Clear The Air Tobacco Blog

Quit Smoking

webmaster — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Message from Department of Nursing Studies Wanna quit smoking but need help quitting? Have you tried to quit but can't quite knock the habit? The Department of Nursing Studies is now offering a FREE smoking cessation counseling service for youth, young adults, and women! We care about your health and will do our best to help you quit. If you have friends that smoke, feel free to introduce them too. All personal information will be kept confidential. Youth Quitline Trained peer counsellors will help you quit and answer your questions via telephone. If you are: 1. A 12-25 year-old smoker 2. Want to quit smoking 3. Can communicate in Cantonese We will 1. Provide counselling service up to 5 times via telephone 2. Provide a basic body check-up to quitters after 6 months 3. An incentive will be given to those who come to the body check. Please call 2855-9557 to make an appointment. Women Senior trained nurses will help you to quit through either a face-to-face interview or telephone interview at your convenience. If you are: 1. Over 18 years old, female, and a smoker 2. Want to quit smoking 3. Can communicate in Cantonese We will: 1. Provide quitting techniques specially designed for women 2. Provide Nicotine Replacement Therapy and a basic body check-up Please contact Miss Tracy Cheung at 2819-2692/ 6752-6266 to make appointment. For more details, please visit http://www3.hku.hk/quitnow Professor Sophia Chan Head Department of Nursing Studies The University of Hong Kong

Smoke Bans Deter Young

webmaster — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Article from: Herald Sun Australia - Grant McArthur February 15, 2008 12:00am BANS in pubs and clubs have helped reduce the number of young smokers by 30 per cent in the past year. The number of 18-29 year olds smoking dropped from 26.2 per cent in 2006, to 18.6 per cent in 2007, figures released by Quit Victoria revealed yesterday. Smoking was banned in Victoria's 7000 pubs, clubs, gaming rooms and cigar bars on July 1 last year. Overall, the number of Victorians smoking has dropped from 21.3 per cent in 1998, to 17.3 per cent last year. But tobacco is still responsible for 4000 deaths in Victoria each year and costs the health system $5 billion annually, prompting a graphic new advertising campaign to further lower smoking rates. A new ad will hit TV screens this weekend, centring on the whistling noise of a woman breathing -- the sound of air passing around a tumour as it tries to enter her lungs. It is a noise Associate Professor David Ball from Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre hears all too often. "I've seen cancers the size of grapefruit in lungs and the person is not aware of it being there," he said. "Approximately 11 per cent of patients will survive five years and that compares with an overall 60 per cent survival for all cancers. "The human stories I see occur in people who may have given up smoking 20 or 30 years ago, but because of lifestyle choice they made then they are now afflicted by a disease, which in most instances is fatal."

The best way to quit smoking?

webmaster — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Bangkok - Higher taxes on tobacco are the most effective way for governments to combat the health and social costs of smoking, experts attending a World Health Organisation (WHO) meeting said on Tuesday. "Higher taxes on tobacco lead to higher prices for tobacco products, which immediately discourage non-smokers from starting and current smokers from continuing with the habit," said Bungon Ritthiphakdee, director of the Bangkok-based Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance. That conclusion was shared by other experts and government officials attending this week's meeting in Bangkok on WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The World Bank recommended that governments impose taxes above 65 percent, which is the level, according to studies, at which smoking goes down but government tax revenues from the tobacco industry continue to go up. Thailand, which boasts some of the most progressive anti-smoking policies in Southeast Asia, is a case in point. "Between 1993 and 2007, Thailand increased tobacco taxes eight times, from 55 percent to 80 percent," said Dr Paiboon Wattanasiritham, former chairperson of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation. "The number of packs sold decreased from 2,1 million packs in 1993 to 1,9 million packs in 2007." "And yet, as cigarette sales tumbled, tax revenue from these sales rose from 15-billion baht ($484-million) in 1993 to 41-billion baht in 2007," the doctor added. - Sapa-dpa Published on the Web by IOL on 2008-04-01 09:01:42

65m Teens Victims Of Second-Hand Smoke

webmaster — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Tobacco-related diseases kill 1m every year Minnie Chan Updated on Jul 18, 2008 More than 65 million mainland teenagers have been affected by second-hand smoke, and about 1 million people die from smoking-related diseases every year, the Ministry of Health said yesterday. Because of the 350 million smokers in the mainland - one-third of the global total - at least 540 million people have become ill because of second-hand smoke, ministry spokesman Mao Qunan said as part of a promotion for tobacco and smoking control. "Among the 130 million young people, 15 million are regular smokers, and 40 million others had tried smoking," Mr Mao said, citing this year's report. "So far 65 million teenagers have suffered from second-hand smoke." He pointed out that more than 100,000 mainlanders had died from second-hand smoke and that smoking-related diseases had killed about 1 million annually. "Many studies forecast that the death toll of smoking-related diseases would double by 2020 to 2 million people a year, and that the cumulative number would be 100 million by 2050, with half of them dying between 35 and 69." He blamed fashionable tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship in public places for the increase in the number of young smokers. With almost 2 trillion cigarettes sold every year, the central government introduced restrictions in 1995 to ban all tobacco advertising. However, indirect tobacco advertisements and footage of popular idols on TV and movies that imply that smoking is mature and sexy had lured more teenagers to smoke, Mr Mao added. Chen Weiqing, of Sun Yat-sen University's School of Public Health in Guangzhou, said the lack of health education in schools and homes was also a key reason young people smoked. "We found many teenagers had not realised that smoking is harmful because teachers and parents do not pay too much attention to smoking control," he said. "Indeed, teenagers [find it] very easy to buy cigarettes on the streets due to the lack of prevention and loose restrictions." Professor Chen, who studied 3,000 students aged 13 to 15 in Guangzhou from 2005 to last year, said he found only 5.5 per cent of the teenagers continued to smoke after taking part in a three-year experimental workshop on smoking control. "Many students refused to smoke or go near others who smoke after witnessing the deaths of white mice from smoking in our experimental workshops," he said. "I suggest that our government introduce a smoking control experimental course ... into our educational system."

webmaster — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

FTC considers backing off nicotine guidance By WILL LESTER – 9th July 2008 WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday that it no longer considers reliable a test for tar and nicotine used for more than 40 years and touted by the tobacco industry in marketing "light" and "low-tar" cigarettes. The FTC said it may rescind its guidance on tar and nicotine yields that is based on that test. The commission said if the guidance is withdrawn, advertisers should no longer use terms suggesting FTC endorsement or approval of any specific test method. The test, known as the Cambridge Filter Method, is a machine-based test that smokes cigarettes according to a standard procedure and is sometimes referred to as "the FTC method." The FTC issued its guidance in 1966 at a time when most public health officials believed reducing the amount of tar produced by a cigarette could reduce a smoker's risk of lung cancer. The commission believed that giving consumers uniform information about tar and nicotine yields of cigarettes would help them make informed decisions about the cigarettes they smoked. But the FTC said Tuesday scientists now believe the test does not provide meaningful information on relative amounts of tar and nicotine people are likely to get from smoking different brands of cigarettes. The main reason is that smokers often alter their behavior to get the necessary nicotine dosage, the FTC said. The techniques include taking larger and deeper puffs, smoking more and blocking the ventilation holes that may contribute to lower levels of tar and nicotine. (compensation) Nicotine acts as a stimulant and is one of the main factors contributing to the addictive quality of smoking. Tar is the residue from burning tobacco and one of the most destructive byproducts of smoking, accumulating in a smoker's lungs. "While today's FTC action is important, it will not by itself end the tobacco industry's deceptive marketing of 'light' and 'low-tar' cigarettes," said Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. He said the FTC action underscores the need for Congress to "enact pending legislation to grant the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory authority over tobacco products." He said any FTC action would not prohibit tobacco companies from making statements regarding tar and nicotine levels, and from describing cigarettes as "light" and "low-tar." For decades, the FDA said it lacked authority to regulate tobacco so long as cigarette makers did not claim that smoking provided health benefits. In 1996, it reversed course and cited new evidence that the industry intended its products to feed the nicotine habits of the roughly 45 million Americans who smoke. Tobacco companies sued, and the case eventually landed in the Supreme Court. In 2000, the court ruled 5-4 that Congress did not authorize the FDA to regulate tobacco. The FDA legislation approved by House and Senate committees would prohibit terms such as "light" or "mild" which many consumers mistakenly believe means the products are safer. It also would assess millions of dollars in user fees to help pay the agency's added costs for regulating tobacco. More than 400,000 people die from smoking-related illnesses each year. An industry spokesman had little to say about the FTC proposal. "We're reviewing the proposal," said Bill Phelps, spokesman for Altria Group, which owns Philip Morris USA, maker of Marlboro, the world's best-selling cigarette. "I can't really comment beyond that." The company still sends out mail advertising for its cigarettes that cites the findings about tar and nicotine in cigarettes, citing "the FTC method." "For years, Big Tobacco has relied on the FTC's flawed testing method to mislead smokers into thinking these cigarettes deliver less tar and nicotine," said Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J. Lautenberg and Sen. Olympia Snow, R-Maine, introduced a bill that would prevent cigarette companies from using "the FTC method" for measuring tar and nicotine. "In reality, some so-called 'light' and 'low-tar' cigarettes can actually be more harmful for smokers," he said. "Tobacco companies should not be able to hide behind the federal government to deceptively market their deadly products. Smokers deserve to know the truth and today's action will help make sure they get it."

One U-turn Too Many

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Daniel Sin, SCMP - Dec 11, 2008

One U-turn too many. To err is human, but repeated policy reversals suggest something is amiss with the government - and raise doubts about its credibility

It is somewhat ironic that the latest trouble to strike Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's government should have been caused by protests against another administration. On December 1, the government reversed its decision not to send charter flights to pick up Hong Kong residents stranded in Thailand by protests against the Thai government of Somchai Wongsawat which had closed Bangkok's international airport. The U-turn came after it emerged that Hong Kong traveller David Yick Hok-ying had died in a road accident when rushing to Phuket to catch a flight home. By itself, it might have been seen as a policy change driven by circumstances and quickly forgotten. However, the incident was the latest in a series of policy U-turns under strong public pressure which, taken together, have critics questioning the government's credibility and even its competence. "The government has not thought through the implications and consequences before promulgating changes," said former chief secretary and lawmaker Anson Chan Fang On-sang. "Such knee-jerk reactions suggest a vacuum in leadership and dysfunctional government machinery." The government's latest problems can be traced to May and the decision to appoint eight undersecretaries and nine political assistants as part of the process of augmenting the political appointment system. When it was reported in the media that some of the appointees held foreign passports or had been given quantum leaps in salary, there was a public outcry and many lawmakers demanded full exposure of their nationality status and remuneration packages. The government's initial response was that such personal information would not be disclosed. But, following public pressure, it changed tack, announcing on June 22 that all future political appointments would have their pay made public. A week later it said that nationality status would be disclosed as well. Within weeks, Mr Tsang had stumbled into a row over the suspension of the levy on foreign domestic helpers. The two-year suspension, announced on July 16 as part of an HK$11 billion package of handouts, was to apply from September, but the start date was advanced to August 1, to reduce the burden on the middle class. When lawmakers pushed for the levy to be abolished altogether, the government was at first firm in resisting the proposal. Then, on November 11, it took a new course of action, extending the suspension for a further three years to July 31, 2013. More trouble followed on August 1, when former buildings chief Leung Chin-man was appointed executive director and deputy chairman of New World China Land (SEHK: 0917), a mainland subsidiary of New World Development. The appointment immediately raised questions about a possible conflict of interest because Mr Leung had been involved in the sale of the Hung Hom Peninsula housing estate to New World Development in 2004. The controversy sparked debate over the system for safeguarding against conflicts of interest in post-retirement employment. The Civil Service Bureau at first refused to reopen the case, nor would it review the system. But, on August 15, following a chorus of criticism, Mr Tsang instructed Secretary for the Civil Service Denise Yue Chung-yee to re-examine the case. The government followed up by setting up a committee headed by Ronald Arculli to review the system for approving post-service employment. A month later, on October 15, Mr Tsang told the Legislative Council that the government planned to review whether it should raise the old-age allowance or "fruit money" to HK$1,000 a month on a means-tested basis. Following strong public criticism, Mr Tsang aborted the review and increased the allowance to HK$1,000 for all eligible people, using the existing system. Then there was Thailand. Two weeks ago, Hong Kong travellers were reported to be stranded in Thailand after anti-government demonstrators succeeded in closing Bangkok international airport. On November 30, Deputy Secretary for Security Ngai Wing-chit ruled out sending charter flights to pick them up. The position was reversed over the weekend. Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen later explained that it had been "a collective decision and it [was] also the responsibility of the whole governing team". Radical lawmaker Wong Yuk-man, of the League of Social Democrats, said: "[It is undesirable that] the government announces a policy in the morning and changes it at night. What is worse is that the policies made were wrong in the first place. The government said that its decisions were made according to established procedure. From the effects of what happened, it was clear that the procedures were too rigid and inflexible." Chinese University political scientist Ivan Choy Chi-keung said the government's policy reversals show it lacked public support. "The government can only keep shifting its ground because it cannot secure enough votes in Legco to avoid defeat," he said. Mr Choy said the policy U-turns demonstrated to opponents that, if they were prepared to put sufficient pressure on the government, it would eventually give way. For Mrs Chan, repeated policy changes reflected badly on the accountability system. "The so-called `accountability system' is clearly not working. No one is at the helm and it seems from the chief secretary's recent puzzling reference to `collective decision and collective responsibility' that, at the end of the day, no political officer need be held responsible at all," she said. Mrs Chan also questioned why the government should ask the permanent secretary for security - a civil servant supposed to be politically neutral - to publicly defend a political decision. "The government owes the public an explanation on who is in charge when the responsible policy secretary is away from Hong Kong - and I don't mean just responsible for answering questions in the Legislative Council - and what is the role of the chief secretary in co-ordinating and defending the government's action?" Lawmaker Tam Yiu-chung, chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said there were objective reasons for the government to have made drastic changes in the past few months, and, in general, policy changes might be necessary at times. "It is necessary for the government to adjust its policies to respond to public opinion. That is quite normal. I would find it unacceptable if the government insisted on something that the public strongly objected to," he said. Mr Tam said the best strategy for avoiding damaging U-turns was by being more careful in assessing the public reaction before introducing a policy. The art of damage control lay in the ability to be frank and honest, he said. "In the traditional policymaking process, civil servants stress continuity and rely heavily on precedents. But such practice may make it difficult for the government to respond to the rapidly changing social environment and public expectations," he said. "When the government has to backtrack, it should admit publicly that it has failed to assess the situation accurately, and should be prepared to go along with the public demand." City University professor Joseph Cheng Yu-shek said it was not uncommon for politicians or governments elsewhere to reverse decisions and, in many cases, they were effected without too much public outcry. "To err is human. Governments can make mistakes. In cases like the decision on whether to send charter flights to Thailand, it should be acceptable for the government to admit that it could not master the situation on the ground. Very few people in Hong Kong would be competent enough to tell what was going on in Thailand," said Professor Cheng. "Just look at how the US government shifted policies in handling the financial meltdown. It was adamant at first that public funds would not be used to rescue certain corporations yet, shortly after, it committed to helping them." Professor Cheng said policy U-turns hurt the government's credibility, but there were certain basic techniques to minimise damage. "Honesty is the best policy. If the government decides to reverse its decision, it must come clean and admit that it had made a wrong decision and convince the public why a change of policy is necessary, and what a reasonable compromise solution should be," he said. "On the other hand, if the government has a strong ideological conviction, and has an important value to defend, it may have to stand firm." Professor Cheng said the government should already have the skills and means to avoid such policy embarrassments. "The government has a good system and practice. There are mechanisms that ensure that all the stakeholders are consulted, evaluations are made on public reaction, and assessments are made on whether majority support can be obtained in Legco. There are tools and means where the government can gauge the public pulse," he said. "In the cases such as the suspension of the foreign maid levy, the government should have kept an inventory of measures which could be implemented when it had the resources and which could be cut when it was in deficit. This would enable the government to churn out sound proposals within a short time." Mr Choy said that one way the government might consider avoiding policy shifts was by expanding its base. "The government could consider incorporating pan-democrats into the Executive Council. There is no need to exclude them," he said.

Judicial Reviews Help Government, Says Justice Minister

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Albert Wong, SCMP - Dec 12, 2008 Judicial review challenges and court decisions have provided the government with "important and practical guidance", the secretary for justice said yesterday. "Although defeats in judicial reviews can be hard to swallow immediately, I am convinced, and I know that conviction is shared by many of my colleagues in the government, that the commitment to the high standards of legality, reasonableness and fairness ... will improve public administration," Wong Yan-lung said. Speaking on the second day of a conference organised by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Mr Wong said principles laid down by various judicial review decisions were now "entrenched in the government's thinking process", such as the principle of reasonable decision-making, which "is being memorised like the multiplication table" by officials. "The courts have provided the government important and practical guidance in areas where the relevant provisions may not be free from ambiguity, or where specific local legislation does not even exist, in certain areas affecting fundamental rights." Nevertheless, he stressed that if judicial review was a barometer of governance, then the government had "not been doing too badly", winning 80 per cent of challenges in "recent years". On Wednesday, Chief Justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang said the growing number of judicial reviews should be viewed in a "constructive and positive way" by both the public and the government. Since 2004, there have been just under 150 applications a year for judicial reviews, compared with 29 in 1988. By the end of last month, there had been 118 applications this year. There were 143 last year. Pan-democratic lawmakers have often criticised Mr Wong for remaining silent on key constitutional debates and urged him take up a more pro-active role in guarding people's rights. Ronny Tong Ka-wah, a Civic Party lawmaker, noted that had Mr Wong called for proper legislation for the protection of rights, "then cases like the ban on inmate voting would not have needed to go to the court in the first place". Speaking at the same conference, Director of Public Prosecutions Grenville Cross criticised judicial review applications intended to delay criminal proceedings, noting that "justice delayed is justice denied". A judicial review decision on the constitutionality of the current regime for allocating radio licences will be handed down today.

Clear the Air Submission to Panel on Health Services

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Clear the Air submit to Panel on Health Services on the urgent need for a substantial Tobacco Tax increase in the 2009 budget

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Updated on Dec 17, 2008 Judith Mackay (Talkback, December 11) has a serious problem in her quest to eliminate cigarette smoking but there is absolutely no justification to target a small group of businesses that provide a service for those who wish to smoke. Licensed bars and entertainment places are private premises to which customers are invited at a manager's discretion and are not public places with right of access. Smoky bars are, therefore, not places with "indoor air pollution" to which the public or even "catering workers" are forced to venture. Nobody disputes that nicotine is an addictive drug and smoking kills, but like it or not, hundreds of millions of people worldwide still choose to smoke. Governments are sensible enough not to attempt to outlaw tobacco because quite apart from not wanting to lose billions of tax dollars, the memory of the attempted alcohol ban in the US in the 1920s - Prohibition - is still too fresh. No-smoking regulations already applied to shopping centres are weakly enforced, so what hope have you of enforcing even stricter regulations for private premises? The chairman of the Clear the Air (Talkback, December 12) group, Christian Masset, should check his facts. I am still a life member of the group. I submitted a resignation some years ago, which was never acknowledged and the group has continued to send me members' notices. I have also asked him as Clear the Air chairman to have a members' general debate on the smoking issue, which was ignored. The anti-tobacco lobby in Hong Kong and elsewhere has not been doing too well in recent years. Its weary message of doom for smokers is as stale as the lingering smell of smoke in an empty bar. Clear the Air has unfortunately permitted itself to be hijacked by anti-smoking campaigners, seeking to reinforce their flagging message. Most supporters believe in a far more noble cause than penalising smokers. We believe the priority is to clean the filthy and unhealthy outside air we are compelled to breathe without choice. This is what air pollution is really all about. If Dr Mackay and Clear the Air get their way, they will drive smoking dens underground. Or worse still, we will have larger groups of people hanging around on the pavements, blowing smoke into the faces of passers-by. Leave the bars and entertainment spots alone. P. A. Crush, Sha Tin I continue to be perplexed by claims of those such as Lam Kwok-tung (Talkback, December 13) that there is a "right" to smoke in Hong Kong. Nicotine is a listed poison and deliberately applying poison to another person with the intent to harm is against the law. Smokers know that second-hand smoke causes harm because in Hong Kong we usually blow the exhaled smoke as far away from our faces - and our friends' faces - as possible. It is also considered polite to hold a lit cigarette far away from friends' faces - and direct it instead towards strangers. Lam Kwok-tung is mistaken in believing that deliberately poisoning people is part of a civilised society. It is a contravention of Chapter 212, which has the charming title of Offences Against the Person Ordinance. His best choice, in order to stay within the law and reduce air pollution, is to quit. Annelise Connell, Stanley

MPOWER:

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Smoking Room Study In Final Phase

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Dan Kadison, SCMP - Dec 22, 2008 Little more than six months before the smoking ban is to be enforced in bars and other now-exempted venues, the government is entering the final phase of a study of smoking rooms that may offer bar owners a way around the curbs. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department has almost finished building a trial smoking room, along lines recommended by consultants this year, and tests by the Food and Health Bureau will begin next month, according to a source close to the project. Bar owners see such rooms as a lifeline, enabling them to retain smoking customers, who according to some account for up to 85 per cent of their patronage. At least one pub has built its own smoking room with financial help from tobacco giant Philip Morris. Progress on the trial was outlined in a government paper, obtained by the South China Morning Post The Food and Health Bureau, in a September brief written for the food business taskforce of the Business Facilitation Advisory Committee, said its advisers had run computer simulations on the best way to clean the air in a smoking room. They had decided the test room should be built with a ventilation system that brought fresh air in through the floor and took smoke out through the ceiling. A source familiar with the plan said the department had almost finished the room. "Experiments will start next month," the source added. "Quite a number of people should be able to smoke there ... it's a pretty big room." Health minister York Chow Yat-ngok announced in 2006 that government-commissioned consultants would consider the viability of smoking rooms. The study began in August last year - months after the first stage of the smoking ban took effect. The source said computer modelling had shown that a well-designed smoking room would allow hardly any smoke to escape and next year's report could support them. "A smoking room can definitely be built," the source said. "It's not an impossible mission. It's how you design it." Anti-smoking-campaign leader Anthony Hedley said that the introduction of smoking rooms "would be nothing short of a scandal". "To actually start creating these intensive sources of tobacco chemicals inside buildings, inside catering facilities, is madness," said Professor Hedley, chairman of the department of community medicine at the University of Hong Kong. Last month, the commissioned consultants joined a group of government and trade representatives for a tour of two smoking rooms: a HK$300,000 British American Tobacco ventilation showcase in Chai Wan; and a smoking room inside 2020 By SK, a Causeway Bay bar. The bureau is expected to report its findings to the Legislative Council in the first quarter of next year.

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Tobacco Industry Youth Smoking Prevention Programs: Protecting the Industry and Hurting Tobacco Control Anne Landman, BA, Pamela M. Ling, MD, MPH, and Stanton A. Glantz, PhD Anne Landman is with the American Lung Association of Colorado, Denver. Pamela M. Ling is with the Traineeships in AIDS Prevention Studies, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco. Stanton A. Glantz is with the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, Institute for Health Policy Studies, Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco. Requests for reprints should be sent to Stanton A. Glantz, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Box 0130, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143 (e-mail:glantz/at/medicine.ucsf.edu). Accepted February 14, 2002. Small right arrow pointing to: This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Abstract Objectives. This report describes the history, true goals, and effects of tobacco industry–sponsored youth smoking prevention programs. Methods. We analyzed previously-secret tobacco industry documents. Results. The industry started these programs in the 1980s to forestall legislation that would restrict industry activities. Industry programs portray smoking as an adult choice and fail to discuss how tobacco advertising promotes smoking or the health dangers of smoking. The industry has used these programs to fight taxes, clean-indoor-air laws, and marketing restrictions worldwide. There is no evidence that these programs decrease smoking among youths. Conclusions. Tobacco industry youth programs do more harm than good for tobacco control. The tobacco industry should not be allowed to run or directly fund youth smoking prevention programs.

Smokers Arrested

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Clifford Lo, SCMP - Updated on Feb 18, 2009 Police arrested two smokers after a tobacco control inspector was assaulted yesterday morning. Inspectors were conducting a check on a Sha Tin karaoke in Tai Po Road at about 3.30am after receiving a complaint about smoking. Two men were found smoking in a karaoke room. They refused to co-operate when asked to show their Identity cards, police said. A 27-year-old pushed the female tobacco control officer to the ground. She suffered minor injuries to her hand, a spokesman said. Police arrested him. The other smoker, aged 22, was arrested on suspicion of misleading a police officer. The two men were taken to Prince of Wales Hospital and later held for questioning. Since January 2007, three offenders were convicted for assaulting tobacco control inspectors. The Tobacco Control Office said assaults on inspectors was rare and most people co-operated with officers.

Australia Defends Inclusion Of Air Pollution In New Travel Warning

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Rosanne Barrett, SCMP - Mar 26, 2009

The Australian government has defended its decision to cite air pollution in Hong Kong in a new travel warning. It said a change to its travel advice for the city, highlighting the potential health impacts of air pollution, was timely as part of a "comprehensive, consistent and factual" warning.

The South China Morning Post (SEHK: 0583, announcements, news) reported yesterday that Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs had included a notice about air pollution in Hong Kong as a health issue as part of an updated alert on Monday. It warned that air pollution levels could "aggravate bronchial, sinus or asthma conditions", and that people with heart or respiratory illnesses should reduce physical exertion and outdoor activities on days when very high pollution levels were recorded. Yesterday, a spokesman for the department said the change to the travel advice brought it in line with "similarly affected" places and used the Hong Kong government's own health advice to its citizens. "The Australian government has an obligation to notify its citizens to circumstances that may affect their welfare when travelling," he said. But a spokesman for lobby group Clear The Air said the advice was not up to date as it used government data that relied on old standards and did not reflect current World Health Organisation air quality standards. The WHO's standards for measuring air pollution are stricter than those used by the Hong Kong government.

Clear the Air's View on Smoking Bans

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Mr Albert Chan Wai Yip

Legislative Councillor

Dear Mr Chan,

In New York in the year after their full smoking ban, bar and restaurants and receipts rose 12% above the pre smoking ban receipts, more liquor licences were issued and more people employed than before their ban.

There are many similar examples worldwide and abundant independent evidence to show that smoking bans are good for the catering business.

It stands to reason that there are more non smokers than smokers and they will go out to non smoking premises , stay longer and spend more than the minority smokers as has been proven to happen. Anti smoking legislation is enacted to protect workers in their workplaces, - it seems you ignore this salient fact and misguidedly aim to protect bar owners rather than workers - both of whom would benefit from full smoking bans.

http://www.clearingtheairscotland.com/facts/economic-impact.html

http://www.smokefreeaction.org.uk/archive/worddocs/economics.doc

http://science.cancerresearchuk.org/reps/pdfs/smokefree_joossens.pdf

http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/12/1/13

Review of the quality of studies on the economic effects of smoke-free policies on the hospitality industry

M Scollo¹, A Lal¹, A Hyland² and S Glantz³ ¹ VicHealth Centre for Tobacco Control, The Cancer Council, Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia ² Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Department of Cancer Prevention, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics, Buffalo, New York, USA ³ Institute of Health Policy Studies and Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

"Conclusion: All of the best designed studies report no impactor a positive impact of smoke-free restaurant and bar laws onsales or employment. Policymakers can act to protect workersand patrons from the toxins in secondhand smoke confident inrejecting industry claims that there will be an adverse economicimpact.^"

^{The Liberal Party stated that what happens overseas might be different in Hong Kong - hogwash.}

Hong Kong is different - the liquor licensed premises' receipts are not up 12% - they are up 31.52% despite the economic downturn of 2008.

Publish these facts on your website and let the public know the truth.

I note you have children - are you aware 1,394 people died last year from passive smoking ?

The Liberal Party delayed the anti smoking legislation for 6 years - then only allowed it to pass with the bar / mahjong / karaoke qualified establishment exemptions - work that one out how many people died because of that delay caused by people representing the ends of Big Business and not the electorate in the catering industry they alleged to represent. Would you like your children to die from passive smoking ?

If you represent the rights of blue collar workers you should help them stop smoking, not try and prolong their addiction.

As a Master of Social Work Mr Chan we find your stance alarming and in conflict with your training and expertise. You are playing with peoples' lives by supporting smoking in workplaces

when abundant evidence exists to show otherwise.

The cost of smoking related illnesses to Hong Kong taxpayers is $ 5.366 billion per year - when loss of life is factored into the numbers the loss to Hong Kong society is $ 73.32 billion per year.(University of HKG Department of Community Medicine)

Yours sincerely,

James Middleton

Chairman antio tobacco committee

www.cleartheair.org.hk

4 Social workers http://www.fostering.net/campaigns/foster_carers_and_smoking/recommendations.php

4.1 As in 3.2 above, the behaviour of social workers provides a role model to children and young people in care. They must promote the benefits of not smoking and give positive messages to children and young people about not smoking. 4.2 They should support foster carers in ensuring that children and young people understand the rules regarding smoking, and should provide information that helps foster carers to enforce innovative ways to get children and young people to stop smoking. 4.3 Social workers must never smoke around children and young people, including in view of children and young people. They should also be aware that the smell of smoke remains on the person and in the car, and should ensure that they are doing everything they can to minimise the lingering effects of cigarette smoke. 4.4 Social workers must never buy cigarettes for children and young people. 4.5 Social workers should provide access to health education/smoking cessation programmes for young people where it is needed.

http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hong_kong_statistics/statistical_tables/index.jsp?charsetID=1&subjectID=5&tableID=088

HK Government Census and Statistics Department data shows that smoking bans are good for business.

The first Quarter (Q1)receipts for 2007 (Hong Kong Smoking ban commenced Jan 01 2007) were UP 11.86% on pre smoking ban Q1 2006.

The Q1 receipts for 2008 were UP 29.62% above the Q1 2006 receipts.

The Q1 receipts for 2009 were UP 31.52% above the Q1 2006 receipts in spite of the Global Financial collapse.

The Liberal Party that supposedly represents the rights of the catering community should be ashamed of its stance and predictions of doom and gloom in the catering industry as should 'paid' consultants.

6. Survey: Smoking Ban Hits Restaurants http://www.tommycheung.com/nav_eng.htm Speaking at the press conference on the first half-year study on the smoking ban. The PolyU Technology and Consultancy Company has completed the first half-year study on the smoking ban for the Catering Industry Association and concluded that 41 per cent of 560 restaurant premises surveyed earned less after the Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Ordinance took effect from 1 January 2007 as compared with the same period in 2006. Karaoke clubs were the worst hit, 75% in the polling suffered a decline in sales revenue. On the other hand, only a fifth of all respondents earned more. The catering industry was obviously not benefiting as much as they should from the booming economy. That is why I strongly urge the Government to study the feasibility of promoting the use of smoking rooms. For details of the report, please go to my website: http://www.tommycheung.com Please note that this is only the first stage in a three-phase study on the impact of the smoking ban on the catering industry. I would like to seek your kind support in participating in the following two phases of surveys over the next 12 months if your food establishment has been selected as one of the samples. http://www.tommycheung.com/images/news/downloads/HKCIA.presentat010920dfr.pdf so much for the 'expert' KPMG report !

Legco Expense Claims Go to Limit - 17 Lawmakers Put in for Maximum Perks

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Yau Chui-yan, SCMP - Jun 01, 2009 Nearly a third of legislators routinely claim the maximum allowable amount for travelling and entertainment expenses without providing any records. The practice - possible under a decade-old reimbursement system that does not require receipts - has raised suggestions that some lawmakers treat the annual allowance of more than HK$164,000 a year as an extension of their salaries. But legislators say it is impossible for them to keep a record of all spending, while some say they use the money as a form of petty cash for a range of expenses that always exceed the allowance. A check by the South China Morning Post (SEHK: 0583, announcements, news) on expense records from October last year to February this year found that 17 of the 60 legislators claimed HK$13,000 to HK$13,720 a month - equivalent to about a twelfth of the total allowed. Based on 22 working days a month, this works out at about HK$622 a day, enough for a two-course French or Italian set lunch for two at a five-star hotel in Admiralty, excluding drinks. Hui Wai-bun, a spokesman for watchdog group Catholic Monitors on Legislative Councillors, said: "Some receipts are not easy to get, but they should try to record these items themselves." The highest claims were HK$13,720 a month by Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) members Ip Wai-ming, Pan Pey-chyou, Wong Kwok-hing and Wong Kwok-kin. Andrew Cheng Kar-foo, Kam Nai-wai and Albert Ho Chun-yan of the Democratic Party and Wong Yung-kan of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong claimed HK$13,699 a month. The guide for reimbursement of operating expenses for lawmakers states that members can be reimbursed up to HK$164,390 a year for entertainment and travel without presenting supporting documents. In 1995, 70 per cent of such spending required supporting documents, and the requirement was lowered to 50 per cent in 1996. But since 1999, for administrative convenience, no documents have been required. Wong Kwok-hing denied that he and his fellow lawmakers had agreed on the amount to be claimed, although all claimed the same amount. "We just followed what we did during the last session," he said. "It is impossible for us to keep a record of all spending." Fellow FTU lawmaker Ip Wai-ming said he was just following the regulations. "I could present supporting documents, like receipts, if there is such a request, as I try to keep receipts myself, but it is not an issue I can decide myself." Democrat Mr Cheng said the amount reimbursed did not cover money he spent on Legco matters. Catering-sector lawmaker Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, who claims HK$13,500 a month, said his expenses exceeded this amount but was not sure by how much, while accountancy-sector legislator Paul Chan Mo-po said the existing system "has its own wisdom". Sophie Leung Lau Yau-fun, chairwoman of a committee on members' interests, said: "Although it is an honour system, there is still a need for certain self-discipline. The fact that there is no requirement for supporting documents does not mean you have to claim all the money every month." Staking a claim Lawmakers who claimed from HK$13,000 to HK$13,700 a month between October last year and February: Andrew Cheng Kar-foo, Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, Frederick Fung Kin-kee, Albert Ho Chun-yan, Cyd Ho Sau-lan, Ip Kwok-him, Ip Wai-ming, Kam Nai-wai, Lau Wong-fat, David Li Kwok-po, Pan Pey-chyou, James To Kun-sun, Tsang Yok-sing, Wong Kwok-hing, Wong Kwok-kin, Wong Ting-kwong, Wong Yung-kan.

World Expo hands back sponsorship from tobacco firm

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

World Expo hands back sponsorship from tobacco firm

Will Clem in Shanghai Updated on Jul 22, 2009

The Shanghai World Expo 2010 has handed back 200 million yuan (HK$227 million) in sponsorship funds from a tobacco company, state media reports. If confirmed, the move would be a major coup for anti-smoking activists on the mainland, who have been pressuring authorities to live up to their commitments to international health treaties. The Southern Metropolis News reported yesterday that the Expo organising committee had decided to return the Shanghai Tobacco Group's contribution to the China national pavilion to promote a "healthy World Expo". The paper quoted anonymous sources in the Expo bureau as saying the decision had been reached in a document ruling out gifts from firms linked to the tobacco industry. When the Shanghai Tobacco Group made the donation in May, it was the largest single contribution the national pavilion had received since fund-raising began in 2007. No one at the Expo organising bureau could be reached for comment, and no announcement that the sponsorship money had been returned was on the fair's website. However, the company is no longer listed among the fair's 13 global partners, 12 senior partners or 14 project sponsors on either the Chinese or English versions of the site. Campaigners submitted a petition to the Expo organisers arguing that the sponsorship was in breach of the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, theSouth China Morning Post reported last week. China ratified the convention in 2005. The 20 signatories included medical experts, prominent anti-smoking activists and health officials. Jiang Yuan , a tobacco- control official at the Ministry of Health, said she had not heard confirmation that the campaign was successful, but welcomed the news. "This would be a huge step forward," she said. "The Shanghai government has the chance to set a positive example to the rest of the country, to show that a change in attitude is needed. "This is not just about the Shanghai World Expo. There are many other public events that have received money from tobacco companies, and I am certain the Shanghai government's decision will have an impact." She said she believed that the initial decision by organisers to accept the money had been made "without fully understanding the issues and the implications". "The Expo is an international event, and so it should keep with international standards," she said. "After this, there will be more room for understanding." With 350 million smokers, the mainland is the largest tobacco market, accounting for one-third of the world's smokers. About a million mainlanders die each year from smoking-related illnesses, Ministry of Health figures show. The anti-smoking lobby is still in its relative infancy, but has begun making inroads - despite state-run cigarette manufacturers' political influence. The mainland has already banned direct tobacco advertising and plans to implement a total ban on promotions in 2011.

Comments are now allowed

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

We would like to hear your voice! From now on, you can register and post your comments online in our blog.

Bhutan: Tobacco control bill endorsed

Ryan Chan — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

By Michael Carolan

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Barbara McDougall, Chair of the Board of Governors of IDRC is also a Director of Imperial Tobacco Canada.

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

watch this space to see what WHO does ! http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-83293-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html http://blogsofbainbridge.typepad.com/africa/2010/03/barbara-mcdougall-chair-of-the-board-of-idrc-is-also-a-director-of-imperial-tobacco-canada-.html Barbara McDougall, Chair of the Board of Governors of IDRC is also a Director of Imperial Tobacco Canada. IDRC The International Development Research Centre http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-1-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html On January 30 2007, the Foreign Minister of Canada announced the nomination of Barbara McDougall to the IDRC Board of Governors. http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-117890-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-145108-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html http://www.crdi.ca/uploads/user-S/12518094001ar_governance.pdf The official press release mentions she belongs to the Board of "several Canadian corporations", names a few but not Imperial Tobacco Canada: this is strange as the site of the Toronto's Law Firm Aird & Berlis where Barbara McDougall is an Advisor mentions Imperial Tobacco in her bio. Hon. Barbara J. McDougall Advisor http://www.airdberlis.com/templates/lawyers/lawyerbio.aspx?lawyerid=142&page=8 Email: Phone: Fax: Click here to email 416.865.7747 416.863.1515 Print Bio The Honourable Barbara McDougall, P.C., O.C., CFA, LL.D., is an advisor at our firm, counselling clients on matter of international business development, corporate governance and government relations. Bio Mrs. McDougall is widely recognized for her expertise in international relations and is frequently invited by the media to comment on current events. Her extensive knowledge and interest in international policy have led her to sit as a Canadian representative to the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington and The International Crisis Group in Brussels. Mrs. McDougall remains a member of the IAD's Audit Committee. She recently completed a term as the Canadian representative on the International Advisory Board for the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. She has also recently completed a five-year term as President of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs. Mrs. McDougall was a Member of Parliament for nine years and held several cabinet posts, including: Finance (Minister of State), Privatization, Employment and Immigration, and finally External Affairs. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto, a Chartered Financial Analyst and has an honorary doctorate from St. Lawrence University. She was a Senior Resident of Massey College, University of Toronto. She chaired the Canadian Retailers Advancing Responsible Trade. She was formerly chairman of AT&T Canada Long Distance Services, chairman of the Audit Committee and the Investment Committee of the Independent Order of Foresters, and served on the boards of National Trust, Systemhouse Inc., Avenor Inc., Sun Media, Corel Corporation and Stelco Inc. prior to their takeovers or mergers. She served a term as a public governor of The Toronto Stock Exchange. Prior to entering politics, Mrs. McDougall worked in various sectors within the financial community, largely as a financial analyst, in Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto. She was also a columnist and television commentator. Special DesignationsOfficer of the Order of Canada Honorary doctorate from St. Lawrence University Professional Activities Mrs. McDougall is Chairman of the International Development Research Centre, a unique organization that funds research into development issues in many countries. She also chairs the Global Panel North America, and is a member of Global Panel Foundation's advisory board based in Prague. She is a director of the Institute for Research on Public Policy in Montreal. Mrs. McDougall continues to serve as a director of Imperial Tobacco Canada and Unique Solutions Design Ltd. and is an honorary director of the Bank of Nova Scotia. She frequently participates in educational seminars on corporate governance. Community InvolvementMrs. McDougall is an honorary governor of York University, a director of The L'Arche Foundation of Canada (an international organization for the intellectually challenged founded by Jean Vanier), the Canadian Opera House Corporation, and was founding Chairman of the Patrons' Council of the Toronto Association for Community Living. Business Week tells us that Barbara McDougall is a Director of Imperial Tobacco Canada since 2004. She is said to serve as Director of Compensation and Nominations Committee but in other documents she appears as Chair of the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, like in this social report of BAT(pdf) http://www.bat.com/group/sites/UK__3MNFEN.nsf/vwPagesWebLive/82288887044AD66CC1257460003626D9/$FILE/canada_social_reprt.pdf?openelement for the year 2006-2007. When she was chosen to become Chair of IDRC's Board of Governors, in December 2007, IDRC does not mention that she was a Director of Imperial Tobacco Canada, stating only that she was a Director of "several Canadian corporations". It is comforting to read on the page that introduces IDRC's Board of Governors that "The Board has a stringent conflict of interest policy to maintain the highest standard of integrity for its members and for the Centre as a whole." Does that mean that belonging to the Board of a Tobacco Company does not create any conflict of interest with IDRC's mission? On December 1srt 2007 the Gates Foundation awarded US$5.2 million to IDRC to promote tobacco control in Sub-Sahara Africa. We find it somehow ironical (to say the least) that IDRC is now organizing an external review of its tobacco control programs that will be presented to the Board of Governors, chaired by Barbara McDougall, a Director of Imperial Tobacco? Who is related to Barbara J McDougall? Scotia Bank and Barbara J McDougall share 5 relationships. Corel Corp and Barbara J McDougall share 4 relationships. Imperial Tobacco Group PLC and Barbara J McDougall share 3 relationships. Aird & Berlis LLP and Barbara J McDougall share 3 relationships. Unique Solutions Design Ltd and Barbara J McDougall share 2 relationships. University of Toronto and Barbara J McDougall share 2 relationships. Bank of Nova Scotia and Barbara J McDougall share 2 relationships. Scotiabank and Barbara J McDougall share 2 relationships. International Development Research Centre and Barbara J McDougall share 1 relationship. Stelco Inc and Barbara J McDougall share 1 relationship. Foresters Securities Inc and Barbara J McDougall share 1 relationship. U S Steel Canada Inc and Barbara J McDougall share 1 relationship. AT&T Corp and Barbara J McDougall share 1 relationship. EXECUTIVE PROFILE* Barbara J. McDougall P.C., O.C. Return to Research In Motion Ltd. Honorary Director, The Bank Of Nova Scotia 73 73 Age Total Annual Compensation This person is connected to 73 board members in 6 different organizations across 9 different industries. See Board Relationships 71 -- BACKGROUND* Barbara J. McDougall, P.C. O.C. has been the Chief Executive Officer and President of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs since February 1999. The Honourable McDougall serves as an Advisor to Aird & Berlis LLP. She is a Former Minister of State, Finance of the Canadian Government. She was a Private Consultant on Corporate Governance and on International Business. She was first elected to the House of Commons in 1984 and held various government posts, including ... Secretary of State for External Affairs from 1991 to 1993. The Honourable McDougall has served as a Canadian representative to the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington and The International Crisis Group in Brussels. She serves as the Chair of The Board of Governors at International Development Research Centre. She was the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of AT&T Canada. She has been an honorary director of Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotia Bank, Parent Company of Scotia Mortgage Investment Corp.) since March 30, 2008. She has been a Director of Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd (formerly, British American Tobacco (Canada) Limited) since July 2004 and serves as a Director of Unique Solutions Design Ltd. She has been a Director of Foresters Securities (Canada) Inc. (also knnown as Foresters) since 1998 and serves as a Director of Software Design Group. She served as a Director of U.S. Steel Canada Inc. (alternate name: Stelco Inc.) since 1999. The Honourable McDougall served as an Honorary Director of Scotiabank Capital Trust until March 4, 2008. She served as an Independent Director of Corel Corporation since April 1998 and also as Director from 2001 to 2005. She served as a Director of Bank of Nova Scotia from March 30, 1999 to March 4, 2008. Prior to 1993, She was a Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister in the Canadian Federal Government. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst. The Honourable McDougall received B.A. from the University of Toronto. Collapse DetailCORPORATE HEADQUARTERS* 44 King Street West Toronto, Ontario M5H 1H1 Canada Phone: 416-866-3672 Fax: 416-933-1777 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEMBERSHIPS* 2008-2008 Honorary Director The Bank Of Nova Scotia 2004-Present Director and Member of Compensation & Nominating Committee Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited 1999-Present Former Director U.S. Steel Canada Inc. 1999-Present Director of Scotia Bank Scotia Mortgage Investment Corporation 1998-Present Former Independent Director Corel Corporation 1998-Present Director Foresters Securities (Canada) Inc. Director Unique Solutions Design Ltd. Chair of The Board of Governors International Development Research Centre Former Honorary Director Scotiabank Capital Trust EDUCATION* Other Education University of Toronto BA University of Toronto OTHER AFFILIATIONS* Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited Corel Corporation U.S. Steel Canada Inc. University of Toronto International Development Research Centre Scotia Mortgage Investment Corporation Unique Solutions Design Ltd. Scotiabank Capital Trust Foresters Securities (Canada) Inc.

