February, 2015:
Tobacco ‘kills two in three smokers’
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31600118
By Michelle Roberts Health editor, BBC News online
The death risk from smoking may be much higher than previously thought – tobacco kills up to two in every three smokers not one in every two, data from a large study suggests.
The study tracked more than 200,000 Australian smokers and non-smokers above the age of 45 over six years.
Mortality risk went up with cigarette use, BMC Medicine reports.
Smoking 10 cigarettes a day doubled the risk, while 20-a-day smokers were four to five times more likely to die.
Although someone who smokes could lead a long life, their habit makes this less likely.
Smoking increases the risk of a multitude of health problems, including heart disease and cancer.
Cancer Research UK currently advises that half of all long-term smokers eventually die from cancer or other smoking-related illnesses.
But recent evidence suggests the figure may be higher.
Newer studies in UK women, British doctors and American Cancer Society volunteers have put the figure at up to 67%, says Prof Emily Banks, lead author of the Australian study.
“We knew smoking was bad, but we now have direct independent evidence that confirms the disturbing findings that have been emerging internationally.
“Even with the very low rates of smoking that we have in Australia, we found that smokers have around threefold the risk of premature death of those who have never smoked. We also found smokers will die an estimated 10 years earlier than non-smokers,” she said.
George Butterworth, tobacco policy manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “It’s a real concern that the devastation caused by smoking may be even greater than we previously thought.
“Earlier research has shown, as a conservative estimate, one in two long-term smokers die from smoking-related diseases in the UK, but these new Australian figures show a higher risk.
“Smoking habits differ between Australia and the UK [in terms of] how much people smoke and the age they start, so we can’t conclude that the two-in-three figure necessarily applies to the UK.”
In Australia, about 13% of adults smoke. In the UK, the figure is about 20%.
Stopping smoking can bring a person’s health risks back down.
Ten years after quitting, risk of lung cancer falls to half that of a smoker and risk of heart attack falls to the same as someone who has never smoked, according to NHS Smokefree.
Fuel laundering, tobacco smuggling costing €1bn annually
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/fuel-laundering-tobacco-smuggling-costing-1bn-annually-1.2114673
Criminal gangs operating out of south Armagh and along Border difficult to tackle
It’s hard to get your head around how big the problem of fuel laundering and tobacco smuggling in Ireland is – much of it concentrated along the Border.
It certainly could be up to €1 billion annually.
It also seems difficult to comprehend why so few people have been charged and convicted for it. However, there is one explanation.
Accountants Grant Thornton reckon the Irish exchequer loses €140 million to €260 million from fuel fraud each year.
They estimate that, in 2013, the tax loss in Ireland from tobacco fraud was between €240 million to €575 million.
The wide range of the estimates is itself an indicator of how challenging it is for the authorities to get a grip on these rackets.
Laundering diesel in Northern Ireland is believed to cost about £80 million (€109 million) each year in lost tax. Additionally, it has cost the Northern authorities almost £1 million since 2012 to clean up the toxic sludge from laundering. It’s reasonable to assume there are similar, if not higher, disposal costs accruing here.
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) believes UK tobacco smuggling amounted to £2 billion in 2012- 2013, up from £1.6 billion in 2011-2012. It hasn’t separated out the cost for Northern Ireland, but let’s take a guesstimate of €56 million for the North, which isn’t unreasonable and probably is an underestimate.
Add up those estimates and the cost of fuel fraud and tobacco smuggling on the island of Ireland comes to €1 billion each year. Even if it is just half that figure, it’s still huge.
Public imagination
Criminal gangs operating along the Border, therefore, are making staggering fortunes while they pollute land and the water supplies by illegally disposing of the diesel sludge. It’s an issue that hasn’t grabbed the public imagination, although there is now an attempt to convey to people that here is a level of crime that would impress most mafia dons.
“You can see where some of the money is going with some of the diesel mansions along the Border and with their driveways choked with four-wheel drives,” said one local source.
The Garda, PSNI, the Revenue Commissioners, HMRC, the Criminal Assets Bureau and the new British National Crime Agency have been having some successes. But it is relative – there is absolutely no sense of the diesel godfathers being brought to book.
South of the Border, 35 diesel fuel-laundering operations have been shut since 2010, with more than three million litres of fuel seized. Sixteen of these plants were in Co Monaghan, 11 in Louth, two in Meath and one each in counties Cavan, Donegal, Dublin Laois, Offaly and Waterford. In the Republic, 137 petrol stations have been closed for breaches of licensing conditions, including fuel laundering, since 2011.
