
| World’s biggest cigarette warning labels
04 Feb 2013. Public Health Minister Pradit Sinthawanarong plans to introduce graphic warnings that will cover 85 per cent of a cigarette pack, making them the world’s largest, The Nation reported. |
The new warnings will become mandatory 180 days after publication in the Royal Gazette, The Nation said on its website. Ten graphic pictures have been selected to accompany the warnings. Warnings currently cover 55 per cent of a pack, The Nation said. (pi)
Cigarette Package Health Warnings: International Status Report now available in seven languages
The Canadian Cancer Society released “Cigarette Package Health Warnings: International Status Report” in Seoul, South Korea during the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) fifth Conference of the Parties in November 2012. The report is a third edition, and it is now available in seven languages. Previous editions were published in 2008 and 2010.
The report ranks 198 countries/jurisdictions based on the size of their health warnings on cigarette packages, and lists countries that have finalized requirements for picture warnings. The report finds that considerable progress in this policy area is being made internationally.
Key Findings:
- 63 countries or jurisdictions have finalized picture warnings, an increase of 29 from the 34 that had implemented by 2010.
- More than 40% of the world’s population is covered by the 63 countries or jurisdictions that have finalized picture warning requirements.
- 47 countries or jurisdictions have warnings covering at least 50% of the package front and back, up from 32 in 2010 and 24 in 2008.
- Australia now has the largest warnings in the world at 82.5% of the package front and back. Australia also implemented plain packaging to prohibit tobacco company colors, logos, and design elements on the brand part of the package.
Thank you to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids for their assistance with the translations.
English and French versions of the report can be found on the FCA website, which is accompanied by an FCA news item:
The report can also be found on the CTFK website:
Arabic:
http://global.tobaccofreekids.org/files/pdfs/ar/WL_status_report_ar.pdf
Chinese:
http://global.tobaccofreekids.org/files/pdfs/zh/WL_status_report_zh.pdf
English:
http://global.tobaccofreekids.org/files/pdfs/en/WL_status_report_en.pdf
French
http://global.tobaccofreekids.org/files/pdfs/fr/WL_status_report_fr.pdf
Portuguese:
http://global.tobaccofreekids.org/files/pdfs/pt/WL_status_report_pt.pdf
Russian:
http://global.tobaccofreekids.org/files/pdfs/ru/WL_status_report_ru.pdf
Spanish:
http://global.tobaccofreekids.org/files/pdfs/es/WL_status_report_es.pdf
Queensland LNP Government threatens to sue tobacco companies for the cost to health sector
Download PDF : queensland-lnp-govern
News
| CONTENTS |
|
| EVENTS |
|
| Tobacco News |
Scotland tobacco display ban to come into force in April for larger stores |
| New guidance from the Scottish government has confirmed that larger stores selling cigarettes and other products will have to comply with the tobacco display ban by 29th April 2013. |
| Source: Talking Retail – 28 January 2013 Link: http://bit.ly/VtkX7a |
Wales: No need to lift smoking ban for actors say campaigners |
| Anti-smoking campaigners have argued that there is no need to lift a ban for TV actors on set after the BBC apologised for misleading evidence to an Assembly inquiry.
Elen de Lacy, chief executive of ASH Wales said: “The BBC’s admission that it was able to film smoking scenes for Casualty, despite the smoking ban, underlines our case that there is no need to change the law in Wales. “The smoking ban protects public health in Wales and we must hold firm against any attempts to dilute it.” |
| Source: Daily Post – 25 January 2013 Link: http://bit.ly/WwzMAS |
How cigarette smuggling fuels Africa’s Islamist violence |
| Contrabrand tobacco is a $1bn trade in north Africa, run by extremists including Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who masterminded the attack on the Algerian gas plant. The trade is highly profitable – and very low risk.