Secondhand smoke levels in Israeli bars, pubs and cafes before and after implementation of smoke-free legislation

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

First published: Source:

Secondhand smoke levels in Israeli bars, pubs and cafes before and after implementation of smoke-free legislation

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Secondhand smoke levels in Israeli bars, pubs and cafes before and after implementation of smoke-free legislation

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

New building torn down

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

ktgkltgjk5tkh k6y hkyt

Proposal to ban smoking on Seoul streets

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Last updated: March 24, 2010 Source: Tobacco Reporter Seoul Metropolitan Council has proposed an ordinance that would prohibit smoking on streets and in parks and plazas within the capital, except in separate, designated smoking areas, according to a story in The Korea Times.

At the same time, the bill would provide tax incentives to companies participating in non-smoking campaigns.

If passed, the bill, which is due to be discussed during an extraordinary session of the municipal council in June, would take effect from January next year.

Customs crackdown on Malaysian retailers http://tobaccoreporter.com/home.php?id=498&art=3164

Mar 24, 2010—A crackdown in Malaysia on retailers selling smuggled cigarettes saw more than 100 cases brought to court during the first two months of this year, according to a story in The Star quoting the deputy director-general of the Customs Department, Datuk Mohamed Khalid Yusuf.

During the whole of last year, only a few cases went to court.

Retailers face being fined 10 times the value of any smuggled cigarettes seized from them.

“Currently, in Peninsular Malaysia, one out of three cigarette packs sold in the market is illegal, whereas in Sabah and Sarawak, two out of three cigarette packs sold in the market are illegal,” Khalid said.

http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202446749630

Fla. Jury Awards Smoker's Widow US$26.6 Million

John Pacenti 03-25-2010 Nathan Cohen could not stop smoking even after he was diagnosed with lung cancer, heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He tried hypnosis, nicotine gum, even attended anti-smoking seminars before succumbing to cancer in 1994. A Broward Circuit jury Wednesday awarded the widow of the deceased cigarette smoker $26.6 million after finding cigarette manufacturers R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris liable for causing his lung cancer and death. The jury decided the cigarette makers should pay his widow $10 million each in punitive damages and awarded Cohen's widow, Robin Cohen of Plantation, Fla., $6.6 million in compensatory damages. A $10 million jury award was reduced by a finding that her husband was one-third responsible for his illness. The jury deliberated 5 and a half hours over two days on the question of damages in the trial before Broward Circuit Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld. Florida smokers filed about 8,000 lawsuits after the Florida Supreme Court threw out a record $145 billion class action award in 2006 but allowed people to sue individually. Cohen filed one of the follow-on suits. Nathan Cohen smoked from age 14 in 1940 until he died at 68 in 1994. He smoked Reynolds brands Salem and Camel and Philip Morris' Benson & Hedges cigarettes. "It was a 50-year conspiracy where the tobacco companies deliberately and consciously lied," said Adam Trop, one of Cohen's attorneys. "All the while, they knew people were dying." Trop said he has about 50 more lawsuits pending for individual smokers. "We are just getting started," he said. Trop, a partner at Paige Trop & Ameen in Hollywood, Fla., tried the case with firm partner Gary Paige and Miami attorney Alex Alvarez. He said it was the first case stemming from the class action that held two tobacco companies accountable at the same time. R.J. Reynolds spokesman David Howard said the company would appeal the verdict and prepare for other smoker litigation. "We are confident in our defenses," he said. Phillip Morris' parent company plans an appeal. "The verdict is the result of legal rulings by the trial court that improperly eliminated most of the plaintiff's burden of proof," said Murray Garnick, senior vice president for Altria Client Services.

Proposal to ban smoking on Seoul streets

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Tommy Cheung joins the call for HK$24 minimum

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Damaging indecision: Public health expert Anthony Hedley has relocated to cleaner air. Yet that's not an option for most Hongkongers, he writes, and the government is failing in its duty to protect them from pollution

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Nicotine: Harder To Kick...Than Heroin

admin — Sun, 29 Mar 1987 14:31:52 +0000

The New York Times, By SANDRA BLAKESLEE: SANDRA BLAKESLEE IS A FREELANCE WRITER LIVING IN LOS ANGELES. - March 29, 1987 LEAD: DESPITE OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE that tobacco is destroying their health and shortening their lives, 53 million Americans continue to smoke. Increasingly aware that their addiction is also harmful to their children and co-workers, they continue to puff away on 570 billion cigarettes a year. DESPITE OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE that tobacco is destroying their health and shortening their lives, 53 million Americans continue to smoke. Increasingly aware that their addiction is also harmful to their children and co-workers, they continue to puff away on 570 billion cigarettes a year. Many smokers are highly intelligent people with impressive levels of control over institutions, budgets, employees and political affairs. Yet, after repeated attempts to give up smoking, they find that they cannot control this one, seemingly uncomplicated, aspect of their behavior. Are smokers more weak-willed than nonsmokers or former smokers? Or do millions of people continue to smoke for reasons more powerful than previously imagined? What, for example, could possess a heart attack victim to light up a cigarette the moment he is wheeled out of the coronary care unit? Interdisciplinary research in pharmacology, psychology, physiology and neurobiology is just beginning to shed light on the incredible hold that tobacco has on people. Scientists have found, for instance, that nicotine is as addictive as heroin, cocaine or amphetamines, and for most people more addictive than alcohol. Its hooks go deep, involving complex physiological and psychological mechanisms that drive and maintain smoking behavior and that even produce some ''good'' effects, such as improved performance on intellectual, computational and stressful tasks. The bad effects are legion. Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of illness and death in the United States. The medical bill for individuals with fatal illnesses related to smoking has been estimated at $60 million a day, according to a 1985 study by the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. Since the first Surgeon General's report on smoking in 1964, about 37 million Americans have quit. Those still addicted tend to smoke more cigarettes, but they should not lose hope. New strategies for quitting, based on a deeper understanding of the addiction, are in the wings. ''The known enemy is more easily overcome,'' says Dr. Jack Henningfield, who specializes in the biology of dependence and abuse potential at the Addiction Research Center of the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Baltimore. When the first warnings about tobacco were published more than 20 years ago, many experts thought that smoking was ''no different than compulsive potato chip eating,'' says Dr. Henningfield. Not smoking was apparently just a matter of willpower. But it is now clear, according to Dr. Henningfield, that smoking is a subset of compulsive behavior in which the controlling factor, nicotine, profoundly affects the smoker's central nervous system, producing pleasurable effects, dependency and, when it is taken away, withdrawal. This finding has been long believed but only recently proved through tests that meet today's scientific standards. It stems from extensive modern research into the nature of drugs of abuse, made possible through the development of highly specific testing equipment. Heroin, cocaine, alcohol, amphetamines and nicotine, it turns out, have many things in common. They affect the nervous system through different routes, but their end results are similar: people become dependent on them. ''Heroin addicts say it is easier to give up dope than it is to give up smoking,'' says Dr. Sharon Hall, a psychology professor whose research at the University of California's San Francisco medical school centers on methods of curtailing drug abuse. LIKE HEROIN, NICOTINE IS AN alkaloid found in plants. The alkaloid kills insects by disrupting their neurotransmitters, substances released by the bug's activated nerve cells. It so happens that humans have the same neurotransmitters. What is toxic to the insect, however, is pleasurable to the human when taken in the tiny amounts found in cigarettes. Alkaloids exert their effects by binding to receptors in the brain and other nerve tissue. Heroin attaches to the brain's natural painkilling receptors. Nicotine affects a major neurotransmitter system that is involved in the very conduction of nerve signals, memory and other critical functions. It also binds to white blood cells and is carried to most tissues throughout the body. An addictive drug of abuse is defined as one that will be repeatedly self-administered, even though there is no medical reason for it. People take aspirin for a headache, but when the pain is gone, they stop taking the drug. The classical experiment to test for self-administration involves humans or animals connected intravenously to both a source of the drug and to a saline solution. They are free to press two unmarked levers. One delivers the drug, the other the saline, but the subject does not know which is which. With an abusable drug, the rate of self-administration is regular, says Dr. Henningfield. Neither the animals nor the humans ''mistake'' nicotine for saline, although they sometimes mistake nicotine for amphetamines. And both the animals and humans self-administer nicotine to keep the concentration of it in their blood relatively constant. In an experiment with eight drug users, Dr. Henningfield tested the euphoric qualities of nicotine. Given intravenously in gradually larger doses, nicotine was rated as highly euphoric, with dose-response curves similar to those of cocaine, amphetamines and morphine. Asked to identify the injections, subjects frequently mistook cocaine for nicotine. Given intravenously in equal amounts, says Dr. Henningfield, ''nicotine was between 5 and 10 times more potent in producing a euphoric effect than cocaine.'' But the effect is fleeting for regular smokers, since they inhale such tiny amounts of nicotine. While the fundamental mechanisms are unknown, most drugs of abuse produce either tolerance or withdrawal. Nicotine does both. Tolerance means that, up to a point, more of the drug is required to achieve the same effect or that there is diminished effect when the same dose is used regularly. Dr. Henningfield took a survey of 741 smokers, all about 35 years old, whose smoking had increased from about three cigarettes to a pack a day over a period of eight years. All respondents indicated a rapid increase in the first few months of smoking followed by a gradual leveling off. According to Dr. Henningfield, a similar pattern of escalation followed by stable dosing is characteristic of dependence on alcohol, sedatives, stimulants and narcotics. Withdrawal is a constellation of symptoms experienced after stopping the regular use of a drug. Nicotine withdrawal often includes anxiety, irritability, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, craving for tobacco, gastrointestinal problems, headaches, drowsiness, decreased heart rate, tremors and slowed metabolism. ''The popular media have exaggerated the withdrawal from opiates and downplayed the withdrawal from tobacco,'' says Dr. Neal Benowitz, a clinical pharmacologist at the University of San Francisco medical school. ''If you take away the trappings of how the addicted person looks,'' he adds, ''you can't tell the difference.'' THE ADDICTIVE NATURE of nicotine is an important issue in cigarette liability cases. Is the smoker exercising free choice, and is he alone responsible for his behavior? Or has the smoker succumbed to an addiction not adequately disclosed by the manufacturer and perhaps even obscured by deceptive advertising? Tobacco companies defend themselves by pointing out that they are simply marketing a legal substance. ''The idea that cigarette smoking is more addictive than cocaine or heroin is ludicrous,'' says Scott Stath, a spokesman for the Tobacco Institute in Washington. ''The term 'addiction' is a debased coin worth nothing at all. You even see references to viewing sports as being addictive.'' According to one argument, substances like sugar are addicting because they affect neurotransmitters that improve mood. But Dr. Henningfield tested this notion and found that intravenous injections of glucose did not produce the mood changes characteristic of morphine, cocaine and nicotine. Drugs of abuse, he says, seem to tap into the brain's wiring to control behavior in ways that other ''addicting'' substances do not. ''We abuse drugs for many reasons,'' says Dr. Henningfield. ''The effects that lead to compulsive behavior are diverse.'' Nicotine is very different from most other drugs of abuse in important ways. Its effects are felt more rapidly than those of drugs taken intravenously. One-quarter of the nicotine in each drag reaches the brain in seven seconds. The nicotine concentration in the blood peaks at about the time that the cigarette butt is extinguished. The effects then fall off rapidly as nicotine is cleared by the liver and excreted in urine. Within a half hour, many smokers seek a new dose of nicotine. A pack-a-day smoker takes 70,000 drug ''hits'' a year. One astonishing property of nicotine is that it acts both as a stimulant and sedative. Shallow puffs tend to increase alertness, whereas deep drags relax the smoker. The reason is that low doses of nicotine facilitate the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine - which makes people feel alert - but high doses of nicotine block the flow of this compound. Nicotine is the ''drug for all occasions,'' says research psychologist Dr. Ovide Pomerleau, director of the behavioral medicine program at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. ''Its variable effects are available on demand and do not outlast the circumstances to which they are appropriate. Unlike other drugs, nicotine does not interfere with normal activity.'' Smokers are incredibly adept at maintaining a steady concentration of nicotine in their bloodstreams throughout the day, says Dr. Benowitz. There seems to be an internal sensing system, like a household thermostat, that knows when nicotine levels are too low. Called a ''nicostat,'' it is what drives a smoker to light up when the nicotine level falls below his set point. Most smokers require about 10 cigarettes a day to maintain a ''comfort zone.'' After a night's sleep, smokers deeply inhale their first few cigarettes to raise the concentration of nicotine in their blood quickly. Later cigarettes are typically smoked more lightly. In one of Dr. Benowitz's experiments, volunteers spent three days over a 10-day period hooked up to catheters that drew blood samples every two hours. On different days they smoked either their usual brand, True or Camel filter cigarettes, yet the subjects maintained essentially the same blood levels of nicotine. They smoked fewer of the strong Camels and more of the weak Trues than their regular brand, drawing harder on the Trues and more lightly on the Camels. In fact, Dr. Benowitz says, the smokers extracted 60 percent more nicotine per True cigarette than predicted by the Federal Trade Commission's smoking machines. The people also inhaled about one-third more nicotine per cigarette from their own brands than from either the Camels or the Trues, probably, says Dr. Benowitz, because they enjoyed them more. The nicostat does not, however, explain all smoking behavior. If it did, people would smoke in a clockwork fashion, on a fixed schedule. Factors other than blood concentration of nicotine can trigger the desire for a cigarette. Tobacco is a ''package deal,'' says Dr. Lynn Kozlowski, head of behavioral research on tobacco at the Addiction Research Foundation in Ontario, Canada. ''Nicotine's significant but not debilitating psychoactive effects are combined with pleasant tastes and rituals.'' For most smokers, certain situations trigger the desire to smoke, even though the body's blood nicotine level has not fallen below the nicostat's set point. Rituals such as drinking coffee, driving a car, talking on the phone or drinking alcohol at a party become inextricably linked with smoking. Once the patterns of smoking are set, they become regular from day to day and even from cigarette to cigarette. THE SO-CALLED THERAPEUTIC effects of smoking, such as stress reduction and appetite control, are mediated through nicotine's impact on a host of chemicals that modify the activity of neurotransmitters to regulate mood, learning, alertness and performance. The smoker uses nicotine to fine-tune his body's reactions to the outside world. If its preferred mode of administration did not carry tar, carbon monoxide and thousands of poisons into the lungs, many scientists say, nicotine might not be such a bad drug. Current studies are proving that, for regular smokers, nicotine improves short-term memory, concentration and intellectual performance. It is not known, however, if the drug would produce these positive effects on nonsmokers. Nicotine also gives subjective relief from stress. Paradoxically, it induces the biological symptoms of stress, speeding up the heart rate and raising blood pressure. A smoker's heartbeat is increased about 8 to 10 beats a minute all day and all night, according to Dr. Benowitz. This plus other changes induced by smoking, he believes, may produce excessive wear and tear on the heart over the years. Smoking also appears to control weight. Dr. Neil Grunberg, associate professor of medical psychology and pharmacology at Uniformed Services Universities in Bethesda, Md., has found that smokers generally weigh less than nonsmokers of comparable age, sex and health. Intrigued by this, he conducted a series of animal experiments with tantalizing results. First, he found that male rats given nicotine over an extended period weighed less and ate less sweet food than other rats. When he took away their nicotine, the experimental rats ate more sweet food and gained weight. In a second experiment, Dr. Grunberg let his nicotine-deprived male rats eat only bland food that was high in carbohydrates. They, too, ate more and became sluggish, although they did not gain as much weight as the rats who ate sweet food. But, while on nicotine, the rats weighed less than their ''nonsmoking'' counterparts. A subsequent experiment looked at male and female rats who were given and then deprived of nicotine. ''We were stunned to see that the females ate more high-carbohydrate bland food after nicotine withdrawal than the males did,'' says Dr. Grunberg. The females lost more weight while on nicotine and gained more weight afterward. Both the males and females increased their consumption of sugary foods after nicotine was taken away. Cautioning that his work is with rats and not people, Dr. Grunberg has developed some hypotheses. One is that nicotine might decrease circulating insulin levels, which would be consistent with less craving for sweets among smokers. Lowered insulin would also mean that smokers store less fat than nonsmokers. Why females might have a stronger appetite for carbohydrates after they stop smoking than males do is a mystery, says Dr. Grunberg. Scientists theorize that carbohydrates exert a soothing, calming effect on people and that, perhaps, females seek the effect more than men. While some experts suggest that women find it harder to give up smoking than men do because they are more concerned about gaining weight, many other scientists say that the evidence is not convincing. ''It is quite interesting and more than a coincidence that alcohol, heroin and tobacco withdrawal seem to cause people to crave sweet foods and carbohydrates,'' says Dr. Grunberg. ''I believe that, metaphorically, these substances shortcut neurochemical pathways, interfering with and modulating the regulation of body weight. The body comes to misinterpret these chemicals as if they are foodstuff.'' In addition to cigarettes' effects on eating habits, a new line of research has turned up another explanation of why people like to smoke. Dr. Jed Rose, a research psychologist at the Neuropsychiatric Institute of the University of California in Los Angeles and the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Medical Center, anesthetized the upper airways and bronchial trees of smokers. The subjects said their smoking satisfaction was almost nil after anesthetization, even though they inhaled normal amounts of smoke and nicotine. Intrigued, Dr. Rose used anesthesia to block the smokers' senses of smell and taste and had them inhale, without knowing what they were getting, their own brand of cigarette, a low-nicotine cigarette, plain air or a l5 percent citric acid aerosol. The smokers rated the citric acid as being closest to their regular brand in strength and harshness. ''Since citric acid has no nicotine and is not in cigarettes,'' Dr. Rose says, ''this demonstrates that there are nerve fibers in the tracheobronchial tree that help provide smoking satisfaction.'' Working with a group of chemists, Dr. Rose has developed various aerosols with all the tastes and aromas of popular cigarettes. Like tobacco smoke, the aerosols' impact on the upper airways has a calming effect, he says. Smokers find them highly pleasurable and seem to enjoy them as much as cigarettes. Dr. Rose is conducting experiments to see whether the aerosols might make it easier for smokers to withdraw psychologically from nicotine. New strategies for loosening nicotine's physiological grasp are also being developed. ''If we accept the fact that the use of tobacco in its preparations is a form of drug addiction, even though a pleasant one not affecting criminal statistics, we can more readily help people when they find their habit has gotten out of hand,'' says Dr. Henningfield. Drugs, such as clonidine, used to treat opiate withdrawal, as well as naltrexone, which is given to heroin addicts, and mecamylamine, an antihypertensive medicine, seem to block some of nicotine's effects. All are being used experimentally to help people stop smoking. In addition, an antidepressant drug called fluoxetine, which elevates mood and suppresses appetite, is being tried on smokers who are going through withdrawal. Nicotine replacement therapies are promising because they satisfy the smoker's physical dependence on nicotine while he concentrates on unlearning the psychological habits that drive smoking behavior. A nicotine gum, combined with behavioral intervention therapy, has helped an estimated one million smokers at least try to quit. In a one-year study, 31 percent of the participants who chewed nicotine gum, read a self-help manual on how to give up smoking and underwent counseling, stopped smoking. The gum doubled the effectiveness of the other two therapies. In addition, a nicotine nose spray is being tested in Europe, and a skin patch that releases nicotine slowly into the blood is being developed in the United States. A type of aversion therapy called multicomponent rapid smoking has gotten the best results, with 70 percent of the people, who were under 35 and in good health, staying off cigarettes after one year, according to Dr. David Sachs, a lung specialist at Stanford University. Inhaling normally, smokers take a drag on a cigarette every six seconds until they literally feel sick. After 8 to 12 sessions of this, combined with intensive counseling, the smokers associate cigarettes with feeling bad, and they break the habit. Dr. Sachs, who says he owes his livelihood to American and British tobacco companies, has used the technique on about 200 patients with serious lung and heart diseases and found no ill effects. The therapy is not commercially available but is being tested at several universities. For those who feel it is impossible to give up smoking, Dr. Ellen Gritz, director of the division of cancer control at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at U.C.L.A., offers some encouraging statistics. ''There are 37 million success stories,'' she says. ''People typically need to try several times before they succeed.'' Dr. Gritz describes the stages in getting ready to quit. ''Stage one is to set high motivation,'' she explains. ''Make plans for quitting. Get rid of ashtrays. Set a date. Ask friends for help. Cut down on cigarettes smoked and identify your smoking patterns. Plan in advance how to deal with cravings. ''Stage two is acute nicotine withdrawal. Once you've stopped smoking, you might experience sleepiness, headaches, constipation, irritability, anxiety, tension, mood swings and cravings for different foods, but the symptoms only last about a week. Do not be afraid, and expect the worst. Think of it as a liberating experience. ''In stage three, the cravings become less frequent, but don't let your guard down,'' she cautions. ''Most relapses occur within three months. You go to a party and suddenly realize you are smoking. This should not be taken as a failure. You've been tripped up by some combination of environmental and social stimuli. Ask yourself, 'Why did I do it and how am I going to deal with it the next time?' '' Dr. Gritz stresses that there is always hope. ''Try a new method of treatment,'' she says, ''and take into account everything you've learned from the past.'' In moments of weakness, it may help struggling ex-smokers to remember that over the years many people have quit cold turkey, surviving withdrawal without the benefit of nicotine gums and patches, medication, counseling and other aids. In fact, it may be easier to give up tobacco now than ever before because of changing attitudes that make smoking less socially acceptable. GIVEN THAT TOBACCO is a legal substance that generates enormous wealth for governments throughout the world, the substance is not likely to be banned, says Dr. Henningfield. But if tobacco were declared an illicit drug, there is abundant historical evidence that people would risk their lives to obtain it. For example, in the Middle East during the 17th century, people had their hands and heads chopped off for smoking forbidden tobacco, which did not prevent their fellow countrymen from risking life and limb to secure the substance. A few decades earlier, when tobacco was introduced to England, it became worth its weight in silver. King James I then banned the cultivation of tobacco in England so that he could exercise complete control over its price. ''Seeing that people would pay almost any price for tobacco,'' says Dr. Henningfield, ''monopolies were started so that governments could benefit from the desires of their people. Taxes were implemented, and governments became dependent on revenue generated from nicotine addiction.'' This economic dependence seems to be yet another factor contributing to the power of nicotine. In what might be called a nationwide experiment in the sociology of smoking behavior, many local governments have waged public health campaigns against smoking and instituted legislation that restricts or bans smoking in public. The results are encouraging: less than 30 percent of all American adults smoke cigarettes, compared to 40 percent 20 years ago. While half the world's population still smokes, the United States is the first country to see a decrease in tobacco use. KICKING THE HABBIT A number of programs, many of them free, are available to the smoker who wants to quit. The following use a combination of behavior modification and group-support techniques. The American Cancer Society's FreshStart Program consists of four free group-counseling sessions, led by former smokers, to help participants analyze why they smoke and how to stop. Included are strategies for dealing with two of the biggest obstacles to quitting permanently - stress and weight gain. Contact your local chapter of the American Cancer Society; in New York, at 19 West 56th Street (586-8700). For those who want to quit on their own, ''FreshStart: 21 Days to Stop Smoking'' is available on audio- and videocassette at many bookstores. The audiocassette can also be purchased through the mail for $9.95 (order number 61783-4) from the audio division of Simon & Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10020. The video ($29.95) can be ordered by calling 800-445-3800. The New York Lung Association's Kick-the-Habit Program devotes the first three of its six free 90-minute sessions to helping people figure out why they smoke and the rest to support after quitting. The association also publishes a manual, ''Freedom From Smoking,'' available with a $7 contribution, and a video, ''In Control,'' for $59.95. Contact the New York Lung Association, 22 East 40th Street, New York, N.Y. 10016 (889-3370), or your local affiliate of the American Lung Association. The Seventh-day Adventists' Breathe-Free Plan to Stop Smoking consists of five days of instruction and support-group activities, and at least one follow-up session. Participants are encouraged to give up caffeine and alcohol, at least for the duration of the program, because they often trigger the desire for a cigarette. The course and activities are free, although a small donation for materials is requested. Contact the Adventist Information Center, 12 West 40th Street, New York, N.Y. 10018 (382-2939 or 800-832-2210). Smokenders offers a six-session course that teaches participants how to withdraw gradually from cigarettes. During the first four sessions, people are allowed to smoke, but are restricted to certain times and places. The program, offered at several locations, costs $295. Call 800-243-5614. The LifeSign Smoking Cessation Program is offered with eight individual therapy sessions at the American Health Foundation. Each participant is given a pocket-sized computer that beeps when smoking is permitted. The beeps occur at gradually increased intervals, ceasing entirely in two to four weeks. The foundation's program normally costs $400, but when it is taken as part of a research project, there is no fee, except for a $100 deposit for materials (and motivation) that is refunded after completion. Contact the American Health Foundation, 320 East 43d Street, New York, N.Y. 10017 (953-1900). Smokers can purchase the LifeSign computer with an instruction booklet for $73.95 by contacting Health Innovations, 13873 Park Center Road, Suite 336, Herndon, Va. 22071 (800-543-3744). Correction: April 5, 1987, Sunday, Late City Final Edition

Passive Smoking At Work A Risk Factor For Coronary Heart Disease

webmaster — Sat, 05 Feb 1994 14:01:45 +0000

The following study was carried out in China to discover whether passive smoking at work is a riskfactor for coronary heart disease. Of course, the results also apply to any other country where smoking at work can risk the health of non-smoking workers. ttp://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/308/6925/380 The conclusion was that passive smoking at work is a risk factor for coronaryheart disease. Urgent public health measures are needed to reducesmoking and to protect non-smokers from passive smoking in China.

Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure and Ischaemic Heart Disease

webmaster — Sat, 18 Oct 1997 02:58:18 +0000

Epidemiological studies have shown that the risk of ischaemicheart disease is about 30% greater in non-smokers who live withsmokers than in those who do not. It seems implausiblethat the effect of environmental exposure to tobacco smoke shouldbe so large when the excess risk associated with smoking 20cigarettes per day is only about 80% at age 65 (the averageage of ischaemic heart disease events in the studies). Environmental exposure to tobacco smoke is only about 1% thatof smoking; the risk is nearly half. This paper on "Environmental tobacco smoke exposure and ischaemic heart disease" examines the possible explanations for this surprisingly largeassociation.

Tackling Tobacco Smuggling

Ryan Chan — Wed, 01 Mar 2000 10:37:52 +0000

HM Customs and Excise March 2000 HM Customs and Excise had completed a report in March 2000. Click here to download.

Passive smoking at work

webmaster — Thu, 04 May 2000 07:38:32 +0000

Department of Community Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 7 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Correspondence to: Dr McGhee (smmcghee@hkucc.hku.hk) Accepted for publication 4 May 2000 STUDY OBJECTIVE: To estimate the impact of passive smoking at work on use of health care services and absenteeism. DESIGN: Cross sectional survey. SETTING: A workforce in Hong Kong. PARTICIPANTS: 5142 never-smoking police officers in a total sample of 9926. MAIN RESULTS: A consistently strong association was found among men between length of time exposed to passive smoking at work and self reported consultations with a doctor, use of medicines and time off work. Results for women were similar but most were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The exposure of healthy adults to passive smoking at work is related to utilisation of health care services and extra time off work. This results in costs to the health services, to employers and to those exposed.

Big Tobacco Infiltrated UN Agencies, Says Study

webmaster — Wed, 02 Aug 2000 09:12:46 +0000

By Gustavo Capdevila - Inter Press Service - August 2, 2000 The World Health Organisation (WHO) lashed out at transnational tobacco corporations Wednesday, accusing them of sabotaging efforts to control tobacco consumption through pressure tactics against the agency and other international organisations. The investigations conducted by a committee of WHO-designated experts concluded that the tobacco industry used a wide range of tactics in its attempts to influence various United Nations organisations. Among the strategies the tobacco industry employed to these ends, the committee mentions infiltrating the agency and "establishing inappropriate relationships with WHO staff to influence policy." They also tried to "undermine WHO tobacco control activities by putting pressure on relevant agency budgets," and used other UN agencies to influence or resist WHO tobacco policies. The investigations were based on a series of internal tobacco corporation documents that were made public during legal actions in the United States against the industry. The documents came from Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, Brown & Williams, American Tobacco, Lorillard Tobacco, the Tobacco Institute, the Council for Tobacco Research and British American Tobacco. In some cases, the companies attempted to use other UN agencies to obtain information on WHO activities and to plot interference. "Tobacco company lobbying was aimed at influencing the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organisation) to take a stance against WHO's tobacco control policies and to promote the economic importance of tobacco as more significant than the health consequences of tobacco use." The corporations also concentrated on international institutions such as the World Bank, the UN Conference on Trade and Development, the UN Economic and Social Council and the International Labour Organisation. WHO director-general, Gro Harlem Brundtland, former prime minister of Norway, has been involved since she assumed her post in January 1998 in a campaign to combat smoking and its lethal consequences for the health of the world population. Brundtland commissioned a group of experts led by the Director of the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, Thomas Zeltner, to conduct the investigation. "Tobacco companies used 'independent' individuals and institutions to attack the WHO's competence and priorities in published articles and presentations to the media and to politicians, while concealing its own role in promoting these attacks," says the committee's report. The evidence uncovered by investigators indicates that the corporations used numerous third-party organisations to try to influence the WHO, including unions, tobacco company "front groups," and food companies affiliated with the tobacco corporations themselves. Industry tactics also involved manipulating public and scientific debates on the health effects of smoking. Tobacco companies "secretly funded 'independent' experts to conduct research, publish papers, appear at conferences and lobby WHO's scientific investigators with the intention of influencing, discrediting or distorting study results." The most notorious results of this strategy was the falsification of a study on environmental tobacco smoke by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The Philip Morris Corporation launched a far-reaching and well- funded publicity campaign to counteract the negative effects of the IARC conclusions on the tobacco industry. The documents the investigators studied prove that the tobacco transnationals set up press conferences to draw attention away from events organised by the WHO related to anti-smoking efforts. The study also highlights the role played by Paul Dietrich, a US attorney who has a long history of working with the tobacco industry. Dietrich wrote articles and editorials attacking the WHO and its policies that were published between 1988 and 1993 in major newspapers including the Wall Street Journal, the International Herald Tribune and the Washington Times. The investigation recommends that the WHO provide assistance to its member countries to determine whether legal conditions exist for demanding compensation from the tobacco transnationals. It also encourages the WHO to monitor the corporations to determine if they are continuing similar reprehensible behaviour, and proposes that the health agency make public the results of such follow-up.

why has Hong Kong not followed suit ? as a result Big Tobacco is paying billions in a settlement and with further punitive agreed fines for contraband seizures of their products in EU‏

Ryan Chan — Sun, 05 Nov 2000 16:41:33 +0000

EU launches lawsuit against Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds November 6, 2000 The European Union has filed a civil suit against two large U.S.-based tobacco companies, Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, alleging the tobacco industry was involved in smuggling cigarettes into the EU. Like the Canadian suit against R.J. Reynolds (and others), filed in December 1999, the EU suit is being made under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Both were filed in New York State, though in different judicial districts. R.J. Reynolds used to be sole owner of Canada’s RJR-Macdonald, makers of Export ‘A’. Internationally, it is best known for the Camel brand. However, last year the company sold off all its international interests to Japan Tobacco, and RJR-Macdonald was re-named JTI-Macdonald. Japan Tobacco is also named as a co-defendant in the lawsuit. Philip Morris is the world’s largest tobacco company outside of China, and is best known for its Marlboro brand. Canada is one of the few markets in the world where Marlboro is not available, for trademark reasons. However, Philip Morris is present in Canada through its 40% share in Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, this country’s second-largest cigarette manufacturer. See:

Statement of Claim: European Community -v- RJR Nabisco et al
Statement by EU Commissioner Michaele Schreyer (Nov. 6th, 2000)
Philip Morris, Reynolds Accused (AP, Nov. 6th, 2000)
EU sues tobacco giants (BBC News, Nov. 6th, 2000)
Brussels sues US tobacco groups in crackdown (Financial Times, Nov. 6th, 2000)
Tobacco firms sued over EU smuggling(Guardian, Nov. 7th, 2000)
Germany mulls joining E.U.suit against tobacco giants(Handelsblatt, Nov. 8th, 2000)
Tabakmultis sind schwer kriminell [“Tobacco multinationals are highly criminal”], Der Spiegel, Nov. 10th, 2000 [on-line edition]. Germany’s most important news weekly provides extensive coverage of details of the EU statement of claim. The beginning of the article, in rough translation:

The EU Commission is suing the world’s largest tobacco companies. Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds are allegedly involved in drug deals, money laundering and cigarette smuggling, according to the statement of claim, which SPIEGEL ONLINE has obtained. The companies face billion-dollar penalties. (Brussels) — What do managers of tobacco company R.J. Reynolds (“Camel”, “Winston”) have to do with Columbian drug dealers? Quite a lot, according to the EU Commission’s statement of claim against the two U.S. tobacco companies Philip Morris (“Marlboro”, “Benson & Hedges”) and RJR, that was filed last Friday in New York. In the 188-page document, lawyers from Fort Lauderdale, New York, Madrid and New Orleans, retained by the EU Commission, have compiled a list of sins by the tobacco companies that reveals a new dimension in economic crime in the Western world... See also two sidebars: Scheinunternehmen und “Schutzgelder” [Shell companies and "protection money"] and Aktenvernichtung und Kokaindealer ["Document destruction and cocaine dealers"].

Schlag gegen Big Tobacco [Blow against big tobacco], Der Spiegel [print edition], Nov. 13th, 2000. An equally hard-hitting article, from other reporters. Includes interesting background on smuggling developments in Switzerland.
Case against tobacco industry like crime thriller, Irish Times, Nov. 14th, 2000. Ireland’s upmarket daily reports on Der Spiegel's report on the EU lawsuit.

Tobacco Industry Scientific Strategies Aimed Against Environmental Tobacco Smoke Policies

webmaster — Sat, 01 Sep 2001 03:20:30 +0000

The Smoke You Don’t See: Uncovering Tobacco Industry Scientific Strategies Aimed Against Environmental Tobacco Smoke Policies Objectives. This review details the tobacco industry’s scientific campaign aimed against policies addressing environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and efforts to undermine US regulatory agencies from approximately 1988 to 1993. Methods. The public availability of more than 40 million internal, once-secret tobacco company documents allowed an unedited and historical look at tobacco industry strategies. Results. The analysis showed that the tobacco industry went to great lengths to battle the Environmental Tobacco Smoke issue worldwide by camouflaging its involvement and creating an impression of legitimate, unbiased scientific research. Conclusions. There is a need for further international monitoring of industry-produced science and for significant improvements in tobacco document accessibility. (Am J Public Health. 2001;91:1419–1423) View the complete research paper here: http://tobacco.cleartheair.org.hk/documents/environmental-tobacco-smoke-policies.pdf

Public Health Implications of Changes in Cigarette Design and Marketing

webmaster — Mon, 19 Nov 2001 03:01:00 +0000

Cigarettes have changed dramatically over the last 50 years, but the data contained in this volume make it clear that the disease risks associated with smoking have not. Following the demonstration that cigarettes could cause cancer in the 1950s (Wynder and Graham, 1950; Doll and Hill, 1952, 1954; Hammond and Horn, 1958), cigarette manufacturers added filters to their products. They also embarked on an effort to lower the machine-measured tar and nicotine yields produced by their cigarettes when tested under a protocol specified by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (Pillsbury, 1996). These changes led to more than a 60-percent reduction in machine-measured tar yields of U.S. cigarettes over the last 50 years (see Figure 1-1). However, it appears that many of the same changes in cigarette design that reduced machine-measured tar yields also led to a disassociation between the machine-measured yield of the cigarette and the amount of tar and nicotine actually received by the smoker (see Chapters 2 and 3). As a result, tar and nicotine measurements made by the FTC method for current cigarettes have little meaning for the smoker, either for how much he or she will receive from a given cigarette or for differences in the amount of tar and nicotine received when he or she smokes different brands of cigarettes. The absence of meaningful differences in smoke exposure when different brands of cigarettes are smoked (see Chapter 3) and the resultant absence of meaningful differences in risk (see Chapter 4) make the marketing of these cigarettes as lower-delivery and lower-risk products deceptive for the smoker (see Chapters 6 and 7). The reality that many smokers chose these products as an alternative to cessation—a change that would produce real reductions in disease risks—makes this deception an urgent public health issue. Read the entire document on the Public Health Implications of Changes in Cigarette Design and Marketing here (251 pages).

Light, Low-Tar Cigarettes Do Not Reduce Smokers' Health Risks

webmaster — Tue, 27 Nov 2001 03:57:38 +0000

Landmark Report Concludes "Light," "Low-Tar" Cigarettes Do Not Reduce Smokers' Health Risks Public Health Leaders Tell Smokers that Quitting Is Their Only Healthy Choice November 27,2001 Washington, DC - Responding to a comprehensive new National Cancer Institute (NCI) report that concluded “light” and “low-tar” cigarettes do not reduce smokers’ health risks, the nation’s leading public health organizations today delivered a strong new message to smokers: If you are concerned about your health, quitting is your only choice. Low-tar and light cigarettes are not safer than other cigarettes on the market. This advice to smokers was issued in a joint statement by the nation’s leading public health organizations, including the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (full statement and list of organizations are attached). They were joined at a press conference by former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop and handgun control advocate Sarah Brady, a “lights” smoker who is suffering from lung cancer. The public health groups also called for the immediate elimination of the terms “light”, “ultra-light” and “low tar” based on the NCI report’s conclusion that many consumers are using products labeled as such in the false belief they are safer. To accomplish this goal, the groups called on Congress and the Bush Administration to grant the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) effective authority over tobacco products, including the authority to ban the terms “light,” “ultra-light” and “low-tar.” Until Congress acts, the groups called on the tobacco industry to voluntarily stop using those terms. Effective, bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Senators Harkin (D-IA), Chafee (R-RI) and Graham (D-FL) and in the House by Representatives Ganske (R-IA), Dingell (D-MI) and Waxman (D-CA). The groups will issue letters to Congress, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and the tobacco industry calling on them to take the appropriate action. The NCI report, released today, concludes, “Epidemiological and other scientific evidence, including patterns of mortality from smoking-caused diseases, does not indicate a benefit to public health from changes in cigarette design and manufacturing over the last fifty years” (p. 10 of report). The report further concludes that the marketing of these products as delivering less tar and reducing risk is “deceptive” and smokers’ choice of these products as an alternative to quitting makes this deception an “urgent public health issue” (p. 1). Currently, 87 percent of cigarettes sold in the United States are low-tar brands marketed with descriptions such as “light” and “ultra-light”, according to the Federal Trade Commission. According to the NCI report, “Many smokers switch to lower yield cigarettes out of concerns for their health believing these cigarettes to be less risky or to be a step toward quitting.” However, “current evidence does not support either claims of reduced harm or policy recommendations to switch to these products” (both quotes from p. 10). Based on similar findings, several countries have already taken action within the past year to ban terms such as “light” and “low-tar” that imply a particular tobacco product is less harmful than others. On June 5, 2001, the European Union (EU) passed legislation that bans “texts, names, trademarks and figurative or other signs suggesting that a particular tobacco product is less harmful than others.” On May 31, 2001, the government of Canada called on the tobacco industry to voluntarily stop the use of misleading descriptions such as “light” and “low-tar.” On November 1, 2001, Canada’s health minister released the report and findings of an expert panel that recommended a total ban on such terms and announced he would develop a means to do so. The 235-page government report, entitled “Risks Associated with Smoking Cigarettes with Low Machine-Measured Yields of Tar and Nicotine,” is the most definitive to date on the impact of low-tar cigarettes on the public health. It is based on a comprehensive review of all epidemiological and other scientific evidence and is the first government review to include evidence from internal tobacco industry documents revealing the industry’s knowledge about and deceptive marketing of low-tar cigarettes. The report’s key findings are as follows: # While changes in cigarette design have reduced the amount of tar and nicotine measured by smoking machines, these machine measurements do not accurately show how much tar and nicotine is actually received by the smoker. There is in fact no meaningful difference in exposure from smoking low-tar and regular brands, and therefore no difference in disease risk. That is because smokers smoke low-tar brands differently to obtain the same amount of nicotine. Smokers block ventilation holes; inhale more deeply; take larger, more rapid, or more frequent puffs; or increase the number of cigarettes smoked per day. # Internal tobacco industry documents show the industry deliberately designed cigarettes that would produce low yields of tar when tested by machines, but would be smoked differently by actual smokers seeking to maintain nicotine levels. Despite knowing that low-tar cigarettes delivered the same amount of tar to smokers, the cigarette companies marketed them as reduced risk by using terms such as “light”, “ultra-light” and “mild”. Many smokers smoked or switched to these brands in a false belief they were reducing their disease risk. The report finds that the cigarette companies especially marketed the “illusion of risk reduction” to smokers who were thinking of quitting, with the likely effect of discouraging them from taking action that truly would have improved their health. # As a result, people who smoke low-tar cigarettes are exposed to the same amount of dangerous toxins and have not reduced their risk of developing lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease and other smoking-caused diseases. The study finds that there is no convincing evidence that changes in cigarette design, including the introduction of low-tar cigarettes, have reduced disease either for smokers as a group or for the whole population.

