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England’s smoking ban linked to annual five percent drop in emergency admissions for asthma |
| Emergency admissions for asthma among adults fell by just under five percent in each of the first three years after the ban on smoking in public places was introduced in England, reveals the largest study of its kind, published online in Thorax.
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Ban smoking while driving, motorists tell road safety charity |
| According to the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) 56% of drivers think smoking while driving should be banned, although 45% of respondents to the IAM survey of 3,016 drivers think such a ban would not be enforceable. |
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Staffordshire: Shelters shelved as hospitals smoking bans stay |
| University Hospital of North Staffordshire has been forced to abandon plans to install smoking shelters on its grounds after a national NHS guidance of outright bans on hospital grounds was reaffirmed. |
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Scotland: BMA backs calls for industry to put public interest before profits |
| The BMA in Scotland has backed calls on the food, drink and tobacco industries to abandon irresponsible and unethical business practices. |
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EU: Whistleblower MEP claims EU cover-up over Dalligate |
| Those at the top of the European Commission and European Parliament might be attempting to ‘keep the dirt inside’ over the scandal relating to the tobacco industry – claims Bart Staes MEP |
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Bulgaria’s smoking ban led to 3 – 4% cut in cigarette sales |
| The full ban on smoking in public places that came into law in Bulgaria in June 2012 has led to a decline in cigarette sales by three to four per cent, although it is too early to assess the long-term effects, according to Sofia-based thinktank Industry Watch. |
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April, 2013:
England’s smoking ban linked to annual five percent drop in emergency admissions for asthma
New anti-smoking campaign launched in Australia – Latest National News – Keep up with Newstalk ZB
New anti-smoking campaign launched in Australia
By: Joe Gilfillan | New Zealand News | Sunday April 14 2013 17:25
| More confronting images are appearing on Australian TV screens tonight – in a bid to convince more people to quit smoking.
15,000 Australians die from smoking related diseases every year, making it the country’s biggest preventable killer. Health Minister Tanya Pilbersek says smokers know it kills – but are convinced they can give up before they die. “I think these ads really show that you can have years of ill health before you die from smoking. ” It really focuses on the illnesses that smoking causes and the reduced quality of life that smokers have.” “This reminds people not just that smoking kills but how it kills. There are many diseases associated with smoking that can cause years of suffering before a person finally dies.” |
Bounties for smokers where smoking is banned
Monday, 15 April 2013
04 Jumada Al-Akhir 1434 H
This Article is Printed from http://www.saudigazette.com.sa You can access this page through this link http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?home.con&contentid=20130415161356
Bounties for smokers where smoking is banned
Last updated: Sunday, April 14, 2013 11:18 PM
Fatima Muhammad
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH – Two women in their late 20s surprised the visitors of a coffee shop here recently by offering smokers free cigarettes from a major tobacco company. The women visit different coffee shops and restaurants and offer smokers a new brand of cigarette to try and if they liked it the saleswomen give them a new packet of cigarettes for free and also include them in a competition for a free ticket to a European country.
Saleswomen promoting smoking? This piece of information would definitely shock many readers given the fact that smoking in public places is banned in the Kingdom and violating coffee shops, restaurants and hotels face closure or fines up to SR5,000.
These saleswomen address only smokers, but they don’t ask their age. They tour around 21 coffee shops daily, distributing an average of eight packets of cigarettes.
“Today is a bad day; we distributed only three packets,” said one of the saleswomen, who has been on the job since a week. “Some people attack us while others understand that this is our job,” she explained.
They offer a new packet of a particular cigarette brand in exchange for an old packet of any brand of cigarette. “Collecting old packets is meant to convince our supervisors that we have visited coffee shops and actually spoken to potential clients,” said another saleswoman.
When the supervisor of a restaurant was asked why he allows these saleswomen to enter the restaurant and promote smoking, he responded by saying: “This is not my responsibility to prevent them from entering the restaurant. They come here everyday in the morning and even in the afternoon. This is not my job to stop them. This is the responsibility of the security guards at the gate.”
And the guards said that they had been asked to only prevent single men from entering the restaurant.
Hani Al-Suraihi, the head of the media department at Kafa (enough) anti-smoking society, expressed “shock” at these campaigns promoting smoking.
He said that anti-smoking society representatives cannot visit cafes and restaurants without the permission of authorities concerned and the owners of these establishments.
He, however, said that his society will soon launch a program to combat smoking in cafes and restaurants.