“Tobacco smuggling is lucrative and widespread,” said Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH. “It helps to fund global terrorism and conflict, encourages corruption and remains a source of funds for some of the most repressive regimes in the world.” |
| Source: The Observer – 27 January 2013 Link: http://bit.ly/WwzPN9 |
Prison tobacco ban dropped for fear of causing a riot |
| A trial project to ban smoking in a number of jails has been postponed amid fears that it would provoke disturbances.
Plans to introduce a smoking ban in all prisons have been postponed due to a review of prisoners privileges which could see the removal of TV sets in cells. According to the Times, officials think that the addition of a smoking ban to this may compound resentment and lead to unrest. [Subscription required] |
| Source: The Times – 19 January 2013 Link: http://thetim.es/WfgYsO |
Opinion: Tobacco companies spend billions on packaging for a reason |
| Dr Ross Morgan, a Consultant Respiratory Physician and Chairman of ASH Ireland, writes in response to a column published in TheJournal.ie, in which the author dismissed the assertion that female smokers buy tobacco products based on attractive packaging. Smokers may be addicted, Dr Morgan writes, but an industry that spends billions on design and packaging does so for one reason alone: because it works. |
| Source: The Journal – 28 January 2013 Link: http://bit.ly/WDncjh |
Video: Councils invest in tobacco while helping smokers quit |
| The BBC takes the example of the West Midlands region to investigate how councils invest in cigarette firms.
The report includes interviews with Prof Rod Griffiths, a former West Midlands director of public health, and Cllr Adrian Hardman who leads Worcestershire County Council. |
| Source: BBC News – 18 January 2013 Link: http://bbc.in/WDnrLf |
Do penalties for smokers and the obese make sense? |
| Faced with the high cost of caring for smokers and overeaters, experts say US society must grapple with a blunt question: Instead of trying to penalize them and change their ways, why not just let these health sinners die prematurely from their unhealthy habits? |
| Source: The Observer – 27 January 2013 Link: http://bit.ly/WDnMO0 |
Nicotine replacement therapy’s positive impact on smokers is more than puff |
| Jenny Bryan explains why, although nicotine replacement therapy is commonly prescribed and used nowadays, its journey to this point was anything but smooth. |
| Source: PJ Online – 22 January 2013 Link: http://bit.ly/WDnRkQ |
USA: Rep. Dick Armey’s Tobacco Ties |
| A three-part blog by Anne Landman on former US House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R) and his relationship with Big Tobacco throughout his career. Part 1 (link below) focuses on the early years of his career.
Part 2: Dick Armey’s Long History of Working With Industry-Backed Groups Part 3: FreedomWorks Continues Dick Armey’s Defense of Big Tobacco |
| Source: Desmogblog – 23 January 2013 Link: http://bit.ly/WDpTS4 |
| Parliamentary News |
Parliamentary question: ASH funding |
| Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health,
(1) what funding his Department has allocated to the charity, Action on Smoking and Health in each of the last three years; (2) whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of its funding provided to the charity, Action on Smoking and Health and of the way in which that funding has been used; (3) on how many occasions ministers and officials in his Department have met the charity, Action on Smoking and Health in the last 12 months. Anna Soubry: Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) received funding of £220,000 in 2010-11 through the Department’s “Section 64 General Scheme of Grants to Voluntary and Community Organisations” (the Section 64 Scheme). ASH received this grant specifically to carry out a defined project titled “Capitalising on Smokefree: the way forward”. ASH has subsequently received funding of £150,000 in 2011-12 and £150,000 in 2012-13, also through the Department’s Section 64 Scheme. The grants were awarded for work to support delivery of Healthy lives, healthy people: a tobacco control plan for England. All third sector organisations in receipt of a grant from the Department are expected to provide quarterly and end-of-project reports, a summary of total spending on the project, and yearly accounts. Senior officials have met ASH 12 times in the last year to ensure good governance of the Section 64 grant and effective delivery of their work on implementation of the Tobacco Control Plan for England. The Department is satisfied that the grants to ASH have been used appropriately and that ASH has delivered the Department’s objectives for the funding. Details of ministerial meetings with external stakeholders are published quarterly in arrears on the Department’s website here. The Department does not keep a central diary of the engagements that every departmental official has had with ASH representatives. In discharging their official duties, Ministers, special advisors and departmental officials meet with representatives from such organisations in a wide range of fora, including speaking engagements, conferences and seminars. |
| Source: Hansard – 29 January 2013 Link: http://bit.ly/YIv6Op |
| Industry Watch |
Imperial Tobacco blames profit slow down on black market |
| Imperial Tobacco said it will see slower profit growth in the first half of its financial year as key European and Russian markets continue to struggle against black market competition.