Protecting the Industry and Hurting Tobacco Control

webmaster — Sun, 30 Jun 2002 05:47:18 +0000

Tobacco Industry Youth Smoking Prevention Programs: Protecting the Industry and Hurting Tobacco Control June 2002 - Anne Landman, BA, Pamela M. Ling, MD, MPH, and Stanton A. Glantz, PhD - Am J Public Health Objectives. This report describes the history, true goals, and effects of tobacco industry–sponsored youth smoking prevention programs. Methods. We analyzed previously-secret tobacco industry documents. Results. The industry started these programs in the 1980s to forestall legislation that would restrict industry activities. Industry programs portray smoking as an adult choice and fail to discuss how tobacco advertising promotes smoking or the health dangers of smoking. The industry has used these programs to fight taxes, clean-indoor-air laws, and marketing restrictions worldwide. There is no evidence that these programs decrease smoking among youths. Conclusions. Tobacco industry youth programs do more harm than good for tobacco control. The tobacco industry should not be allowed to run or directly fund youth smoking prevention programs. Full study here: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1447482

Hong Kong Tobacco Co

webmaster — Fri, 13 Sep 2002 08:41:14 +0000

SEPTEMBER 13, 2002 - CHINA JOURNAL - By Mark Clifford - Businessweek China's Experiment: Read All About It! A joint venture distributing books, newspapers, and magazines may seem insignificant, but it could be huge as a catalyst for reform China's Communists have obsessed over tight control of the media since the party's rise to power. Indeed, it's telling that China's far-reaching concessions to enter the World Trade Organization included no relaxation of the state's ownership of newspapers, magazines, and other forms of mass media -- and only the most grudging nod to privatizing such seemingly noncontroversial businesses as bookstores. The reason is pretty clear: Authoritarian governments fear that even the slightest crack in the ideological façade will unleash a torrent of dissent. Yet that hasn't stopped a handful of feisty newspapers and magazines sprouting in Guangzhou and Beijing. Book publishers in China increasingly are pushing the bounds of party control. Independent filmmakers have started to appear -- though they often find it easier to produce movies than screen them. And on Sept. 8 in Beijing, a little-noticed but potentially important $30 million joint venture was launched between the formidable People's Daily and Hong Kong's Global China Technology Group. The joint outfit, Greater China Media Services, won unprecedented nationwide retail and distribution rights for any newspaper, magazine, or book published in China. (In a separate venture, Global China Technology Group is also angling for the rights to distribute publications printed outside of China.) OTHER CHOICES. Why is this development worth watching? It's the first crack in the monopoly powers long enjoyed by China's post office and its Xinhua News Agency. Until now, newspaper and magazine publishers had two choices: Use the postal service or do their own distribution. Similarly, book publishers could use Xinhua or peddle their own wares. But if, for example, People's Daily set up a distribution network for its newspapers, it couldn't handle anything produced by another publisher. Now, other choices will be available. Beijing is walking a tightrope. In media, as with other sectors before it, the government is hoping to control the pace at which markets open. It seeks the efficiencies that a more competitive, market-oriented economy can bring. But it also wants control and stability. Yet, progovernment as the players behind Global China Technology Group are, I'll bet that competitive forces will inexorably lead to a freewheeling media scene. After all, in other areas -- whether it's selling televisions or books -- China's domestic market has proven to be brutally competitive. Sure, periodic crackdowns will still happen. But as far as media competition goes, one plus one is going to equal a lot more than two. BEYOND IMAGINATION. Again and again, small, controlled experiments have unleashed a torrent of change. That's how China's farmers went from being Maoist drones on the commune to market-driven peasants squeezing vastly higher yields out of their own plots. The stock market presents a more recent example. What started as a limited experiment to provide funding for corporate restructuring, and to do so without changing the system, has developed far beyond what reformers would have imagined. It also has forced policymakers to take account of investors' reactions in ways that would have been unimaginable even a decade ago. Unlike Japan and South Korea, where domestic cartels kept prices high and choices limited, China is big, sprawling, and filled with demanding businesspeople and consumers hungry for goods and services. At the very least, the end of the distribution monopolies also is likely to mean lower prices. The China State Post Bureau's postal monopoly translated into $654 million in revenues from newspaper and periodical distribution last year -- a healthy 12% increase on the $585 million figure it recorded in 2000. (To put that in perspective: Total postal revenues in 2001 were $5.7 billion, so newspaper and magazine distribution totaled about 11% of postal revenues.) DIPLOMATIC TYCOON. Xinhua's monopoly over book distribution gives it a chokehold on the market, which is worth an estimated $10 billion -- in terms of total revenues to publishers, retailers, and distributors -- according to Global China chairman Charles Ho. It's little surprise that the Chinese chose someone like Ho to head a pioneering venture in such a sensitive area. The 52-year-old chain smoker comes from a wealthy Shanghai family that fled to Hong Kong after the Communist revolution in China. But he's a Middle Kingdom player nonetheless. The family fortune comes from the tobacco business, where Ho controls the privately held Hong Kong Tobacco Co. He's one of a small circle of influential Hong Kong businessmen who are proudly capitalist but delighted to do business with Beijing. He may be a newcomer to the politically sensitive media business, but he's shaping up as a savvy outsider. PAPER DEBTS. Ho got into the media business only in the late 1990s, when he took over the venerable Sing Tao publishing empire. Sing Tao was launched back in 1938 by Aw Boon Haw, the founder of the Tiger Balm ointment empire. His daughter, Sally Aw, lacked her father's business acumen and borrowed heavily from Ho's family. When she couldn't repay the debt, Ho moved in to dislodge her grip on Sing Tao. Through a series of complex transactions, which saw investment bank Lazard Freres buy and manage the paper for a period, Ho's company ended up with full control in 2000. Sing Tao is arguably the most international Chinese newspaper, running editions in London, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto, Vancouver, and Sydney as well as in Hong Kong. It also publishes The Standard, an English-language daily in Hong Kong that runs a distant second to the South China Morning Post. OFF LIMITS TO OTHERS. Sing Tao is building up a stable of lifestyle and PC magazines in Hong Kong. And it has a slew of small mainland ventures, ranging from a broadband network in Shandong province with about 30,000 subscribers to an information service undertaken with the government-run Xinhua News Agency. Yes, it's part of the same group that distributes books and will be competing against corporate cousin Greater China Media Services. It's not clear how this is all going to gel as a business. But what's interesting is that the Chinese are giving Ho access to some ventures that are off limits to most other foreigners. Although Ho portrays his entry into the media business almost as an accident, he makes it clear that he wants to use the Sing Tao network to build a global empire of Chinese-language publications. And, if the time is right, he clearly would be interested in mainland media properties. Media Services will have about 10,000 people working for it by the yearend 2003. And it won't just be distributing newspapers and books. It'll set up a chain of retail stores selling everything from candy to cigarettes, as well as books and magazines. TRUSTWORTHY. Ho has spent much of the past decade cultivating contacts in Beijing. His family has donated heavily to various charitable causes on the mainland. He's a former member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a prestigious but largely ceremonial body that the Communist Party uses to rope in businessmen and other nonparty members that it deems useful. Ho also is on the board of directors at China National Aviation and China Petroleum & Chemical (Sinopec), each a heavyweight mainland companies listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange. It's clear from the license he received that the Chinese feel Ho is a man they can trust. Indeed, he seems likely to go out of his way to avoid offending China. Last year, Sing Tao's New York edition ran an advertisement placed by the Falun Gong spiritual movement. Beijing calls the group an "evil cult" and has tried to stamp it out with arrests, torture, and jailings. Ho apologized to Chinese officials and says none of his newspapers will run any more of the group's ads. CEO Wong Wai Ming says the paper doesn't take political advertising of any sort and that it will try to reflect middle-class concerns. In other words, it isn't going to adopt a more confrontational stance toward the government on political issues. MURDOCH'S KOWTOW. Sing Tao happily will criticize the government on issues like a recent fiasco regarding regulation of penny stocks. But it's unlikely to urge greater tolerance for the Falun Gong or a faster move toward democracy. Indeed, C.Y. Leung, the head of the nonelected Executive Council (sort of a kitchen Cabinet for Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa), sits on the Global China board. Ho, in short isn't likely to make the sort of mistake that Rupert Murdoch did in 1993, when he pronounced satellite TV an "unambiguous threat to totalitarian regimes everywhere." That was shortly after Murdoch's News Corp. bought Hong Kong-based satellite broadcaster StarTV. The Australian mogul has spent much of the past decade kowtowing to the Chinese and trying to get back in their good graces. Short of revolution, China's media isn't going to change with a big bang. For as long as possible, the relative handful of bureaucrats who run the country's propaganda efforts are going to keep the opening as controlled as possible. THE MARKET'S MIND. "Friends of China" like Ho will be welcome, however cautiously. (Indeed, the day after Ho inked his venture, fellow Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's tom.com announced an agreement in principle with a mainland publisher for an advertising and distribution venture, though it's smaller and at a more preliminary stage.) Those deemed enemies -- such as Jimmy Lai, publisher of the rival Apple Daily -- are barred from selling their newspapers or basing reporters in China, and that's not likely to change. I could be wrong. China may be able to keep the lid on the media business longer than I imagine. But even though Ho and his lieutenants have no interest in reforming the system, the market has a mind of its own, propelling change in unexpected directions. Ho's thousands of employees will have a business to run, and it's one that will make them less susceptible to government diktats. If a lesson can be drawn from the 23 years since China's reforms began, it's that closing the door on experimental openings of the sort that Global China aims to exploit is impossible. Beijing's leaders know this all too well and are terrified of where it will lead. But they also know that, once the door has been opened, there's no turning back.

Tobacco Industry Manipulation Research Paper

webmaster — Fri, 01 Nov 2002 13:52:19 +0000

Tobacco Control 2002;11:94-104 RESEARCH PAPER Tobacco Industry Manipulation of the hospitality industry to maintain smoking in public places J V Dearlove, S A Bialous, S A Glantz Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, Institute for Health Policy Studies, Cardiovascular Research Institute, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA Correspondence to: Stanton A Glantz, PhD, Box 0103, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0130, USA; glantz@medicine.ucsf.edu Objective: To describe how the tobacco industry used the "accommodation" message to mount an aggressive and effective worldwide campaign to recruit hospitality associations, such as restaurant associations, to serve as the tobacco industry's surrogate in fighting against smoke-free environments. Methods: We analysed tobacco industry documents publicly available on the internet as a result of litigation in the USA. Documents were accessed between January and November 2001. Results: The tobacco industry, led by Philip Morris, made financial contributions to existing hospitality associations or, when it did not find an association willing to work for tobacco interests, created its own "association" in order to prevent the growth of smoke-free environments. The industry also used hospitality associations as a vehicle for programmes promoting "accommodation" of smokers and non-smokers, which ignore the health risks of second hand smoke for employees and patrons of hospitality venues. Conclusion: Through the myth of lost profits, the tobacco industry has fooled the hospitality industry into embracing expensive ventilation equipment, while in reality 100% smoke-free laws have been shown to have no effect on business revenues, or even to improve them. The tobacco industry has effectively turned the hospitality industry into its de facto lobbying arm on clean indoor air. Public health advocates need to understand that, with rare exceptions, when they talk to organised restaurant associations they are effectively talking to the tobacco industry and must act accordingly.

Tax, Price and Cigarette Smoking

webmaster — Fri, 01 Nov 2002 14:56:49 +0000

Tobacco Control 2002;11:i62-i72 Article Tax, price and cigarette smoking: evidence from the tobacco documents and implications for tobacco company marketing strategies F J Chaloupka1, K M Cummings2, CP Morley2, JK Horan2 1 Department of Economics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA 2 Department of Cancer Prevention, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York, USA Correspondence to: F J Chaloupka, Department of Economics (m/c 144), University of Illinois at Chicago, 601 South Morgan Street, Chicago, IL 60607-7121, USA; fjc@uic.edu ABSTRACT Objective: To examine tobacco company documents to determine what the companies knew about the impact of cigarette prices on smoking among youth, young adults, and adults, and to evaluate how this understanding affected their pricing and price related marketing strategies. Methods: Data for this study come from tobacco industry documents contained in the Youth and Marketing database created by the Roswell Park Cancer Institute and available through http:// roswell.tobaccodocuments.org, supplemented with documents obtained from http://www.tobaccodocuments.org. Results: Tobacco company documents provide clear evidence on the impact of cigarette prices on cigarette smoking, describing how tax related and other price increases lead to significant reductions in smoking, particularly among young persons. This information was very important in developing the industry's pricing strategies, including the development of lower price branded generics and the pass through of cigarette excise tax increases, and in developing a variety of price related marketing efforts, including multi-pack discounts, couponing, and others. Conclusions: Pricing and price related promotions are among the most important marketing tools employed by tobacco companies. Future tobacco control efforts that aim to raise prices and limit price related marketing efforts are likely to be important in achieving reductions in tobacco use and the public health toll caused by tobacco.

Thailand curbs indoor smoking

webmaster — Sat, 09 Nov 2002 13:22:28 +0000

Published in the SCMP on Saturday, November 9, 2002

A tough new anti-smoking law came into effect yesterday in Thailand, making it illegal to light up in virtually every indoor public place including air-conditioned restaurants and shopping malls. Business establishments that fail to control smoking by patrons will face fines of up to 20,000 baht (HK$3,600) and the smokers will be hit for 2,000 baht under regulations made public in August. Pubs and other night entertainment places are exempt because they are not frequented by children. Thailand has had a strong anti-smoking lobby and is one of the few Asian countries to make a serious effort to highlight the dangers of tobacco since the 1970s. Many public places were already smoke-free and the new law widens the scope by including restaurants and other areas. But realising the difficulty of enforcing the ban uniformly, the Public Health Ministry has said that it would initially focus only on air-conditioned restaurants, sending out inspectors for surprise checks. "Thailand's tobacco control efforts are being hailed as among the most successful in Asia, with new regulations implemented every year. How effective these regulations are when put to the test remains to be seen," the Bangkok Post said yesterday. The Post noted that tobacco companies continued to promote their products indirectly through sponsorship of sport and entertainment. According to the Thailand Tobacco Information Centre, 23.4 per cent of Thais, or about 12 million people, smoke. Apart from anti-smoking laws, Thailand also is trying to prevent youngsters from taking up the habit. The Public Health Ministry says 95 per cent of smokers in Thailand start before they are 24. The government recently announced plans to replace worded warnings of health hazards on cigarette packs with pictures depicting cancerous lungs and problems such as premature ageing, birth defects and impotence. Among places made off limits to smokers under the new law are public buses, taxis, lifts, temples and churches, public toilets, libraries and air-conditioned establishments such as shopping malls and gyms. In schools, museums, hospitals, banks, airports and indoor stadiums, smoking will be allowed only in restrooms and private offices. Except for Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand, Asian countries have some of the world's weakest tobacco control laws, according to the World Health Organisation. It says smoking is the single biggest killer globally, accounting for one in three middle-age male deaths.

Licensing Tobacco Sellers

webmaster — Sun, 01 Dec 2002 05:03:50 +0000

Tobacco sellers, like alcohol sellers, should be licensed – to prevent illegal sale to children, and to cover the costs of regulation including retailer education and compliance monitoring. In 2002 the Commonwealth commissioned a report into the desirability and best practice arrangements for the licensing of tobacco retailers and wholesalers. The findings, endorsed by the Intergovernmental Committee on Drugs, are yet to be fully implemented. The report, by the Allen Consultancy Group, examined both the benefits and the objections and concluded that there is “a strong case, based on economic and public health rationales, to introduce licensing of tobacco sellers”. The report said: • Licenses should be held by all tobacco wholesalers and retailers. • Compliance with general tobacco control laws should be the minimum operational standard required by a licence holder. • There should be scope for conditions to be applied to licences where this supports compliance with tobacco control laws. • A licence should be able to be refused or withdrawn if the responsible person has contravened tobacco control laws. • Licence fees should be set to recover only the costs associated with the o administration of the licensing scheme; o enforcement of the licences including inspections; and o provision of information to applicants and licensees to ensure their continued and future compliance. • Tobacco sales licensing should be seen as a health issue and controlled by health officials who may contract out elements of the scheme (licensing, inspections, enforcement) to third parties. • There should be a graduated penalty structure that includes warnings, penalties, prosecutions and scope for licence withdrawal. Objections to tobacco licensing or registration schemes The authors concluded that the impediments - industry concerns about the cost of the schemes, some jurisdictional hesitancy and the general regulatory move away from licensing – should be countered on grounds that tobacco licensing schemes are clearly in the public interest. View the report at www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/content/health-pubhlth-strateg-drugs-tobacco-other.htm/$FILE/licensing_tobacco.pdf They’ve done it Four Australian jurisdictions – South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the ACT – require tobacco sellers to be licensed.

The Dark Side Of Marketing Seemingly Light Cigarettes

webmaster — Tue, 31 Dec 2002 01:37:37 +0000

The dark side of marketing seemingly “Light” cigarettes: successful images and failed fact R W Pollay, T Dewhirst - 2002 Objective: To understand the development, intent, and consequences of US tobacco industry advertising for low machine yield cigarettes. Methods: Analysis of trade sources and internal US tobacco company documents now available on various web sites created by corporations, litigation, or public health bodies. Results: When introducing low yield products, cigarette manufacturers were concerned about maintaining products with acceptable taste/flavour and feared consumers might become weaned from smoking. Several tactics were employed by cigarette manufacturers, leading consumers to perceive filtered and low machine yield brands as safer relative to other brands. Tactics include using cosmetic (that is, ineffective) filters, loosening filters over time, using medicinal menthol, using high tech imagery, using virtuous brand names and descriptors, adding a virtuous variant to a brand’s product line, and generating misleading data on tar and nicotine yields. Conclusions: Advertisements of filtered and low tar cigarettes were intended to reassure smokers concerned about the health risks of smoking, and to present the respective products as an alternative to quitting. Promotional efforts were successful in getting smokers to adopt filtered and low yield cigarette brands. Corporate documents demonstrate that cigarette manufacturers recognised the inherent deceptiveness of cigarette brands described as “Light”or “Ultra-Light” because of low machine measured yields. View the complete study on the dark side of marketing seemingly “Light” cigarettes: successful images and failed fact here.

Exposure To Environmental Tobacco Smoke in an Automobile

webmaster — Tue, 31 Dec 2002 09:32:05 +0000

EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL TOBACCO SMOKE IN AN AUTOMOBILE Francis J. Offermann, Ron Colfer, Peter Radzinski, and Jonathan Robertson Indoor Environmental Engineering, San Francisco, CA, USA ABSTRACT We measured exposures to ETS in a moving minivan under three different ventilation scenarios: drivers window open/ventilation off, windows closed/ventilation on, and windows closed/ventilation off. The driver smoked a single cigarette while we measured the concentration of ETS using laser aerosol monitors and the outside air exchange rate using a tracer gas decay technique. The indoor concentrations of respirable particulate matter increased during smoking by factors of 13 to 300 depending upon the ventilation configuration. The calculated exposure for a five hour automobile trip with the windows closed/ventilation off and with a smoking rate of 2 cigarettes per hour is 25 times higher than the same exposure scenario in a residence. Smoking low tar cigarettes or operation of air cleaners or ventilation equipment cannot reduce concentrations in automobiles to acceptable levels. The most effective solution to protecting passengers from ETS exposure is not to smoke in the automobile. See the full document on Exposure To Environmental Tobacco Smoke in an Automobile here.

Why Workplaces Should Be Smokefree

webmaster — Sun, 01 Jun 2003 06:43:10 +0000

Published by ash June 2003:

Why Workplaces Should Be Smokefree Reasons why

There is now incontrovertible evidence that secondhand smoke is a killer - at least 1,000 people die from secondhand smoke exposure each year in the UK 1.

Some three million people 2 are still exposed to secondhand smoke in the workplace yet have little protection in law. Policies that aim to protect employees from tobacco smoke will also improve conditions for consumers.

Expert advice by the World Health Organisation states that ventilation is not effective in protecting people from secondhand smoke as there is no safe level of exposure below which there are no adverse effects.3

Public opinion supports smokefree workplaces – 78 per cent of the population 4 now believe that all employees should be able to work in a smokefree environment.

80 per cent of the population don’t smoke 5. If smokers make an informed decision to smoke then that’s their decision – but it should not be allowed to impact on other people’s health.

70 per cent of smokers would like to quit 6 and most believe smoke-free environments would help them in their quit attempts.

The UK is lagging a long way behind many other countries in protecting non smokers from secondhand smoke 7.

Health Arguments

Tobacco smoke is a potent cocktail of over 4,000 chemicals, including more than 50 known to cause cancer such as benzene and arsenic 8.

Secondhand smoke exposure (equivalent to just 1 percent of that of active smoking) carries a risk of coronary heart disease of almost half that of smoking 20 cigarettes a day 5.

People with particular illnesses are vulnerable to secondhand smoke, and they represent a substantial proportion of the population. For example there are 5.1 million people with asthma and 3 million with other types of lung disease, 2.1 million people with angina and 1.3 million people who have had a heart attack 5.

Secondhand smoke is a major trigger of asthma attacks and worsens respiratory conditions like bronchitis 5.

Exposure to secondhand smoke during pregnancy is linked to low birthweight and prematurity 9.

The health of workers improves immediately when smoking is banned in the workplace 10.

Economic Arguments

Smokefree policies cost less to put in place and enforce than policies allowing smoking 11.

Insurance, cleaning and maintenance costs are significantly reduced in smokefree workplaces 12.

Smokefree policies reduce smoking by employees, and are a cost-effective way of helping people quit smoking 13.

Less smoking means less absenteeism, lower worker turnover and fewer accidents 14 15 16.

Worldwide smokefree policies have been shown to have a positive or neutral impact on trade in bars and restaurants. The only studies showing a negative economic impact had tobacco industry backing and most were subjective and of poor quality 17.

References

BMA Towards smoke-free workplaces, Board of Science and Education & Tobacco Control Resource Centre November 2002

Survey source: MORI March 1999 Sample size:1,029 respondents

WHO policies to reduce exposure to environmental tobacco smoke 29-30 May 2000

Survey source: MORI Fieldwork dates: 20th – 24th March, 2003 Sample size: 1972 respondents

BMA Towards smoke-free workplaces, Board of Science and Education & Tobacco Control Resource Centre November 2002

Smoking related Behaviour & Attitudes Series OS no.18 June 2002

See ASH website for up to date information at http://www.ash.org.uk/html/workplace/html/smokefreenews.html

WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (1986) Monograph vol.38 Tobacco Smoke. WHO IARC:Lyons.

Windham GC, Hopkins B, Fenster L, & Swan SH (2000) Pre-natal active or passive tobacco smoke exposure and the risk of pre-term delivery or low birthweight. Epidemiology 11:427-33

Eisner M, Smith A, Blanc P Bartenders respiratory health after establishment of Smoke-free Bars and Taverns JAMA 1998; 280 1909-1914

Ducatman A,McLellan R. Epidemiological basis for an occupational and environmental policy on environmental tobacco smoke, Amer. Coll. of Occup. And Environmental Medicine, 2000

Parrott S. Godfrey C. Cost of employee smoking in the workplace in Scotland. Tob. Control 2000:9(2):187-192

Fichtenberg CM,Glantz SA Effect of smoke-free workplaces on smoking behaviour: systematic review. BMJ 2002;325:188-191

McGhee S, Adab P, Hedley A, et al. Passive smoking at work: the short term cost. J.Epidemiol Community Health 2000; 54(9): 673-6

Ryan J,Zwerling C,Jones M Cigarette smoking at time of hire as a predictor of employment outcome J.Occup Environ Medicine 1996;38(9):928-33

Ryan J, Zwerling C, Orav E Occupational risks associated with cigarette smoking: a prospective study. Am J Public Health 1992; 82(1):29-32

Scollo M et al Review of the quality of studies on the economic effects of smoke-free policies on the hospitality industry. Tobacco Control 2002; 12: 13-20

Further information Clear the Air Coalition Statement: http://www.ash.org.uk/html/workplace/html/ctac.html More Clear the Air Campaign factsheets: www.ash.org.uk/html/ctac.php For detailed informaion visit ASH smokefree environments page: www.ash.org.uk/?smokefree

Secondhand Smoke Does Cause Respiratory Disease

webmaster — Sat, 30 Aug 2003 14:48:09 +0000

The report following report by Enstrom and Kabat confirms that exposureto secondhand smoke causes injury to the respiratory systemwith the finding of a combined increased mortality risk formen and women for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/327/7413/502-a

New York City’s Smoke-Free Law Is Not Hurting Business

webmaster — Tue, 21 Oct 2003 09:46:36 +0000

October 21, 2003 - Contact: Tony Iallonardo 202.296.5469 Zagat Restaurant Survey Provides More Evidence that New York City’s Smoke-Free Law Is Not Hurting Business Statement of William V. Corr Executive Director, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Washington, DC - Opponents of smoke-free workplace laws want to make New York City a poster child for their arguments that smoke-free is bad for business. But the facts keep getting in the way. Impartial economic data and public opinion surveys consistently show that New York City’s new smoke-free law has not harmed business and may in fact be providing an economic boost for the city’s hospitality industry. The latest evidence comes from Zagat, which provides restaurant and leisure guides for locations around the world and is one of the most respected authorities on the hospitality industry. The just-released 2004 Zagat New York City Restaurant Survey of nearly 30,000 New York restaurant-goers found that 23 percent of respondents said they are eating out more often because of the city’s smoke-free workplace law, which includes restaurants and bars, while only four percent said they are eating out less. Zagat surveyed 29,361 New York City restaurant-goers from May through mid-July, after the smoking ban went into effect at the end of March. Contrary to pessimistic predictions by opponents of the smoke-free law, Zagat is extremely upbeat about prospects for New York City’s restaurant business. The survey finds that New York restaurant-goers are eating out and spending more than they were two years ago and restaurant openings are far outpacing closings. Zagat’s press release concludes, “The city’s recent smoking ban, far from curbing restaurant traffic, has given it a major lift. Meanwhile, openings are perking up, closings dropping, and service complaints continue to trend downward… What’s not to feel good about?” Zagat’s findings add to the growing evidence from economic data and public opinion surveys that New York City’s smoke-free law has not hurt business. · State employment statistics show the city’s restaurants and bars added more jobs in the three months after the smoke-free law took effect than in the same period a year earlier. · Hotel occupancy rates and other tourism indicators are on the upswing and the city’s hotel revenues in July increased for the first time in nearly three years, the business journal Crain’s reported in August. · Several polls have shown strong public support for the city’s smoke-free law. A poll released in September by public health groups found that New York City voters supported the new law by a margin of 70 to 27 percent. The available data make clear why the public, policy makers and the media should treat with skepticism the claims of economic doom and gloom being made by opponents of smoke-free laws in New York City and across the country. Every time one of these laws is implemented, opponents try to generate negative news coverage and headlines based on anecdotal, unrepresentative evidence of economic harm, with the goal of weakening or repealing the laws and heading them off elsewhere. As is happening now in New York City, these claims of economic harm have been discredited time and again by impartial economic data and consumer behavior. New York City’s experience is consistent with numerous independent, objective and peer-reviewed studies of smoke-free restaurant laws around the country, which show that there is no long-term negative impact on restaurant sales or employment from smoke-free laws. The impact appears to be neutral at worse and even slightly positive. The best data available comes from California, which in 1998 became the first state to include bars in a smoke-free law. Restaurant and bar sales grew at a faster rate after the law took effect, while employment continued to grow at about the same rate. Today, California’s law is overwhelmingly popular with bar owners, employees and the public. The evidence is clear that while secondhand smoke harms health, smoke-free laws do not harm business. It is time for every state and community to protect the public’s right to breathe clean air, free from the proven dangers of secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, including 69 known carcinogens such as formaldehyde, lead, arsenic, benzene, and radioactive polonium 210. It is a scientifically proven cause of serious health problems, including lung cancer, heart disease and chronic lung ailments such lung cancer and asthma. A study issued last year by the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization concluded, “Nonsmokers are exposed to the same carcinogens as active smokers. Even the typical levels of passive exposure have been shown to cause lung cancer" among people who have never smoked. Studies have shown that secondhand smoke is responsible nationally for thousands of deaths each year. Children exposed to secondhand smoke are especially vulnerable, suffering more asthma, bronchitis, ear infections and other ailments. Five states – California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine and New York – have now enacted comprehensive, statewide smoke-free laws. In Florida, all workplaces, with the exception of some stand-alone bars, are now smoke-free as a result of a constitutional amendment approved by 71 percent of voters last year. Other jurisdictions that have recently enacted strong smoke-free policies include Boston, Dallas, Albuquerque, Bloomington, IN, Pueblo, CO, Lexington, KY, and Montgomery County, MD. Altogether, such laws now protect more than a quarter of the U.S. population – more than 70 million people.

Impact of Tobacco Tax Reforms on Tobacco Prices

webmaster — Mon, 01 Dec 2003 01:07:42 +0000

Full report here Impact of tobacco tax reforms on tobacco prices and tobacco use in Australia Objective: To document the impact of changes to tobacco taxes on the range and price of tobacco sold during the period when the National Tobacco Campaign (NTC) was run. Data sources: Information about brand availability, pack size, and price was extracted from Australian Retail Tobacconist. A retail observational survey was undertaken to monitor actual retail prices. Data on cigarette prices, brands, packet configurations, and outlets from which they were purchased were obtained from the benchmark and three follow up population telephone surveys conducted to evaluate the NTC. Method: Data from the three sources were compared to see the extent to which the impact of tax changes had been offset by greater retail discounting and a more concerted effort by consumers to purchase cheaper products. Results: Smokers were unable to cushion themselves from the sharp price increases that occurred during the third phase of the NTC. Both average recommended retail prices of manufactured cigarettes and average actual cigarette prices paid by smokers increased by 25% in real prices. Conclusion: The fall in smoking prevalence over the first two phases of the NTC was substantially greater than would be expected due to tax changes alone. The fall in smoking consumption over the first two phases was slightly less than would be expected and in the third considerably higher than would be expected.

A Strategy For Controlling The Marketing Of Tobacco Products

webmaster — Mon, 01 Dec 2003 01:18:53 +0000

A Strategy For Controlling The Marketing Of Tobacco Products: a regulated market model Objective: To outline a novel strategy for controlling the tobacco market. Arguments: More comprehensive controls over the tobacco market are essential and long overdue. Effective controls need to encourage the development of less harmful products; control commercial communication to ensure that potential harms are highlighted relative to any benefits; and provide mechanisms to move consumers away from tobacco use, or at least towards less harmful alternatives. Achieving this by regulating the existing industry is one strategy. This paper puts the case for an alternative: to have marketing controlled by an agency (called here the Tobacco Products Agency, or TPA) which tendered to manufacturers for product and which distributed to retailers in ways that reduce incentives to bend or break the law. The TPA would be backed by legislation that made tobacco a controlled substance with possession sale and use only allowed as permitted by the regulations, which in reality would be only as provided by the TPA. Conclusions: The overall effect of such a model, which we call a ‘‘regulated market model’’, would be to eliminate most of the incentives and remaining opportunities for commercial promotion of tobacco and to create incentives to encourage the development of less harmful tobacco products. Such a model preserves the competition inherent in a free market, but directs it towards the challenge of reducing the harm from tobacco use. See the full report on A Strategy For Controlling The Marketing Of Tobacco Products: a regulated market model

Make Tobacco Illegal In UK

webmaster — Sat, 06 Dec 2003 05:55:45 +0000

Make tobacco illegal in UK - says the Lancet 06 Dec 2003 - Medical News Today Today the Lancet called on the UK government to make the sale, possession and consumption of tobacco illegal, to make it a criminal offence. They say that this single action would save hundreds of thousands of lives in the UK. This is the most radical call to any government by a medical organisation. It comes just a week after 13 royal medical colleges in the UK called on the government to ban smoking in all public places. The British Medical Association (BMA) has called on the UK government to ban smoking in public. The Lancet's proposal (make tobacco illegal) was greeted with scepticism by campaigners. The tobacco industry was horrified and said that this revealed 'the true voice of the rabid anti-smoking zealot'. The Lancet says that the UK government is 'missing the point'. They say that the availability and acceptability of smoking is far more significant. 'If tobacco were an illegal substance, possession of cigarettes would become a crime, and the number of smokers would drastically fall. Cigarette smoking is a dangerous addiction. We should be doing a great deal more to prevent this disease and to help its victims. We call on Tony Blair's government to ban tobacco,' it says. Simon Clark, director of Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco (Forest) said the editorial was laughable and The Lancet had scored 'a stunning own goal .' He went on to say 'Smokers are not victims nor should they be treated as criminals. Like it or not people choose to smoke just as they choose to drink alcohol and eat certain foods or take part in extreme sports. Do we ban everything that is potentially dangerous and turn the practitioners into social outcasts?' Another organisation called Ash (Action on Smoking) said that 26% of the UK population were smokers (13 million people). They suggested that criminalizing such a number of people would be impossible and wrong. Amanda Sandford of Ash said: 'Tobacco has been legally acceptable for more than 100 years and unfortunately it became widely used before it was understood what damage it caused. We can't turn the clock back. If tobacco were banned we would have 13 million people desperately craving a drug that they would not be able to get. It is ludicrous.' Deputy editor of the Lancet, Astrid James, defended the article. The argument went along the lines that smoking was a major cause of disease and its role could not be ignored by doctors. 'A huge number of papers we see here are about smoking-related disease so as a medical journal we felt we had to take it further.' Smoking in the UK had fallen continuously since the end of The Second World War until the mid-1990s. However, since the middle of the 1990s smoking has not fallen any more. Measures such as increasing the price of cigarettes, imposing restrictions on smoking and work have not worked. The Lancet's deputy editor went on to say 'I disagree that banning tobacco is hopelessly impractical. Any government can push through changes where there is a clear public health argument - such as on seat belts. It is taking the nanny state further but the public health gains are clear.' The Royal College of Physicians rejected (and praised) the Lancet's demands. Professor John Britton (Chairman of the college's tobacco advisory group) said 'A ban on tobacco would be a nightmare.' He then went on to say : 'What I applaud is that they have recognised that a health problem as big as that caused by tobacco needs a radical solution and we need a government that is prepared to face up to that.' John Britton said that a ban on smoking in public (including restaurants and bars) was the first step. He said that a Nicotine and Tobacco Regulatory Authority to introduce new ways of delivering nicotine was the next step. Many countries around the world are becoming stricter on smoking. Following the lead of New York and California, Ireland is to become smoke-free on 16th February, 2004 (New Zealand and Norway are just about there). Professor Britton says that nicotine alternatives should be as easy to buy as cigarettes. He believes they should be sold alongside cigarettes in bars, tobacconists and corner shops (rather than just pharmacies). 'You can't go into a pub, put coins in a vending machine and get a nicotine inhaler out. It is a ridiculous restriction.' THE HABIT THAT KILLS 120,000 PEOPLE A YEAR HEALTH Smoking causes 120,000 deaths a year in the UK and 364,000 hospital admissions in England. Smoking-related illness accounts for 8 million consultations and 7 million prescriptions. Half of all smokers die from the habit if they continue to smoke. ECONOMICS The Government earned £9.6bn in tax revenue on tobacco in 2000. The cost to the NHS of smoking-related disease was £1.5bn and the amount spent on helping smokers to quit was £138m. There were 5,043 people employed in tobacco manufacturing in 2000. ENVIRONMENT Three million workers are forced to breathe other people's smoke when they go to work. Fewer than 20 pubs in England are smoke-free, but 73 per cent of people are non-smokers and 50 per cent think smoking in pubs should be restricted. A review of 100 studies showed no negative impact of smoke-free policies on the hospitality industry. THE LAW It is illegal to sell tobacco or cigarettes to children under 16. Cigarette advertising has been banned on TV since 1965, and all tobacco advertising was banned this year. Cigarette packs must carry health warnings and there is an upper limit for the tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide content. OTHER COUNTRIES New York and California have banned smoking in public places. Ireland, Norway and New Zealand are introducing similar bans in 2004. Smoking restrictions in the workplace have been established in Australia, Canada and Hong Kong.

Low Tar Cigarettes Don't Cut Lung Cancer Risk

webmaster — Fri, 09 Jan 2004 03:48:54 +0000

Study: Quitting the Only Way to Reduce Risk Article date: 2004/01/09 - American Cancer Society Smoking low tar cigarettes – commonly called "light" or "ultra light" – does nothing to lower a smoker's risk of lung cancer, according to a study by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the American Cancer Society (ACS). People who smoked low tar cigarettes had the same lung cancer risk as those who smoked regular cigarettes, they report in the online edition of the British Medical Journal. The study is the first to compare lung cancer risk among smokers of low tar cigarettes and regular tar brands, said co-author Michael Thun, MD, vice president of epidemiology and surveillance research at ACS. "The data underscore that terms like 'light' and 'ultra light' are misleading because they imply less health risk, but do not correspond to less hazardous cigarettes," said Thun. "For a smoker, the only sure way to reduce [lung cancer] risk is to quit smoking." Unfiltered Cigarettes Worst Thun and colleagues tracked the smoking habits of nearly 1 million adults (age 30 and older) for 6 years. They compared the type of cigarette smoked with deaths from lung cancer. Cigarettes were categorized based on tar content: very low tar (0-7 mg tar per cigarette), low tar (8-14 mg tar per cigarette), medium tar (15-21 mg per cigarette), or high tar (22 mg or more per cigarette). As expected, people who never smoked had the lowest risk of lung cancer. Smokers had a substantially higher risk, and there was virtually no difference between those who smoked low or very low tar brands and those who smoked regular cigarettes. People who smoked the high tar cigarettes, however, had an even higher risk of lung cancer than other smokers, perhaps because all of the high tar brands were unfiltered. All of the low and very low tar cigarettes were filtered, as were 99% of the medium tar cigarettes. Labels Not Reliable Indicators The way people smoke may account for the findings, Thun said. The tar and nicotine content listed on cigarette labels is based on measurements from a smoking machine, but studies have shown "there's a very poor correlation between machine-measured yield and what people are actually taking in," he explained. People who smoke lower tar cigarettes don't necessarily reduce the amount of tar, nicotine, and other chemicals they take into their bodies, because they inhale deeper, hold the drag longer, and puff more often than people who smoke regular cigarettes. They also tend to smoke more cigarettes, and may cover ventilation holes in the filter that are designed to dilute smoke with air. Although cigarette manufacturers warn that listed tar and nicotine levels can't predict what an individual smoker will take in, "the natural assumption of someone reading those levels is that they actually communicate something meaningful," Thun said. "But they don't." According to the US Federal Trade Commission, nearly 89% of cigarettes sold in the United States in 2001 had tar ratings of 15 mg or less. The lowest tar varieties, those with 3 mg or less, accounted for only 1% of the market. Unfiltered high tar cigarettes also account for about 1% of the US market. The Sooner You Quit, the Better Smokers in the study who quit substantially reduced their risk of dying of lung cancer, especially if they quit by age 35. These young quitters had a risk similar to that of nonsmokers. But even smokers who kicked the habit later in life – age 55 or older – saw a significant drop in lung cancer risk. "The lung cancer risk among those who stopped smoking was markedly lower than those who continued to smoke, irrespective of the type of cigarette," Thun said. People who smoked low tar cigarettes were more likely to quit than smokers of higher tar brands. Thun said low tar smokers may be more concerned with the health effects of smoking, and thus may be more motivated to give up the habit. But he warned that lower tar smokes are no substitute for quitting. "The important thing is that people not see these products as an alternative to quitting," said Thun. "The only sure way we know to reduce risk is to quit."

Cigarette Tar Yields In Relation To Mortality From Lung Cancer

webmaster — Sat, 10 Jan 2004 03:42:36 +0000

Cigarette tar yields in relation to mortality from lung cancer in the cancer prevention study II prospective cohort, 1982-8 Objective: To assess the risk of lung cancer in smokers of medium tar filter cigarettes compared with smokers of low tar and very low tar filter cigarettes. Design: Analysis of the association between the tar rating of the brand of cigarette smoked in 1982 and mortality from lung cancer over the next six years. Multivariate proportional hazards analyses used to assess hazard ratios, with adjustment for age at enrolment, race, educational level, marital status, blue collar employment, occupational exposure to asbestos, intake of vegetables, citrus fruits, and vitamins, and, in analyses of current and former smokers, for age when they started to smoke and number of cigarettes smoked per day. Setting: Cancer prevention study II (CPS-II). Participants: 364 239 men and 576 535 women, aged >= 30 years, who had either never smoked, were former smokers, or were currently smoking a specific brand of cigarette when they were enrolled in the cancer prevention study. Main outcome measure: Death from primary cancer of the lung among participants who had never smoked, former smokers, smokers of very low tar (<= 7 mg tar/cigarette) filter, low tar (8-14 mg) filter, high tar (>= 22 mg) non-filter brands and medium tar conventional filter brands (15-21 mg). Results: Irrespective of the tar level of their current brand, all current smokers had a far greater risk of lung cancer than people who had stopped smoking or had never smoked. Compared with smokers of medium tar (15-21 mg) filter cigarettes, risk was higher among men and women who smoked high tar (>= 22 mg) non-filter brands (hazard ratio 1.44, 95% confidence interval 1.20 to 1.73, and 1.64, 1.26 to 2.15, respectively). There was no difference in risk among men who smoked brands rated as very low tar (1.17, 0.95 to 1.45) or low tar (1.02, 0.90 to 1.16) compared with those who smoked medium tar brands. The same was seen for women (0.98, 0.80 to 1.21, and 0.95, 0.82 to 1.11, respectively). Conclusion: The increase in lung cancer risk is similar in people who smoke medium tar cigarettes (15-21 mg), low tar cigarettes (8-14 mg), or very low tar cigarettes (<= 7 mg). Men and women who smoke non-filtered cigarettes with tar ratings >= 22 mg have an even higher risk of lung cancer. Full Study here: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/328/7431/72

Tobacco Executive Arrested In ICAC Probe

webmaster — Fri, 27 Feb 2004 05:32:25 +0000

Suspect accused of taking more than $11m in bribes to help syndicates smuggle cigarettes worth $116m into the mainland South China Morning Post, February 27, 2004, page A1 -BENJAMIN WONG A senior executive of a state tobacco manufacturer owned by the Shanghai Industrial (Holdings) conglomerate has been arrested by the ICAC for allegedly helping several syndicates smuggle $116 million worth of cigarettes into the mainland. The Independent Commission Against Corruption believes the executive was paid more than $11 million in bribes for giving the smugglers preferential treatment in supplying his company's cigarettes. An ICAC statement described the firm as a wholly owned subsidiary of a listed Hong Kong company. Sources confirmed it was the Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company, producers of the famous Double Happiness brand. A spokesman for Shanghai Industrial said last night the company had been notified about the case and was monitoring its developments. But he refused to confirm whether the company was involved in the case. The ICAC alleges that with the executive's help, the syndicates managed to buy 116 containers of cigarettes from the company. It alleges the executive knew the cigarettes would be smuggled into the mainland. The tobacco manufacturer had offered to help investigators, the ICAC said. The ICAC believes the executive was bribed by six syndicates and received between $18,000 and $150,000 for each container of cigarettes. In addition to the senior executive, the ICAC arrested 19 others - 12 men and seven women aged between 20 and 50. Two of the suspects are the executive's associates, two are employees of the tobacco manufacturer, 11 are employees of five other companies and four are suspected smugglers. The officers also seized more than $2 million of the suspected bribe money, as well as jewellery and watches. The operation, code-named "Golden Dragon", began on Monday. Sources said the money and goods were found in a safe belonging to one of the two arrested associates of the executive. The investigators believe several companies were set up by the suspects to transfer the bribe money and cover up their activities. The ICAC believes the cigarettes supplied to the syndicates were ultimately smuggled into the mainland via Southeast Asian countries. All those arrested have been released on bail. Investigations are continuing.

Tobacco Executive Suspended Over Probe

webmaster — Sat, 28 Feb 2004 05:34:58 +0000

SCMP A3 - February 28, 2004 - BENJAMIN WONG Shanghai Industrial (Holdings) has confirmed one of its directors has been suspended following an ICAC probe into a multimillion-dollar cigarette smuggling case. Without naming the director, the company said the man was an executive director of the company and executive deputy CEO. He was suspended from all his duties and trading in the company's shares were suspended at the company's request. A source said the director worked for the Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company - a wholly owned subsidiary of Shanghai Industrial (Holdings) - which makes the Double Happiness brand. The statement from Shanghai Industrial said it had formed a committee to "ensure normal operations at Nanyang Tobacco". The Independent Commission Against Corruption arrested a senior Nanyang executive after he allegedly took $11.4 million in bribes to facilitate several smuggling syndicates' operations. The investigators said with the man's help, the six syndicates smuggled cigarettes worth $116 million into the mainland via Southeast Asia. A further 19 people were also arrested in connection with the case.

Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Faces Smuggling Probe

webmaster — Sat, 20 Mar 2004 05:37:43 +0000

By Staff Reporter Lu Yanzheng - 20th March 2004 - Caijing Lu Dayong, chairman of Nanyang Brothers Tobacco (NBT), was recently arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in Hong Kong. Lu was suspected of involvement in cigarette smuggling. The news came as a surprise to the industry. Qi Mijia, vice manager of Huangpu division at Shanghai Tobacco (Group) Corp., said: “Lu Dayong is a smart man, hard-working and well-paid. Personally, I don't believe he would under any circumstances help others smuggle.” But the fact is that Lu was arrested by ICAC in one of its recent efforts to combat smuggling. Based on information it had received, ICAC arrested 20 people on February 23, including Lu. Three days later, ICAC announced that the suspects might have been involved in HK$ 116 million (US$ 14 million) worth of cigarette smuggling. Lu is accused of taking HK$ 11.4 million (US$ 1.4 million) in bribes and helping smugglers obtain cigarette sales quotas. The other 19 arrested include two employees of NBT and board directors members or employees in other five companies. Shanghai Industrial Investment (Holdings) Co. Ltd (SIIC), a famous red-chip company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HK00363), wholly owns NBT. Lu is the managing director and deputy CEO of SIIC. Feng Qiming, spokesman of SIIC, told Caijing on March 8 that “presently Lu is only a suspect and ICAC's investigation is still underway; no accusation has been made, and the board will not take any actions for now.” However, on SIIC's website, Lu Dayong's name has already been removed from the list of managers. SIIC, whose stock transactions were suspended on February 27, made an announcement confirming Lu's suspected involvement in “bribery” and suspension of Lu's positions in all of the group's companies. On March 1, SIIC's stock resumed trading, but its price declined more than 10% in 3 days. According to the ICAC's investigation report, Lu has taken bribes from at least six smuggling groups since December 2003. For each container of smuggled cigarettes, Lu took bribes between HK$ 18,000 (US$ 2,169) and HK$ 150,000 (US$ 18,072). Altogether Lu was alleged to have taken HK$ 11.4 million (US$ 1.4 million) for helping to smuggle 116 containers of cigarettes. In an effort to hide the transactions, Lu and other suspects registered several companies to receive bribe money. ICAC found HK$ 2 million (US$ 256,000) in cash and six luxurious watches in Lu's bank coffer. ICAC suspects that Lu received the cash and watches as bribes. In the import plan of China National Tobacco Import & Export Corp. (CNTIEC), NBT's factory in Hong Kong should export only 24,720 units of cigarettes to the domestic market in the first half of 2004. Roughly, one unit of export is worth 4000 yuan (US$ 482) and the total amount is only 100 million yuan (US$ 12 million). Based on the ICAC's discoveries, the value of cigarettes smuggled in December, January and February alone already exceeded that amount. It is unclear why NBT's sales system reported no effects from the huge waves of smuggled cigarettes flooding its market. According to Feng Qiming, most cigarettes produced by NBT's Hong Kong factory are sold in the mainland market. NBT's major business with the mainland is the export and sale of its own Double Happiness brand cigarettes. NBT itself cannot export cigarettes made in China or trade other Chinese brands. Therefore, a large number of smuggled cigarettes would have an enormous negative impact on NBT's legal sales channels in the mainland. A sales agent of NBT in eastern China told Caijing that under normal procedures, a tobacco company chooses agents following a formal appraisal system. If the tobacco company finds that a sales agent owns smuggled cigarettes, the company will immediately disqualify the agent in order to prevent harmful effects on its normal sales channels. Under such a system, if cigarettes produced by NBT were smuggled into the mainland market, NBT's representatives in the mainland should have felt the impact and tracked the smuggled cigarettes. But surprisingly, it appears as though NBT did not feel any shock from the huge number of smuggled cigarettes on the market. ICAC accused Lu of helping smugglers obtain cigarette sales quota and taking bribes in return. The cigarette sales quota is related with NBT's sales system: NBT gives different sales quota to its partners according to their different qualifications. Since the quota is controlled by NBT itself, there exists the possibility of internal corruption and serious management defects. Lu, aged 56, has worked in the tobacco industry for more than 35 years, mostly in Shanghai. Unsurprisingly, Lu's suspected involvement in this smuggling case has negatively impacted SIIC. SIIC is 58% controlled by Shanghai Industrial Investment Group, a window corporation of Shanghai in Hong Kong and a veteran red-chip company. On March 12, the stock price of SIIC was HK$ 18.45 (US$ 2.22) per share, down 10% from HK$ 20.5 (US$ 2.47) on February 27, when its stock transactions were temporarily suspended. Feng said that SIIC might release a report in April to better explain the event.

European Commission and Philip Morris International sign 12-year Agreement to combat contraband and counterfeit cigarettes

Ryan Chan — Thu, 08 Jul 2004 16:52:42 +0000

Brussels, 9 July 2004

The European Commission, together with 10 Member States of the European

Union1 and Philip Morris International (PMI), today announced a multi-year

agreement that includes an efficient system to fight against future cigarette

smuggling and counterfeiting and which ends all litigation between the

parties in this area. Through the Agreement, Philip Morris International will

work with the European Commission, its anti-fraud office OLAF, and law

enforcement authorities to help in the fight against contraband, including the

rapidly growing problem of counterfeit cigarettes. The agreement includes

substantial payments by Philip Morris International, which could total

approximately USD 1.25 billion over twelve years. “I welcome the conclusion

of the negotiations of this important agreement. This agreement is to the

advantage of the EU to protect its financial interests,” said Commission

President Romano Prodi. “This Agreement represents a major step forward

in the battle against contraband and counterfeit cigarettes,” said

Commissioner Michaele Schreyer, responsible for budget and the fight

against fraud “We believe that it will enhance the ability of the European

Commission and the Member States to combat the illegal trade in cigarettes,

which results in the loss of substantial tax and customs revenues each year.

Contraband and counterfeit products cheat everyone: governments,

consumers and legitimate businesses”, she added.

Fight against counterfeit

The Commission and the EU Member States point to several reasons why they view

expanded anti-counterfeit and anti-contraband efforts as requiring significant priority.

Among other reasons, the European Community and the Member States are losing

hundreds of millions of Euros in unpaid taxes from counterfeit cigarettes. In addition,

counterfeit and other forms of contraband create a parallel illegal supply chain that

invades and compromises legitimate distribution channels and competes unfairly

with genuine products distributed through legitimate channels.

Over the last few years, the incidence of contraband Philip Morris cigarettes has

been greatly reduced, but during the same time period, counterfeit cigarettes have

become a growing threat to the European Community and the Member States. The

Commission has therefore announced that it will build on existing efforts to combat

the illegal trade in cigarettes by:

- Vigorously investigating cigarette counterfeiting in close cooperation with the

Member States and law enforcement officials in critical locations worldwide;

1 Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal,

and Spain.

- Targeting and interrupting the production of counterfeit cigarettes with the goal

of preventing counterfeit cigarettes from being introduced into the European

Community; and

- Recording and pursuing seizures of counterfeit cigarettes in the European

Community to identify the source of the product and other relevant information.

Fight against contraband and money laundering: Know your

customers and tracking and tracing

The Agreement builds on the efforts of all parties and introduces new and innovative

procedures to combat the diversion of Philip Morris International’s products into

contraband channels in Europe and around the world. Today’s agreement reflects

the reality that success in defeating the contraband and counterfeit cigarette trade

can be aided greatly through a joint agreement whereby major manufacturers like

Philip Morris International and European law enforcement combine their resources

and enhance their coordination in combating contraband and counterfeiting.

In addition to Philip Morris International’s already existing fiscal compliance policy,

the Agreement contains strong provisions, approved by all parties, which provide

them with a mechanism for the long-term prevention of any large-scale smuggling of

genuine Philip Morris cigarettes in the European market. The Agreement requires

Philip Morris International to build on its existing review process for selecting and

monitoring customers, to enhance its capabilities to track and trace certain

packaging, and to provide expanded support to European law enforcement in its

battle against the illegal trade in cigarettes. Under the Agreement, Philip Morris

International agrees to continue limiting its sales to volumes commensurate with

legitimate market demand. The Agreement also incorporates and builds into a

comprehensive contractual framework Philip Morris International’s existing antimoney

laundering policies.

Historically, a key concern for the European Community has been the introduction of

contraband cigarettes into the European Community. For that reason, the European

Community has taken aggressive action to address cigarette smuggling. European

law-enforcement efforts have resulted over the past several years in the reduction of

the amount of cigarettes that enter the EU as contraband. The European

Commission has determined that constructive agreements, such as this Agreement

with Philip Morris International, are a useful tool in addressing these issues.

The initiative includes far-reaching product tracking procedures that will facilitate law

enforcement efforts to determine the point at which any genuine product is diverted

from the authorised sales channel. Consistent with the Agreement, Philip Morris

International will mark certain packaging with information indicating the intended

market of retail sale, mark “master cases” of cigarettes with machine-scannable

barcode labels, and implement other procedures useful for the tracking and tracing

of its products.

These obligations embody the first major joint tracking and tracing initiative and are

consistent with the anti-contraband provisions of the WHO Framework Convention

on Tobacco Control.

Payments under the Agreement

The European Community and ten Member States will receive substantial payments

over a number of years. The amount of Philip Morris International’s payments under

the Agreement will vary based on a number of factors, and could total approximately

USD 1.25 billion.

The Agreement also includes an initiative whereby PMI has agreed to make

payments in the event of future seizures in the European Community of its genuine

products above defined quantities. These payments will be made without regard to

fault or wrongdoing by Philip Morris International. If other Member States sign the

Agreement, including the new Member States, they will also be entitled to receive

these payments.

Ending past disputes

While all these provisions are forward-looking, the Agreement also contains the

parties’ resolution of all past disputes relating to contraband cigarettes. In particular,

the Agreement also brings to an end all litigation between the European Community

and the ten Member States and Philip Morris International relating to contraband

cigarettes. The Agreement also resolves Philip Morris International’s case against

the European Commission pending on appeal before the European Court of Justice.

The Commission is always prepared to have discussions with manufacturers who

are willing to commit the necessary resources to improve ways to combat illegal

trade in their products and associated criminal activity, such as money laundering.

Producers also have a responsibility to fight illegal trade in their products. This

Agreement should therefore serve as a model for other cigarette companies.

Background

In the negotiations with Philip Morris International, the Commission represented the

European Community and the ten Member States. The Legal Service and OLAF

conducted the negotiations for the Commission.

http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/olaf/index.htm

Elisabeth Werner: 02/295 95 06

4 Charged For Money Laundering

webmaster — Mon, 23 Aug 2004 05:40:03 +0000

News.gov.hk - 23 August 2004 A tobacco executive and three others have been charged for allegedly laundering $50.3 million, believed to be proceeds of suspected cigarette smuggling and corrupt activities. Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Chairman Lu Dayong, 57, Hang Chun Trade Development Director Ko Kit, 35, Hang Chun Sales Manager Chan Kai-san, 36, and former Hang Chun Director Lin Jianding, 38, will appear at Eastern Magistracy tomorrow to face a joint holding charge under the Organised & Serious Crimes Ordinance. The charge alleges that between December 1 last year and February 23, the defendants conspired together to deal with sums of money, knowing or having reasonable ground to believe the money, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, represented proceeds of an indictable offence. Independent Commission Against Corruption enquiries have found the money was allegedly generated through corruption and smuggling. Inquiries into the corruption aspects of the case are underway.

Bail For Blue-Chip Chief

webmaster — Thu, 26 Aug 2004 05:42:45 +0000

Standard 26 August 2004 - Vanson Soo A hearing has been adjourned into four senior executives, including the deputy chief executive officer of blue-chip Shanghai Industrial Holdings, for their alleged involvement in a HK$116 million cigarette smuggling case. Further arrests are likely in the probe by the Independent Commission Against Corruption, which is investigating another 16 suspects, an ICAC spokeswoman said. The four executives, who were arrested in Hong Kong in February, appeared in Eastern Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, charged with laundering HK$50.3 million from suspected cigarette smuggling and corrupt activities. They include Shanghai Industrial deputy chief executive and executive director Lu Dayong. Lu, 57, is also chairman of Nanyang Brothers Tobacco, the wholly owned, cigarette-making arm of Shanghai Industrial, which makes the top-selling Double Happiness cigarette brand in China. Hong Kong-listed Shanghai Industrial is one of the mainland's biggest listed conglomerates, a behemoth with interests ranging from dairies, property and tobacco to microchips and cars. When the company went public in 1996, it was oversubscribed 158 times and helped to ignite a massive boom in China shares. Its market capitalisation is HK$12.8 billion. The other three are director Ko Kit, 35, sales manager Chan Kai-san, 36, and former director Lin Jianding, 38 - all of Hang Chun Trade Development. No pleas were taken and the case was adjourned to November 23. The four were released on bail ranging from HK$100,000 to HK$500,000 each. The executives were among 20 arrested by the ICAC for alleged involvement in cigarette smuggling activities. At the time, the ICAC said it had charged an individual with accepting HK$11.4 million in bribes in connection with the smuggling of 116 containers of cigarettes into China. ICAC investigators also said the alleged bribes - ranging from HK$18,000 to HK$150,000 per container of cigarettes - had been paid since last December by at least six syndicates in return for the continued supply of cigarettes, which were smuggled through Southeast Asia to China. According to the mainland magazine Caijing earlier this year, the import plan of China National Tobacco Import and Export Corp (CNTIEC) showed the Nanyang Brothers Tobacco factory in Tuen Mun was limited to exporting only 24,720 units of cigarettes, each worth 4,000 yuan (HK$3,772), to the domestic market in the first half of 2004. Although their official export value was supposed to total no more than 100 million yuan, the ICAC discovered the December, January and February shipments alone exceeded that, the magazine claimed. Shanghai Industrial spokesman Derek Fung said Lu has been suspended from all his executive duties since February 27. The group said recently the case will not have any material impact on its operations. Fung said although Nanyang Brothers Tobacco is a subsidiary of Shanghai Industrial, he does not know how the three Hang Chun employees are related to Nanyang Brothers Tobacco, except that they are probably business partners. Lu, who graduated from the Party School of Shanghai in industrial enterprise management, was previously deputy general manager of Shanghai Tobacco Holdings and director of Shanghai Cigarette Factory. Caijing said Lu has more than 35 years' experience, mostly in Shanghai, in the tobacco industry. Bloomberg records show that Lu held 0.28 per cent of Shanghai Industrial shares in December last year. Shanghai Industrial is expected to release its interim results on Monday. Its shares closed 0.75 per cent higher at HK$13.50 on Tuesday.

One In Three Back Tobacco Ban

webmaster — Tue, 07 Sep 2004 06:01:29 +0000

More than one in three people would support moves to make tobacco illegal, according to the findings of a BBC survey. ICM conducted the phone survey of 1,010 adults in England, Wales and Scotland for the BBC Healthy Britain poll on a range of health issues. The survey found 37% of those questioned favoured the prohibition of tobacco. It also found that one in five of the smokers surveyed would back a ban. The BBC's social affairs correspondent Jane Dreaper says the research suggests that overall, non-smokers are becoming increasingly resentful towards the effects of becoming addicted to tobacco. Of those questioned, 93% supported increasing and enforcing the penalties for selling tobacco to children, and two-thirds said parents who consistently allow their under-age children to smoke should ultimately face prosecution. Just over half also thought smoking should be made more expensive, and three-quarters said there should be more spent on anti-smoking publicity campaigns. Age limit Four out of five wanted to see the age at which you can buy cigarettes raised from 16 to 18. The majority of people believed that would deter teenagers from taking up the habit. A slight majority thought the age limit should be raised to 21. More than a quarter of those asked were in favour of denying smokers access to NHS treatment for diseases caused by their habit. The British Medical Association said that would be "unethical" and it did not support such a move. Melanie Johnson, the public health minister, told the BBC progress had already been made in cutting smoking among young teenagers. However, she said public feedback to the government's consultation on public health had not indicated that raising the legal smoking age was a particular priority. 'Still desirable' A spokesman for the group Action on Smoking and Health said: "We are strongly against young people smoking or buying cigarettes for others." But he said simply raising the legal age for buying cigarettes may not have much effect. "Teenagers are notoriously sharp at getting round such restrictions and they would be hard to enforce. "More important may be to stop smoking being seen as a desirable and adult thing to do - stop adults smoking and teenagers are much less likely to start. That's one reason why we see ending smoking at work as a top priority." “ The suggestion that the age limit be raised to 21 shows how hysterical the smoking debate has become ” Simon Clark, Forest Simon Clark, of the smokers' rights group Forest, said, while it supported "reasonable" measures that made it more difficult for people under 18 to buy tobacco. He added: "However, the suggestion that the age limit be raised to 21 shows how hysterical the smoking debate has become. "The law needs to be consistent. At present you can have sex at 16, drive a car at 17, and drink alcohol in a pub at 18. Some people would even like to lower the voting age from 18 to 16. "There needs to be a clear point at which children are legally declared to be adults and are therefore considered mature enough to make their own decisions about their health and lifestyle." Workplace ban The government is currently considering whether smoking should be restricted in the workplace, including pubs and clubs. Its decision will be revealed in a Public Health White Paper, due to be published this autumn. In the BBC survey, carried out between 20 and 22 August, two-thirds of those questioned were in favour of such a ban. But while 69% thought government should be trying to change people's behaviour on smoking - including half of the smokers questioned - 64% think that whether or not people smoke is a matter for them. More data from the poll will be revealed later this week. Story from BBC NEWS:

Secondhand Smoke Exposure

webmaster — Sat, 04 Dec 2004 01:53:35 +0000

Secondhand Smoke Exposure S.M. McGhee, A.J. Hedley Department of Community Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China The smoke from a burning cigarette contains a toxic mix of chemical substances and the IARC has classed secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) as a Group 1 carcinogen. The evidence of harm to adult passive smokers is mounting including lung cancer and respiratory illness, heart disease and stroke as well as more minor acute respiratory symptoms and irritation. Children are even more vulnerable with domestic exposures before and/or after birth resulting in low weight infants, chronic health problems and more frequent hospital admissions for respiratory disease. There is also evidence of damage to lipoproteins in children although much of the longer term harm has not yet been assessed. For adults, the workplace has been a common site of exposure but, in many countries, smoke-free workplaces are becoming more common. In the developing world however, SHS remains as occupational hazard, In Hong Kong, non-smoking catering workers had urine cotinine levels which indicated a 3% increased risk of mortality from heart disease or lung cancer compared with a level of 0.1% for the US occupational health significant risk level. Policy-makers everywhere need to protect non-smokers from this serious threat to their respiratory and cardiovascular health and thus protect their communities from serious economic loss.

Bhutan Forbids All Tobacco Sales

webmaster — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 06:07:16 +0000

BBC NEWS - Thimphu valley, Bhutan Tobacco was already banned in 18 of Bhutan's 20 districts A ban on the sale of all tobacco products has come into effect in the remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. The Bhutanese government ordered shops, hotels, restaurants and bars selling tobacco products to dispose of existing stocks ahead of the ban. The tobacco ban will not apply to foreign tourists, diplomats or those working for NGOs. The predominantly Buddhist nation is thought to be the first country in the world to impose such a ban. All smoking in public places has also been banned. The moves are part of government efforts to make Bhutan a smoke-free nation. "We want no pollution and good health for our citizens," said Bhutanese minister, Jigme Thinley. Eighteen of the kingdom's 20 districts had already banned the sale of tobacco products before the deadline. If any foreigner is caught selling tobacco products to Bhutanese nationals, he will be charged with smuggling The capital district of Thimphu and the eastern district of Samdrup Jongkhar are the last to impose the ban. Bhutan's trade and industry ministry has warned of severe penalties if any person, group or firm is found selling tobacco. Those who violate the ban will be fined $210 and owners of shops and hotels will lose their business licenses. The government has decided to impose a 100% tax on all tobacco products brought into the country for personal consumption by Bhutanese. Foreigners selling tobacco to locals will be severely punished, the authorities say. "If any foreigner is caught selling tobacco products to Bhutanese nationals, he will be charged with smuggling. Tobacco will be treated as contraband," Karma Tshering of Bhutanese Customs told the BBC. Correspondents say smoking was only popular with a small percentage of the Bhutanese population. Chewing tobacco was much more common.

Tobacco Industry Lobbying Against Tobacco Control In Hong Kong

webmaster — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 01:34:36 +0000

Tobacco Control 2004;13:ii13-ii21 RESEARCH PAPER "A phony way to show sincerity, as we all well know": tobacco industry lobbying against tobacco control in Hong Kong J Knight, S Chapman School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia Correspondence to: Dr Jennifer Knight School of Public Health, Room 129A, Edward Ford Building (A27), University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; knightj@health.usyd.edu.au Objective: To examine the tobacco industry’s efforts to influence public policy and block the legislative process on tobacco control in Hong Kong, 1973 to 1997. Method: Systematic review of relevant tobacco industry documents made public via the Master Settlement Agreement. Results: The tobacco industry in Hong Kong has sought to manipulate the policymaking process and delay the introduction of tobacco control legislation in Hong Kong from at least 1973. The industry ensured that each of the government’s initial meagre steps toward tobacco control were delayed and thwarted by drawn out "cooperation" followed by voluntary concessions on issues the industry regarded as minor. By the 1980s the government had became increasingly active in tobacco control and introduced a number of initiatives, resulting in some of the tightest legislative restrictions on smoking in Asia. The tobacco industry was successful in thwarting only one of these initiatives. Conclusions: Throughout the 1980s and 1990s two factors played a significant role in hindering the tobacco industry from successfully blocking policy initiatives: a growing political imperative, and an active and sophisticated tobacco control movement. Political will to promote public health and a strong tobacco control advocacy presence can enable governments to resist the enormous pressure exerted upon them by multinational tobacco companies. Abbreviations: B&W, Brown & Williamson; BAT, British American Tobacco; BRB, Broadcasting Review Board; COSH, Council on Smoking and Health; DBs, District Boards; HK, Hong Kong; LegCo, Legislative Council; PRC, People’s Republic of China; RJR, RJ Reynolds; TAHK, Television Authority of Hong Kong, TIHK, Tobacco Institute of Hong Kong

Asian Environmental Tobacco Smoke Consultants Programme

webmaster — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 09:52:37 +0000

"Care and feeding": the Asian Environmental Tobacco Smoke Consultants Programme M Assunta, N Fields, J Knight, S Chapman - School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia Correspondence to: Mary Assunta - School of Public Health, Room 129A, Edward Ford Building (A27), University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia; marya@health.usyd.edu.au Study objective: To review the tobacco industry’s Asian environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) consultants programme, focusing on three key nations: China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. Methods: Systematic keyword and opportunistic website searches of formerly private internal industry documents. Main results: The release of the 1986 US Surgeon General’s report on second hand smoke provoked tobacco companies to prepare for a major threat to their industry. Asian programme activities included conducting national/international symposiums, consultant "road shows" and extensive lobbying and media activities. The industry exploited confounding factors said to be unique to Asian societies such as diet, culture and urban pollution to downplay the health risks of ETS. The industry consultants were said to be "...prepared to do the kinds of things they were recruited to do". Conclusions: The programme was successful in blurring the science on ETS and keeping the controversy alive both nationally and internationally. For the duration of the project, it also successfully dissuaded national policy makers from instituting comprehensive bans on smoking in public places. See the full report on Asian Environmental Tobacco Smoke Consultants Programme.

Mortality associated with passive smoking in Hong Kong

webmaster — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 07:07:51 +0000

BMJ 2005;330:287-288 (5 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.38342.706748.47 (published 27 January 2005) S M McGhee, associate professor1, S Y Ho, research assistant professor1, M Schooling, research associate1, L M Ho, senior computer manager1, G N Thomas, research assistant professor1, A J Hedley, chair professor1, K H Mak, consultant, community medicine2, R Peto, professor of medical statistics and epidemiology3, T H Lam, chair professor and head of department1 1 Department of Community Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China, 2 Department of Health, Student Health Service, 4/F Lam Tin Polyclinic, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China, 3 Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6HE Correspondence to: T H Lam hrmrlth@hkucc.hku.hk Introduction Passive smoking can cause death from lung cancer and coronary heart disease, but there is little evidence for associations with other causes of death in never smokers. A recent study showed increased all cause mortality with exposure to secondhand smoke at home but did not examine associations with specific causes of death and dose-response relations.1 We have published estimates of the mortality attributable to active smoking in Hong Kong2 and now present the related findings on passive smoking at home. Participants, methods, and results Details of the sample selection and data collection have been reported.2 Each person who reported a death in 1998 at four death registries was given a questionnaire which asked about the lifestyle 10 years earlier of the decedent and of a living person about the same age who was well known to the informant. Passive smoking was identified in the interview with the question, "Ten years ago, in about 1988, excluding the decedent/control, how many persons who lived with the decedent/control smoked?" Decedents or controls who lived with one or more smokers were classed as exposed. Cause of death was obtained from the death certificate. We selected never smoking decedents and controls aged 60 years or over because there were few younger controls. To avoid selection bias, we included only cases and controls who had a living spouse at the time of reporting. We used logistic regression to derive odds ratios adjusted for age and education, and for sex when men and women were combined.

What is known on this topic There is strong evidence that passive smoking is causally associated with death from lung cancer, coronary heart disease, and all causes, and also with acute stroke

What this study adds The dose-response relation between passive smoking and mortality from stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as from lung cancer, ischaemic heart disease, and all causes of death, strengthens the causal link

We identified 4838 never smoking cases (55% male) and 763 never smoking controls (55% male). All controls were used in the analysis for each specific cause of death. We found significant dose dependent associations between passive smoking and mortality from lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, ischaemic heart disease, and from all cancers, all respiratory and circulatory diseases, and all causes (table). The association between mortality and passive smoking did not differ between males and females. Deaths due to injury or poisoning were not associated with passive smoking.

View this table: [in this window] [in a new window] Number of subjects who were or were not exposed to secondhand smoke at home and odds ratios (adjusted for age and education, and for sex when men and women were combined) for mortality in people aged 60 or over, Hong Kong. Values are odds ratio (95% confidence interval) unless indicated otherwise

Comment Dose dependent associations between passive smoking and causes of death are consistent with previous findings for lung cancer and coronary heart disease and extend the evidence on stroke. Previous studies have shown associations between passive smoking and first acute strokes,3 4 and we have now shown a dose-response relation with mortality from stroke. Previous studies focused on ischaemic strokes but Chinese populations have a greater incidence of haemorrhagic stroke than do white populations,5 implying that many of the strokes in our study may have been non-ischaemic. Passive smoking probably affects all stroke subtypes, as does active smoking. Our finding of a 34% increase in all cause mortality is consistent with but higher than that (15%) in the New Zealand cohort.1 Exposure to secondhand smoke at home is higher in Hong Kong than in New Zealand due to crowded living conditions. Before the 1990s, awareness of the danger of passive smoking was lower and smokers smoked freely at home. We focused on passive smoking at home because the proxy reporter could most reliably supply these data, and we adjusted for education, which was also reliably recorded2 and is a good proxy for social class in Hong Kong. As data on cases and controls were derived from the same proxy, reporting bias should be minimal.2 If our results are not due to residual confounding, they provide further evidence that the dose-response associations between passive smoking and stroke and all cause mortality are likely to be causal. See Editorial by Kawachi This article was posted on bmj.com on 27 January 2005: http://bmj.com/cgi/doi/10.1136/bmj.38342.706748.47 We thank W L Cheung for help with analysis; the Immigration Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for data and assistance; and, in particular, the relatives who provided information. Contributors: THL, SYH, AJH, KHM, and RP designed and carried out the study on which this analysis was based; SMcG, MS, LMH, and GNT planned and carried out this analysis; and all authors contributed to writing the paper. SMcG and THL are guarantors. Funding: Hong Kong Health Services Research Committee (#631012) and Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health. Competing interests: THL is vice chairman and AJH a former chairman of the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health. Ethical approval: Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong. References 1. Hill SE, Blakely TA, Kawachi I, Woodward A. Mortality among never smokers living with smokers: two cohort studies, 1981-4 and 1996-9. BMJ 2004;328: 988-9.[Free Full Text] 2. Lam TH, Ho SY, Hedley AJ, Mak KH, Peto R. Mortality and smoking in Hong Kong: case-control study of all adult deaths in 1998. BMJ 2001;323: 361-2.[Abstract/Free Full Text] 3. Bonita R, Duncan J, Truelson T, Jackson RT, Beaglehole R. Passive smoking as well as active smoking increases the risk of acute stroke. Tobacco Control 1999;8: 156-60.[Abstract/Free Full Text] 4. Iribarren C, Darbinian J, Klatsky AL, Friedman GD. Cohort study of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and risk of first ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack. Neuroepidemiology 2004;23: 38-44.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] 5. Kay R, Woo J, Kreel L, Wong HY, Teoh R, Nicholls MG. Stroke subtypes among Chinese living in Hong Kong: the Shatin stroke registry. Neurology 1992;42: 985-7.[Abstract/Free Full Text] (Accepted 12 August 2004)

Tobacco Industry Lobbying Pays Rich Dividends

admin — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 16:06:49 +0000

SCMP - Mar 22, 2005 Financial Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen's failure to implement an increase in tobacco duty will be accompanied by a colossal sigh of relief by the tobacco industry. Their intensive lobbying of the Treasury, behind closed doors over many years, has paid a handsome dividend. Cheaper tobacco sells much more easily to youth. On RTHK on February 17 Mr Tang gave his reasons for this disastrous decision, as follows: Cigarettes are already 'expensive'. An increase in duty will 'increase smuggling'. He wanted to create a budget free of tax increases. It will be apparent to most people, in view of the huge burden of disease and net economic loss caused by tobacco, that his reasoning is flawed. First, cigarettes in Hong Kong are not expensive given our average gross domestic product per capita. Tax as a proportion of price is about 50 per cent. The World Health Organisation (WHO) clearly states that for effective tobacco control it should be 65 to 80 per cent. The government has lost a valuable opportunity to prevent nicotine addiction in children and adolescents. Second, worldwide studies reported by the World Bank and WHO have shown that most smuggling is a result of organised crime and corruption rather than cross border differentials in tobacco duty, and that petty smuggling can be dealt with by disciplined services with additional support from increased tobacco tax revenues. Finally, is the financial secretary seriously telling us that he has traded off a sizeable and preventable proportion of illness and health care costs against the cosmetic appearance of a budget free of tax increases? If it had been consulted, the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau would surely have pointed to both the short and long term benefits of a rise in tobacco duty this year. In the new government is there any possibility of making real progress in protecting public health? ANTHONY J. HEDLEY and MARCUS YU, Tobacco Control Research and Policy Unit, Department of Community Medicine, University of Hong Kong

Big Tobacco Gets a Little Help from Their Friends

admin — Thu, 09 Jun 2005 03:14:31 +0000

The Democratic Party - JUNE 9, 2005

JUNE 9, 2005

The government is approaching the end of a six year case charging that big tobacco companies, including Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co, and British American Tobacco, conspired to deceive the public about the health risks of smoking. In a shocking development, DOJ lawyers abandoned the recommendations provided in testimony by key government witnesses and requested a fraction of the amount suggested as an appropriate financial penalty for these companies. Even the judge in the case was confused, stating that "There may be some additional influences being brought to bear on the governmen's decision" Associate Attorney General Robert McCallum, who oversees the lawyers trying this case, said he would not comment on why DOJ changed its position. But with $9 million in donations to the GOP over the past four years, and with no fewer than four members of the DOJ leadership with strong ties to the tobacco industry, does he really need to say a word?

TOBACCO'S TIES TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE RUN DEEP...

ROBERT MCCALLUM, ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY GENERAL

McCallum, Who Oversees Civil Division, Has Strong Ties to Tobacco. The Los Angeles Times reported that: "Before his appointment in the Justice Department in 2001, McCallum had been a partner at Alston & Bird, an Atlanta-based firm that has done trademark and patent work for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco. In 2002, McCallum signed a friend-of-the-court brief by the administration urging the Supreme Court not to consider an appeal by the government of Canada to reinstate a cigarette smuggling case against R.J. Reynolds that had been dismissed." [Los Angeles Times, 6/8/05]

THEODORE ULLYOT, CHIEF OF STAFF AT DOJ

Ullyot Was A Partner At Kirkland & Ellis, "Top Corporate Law Firm" For Big Tobacco. Ullyot was a partner of former Whitewater counsel Kenneth Starr at the Kirkland & Ellis law firm and also was a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. In 2002, Kirkland & Ellis was listed as the top corporate law firm for fighting class action lawsuits because of its decades of work defending tobacco company Brown & Williamson. [AP, 2/14/05; Fullerton County Daily Report, 4/27/05; Corporate Board Member, 7/1/02]

RAUL YANES, CHIEF COUNSEL TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Yanes Represented Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds In Tobacco Lawsuits. Yanes was a partner at the New York law firm Davis, Polk and Wardwell, where his clients included Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds in tobacco lawsuits and the Arthur Andersen accounting firm. [AP 2/14/05]

RALPH BOYD, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

Boyd Has Advised The Tobacco Industry. Boyd, the assistant attorney general overseeing civil rights, has advised the tobacco and gun industries as lawyer with the Boston firm Goodwin Procter. [Richmond Times Dispatch, 4/1/01;Washington Post, 3/7/01]

Boyd: Gun Companies Can Learn From Tobacco Industry. Ralph Boyd said the gun companies could learn from tobacco litigation. "The plaintiffs don't have to win all of these cases, they just have to file enough of them and you can count on an aberrant decision by a judge somewhere letting a case go to trial," Mr. Boyd said. "That creates enormous risk for the industry." "These suits," he added, "are far more political than legal. They are a multifront attack through a public forum, and if you don't rebut them politically you can find yourself losing entirely. And that in turn affects judges who are sensitive to political currents." [New York Times, 12/24/98]

...…AND THEIR REACH EXTENDS ACROSS THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION

KARL ROVE, ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF

Bush Advisor Karl Rove Moonlighted for Phillip Morris While State Sued Tobacco Industry. Karl Rove, while he was an advisor to then-Governor Bush, was questioned in 1997 about his ties to tobacco giant Phillip Morris, which paid Rove $3,000 per month for his advice on Texas politics and which candidates should receive tobacco money. As part of his consultant work, Rove distributed a Phillip Morris-commissioned "push" poll in the Governor's office. This poll included negative comments about Attorney General Dan Morales (D), who spearheaded the lawsuit against the tobacco industry seeking reimbursement for the state's costs in treating smoking-related illnesses. [Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8/29/97]

HOWARD BEALES, DIRECTOR OF THE FTC BUREAU OF CONSUMER PROTECTION

Howard Beales Was A Consultant For RJ Reynolds. Howard Beales III, worked as a consultant for R.J. Reynolds when it was being challenged by the FTC for using advertisements that made tobacco appealing to children and teens. Beales asserted there was no connection between tobacco advertising and smoking among young people. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 6/18/01; Deseret News, 6/12/01]

Beales Defended 'Joe Camel.' Beales is an economist who has asserted that there is no link between cigarette advertisements and smoking among teenagers. Beales defended the use of the Joe Camel cartoon character in tobacco advertising. [Deseret News, 6/12/01; Cox News Service, 6/12/01]
Wolf In Charge Of Henhouse. Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, likened Beales's appointment to "putting the wolf in charge of the henhouse." He added: "Someone with those kinds of ties to the tobacco industry, whose position on the impact of advertising, particularly on young people, is so far out of the mainstream, cannot be counted on to protect our kids." [Washington Post, 5/31/05]

OTTO REICH, PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY TO THE AMERICAS

Reich Was Creator Of Lobbying Firm Whose Clients Included British America Tobacco. Reich was the creator of and lobbyist for RMA International, a lobbying group for companies involved in Latin America. RMA's clients included British America Tobacco, Bacardi-Martini, and Telegate. [National Journal, 3/1/97; Senate Office of Public Records, www.sopr.gov]

KIRK BLALOCK, FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF PUBLIC LIAISON

Blalock Was Spokesperson For Philip Morris. Blalock, a Republican Lobbyist, served as the spokesperson for Philip Morris. Blalock ran the lobbying firm Fierce, Isakowitz,& Blalock whose clients include Fannie Mae, the Health Insurance Association of America, and the Business Roundtable. [PR Newswire, 5/2/01; American Health Line, 4/3/01; Washington Post, 5/16/04]

DAVID SCHEFFMAN, FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE FTC BUREAU OF ECONOMICS

Scheffman Testified On Behalf Of Tobacco Companies. David Scheffman, who led the Bureau of Economics from June of 2001 through July of 2003, testified on behalf of the tobacco industry that cigarette makers never conspired to suppress the development of healthier products. Scheffman testified that it was economically implausible to think that the firms conspired to suppress research on safer cigarettes because it would have been in their own interest to create a more healthful product and thereby increase sales. [New York Times, 6/12/01; Washington Post, 6/8/01]

BUSH TRIED TO SNUFF OUT TOBACCO LAWSUIT

Bush's Justice Department Pressured Experts To Change Testimony. Government lawyers asked two of their own witnesses to soften recommendations about sanctions that should be imposed on the tobacco industry if it lost its civil racketeering case. Matt Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said the Justice Department's lead trial lawyer called him May 9 to say her superiors wanted him to scale back the recommendations he had made in written testimony. They sought to remove his suggestions for a ban on tobacco company methods of marketing to young people before Myers took the stand. Myers said he refused to do so. A second witness, scientific expert Michael Eriksen, also departed from recommendations in his earlier written testimony. Four separate sources said he did so at the request of Justice Department lawyers. [Washington Post, 6/9/05]

Bush Eliminated Funding For Litigation Expenses To Tobacco Litigation Team. In 2001, the Tobacco Litigation Team was provided with $23 million. However, in 2002, Bush failed to set aside any funding for continued legal efforts, including discovery, research and storage of billions of pages of documents. The Tobacco Litigation Team informed Ashcroft that without a budget increase, "there are no realistic prospects for a settlement" and that the Team would be forced "seriously to consider seeking authority to dismiss the case." [Washington Post, 4/24/01 and 4/25/01]

Bush Administration Prepared To Settle Tobacco Lawsuit, Move Criticized As Not In "Good Faith." The Bush Administration notified members of Congress that the Administration was prepared to seek a settlement with the industry citing concerns about the strength of the Department of Justice's case. Critics of the Bush administration decision to settle the lawsuit questioned Bush's tactics. "No good faith negotiator would settle their litigation by announcing at the beginning that they might lose," said William Corr, of Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids. [Washington Post, 6/18/01; Los Angeles Times, 6/18/01]

BIG TOBACCO HAS HISTORY OF BANKROLLING BUSH AND GOP

Tobacco Companies Gave More Than $160,000 To Bush, Almost $2.2 Million To GOP. In the 2004 election cycle, Bush was the top recipient of tobacco money taking in $167,845. That year, the tobacco industry also gave $2,180,155 to Republican candidates and party committees overall. [Center for Responsive Politics, Accessed 6/8/05]

GOP Supporter Philip Morris Is Personally Thanked On 2001 Presidential Dinner Invitation. In 2000, Philip Morris was the second largest contributor to the Republican Party, giving almost $1.5 million. Philip Morris Companies, Inc. is one of ten companies and trade groups singled out and "gratefully acknowledg[ed]" for its contribution in an invitation to the 2001 President's Dinner for the Republican National Committee (RNC). The RNC raised more than $20 million from the dinner. [2001 Presidents Dinner invitation; Washington Post, 6/28/01; Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly, 10/16/00]

Tobacco Smoke Identified as Toxic Air Contaminant

webmaster — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 07:37:20 +0000

State of California - technical report citing Tobacco Smoke as a Toxic Air Contaminant Proposed Identification of Environmental Tobacco Smoke as a Toxic Air Contaminant Download the full report on the Proposed Identification of Environmental Tobacco Smoke as a Toxic Air Contaminant here. This report, prepared by the staff of the Air Resources Board (ARB), contains an evaluation of exposures to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in California. This report is referred to as Part A, “Proposed Identification of Environmental Tobacco Smoke as a Toxic Air Contaminant.” The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has developed a comprehensive health evaluation on exposures to environmental tobacco smoke, referred to as Part B. Together, these evaluations serve as the basis for ARB’s proposal to identify ETS by regulation as a toxic air contaminant (TAC). Under the provisions of Assembly Bill 1807 (Health and Safety Code sections 39650-39662), the ARB is mandated to administer California’s TAC Program. The ARB’s exposure assessment is based, to the extent available, upon research and monitoring data, emissions inventory data, and information on exposures from data on ambient and indoor air environments, as well as, an assessment of children’s exposures (Health and Safety Code Sections 39650 et seq.). The Health and Safety Code, section 39655, also requires that each candidate TAC must meet the definition of a TAC, defined as “an air pollutant which may cause or contribute to an increase in mortality or in serious illness, or which may pose a present or potential hazard to human health.” ETS entered the identification program in June 2001. Some of the information in this report is based upon data presented in the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment’s (OEHHA) 1997 report: “Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke” (OEHHA, 1997). Specifically, Chapter 2 (Exposure Measurement and Prevalence) of the OEHHA report was updated to include ETS exposure information developed subsequent to the data presented in the report (after 1995). The National Cancer Institute (NCI), acting for the U.S. Public Health Service, recognized the importance of the 1997 OEHHA report and incorporated it as part of their Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph series (NCI, 1999). This is the revised Scientific Review Panel (SRP) version of the report which includes the Executive Summary, Part A (exposure assessment), Part B (health effects), and Part C (responses to public comments) documents. This version of the report, along with the comments received on the public review version, will be considered by the SRP on Toxic Air Contaminants at a noticed public meeting. The ARB’s consideration of ETS as a TAC will occur following review by the SRP. If the SRP approves the report, it will be presented to the ARB at a duly noticed public hearing, after a 45-day public comment period. If the ARB approves the report at a hearing and identifies ETS as a TAC, the information contained in the report will be used in the assessment of the need for control measures. Any consideration of control measures to reduce exposures to ETS, if identified as a TAC, will follow a separate rulemaking process, which allows for a thorough public process including workshops, and a public hearing.