More than 200 fuel-laundering plants have been raided in Northern Ireland over the past 10 years. According to HMRC, there were nine fuel fraud convictions in 2012-2013 and nine in 2013-2014. Here the conviction rate also seems low.
But there is one explanation.
“It’s a difficult area in which to maintain evidential integrity and it’s also a difficult area in which to protect officers,” as one senior PSNI officer recently told The Irish Times with a degree of understatement.
In other words, it may be feasible for the revenue investigators supported by Garda and PSNI officers to pounce on fuel- laundering plants, but along the Border and particularly in south Armagh it is plain dangerous to engage in time-consuming, painstaking investigations. That is a fact of life. The dissidents are a serious threat.
Remember too this is the land of omerta, hard to breach, notwithstanding the British- Irish Parliamentary Assembly’s call for a multidisciplinary attack on this crime.
Recent weeks have seen some allegations and plenty of suspicions that the Provisional IRA is implicated. This is vehemently rejected by Sinn Féin. Moreover, the Garda and the PSNI are making no such claims.
Anecdotal
You will hear some local comment that the “dissidents run the tobacco and the old Provos hang on to the diesel”, but so far, officially, you won’t hear anything that goes much beyond such anecdotal remarks.
Certainly, there is strong structure and organisation behind this crime – a form of organisation that it is probably safe to say has its origins in how the Provisional IRA ran its operations along the Border.
But throughout the peace process it was always a given that the Provisional IRA going out of business didn’t mean an end to Border criminality.
It’s a simple truth that as long as the Border can make profits for criminals there will be criminals, whatever their origins, to make those mind-boggling profits.
The financial cost of smoking hits harder than academic research
http://www.smh.com.au/act-news/the-financial-cost-of-smoking-hits-harder-than-academic-research-20150224-13naim.html
New research into mortality rates for smokers may disturb public health officials, but for many Canberrans it is the sheer cost of smoking that prompts them to break the habit.
Researchers at the Australian National University have found two-thirds of smokers will be prematurely killed by their habit unless they are able to quit.
The research, which was published in the international journal BMC Medicine, found smoking just 10 cigarettes a day doubled the your risk of dying prematurely and that on average, smokers died 10 years earlier than non-smokers.
ANU researcher Professor Emily Banks said the study was “a huge wake up for Australia”.
“We knew smoking was bad but we now have direct evidence from Australia that shows it is worse than previously thought,” she said.
But for Nigel McRae, of Downer, it was the annual cost of A$10,000 for two packs a day that forced him to quit. McRae had started smoking when he was 11 and continued for 33 years.
“My first cigarette was given to me by my older sister and when I was at school it was seen as the cool and naughty thing to be doing,” he said.
“I gave up about three years ago, motivated by the obvious health risks but also the expense of it.”
Mr McRae, 47, said most smokers were aware of the health risks posed by cigarettes but this was often not enough to stop them from smoking.
“Even back at school we knew it wasn’t good for us as we had health classes about it, but in some way that was part of the attraction,” he said.
“I support all the efforts the government has gone to eliminate the pool of cigarettes, but in some way the more you try to make it more difficult, the more some people will be attracted to it.
“There is probably still a small proportion of people to whom smoking remains cool.”
Mr McRae, who smoked up to two packets a day, said his decision to quit was partly based on vanity and the desire to improve his health and appearance.
“When you smoke that much you get grey skin and you start to stink and have bad teeth,” he said.
“The main thing I noticed after quitting was everyone telling me how good I looked as I had some colour back in my body.”
Kirsten McEwan, who started smoking while on exchange as a 15-year-old student in Germany, said the cost of smoking was the main influence on her decision to quit.
“In Germany, cigarettes were a lot more accessible and you could buy them from vending machines on the side of the street,” she said.
“It was very, very easy and cigarettes were a lot cheaper than they were in Australia.”
The 26-year-old, who quit smoking in 2010, said most Australians were aware of research indicating the health risks of smoking but needed added incentives to quit.
“Every smoker in the world knows the health risks, but they still do it anyway,” she said.
There is all this research, but a lot of people’s mentality is ‘I could get hit by a bus tomorrow or catch some other disease or get shot – I’m going to die somehow someday’.”