“We started our anti-smoking campaigns in schools because of the increasing number of smokers there. Then we headed to government departments. Coffee shops will have a separate program, because they are high-smoking areas,” said Al-Suraihi, adding that they cannot force people to stop smoking rather they work on increasing awareness about the dangers of smoking.
The Kingdom has taken a number of measures to curb smoking. In early 2012, taxes on cigarettes were increased by SR1. Smoking was banned in all public places.
According to media reports, there are six million smokers in the Kingdom who spend SR11 billion on cigarettes annually. Smokers in the Kingdom are between the ages of 17 and 40. According to data, 600,000 of smokers are women while teenagers constitute 772,000 smokers.
This Article is Printed from http://www.saudigazette.com.sa You can access this page through this link http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?home.con&contentid=20130415161356
Saudi Gazette All Rights Reserved. ©
Jeddah: 6760000
Scotland: Pensioner stabbed wife with kitchen knife in row over cigarette
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Scotland: Pensioner stabbed wife with kitchen knife in row over cigarette |
| A woman suffered five stab wounds that left her permanently scarred after an argument that began when her husband asked her for a cigarette. Medics said her injuries were potentially life-threatening. |
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Wales: Man fell to his death while smoking on window sill |
| A man who was sitting on the window sill of his bedroom to smoke fell 20ft to his death, an inquiry heard. |
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Gwyneth Paltrow: I smoke one cigarette per week |
| Gwyneth Paltrow, who is known for her strict diet and intense fitness regimens, has admitted In a new interview with Harper’s Bazaar that her guilty pleasure is to smoke a cigarette once a week. |
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Researchers identify novel approach to study COPD and treatment efficacy |
| Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have pinpointed a genetic signature for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from airway cells harvested utilizing a minimally invasive procedure. The findings provide a novel way to study COPD and could lead to new treatments and ways to monitor patients’ response to those treatments. The study is published online in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. |
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USA: NYC voters like cigarette display ban plan |
| A new poll from Quinnipiac University shows New Yorkers strongly support Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposal to keep cigarettes out of sight in stores.
Sixty-eight percent of city voters back the idea while thirty percent oppose it. |
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US budget: Obama unveils a plan to smoke big tobacco |
| President Obama seems intent to use his budget proposal as a weapon against tobacco with an attempt to raise the federal tax on cigarettes from $1.01 per pack to $1.95 – a $0.94 increase. |
Plain packs would not increase tobacco smuggling
http://www.onmedica.com/newsarticle.aspx?id=5c8e6e56-8f6f-4bb0-aa2b-095d2bb13bca
Plain packs would not increase tobacco smuggling
Ingrid Torjesen
Monday, 25 March 2013
There is “no good evidence” that moving to standardised cigarette packs would encourage more smuggling, a report by MPs and peers has concluded.
One of the arguments tobacco companies put against moving to plain packs is that they could be easily be illicitly copied by counterfeiters.
But the report from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health inquiry into the illicit trade in tobacco products, published today, says that existing packaging is already “cheaply and readily” copied and that enforcement agencies do not rely on pack design to test whether packs are illegal but use a number of security features instead. These security features could also be present on standardised packs.
Group chairman, Liberal Democrat MP Stephen William, said: “Contrary to tobacco industry propaganda there is no good reason to think that standardised packs will increase illicit trade.”
The government consulted last year on mandatory standardised packs. The results of that consultation, held from April to August, are still being considered.
Last December Australia became the first country in the world to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes. There all tobacco company logos and colours are banned from packets which are a uniform colour with anti-smoking messages and photographs. The tobacco company name and brand are allowed in small print at the bottom of the pack.
Customs seizes illicit cigarettes, smuggled goods
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking_news_detail.asp?id=34794&icid=a&d_str=
Customs seizes illicit cigarettes, smuggled goods
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Hong Kong Customs smashed two transshipment smuggling cases at Tuen Mun River Trade Terminal Customs Cargo Examination Compound on April 10, resulting in the seizure of a batch of illicit cigarettes and some suspected counterfeit goods with a total value of about HK$2.4 million.
Through risk assessment, officers inspected a 20-foot container declared to contain “handbags” from a river trade vessel which was to be transshipped to Australia. Under x-ray examination, Customs officers discovered that the consignment was camouflaged with about 150 large suitcases and a total of 0.6 million sticks of illicit cigarettes were found at the back of the container. The unmanifested cigarettes, with a total value of about HK$1.5 million and a local duty potential of HK$1.02 million, were seized for follow-up investigation.