Sales performance in Europe was hit by a broader market decline that Imperial said was linked to the rise in illicit tobacco trade and a tough economic environment. Net tobacco revenue rose 2 percent over the three months ending in December. The manufacturer also announced that its long-standing Finance Director Bob Dyrbus is to retire from the board. He has been working for the company for 25 years as a senior executive and has held his position as the head of finance since 1996. |
| Source: International Business Times – 30 January 2013 Link: http://bit.ly/11demLi |
Ex-White House physician joins BAT board |
| British American Tobacco has appointed one of the longest serving White House physicians (14 years), Brigadier General (retired) Dr Richard Tubb, as a non-executive director.
BAT Chairman Richard Burrows said: “I am delighted to be welcoming such a prominent and well respected expert in the field of tobacco harm reduction to our board. This appointment further demonstrates our commitment to putting science at the heart of our business.” |
| Source: This is Money – 29 January 2013 Link: http://bit.ly/11dgnXU |
Imperial Tobacco faces investor revolt over bonus revamp |
| Imperial Tobacco is facing a shareholder revolt over proposed resolutions that would cede increased power to the board and mean that they would not have to consult investors on some of the decisions.
Three shareholder groups have expressed their “extreme disappointment” in the company’s inability to adequately consult on the policies. The new developments come less than a year after the “Shareholder Spring” which saw investors vote down several new proposals and claimed some top jobs at the company. |
| Source: The Wall Street Journal – 20 January 2013 Link: http://on.wsj.com/WanUHR |
USA: Sales of e-cigarettes continue to soar |
| Electronic cigarette makers have become increasingly aggressive in their advertising in the US, with one company even proclaiming that “Big Tobacco” has met its match. But the burgeoning industry is worried that an onslaught of taxes and regulations could snuff out its recent success.
The new assertiveness comes as tobacco analysts have started to acknowledge that growing demand for “e-cigs” in the US is slowly taking customers from tobacco giants such as Altria, Lorillard and RJ Reynolds. |
| Source: Financial Times – 21 January 2013 Link: http://on.ft.com/WDoomL |
Europe caves in to Big Tobacco |
| Journalist David Cronin examines ther relationship between the European Commission and the tobacco industry and argues that it has capitulated to cigarette firms.
See also: |
| Source: New Europe – 13 January 2013 Link: http://bit.ly/WDpfnw |
ITC Q3 profit up 21 percent as cigarette volumes improve |
| India’s biggest cigarette maker, ITC Ltd, beat estimates with a 21 percent rise in quarterly profit as cigarette volumes increased after four quarters of stagnant growth, aided by the launch of low-cost products during the quarter. |
| Source: Reuters – 18 January 2013 Link: http://reut.rs/WDpsXT |
| Recent Research |
Childhood asthma ‘admissions down’ after smoking ban, prompts call for standardised packaging |
| New research by Imperial College has revealed that there was a 12% drop in the number of children admitted to hospital with severe asthma in the first year after the smoking ban in England.