The report found the average duration of a smoking habit was 38.5 years with the majority smoking for more than 35 or more years, consuming at least 15 cigarettes a day.
“In Australia, male and female smokers were estimated to have the same risks of death 9.6 and 10.1 years earlier than 75-year-old non-smokers, respectively,” the report said.
Ms Banks said Australians should be proud of reducing smoking rates to just 13 per cent of the population – a world leading result – despite around 2.7 million people continuing to smoke.
Tsang not short of budget advice
http://thestandard.com.hk/news_print.asp?art_id=154510&sid=43949393
There is less than a day to go before Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah delivers his budget, but he’s still being pressed on inclusions such as adjusting child, personal and parent allowances in line with inflation.
Kenneth Lau Tuesday, February 24, 2015
There is less than a day to go before Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah delivers his budget, but he’s still being pressed on inclusions such as adjusting child, personal and parent allowances in line with inflation. As it is, he is expected to increase child allowance from HK$70,000 to HK$80,000 while keeping the tax rebate above HK$10,000. Florence Chan Yuen-fan, who chairs a Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ taxation panel, said if the tax allowance is adjusted according to the inflation rate meaning a raised allowance alongside increases in salaries “citizens will feel more secure.”
University of Hong Kong demographic expert Paul Yip Siu- fai said increased allowances will not encourage couples to have more children. Yip suggests more family-friendly policies to increase the birthrate. University of Hong Kong professor Nelson Chow Wing-sun said it is time to raise the old-age living supplement. Chow said in a radio interview this would be possible if HK$50 billion is injected into a retirement program. About 430,000 people receive a HK$2,300 old-age living supplement, but under his proposal they could get HK$3,000 a month. Meanwhile, only 13 percent of 1,107 people interviewed by the Hong Kong Research Association expect much from the budget. Forty-eight percent do not expect anything special and 32 percent believe it will fail to please.
And the Clear the Air concern group criticized Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man for saying that any increase in tobacco tax must consider affordability. Chairman James Middleton said the grassroots are the ones in most need of being monetarily persuaded to quit smoking and “doubling the excise tax will do that, leaving more money for food for the grassroots families.” He added: “The main idea of regular excise taxation in excess of inflation is to stop youths from starting to smoke, not whether the grassroots can afford it.”
Tobacco giant to launch nicotine inhaler designed to help smokers stub out their habit
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/tobacco-giant-launch-nicotine-inhaler-5218279
British American Tobacco’s new Voke device wins license to be sold as a medicine
Cigarette manufacturer British American Tobacco is preparing to release a new nicotine inhaler.
The Voke device is licensed as a medicine and produces no heat, working more like an asthma inhaler than an electronic cigarette.
BAT has reached the second stage of its bid to bring the device to market, after being awarded a variation to its license from the UK Medicines and Healthcare products regulatory agency.
The first stage of this medical license was granted in September 2014.
A production line has been set up near King’s Lynn and the device will be built by Nicoventures, a subsidary of BAT.
A spokeswoman for Nicoventures told Mirror Online: “The work towards full scale-up continues and until it has been completed we will not be able to confirm timing, but we will be launching Voke as soon as we can.”
It is understood that Voke could one day be prescribed as a way to give up smoking.
The device is different from e-cigarettes, which work by heating liquid to produce cloud of nicotine-rich vapour.
Tom Pruen, chief scientific officer at the The Electronic Cigarette Industry Trade Association, welcomed the arrival of the inhaler.
“The Voke isn’t really a competitor product for e-cigs, rather it is some much needed innovation in the somewhat stagnant nicotine replacement market.”
However, one disadvantage of the devices lies in the fact they do not deliver clouds of flavoured vapour.
“They apparently deliver nicotine well, but don’t have the flavour or sensation that an e-cig does,” Pruen added.
“The Voke is another choice for smokers who want to quit so it’s a win for everyone, except possibly the combustible arm of BAT [which produces cigarettes].”
Using e-cigarettes is known to be healthier than smoking real tobacco, although recent research has controversially highlighted health concerns.