Passive Smoking Report

webmaster — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 12:40:46 +0000

Going smoke-free The medical case for clean air in the home, at work and in public places A report on passive smoking by the Tobacco Advisory Group of the Royal College of Physicians, July 2005 Tobacco smoke kills more people in the UK than any other avoidable cause. Therefore, effective tobacco control policies have a major part in improving public health. Since publishing the White Paper Smoking kills in 1998, the Government has made progress in many areas, particularly in developing smoking cessation services and banning the advertising and marketing of tobacco products. But much more can be done. One important area is the harm caused by passive smoking. The 1998 White Paper recognised this and contained proposals for a voluntary code of practice to prevent passive smoke exposure in most workplaces, and a Public Places Charter to reduce exposure to smoke in pubs, restaurants and other hospitality industry venues. Although the voluntary code of practice was drafted it was not implemented, and the Public Places Charter has failed. This report sets out in detail the impact of passive smoking in the UK. It reviews the effectiveness, and the ethical and economic implications of legislating to prevent exposure, and concludes that the only viable solution is legislation to make all workplaces and public places smoke-free. The Scottish Parliament has already decided on this approach. The primary reason for smoke-free workplaces and public places is to protect individuals against involuntary exposure to passive smoking and the associated health risks. However, comprehensive smoke-free policies offer more than simple protection against passive smoke. Smoke-free policies help smokers to give up smoking, and discourage young people from starting to smoke in the first place. They also protect children at home by helping parents to quit, or at least by encouraging them to make their homes smoke-free. The particular benefit to children and other vulnerable or disadvantaged people in our society are important additional justifications for smoke-free legislation. This report demonstrates how smoke-free legislation will save lives, reduce health inequalities, and improve public health. Smoke-free policies are popular and they are highly effective. Introducing comprehensive smoke-free legislation should be a public health priority for the UK. Email us for the full report: webmaster@cleartheair.org.hk

Comprehensive Smokefree Policies

webmaster — Fri, 05 Aug 2005 11:03:55 +0000

Response to Consultation on the Smokefree Elements of the Health Improvement and Protection Bill 5th August 2005 The Royal College of Physicians UK Background to response The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has long recognised that tobacco smoking is a powerfully addictive and major health hazard. The RCP considers smoking to be an addiction typically established during experimentation with and short term use of smoked tobacco in teenage years, typically resulting in a longterm dependence on cigarettes and sustained smoking for many years. Half of all regular smokers die prematurely as a consequence of smoking. This burden of entirely avoidable mortality, which currently accounts for over 100,000 deaths per year in the UK 1, falls disproportionately on the poor and disadvantaged in society and contributes more to social inequalities in health than any other known avoidable cause. Preventing smoking is therefore the most important public health priority in the UK, and the RCP is committed to the promotion of all strategies likely to reduce the prevalence of smoking. The RCP recognises that passive smoking (exposure to environmental tobacco smoke or secondhand smoke) is a significant public health hazard in its own right, but also that smokefree policies in public and workplaces have a further important health effect through their impact on the incidence and prevalence of smoking. Smokefree policies are therefore an effective means of both health protection and health promotion. In July 2005 the RCP published a comprehensive report on passive smoking, which recommended the implementation of comprehensive smokefree legislation in all public and workplaces, without exception, throughout the UK 2. The key conclusions and recommendations of that report were: 1. Passive smoking currently kills about 12,000 people in the UK every year. These deaths are entirely preventable. 2. Most of the deaths are caused by passive smoking at home, but about 500 each year are due to exposure at work. Exposure is particularly high for some workers in the hospitality industry, such as bar workers. 3. 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. 4. Comprehensive smoke-free legislation, making all public places and workplaces completely smoke-free, without exception, is the only effective means of achieving this. 5. A clear majority of the public supports smoke-free legislation. Where enacted in other countries, smoke-free policies have proved to be extremely popular and attract high levels of compliance. 6. Comprehensive smoke-free policies also improve public health by helping existing smokers to quit, and discouraging young people from starting to smoke. As a consequence, smoke-free legislation will also generate longterm health improvements and reductions in social inequalities in health. 7. Preventing passive smoking at home, particularly for children, is a public health priority. Home exposure is prevented only by encouraging parents and carers to quit smoking completely, and/or by making homes completely smoke-free. 8. By helping smokers to quit smoking, and by changing usual patterns of smoking behaviour, smoke-free policies in public and workplaces increase the number of smoke-free homes. Strong and sustained health promotion campaigns are required to enhance this process. These and other population and individual-level interventions to encourage smoking cessation are the most effective means of reducing ETS [Environmental Tobacco Smoke] exposure at home. 9. Making the UK smoke-free would benefit the economy by about £4 billion each year. 10. We recommend that the UK Government enact comprehensive legislation to make all workplaces and other enclosed public places smoke-free at the earliest possible opportunity. The RCP thus takes the view that radical and comprehensive smokefree policy is a crucial public health and health protection priority. The RCP therefore welcomes and fully supports the proposal to introduce smokefree legislation in the Health and Health Protection Bill, but disagrees in particular with some of the proposed exemptions. The RCP responses to the questions posed in the current consultation are as follow. Where appropriate, to provide a source for a review and summary of the evidence supporting our responses, we cite the relevant chapters in our recent report 2 , provided as an appendix to this document in pdf format. 1. Definition of smoke or smoking Although the evidence on smoking and passive smoking effects relates predominantly to tobacco smoke, many of the major constituents of the tar and vapour produced by burning non-tobacco products are similar to those in tobacco smoke, and are consequently likely to be similarly harmful. The RCP would therefore support the adoption of a definition which includes all products used with intent to inhale smoke. 2. Definition of ‘enclosed’ In view of the additional value of smokefree policies as a means of ‘denormalising’ smoking and consequently both reducing smoking prevalence and increasing the numbers of smokefree homes [see Chapters 3 and 7], the RCP proposes that the legislation should apply to all public and work places irrespective of whether they are enclosed. 3. Proposal to include some other non-enclosed public places The RCP would support the inclusion of all public places that are part of or in a built environment. Exemptions, if any, should be restricted to outdoor areas in open countryside. 4. Proposal to delay implementation of smokefree policies in licensed premises The RCP sees no justification behind this proposal. Experience in Ireland and New York demonstrates that implementation of comprehensive policies in all premises is effective and achieves high compliance [see Chapter 15]. There is no clear advantage in delaying the implementation in licensed premises, but there is disadvantage arising from the health effects of continued exposure of staff and customers to passive smoke. Licensed premises should become smokefree at the same time as all other work and public places. 5. Proposed exceptions to permit continued smoking in licensed premises that do not serve food The RCP sees no logic or justification for this exemption. All licensed premises are workplaces, and people working there are entitled to the same protection from the health effects of passive smoke as in any other environment. Exposure to passive smoke is especially high in licensed premises [see Chapter 3] so the need for protection of workers in these environments is a particular priority. 6. Exemptions for residential premises The RCP considers that the only exemption should be the private home of the smoker. Residential accommodation (such as hotels, nursing homes, halls of residence) that is also a workplace, and/or includes non-smoking residents, should be smokefree. There are however some special cases, such as prisons or psychiatric institutions, where smokers are detained against their will and are thus deprived of the option of smoking in their own private home [see Chapter 14]. In these cases exemptions should made, but in a context of provision of maximal cessation support for the smoker to quit if he or she chooses, and of preventing exposure of other residents or staff to tobacco smoke. From a moral and ethical perspective, the human rights of the smoker in all of these circumstances are outweighed by the rights of others to a clean and safe environment [see Chapter 10]. 7. Membership clubs See comments on licensed premises above. 8. Practical implications in the workplace Experience from the many parts of the world where smokefree policies have been implemented demonstrates clearly that smokefree policies are effective and successful, in almost all circumstances [see Chapters 9 and 15]. It is however crucial in implementing smokefree policies to ensure that as far as possible, smokers are provided with cessation support to encourage and promote quit attempts. 9. Signage Signage is clearly important for public information but only especially so if there is likely to be confusion over where smoking is and is not permitted. The RCP proposes that non-smoking should be the default in any public or workplace, and that signage should be required to reinforce that message. 10.-12. Penalties, Defences and Enforcement These are crucially important areas and we would advise the adoption of policies that have proved successful in other countries, and particularly the Irish experience. In Ireland the general approach is similar to that outlined in the consultation but fines are substantially higher. Responding rapidly to episodes of non-compliance in the early days of the smokefree legislation was also crucially important, and appropriate resources need to be made available for this. The experience in Ireland suggests that the need for these resources falls rapidly over time [see Chapter 15]. 13. Proposal to restrict smoking at the bar Smoking in an enclosed place is harmful to everyone. Exposure of staff in pubs and bars is especially high [see Chapter 3]. Making the bar area smokefree does not protect staff from exposure, because smoke drifts. Partial policies such as this, or the use of ventilation, can sometimes improve subjective air quality but does not prevent exposure to harm [see Chapter 5]. This proposal is therefore ineffective and also potentially counterproductive, since it implies that non smoking areas within rooms where people smoker are somehow safer. They are not. The RCP opposes this policy. 14. Timetable The RCP considers that the optimum time of year to introduce comprehensive smokefree legislation is the spring (in Ireland the date was late March) and that the sooner the legislation is introduced, the better. To give time to prepare the public (and to allow the further increase in public support for the legislation that follows the announcement of legislation, see Chapter 9) the announcement of intent should be made as soon as possible, and the date no later than March 2007. 15. Effects on binge drinking This concern arises from the proposal to allow exemptions for pubs that do not serve food. The RCP opposes those exemptions. If all pubs are required to become smokefree, this concern is redundant. 16. Effect on health inequalities The prevalence of smoking is highest, and the potential benefits of preventing smoking greatest, in the poorest communities 3 . Exposure to passive smoking is also highest in these communities [see Chapter 3]. It is therefore self-evident and particularly important that comprehensive smokefree policies apply in all communities, so that all can reap the maximum public health benefit. The proposal to exclude pubs that do not serve food will in the long run exacerbate health inequalities, since these pubs tend to be located in poorer areas. 17. Comments on Partial Regulatory Impact Assessment The RCP supports Option 2. We are persuaded by the experience of New York and particularly Ireland that concerns that the policy would not gain public support and may be difficult to enforce are entirely unfounded. We estimate the cost benefits to society of Option 2 at about £4 billion per year [see Chapter 11]. Our analysis is that any adverse effect on the hospitality trade is likely to be extremely small [see Chapter 12]. Conclusion The RCP supports this legislation but believes strongly that it does not, as proposed, go far enough. We urge the government to learn from the experience of other countries and implement comprehensive smokefree policies in all public and workplaces, without exception, as soon as possible. References 1. Twigg L, Moon G, Walker S. The smoking epidemic in England. London: Health Development Agency; 2004. 2. Royal College of Physicians. Going smoke-free: the medical case for clean air in the home, at work and in public places. A report on passive smoking by the Tobacco Advisory Group of the Royal College of Physicians. London: RCP; 2005. 3. Royal College of Physicians. Nicotine Addiction in Britain. A report of the Tobacco Advisory Group of the Royal College of Physicians. London: Royal College of Physicians of London; 2000. http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/news/news.asp?PR_id=276 Please download the full report here : http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/pubs/contents/fe4ab715-2689-4a4a-b8c7-53e80386c893.pdf

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

webmaster — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 04:59:48 +0000

China and hence Hong Kong ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and was given formal confirmation on the 11th of October 2005. On 11 October 2005, the Government of China informed the Secretary-General of the following:

In accordance with the provision of article 153 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and article 138 of the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, the Government of the People's Republic of China decides that the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the declaration made by the People's Republic of China on the prohibition of the introduction of tobacco vending machines shall apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

In English: WHO FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON TOBACCO CONTROL In Chinese: 世界卫生组织烟草控制框架公约 The WHO FCTC: a global health treaty The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is the first global health treaty negotiated under the auspices of the World Health Organization. This convention is an evidence-based treaty that reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of health. It represents a paradigm shift in developing a regulatory strategy to address addictive substances; in contrast to previous drug control treaties, the WHO FCTC asserts the importance of demand reduction strategies as well as supply reduction issues. The WHO FCTC was developed in response to the globalization of the tobacco epidemic. The spread of the tobacco epidemic is exacerbated by a variety of complex factors with cross-border effects, including trade liberalization, direct foreign investment, global marketing, transnational tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and the international movement of contraband and counterfeit cigarettes. From its first preambular paragraph, which states that the “Parties to this Convention [are] determined to give priority to their right to protect public health”, the WHO FCTC redefines the role of international law in preventing disease and promoting health. The core demand reduction provisions in the Convention are contained in Articles 6-14, which detail the price, tax, and non-price measures necessary to reduce the demand for tobacco. The core supply reduction provisions are contained in Articles 15-17. Another novel feature of the Convention is the inclusion of a provision to address liability issues. Mechanisms for scientific and technical cooperation and exchange of information are set out in Articles 20-22. This Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day following the date of deposit of the fortieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval, formal confirmation or accession with the Depositary. At that time, States Party to the WHO FCTC will become legally bound by its provisions. The Convention opened for signature on 16 June 2003 in Geneva, Switzerland. It remained open for signature at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the Depositary of the treaty, until 29 June 2004. States that have signed the Convention have indicated that they will strive in good faith to ratify it and committed themselves not to undermine the objectives set out in it. Although the Convention is no longer open for signature, states that did not sign the WHO FCTC may nevertheless become a party to the treaty through accession, which is a one-step process equivalent to ratification. The global network of state and non-state actors developed over the period of the negotiations will be important in preparing for the implementation of the Convention at country level. In the words of WHO's Director General, Dr LEE Jong-wook: The WHO FCTC negotiations have already unleashed a process that has resulted in visible differences at country level. The success of the WHO FCTC as a tool for public health will depend on the energy and political commitment that we devote to implementing it in countries in the coming years. A successful result will be global public health gains for all. For this treaty implementation to materialize, the drive and commitment that was evident during the negotiations will need to spread throughout the national and local levels, so that the WHO FCTC becomes a concrete reality where it counts most: at the country level.

Smoke From Cigarette Tip Toxic

webmaster — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 10:52:26 +0000

See The Full Research Document on Smoke From Cigarette Tip Toxic here.

Smoking in Public Places

webmaster — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 10:55:57 +0000

Smoking is bad for health, as is the inhalation of secondhand smoke (SHS) from other people’s cigarettes. There is now an extensive body of medical evidence, established over the past 30 years, that SHS contributes significantly to the risk of a range of diseases, from cot death, glue ear and respiratory disorders in children to lung cancer and heart disease in adults. WHO, the US Surgeon General and SCOTH have concluded that SHS is a preventable cause of death and ill health. The Royal College of Physicians produced a report in July 2005, entitled Going smoke-free: The medical case for clean air in the home, at work and in public places, in which it summarised the evidence of the damage done by SHS. It is currently estimated that SHS causes at least 12,000 deaths each year in the United Kingdom. 500 of these deaths are due to smoke in the workplace. There is no satisfactory way of allowing smoking in public and at the same time protecting non-smokers from the harmful effects of SHS. Ventilation, while technically feasible, is not a practical approach since the equipment necessary would be extremely expensive and would not be suitable for use in public places, such as licensed premises, where there are some of the highest levels of exposure to SHS. The only sensible way to afford protection from SHS exposure is to implement a comprehensive ban on smoking in public places and workplaces. Many countries and states have taken the decision to legislate against smoking in public. The most prominent example is the Republic of Ireland, where there has been a popular and effective prohibition on smoking in public places and workplaces since March 2004, but similar restrictions are in place in (among other places), South Africa, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, India, Norway, Italy, Vietnam, and parts of the United States of America including California, New York, Delaware and Florida. In addition, a comprehensive ban on smoking in public will be introduced in Scotland in March 2006, while the decision to implement a ban has been taken in principle in Northern Ireland. The primary justification for a ban on smoking in public places and workplaces is that it protects workers and other vulnerable groups from the significant health risks which SHS poses. The Irish experience suggests that the consequences for smokers will be slight. Pubs will survive and smokers seem happy using outdoor smoking areas. Smoke-free legislation is also likely to have an impact on overall smoking prevalence, and it sends a powerful public health message about the dangers of smoking. The Government, after consulting with the public, presented its plans for a ban on smoking in public places in the Health Bill, published in October 2005. It plans to treat public places which are also dwellings differently from other public places. While the consultation seems to have envisaged that prisons and military premises would be included in the legislation, they are not part of the Bill as published. We discovered with some difficulty that the provisions of the Bill do not extend to Crown property. We are disappointed that none of a host of Government witnesses to the inquiry informed us of this important fact. Although not covered by the ban, the MOD intends to keep within the spirit of the law. The Prison Service will move in the same direction but emphasised the huge difficulties it faced. We are concerned that this will be an excuse for inaction. We recommend that target rates be set for penal institutions, MOD premises and psychiatric institutions to become smoke-free. Under the proposed legislation, exemptions are also provided for licensed premises in which food is neither prepared nor served and membership clubs. The Government has sought to defend its proposals on the grounds that public opinion is not yet ready to accept a comprehensive ban and so there would be problems with compliance. The Minister for Public Health told us that bar workers would be protected by a one-metre exclusion zone round the bar, but under questioning admitted that would provide no health benefits. The previous Secretary of State for Health, Rt Hon John Reid MP, told our predecessor Committee that that under the Government’s proposals few bar workers would die. He also argued that such a ban would lead to an increase in smoking in the home. The Government has now admitted that he was wrong. The Government’s contention that a ban on smoking in all pubs and clubs would be unpopular is disputed. The White Paper Choosing Health is confusing and possibly misleading on the subject. Moreover, since its publication opinion has been moving rapidly in favour of a comprehensive ban. The latest survey indicates that around 70% of the population support such a ban. The evidence we have considered compels us to conclude that the only effective means of protecting all workers from the harmful effects SHS is a comprehensive ban on smoking in enclosed public places and work places. We therefore agree with the Chief Medical Officer that a failure to implement such a ban would put England “among the laggards of public health”.1 We recommend that the Government introduce a comprehensive ban on smoking in all public places and workplaces, which includes Crown property and which has very limited exemptions. This is primarily an issue of protecting workers in the workplace, and all employers have a duty of care in this regard. It is unacceptable for the Government to allow any worker to be excluded from protection from SHS on the grounds of public opinion, especially when these grounds are specious. Moreover, a comprehensive ban would be easier and more cost-effective to implement and enforce, and would be more intelligible to the public. The ban introduced in Ireland has been a popular model which the UK Government would do well to follow. See the full report on Smoking in Public Places here.

Cost of tobacco-related diseases

webmaster — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 07:42:12 +0000

RESEARCH PAPER Cost of tobacco-related diseases, including passive smoking, in Hong Kong S M McGhee1, L M Ho1, H M Lapsley2, J Chau1, W L Cheung1, S Y Ho1, M Pow1, T H Lam1, A J Hedley1 1 Department of Community Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China 2 Centre of National Research on Disability and Rehabilitation Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Correspondence to: Professor Anthony J Hedley Department of Community Medicine, University of Hong Kong, William MW Mong Block, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China; commed@hkucc.hku.hk Background: Costs of tobacco-related disease can be useful evidence to support tobacco control. In Hong Kong we now have locally derived data on the risks of smoking, including passive smoking. Aim: To estimate the health-related costs of tobacco from both active and passive smoking. Methods: Using local data, we estimated active and passive smoking-attributable mortality, hospital admissions, outpatient, emergency and general practitioner visits for adults and children, use of nursing homes and domestic help, time lost from work due to illness and premature mortality in the productive years. Morbidity risk data were used where possible but otherwise estimates based on mortality risks were used. Utilisation was valued at unit costs or from survey data. Work time lost was valued at the median wage and an additional costing included a value of US$1.3 million for a life lost. Results: In the Hong Kong population of 6.5 million in 1998, the annual value of direct medical costs, long term care and productivity loss was US$532 million for active smoking and US$156 million for passive smoking; passive smoking accounted for 23% of the total costs. Adding the value of attributable lives lost brought the annual cost to US$9.4 billion. Conclusion: The health costs of tobacco use are high and represent a net loss to society. Passive smoking increases these costs by at least a quarter. This quantification of the costs of tobacco provides strong motivation for legislative action on smoke-free areas in the Asia Pacific Region and elsewhere. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abbreviations: COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; IHD, ischaemic heart disease; LIMOR, University of Hong Kong Lifestyle and Mortality Study; OR, odds ratio; PAF, population attributable fraction; SAF, smoking-attributable fraction

Passive Smoking Risks in Catering Industry

webmaster — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 02:37:53 +0000

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Toxicology on the 20th of January 2006:

Risks for Heart Disease and Lung Cancer from Passive Smoking by Workers in the Catering Industry Workers in the catering industry are at greater risk of exposureto secondhand smoke (SHS) when smoke free workplace policiesare not in force. We determined the exposure of catering workersto SHS in Hong Kong and their risk of mortality from heart diseaseand lung cancer. Non-smoking catering workers were providedwith screening at their workplaces and at a central clinic.Participants reported workplace, home and leisure time exposureto SHS. Urinary cotinine was estimated by enzyme immunoassay.Catering facilities were classified into three types: non-smoking,partially restricted smoking (with non-smoking areas) and unrestrictedsmoking. Mean urinary cotinine levels ranged from 3.3 ng/mlin a control group of 16 university staff, through 6.4 ng/ml(non smoking), 6.1 ng/ml (partially restricted) and 15.9 ng/ml(unrestricted smoking) in 104 workers who had no out of workexposures. Workers in non-smoking facilities had exposures toother smoking staff. We modeled workers' mortality risks usingaverage cotinine levels, estimates of workplace respirable particulates,risk data for cancer and heart disease from cohort studies,and national (US) and regional (Hong Kong) mortality for heartdisease and lung cancer. We estimated that deaths in the HongKong catering workforce of 200,000 occur at the rate of 150per year for a forty year working life time exposure to SHS.When compared with the current outdoor air quality standardsfor particulates in Hong Kong, 71% of workers exceeded the 24hour and 98% exceeded the annual air quality objectives dueto workplace SHS exposures.

California Identifies Secondhand Smoke As A "Toxic Air Contaminant"

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 04:53:23 +0000

Jerry Martin, Gennet Paauwe - the California Environmental Protection Agency | January 26, 2006 SACRAMENTO -- Today the California Air Resources Board (ARB) identified environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), or secondhand smoke, as a Toxic Air Contaminant (TAC). ETS is now formally identified as an airborne toxic substance that may cause and / or contribute to death or serious illness. ARB's action to list ETS as a TAC was based on a comprehensive report on exposure and health effects of ETS. "This new report reaffirms many of the adverse health effects associated with ETS, especially in children who live in homes where smoking occurs," said ARB Chairman, Dr. Robert Sawyer. "It also raises new concerns about its effects on women. All this strongly supported the need for the Air Board to identify ETS as a serious health threat." Secondhand smoke is a complex mixture of compounds produced by burning of tobacco products. ETS is also a source of other toxic air contaminants such as benzene, 1,3 butadiene, and arsenic. In California each year, tobacco smoke is responsible for the release into the environment of 40 tons of nicotine, 365 tons of respirable particulate matter, and 1900 tons of carbon monoxide. As required by State law, the ARB evaluated exposures to ETS, while the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) assessed the health effects from these exposures. The OEHHA evaluation clearly established links between exposure to ETS and a number of adverse health effects, including some specific to children and infants. These include premature births, low birth-weight babies and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Other effects of ETS on children include the induction and exacerbation of asthma, and infections of the middle-ear and respiratory system. The OEHHA evaluation also found links between ETS exposure and increased incidences of breast cancer in non-smoking, pre-menopausal women. ETS had already been linked to adult incidences of lung and nasal sinus cancer, heart disease, eye and nasal irritation, and asthma. "The ARB's action rightfully puts second-hand tobacco smoke in the same category as the most toxic automotive and industrial air pollutants," OEHHA Director Joan Denton said. "Californians, especially parents, would not willingly fill their homes with motor vehicle exhaust, and they should feel the same way about tobacco smoke." Now that ETS is identified as a toxic air contaminant, the ARB must evaluate the need for action to reduce exposures. In this risk management step, ARB conducts an analysis that includes a review of measures already in place, available options and the costs for reducing the health risks from ETS exposure. The analysis is conducted using an open public process. More information is available on ARB's ETS website, click here. The Air Resources Board is a department of the California Environmental Protection Agency. ARB's mission is to promote and protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering effects on the economy. The ARB oversees all air pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain health based air quality standards.

Hong Kong Stop Smoking

admin — Thu, 25 May 2006 10:27:10 +0000

Dr. Melanie Bryan | May 25, 2006 Filed under: General — SDBlogger @ 11:35 am Many people desire to stop smoking yet feel powerless to do so, given the momentary pleasure or relief they derive from cigarettes. My flexible approach to helping people give up their habit recognizes and respects the various satisfactions smoking can provide and seeks to develop alternative behaviors which offer equal or better short and long-term satisfactions. I have found hypnotherapy to be a particularly effective method for enabling people to stop smoking quickly and comfortably. This is not surprising as hypnosis is a gentle and creative means to bypass or extend learned limitations of the conscious mind, develop dormant potentials and introduce new understandings and perspectives within a context of security and comfort. In clinical hypnosis an altered state of concentrated attention is gently facilitated, with the client's attention progressively narrowed and purposefully focused inward, with the aim of altering the psychological and behavioral patterns around their smoking behavior. It is common knowledge that smoking and other addictions are some of the most difficult problems that health care professionals treat. Popular non-chemical techniques such as acupuncture, behavioral modification programs, aversive conditioning (continuous smoking to the point of nausea, and/or lectures with vivid descriptions of the harmful effects of smoking) have shown little difference in success rates over the long-term. All have worked with a few people while few have provided help for many. In contrast, treatment programs utilizing hypnosis in a two to four session format have achieved impressive results. Several studies have reported a 60-67% abstinence rate upon six-month and one-year follow-up with individual hypnotherapy. Individual hypnotherapy was also found to be more effective than group hypnosis. In my own practice I have found hypnotherapy, when utilized within an individualized treatment approach that recognized and incorporates a person’s unique motivations, beliefs, concerns and smoking related behaviors, to be remarkably effective. And should a relapse occur, one refresher session invariably enable the client to resume his or her life as a nonsmoker. My approach to liberating people from their smoking attachment generally entails a twofold complimentary process. First I gather information regarding a person’s individual and social patterns of behavior around smoking, the benefits they receive from their habit, their reasons for quitting now, etc. Later this information will be utilized in constructing hypnotic suggestions in accord with each person’s values and beliefs concerning their smoking habit. Second, during the initial session I teach people a particular self-hypnotic technique for reinforcing the new perspectives they receive in my office, which I recommend they do daily, as it only takes a few minutes. Some comply, others do not. In either case, I have come to expect a 50-70% reduction in a person’s smoking behavior following this initial session. Subsequent office visits, if necessary, given many do quit immediately, further develops and refines the changes that have been achieved previously, utilizing hypnosis and other strategic methods as required. Most people are nonsmokers within one to three visits. Many note positive changes in other areas of their lives as well. All enjoy the process. This is an article reprinted from Dr. Melanie Bryan’s website on how to quit smoking… Visit Dr Melanie’s website at http://www.mindmatters.hk For further inquiries or to book an appoint, call Dr. Bryan on 2575-7707.

Smoking Causes Mouth and Throat Cancer

webmaster — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 01:46:42 +0000

Judge Kessler's Final Opinion

webmaster — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 02:14:56 +0000

2006 Judge Kessler's Final Opinion US District Court Judge On September 22, 1999, the United States brought this massive lawsuit against nine cigarette manufacturers of cigarettes and two tobacco-related trade organizations. The Government alleged that Defendants have violated, and continue to violate, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961-1968, by engaging in a lengthy, unlawful conspiracy to deceive the American public about the health effects of smoking and environmental tobacco smoke, the addictiveness of nicotine, the health benefits from low tar, “light” cigarettes, and their manipulation of the design and composition of cigarettes in order to sustain nicotine addiction. As Justice O’Connor noted in Food and Drug Administration, et al. v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation, et al., 529 U.S. 120, 125 (2000), “[t]his case involves one of the most troubling public health problems facing our Nation today: the thousands of premature deaths that occur each year because of tobacco use.” In particular, the Government has argued that, for approximately fifty years, the Defendants have falsely and fraudulently denied: (1) that smoking causes lung cancer and emphysema (also known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (“COPD”)), as well as many other types of cancer; (2) that environmental tobacco smoke causes lung cancer and endangers the respiratory and auditory systems of children; (3) that nicotine is a highly addictive drug which they manipulated in order to sustain addiction; (4) that they marketed and promoted low tar/light cigarettes as less harmful when in fact they were not; (5) that they intentionally marketed to young people under the age of twentyone and denied doing so; and (6) that they concealed evidence, destroyed documents, and abused the attorney-client privilege to prevent the public from knowing about the dangers of smoking and to protect the industry from adverse litigation results. The following voluminous Findings of Fact demonstrate that there is overwhelming evidence to support most of the Government’s allegations. As the Conclusions of Law explain in great detail, the Government has established that Defendants (1) have conspired together to violate the substantive provisions of RICO, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1962 (d), and (2) have in fact violated those provisions of the statute, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1962 (c). Accordingly, the Court is entering a Final Judgment and Remedial Order which seeks to prevent and restrain any such violations of RICO in the future. In particular, the Court is enjoining Defendants from further use of deceptive brand descriptors which implicitly or explicitly convey to the smoker and potential smoker that they are less hazardous to health than full flavor cigarettes, including the popular descriptors “low tar,” “light,” “ultra light,” “mild,” and “natural.” The Court is also ordering Defendants to issue corrective statements in major newspapers, on the three leading television networks, on cigarette “onserts,” and in retail displays, regarding (1) the adverse health effects of smoking; (2) the addictiveness of smoking and nicotine; (3) the lack of any significant health benefit from smoking “low tar,” “light,” “ultra light,” “mild,” and “natural” cigarettes; (4) Defendants’ manipulation of cigarette design and composition to ensure optimum nicotine delivery; and (5) the dverse health effects of exposure to secondhand smoke. Finally, the Court is ordering Defendants to disclose their disaggregated marketing data to the Government in the same form and on the same schedule which they now follow in disclosing this material to the Federal Trade Commission. All such data shall be deemed confidential” and “highly sensitive trade secret information” subject to the protective Orders which have long been in place in this litigation. Unfortunately, a number of significant remedies proposed by the Government could not be considered by the Court because of a ruling by the Court of Appeals in United States v. Philip Morris, USA, Inc., et al., 396 F.3d 1196 (D.C. Cir. 2005). In that opinion, the Court held that, because the RICO statute allows only forward-looking remedies to prevent and restrain violations of the Act, and does not allow backward-looking remedies, disgorgement (i.e., forfeiture of ill-gotten gains from past conduct) is not a permissible remedy. Applying this same legal standard, as it is bound to do, this Court was also precluded from considering other remedies proposed by the Government, such as a comprehensive smoker cessation program to help those addicted to nicotine fight their habit, a counter marketing program run by an independent entity to combat Defendants’ seductive appeals to the youth market; and a schedule of monetary penalties for failing to meet pre-set goals for reducing the incidence of youth smoking. The seven-year history of this extraordinarily complex case involved the exchange of millions of documents, the entry of more than 1,000 Orders, and a trial which lasted approximately nine months with 84 witnesses testifying in open court. Those statistics, and the mountains of paper and millions of dollars of billable lawyer hours they reflect, should not, however, obscure what this case is really about. It is about an industry, and in particular these Defendants, that survives, and profits, from selling a highly addictive product which causes diseases that lead to a staggering number of deaths per year, an immeasurable amount of human suffering and economic loss, and a profound burden on our national health care system. Defendants have known many of these facts for at least 50 years or more. Despite that knowledge, they have consistently, repeatedly, and with enormous skill and sophistication, denied these facts to the public, to the Government, and to the public health community. Moreover, in order to sustain the economic viability of their companies, Defendants have denied that they marketed and advertised their products to children under the age of eighteen and to young people between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one in order to ensure an adequate supply of “replacement smokers,” as older ones fall by the wayside through death, illness, or cessation of smoking. In short, Defendants have marketed and sold their lethal product with zeal, with deception, with a single-minded focus on their financial success, and without regard for the human tragedy or social costs that success exacted. Finally, a word must be said about the role of lawyers in this fifty-year history of deceiving smokers, potential smokers, and the American public about the hazards of smoking and second hand smoke, and the addictiveness of nicotine. At every stage, lawyers played an absolutely central role in the creation and perpetuation of the Enterprise and the implementation of its fraudulent schemes. They devised and coordinated both national and international strategy; they directed scientists as to what research they should and should not undertake; they vetted scientific research papers and reports as well as public relations materials to ensure that the interests of the Enterprise would be protected; they identified “friendly” scientific witnesses, subsidized them with grants from the Center for Tobacco Research and the Center for Indoor Air Research, paid them enormous fees, and often hid the relationship between those witnesses and the industry; and they devised and carried out document destruction policies and took shelter behind baseless assertions of the attorney client privilege. What a sad and disquieting chapter in the history of an honorable and often courageous profession. Read the entire document on 2006 Judge Kessler’s Final Opinion here (1682 pages - 5.7Mb).

Findings from United States v. Philip Morris

webmaster — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 02:35:29 +0000

The Verdict Is In: Findings from United States v. Philip Morris is a compilation of select quotes from 1,259 pages of Findings in a legal document over 1,700 pages long. Our goal in preparing this compilation has been to extract highlights of the Court’s Findings that help tell the story in a direct and easily understandable way Nicotine “Manipulation”: Defendants Have Falsely Denied That They Can and Do Control the Level of Nicotine Delivered In Order to Create and Sustain Addiction Summary In this section of the Opinion, Judge Kessler discusses evidence showing that the Defendants control the nicotine levels in cigarettes to ensure that smokers become addicted and stay addicted. Judge Kessler explains that, while the Defendants deny publicly that they manipulate or control the nicotine levels, the facts prove otherwise. You can download the Findings from United States v. Philip Morris here.

Relationship with Amount Smoked and Cigarette Type

webmaster — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 01:53:34 +0000

Cotinine Concentration in Smokers from Different Countries: Relationship with Amount Smoked and Cigarette Type Abstract: This four-country study examined salivary cotinine as a marker for nicotine intake and addiction among smokers in relation to numbers and types of cigarettes smoked. Smoking characteristics of cigarette smokers in Brazil, China, Mexico, and Poland were identified using a standard questionnaire. Cotinine concentration was measured using a saliva sample from each participant; its relationship with numbers and types of cigarettes smoked was quantified by applying regression techniques. The main outcome measure was salivary cotinine level measured by gas chromatography. In all four countries, cotinine concentration increased linearly with cigarettes smoked up to 20 per day[11.3 ng/mL (95% confidence interval, 10.5- 12.2)] and then stabilized as the number of cigarettes exceeded 20 [6.8 ng/mL per cigarette (95% confidence interval, 6.3-7.4) for up to 40 cigarettes]. On average, smokers of regular cigarettes consumed more cigarettes and had higher cotinine levels than light cigarette smokers. Cotinine concentration per cigarette smoked did not differ between regular and light cigarette smokers. Results suggest a saturation point for daily nicotine intake and minimal or no reduction in nicotine intake by smoking light cigarettes. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(10):1799–804) You can find the complete study on the Relationship with Amount Smoked and Cigarette Type here.

About The New Anti-Smoking Bill In Hong Kong

webmaster — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 16:05:36 +0000

Thursday, October 19, 2006 - Tobacco Control Radio Experts slam 'half-baked' anti-smoking bill: Allowing brand promotion on non-tobacco items will mean heavy public health cost, says professor Anthony Hedley. The city will pay heavily for a bill that still allows tobacco companies leeway to promote their products, anti-smoking experts have said. Anthony Hedley, chair professor of the University of Hong Kong's department of community medicine and director of its tobacco control research and policy unit, said he was unhappy that after much delay in scrutinising the anti-smoking bill, it was still not good enough. "For this city to come out with such a half-baked piece of legislation is just unbelievable. I'm very disappointed. It's not an effective public health document," he said. "What we are seeing is continued and actually successful methods to maintain normality of tobacco in this town. and we will pay for that with public health." The Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill 2005 was still having its second and third readings in Legco last night. The bill imposes a smoking ban in bars and restaurants on a staggered basis from January 1 next year to July 1, 2009. All cigarette packets will have to carry a graphic health warning and terms such as "low tar" will be banned from 2008. Tobacco advertising will be banned at all retail outlets from November 1 next year and at all licensed hawker stalls from November 1, 2009. Last year, the University of Hong Kong estimated the total cost of active and passive smoking was HK$5.3 billion, not including 6,920 deaths last year related to smoking. Professor Hedley warned the delayed enforcement of the law would be costly. "We can't say where that figure is now," he said. "We definitely can say there will be a cost in terms of tobacco promotion and recruitment of young people to nicotine addiction. Because of the brand extension issue, there will be a cost to the health of the hospitality industry's workers, and there will be a cost which will be attributable to the `light' and `mild' terms. If that is not effectively dealt with, then we will still have a large number of people who believe these cigarettes are safer, that they are not as lethal as they really are." Professor Hedley singled out the way the government inserted a clause allowing brand extensions - the use of tobacco brand names and logos on non-tobacco products such as clothes and shoes. "There are very serious questions to be answered about how this [clause] got into the consultation document, why it was not changed, and why the bureau refused to consider it now," he said. Judith Mackay, senior World Health Organisation adviser on tobacco, wanted to know why the government took five years to legislate. The green paper was first tabled in 2001, when the smoking bill had not been amended since 1997. "Why this huge delay? Was it because of some Legislative Council members? Was it something like Sars? Or was it [government] ineptitude," Dr Mackay asked. The next step would be to implement the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. "Hong Kong has to be more vigorous against smuggling," she said. Professor Hedley said one measure was to increase tobacco duty, which had not risen for six years. "That is a device which has made our tobacco some of the cheapest in the world now relative to GDP," he said. An international brand cost HK$22 per pack, compared with HK$35 to HK$36 before, he said. "It does not make any sense. This is supposed to be a business-orientated government. It should be making money out of the tobacco industry, not the tobacco industry making money out of the government and the people." The much-delayed and amended bill that will ban smoking from January 1 at most indoor workplaces and public places was finally passed into law yesterday. But controversy continued over the last-minute revelation by Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food York Chow Yat-ngok that the government will study the feasibility of smoking rooms in restaurants and entertainment venues. The Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill 2005 was passed 2-1/2 hours after the debate resumed yesterday. The meeting was adjourned after nine hours on Wednesday night as legislators went through 18 amendment clauses. Dr Chow hailed its passage as "historic". "In the end the government managed to find a balance to help Hong Kong move towards a no-smoking society. Today was a historic moment for both the community and for myself," he said. "It makes Hong Kong one of the most widely controlled smoking areas in the world." But before the bill went through its third reading, bills committee chairman Andrew Cheng Kar-foo, of the Democratic Party, pressed Dr Chow as to why there was an apparent U-turn on the government's position on smoking rooms. Mr Cheng said verbatim records of the committee's meetings on three occasions showed Dr Chow's bureau and the Department of Health insisting that smoking rooms were "unacceptable in the absence of WHO safety standards". Dr Chow argued: "The Democratic Party looks at it conspiratorially, whether there is a plot behind it. I would not be influenced by anybody." Much of yesterday's debate focused on Mr Cheng's amendment to prohibit the sale of tobacco products to children in school uniform. But catering sector legislator Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, who wore his school colours, said: "We are not legislating to catch vendors selling cigarettes to young people." Judith Mackay, director of the Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control, who watched the debate from the public gallery, said she was disappointed the amendment banning sales to children in school uniform was not passed. "That seems extraordinary. The vendors are not allowed to ask for ID cards. It would have been much easier for the vendors if there was a ban on school uniforms," she said. The Committee on Youth Smoking Prevention, which represents 310 primary and secondary schools and 10 parent groups, said it was outraged. "We would like to register our extreme anger," it said in a statement. "The government says it wants to discourage children from smoking yet it would not support the school uniform amendment." The law empowers the secretary for health to appoint inspectors to enforce the ordinance and removes the statutory requirement for managers to display no-smoking signs. The grace period before licensed hawkers must not display tobacco ads will be extended from one year to November 1, 2009. Nightclubs, commercial bathhouses, massage establishments, mahjong parlours, designated mahjong rooms in clubs and certain bars must implement the smoking ban by July 1, 2009. Public parks will have designated smoking zones. The law prohibits the display of descriptive words on tobacco packets and retail containers that may have a misleading or deceptive effect.

Smoking Ban Set For Start

webmaster — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 13:12:39 +0000

Legislators have overwhelmingly passed the controversial anti-smoking bill banning smoking in all indoor workplaces and restaurants and selected outdoor areas such as parks and beaches after a marathon nine-hour debate. Caroline Kim - Thursday, October 19, 2006 - The Standard Legislators have overwhelmingly passed the controversial anti-smoking bill banning smoking in all indoor workplaces and restaurants and selected outdoor areas such as parks and beaches after a marathon nine-hour debate. The vote on the Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill 2005 - with 52 in favor and two abstentions - paves the way for the ban to come into effect from the start of next year. The bill, which went through its first and second readings Wednesday, exempts certain places of entertainment such as mahjong parlors, massage houses and nightclubs until July 1, 2009. It will go through its third reading today. Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food York Chow Yat-ngok shocked lawmakers with a last-minute announcement that the government will, over the next year or two, study the feasibility of allowing smoking rooms at public parks and beaches. Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, Albert Chan Wai-yip, Andrew Cheng Kar-foo and Kwok Ka-ki introduced further amendments to the bill. The Democratic Party's Cheng, who has been advocating a complete ban on smoking at outdoor recreational parks, stuck to his original amendment, which prohibits the sale of tobacco products to people in school uniform. Kwok, the medical sector representative who has also consistently pushed for a total smoking ban in outdoor recreational parks, expressed concern over exposure to secondhand smoke at theme parks such as Ocean Park, despite previous letters from the park's management stating that smoking areas have already been designated throughout the facility. "More than HK$5.3 billion has already been spent on medical care for people with illnesses related to secondhand smoke, while 14,000 people are dying each year from both smoking and secondhand smoke," Kwok said. Chow, reiterating his previous stance on Kwok's amendment, said: "The designated smoking areas are places where there are very few visitors." Kwok, questioning the government's decision to introduce the provision during the last stages of the bill, said: "If you're referring to smoking rooms in restaurants, that means you're taking a regressive step when we have spent over 150 hours already on the bill's review." Chow said that "although a trial of newly constructed smoking rooms failed to be viable, we'll conduct studies within the next one or two years to seek a feasible ventilation system." Kwok argued: "The government has imposed the idea of smoking rooms for the sake of industries." Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades president Simon Wong Ka-wo said: "The catering industry and customers will get used to a total smoking ban in two years. The introduction of smoking rooms is, therefore, totally unnecessary. "Creating separate smoking rooms could cost up to HK$500,000 each. It is not viable for small traders," Wong said. Both Chan and Cheung withdrew their amendments to smoking rooms following the government's proposal to conduct a further study on the matter. "I cannot support this bill because there are just too many loopholes," Chan said. The government did not support Chan's other amendment for a complete exemption for bars, mahjong parlors and other venues, which have been granted a two-year grace period. "If we want customers to continue patronizing restaurants and bars, the government needs to invest more in education and publicity," The Frontier's Emily Lau Wai-hing suggested. Chow said the government would not support an amendment prohibiting smoking in queues at bus stops and transportation interchanges, as proposed by several lawmakers. Martin Lee Chu-ming, who has been lobbying for an anti-smoking bill for almost a decade, said Hong Kong should learn from the United States, where a health warning was recently issued against secondhand smoke, saying that inhalation of secondhand smoke can increase the risk of contracting heart diseases and lung cancer by up to 30 percent. Representatives of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions and the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong stressed the importance of individuals' rights, stating that the law should not deprive people of their freedom and choice.

Smoking Rooms Proposed To Protect Non-Smokers

webmaster — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 14:21:07 +0000

October 19, 2006 - News.gov.hk Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr York Chow has reiterated the proposed establishment of "smoking rooms" aims to protect non-smokers, adding both the public and lawmakers will be widely consulted if the concept is found feasible. He told reporters today when the new anti-smoking law comes into effect, many smokers may have to resolve to pursue their habit in open spaces. Non-smoking road users may probably be left without a choice but to become second-hand smokers. "The primary consideration for setting up 'smoking rooms' is for the protection of non-smokers' interest by separating smokers from non-smokers. The study will take one to two years to complete," Dr Chow said. The proposed 'smoking rooms' are meant to offer a venue to smokers for the sole purpose of smoking and no other activities. It has to be technically feasible to effectively bar emissions from leaking from the room, so as not to pollute air outside and jeopardise non-smokers' health. The bureau has not begun the study. Neither is there any conclusive evidence on its feasibility, nor has any consideration been given to details such as where these rooms should be installed. If the idea is deemed viable, the bureau will widely consult the public. It will put forward a relevant proposal to the legislature and go through the usual legislative procedures before putting anything in place. Regarding previous discussions on 'smoking rooms' by the Bills Committee on the 2005 Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill, it was a proposal of a different concept - a room with an independent ventilation system installed in the premises of the hospitality industry for its guests to enjoy the normal activities that the venue offers. At no stage has the bureau taken this proposal on board, and the bureau remains firmly against it.