Prior to the ban the number of admissions had been rising by more than 2% a year. The fall was seen among boys and girls of all ages and across all demographic groups in both cities and rural areas. At the time of the introduction of the ban many critics said smokers would respond by lighting up more at home – harming the health of their families. But the authors of this study say there is growing evidence that more people are insisting on smoke-free homes. Asthma UK said the findings are “encouraging” and renewed its call for the introduction of plain standardised packaging for tobacco products. |
| Source: BBC News – 21 January 2013 Link: http://bbc.in/WakUv9 |
USA: Two major new studies on smoking and mortality |
| Two new US studies examining smoking and mortality have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The findings from one of the studies indicated that the relative risk from dying of a smoking related death has grown substantially for women and is now at a level almost identical to that of men. For men, their risk of dying has plateaued and is sustained at the high levels previously witnessed in the 1980’s. The second study, utilising data from the US National Interview Survey between 1997 and 2004, revealed that people who smoke take at least a decade off their overall life expectancy. However, the research also found that stopping before the age of 40 eliminated 90% of the overall risk of a smoking associated death. The conclusions from these American studies are almost identical to that of similar research conducted last year by researchers from Oxford. Commenting on the finding in women to the BBC, lead researcher of the Oxford Study, Prof Sir Richard Peto, said: “If women smoke like men, they die like men.” |
| Source: USA Today – 23 January 2013 Link: http://usat.ly/V91a7D |
‘Less harmful, low-tar’ cigarettes in China |
| Abstract While the ‘low-tar’ scheme has been widely recognised as a misleading tactic used by the tobacco industry to deceive the public about the true risks of cigarette smoking, a similar campaign using the slogan of ‘less harmful, low tar’ was launched by the Chinese tobacco industry, that is, State Tobacco Monopoly Administration/China National Tobacco Corporation and began to gain traction during the last decade. Despite the fact that no sufficient research evidence supports the claims made by the industry that these cigarettes are safer, the Chinese tobacco industry has continued to promote them using various health claims. As a result, the production and sales of ‘less harmful, low-tar’ cigarettes have increased dramatically since 2000. Recently, a tobacco industry senior researcher, whose main research area is ‘less harmful, low-tar’ cigarettes, was elected as an Academician to the prestigious Chinese Academy of Engineering for his contribution to developing ‘less harmful, low-tar’ cigarettes. The tobacco researcher’s election caused an outcry from the tobacco control community and the general public in China. This paper discusses the Chinese tobacco industry’s ‘less harmful, low-tar’ initiatives and calls for the Chinese government to stop the execution of this deceptive strategy for tobacco marketing. Yang, G., Marketing ‘less harmful, low-tar’ cigarettes is a key strategy of the industry to counter tobacco control in China, Tob Control doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2012-050691 |
| Source: BMJ – 24 January 2013 Link: http://bit.ly/WDqzH3 |
Cyprus smoking ban and hospitality venues |
| Abstract Background Several countries, including Cyprus, have passed smoke-free legislation in recent years. The goal of this study was to assess the indoor levels of particulate matter in hospitality venues in Cyprus before and after the implementation of the law on 1/1/2010, evaluate the role of enforcement, and examine the legislation’s effect on revenue and employment. Methods Several hospitality venues (n = 35) were sampled between April 2007 and January 2008, and 21 of those were re-sampled after the introduction of the smoking ban, between March and May 2010. Data on enforcement was provided by the Cyprus Police whereas data on revenue and employment within the hospitality industry of Cyprus were obtained from the Cyprus Statistical Service; comparisons were made between the corresponding figures before and after the implementation of the law. Results The median level of PM2.5 associated with secondhand smoking was 161 mug/m3 pre-ban and dropped to 3 mug/m3 post-ban (98% decrease, p < 0.0001). Furthermore, in the year following the ban, the hotel turnover rate increased by 4.1% and the restaurant revenue by 6.4%; employment increased that same year by 7.2% and 1.0%, respectively. Conclusion Smoke free laws, when enforced, are highly effective in improving the air quality and reducing the levels of indoor PM2.5. Strict enforcement plays a key role in the successful implementation of smoking bans. Even in nations with high smoking prevalence comprehensive smoking laws can be effectively implemented and have no negative effect on accommodation, food, and beverage services. Christophi, C., et al., The impact of the Cyprus comprehensive smoking ban on air quality and economic business of hospitality venues, BMC Public Health 2013, 13:76 |
| Source: BMC – 27 January 2013 Link: http://bit.ly/WDqXVZ |
Japan: Smoking and skin colour in women |