Why you need to bag the fag: TWO in THREE Australian smokers will die 10 years early… (but if you give up before you turn 45 you can repair the damage)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2967586/Why-need-bag-fag-TWO-THREE-Australian-smokers-die-10-years-early-turn-45-repair-damage.html
- Two thirds of Australia’s 2.7m smokers are likely to die 10 years earlier
- Those who smoke 10-a-day are about twice as likely to die early, while a habit of 25-a-day raises the risk by up to fivefold
- The Sax Institute’s study was published in the journal BMC Medicine
- Researchers followed 200,000 Australians aged 45 and over for four years
Two thirds of Australia’s 2.7 million smokers are likely to die ten years earlier due to their habit, a new study has revealed.
However smokers who quit by the age of 45 wipe away most of their increased death risk, the first large-scale, direct evidence on smoking and mortality in Australia has shown.
Researchers from Sydney’s Sax Institute followed 200,000 Australians aged 45 and over for four years, finding death rates among smokers were about three times higher than in non-smokers.
Those who smoked 10-a-day were about twice as likely to die early, while a habit of 25-a-day raised the risk by up to fivefold.
‘If you are smoking, the chances are it will kill you if you keep on going,’ said lead author Professor Emily Banks of Sydney’s Sax Institute and the Australian National University.
‘If you are a gambler, it’s not a very good bet. The good news is that if you quit the benefits are clear and lasting.’
The 45 and Up Study, published in the journal BMC Medicine on Tuesday, is the best large-scale evidence on smoking and death in Australia and confirms recent findings from studies in both the U.S. and the UK, Prof Banks says.
‘It is a huge wake-up call for Australia. We know smoking is the cause of a wide range of diseases but we now have direct evidence from Australia that shows just how hazardous it is. Even ten cigarettes a day will double your risk of dying prematurely. Smokers greatly underestimate or do not understand the seriousness of these risks,’ Professor Banks said.
Laureate Professor Alan Lopez, one of the study authors and the director of the Global Burden of Disease Group, praised Australia’s tobacco control measures – including heightening prices – which he said have brought smoking rates down to 12.8 per cent – the lowest in the Western world.
But he said the results were a reminder that there was no safe level of smoking.
‘While Australia is a world leader in tobacco control, the battle to reduce the public health consequences of tobacco use is far from over… While this is gratifying, it is still 13 percent too many; 2.7 million Australians still smoke,’ Professor Lopez said.
‘Our findings revealed that up to two in every three Australians who smoke can be expected to die from their habit if they don’t quit. Their risk of dropping dead at any age is three times that of non-smokers,’ he said.
‘These are enormous risks and highlight the importance of government staying the course on tobacco control. Local tobacco control policy ought to be more responsive to this new and compelling local evidence,’ he said.
Tobacco ‘kills two in three smokers’
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31600118
The death risk from smoking may be much higher than previously thought – tobacco kills up to two in every three smokers not one in every two, data from a large study suggests.
The study tracked more than 200,000 Australian smokers and non-smokers above the age of 45 over six years.
Mortality risk went up with cigarette use, BMC Medicine reports.
Smoking 10 cigarettes a day doubled the risk, while 20-a-day smokers were four to five times more likely to die.
Although someone who smokes could lead a long life, their habit makes this less likely.
Smoking increases the risk of a multitude of health problems, including heart disease and cancer.
Cancer Research UK currently advises that half of all long-term smokers eventually die from cancer or other smoking-related illnesses.
But recent evidence suggests the figure may be higher.
Newer studies in UK women, British doctors and American Cancer Society volunteers have put the figure at up to 67%, says Prof Emily Banks, lead author of the Australian study.
“We knew smoking was bad, but we now have direct independent evidence that confirms the disturbing findings that have been emerging internationally.
“Even with the very low rates of smoking that we have in Australia, we found that smokers have around threefold the risk of premature death of those who have never smoked. We also found smokers will die an estimated 10 years earlier than non-smokers,” she said.
George Butterworth, tobacco policy manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “It’s a real concern that the devastation caused by smoking may be even greater than we previously thought.
“Earlier research has shown, as a conservative estimate, one in two long-term smokers die from smoking-related diseases in the UK, but these new Australian figures show a higher risk.
“Smoking habits differ between Australia and the UK [in terms of] how much people smoke and the age they start, so we can’t conclude that the two-in-three figure necessarily applies to the UK.”
In Australia, about 13% of adults smoke. In the UK, the figure is about 20%.
Stopping smoking can bring a person’s health risks back down.
Ten years after quitting, risk of lung cancer falls to half that of a smoker and risk of heart attack falls to the same as someone who has never smoked, according to NHS Smokefree.