Hong Kong Anti-Tobacco Law

webmaster — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 00:08:55 +0000

20 October, 2006 US judge refuses to let tobacco companies silence Hong Kong anti air-pollution group - agrees to hear Clear The Air arguments With the Trademark "Marlboro Lights" at risk, Clear The Air may be able to accomplish what the Government and Legco failed to do in yesterday's Smoking Ordinance amendment. On Oct. 10, Judge Kessler granted the pro-clean air organization permission to be heard in the US court. The new Hong Kong anti-tobacco law, passed on Thursday, gives Philip Morris until 2008 to take the Marlboro Lights brand off the market. If the US judge agrees with Clear The Air, Philip Morris will be required show no objection to Clear The Air's application for revocation of the "Marlboro LIGHTS" trademark in Hong Kong and anyone can then sell cigarettes with that name until 2008, destroying the value of the brand to Philip Morris

Chow Takes Flak Over Smoke Room Idea

webmaster — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 13:15:58 +0000

Health chief York Chow Yat-ngok has come under heavy fire from pro- democracy lawmakers for the government's "U-turn" on the controversial anti-smoking bill by proposing that smoking rooms be installed in some public areas. Caroline Kim and Carrie Chan - Friday, October 20, 2006 - The Standard Health chief York Chow Yat-ngok has come under heavy fire from pro- democracy lawmakers for the government's "U-turn" on the controversial anti-smoking bill by proposing that smoking rooms be installed in some public areas. The secretary for health, welfare and food was even accused of harboring political motives - to the extent of trying to win the catering sector's votes in next year's chief executive election. "The allegations are ridiculous and groundless," Chow retorted, denying that the "U-turn" was politically inspired. "Definitely not. First of all, we have had no position on smoking rooms for some time. The concept of smoking rooms differs in different sectors. There are people who think that a smoking room is a place where you can smoke, enjoy food as well as other activities," he said Thursday. "The proposal that I have now, [on which] we haven't decided, and that we would like to investigate, is to find a room that might be able to allow people to smoke but would not allow any services or any other activities, something very much like those in the airport. Whether this is technologically and scientifically proven, and also technically feasible, then we have to investigate." Chow went on to defend the government' stance: "If you look at the banned areas now, a lot of people, in particular smokers, would be forced to smoke on the street. Knowing that Hong Kong is such a densely populated area, we might encounter a lot of smokers in certain areas. If we could allow them to smoke in a confined space rather than disturbing pedestrians and non-smokers, then we would be able to more successfully segregate smokers and non- smokers. So, that is the main reason why we think that we need to look at this problem." After the bill's passage, Chow told reporters: "We want the public to know that smoking will decline progressively and now is a good time to quit. The passage of the ordinance marks a historical moment and is a step forward for Hong Kong in becoming a smoke-free city." Catering sector lawmaker Tommy Cheung Yu-yan was accused of conspiring with Chow to support his amendments, which proposed adaptation periods of 90 days for restaurants. But Cheung repeatedly denied the accusations, insisting he was not under political pressure. Although non- smokers will be able to enjoy smoke- free venues, the law is expected to negatively effect restaurants, the catering industry and karaoke operators, which are expected to be hit hardest, with an expected 20 percent loss in revenue. But Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades president Simon Wong Ka-wo said: "If the people want it, we will find a way to deal with it." According to Wong, major restaurant companies have already begun organizing seminars and training frontline employees and executives on how to deal with the new law. However, Wong said the transition will be most difficult for the city's 5,500 smaller restaurants where blue-collar workers mostly eat, and smoke. Wong also said he feared that law enforcement will not be adequate, even with the recruitment of 30 inspectors by the Tobacco Control Office. For Anthony Lock Kwok-on, managing director of one of Hong Kong's major karaoke operators, California Red, it is a matter of changing a whole culture. "We will try hard to prepare for the changes but it's more complicated than just replacing ash trays with no smoking signs," he said. In addition to all indoor areas and workplaces, smoking will not be allowed in outdoor areas at hospitals, universities and public swimming pools.

Feasibility Study On Installing Smoking Rooms

webmaster — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 14:12:08 +0000

Following is a question by the Dr Hon Kwok Ka-ki and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (November 1): Question: At the resumption of the Second Reading debate on the Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill 2005 in this Council on 19 October this year, the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food said that the Government would study the feasibility of installing smoking rooms. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) whether it has any evidence to prove the effectiveness of smoking rooms in preventing second-hand smoke from affecting the neighbouring environment; (b) whether the above study will be conducted solely by the government departments concerned or undertaken by commissioned consultants; (c) of the estimated expenditure on the above study; whether such expenditure would be borne wholly by the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau and whether other services of the departments concerned will be affected by the additional expenditure; (d) whether it will invite health care practitioners, anti-smoking groups, academics in building services and other relevant groups to participate in the entire study; and (e) whether it will report to this Council on the progress of the study regularly? Reply: Madam President, First of all, I wish to reiterate that what we propose to study is a room which is solely meant for smokers to smoke therein. There should not be any other activities going on in the room (including the serving of food and beverages and provision of any other type of services). Non-smokers and employees should not be allowed to enter into the room. I also wish to emphasize that with the passage of the Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill 2005 (the Bill), the top priority of the Administration at the moment is to ensure its effective implementation. We will pool our resources together to mount an intensive publicity campaign on the many amendments made to the Ordinance, in particular the smoking ban that will come into force starting January 1, 2007, with the aim to ensure that the public is well informed of the stipulations for compliance. At the same time, we will continue to actively promote smoking cessation services and anti-smoking education in the hope that the number of smokers, in particular teenage smokers, could be reduced as many as possible. The proposal of setting up "smoking rooms" is not part of the Bill, neither is the proposed feasibility study our working priority at this stage. My replies to the various parts of the question are as follows: (a) As pointed out by my colleagues from the Bureau during the deliberations of the Bills Committee over the past year or so, no sufficient evidence from any scientific research or internationally accepted ventilation standards are available at the moment to support the feasibility of setting up the type of "smoking room" mentioned above, on which we propose to conduct a study. This is precisely why I raised the idea of carrying out a feasibility study in my speech at the Second Reading of the Bill. One of the focuses of the study will be to find out whether it is technically feasible to effectively avoid the air outside the room from contamination by the secondhand smoke produced from within the room. The overriding principle is to protect the health of those who are outside the room. With the new Ordinance coming into effect, it is envisaged that many of the smokers may have to resort to pursue their habit in outdoor areas. Road users in some busy districts may probably be left without a choice but to tolerate the intake of a lot of secondhand smoke. The primary consideration of setting up a "smoking room" is to afford protection to non-smokers by imposing a more effective separation between smokers and non-smokers. (b) to (e) The Bill was just passed on October 19. To date, we have not yet commenced the study on the "smoking room" and have not reached any conclusion on its feasibility, neither have we worked out the details for the study, including the expenditure, the collaborative parties to take it forward or the details of its implementation. Nevertheless, as I said at the Second Reading of the Bill, we must have collected sufficient scientific data and experimental evidence to prove its technical feasibility before we can be convinced of the feasibility of the "smoking room" or formulate any specific standards. Hence, it is anticipated that we shall need the prior assistance of experts from the engineering sector to carry out a technical study. We will also seek advice from other experts, as required, if and when we encounter any technical or professional problem. Only after the completion of the proposed feasibility study will we be able to give further thought to this proposal and discuss whether it should be put into practice. At this stage, it is premature to jump to any conclusion. The study, together with the discussion in the process, will be open and transparent and the public and this Council will also be consulted at appropriate times. Ends/Wednesday, November 1, 2006 Issued at HKT 13:21

Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill 2005

webmaster — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 14:59:19 +0000

James Middleton (a member of Clear The Air) has put in a big effort to inform the Bills Committe of relevant information regarding the Smoking Bill which was passed on 19th of October 2006:

November 10, 2006 11:02 AM Subject: Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill 2005 Dear Mr Middleton, I am the legal adviser of the Bills Committee of the Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill 2005. I am pleased to inform you that the Bill was passed on 19 October 2006. I wish to express my gratitude for the materials you have sent to us. I read most of them and used the relevant parts in my research. After discussion for 6 months, finally the Government decided to abandon the grandfathering of Mild Seven and other trade marks. Thanks very much. Regards, Monna Lai ALA7

ETS Causes Respiratory Symptoms In Healthy Adults

webmaster — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 11:42:17 +0000

Exposure To Environmental Tobacco Smoke Causes Respiratory Symptoms In Healthy Adults ScienceDaily (Nov. 22, 2006) — Over time, inhaling environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)--a process often called "passive smoking"--can cause otherwise healthy adults to develop chronic respiratory symptoms. The findings appear in the second issue for November 2006 of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society. Margaret W. Gerbase, Ph.D., of the Division of Pulmonary Medicine at the University Hospitals of Geneva in Switzerland, and 11 associates assessed the respiratory symptoms in 1,661 never-smokers over an 11-year period. All individuals in the study cohort participated in the Swiss Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults in 1991 and again in 2002. The two-part study was the first large-scale investigation of the long-term health effects of moderate ambient air pollution in Switzerland. "The results of our longitudinal assessment of ETS effects in asymptomatic never-smokers showed that exposure to ETS was associated with the development of respiratory symptoms," said Dr. Gerbase. "A particularly strong effect of continued exposure to ETS was observed among previously asymptomatic individuals with bronchial hyper-reactivity." The researchers found ETS exposure to be strongly associated with the development of cough. In subjects with bronchial hyper-reactivity, they observed a link between ETS and symptoms like wheeze, cough, dyspnea (shortness of breath) and chronic bronchitis. However, only the association between dyspnea and ETS reached statistical significance. According to the authors, individuals with bronchial hyper-reactivity who are persistently exposed to ETS are at particular risk of developing early-onset chronic respiratory disease. "Symptom development in our subjects was accompanied by decrements in spirometric indices reflecting peripheral airway narrowing, notably in subjects with bronchial hyper-responsiveness," said Dr. Gerbase. Of the 1,661 participants, 1,202 individuals (72.4 percent) reported never being exposed to ETS, 309 persons (18.6 percent) reported exposure only during the 1991 survey, and 150 subjects (9 percent) reported exposure both in 1991 and 2002. "Indirect evidence derived from smokers shows that airway responsiveness increases the risk to develop cough, phlegm, dyspnea and chronic bronchitis," said Dr. Gerbase. "Cessation of smoking leads to remission of symptoms and improvement in airway hyper-reactivity." Excluded from participation in the study at baseline (1991) were all potential participants who reported such symptoms as wheeze, cough, phlegm, dyspnea and chronic bronchitis, or who were taking a medication for asthma at the time. The researchers concluded that their findings support the need for policies protecting all nonsmokers from the "detrimental effects" of ETS.

Light and Low Tar Product Descriptors Mislead Consumers

webmaster — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 02:03:24 +0000

“LIGHT” AND “LOW TAR” PRODUCT DESCRIPTORS MISLEAD CONSUMERS

Framework Convention on Tobacco Control - Article 11 Packaging and labeling of tobacco products 1. Each Party shall, within a period of three years after entry into force of this Convention for that Party, adopt and implement, in accordance with its national law, effective measures to ensure that: (a) tobacco product packaging and labeling do not promote a tobacco product by any means that are false, misleading, deceptive or likely to create an erroneous impression about its characteristics, health effects, hazards or emissions, including any term, descriptor, trademark, figurative or any other sign that directly or indirectly creates the false impression that a particular tobacco product is less harmful than other tobacco products. These may include terms such as “low tar”, “light”, “ultra-light”, or “mild.”

Overview: The evidence is clear that terms such as “low-tar,” “light,” “ultra-light” and “mild” mislead consumers into believing that some cigarettes are less hazardous than others. However, years of research shows cigarettes labeled as “light” and “low tar” have not resulted in a meaningful reduction in the disease burden or health risks caused by cigarette use either for smokers as a group or for the population as a whole. A landmark November 2001 report by the National Cancer Institute (U.S.) concluded that the marketing of these products as delivering less tar and reducing smokers’ health risks is “deceptive” and smokers’ choice of these products as an alternative to quitting makes this deception an “urgent public health issue.” In the interest of public health, countries should prohibit these misleading terms, along with other descriptors, numbers or symbols giving the false impression that some cigarettes are less hazardous than others. The Rise of “Light” and “Low-tar” Cigarettes: As the public began to understand the link between smoking and disease, cigarette companies, fearing a massive loss in sales, scrambled to develop products that would ease consumers' fears about the health effects of smoking. This quote from the internal files of British American Tobacco’s American subsidiary in 1977 illustrates the industry’s approach: “All work in this area should be directed towards providing consumer reassurance about cigarettes and the smoking habit. This can be provided in different ways, e.g. by claimed low deliveries, by the perception of low deliveries and by the perception of ‘mildness’. Furthermore, advertising for low delivery or traditional brands should be constructed in ways so as not to provoke anxiety about health, but to alleviate it, and enable the smoker to feel assured about the habit and confident in maintaining it over time.” To reassure consumers, the companies introduced “low-tar” and “light” cigarettes, which took their name from the fact that when measured by smoking machines, these cigarettes delivered less tar and nicotine. Internal tobacco industry documents show the industry deliberately designed these cigarettes to produce low yields of tar when tested by machines, knowing full well that they would be smoked differently by actual smokers seeking to maintain nicotine levels. Despite knowing this, the cigarette companies marketed them as safer products. On August 17, 2006, U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler issued a final opinion in the U.S. government's landmark lawsuit against the major tobacco companies. In addition to finding that the companies violated civil racketeering laws and lied for decades about the health risks of smoking, Judge Kessler also found that the companies “falsely marketed and promoted low tar/light cigarettes as less harmful than full-flavor cigarettes in order to keep people smoking and sustain corporate revenues.” For health-conscious adults who wanted to quit smoking but were unable to do so because they were addicted, switching to cigarettes with lower tar and nicotine yields seemed to be an attractive alternative. Smoker Impressions of “Light” and “Low-tar” Cigarettes: A number of scientific surveys have examined how smokers perceive “light,” “ultra light” and “low tar” cigarettes and their motivations for smoking these brands. The studies conclude that many smokers of “light” and “ultra light” cigarettes mistakenly believe that these cigarettes have lower tar. Many consumers also assume that these products present less of a health risk than other cigarettes. The desire to reduce health risks is a key motivation for smoking “light” cigarettes. Despite the fact that many smokers choose “light” or “ultra light” cigarettes to reduce their exposure to tar and nicotine, and smoking risks in general, 9 out of 10 smokers did not know that one “ultra light” cigarette could deliver the same amount of tar as one regular cigarette. And more than one quarter of the “light” and “ultra light” smokers said they would be likely to quit if they knew this information. Smoking “light” cigarettes can be a barrier to quitting. Formerly confidential tobacco industry documents, made public in legal proceedings against the industry, reveal that tobacco companies introduced and marketed “light” and “ultra light” brands to provide an alternative to quitting to smokers who were increasingly concerned about their health. The documents reveal that the tobacco companies knew that “low tar” cigarettes may keep smokers from quitting. A 1978 Imperial Tobacco document says “We have evidence of virtually no quitting among smokers of these brands, and there are indications that the advent of ultra low tar cigarettes has actually retained some potential smokers in the cigarette market by offering them a viable alternative.” The Evidence Is Clear That “Light” and “Low-tar” Cigarettes Are Not Less Harmful: The scientific evidence has shown that, in practice, “light” cigarettes have not produced a public health benefit and have not lowered disease risk among smokers. In November 2001, the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) released a landmark study on the subject. The report found that while changes in cigarette design have reduced the amount of tar and nicotine measured by smoking machines, these machine measurements do not accurately show how much tar and nicotine is actually received by the smoker. There is in fact no meaningful difference in exposure from smoking low-tar and regular brands, and therefore no difference in disease risk. That is because smokers smoke low-tar brands differently to obtain the same amount of nicotine. Smokers block ventilation holes; inhale more deeply; take larger, more rapid, or more frequent puffs; or increase the number of cigarettes smoked per day. The NCI report concluded that “Epidemiological and other scientific evidence, including patterns of mortality from smoking-caused diseases, does not indicate a benefit to public health from changes in cigarette design and manufacturing over the last fifty years.” The report noted that while “many smokers switch to lower yield cigarettes out of concerns for their health believing these cigarettes to be less risky or to be a step towards quitting...current evidence does not support either claims of reduced harm or policy recommendations to switch to these products.” A more recent study published in the British Medical Journal found that smoking cigarettes labeled as “low-tar” and “ultra-low-tar” does not reduce a smoker’s risk of developing lung cancer compared to smoking regular brands. Policy Interventions: The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) prohibits misleading or deceptive terms on tobacco product packages. Although the treaty does not specify the terms that Parties must ban, the scientific evidence supports banning the use of terms such as "light", "mild", "low tar", etc. However, descriptive words are just one of the methods employed by the tobacco industry to convey the “lightness” of products. Cigarette companies are devising ways of getting around bans on misleading descriptors. Alternative marketing is already being practiced in some countries; for example, particular colors are used in cigarette packaging and advertising to denote “light” from regular brands. Therefore, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Tobacco Product Regulation recommended that any such ban should “include not only misleading terms and claims but also names, trademarks, imagery and other means to conveying the impression that the product provides a health benefit.” Several government entities have already taken steps towards banning deceptive labeling on tobacco products: Australia. After a lengthy investigation, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) found that the country’s three major tobacco companies represented that low yield cigarettes had certain health benefits in relation to those marketed as regular or higher yield. The ACCC found these claims to be misleading and in 2005 required the tobacco companies to remove “light,” “mild” and similar descriptors (including numbers) from their products. In addition, the companies cannot make claims about the health benefits of low yield cigarettes when compared to higher yield brands. Brazil. On March 28, 2001, the Agencia Nacional de Vigilancia Sanitaria (the national health agency of Brazil), issued a resolution prohibiting the use of “any type of descriptor” on tobacco products “produced, transported, marketed and/or stored on national territory or imported” in Brazil. The exact language from the Brazilian resolution (effective November 28, 2001) states, “It is prohibited to use any type of descriptor, on the packaging or in advertising material, such as: classes (s), ultra low tar, low tar, smooth, light, soft, leve, moderate tar, high or any others that could induce consumers to an erroneous interpretation as to the tar contained in cigarettes.” Canada. On May 31, 2001 the Canadian Government called on the tobacco industry to voluntarily stop the use of misleading descriptors such as “light” and “low tar.” In November 2001, the Canadian Health Minister announced he would proceed to ban these terms from cigarettes sold in Canada. Five years later, in November 2006, the Competition Bureau reached an agreement with the country’s three major cigarette manufacturers to stop using the terms “light” and “mild” on cigarette packages. The Commissioner of Competition said that the companies “agreed to voluntarily discontinue use of these descriptors in advance of anticipated regulations requiring their removal." The companies will start phasing out use of the terms at the end of 2006, and they will be completely gone from packaging by August 2007. Public health groups are urging the government to continue with the regulation process and take additional action to protect consumers, including prohibiting the use of misleading colors or numbers, and prohibiting the “marketing and display of cigarettes in ways that falsely conveys distinctions between types of cigarettes.” European Union. In response to concerns that the terms “light”, “low tar”, and “mild” “mislead the consumer into the belief that such products are less harmful,” on June 5, 2001, the European Union (EU) issued a directive that bans all misleading descriptors on tobacco products. The exact language of the EU directive states, “With effect from 30 September 2003, and without prejudice to Article 5(1), texts, names, trademarks and figurative or other signs suggesting that a particular tobacco product is less harmful than others shall not be used on the packaging of tobacco products.” Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, November 29, 2006

1 Short, P. "Smoking & Health Item 7: The Effect on Marketing" (1977), Brown and Williamson Bates 170041126 2 Risks Associated with Smoking Cigarettes with Low Machine-Yields of Tar and Nicotine; Report of the NCI Expert Committee. National Institutes of Health. National Cancer Institute. Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph 13. 3 Kessler Final Opinion at 740. http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/doj/FinalOpinion.pdf 4 Risks Associated with Smoking Cigarettes with Low Machine-Yields of Tar and Nicotine; Report of the NCI Expert Committee. National Institutes of Health. National Cancer Institute. Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph 13. 5 Joossens, L. Regulation of tobacco products: an update on European developments 1999-2001. World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (October 2001). http://www.who.dk/document/e74524.pdf 6 Joossens, L. Regulation of tobacco products: an update on European developments 1999-2001. World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (October 2001). http://www.who.dk/document/e74524.pdf 7 Kozlowski, L.T., et al., "Smokers' Misperceptions of Light and Ultra-Light Cigarettes May Keep Them Smoking," American Journal of Preventive Medicine 15(1): 9-16 (July 1998). 8 SACTob Conclusions on Health Claims Derived from ISO/FTC Method to Measure Cigarette Yield. Scientific Advisory Committee on Tobacco Product Regulation (2003). http://www.who.int/tobacco/global_interaction/tobreg/en/iso_ftc_en.pdf 9 Hurt RD, Robertson CR. Prying open the door to the tobacco industry’s secrets about nicotine. The Minnesota Tobacco Trial. JAMA 1998;280:1173-81. 10 Response of the Market and of Imperial Tobacco to the smoking and health environment. Imperial Tobacco Ltd., p.2 (15102). Montreal Court of Appeal, Case Numbers 500-09-001296-912 and 500-090001297-910. 1991. Joint Record, Exhibit Number AG-4. Volume 76, pp.15101-15110, in Collishaw, N. From Montreal to Minnesota: Following the Trail of Imperial Tobacco’s Document, September 1999. http://www.smoke-free.ca/eng_research/pscresearch_papers.htm 11 Risks Associated with Smoking Cigarettes with Low Machine-Yields of Tar and Nicotine; Report of the NCI Expert Committee. National Institutes of Health. National Cancer Institute. Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph 13. 12 Harris, J.E., et al., “Cigarette tar yields in relation to mortality from lung cancer in the cancer prevention study II prospective cohort, 1982-8,” British Medical Journal 328 (January 10, 2004). 13 SACTob Conclusions on Health Claims Derived from ISO/FTC Method to Measure Cigarette Yield. Scientific Advisory Committee on Tobacco Product Regulation (2003). http://www.who.int/tobacco/global_interaction/tobreg/en/iso_ftc_en.pdf 14 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission News Release, “ACCC resolves 'light' and 'mild' cigarette issue with B.A.T. and Philip Morris,” May 2, 2005. http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/683533/fromItemId/632284 15 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission News Release, “ACCC resolves 'light' and 'mild' cigarette investigation with Imperial Tobacco,” November 7, 2005. http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/713217/fromItemId/2332 16 Competition Bureau News Release, “Competition Bureau Reaches Agreement with the Three Major Cigarette Manufacturers to Stop Using “light” and “mild” on Cigarette Packages,” November 9, 2006. http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/internet/index.cfm?itemID=2228&lg=e 17 Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada News Release, “Anti-smoking group slams voluntary agreement reached with tobacco companies,” November 9, 2006. http://www.smoke-free.ca/eng_home/news_press_2006-11-09.htm

Protect Children From Secondhand Smoke In Cars

webmaster — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 07:29:47 +0000

Measuring Air Quality To Protect Children From Secondhand Smoke In Cars Rees VW, Connolly GN. Harvard School of Public Health, Division of Public Health Practice, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. vrees@hsph.harvard.edu BACKGROUND: Secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) is a major, preventable contributor to acute and chronic adverse health outcomes that affect children disproportionately. The predominant source of SHS among children is domestic exposure, and while up to two thirds of U.S. households have car smoking bans, an unacceptable number of children remain vulnerable. To help promote more effective protection through legislation, health communication strategies, or behavioral interventions, data demonstrating the adverse effect of SHS on air quality in cars are needed. METHODS: Secondhand tobacco smoke in a motor vehicle under actual driving conditions was monitored by measuring respirable suspended particles (RSPs) of less than 2.5 microns in diameter, and carbon monoxide. Forty-five driving trials were conducted, using teams of volunteer drivers and smokers recruited from the general community. Three smoking conditions (nonsmoking baseline, active smoking, and immediate post-smoking period, each 5 minutes) were crossed with two ventilation conditions (windows open, closed) in a 3 x 2 within-sessions factorial design. RESULTS: The highest mean observed RSP level was 271 mug/m(3), which is unsafe, particularly for children. Peak RSP levels were considerably higher. RSPs and carbon monoxide increased significantly from baseline after smoking, and these increases were greatest during the closed ventilation condition, compared with open ventilation. CONCLUSIONS: Private passenger cars are a domestic environment with the potential to yield unsafe levels of SHS contaminants. These data may assist policymakers and health advocates to promote protective strategies to ensure smoke-free domestic environments for children. PMID: 17046406 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Wisconsin Cigarette Tax Increase Benefits

webmaster — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 04:16:29 +0000

BENEFITS FROM A 125-CENT CIGARETTE TAX INCREASE IN WISCONSIN Current State Cigarette Tax: 77 Cents Per Pack (30th among all states) Smoking-caused costs in state per taxed pack sold: $9.53 Average retail price per pack: $4.08 (state share from excise and sales taxes: $0.96) Annual health care expenditures in the Wisconsin directly caused by tobacco use: $2.02 billion Total state Medicaid program smoking costs each year: $480.0 million Annual state cigarette tax revenue: $294.3 million (2005) Last Wisconsin Cigarette Tax Increase: 10/1/2001 Projected Benefits From Increasing the State Cigarette Tax By 125 Cents Per Pack

New state cigarette tax revenues each year: $252.8 million
Pack sales decline in state: -121.4 million
Percent decrease in youth smoking: 20.9%
Increase in total number of kids alive today who will not become smokers: 84,100
Number of current adult smokers in the state who would quit: 42,500
Number of smoking-affected births avoided over next five years: 11,700
Number of current adult smokers saved from smoking-caused death: 11,200
Number of kids alive today saved from later premature smoking-caused death: 26,900
5-Year healthcare savings from fewer smoking-affected pregnancies & births: $19.9 million
5-year healthcare savings from fewer smoking-caused heart attacks & strokes: $20.0 million
Long-term healthcare savings in state from adult & youth smoking declines: $1,875.5 million

Wisconsin Cigarette Tax Increase Benefits - Full Document Here

Regulation of Tobacco Products - Henningfield Testimony

webmaster — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 01:11:10 +0000

Statement of Jack E. Henningfield, Ph.D. Vice President, Research and Health Policy Pinney Associates, Bethesda, Maryland and Professor of Behavioral Biology, Adjunct, and Director of the Innovators Awards Program Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Before the The Health Education, Labor and Pension (Help) Committee United States Senate Hearing on Senate Bill S.625 February 27, 2007 Thank you for the opportunity to testify on S.625, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, that would provide “the Food and Drug Administration with effective authority to regulate tobacco products.” FDA regulation is not only the right thing to do, it is urgent. More than 4 million Americans have died prematurely since FDA asserted jurisdiction and issued its Final Rule to regulate cigarettes and smokeless tobacco in 1996. Although we have made modest progress in reducing tobacco use, I believe FDA regulation would have made the progress significantly greater. Furthermore, the tobacco industry is unleashing new products, new claims, and clandestinely modifying conventional products at a terrifying rate, with no plausibly-effective regulatory mechanism in sight, except for the approach embodied in the Senate Bill. Even the FTC has thrown in the towel and apparently given up on its own widely criticized and deeply flawed method of cigarette testing. You can find the entire Henningfield Testimony here.

Regulation of Tobacco Products - Henningfield Oral Testimony

webmaster — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 01:26:50 +0000

ORAL STATEMENT of Jack E. Henningfield, Ph.D. Vice President, Research and Health Policy Pinney Associates, Bethesda, Maryland and Professor of Behavioral Biology, Adjunct, and Director of the Innovators Awards Program Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Before the The Health Education, Labor and Pension (Help) Committee United States Senate Hearing on Senate Bill S.625 February 27, 2007 Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify and serve. I have studied drug addiction and health for three decades at Johns Hopkins Medical School, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and through my consulting at Pinney Associates to GlaxoSmithKline on smoking cessation medications. Many people think of tobacco products as relatively simple concoctions of tobacco and flavorings that people smoke for simple pleasure, and with full awareness of the dangers; and, that smoking is a completely free choice. Nothing could be further from the truth. Tobacco products are sophisticated drug delivery systems – They are engineered and manufactured to increase addiction risk, and without any regulatory oversight to draw the line on practices that unnecessarily increase harmful and addictive effects. FDA authority could lead to less addictive and less harmful products and regulation of marketing to reduce deception. Existing AND future products need to be regulated. Existing products are used by more than 50 million Americans, killing more than 1000 every day. Setting standards for chemicals that can heighten addictiveness such as ammonia and acetaldehyde, and flavorings such as menthol and chocolate, could be steps towards less addictive, less attractive tobacco products. Developing performance standards for toxicants such as pesticide residues, tobacco specific nitrosamines, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde could reduce exposure in those who continue to use tobacco. Regulation is needed to prevent deceptive designs that are killing Americans. Today, more than two thirds of cigarette smokers smoke light cigarettes. My sister was one of them. As she told me: “You can tell Marlboro Reds are worse: they felt stronger and left my throat raw compared to Lights.” Let me tell you a few things she didn’t know. She assumed there were government standards for light cigarettes and that the FTC test method for tar and nicotine reflected health effects or at least actual intake as is the case for food labeling. She assumed that cooler, smoother smoke meant that it was weaker and less harmful. She couldn’t believe “the government” would allow such a scam. [SHOW CIGARETTE & VENT HOLES] Cigarette ventilation is one deadly scam you can see for yourself. If you tear the paper from a cigarette filter and hold it to a light, you can see bands of tiny vent holes about 3/8 to 1/2 inch out from the end. This is right where they can be easily covered with lips or fingers. Unbeknownst to most smokers, blocking some of the holes can easily double or triple delivered tar and nicotine. I did this demonstration a few years ago for my son’s third grade class and his classmates reacted with clarity and passion. Their comments included: “that’s cheating!” and “they can’t do that”. Well Senators, that is cheating, and there is a means of stopping and preventing such deception – for food products, but not for tobacco – not until tobacco is regulated by the FDA. Light cigarettes may just be the tip of the iceberg. New generations of products appear to be following the commercially effective model of light cigarettes, which is to develop highly addictive products with designs and marketing efforts to assuage fears about tobacco so as to hook more people and keep them using. These products will need their own standards so their potential effects are understood BEFORE they are allowed to be marketed, and to make sure that marketing does not inappropriately promote use. FDA is the right agency and the only agency with appropriate experience to develop and enforce product performance standards. I have heard the entire range of arguments about why FDA should not be granted regulatory authority, including that FDA was not designed to evaluate cigarettes or inherently dangerous products. The fact is FDA was designed to assess safety, ingredients, and resultant toxicant exposures for a broad range of products. Furthermore, tobacco products are drug delivery systems at heart. Even the tobacco industry admits this in their documents. Moreover, tobacco products are designed and marketed to deceive and heighten addiction risk. Finally, let me emphasize that FDA authority will not make tobacco products safe, and should not be seen as a substitute for comprehensive tobacco control efforts to reduce all forms of tobacco use and disease. In fact, FDA regulation should be viewed as a partner in tobacco – the Bill will bring the most powerful health regulatory body to the world to the table in partnership with tobacco control experts. It will then be positioned to serve these efforts because it will restrict the ability of the industry to modify products and descriptors that undermine prevention and cessation. I therefore urge expeditious passage and implementation of the Bill.

Smoke Alarm

admin — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 13:52:16 +0000

Christina Dean, SCMP - Mar 16, 2007 The anti-cigarette lobby argues that new measures aimed at safeguarding adults have ignored the next generation, writes Christina Dean As the ash settles on Hong Kong's tough new smoking laws, the anti-cigarette lobby is celebrating a hard-won victory in having the habit banned from indoor work and public areas as well as many outdoor areas. But amid the upheaval as the city's smokers readjust to the clampdown on their pastime, there is one group that health experts say are neglected by policymakers. Their focus has turned to teenage smokers, a group that will provide the next generation destined to battle against a disease that a University of Hong Kong study says kills more than 7,000 people each year in the city. Evidence compiled by academics in Hong Kong reflects an alarming incidence of teenage smoking. Between the ages of 12 and 18, 11.5 per cent of boys and 7.6 per cent of girls are smoking in Hong Kong, according to a survey completed by the Department of Community Medicine at HKU in 2004. Of those in Forms 1 to 3, aged about 12 to 15, 10.4 per cent of boys and 6.9 per cent of girls have already taken up the habit. The study questioned more than 36,000 students, aged mainly between 12 and 18, from 85 schools in Hong Kong, classifying them as smokers if they had smoked a cigarette in the past 30 days. 'Young people smoke for two reasons,' said Professor Lam Tai-hong, head of community medicine at HKU. 'One, the tobacco industry is promoting the product in various ways and, two, because adults smoke. In mainland China you can have children as young as three or four years old who smoke because they are mimicking their parents.' On the back of such comments, the anti-smoking lobby says one problem with Hong Kong's new smoking legislation is that while it focuses on stamping out smoking in public areas, the laws fail to ban brand extension. This long-established practice enables cigarette manufacturers to advertise non-tobacco products, such as Marlboro Classics clothing, Camel watches or Salem Attitude shoes. Anthony Hedley, chair professor of community medicine at HKU, said several studies, including tobacco industry research, showed that the public linked clothes and watches with the corresponding cigarette brand. 'And this is responsible for childhood recruitment to nicotine addiction because they see cigarettes as being attractive, Professor Hedley said. 'Not banning brand extension is about as antithetical as you could possibly get in the whole public health spirit of tobacco control. On this basis alone, this is a very tobacco-friendly government.' Legislator Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, from the catering functional constituency, has been vocal in his opposition to the smoking ban introduced this year. 'No, I don't believe that brand extension has the effect of promoting smoking,' he said. 'I think there are definitely more parents and adults who smoke at home since the implementation of the smoking ban on January 1, 2007. 'Moreover, the smoking incidence in Hong Kong in the past few years has remained around 14 per cent. I can't see the public health message given through the recent smoking ban bill will cause the incidence rate [to go] lower.' But Judith Mackay, a senior policy adviser to the World Health Organisation at the Chinese Academy of Preventative Medicine in Beijing and community medicine at HKU, said there was a definite need for more controls on youth smoking. 'We are not very good at preventing children from smoking,' Dr Mackay said. 'To stop young people smoking we have to do three things. First, we have to put up the tax until it's round their necks. This is definitely the best way. Second, we have to find out what kind of announcements of public interest [APIs] work that go out on TV that counter-advertise smoking. And third, we have to help 20-year-olds and young adults quit so that younger children are not always looking up to the next generation.' A 1999 World Bank study, entitled 'Curbing the Epidemic', found a 10 per cent price increase in cigarettes reduced consumption by 4 per cent in high-income countries and 8 per cent in low-income countries. Youth smokers were two to three times more likely than any other smokers to quit or smoke less in response to price increases. The World Bank and the WHO recommend that tobacco tax should account for between 66 per cent and 80 per cent of the retail price of cigarettes. 'Our present duty on cigarettes is already accounting for some 57 per cent to 73 per cent of retail price for the majority of cigarettes selling in the market, which is not a low level compared to that in many other jurisdictions,' a spokesman for the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau said. 'Some cigarettes are sold at a higher price than others and hence their duty percentage would be less than those for popular brands.' Hong Kong's cigarettes are taxed at a flat rate of HK$16.08 per packet of 20 cigarettes, irrespective of the brand. Packets of 20 Winfield, More and Winner cost HK$22, Marlboro, Salem or Virginias costs HK$28 and Yves Saint Laurent costs HK$34. This means that luxury brands are taxed at 47 per cent of their retail price, while Winfield and the like are taxed at 73 per cent. 'However, the average tax proportion today, based on the most popular brands, like Marlboro at HK$28, is about 57 per cent,' Professor Hedley said. 'This is far too low and the Treasury can't defend it on any grounds, least of all by saying that it is on a par with other countries. We need a big hike in the present tax to bring the sale price of a pack back into the range of most other western jurisdictions which have similar gross domestic product.' Professor Hedley argued that a rise in tobacco duty could help to fund public health interventions. It also could help to recoup some of the HK$5.3 billion that Hong Kong spent annually on tobacco-induced diseases, he said, quoting figures from a 2005 HKU study. 'I firmly believe that the Hong Kong government refuses to raise tobacco tax because of a result of a cosy relationship between the government, namely the Treasury, and the tobacco companies,' he said. He is among a coalition of like-minded academics, advocates and legislators who have been lobbying the government to increase tobacco tax for more than two decades. Based on his calculations, if tobacco tax was increased by 20 per cent many lives would be saved. 'We might expect approximately up to 12,000 teens to quit following such a modest increase,' he said. 'And because most regular adult smokers start before their 18th birthday and because 50 per cent of life-long smokers die from tobacco-induced disease, then this tax adjustment could save up to 6,000 lives.' The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau spokesman said the government reviewed the duty on tobacco products from time to time, having regard to the potential effect on tobacco consumption and illicit activity relating to tobacco. In recent years a succession of financial secretaries, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen included, had outlined the hazards of raising duty as it could promote smuggling, said Professor Hedley. 'I believe that increasing tobacco duty will only enhance the attractiveness of contraband cigarettes and provide further impetus to smuggling and illegal sale,' Mr Tsang said in a speech made in 1999. Homer Tso Wei-kwok, chairman of the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health (Cosh), a government-funded advocacy group, said Hong Kong lacked the political willpower to raise tax on cigarettes. 'Unfortunately, raising tax has nothing to do with what we say and it is definitely not evidence based. The government won't listen to anyone,' he said. Another key issue for Dr Tso is the level of funding for health promotion. Cosh manages an average annual budget of HK$6 million from the government, part of it spent on producing APIs that counter-advertise smoking. The government earned HK$2.67 billion through the tobacco tax in 2006. Amid the debate over youth smoking, a privately funded Hong Kong NGO, Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), is feeling the financial challenge of battling against youth nicotine addiction. 'We're disappointed with our level of funding,' said Kwong Chi-kin, Ash chairman and a legislator in the labour functional constituency. 'Hong Kong is a ridiculous society. The government is so rich. We're not a third world society and we can afford more. But NGOs just can't survive in Hong Kong as the general public don't recognise teen smoking as a serious problem.' While Ash is struggling with funding and says it may close within two years, another contentious anti-smoking NGO, called Youth Smoking and Prevention (YSP), is stacked with cash. It has received HK$25 million over the past four years - from the tobacco industry. To improve its public image, the tobacco industry recently began funding YSP groups in more than half the countries in the world, according to The Tobacco Atlas, 2006, which was partly authored by Dr Mackay. But YSPs are a thorny issue in the anti-tobacco lobby's side. On the surface YSPs, and their dedicated staff, appear to be helping with community education efforts, but a 2003 WHO investigation found that the tobacco industry's YSP programmes were ineffective. 'No one should welcome the tobacco industry's youth anti-smoking campaigns, a cynical attempt to make smoking seem more grown-up and even more appealing to youth,' the WHO said of the programmes. Mr Kwong said: 'It's quite unbelievable that the most active anti-smoking NGO group in Hong Kong is backed by the tobacco industry itself.' The government has also been criticised recently for failing to provide sufficient smoking cessation programmes to deal with the aftermath of the ban. A spokeswoman for the Hospital Authority, which runs 10 smoking cessation clinics in some of Hong Kong's public hospitals, confirmed that the authority had not received additional resources since the smoking ban was implemented. Sophia Chan Siu-chee, head of the Department of Nursing Studies at HKU said the government could do more to enact a comprehensive plan of smoking cessation services. 'There's been a vast increase in numbers calling the youth quit line since the ban in January,' Dr Chan said. http://www.smokefree.hk/cosh/ccs/detail.xml?lang=en&fldrid=228 http://cosh-hk.lemon-asia.com/content/55/8/1/seeing_bneath_d_surface_en.pdf

It's Like Stealing Money Legally

webmaster — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 00:55:33 +0000

The Motley Fool - By Chuck Saletta March 27, 2007 In November 1998, cigarette companies including what are now Reynolds American (NYSE: RAI) and Carolina Group (NYSE: CG) agreed to a settlement with 46 states. As part of that settlement, the companies agreed to pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $246 billion over 25 years. Theoretically, that money was supposed to be used to pay restitution for the state-funded health-care costs of smokers and to discourage tobacco use among kids. In reality, as the map on this page shows, most of the states have diverted a large chunk of the revenue from that settlement to other purposes. The real-world consequence of taking all those billions of dollars and spending them as general funds essentially means that the states became business partners of the tobacco companies. Not only that, but those states have the full coercive force of The Law at their disposal. That creates a Faustian bargain that essentially assures that smoking will remain legal and the tobacco companies profitable, no matter the true consequences. After all, the states need money, and a "sin tax" on smokers is far more politically palatable than an income tax on all potential voters. So what? With so many politicians' careers relying on cigarette settlement payout revenues, it should be obvious that cigarette companies have been great investments. In fact, as this chart shows, cigarette companies -- pretty much as an industry -- have trounced the S&P 500 since the settlement was reached: Company Total Return Since Settlement Beat S&P 500 Index by: Altria (NYSE: MO) 84.2% 54.3 percentage points British American Tobacco (NYSE: BTI) 282.2% 252.2 percentage points Vector Group (NYSE: VGR) 132.3% 102.3 percentage points Gallaher Group (NYSE: GLH) 308.2% 278.2 percentage points Unfortunately, we can't transport ourselves to the past and buy cigarette companies at the time of the settlement. What we can do, however, is learn from that experience and understand how to profit from similar occurrences in the future. The right lesson, of course, is that most politicians are smart enough to not kill the goose that lays their golden egg. In other words, if an "obesity tax" against fast-food giants like McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) ever passes, it'll more or less help assure those companies' successes for decades to come. Profit from the ugly truth Fortunately, this story does illustrate a more general investing principle that we can use to our advantage far more frequently. Simply put -- bad news won't necessarily sink a company. All politics aside, whether it's earnings that came in below estimates or a major product recall, if a business will likely survive the blow, you will probably have a chance to profit. The time to buy, in fact, is often when things look their worst. After all, that's when most ordinarily rational people have been scared out of a company's stock, likely sending it down far below its true worth.

Every Cigarette Is Doing You Damage

webmaster — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 01:55:26 +0000

Smoking Causes 92% of Oral Cancers

webmaster — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 01:58:25 +0000

Cigarettes Containing Low Levels Of Tar And Nicotine Also Harmful

webmaster — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 09:20:50 +0000

9 April 2007 - Department of Health Press Release Cigarettes containing low levels of tar and nicotine were not necessarily less harmful and the best way to protect health was to quit smoking, a spokesman for the Department of Health said today (April 9). The spokesman said that according to the findings of the latest review of the tar and nicotine yields of 93 brands of cigarettes in Hong Kong in 2006, the average tar and nicotine yields were 8.9 milligrams and 0.77 millgrams per cigarette (mg/cig) respectively, representing a drop of 0.2 mg/cig and a rise of 0.01 mg/cig respectively over the findings of 2005. The spokesman stressed that cigarettes even in the low-tar group were harmful to smokers' health. "When smokers choose cigarettes in this group instead of cigarettes in the middle-tar or high-tar groups, they may take larger and more frequent puffs or even smoke more cigarettes each day. "Quitting smoking is the only way to reduce a smoker's risk of developing heart diseases and cancers," the spokesman said. In view of this, tar group designation had been deleted from the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance. People can obtain details of the review for 2006 from the Government Laboratory website at http://www.govtlab.gov.hk. The spokesman reminded people that both smoking and secondhand smoke were hazardous to health. Smoking cessation services, including counselling and nicotine replacement therapy to smokers, are provided by the department and the Hospital Authority to safeguard the health of the community. The department also set up the Tobacco Control Office in 2001 to co-ordinate and enhance the Government's tobacco control efforts. People may visit the the office website at http://www.tco.gov.hk or call the office's hotline 1833 183 to obtain more information on stopping smoking.

Countries that Have Banned Light and Mild Descriptors for Cigarettes

webmaster — Tue, 01 May 2007 02:11:39 +0000

Countries that Have Banned “Light” and “Mild” Descriptors for Cigarettes Canadian Cancer Society - May 1, 2007 At least 43 countries are known to have specifically banned the misleading “light” and “mild” descriptors for cigarettes. This includes the 27 countries in the European Community, and 16 other countries. In some countries, legislation is still subject to a transition period. This list should not be considered exhaustive, as there are likely other countries that should be included. 1. Australia1 2. Austria* 3. Belgium* 4. Brazil 5. Bulgaria* 6. Canada2 7. Chile 8. Cyprus* 9. Czech Republic* 10. Denmark* 11. Estonia* 12. Finland* 13. France* 14. Germany* 15. Greece* 16. Hungary* 17. Iceland 18. India 19. Iran 20. Ireland* 21. Israel 22. Italy* 23. Latvia* 24. Lithuania* 25. Luxembourg* 26. Malta* 27. Netherlands* 28. Norway 29. Panama 30. Peru 31. Poland* 32. Portugal* 33. Romania* 34. Slovakia* 35. Slovenia* 36. Spain* 37. Sweden* 38. Switzerland 39. Thailand 40. Ukraine 41. United Kingdom* 42. Uruguay 43. Venezuela

* member of the European Community 1 Through court-enforceable undertakings between the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Philip Morris Ltd., British American Tobacco Australia Limited, and Imperial Tobacco Australia Limited. 2 Through court-enforceable settlements entered (on Nov. 7 or Nov. 8, 2006) between the national Competition Bureau and Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd, JTI-Macdonald Corp., and Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. Other small companies are not covered.