On the same day, another 20-foot container declared to contain “cleansers” destined for the United Arab Emirates was also examined. Upon inspection, over 53,000 bottles of suspected counterfeit shampoo, valued at about HK$890,000 in total, with false trade origin descriptions were found.
Big Tobacco Already Resisting Obama’s Proposal To Fund Universal Preschool With Cigarette Taxes
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/04/10/1845631/big-tobacco-preschool-taxes/?mobile=nc
Big Tobacco Already Resisting Obama’s Proposal To Fund Universal Preschool With Cigarette Taxes
By Tara Culp-Ressler on Apr 10, 2013 at 2:00 pm
President Obama unveiled his budget proposal on Tuesday morning, confirming early reports that his initiatives include an expansion of universal preschool programs by raising revenue from additional tobacco taxes. Obama’s preschool plan is winning praise from both anti-smoking advocates and early childhood education proponents, but it isn’t popular with everyone. Even before the specific details were made available on Tuesday, the proposed tax increase garnered criticism from the powerful companies that comprise Big Tobacco.
The current federal tax on cigarettes is about $1 a pack, and President Obama’s proposal would increase that by an additional 94 cents. That hike would raise $75 billion to help subsidize preschool for children whose families who earn up to 200 percent of the federal poverty line, in a national effort to encourage more four-year-olds to enroll in pre-K programs. The tax increase would also raise $1.6 billion for the Early Head Start program and $15 billion for other programs.
The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids has praised the policy, noting that higher tobacco taxes are a proven method of reducing smoking rates as well as a reliable revenue source. The advocacy group also points out that the majority of Americans support increasing taxes on tobacco products. In a statement released last week in regards to Obama’s forthcoming budget, the Campaign described the proposed tax as “a health win that will reduce tobacco use and save lives, a financial win that will raise revenue to fund an important initiative and reduce tobacco-related health care costs, and a political win that is popular with voters.” Total annual public and private health care expenditures caused by smoking are estimated at $96 billion.
But Big Tobacco’s powerful lobbying arm disagrees. “We oppose another federal tax increase on tobacco products,” a spokesperson for the Altria Group, the biggest lobbying organization representing the tobacco industry, told the Huffington Post on Friday. “[I]t is important to remember that the largest federal tobacco tax increase in U.S. history was enacted less than four years ago. We think it is unfair to single out adult tobacco consumers with another federal tobacco tax increase to pay for a broad, new government spending program.”
Although the tobacco industry characterizes universal preschool as a “broad, new government spending program,” expanding American children’s access to pre-K programs actually represents an investment with significant economic returns. Investing in early childhood education reduces future societal and economic costs in at-risk children’s lives. Some studies project that those investments eventually end up paying for themselves.
Of course, Big Tobacco has a long history of resisting tax increases on its products. Just last year, a proposed cigarette tax in California — which would have raised a much-needed $810 million for the state’s budget by imposing a $1 tax increase on tobacco products — was narrowly defeated after Big Tobacco lobbyists poured about $50 million into efforts to take down the bill.
D-MYST The Agency pull the plug on TV smoking > Liverpool News > News
A group of young people from Liverpool descended the OFCOM headquarters in London yesterday to show that over 10,000 people across the city support them in their plight to stop TV smoking.
SmokeOff, promoted by D-MYST The Agency, is a campaign which targets OFCOM asking them to follow their own guidelines with regards to smoking on television.
OFCOM guidelines state “Smoking must not be condoned, encouraged or glamourised in programmes likely to be widely seen or heard by under-18s unless there is editorial justification.” Yet many programmes like Coronation Street and Eastenders regularly contain smoking scenes, at times when young people are watching.
On Thursday 4 April, D-MYST representatives aged between 11 and 18 presented OFCOM with over 10,000 postcards all signed by people across Merseyside who have shown support for the SmokeOff campaign.
The campaign hopes to reduce child exposure to smoking and help decrease the number of young people who start smoking.
D-MYST spokesperson Lilly Mae Paulucci, 15 from Garston said: “When programmes like The Simpsons and Friends show people smoking, it encourages young people to start. We believe the media should stop showing tobacco images in TV programmes viewed by under-18s before the watershed.
“We want to make sure that all future pre-watershed programmes are smokefree and we’re really pleased with the support we’ve received so far.”
Studies have shown that a child who smokes one cigarette doubles their chances of becoming a regular smoker by the age of 17.
For help quitting smoking contact your local NHS Stop Smoking Service on 0800 195 2131.