| Abstract Objectives Having a lighter skin tone is highly valued among many Asian women. If skin colour is affected by smoking, women may be motivated to avoid tobacco or quit smoking. The present study examined the association of tobacco smoking with skin colour in Japanese women. Method Information on smoking habits was obtained through a self-administered questionnaire completed by 939 Japanese women aged 20–74 in Gifu, Japan, during 2003–2006. Skin colour was examined on the inner side of the upper and lower arm and on the forehead using a Mexameter device (a narrow-band reflective spectrophotometer), which expressed results as a melanin index and erythema index. Results Current smokers had higher melanin indices than never-smokers and former smokers for all measured sites. The number of cigarettes smoked per day, the years of smoking and pack-years were significantly positively associated with melanin indices for all measured sites after adjustments for age, body mass index, lifetime sun exposure, and room temperature and humidity. Smoking was also significantly associated with erythema indices on the inner upper and lower arms. Conclusions These data suggest that smoking is associated with a darker skin colour. If our findings are confirmed by further studies, they could be used in antismoking campaigns or by smoking cessation services. Tamai, Y., et al., Association of cigarette smoking with skin colour in Japanese women, Tob Control doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2012-050524 |
| Source: BMJ – 26 January 2013 Link: http://bit.ly/WDr5ot |
Smoking and HIV |
| Abstract Cigarette smoking is one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in the general population, and is a well-recognized risk factor for a variety of serious clinical conditions, including cardiovascular diseases, pulmonary diseases and cancers. Smoking-related morbidity and mortality are of particular concern in patients with HIV infection, as the prevalence of current cigarette smoking is higher among HIV-positive patients than among the general population. In a study by De et al., it has been evidenced that smoking is a risk factor for bacterial pneumonia in HIV-positive patients and smoking cessation reduces this risk. HIV-positive patients who smoke have significantly increased mortality compared to those who have never smoked, indicating that smoking confers different mortality risk in HIV-positive as compared to HIV-negative patients, and lifestyle-related factors may pose a greater hazard to long-term survival of HIV-positive patients than those related to the HIV infection per se. The high prevalence of smoking among HIV populations, the many health risks that can result from this behavior, and the proven efficacy of cessation interventions in HIV-positive patients should encourage HIV care providers to make smoking cessation a high priority. Petrosillo and Cicalini, Smoking and HIV: time for a change?, BMC Medicine 2013, 11:16 See also: |
| Source: BMC – 22 January 2013 Link: http://bit.ly/WDrvev |
| EVENTS |
11 February 2013 – Advancing the Global Non-Communicable Disease Movement |
| The aim of this two-day conference is to increase support for the commitments from the UN High Level Meeting on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by providing the evidence to help countries meet their commitments.
Day one: Launch of the new Lancet series on NCDs and development |
| Venue: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine |
| Contact: http://globalncd2013.eventbrite.com/ |
19 February 2013 – The Battle against Big Tobacco, The adoption of the Tobacco Products Directive without Delay |
| In order to keep the momentum and address the challenges associated with the recent release of the Tobacco Products Directive, the MEPs Against Cancer, the Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL), the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) and the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) are organising this double event on the 19th of February:
* A high-profile seminar aiming at presenting and discussing the Commission’s plans for health for the coming two years, Speakers from the European Commission, MEPs and representatives from the Irish presidency of the Council of the European Union will attend the meeting and address issues related to one of the most controversial public health dossier. |
| Venue: European Parliament, Brussels |
| Contact: http://my.epha.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=139 |
25 February 2013 – Plotting a New Course |
| Plotting a New Course is a forum for the critical analysis of responses to drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Two days of presentations, debate and discussion. Cross-cutting themes link social policy, public health, law enforcement, supply, treatment and harm reduction. |
| Venue: Friends House, Euston, London |
| Contact: http://plotnewcourse.org.uk/ |
14 March 2013 – Lunch Hour Lecture: Cigarettes: the most successful product ever |
| Despite five decades of research into the harms of smoking and numerous successful public health campaigns, many people take up and continue with the habit. Cigarette sales remain high as tobacco companies excel at marketing. In the United States, more than $8 billion was spent by the tobacco companies on marketing and advertising in 2011-12, compared to $457 million spent by the government in preventing or reducing tobacco use. This lecture will explore what has been learnt from 50 years of research, including the benefits of quitting at any age, and plans for future policies.