Risk of Exposure to Secondhand Tobacco Smoke Outdoors

webmaster — Wed, 02 May 2007 01:27:47 +0000

Stanford University - 2nd May 2007 Study confirms the risk of exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke outdoors Tens of thousands of Americans die each year from secondhand tobacco smoke, according to a 2006 report by the U.S. Surgeon General. While the health risks associated with indoor secondhand smoke are well documented, little research has been done on exposure to toxic tobacco fumes outdoors. Now, Stanford University researchers have conducted the first in-depth study on how smoking affects air quality at sidewalk cafés, park benches and other outdoor locations. Writing in the May issue of the Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association (JAWMA), the Stanford team concluded that a non-smoker sitting a few feet downwind from a smoldering cigarette is likely to be exposed to substantial levels of contaminated air for brief periods of time. "Some folks have expressed the opinion that exposure to outdoor tobacco smoke is insignificant, because it dissipates quickly into the air," said Neil Klepeis, assistant professor (consulting) of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford and lead author of the study. "But our findings show that a person sitting or standing next to a smoker outdoors can breathe in wisps of smoke that are many times more concentrated than normal background air pollution levels." Klepeis pointed to the 2006 Surgeon General's report, which found that even brief exposures to secondhand smoke may have adverse effects on the heart and respiratory systems and increase the severity of asthma attacks, especially in children. "We were surprised to discover that being within a few feet of a smoker outdoors may expose you to air pollution levels that are comparable, on average, to indoor levels that we measured in previous studies of homes and taverns," said Wayne Ott, professor (consulting) of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford and co-author of the JAWMA study. "For example, if you're at a sidewalk café, and you sit within 18 inches of a person who smokes two cigarettes over the course of an hour, your exposure to secondhand smoke could be the same as if you sat one hour inside a tavern with smokers. Based on our findings, a child in close proximity to adult smokers at a backyard party also could receive substantial exposure to secondhand smoke." Unlike indoor tobacco smoke, which can persist for hours, the researchers found that outdoor smoke disappears rapidly when a cigarette is extinguished. "Our data also show that if you move about six feet away from an outdoor smoker, your exposure levels are much lower," Klepeis added. The public has become increasingly concerned about the effects of outdoor smoking, Ott noted. More than 700 state and local governments have passed laws restricting outdoor smoking at playgrounds, building entrances and other public areas, according to the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation. Some of the strictest ordinances are in California. The city of Santa Monica, for example, recently banned smoking at parks, beaches, ATM machines, theater lines, open-air restaurants and other outdoor locations. "Throughout the country, cities and counties are looking at various laws against outdoor smoking, and some of the proposals are pretty drastic," Ott said. "The problem is that until now, there have been virtually no scientific data to justify such restrictions. In fact, our paper is the first study on outdoor smoking to be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal." Particulate matter In the study, the researchers used portable electronic monitors to make precise measurements of toxic airborne particles emitted from cigarettes at 10 sites near the Stanford campus. "We wanted to quantify the potential level of exposure to outdoor tobacco smoke that could occur in everyday settings," Klepeis said. "To do this, we used five different, state-of-the-art instruments to measure secondhand smoke at parks, open-air cafes, sidewalks and outdoor pubs where smokers were present." Each instrument was calibrated to measure an airborne pollutant known as particulate matter-2.5 (PM2.5), which consists of thousands of microscopic particles that are less than 2.5 micrometers in width--about 30 times narrower than a human hair. "PM2.5 is a toxic pollutant produced by cigarettes, wood-burning stoves, diesel engines and other forms of combustion," Ott explained. "It contains benzo(a)pyrene, a carcinogen, and many other toxic chemicals that can penetrate deep inside the lungs." According to the Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to PM2.5 can lead to serious health problems, including asthma attacks, chronic bronchitis, irregular heartbeat, nonfatal heart attacks and even premature death in people with heart or lung disease. The current EPA ambient air standard for PM2.5 is 35 micrograms per cubic meter of air averaged over 24 hours. Levels that exceed 35 micrograms are considered unhealthy "However, since tobacco smoke contains many toxic components, including carcinogens, it may be even less healthy than typical ambient air pollution," Klepeis noted. Test results To measure PM2.5 levels in secondhand smoke, the researchers placed the instruments near actual smokers in different open-air environments. "We also performed controlled experiments with burning cigarettes, which allowed us to make precise measurements of PM2.5 levels at different distances," Klepeis said. The results were clear: The closer you are to an outdoor smoker, the higher your risk of exposure. "A typical cigarette lasts about 10 minutes," Klepeis said. "We found that if you're within two feet downwind of a smoker, you may be exposed to pollutant concentrations that exceed 500 micrograms of PM2.5 over that 10-minute period. If you're exposed multiple times to multiple cigarettes over several hours in an outdoor pub, it would be possible to get a daily average of 35 micrograms or more, which exceeds the current EPA outdoor standard." Outdoor tobacco smoke consists of brief plumes that sometimes exceed 1,000 micrograms, Klepeis added. "On the other hand, clean air typically contains less than 20 micrograms of PM2.5," he said. "Therefore, a person near an outdoor smoker might inhale a breath with 50 times more toxic material than in the surrounding unpolluted air." However, the researchers found that air quality improved as they moved away from the smoker. "These results show what common sense would suggest--when you're within a few feet downwind of a smoker, you get exposed," Ott explained. "But likewise, when you go a little distance or stay upwind, the exposure goes way down. If there's just one smoker, and you can sit six feet away, you would have little problem. At the same time, if there are a lot of smokers nearby, you may be exposed to very high levels of secondhand smoke. So this thing that critics have been dismissing as trivial is not." Added Klepeis: "If people realize that being near outdoor smokers can result in potentially large exposures to toxic air pollution, they may decide they do not wish to be exposed in a variety of outdoor settings. This realization may lead to an increased number of smoking bans in public locations."

Influential People In The World - Dr Judith Mackay

webmaster — Thu, 17 May 2007 01:05:39 +0000

World Health Organisation - 17 May 2007 In early May, Time Magazine named Dr Judith Mackay one of the "most influential people in the world" in recognition of her role as a leading campaigner for stricter tobacco control measures and vigilant critic of tobacco industry practices. As a senior policy advisor to the World Health Organization, Mackay was one of the early architects of what is today a global momentum to implement smoke-free public places and workplaces and proven, effective tobacco control measures in countries around the world. A Hong Kong resident for 40 years, Mackay was also a key player in the development of the landmark WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, one of the most widely and rapidly endorsed treaties in United Nations history. Mackay was among those honoured by Time Magazine at a ceremony 8 May 2007 at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Time Warner Building in New York. Among others named in Times Magazine's "Top 100" was New York City mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who spearheaded the city's successful public health campaign to make all workplaces smoke-free. In a separate initiative, Mr Bloomberg last year donated US $125 million to create a global initiative aimed at reducing tobacco use in developing countries where the number of smokers and health burden from tobacco use is highest. WHO is a key partner in the Bloomberg Global Initiative.

How to Prevent 100 Million Deaths From Tobacco

webmaster — Sat, 19 May 2007 08:53:20 +0000

Published May 19, 2007 by The Lancet Dr Thomas R Frieden and Michael R Bloomberg For the first time ever, the world's leading agent of death is a man-made substance—tobacco. If current trends continue, tobacco will kill 1000 million people prematurely during this century.1 Tobacco, which kills at least a third of people who use it,2 is also the largest single cause of health inequalities in some low-income populations.3 Millions of deaths can be prevented if we take urgent action based on available information.4 Despite this enormous and growing burden of premature illness and death, and despite evidence showing the effectiveness of antitobacco initiatives, few countries use most of these public-health interventions to reduce tobacco use and none use them all. Although the framework convention on tobacco control (FCTC) provides context for improvement, there is currently no standard technical package for tobacco control analogous to those developed and implemented for control of tuberculosis,5 HIV,6 or malaria.7 Furthermore, no quantifiable international target for tobacco control exists, and government resources and bilateral or private-sector funding are limited. Here, we propose a global target, outline a technical package, and describe a new grant programme to expand implementation of effective tobacco control. Although global data are emerging for youth smoking,8 data for prevalence of adult smoking are non-standardised and of uneven quality. An estimated two-thirds of the world's more than 1000 million adult smokers live in 15 low-income or middle-income nations, and 80% of the world's smokers live in 24 countries. Because quantification of illness caused by tobacco can be difficult, particularly in developing countries, the proportion of the adult population that smokes is the most important global target for tobacco control. Current global prevalence of smoking in adults is estimated at about 25%.1 Some developed and less-developed countries (eg, Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and Sweden) have reduced this rate to 20% or lower by implementation of effective policies; all nations and populations should be able to achieve this prevalence level. Simply put, and for discussion reasons, the goal would be for no nation to have a smoking rate of more than 20% and for countries to reduce the absolute smoking prevalence by at least 5% (or to decrease prevalence if already 5–10% and maintain prevalence at <5% if it was at this level at the outset) between 2005 and 2020. Keeping rates low is especially important for the large population of young women in Asia and elsewhere who do not currently smoke but are targeted by the tobacco industry. Of course, these targets would need to be reviewed and agreed by countries and global authorities. If the world reduces absolute adult smoking prevalence by 5% by 2020, at least 100 million fewer tobacco-related premature deaths would occur in people alive today, and another 50 million deaths would be prevented in infants born between now and 2030 (table 1). Virtually all deaths prevented up to 2050 would be of current smokers who quit; subsequently, prevented deaths would increasingly be of people who never start smoking.9 Population dynamics might limit the potential to reduce prevalence rapidly;10 whether this specific goal can be reached is not known. However, we do know that effective strategies to reduce smoking exist—and they are not being applied widely. Tobacco use can be decreased by addressing price, image, exposure, cessation experience, and monitoring (table 2). In New York City, a comprehensive tobacco-control programme was implemented in 2002.11 Tax increases raised the legal retail price of cigarettes by 32% to nearly US$7 per pack. Virtually all indoor workplaces, including bars and restaurants, were made smoke-free, despite vocal opposition.12 Hard-hitting print and broadcast antitobacco advertising campaigns were initiated (in the USA, state and local restrictions on tobacco company marketing are currently pre-empted by federal legislation). Smokers were provided with free courses of nicotine-replacement treatment to help them quit;13 nearly 20% of smokers were reached over 3 years. Rigorous surveillance was established.14 After a decade with no change in smoking prevalence, within 2 years there were nearly 200 000 fewer smokers in New York—a decline in adult smoking prevalence from 21·6% to 18·4%. Progress on this scale faces political obstacles: although tobacco taxation is favoured by most of the public, smoke-free policies and other measures are usually controversial when introduced, and effective tobacco-control measures are almost invariably opposed by the powerful tobacco industry. Nonetheless, antismoking measures, once implemented, are generally popular and well-accepted. Taxation is the most effective way to reduce tobacco use,4 and it accounted for more than half the decline attributed to New York's comprehensive programme.11 Price elasticity of tobacco consumption in established market economies is about −0·25% to −0·5% (ie, for every 10% increase in price, tobacco consumption is reduced by 2·5–5%);4 prevalence elasticity is estimated to be about half of consumption elasticity.15 In the USA, young adults and people with low income are more price sensitive than other populations.16 Price elasticity, similarly, might be higher in low-income countries than in other regions.4 If a target is set, prevalence and price elasticities are known, and a proportion of the target decline (eg, 50%) is allocated to effects of taxation, then establishing target tax rates for every country is possible. This tax rate will be effective only if it is periodically adjusted for inflation and for consumer purchasing power. Despite tobacco industry lobbyists' claims to the contrary, increased taxation has not reduced government revenues.15 Effective taxation requires prevention of cross-border and internal smuggling. Cigarettes that have been smuggled are sold at steep discounts, stimulating demand—particularly in youth and low-income populations—and undermining tax policies.17 Implementation of the FCTC must lead to workable and effective smuggling-prevention protocols; these might draw on experiences from the arms manufacturing and controlled substances industries and hold every manufacturer legally and economically accountable for ensuring that their products are not sold illegally.17 Allocation of tobacco taxes specifically to tobacco control and other public-health measures is sometimes opposed by finance ministries.4 However, if revenues provide funding for tobacco control (including services for smokers who pay these taxes) and broader health and social service programmes, then this earmarking increases the popularity of tobacco taxes.4 In some countries, addressing concerns about workers potentially displaced from the tobacco industry can be politically important. Changing the image of smoking is also essential to end the epidemic of tobacco use. Over recent decades, the tobacco industry has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on marketing, including traditional advertising (eg, broadcast and print advertisments, billboards), point-of-sale materials in stores, indirect marketing (eg, sponsorship of sporting and cultural events, charitable contributions, promotional allowances to wholesalers, distributors, and retailers, free cigarettes, in-store product displays, and branded promotional items), public relations and lobbying, and targeted price discounts to offset taxation. Smoking is also frequently portrayed in movies, often placed, supported, and—in some cases—paid for by the tobacco industry despite prohibitions in some countries on the practice; a substantial amount of adolescent smoking initiation in the USA has been attributed to viewing of smoking in movies.18 In the USA alone, the tobacco industry, which has violated civil racketeering laws by deceiving the public about the dangers of cigarettes,19 spends more than US$13 000 million a year on marketing, more than 80% of which is for coupons and other price interventions to counteract taxation.20 Globally, tobacco marketing expenditures probably total tens of billions of dollars annually. Advertising bans called for by the FCTC have the potential to greatly reduce smoking rates, but only if they are comprehensive21 and preclude both direct and indirect advertising and promotion. To be effective, bans should also prohibit price discounts, free samples, and point-of-sale advertising and promotions, including in-store product displays. Countries can also reduce tobacco advertising by not allowing tobacco companies to deduct marketing and promotion as business expenses. Hard-hitting, sustained, antitobacco advertising that emphasises the harmful effects of smoking can be effective.22 In the USA, California and Massachusetts reduced tobacco use substantially with strong antitobacco advertising strategies.23,24 Tobacco companies spend $50 per person every year on advertising and marketing in the USA;20 a 1999 report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that tobacco-control programmes spend annually at least $1 per person for antitobacco advertising.25 Globally, only a minuscule fraction of that amount is spent on antitobacco advertising; even if $1 per person a year were spent worldwide ($6000 million annually), the amount would represent just a small fraction of what the tobacco industry would spend unless tobacco advertising and promotion were restricted. Establishing smoke-free public places protects the public from tobacco smoke pollution, increases the likelihood that workers will quit, enhances awareness of the health threat posed to others by tobacco smoke pollution, and can help to change the image of smoking. Raising awareness of the health risks of second-hand smoke—which happens when smoke-free public places are established by law—also encourages families to voluntarily establish smoke-free homes; this action protects children and other family members and helps smokers to quit.26 Smoking restrictions must be enforced and contain no exemptions; partial bans or separate smoking rooms do not prevent exposure and do not substantially decrease tobacco use.27 Faced with high prices, strong antitobacco advertisements, and the inability to smoke in public places, many smokers will want to quit but most will fail without assistance. Clinical and quitline-based cessation services can double an individual smoker's chance of quitting, are highly cost effective compared with other clinical interventions, and can reduce illness and death.28 Although cessation services reduce smoking rates far less than increasing the price or changing the image of tobacco, they can be important for altering the image of cigarettes and increase the likelihood of implementing the legal changes outlined above. Cessation services should be provided by the clinical-care system, which should itself be smoke-free. Brief doctor's advice to patients who smoke is effective28 but rarely done. Over-the-counter nicotine replacement medicine can be important in helping smokers quit,29 and other methods are effective. Tobacco dependence is generally undertreated; ideally, people trying to quit should use medications in conjunction with as much counselling as possible. Surveillance is important to guide programme implementation and monitor results. Standardised, biomarker-validated definitions of smoking status are needed. Surveillance can also help to assess taxation, smuggling, image, knowledge about tobacco, cessation experience, and other areas. Data are needed for price elasticities in different geographic areas, smuggling prevention, best public-education strategies, and other topics. The tobacco industry will inevitably oppose worldwide antismoking initiatives; its actions need to be identified and countered. In August, 2006, one of us (MRB) announced the formation of a global antismoking initiative to help the world become tobacco-free, with $125 million in initial funding for the first 2 years. This initiative will promote the evidence-based approaches outlined here: increasing taxes and preventing smuggling to raise the price of tobacco; changing the image of tobacco by banning direct and indirect advertising and undertaking hard-hitting antitobacco public-education campaigns; protecting non-smokers from exposure to second-hand smoke; and helping smokers to quit. Programmes in low-income and middle-income countries will: support public-sector efforts to implement these interventions; support advocacy to educate communities and encourage policy change; rigorously monitor the status of global tobacco use and countries' progress in implementation of interventions; and optimise tobacco-control interventions. To put this strategy into practice, the public sector will be supported through international resource centres for advocacy, including legal expertise and health education. The initiative will support WHO to establish a global system to hold countries accountable for effective implementation of tobacco-control policies. A competitively awarded grant programme for low-income and middle-income countries will offer funds of US$50 000–500 000 for up to 2 years, with priority given to countries with the highest burden (particularly China, India, Indonesia, the Russian Federation, and Bangladesh, which together account for nearly half the world's smokers). Systematic surveillance of adult tobacco use will enable effective targeting of interventions and monitoring of their effectiveness. It is an unfortunate fact that this single grant more than doubled total development aid for tobacco control. Other private and public donors are encouraged to join the initiative. Although tobacco is now the world's leading killer, and although the FCTC provides the context for progress in tobacco control, there is currently no technical package for tobacco control, no measurable target, and little funding to reverse the world's leading preventable epidemic. Substantial progress is possible if countries increase tobacco taxes, change the image of tobacco through advertising bans and antitobacco marketing, establish smoke-free places, help smokers to quit, and rigorously assess the implementation of these measures. Government economic interests in tobacco manufacturing and tobacco revenues, and tobacco industry opposition, will make implementation of these strategies challenging. But if global adult smoking prevalence declines to 20% by 2020, at least 100 million fewer people currently alive will be killed prematurely by tobacco. Conflict of interest statement We declare that we have no conflict of interest. Acknowledgments We thank Drew Blakeman, Jennifer Ellis, Kelly Henning, and Julie Myers for assistance with research and review of the manuscript. References 1. Mackay J, Eriksen M, Shafey O. The tobacco atlas. Atlanta: American Cancer Society, 2006:. 2. Seeman I. National mortality followback survey: 1986 summary, United States—vital and health statistics, series 20, no 19. Hyattsville: National Center for Health Statistics, 1992:. 3. Jha P, Peto R, Zatonski W, Boreham J, Jarvis MJ, Lopez AD. Social inequalities in male mortality, and in male mortality from smoking: indirect estimation from national death rates in England and Wales, Poland, and North America. Lancet 2006; 368: 367-370. Abstract | Full Text | Full-Text PDF (80 KB) | CrossRef 4. Jha P, Chaloupka FJ, Moore J, et al. Tobacco addiction In: Jamison DT, Breman JG, Measham AR, eds. Disease control priorities in developing countries. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006: 869-885. 5. WHO. The global plan to stop TB, 2006–2015 (WHO/HTM/STB/2006.35). Geneva: World Health Organization, 2006:. 6. WHO. 2006 report on the global AIDS epidemic (UNAIDS/06.20E.1105). Geneva: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), 2006:. 7. WHO. Strategic orientation paper on prevention and control of malaria (WHO/HTM/MAL/2005.1105). Geneva: World Health Organization, 2005:. 8. Warren CW, Jones NR, Eriksen MP, Asma S. Patterns of global tobacco use in young people and implications for future chronic disease burden in adults. Lancet 2006; 367: 749-753. Abstract | Full Text | Full-Text PDF (93 KB) | CrossRef 9. Peto R, Lopez AD. Future worldwide health effects of current smoking patterns In: Koop CD, Pearson C, Schwarz MR, eds. Critical issues in global health. New York: Jossey-Bass, 2001: 154-161. 10. Mendez D, Warner KE, Courant PN. Has smoking cessation ceased? Expected trends in the prevalence of smoking in the United States. Am J Epidemiol 1998; 148: 249-258. MEDLINE 11. Frieden TR, Mostashari F, Kerker BD, Miller N, Hajat A, Frankel M. Adult tobacco use levels after intensive tobacco control measures: New York City, 2002–2003. Am J Public Health 2005; 95: 1016-1023. MEDLINE | CrossRef 12. Chang C, Leighton J, Mostashari F, McCord C, Frieden TR. The New York City Smoke-Free Air Act: second-hand smoke as a worker health and safety issue. Am J Ind Med 2004; 46: 188-195. MEDLINE | CrossRef 13. Miller N, Frieden TR, Liu SY, et al. Effectiveness of a large-scale distribution programme of free nicotine patches: a prospective evaluation. Lancet 2005; 365: 1849-1854. Abstract | Full Text | Full-Text PDF (95 KB) | CrossRef 14. Mostashari F, Kerker BD, Hajat A, Miller N, Frieden TR. Smoking practices in New York City: the use of a population-based survey to guide policy-making and programming. J Urban Health 2005; 82: 58-70. MEDLINE | CrossRef 15. Chaloupka FJ, Hu T, Warner KE, Jacobs R, Yurekli A. The taxation of tobacco products In: Jha P, Chaloupka FJ, eds. Tobacco control in developing countries. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000: 237-272. 16. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Response to increases in cigarette prices by race/ethnicity, income, and age groups: United States, 1976–1993. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 1998; 47: 605-609. MEDLINE 17. Joossens L, Raw M. Turning off the tap: the real solution to cigarette smuggling. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 2003; 7: 214-222. MEDLINE 18. Dalton MA, Sargent JD, Beach ML, et al. Effect of viewing smoking in movies on adolescent smoking initiation: a cohort study. Lancet 2003; 362: 281-285. Abstract | Full Text | Full-Text PDF (87 KB) | CrossRef 19. United States of America v Philip Morris USA, Inc. et al—F Supp 2d—, no 99–2496 (GK) (DDC Aug 17 2006) Available at: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/do... (accessed Feb 5, 2007).. 20. Federal Trade Commission. Federal Trade Commission cigarette report for 2004 and 2005. Washington: Federal Trade Commission, 2007:. 21. Saffer H, Chaloupka F. The effect of tobacco advertising bans on tobacco consumption. J Health Econ 2000; 19: 1117-1137. MEDLINE | CrossRef 22. Emery S, Wakefield MA, Terry-McElrath Y, et al. Televised state-sponsored antitobacco advertising and youth smoking beliefs and behavior in the United States, 1999–2000. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2005; 159: 639-645. MEDLINE | CrossRef 23. Fichtenberg CM, Glantz SA. Association of the California Tobacco Control Program with declines in cigarette consumption and mortality from heart disease. N Engl J Med 2000; 343: 1772-1777. MEDLINE | CrossRef 24. Biener L, Harris JE, Hamilton W. Impact of the Massachusetts tobacco control programme: population based trend analysis. BMJ 2000; 321: 351-354. MEDLINE | CrossRef 25. CDC. Best practices for comprehensive tobacco control programs. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1999:. 26. Borland R, Yong HH, Cummings KM, Hyland A, Anderson S, Fong GT. Determinants and consequences of smoke-free homes: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey. Tob Control 2006; 15 (Suppl 3): iii42-iii50. CrossRef 27. US Department of Health and Human Services. The health consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke: a report of the Surgeon General. Washington: US Department of Health and Human Services, 2006:. 28. Fiore MC, Bailey WC, Cohen SJ, et al. Treating tobacco use and dependence: clinical practice guideline. Rockville: US Public Health Service, 2000:. 29. Reed MB, Anderson CM, Vaughn JW, Burns DM. The effect of over-the-counter sales of the nicotine patch and nicotine gum on smoking cessation in California. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2005; 14: 2131-2136. MEDLINE | CrossRef

Raising Cigarette Taxes Reduces Smoking

webmaster — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 00:13:52 +0000

RAISING CIGARETTE TAXES REDUCES SMOKING, ESPECIALLY AMONG KIDS (AND THE CIGARETTE COMPANIES KNOW IT) - FULL REPORT HERE The cigarette companies have opposed tobacco tax increases by arguing that raising cigarette prices would not reduce adult or youth smoking. But the companies’ internal documents, disclosed in the tobacco lawsuits, show that they know very well that raising cigarette prices is one of the most effective ways to prevent and reduce smoking, especially among kids.

Philip Morris: Of all the concerns, there is one - taxation - that alarms us the most. While marketing restrictions and public and passive smoking [restrictions] do depress volume, in our experience taxation depresses it much more severely. Our concern for taxation is, therefore, central to our thinking ...
Philip Morris: When the tax goes up, industry loses volume and profits as many smokers cut back.
RJ Reynolds: If prices were 10% higher, 12-17 incidence [the percentage of kids who smoke] would be 11.9% lower.
Philip Morris: It is clear that price has a pronounced effect on the smoking prevalence of teenagers, and that the goals of reducing teenage smoking and balancing the budget would both be served by increasing the Federal excise tax on cigarettes.
Philip Morris: Jeffrey Harris of MIT calculated…that the 1982-83 round of price increases caused two million adults to quit smoking and prevented 600,000 teenagers from starting to smoke…We don’t need to have that happen again.
Philip Morris: A high cigarette price, more than any other cigarette attribute, has the most dramatic impact on the share of the quitting population…price, not tar level, is the main driving force for quitting.

The cigarette companies have even publicly admitted the effectiveness of tax increases to deter smoking in their required filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Philip Morris: Increases in excise and similar taxes have had an adverse impact on sales of cigarettes. Any future increases, the extent of which cannot be predicted, may result in volume declines for the cigarette industry.
Loews/Lorillard Tobacco: Significant increases in federal and state excise taxes on cigarettes . . .have, and are likely to continue to have, an adverse effect on cigarette sales.
R.J. Reynolds: Substantial increases in state and federal excise taxes on cigarettes. . . have had and will likely continue to have an adverse effect on cigarette sales.

Economic Research On Cigarette Tax Increases Reducing Smoking. Numerous economic studies in peer-reviewed journals have documented that cigarette tax or price increases reduce both adult and underage smoking. The general consensus is that every 10 percent increase in the real price of cigarettes reduces overall cigarette consumption by approximately three to five percent, reduces the number of young-adult smokers by 3.5 percent, and reduces the number of kids who smoke by six or seven percent. 8 Research studies have also found that:

Among all adults or all youths, cigarette price increases work even more effectively to prevent and reduce smoking among males, Blacks, Hispanics, pregnant women, and lower-income persons.
Cigarette price increases not only reduce youth smoking but also reduce the number of kids who smoke marijuana and the amount of marijuana consumed by continuing regular users.
Higher taxes on spit tobacco reduce its use, particularly among young males.

New Dangers of Secondhand Smoke

webmaster — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 04:51:59 +0000

By Alice Park - PHYSORG.com Researchers have known that secondhand smoke can be just as dangerous for nonsmokers as smoking is for smokers, but now there's fresh evidence quantifying just how hazardous the after burn from cigarettes can be, and how quickly it affects your body. Scientists at the Oregon Department of Health documented for the first time an hourly buildup of a cancer-causing compound from cigarette smoke in the blood and urine of nonsmokers working in bars and restaurants in the state. Reporting in the American Journal of Public Health, the researchers found that waitstaff and bartenders working a typical night shift gradually accumulated higher levels of NNK, a carcinogen in cigarette smoke, at the rate of 6% each hour they worked. NNK is known to be involved in inducing lung cancer in both lab rats and smokers. "We were somewhat surprised by the immediacy of the effect and the fact that we could measure the average hourly increase," says Michael Stark, the lead author of the study and a principal investigator at the Mulmomah County Health Department in Oregon. Previous studies conducted in homes where one family member smoked, or in work environments where some employees lit up, had found that nonsmokers in these environments on average increased their risk of developing lung cancer, as well as other health conditions such as heart disease and respiratory ailments, by 20%. And the Surgeon General, in a comprehensive report last year on the health effects of secondhand smoke, determined that there is "no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke." But until now, it wasn't clear how quickly the carcinogens became absorbed. The authors are confident that the increases in NNK in the workers they tested most likely came from their exposure to smoke — the study included a control group of similar subjects in restaurants where no smoking was allowed, and these workers showed no differences in the amount of NNK in their urine before and after their shifts. The findings only underscore what public health officials have been arguing for decades — that cordoning off smokers in indoor environments or relying on ventilation systems in restaurants and bars is not enough. "There is experimental evidence from studies where you put nonsmokers in a room, blow smoke into the room and measure their artery function, that you see the platelets get sticky, which can cause clots and lead to a heart attack, and the ability of the arteries to dilate decreases very rapidly," says Dr. Matthew McKenna, director of the office on smoking and public health for the Centers for Disease Control. All of which could mean more time loitering outside buildings and in alleyways for smokers intent on grabbing a puff. Thirteen states now prohibit smoking in restaurants altogether (most of these include bars as well), and while 11 states still put no restrictions on lighting up, individual cities within those states — such as Austin in Texas, for example — have passed legislation banning smoking in eating establishments and other public areas. Many of these regulations are the direct result of grassroots advocacy efforts; "It's been a very effective strategy," says McKenna." If the discussion moves to a centralized place like the state legislatures, opponents can concentrate their efforts and water down the argument for a ban. But if there are 40 municipalities working on smoking bans at the same time, it's difficult for opponents to fight so many battles at the same time." More states are also passing laws to override a loophole — known as a pre-emption — that prevents cities and local municipalities from passing more restrictive laws than the state. It's just getting harder to refute the scientific evidence; in a study done in Scotland several months after that nation instituted a ban on smoking in public places, researchers found that following the ban, bar patrons showed stronger lung capacity and reduced levels of inflammation (a red flag for a number of chronic diseases, including heart disease and asthma). "We made it pretty clear that the science on this is pretty irrefutable," says McKenna. And if smokers have fewer places to smoke, that message may finally get heard.

Particulate Air Pollution Short Term Effects

webmaster — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 04:35:20 +0000

School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have shown that ambient air pollution and smoking are both associated with increased mortality, but until now there has been little evidence as to whether the effects of these 2 factors combined are greater than the sum of their individual effects. We assessed whether smokers are subject to additional mortality risk from air pollution relative to never-smokers. METHODS: This study included 10,833 Chinese men in Hong Kong who died at the age of 30 or above during the period 1 January to 31 December 1998. Relatives who registered for deceased persons were interviewed about the deceased's smoking history and other personal lifestyle factors about 10 years before death. Poisson regression for daily number of deaths was fitted to estimate excess risks per 10 microg/m increase in particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <10 microm (PM10) in male smokers and never-smokers in stratified data, and additional excess risk for smokers relative to never-smokers in combined data. RESULTS: In smokers there was a significant excess risk associated with PM10 for all natural causes and cardio-respiratory diseases for men age 30 years or older and men 65 or older. For all natural causes, greater excess risk associated with PM10 was observed for smokers relative to never-smokers: 1.9% (95% confidence interval = 0.3% to 3.6%) in men age 30 and older and 2.3% (0.4% to 4.3%) in those age 65 and older. CONCLUSIONS: Ambient particulate air pollution is associated with greater excess mortality in male smokers compared with never-smokers.

The Myths And Reality Of Smokefree England

webmaster — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 13:11:13 +0000

Published by ash, October 2007:

As the smoke clears: The myths and reality of Smokefree England In the period leading up to smokefree legislation the hospitality industry and pro smoking organisations claimed the law would spell disaster for their businesses and damage the economy. But what happened in reality? ASH has revisited these claims and assessed the most common scare stories by these organisations, to see what impact the smokefree law has had. Myth: It will be bad for pubs
Pro smoking groups claimed that the smokefree legislation would be bad for business and we would lead to many pubs closing down. The evidence to date from notable pub groups is that the smoking ban has had ‘little impact’ upon their sales. Capital Pubs announced profits and that the ‘smoking ban has had no material impact on business’. 1 Greene King said like-for-like sales were up by 2% in managed houses and 1% in tenanted pubs.2 Punch Tavern shares rose by 2.3% and announced the smoking ban as having ‘little impact upon sales. 3 Mitchells&Butler announced that the smoking ban has not affected UK sales with like-for-like sales increasing by 2.6 per cent.4 Furthermore a recent YouGov survey commissioned by ASH found that 20% of non-smokers reported that they visited pubs more often since the smoking ban. Source of the claim: Freedom2choose Weblink: http://www.freedom2choose.org.uk/ Myth: It will be bad for bingo In the lead up to the smoking ban, pro smoking groups argued that the smokefree legislation was going to be particularly detrimental for both the profitability and long term outcomes of Bingo, with smokers more likely to stay home and use online gaming sites. Reality: Gaming group Rank, which has 86 clubs in England said it was encouraged by performance at its Mecca bingo, with company shares up by 8.75%.5 Myth: There will be large scale non-compliance Critics argued that a total ban on smoking in public places would not be possible to police and there would be large scale non- compliance. Reality: However two independent surveys tell a different story. The first by the Department of Health, released in August, found that 97% of businesses are complying with the new smoking legislation.6 Secondly a YouGov survey recently released by ASH, Asthma UK and the British Thoracic Society found similar results with 97% of pub goers saying they had not smoked in a pub or enclosed space since the ban came into force, while 86% of pub goers said that they had not seen anyone smoking in a pub. The evidence dismisses the arguments by critics surrounding large scale non-compliance. Source of the claim: The Telegraph Weblink: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/03/nsmoke03.xml Myth: There will be heavy handed enforcement with undercover officers and covert filming. Pro smoking organisations and landlords reasoned that the smoking ban would result in heavy handed enforcement, covert filming and armies of undercover enforcement officers. Simon Clarke a FOREST spokesperson argued that it will be like a ‘sledgehammer cracking a nut’ and the British Beer and Pub Association believed that enforcement would be too heavy handed. Reality: What has happened in practice is that council officials have approached the situation as they said they would, in a reasonable manner applying a ‘softly softly’ approach with relatively few fines being issued. Further, Lambeth council have recently reported that they issued their first fine 7 while Staffordshire have yet to issue a single fine8, providing further evidence that these claims were unsubstantiated. Source of the claim: BBC and Forest Weblink: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6346435.stm Myth: Working men’s clubs and shisha bars will close Claims and protests that the smoking ban would result in mass closures of shisha bars and working men’s clubs, threatening the livelihood of the owners were unfounded. Working men’s clubs feared that the smoking ban would see one in five of its clubs closing down following the smoking ban whilst shisha bars argued that they would be unable to operate if smoking was banned in enclosed places. Reality: There have yet to be any reported closures as a result of the ban. Source of the claim: Save the Shisha campaign Weblink: http://savetheshishacampaign.com/page2.htm

Myth: People won’t really quit Reality: The survey by ASH, Asthma UK and the British Thoracic Society found that 12% of smokers have attempted to quit since the 1st July. Primary Care Trusts in Lancashire9, Brighton and Hove, and Barking and Dagenham have all reported a 100% increase in people using stop smoking services.10 Source of the claim: Forest Weblink: http://society.guardian.co.uk/health/story/0,,2079120,00.html Myth: Smoking is a victimless crime/ Claims about the health impact are flawed. Pro smoking groups continue to dispute credible medical evidence regarding the dangers of secondhand smoke and the health consequences of smoking. Reality: Numerous international reports from bodies such as the WHO, IARC and the UK’s Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health found that exposure to secondhand smoke was responsible for an increase in heart disease, lung cancer and reduced lung function.11 Recently released research from Scotland shows that admissions to hospital for heart attacks have declined by 17 per cent since the introduction of the smoking ban in public places. 12 Independent tests and research have also been carried out on bar staff. A BBC investigation tested bar staff prior to the ban and found they had cotinine levels which were the equivalent of smoking 300 cigarettes a year.13 A study in Leicestershire of carbon monoxide levels in non-smoking bar staff found that prior to the ban they had readings between 10 -15 molecules per million air particles, the equivalent to 3 to 5 cigarettes a day. After the ban they had between 0-1 molecules per million air particles, which is the equivalent to that of a non smoker.14 A study by The Tobacco Control Collaborating Centre in Warwick visited 59 pubs, cafes and bingo halls and found staff exposure to harmful secondhand smoke has fallen by 95 per cent since the introduction of smokefree legislation.15 Source of the claim: FOREST Weblink: http://www.forestonline.org/output/page16.asp Myth: House fires will increase as people will stay at home to smoke Preceding the smoking ban, claims were made that the legislation was going to cause people to stay at home and smoke instead of going out to a pub or club and this would result in a greater number of house fires. Reality: There have not been any reports to suggest that smoking related fires have increased. Further evidence that like-for-like sales in pubs have not been affected suggests that smokers have continued to visit pubs. Source of the claim: Direct line Weblink: http://www.directlineinsurance.com/ about_us/news_180407.htm Myth: There will be an increase in exposure of secondhand smoke in the home, affecting children Pro smoking groups argued that we would see an increasing number of people buying alcohol from supermarkets and off licences and drinking and smoking at home instead of pubs, which would result in exposing children to greater levels of secondhand smoke. Reality: The YouGov survey by ASH, Asthma UK and The British Thoracic Society asked those who were exposed to smoke before and after the smoking legislation about their levels of exposure to secondhand smoke at home. The results found that exposure had significantly decreased as the law encouraged people to make homes smokefree. Below is a chart of the results which shows that 41 per cent of respondents said exposure to secondhand smoke was ‘a great deal less’ than prior to the smoking ban. Source of the claim: Freedom2choose Weblink: www.freedom2choose.org.uk Myth: The public do not want a smoking ban or any further tobacco control measures Groups such as freedom2choose argue that the public are not only against the smokefree legislation but they also do not want further tobacco control measures. Reality: However the survey commissioned by ASH, Asthma UK and the British Thoracic Society found that there was strong support for further tobacco control measures with 72 per cent supporting Reduced Ignition Propensity cigarettes (firesafer cigarettes), 63 per cent of people supporting picture warnings and 59 per cent supporting banning cigarette vending machines. Source of the claim: Forest and freedom2choose Weblink: http://www.forestonline.org/output/page315.asp http://www.freedom2choose.org.uk 1 The Caterer, 12 September 2007: http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2007/09/12/316039/smoking-ban-has-had-no-financial-impact-on-capital-pub-co.html 2 The Morning Advertiser, 04 September 2007: http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/news_detail.aspx?articleid=49885 3 The Caterer, 06 September 2007 http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2007/09/06/315936/smoking-ban-no-significant-impact-on-punch.html 4Planet Retail, Food Service News, 28 September 2007 http://www.planetretail.net/FoodServiceNews/NewsFeed.asp#58737 5 The Scotsman, 31 August 2007, http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=1384522007 6 The Department of Health, Smokefree England one month on, 06 August 2007: http://www.gnn.gov.uk/environment/fullDetail.asp?ReleaseID=305420&NewsAreaID=2&NavigatedFromDepartment=False 7 24dash.com – News for the public sector, 24 September 2007, http://www.24dash.com/news/2/27877/index.htm 8 Medical News Today, 27 September 2007 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/83752.php 9 The Lancashire Telegraph, 12 September 2007: http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/display.var.1684321.0.records_numbers_bid_to_quit_smoking.php 10 The Barking and Dagenham Recorder, 06 September 2007: http://www.bdrecorder.co.uk/content/barkinganddagenham/recorder/news/story.aspx?brand=RECOnline&category=newsBarkDag&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsbarkdag&itemid=WeED05%20Sep%202007%2016%3A17%3A42%3A447 11 The Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health, Secondhand Smoke: Review of evidence since 1998 www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_4101475.pdf 12 The Scottish Government, News Release: Smoking ban brings positive results. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2007/09/10081400 13 BBC News, 13 July 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6898124.stm 14Leicester Mercury, 21 August 2007 http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=132384&command=displayContent&sourceNode=133130&contentPK=18155666&folderPk=77458&pNodeId=133088 15 The Telegraph, 01 October 2007 http://news.independent.co.uk/health/article3015291.ece

Cafe Duvet Smoking Experience

webmaster — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 06:57:15 +0000

This letter was sent to Lewis Ho of Hong Kong Resorts International Ltd in regards to smoking concerns at Cafe Duvet in Discovery Bay's Water Margin complex by one of Clear The Air's members, Nigel Bruce.

Dear Mr. Ho, I was informed by a neighbour that the new Cafe Duvet has opened on the raised podium in the Plaza. He told me he had to leave shortly after sitting down, as the cafe was full of people smoking. I was not surprised, as this was sadly to be expected, given your response to my earlier email (see below). You said in that email: "we, as the landlord, are not entitled during the tenancy period to unilaterally impose extra conditions on the own use of the leased premises by the tenants". But this is a new lease, and surely Management now had the opportunity to attempt to carry out a policy to protect residents' health? I find it disappointing in the extreme that you are again failing to take an opportunity to pursue such a policy. Also, when you say: "Having said that, however, we would encourage the individual restaurants to allocate non-smoking areas within their leased premises on a voluntary basis so that both the smoking and non-smoking population can enjoy the superb Water Margin outdoor experience", does this mean that you have not actually entered into any discussions with your tenant restaurants about their smoking policies? Regards, Nigel Bruce

Water Margin OSA Air Quality

webmaster — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 06:41:15 +0000

The following letter was sent to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department over concerns of contamination due to smoking in the outdoor areas of restaurants in Discovery Bay's Water Margin complex.