Speaker: Prof Allan Hackshaw, UCL Cancer Institute |
| Venue: Darwin Lecture Theatre access via Malet Place, Darwin Building, Gower St, London WC1E 6BT |
| Contact: http://events.ucl.ac.uk/event/event:si0-h91ctigt-ua2vfn/lunch-hour-lecture-cigarettes-the-most-successful-product-ever |
20 March 2013 – ‘Making Smoking History’ – Faster strides towards a smokefree North East |
| To mark the moment in 2013 when local authorities take on responsibility for public health, Fresh with the Association of North East Councils is hosting a split 1½ day conference (funded by NHS North East) of presentations, panel discussions, audience debate and practical workshops, aimed at sharing ideas, evidence and innovation with senior decision makers, managers, elected members and also for those involved in the day to day delivery of tobacco control.
Registration closes on 28th February |
| Venue: The Ramside Hall Hotel, Carrville, Durham, DH1 1TD |
| Contact: http://www.freshne.com |
21 March 2013 – European Healthy Stadia Conference 2013 |
| This event will bring together decision makers from sports clubs, stadia, sports governing bodies, health agencies across Europe, including chief executives, facilities managers, corporate communications, catering managers, community foundation staff and CSR managers. |
| Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester |
| Contact: http://www.healthystadia.eu |
22 April 2013 – European Primary Prevention Conference (EPPC) |
| A conference focused on early tobacco-alcohol-drug prevention for young people and their families |
| Venue: Tallinn Health Care College, Tallinn, Estonia |
| Contact: http://simpleeventsignup.com/event/16230-european-primary-prevention-conference-eppc |
31 May 2013 – World No Tobacco Day 2013 |
| Every year, on 31 May, The World Health Organisation and partners everywhere mark World No Tobacco Day, highlighting the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.
The theme for World No Tobacco Day 2013 is: ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. |
| Venue: Everywhere |
| Contact: http://www.who.int/tobacco/wntd/2013/ |
20 June 2013 – ASH Scotland 40th Anniversary Conference: Towards a Generation Free From Tobacco |
| Bringing together delegates from Scotland, the rest of the UK and across the world, the conference will provide an opportunity for tobacco control advocates, policy makers, researchers, health practitioners and community development professionals to learn from international good practice and innovation.
Themes to be explored include industry and regulation, protection from second-hand smoke, youth smoking prevention, cessation services in our communities and the role of advocacy in driving policy. There will be a special focus on addressing health inequality and new ways of working with hard-to-reach groups. |
| Venue: The John McIntyre Conference Centre Holyrood Park, University of Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Contact: http://www.ashscotland.org.uk |
27 June 2013 – UK National Smoking Cessation Conference |
| Key topics for 2013 include the NICE guidance on tobacco harm reduction, e-cigarettes, electronic aids to cessation, getting the most out of current treatments, smoking cessation and mental health, international comparisons of tobacco treatment, treating pregnant smokers and the politics of tobacco growing – making it an essential event for everyone in the smoking cessation and tobacco control fields. |
| Venue: Victoria Park Plaza, London |
| Contact: http://www.uknscc.org/ |