Dear Sir We are informed the Water Margin OSA is continuing to be used daily by the restaurants since our initial complaint. Neither have we received any update from you as promised in the letter. We reiterate our objection under OSA guidelines for licences to be granted for OSA to these existing premises if smoking is allowed under our previously stated reasons copied below. As regards an application for OSA - Outside Seating Accommodation guidelines : http://www.fehd.gov.hk/howtoseries/forms/new/OSA%20Guide.Eng(4.2006).pdf "The operation of OSA should not create any environmental nuisance (such as water pollution, air quality nuisanceand noise nuisance)." It is quite clear that allowing smoking in partially enclosed and covered outdoor areas like this constitutes an environmental nuisance as regards air quality nuisance to workers , passers by using the walkway who are frequently also children and non smoking patrons alike. Accordingly Clear the Air objects to any current use of the OSA whilst smoking is permitted by the licensees in the OSA area and to any subsequent application by them to include the OSA in their licences under these legal 'air quality nuisance' grounds. In addition, food is carried through and deposited in the OSA to be served to customers : 4. Adequate measures should be taken to protect food from risk of contamination during conveyance to the OSA. The micron sized particles of cancerous environmental cigarette smoke will pass through any type of food service cover and will also contaminate the food when placed on the tables of the OSA for consumption. None of these premises other than McSoreleys has a smoking deferral approval in place. 7. The licensee should comply with the provisions of the laws of Hong Kong The podium has numerous parasols which constitute a cover or roof under Cap 371. As such under Hong Kong laws the employers have a legal duty to protect their workers from unsafe work environments; the lethal dangers of passive cigarette smoke are documented and proven beyond contest, even acknowledged on the major tobacco company websites. " An employer who fails to maintain the workplace in a condition that is, so far as reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health - intentionally, knowingly or recklessly - commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of $200,000 and to imprisonment for 6 months." Chapter: 509 Title: OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ORDINANCE Gazette Number: L.N. 230 of 1998 Section: 6 Heading: Employers to ensure safety and health of employees Version Date: 01/06/1998 Allowing smoking in partially covered area workplaces is definitely not a condition that is 'safe and without risks to health.' kind regards James Middleton Clear the Air

Philip Morris’s Website And Television Commercials

webmaster — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:59:47 +0000

Tobacco Control 2007;16:e9; doi:10.1136/tc.2007.024026 RESEARCH PAPER Philip Morris’s website and television commercials use new language to mislead the public into believing it has changed its stance on smoking and disease Lissy C Friedman Correspondence to: Lissy C Friedman, Public Health Advocacy Institute, 102 The Fenway Cushing Hall, Room 117, Boston, MA 02115, USA; lissy@tplp.org Received 25 October 2007 Accepted 25 October 2007 Abstract: Objectives: This paper analyses Philip Morris’s evolving website and the legal strategies employed in its creation and dissemination. Methods: Internal tobacco documents were searched and examined and their substance verified and triangulated using media accounts, legal and public health research papers, and visits to Philip Morris’s website. Various drafts of website language, as well as informal discussion of the website’s creation, were located in internal Philip Morris documents. I compared website statements pertaining to Philip Morris’s stance on cigarette smoking and disease with statements made in tobacco trials. Results: Philip Morris created and disseminated its website’s message that it agreed that smoking causes disease and is addictive in an effort to sway public opinion, while maintaining in a litigation setting its former position that it cannot be proved that smoking causes disease or is addictive. Conclusions: Philip Morris has not changed its position on smoking and health or addiction in the one arena where it has the most to lose—in the courtroom, under oath. In 1999, Philip Morris, Inc, the largest and most powerful multinational cigarette manufacturer in the world, launched an advertising campaign publicising its new website, which contained information about the harmful effects of smoking. The website included an extraordinary statement that appeared to admit that Philip Morris now believed that the issue of causation between smoking and disease had been proved. It referred viewers to various governmental and public health resources, including the Surgeon General’s Report and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as major public health advocacy organisations such as the American Cancer Society. Moreover, Philip Morris appeared to admit that smoking is addictive, conceding that quitting can be difficult, and referring website users to various cessation resources. The initial reaction from the press, the public and plaintiffs’ litigators was a mixture of guarded optimism, scepticism and incredulity. Was Philip Morris raising the white flag and ready to concede that its products caused the sickness and death of its consumers for more than half a century? Would this perceived concession cause a seismic shift in the products liability landscape, resulting in possibly thousands of plaintiffs’ verdicts that could bankrupt the company? Did Philip Morris intend to set an example for the rest of the tobacco industry and take responsibility for its past bad conduct? A recent study by Balbach et al examined tobacco industry trial testimony and how the tobacco industry misuses its website and advertising campaigns to be a source of specious information for consumers and the public.1 The study found that the information was conveyed without taking any responsibility for the quality, veracity or accuracy of that information, thus allowing the tobacco industry’s witnesses to claim disingenuously that consumers made an "informed choice" to smoke. Balbach et al concluded that this places the "moral responsibility" on the smoker: if the smoker ends up being injured as a result of smoking cigarettes and sues for compensation, then the tobacco industry defendant can claim that the consumer was fully informed yet made the wrong choice, thus shifting the blame away from the tobacco products and their manufacturers to the consumer. This paper will focus on Philip Morris that, of all the major tobacco companies, has made the most visible use of its website with an accompanying advertising campaign supporting its website’s message, at www.philipmorrisusa.com. Extending beyond the specific information provided on the tobacco industry’s websites and the industry’s fluid definition of "truth" and "information," as discussed by Balbach et al, this paper will focus less on the substance of Philip Morris’s website and more on its litigation strategy and how it hoped to use the website to manipulate and deceive juries to influence the outcome of litigation. The paper will demonstrate through trial testimony how plaintiffs’ lawyers repeatedly revealed the deceptive nature of this campaign. It will examine how this litigation strategy may have influenced the verdicts of cases, with several juries finding against Philip Morris and awarding huge punitive damages awards, and in one case a federal judge finding that Philip Morris, along with its tobacco company co-defendants, were racketeers. Unmasking Philip Morris’s deceptive strategy that drove the creation of its website has been and should continue to be a useful tool for plaintiffs’ litigators in holding Philip Morris and other tobacco companies accountable in the arena where it counts most—the courtroom. See the full research paper here: http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/16/6/e9

Blind Eyes Towards Ban

webmaster — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 01:38:02 +0000

By ADRIAN WAN CHUN-HO - Hong Kong Baptist University Though the smoking ban has been in effect for about a year in Hong Kong, smokers are still to be found lighting up in public places. The Tobacco Control Office (TCO) of Department of Health began working round the clock after citizens’ unlawful smoking sprees were found to run rampant when Tobacco Control Inspectors (TCI) and telephone receivers all went off duty. Although implementation has been stepped up, smokers are still found lighting up in many entertainment premises such as game centres, high-rise cafes, internet cafes, karaoke lounges and private clubs in districts such as Mongkok, Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay. Paul Wong Tai-long, a smoker said he smokes only if he sees other people do it in the same place. “People smoke and never get caught. Why should I obey the law?” he questioned, pointing at other smokers in a game station in Hung Hom. Being one of the regulars at the station, he visits three times a week, two hours each time. He said he has seen TCIs check up on smokers only three times since the ban was in place, thus seems rather safe to smoke. A non-smoker named Joey commented in an internet cafe in Mongkok, “[The smokers] are utterly selfish. They disregard the law and disrespect themselves. I don’t like people smoking next to me when I’m having fun here.” As only half of all the internet cafes in Hong Kong are lawabiding, and they charge higher prices. The rest, which offer lower prices, indulge their customers in a smoky and obscure milieu, left Joey with no choice. When filing a complaint to the TCO was suggested, she replied, “I don’t think it is going to be useful. My friends tried. They always say they will investigate.” James Middleton, a member of Clear The Air, a volunteer group committed to combate against air pollution in Hong Kong, commented on the situation, “[The TCO] are massively understaffed. By the time a complaint is made and TCIs get there, the offenders are long gone.” “The government should make use of other employees such as those from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) to enforce the law,” he said. An official from the TCO explained, “Once we receive a complaint, we will investigate the case by obtaining relevant information from the complainant. This is then followed by conducting a field inspection of the alleged premises.” Where smoking is not allowed, ash trays are not supposed to be seen. However, smoke and ash trays are all over the place in a snooker club in Wong Tai Sin. The club manager, who requested anonymity, said it is necessary because if ash trays are not provided, the cigarette ash and butts that customers leave over will catch his club on fire. Mr Li Bo-lung, a client, lighting up in the club, claimed he was only “making use of the facilities provided”. He said, “Don’t ask me why I smoke. Ash trays are provided here. Ask the manager.” When the suggestion was made to remove the ash trays, so that customers can be more aware of the law, the manager said he does not want the carpet damaged by cigarette ends, while puffing away at a cigarette himself. Ash trays are not only seen in that particular club, they are everywhere, sometimes appear in different forms. Some restaurants have adopted a way to get around the law : supplying smaller bowls instead of those obvious ash trays. It begs the question whether venue managers should be liable to a penalty when customers are caught lighting up. Middleton said, “In licensed premises there should be a fine for the licensee if he does not enforce the ban, with loss of his license for subsequent offences.” The TCO official said, “TCIs will liaise with the venue manager to identify any deficiency in anti-smoking measures such as the lack of no-smoking signs, inadequate legal knowledge and insufficient law enforcement skills”. The ban, introduced on January 1, applies to all indoor public places, such as restaurants, workplaces, schools and karaoke lounges. Smoking outdoors, at public beaches, swimming pools, and sports grounds, is also forbidden. In spite of this, about 750 facilities have been given deferment of the ban, thus are allowed to permit smoking on their premises until July 1, 2009. The requirements for being able to defer the ban are minimal at best, with the stated criteria simply calling for no one under the age of 18 being allowed to enter the premise, having an exclusive entrance for clients to enter in by, and an age limit sign prominently displayed in Chinese and English at each entrance. “It’s a laughing stock that any bar or restaurant which applies is granted a smoking exemption, while the law is intended to save lives of the bar and restaurant workers,” Middleton said. According to their website, the TCO has issued altogether 1,975 summonses from 1 January 2007, the day when the ban became effective, to 30 September 2007. Violators are subject to a maximum penalty of $5,000. Venues are not liable to any penalty.

Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs

webmaster — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 11:27:28 +0000

Tobacco* use is the single most preventable cause of death and disease in the United States. People begin using tobacco in early adolescence; almost all first use occurs before age 18. An estimated 45 million American adults currently smoke cigarettes. Annually, cigarette smoking causes approximately 438,000 deaths. For every person who dies from tobacco use, another 20 suffer with at least one serious tobacco-related illness. Half of all long-term smokers die prematurely from smoking-related causes. In 2004, this addiction costs the nation more than $96 billion per year in direct medical expenses as well as more than $97 billion annually in lost productivity. Furthermore, exposure to secondhand smoke causes premature death and disease in nonsmokers. In 2005, the Society of Actuaries estimated that the effects of exposure to secondhand smoke cost the United States $10 billion per year. Nearly 50 years have elapsed since the first Surgeon General’s Advisory Committee concluded: “Cigarette smoking is a health hazard of sufficient importance in the United States to warrant appropriate remedial action.” There now is a robust evidence base about effective interventions. Yet, despite this progress, the United States has not yet achieved the goal of making tobacco use a rare behavior. A 2007 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report presented a blueprint for action to “reduce smoking so substantially that it is no longer a public health problem for our nation.” The twopronged strategy for achieving this goal includes not only strengthening and fully implementing currently proven tobacco control measures, but also changing the regulatory landscape to permit policy innovations. Foremost among the IOM recommendations is that each state should fund a comprehensive tobacco control program at the level recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We know how to end the epidemic. Evidencebased, statewide tobacco control programs that are comprehensive, sustained, and accountable have been shown to reduce smoking rates, tobaccorelated deaths, and diseases caused by smoking. Recommendations that define a comprehensive statewide tobacco control intervention have been provided in the Surgeon General’s reports Reducing Tobacco Use (2000) and The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke (2006), the Task Force for Community Preventive Services’ Guide to Community Preventive Services (2005), IOM’s Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Nation (2007), the Public Health Service’s Clinical Practice Guideline Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence (2000), and the National Institutes of Health’s State-of-the-Science conference Statement Tobacco Use: Prevention, Cessation, and Control (2006) and President’s Cancer Panel Annual Report Promoting Health Lifestyles: Policy, Program and Personal Recommendations for Reducing Cancer Risk (2007). A comprehensive statewide tobacco control program is a coordinated effort to establish smoke-free policies and social norms, to promote and assist tobacco users to quit, and to prevent initiation of tobacco use. This comprehensive approach combines educational, clinical, regulatory, economic, and social strategies. Research has documented the effectiveness of laws and policies in a comprehensive tobacco control effort to protect the public from secondhand smoke exposure, promote cessation, and prevent initiation, including increasing the unit price of tobacco products and implementing smoking bans through policies, regulations, and laws; providing insurance coverage of tobacco use treatment; and limiting minors’ access to tobacco products. Additionally, research has shown greater effectiveness with multi-component intervention efforts that integrate the implementation of programmatic and policy interventions to influence social norms, systems, and networks. This document updates Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs—August 1999. This updated edition describes an integrated programmatic structure for implementing interventions proven to be effective and provides the recommended level of state investment to reach these goals and reduce tobacco use in each state. It is important to recognize that these individual components must work together to produce the synergistic effects of a comprehensive tobacco control program. Based on the evidence of effectiveness documented in scientific literature, the most effective population-based approaches have been defined within the following overarching components: I. State and Community Interventions State and community interventions include supporting and implementing programs and policies to influence societal organizations, systems, and networks that encourage and support individuals to make behavior choices consistent with tobacco-free norms. The social norm change model presumes that durable change occurs through shifts in the social environment, initially or ultimately, at the grassroots level across local communities. State and community interventions unite a range of integrated programmatic activities, including local and statewide policies and programs, chronic disease and tobacco-related disparity elimination initiatives, and interventions specifically aimed at influencing youth. II. Health Communication Interventions An effective state health communication intervention should deliver strategic, culturally appropriate, and high-impact messages in sustained and adequately funded campaigns integrated into the overall state tobacco program effort. Traditional health communication interventions and counter-marketing strategies employ a wide range of efforts, including paid television, radio, billboard, print, and web-based advertising at the state and local levels; media advocacy through public relations efforts, such as press releases, local events, media literacy, and health promotion activities; and efforts to reduce or replace tobacco industry sponsorship and promotions. Innovations in health communication interventions include more focused targeting of specific audiences as well as fostering message development and distribution by the target audience through appropriate channels. III. Cessation Interventions Interventions to increase cessation encompass a broad array of policy, system, and populationbased measures. System-based initiatives should ensure that all patients seen in the health care system are screened for tobacco use, receive brief interventions to help them quit, and are offered more intensive counseling services and FDA-approved cessation medications. Cessation quitlines are effective and have the potential to reach large numbers of tobacco users. Quitlines also serve as a resource for busy health care providers, who provide the brief intervention and discuss medication options and then link tobacco users to quitline cessation services for more intensive counseling. Optimally, quitline counseling should be made available to all tobacco users willing to access the service. IV. Surveillance and Evaluation State surveillance is the process of monitoring tobacco-related attitudes, behaviors, and health outcomes at regular intervals. Statewide surveillance should monitor the achievement of overall program goals. Program evaluation is used to assess the implementation and outcomes of a program, increase efficiency and impact over time, and demonstrate accountability. A comprehensive state tobacco control plan—with well-defined goals; objectives; and short-term, intermediate, and long-term indicators—requires appropriate surveillance and evaluation data systems. Collecting baseline data related to each objective and performance indicator is critical to ensuring that program-related effects can be clearly measured. For this reason, surveillance and evaluation systems must have first priority in the planning process. V. Administration and Management Effective tobacco prevention and control programs require substantial funding to implement, thus making critical the need for sound fiscal management. Internal capacity within a state health department is essential for program sustainability, efficacy, and efficiency. Sufficient capacity enables programs to plan their strategic efforts, provide strong leadership, and foster collaboration between the state and local tobacco control communities. An adequate number of skilled staff is also necessary to provide or facilitate program oversight, technical assistance, and training. The primary objective of the recommended statewide comprehensive tobacco control program is to reduce the personal and societal burden of tobacco-related deaths and illnesses. Research shows that the more states spend on comprehensive tobacco control programs, the greater the reductions in smoking—and the longer states invest in such programs, the greater and faster the impact. States that invest more fully in comprehensive tobacco control programs have seen cigarette sales drop more than twice as much as in the United States as a whole, and smoking prevalence among adults and youth has declined faster as spending for tobacco control programs has increased. In California, home of the longest-running comprehensive tobacco control program, adult smoking rates declined from 22.7% in 1988 to 13.3% in 2006. As a result, compared with the rest of the country, heart disease deaths and lung cancer incidence in California have declined at accelerated rates. Due to the program-related reductions in smoking, lung cancer incidence has been declining four times faster in that state than in the rest of the nation. Among women in California, the rate of lung cancer deaths decreased while it increased in other parts of the country. Because of this accelerated decline, California has the potential to be the first state in which lung cancer is no longer the leading cancer cause of death. Implementing a comprehensive tobacco control program structure at the CDC-recommended levels of investment would have a substantial impact. For example, if each state sustained its recommended level of funding for 5 years, an estimated 5 million fewer people in this country would smoke. As a result, hundreds of thousands of premature tobaccorelated deaths would be prevented. Longer-term investments would have even greater effects. The tobacco use epidemic can be stopped. We know what works, and if we were to fully implement the proven strategies, we could prevent the staggering toll that tobacco takes on our families and in our communities. We could accelerate the declines in cardiovascular mortality, reduce chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and once again make lung cancer a rare disease. If we as a nation fully protected our children from secondhand smoke, more than one million asthma attacks and lung and ear infections in children could be prevented. With sustained implementation of state tobacco control programs and policies (e.g., increases in the unit price of tobacco products), IOM’s best-case scenario of reducing adult tobacco prevalence to 10% by 2025 would be attainable. View the entire document on the Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs here.

Dr. Judith Longstaff Mackay

webmaster — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 04:32:09 +0000

Published in Time Sunday, Nov. 05, 2006

Judith Mackay By Liam Fitzpatrick Dr. Judith Longstaff Mackay is a witty and loquacious Englishwoman, who works as a tobacco-control advocate and senior policy adviser to the World Health Organization (WHO) out of her house in a bucolic Hong Kong suburb. Visitors are shown to a living room that, with its working fireplace and comfortable armchairs, seems to spring from the platonic ideal of a family home. As she pours you a glass of iced water it seems ludicrous to think that a leaked tobacco-industry document once named her as one of the three most dangerous people in the world. Even more absurdly, she has been described by a U.S. smokers' rights group as "a gibbering Satan." Mackay loves this sort of thing. She keeps a list of all the insults that smokers and tobacco executives have leveled at her over the years. The tobacco industry has got it wrong, of course. Mackay isn't merely one of the three most dangerous people. She's probably the most dangerous. Just last week, financial-media tycoon and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that he will donate $125 million to five tobacco-control groups. The lion's share is slated to go to the World Lung Foundation, earmarked for programs in developing countries, over half of which are in Asia. As the foundation's project coordinator, Mackay will determine how that money will be spent. "For many Asian tobacco-control groups, this is the first time they will have had any significant money," she says. Given what Mackay has achieved with negligible funding to date, it's tantalizing to imagine what she will do now with real financial clout. Her biggest triumph so far has been the 2003 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, drawn up between all 192 member states of the WHO and stipulating restrictions on tobacco ads and public smoking. Mackay was instrumental in persuading states to sign it and in framing its provisions. Prior to this, she spent years advising the governments of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam on tobacco-control policies and legislation. A gifted diplomat, she charms her way to the top, exerting influence where it matters most. She's also unafraid of artful compromise. "If a health minister tells me that he can't ban tobacco advertising on TV, then I'll ask them to ban it between 4pm and 8pm, or whatever. They almost always agree." As cigarette firms know, there is no more dangerous weapon in the fight to save smokers' lives than the quiet persuasiveness of Judith Mackay.

The real cost of cigarettes to smokers: $222 a pack

webmaster — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 00:27:54 +0000

Published by Vanderbilt University on the 11th of November 2007:

The real cost of cigarettes to smokers: $222 a pack; Vanderbilt professors estimate the economic effect smoking has on smokers How much does a pack of cigarettes really cost a smoker? While past studies have focused on the cost of cigarette smoking to society, a new report by two Vanderbilt University professors looks at the cost of smoking per pack in terms of the value of the risks to the smoker’s life. University Distinguished Professor of Law, Economics, and Management W. Kip Viscusi and Professor of Law and Economics Joni Hersch found that each pack of cigarettes a man smokes reduces the value of his life by $222. For women, the results are $94 per pack. “The data illustrates that smoking dwarfs almost every other risk people take,” Viscusi said. Viscusi is one of the leading authorities on cost-benefit analysis and the author of Smoke-Filled Rooms: A Post-Mortem on the Tobacco Deal. The study results would seem to differ from Viscusi’s earlier findings that the cost of smoking to society is reduced due to smokers’ earlier deaths. But this study is different because it takes into account the cost to the smokers themselves based on the value smokers put on their own lives rather than the financial costs to society. Previous research only considered the increased risk of dying at the end of life, whereas Viscusi and Hersch take note that smoking increases a person’s chances of dying at any time in his or her life. And, though it seems counterintuitive, the research finds that the value that a 20-year-old places on reducing the risk of death is actually lower than a 50-year-old’s. Although 20-year-olds have more of their life at risk, they are less affluent than 50-year-olds and consequently value safety less. Why is the cost lower for women than for men? Viscusi and Hersch said it’s because men typically earn more than women over their lifetimes and have a greater mortality risk from smoking. While it may be tempting for pundits to use this new analysis as an excuse for higher cigarette taxes, Viscusi said the data serve to reinforce the result that the main costs of smoking are not to society but to the smokers themselves. His past studies of smokers’ risk beliefs show that smokers already overestimate the risk of smoking, but smoke anyway. The question then, said Viscusi, is whether smokers really do like to smoke and also are just more likely to live in the present moment. Despite the current focus on obesity, Viscusi said the bottom line is still that smoking is one of the worst risks people take with their health.

Objection Against Outdoor Smoking in Discovery Bay Restaurants

webmaster — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 06:31:32 +0000

The following letter was sent in reply to concerns by Clear The Air over smoking in the outdoor seating areas of restaurants in Discovery Bay:

12 November, 2007 Dear Mr. James Middleton, Objection against Smoking in the Outside Seating Accommodation of Restaurants at Water Margin Complex, Discovery Bay Thank you for your emails dated 18.8.2007, 19.8.2007, 12.9.2007, 17.10.2007 and 24.10.2007 concerning the captioned. 2. Both applicants and licensees of the food premises in the Water Margin Complex have intention to apply for Outside Seating Accommodation at the location. Some applications have been received and under process by our Licensing Section. Your views have been conveyed to the Licensing Section for information. 3. Our staff will take out appropriate enforcement action should any contravention of laws witness on the spot. 4. Your concern on smoking at the captioned location has also been conveyed to the Tobacco Control Office and Environmental Protection Department for parallel action. 5. For enquiries, please feel free to contact the undersigned or our Health Inspector, Mr. LEE Yuk-chun, at 2852 3142. Yours faithfully, (WONG So-fan) for Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene

Second hand smoke - what is the risk to your health?

webmaster — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 13:20:13 +0000

"Public health officials have concluded that secondhand smoke from cigarettes causes disease, including lung cancer and heart disease, in non-smoking adults, as well as causes conditions in children such as asthma, respiratory infections, cough, wheeze, otitis media (middle ear infection) and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. In addition, public health officials have concluded that secondhand smoke can exacerbate adult asthma and cause eye, throat and nasal irritation." Source: Philip Morris International website

Kicking The Habit

webmaster — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 07:36:39 +0000

OBSERVER: Kicking The Habit Financial Times - Published: Nov 21, 2007 Richemont's plan to quit smoking came too late for one of its directors. The Swiss luxury goods conglomerate this week announced it was considering divesting its stake in British American Tobacco, but not before the group's ties to "Big Tobacco" proved too toxic for Anson Chan, the former chief secretary of Hong Kong who is running in a high-profile December election to become a legislator. Chan, who was only elected to Richemont's board this September, was questioned by local media about her corporate ties on the campaign trail. Richemont announced her resignation last Wednesday, saying Chan thought being on the board would be incompatible with her role as a legislator - that is, if she wins. No word yet on whether Chan, who was the only Asian and one of two women on the board, would return if Richemont manages to kick the habit.

Smoking in Open Air Public Places

webmaster — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 13:37:43 +0000

Clear the Air contends that under existing Hong Kong laws any person who smokes in any open air public place commits several possible offences in addition to the legal obligations of employers and the occupiers of premises under the Occupational Safety workplace legislation. Under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance section 2, it is an offence to litter in public where "deposit", in relation to litter or waste, includes to cast, throw, drop, discharge, scatter or blow such litter or waste; and "litter" includes: any dirt, dust, ashes, paper or refuse; any rubbish or debris; any other offensive, noxious or obnoxious matter; any substance likely to constitute a nuisance. Smoking causes litter and ash falls to the ground and into the air as the cigarette burns. The smoke is lethal, offensive and obnoxious, and causes a nuisance to non-smokers in public places. Dropping butts causes litter and is an obvious offence. Under the Air Pollution Control Ordinance section 10, "nuisance" includes an obnoxious event set out in section 10(2)(h) that includes the deposit of dust or particles of any kind; an objectionable odour; irritation of the eye, nose or skin or any other sensory discomfort. Cigarette smoke in public places is obnoxious to non-smokers, causes the deposit of dust or particles, an objectionable odour to non-smokers and scientifically proven studies show irritation of the nose , asthma attacks and sensory discomfort. Under the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulations section 4, no person shall deposit or cause or permit to be deposited any litter or waste on or in any street or public place. We have yet to see anybody holding a lit cigarette in a portable container to prevent the dust, ash and debris from being deposited in the air, street or public place. Under the Air Pollution Control Ordinance section 2, "air pollution" means an emission of air pollutants which either alone or with another emission of air pollutants is prejudicial to health; or is a nuisance. The lethal dangers to health of tobacco smoke are documented and scientifically proven beyond contest , the smoke is a major nuisance and air pollutant and highly prejudicial to health of innocent persons nearby. Under Chapter 132X Section 10 Food Business Regulations it states: 'Every person engaged in any food business shall, while so engaged, take all such steps as may be reasonably necessary to protect the food from risk of contamination or deterioration, and in particular, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, no person shall- (a) so place, or cause, suffer or permit any other person so to place, any open food as to involve any risk of contamination' Allowing smoking in restaurants whether open air or otherwise will allow the highly toxic micron sized chemicals in cigarette smoke to contaminate any served open or loosely covered food. A summary of a recent Stanford University study on Outdoor Tobacco Smoke is attached herewith for your study. "Our results demonstrate that Outdoor Tobacco Smoke can be high during periods of smoking in locations where persons are near active smokers. Therefore, it is possible for OTS to present a nuisance or hazard under certain conditions. Examples of scenarios where OTS levels might be high include eating dinner with a smoker on an outdoor patio, sitting at a table next to a smoker at a sidewalk cafe, sitting next to a smoker on a park bench, or standing near a smoker outside a building. Children who accompany a smoking parent or guardian may experience substantial exposure. Outdoor restaurant or pub workers who spend a significant portion of their time within a few feet of active smokers are also likely to receive relatively large total OTS exposures over the course of a day, possibly exceeding the EPA 24-hr health standard for fine particles. If one is upwind from a smoker, levels most likely will be negligible. However, if the smoker's position changes or one spends time downwind from a smoker, then moving to a distance of 2 m can reduce the likelihood of experiencing elevated particle exposure because of OTS. Future studies should measure OTS levels for dynamic situations with multiple smokers, including continuous measurements of personal OTS concentrations or biomarker levels for workers in outdoor locations. Support for health-based OTS bans may lie in a potential acute effect on susceptible populations. Short term OTS exposures might be life threatening for high risk persons, because the human cardiovascular system is very sensitive to secondhand smoke.(31) A recent before-and-after smoking ban study showed a decreased chance of myocardial infarction when a ban was in place,(32 ) which suggests that there is an acute risk associated with SHS exposure for persons at increased risk of coronary heart disease or with known coronary artery disease.(33)" Real-Time Measurement of Outdoor Tobacco Smoke Particles Neil E. Klepeis, Wayne R. Ott, and Paul Switzer Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Cigar Show Air Quality

webmaster — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 02:29:39 +0000

Published in the New York Times November 22, 2007 At a Cigar Show, an Air-Quality Scientist Under Deep, Smoky Cover By SARAH KERSHAW The agitators met a few blocks from the target at a secret location, so as not to call attention to the devices in their bags. They synchronized their watches. They reviewed the well-rehearsed game plan: If their bags were searched, the first operative, known as “Researcher 1 (female),” would say the device was for an asthma condition. If she was not allowed into the event with the device, she would activate Plan B: go to the ladies’ room and strap it to her body. The man behind the subterfuge (Researcher 2, male) was Ryan David Kennedy, 34, a scrappy Canadian graduate student with crooked glasses who is studying the impact of tobacco on air quality. He crossed the border at Buffalo on Monday morning and on Tuesday crashed the giant cigar party and trade show sponsored by the publisher of Cigar Aficionado magazine at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. A nonsmoking vegetarian posing as a cigar lover, Mr. Kennedy was nervous. Canadians are, for the most part, known to be earnest, demure and very law-abiding. “I think I’m being watched,” he said before the event, known as the Big Smoke, which drew hundreds of cigar lovers and peddlers into a ballroom on the hotel’s sixth floor. He said he strongly believed his room at the Marriott had been searched. Mr. Kennedy, who holds a master’s degree in environmental science from the University of Waterloo in Ontario and is working on a doctorate in psychology there, soon found himself in the belly of decadence. The ballroom was swarming with stogies — Bolivar, Ashton, Don Tomas and a dozen other brands — whiskey, tequila and exotic dancers. Mr. Kennedy, who has also researched the level of particulate matter produced by smoking tobacco on outdoor patios, and Kerri Ryan (Researcher 1), a friend from college who lives in New York, sneaked their devices in the door. (Mr. Kennedy’s professor used a discretionary fund to cover the costs of the event tickets — $400 each — and other expenses.) A tiny white plastic tube protruding from each of their bags like a hidden microphone took in the air, which was then measured for particles by the device, known as a Sidepak. The device can log 516 minutes of air sampling before the battery runs out, and is a well-established method for detecting dust and smoke. Mr. Kennedy measured the particles in the air on Monday to obtain a baseline before the cigar smokers descended. Then on Tuesday he tested the air inside the ballroom and in various places outside the cigar party — at the elevators, in guest rooms and in the lobby. To log enough data on the air, he would need to stand in one place for 5 or 10 minutes and look busy. If Mr. Kennedy and Ms. Ryan were lurking in one place for too long, perhaps seeming suspicious to security guards, they would say loudly, “We’re waiting for Sally.” It was easy for Mr. Kennedy to prove his thesis: that plumes of cigar smoke lead to high levels of particulate matter in the air. Marriott Hotels announced in July that it was making all of its hotels 100 percent smoke-free, but it has made an exception for the Big Smoke. Opponents of smoking working with Mr. Kennedy said the exception was a glaring violation of the hotel’s own policy. “The event is really a flagrant contradiction to their commitment to their guests and employees,” said Louise Vetter, president of the American Lung Association of the City of New York and a spokeswoman for the New York City Coalition for a Smoke-Free City. “The dangers of secondhand smoke are indisputable, and in New York City it is law to protect workers from secondhand smoke. We applauded Marriott, but to have this event in New York City and to create an exception — there’s no exception for public health.” Under the state law, smoking is banned in most indoor places, including the Marriott ballroom (though there is no legal ban on smoking in guest rooms). But the law allows an exception for tobacco promotional events “where the public is invited for the primary purpose of promoting and sampling tobacco products.” Cigar bars that were open in the city before Dec. 31, 2002, and can prove that they generated at least 10 percent of their gross income from the sale of tobacco products are also exempt; they can extend their registration each year if they continue to meet those criteria and do not expand or change location. Kathleen Duffy, a spokeswoman for Marriott Hotels, said the company was honoring a longstanding contract with the publisher of Cigar Aficionado, Marvin R. Shanken, and had been the host of the Big Smoke at the Marriott Marquis for at least 10 years. “We are not going out and booking smoking events at any of our hotels,” she said. “We did announce we would be smoke-free, but with this client we had an obligation.” She said “we tripled our efforts” to keep the smoke contained, banning smoking outside the ballroom and increasing the filtration in the room, so that the smoke was funneled outside the hotel through air vents. Under Environmental Protection Agency guidelines, air with fewer than 15 micrograms per cubic meter is considered good quality; air with more than 251 micrograms per cubic meter is hazardous. Mr. Kennedy’s preliminary findings showed that the average level of particulate matter in the hotel the day before the event was 8 micrograms per cubic meter, 40 micrograms where he was waiting to get in line for the event and 1,193 micrograms inside the ballroom. About 10 p.m., after one last measurement — “Elevators, 9:44!” Mr. Kennedy said to his assistant — he was bloodshot and stinky, but he declared the experiment a success.

Non-smokers the big winners when it comes to smoking bans

webmaster — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 02:39:48 +0000

Medical Studies/Trials Published: Thursday, 22-Nov-2007 American scientists have found that heart attacks decreased after a smoking ban was imposed but this only applied to non-smokers. Their study suggests that the major benefit of the ban on smoking in public places is being seen in nonsmokers. The researchers from Indiana University say even those with no risk factors for heart disease can still experience heart attacks but after a countywide smoking ban was implemented, hospital admissions for such heart attacks dropped 70 percent for non-smokers, but not for smokers. The researchers conducted the study in order to investigate whether smoking bans led to any changes in hospital admissions for myocardial infarction (MI). They did this by comparing hospital admissions for MI in Monroe County, Indiana, which has had a public smoking ban in place since August 2003, with those in Delaware County, also in Indiana, which has much in common with Monroe Country but does not have a smoking ban. Dong-Chul Seo, lead author and an assistant professor in IU Bloomington's Department of Applied Health Science, says heart attack admissions for smokers saw no similar decline during the study, so the benefits of the ban appear to come more from the reduced exposure to second-hand smoke among non-smokers than from reduced consumption of tobacco among smokers. The study is the first to examine the effect of public smoking bans on heart attacks in non-smokers. Previous studies did not distinguish between non-smokers and smokers when examining the effect of the bans or specifically look at non-smokers who had no risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or previous heart surgery. Experts say exposure to second-hand smoke for just 30 minutes can rapidly increase a person's risk for heart attack, even if they have no risk factors because the smoke, which contains carbon monoxide, causes blood vessels to constrict and reduces the amount of oxygen that can be transported in the blood. The researchers say it is of concern that about half of all non-smoking Americans are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke, even though more than 500 municipalities nationwide have adopted some form of a smoking ban in public places. The study also compared the hospital admissions in Monroe county before and after the smoking ban was adopted and found there was a 70 percent drop in the number of hospital admissions for AMI among non-smoking patients with no history of heart disease. The study is published in the latest issue of the Journal of Drug Education.

Smokers get lung cancer reminder

webmaster — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 02:45:27 +0000

The Sydney Morning Herald November 22, 2007 Victorian health authorities will recycle a confronting anti-smoking campaign, after new research revealed most smokers did not identify lung cancer as a disease they could develop. Research from the Cancer Council Victoria shows that despite smoking accounting for 80 per cent of all lung cancer cases, six in 10 smokers did not mention it when asked to name diseases caused by smoking. The five-year survival rate for lung cancer sufferers is just 11 per cent, and 34 Victorians each week die from the disease, according to the Cancer Council. The council's Professor David Hill said deaths from lung cancer had decreased in recent years, though more specific data was not immediately available. The council and anti-smoking body Quit on Monday relaunched their 23-year-old television advertisement showing a smoker's lung, represented by a sponge, filling with tar and being squeezed out into a beaker. Also, the Victorian government announced an extra $5.6 million boost to anti-smoking marketing. Victorian Premier John Brumby said advertising was proving to be an effective tool in the fight against smoking with 46 per cent of successful quitters listing mass media as a prompt for quitting. The government aims to reduce Victoria's smoking rate from 17.4 per cent to 14 per cent by 2013. Higher targets will be set for disadvantaged groups, including Aborigines, whose smoking rates are higher. The figures show the proportion of smokers who spontaneously identified smoking as a cause of lung cancer had decreased by 25 per cent over three years. Quit executive director Fiona Sharkie said "reinventing" the sponge campaign would help deliver the lung cancer message to a new generation of smokers. "Back in the early 80s there were no distinct trends that we could really identify in smoking rates ... about a third of the population were smokers," Ms Sharkie said. "But the original sponge ad was a real turning point on tobacco control, it was the first time smokers were shown the effects smoking had on their health in a graphic and uncompromising way. "And as a result of that, smoking rates dropped significantly." Victorian Health Minister Daniel Andrews said the data showed more work was needed to stop people smoking and the extra money announced on Monday would bring the government's total expenditure on social marketing and Quit campaigns to $10 million.

Brewer Fuller Sees Through Haze Of Smoking Ban

webmaster — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:30:51 +0000

Pulished by Reuters on the 23rd of November 2007:

By Alastair Sharp LONDON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Fuller, Smith & Turner , one of London's last remaining brewers, said a wet summer and the introduction of a smoking ban had not dented profits, as drinkers stuck with ales and smokers huddled in outside alcoves. "Pubs without smoking are much nicer places to be," Chairman Michael Turner told a press conference. "Long term it is going to be very positive for our trade." The London Pride brewer posted pretax profit of 12.7 million pounds ($26.3 million) in the 26 weeks to Sept. 29, up 16 percent, on revenue up 3 percent to 93.3 million pounds. Shares in Fuller rose more than 8 percent to 600 pence by 1400 GMT, valuing the company at 194 million pounds. Fuller said its own-brand sales rose 4 percent, while foreign beer sales declined 2 percent, as many drinkers turned away from lager in the wet summer. The company estimated it spent 3 million pounds preparing its pubs for the smoking ban by upgrading outside seating and heating, and introducing promotions. RUSSIA CHINA AND JAPAN Fuller exports 10 percent of its beer by volume, primarily to North America and Europe, and has seen strong growth in new markets, particularly Russia, China and Japan. "There is a large demand for good, premium Western brands, and prices aren't that much of an issue," said John Roberts, managing director of the beer division, adding the company was also looking to invest in India. Panmure Gordon analyst Douglas Jack said the results were broadly in line with his expectations, and kept a "buy" rating on the stock and a target price of 840 pence. "With the strongest balance sheet within its peer group, the company is well positioned to make further acquisitions or buy back equity," Jack said in a note. Fuller did not deny such speculation on Friday, with Emeny saying the firm will maintain an acquisition programme that is "dependent on quality pubs being available at suitable prices." (Additional reporting by Marc Jones, Editing by Erica Billingham)

Smoke Free Al Fresco in Discovery Bay

webmaster — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 13:48:12 +0000

See a letter sent to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department before this article was written: Water Margin OSA (Outdoor Seating Area) Air Quality and their reply here: Objection Against Outdoor Smoking in Discovery Bay Restaurants Published in the SCMP on the 25th of November 2007:

Disco Bay eateries feel anti-smokers' wrath Barclay Crawford Anti-smoking campaigners have vowed to continue their action against the popular al fresco dining area Water Margin in Discovery Bay if restaurants do not stop smokers lighting up. Restaurant owners say lobby group Clear the Air's stubborn stand - the group has refused to negotiate on the issue and did not inform owners before appealing against their licences - is against the wishes of residents and if successful would see 150 jobs lost. But the group says it has the law on its side and will keep the pressure on until restaurants ban smoking in outside dining areas. Clear The Air contacted the Sunday Morning Post after learning that residents had managed to stop restaurants above Kowloon Station opening outdoor dining areas. The group objected to outdoor seating licences for the Water Margin restaurants to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department on the grounds that smoking in outdoor venues was "an environmental nuisance" to workers, passers-by, children and non-smoking patrons. "It's unacceptable that people should be smoking in that area where there are so many children," James Middleton, from Clear the Air, said last week. "We will drop our objection if they ban smoking." But Greg Walker, the manager of Koh Tomyums, said restaurateurs were considering legal action against Clear the Air. Mr Walker, who said he was forced to close a Wan Chai restaurant after revenue fell when the government banned smoking indoors this year, said the group was twisting regulations to achieve its aims. "We really object to the way this has been done. They don't come to us first, they just complain about our licences," he said. "We would rather approach this in a low-key way and have patrons ask to move if someone is smoking, or ask the smoker to sit somewhere else. We don't want social change done on our bill." James Norton, a regular at Hemingway's, said Clear the Air was out of step with the rest of the community in Discovery Bay. "They are zealots and most of us do not welcome their behaviour and actions either here or in the rest of Hong Kong," he said.

Tobacco industry uses dangerous additives

webmaster — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:14:56 +0000

Published in The Copenhagen Post on the 26th of November 2007:

Research indicates cigarette makers have increased the risks of smoking by adding chemicals A new study from the Danish Cancer Society charges the tobacco industry with knowingly adding at least 200 different chemicals to its products in order to make it easier for people to smoke. Some of the chemicals also increase the addictive power of nicotine, according to Per Kim Nielsen of the Cancer Society. He added that some of the chemicals are directly harmful to the body. 'We know that smoking causes cancer. But some of these additives increase the risk of developing cancer,' Nielsen told public broadcaster DR. Scandinavian Tobacco, Denmark's largest producer of tobacco products, categorically denied using additives in order to increase the potency of its tobacco products.

Smoking Costs Hong Kong Over $5 Billion Every Year

webmaster — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 02:53:09 +0000

A collaborative research project between University of Hong Kong and University of Queensland School of Public Health Department of Community Medicine University of Hong Kong The first comprehensive assessment of the costs of tobacco in Asia Why is this topic important?

Smoking tobacco affects the health of the smoker and those around the smoker
This effect on health creates costs which are shared by several groups
Knowing the extent of these costs and who pays for them is essential information for policy decision-making

View the complete presentation here: http://tobacco.cleartheair.org.hk/documents/tobacco-costs-asia.pdf

Definition of Tobacco

webmaster — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 03:37:04 +0000

Definition of Tobacco Tobacco is the only legal consumer product and known toxic air contaminant that kills its addicted users and innocent bystanders as collateral damage when used as directed by its makers.

Smoke Pollution at Water Margin, Discovery Bay

webmaster — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 07:10:42 +0000

This letter was sent by Nigel Bruce, a member of Clear The Air Hong Kong, to Lewis Ho and cc'ed to Douglas Louden of Hong Kong Resorts International Ltd in reference to smoking in Discovery Bay's Water Margin Complex.

Dear Mr. Ho, You will have seen the article in Sunday's SCMP. The article omits to mention that an average of 60% of Water Margin tables are outdoors, and rather underestimates the number of Discovery Bay citizens who are fed up with dining through a pall of someone else's smoke. As I have mentioned, the attraction of the Water Margin lies in its outdoor view and ambience - we know we can sit indoors to escape smoke pollution. I happen to be a Clear The Air member who has been seeking discussion rather than confrontation, and who has written to you twice to seek clarification on HKRI's environmental policy re. the combination of smoking and dining it allows to continue on such a large scale. But I have yet to receive a reply. I refer in particular to my question: Also, when you say: "Having said that, however, we would encourage the individual restaurants to allocate non-smoking areas within their leased premises on a voluntary basis so that both the smoking and non-smoking population can enjoy the superb Water Margin outdoor experience", does this mean that you have not actually entered into any discussions with your tenant restaurants about their smoking policies? The restaurants in the Water Margin seem to be offering to discuss compromise (as well as taking legal action against Clear The Air!) - why then does Management not take a lead and open discussions with them, as you suggest they might in your reply of 16th October? Kind regards, Nigel Bruce

Population Attributable Fractions And Costs Of Passive Smoking

webmaster — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 15:08:48 +0000

Sarah M McGhee from the Department of Community Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong has come up with the following statistics in relation to passive smoking and the associated health effects and costs involved in this presentation on: Population Attributable Fractions And Costs Of Passive Smoking.

London's economy boosts Capital Pub Company

webmaster — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 00:11:29 +0000

Published in The Publican on the 27th of November 2007:

By Hamish Champ No sign of a spending downturn in the city, says David Bruce Despite fears of a downturn in consumer spending nationally, London’s ‘micro economy’ helped boost Capital Pub Company’s (CPC) trading in recent months, the group said today. CPC’s chief executive David Bruce said the managed pubco was “lucky to be in the micro economy that is London. We’ve seen no evidence of a consumer downturn nor, with our pubs’ outside facilities, any problems relating to the smoking ban”. He was speaking as the AIM-listed pub operator announced that turnover for the six months to September 29 had grown 36 per cent to £9.2m, with pre-tax profits, excluding profits on disposals, rose 19 per cent to £970,000. Underlying earnings per share grew 11 per cent to 3.65p, while the interim dividend rose five per cent to 1.05p. Acquisitions and "improved performance in the existing esate" were behind the figures, Bruce said. On current trading Bruce said: “In spite of the poor weather, our national football team’s recent performances and the smoking ban we’ve seen no declines in either our food or drink volumes.” CPC acquired four freehold pubs during the period for a total cost of £10.1m, plus it exchanged contracts on another freehold site for £2.2m. It also recently exchanged contracts with Broken Foot Inns on a leasehold site in Kingston-upon-Thames, the Boaters Inns, for £450,000, which it expected to refurbish at a cost of £200,000. “There’s a possibility we can persuade Kingston Borough Council to sell us the freehold [of the Boaters] one day,” Bruce said. He said the group expected the pub to generate net sales of £200,000 per annum, giving a return on capital of around 30 per cent. CPC aimed to double the size of its current 27-stong estate "in the medium term", he added.

Improve Your Health - Quit Smoking

webmaster — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 00:20:54 +0000

Extracted from the article "Health Dept Airs New Anti-Tobacco Ad Campaign" published in medical news today on the 27th of November 2007:

Quitting smoking is the single most important thing you can do for your health There are many health benefits to quitting, and they begin just 24 hours after you stop. In 24 hours - Your chance of heart attack drops. In 2 days - Your ability to smell and taste improves. In 2 to 3 weeks - Your circulation gets better. - You can walk more easily. - Your lung function improves. In 1 month - Your cough, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath decrease. - Your lungs start to repair themselves, reducing the chance of infection. In 1 year - Your risk of heart disease is cut in half. In 5 years - Your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, and esophagus drops by about half. - Your risk of stroke and heart disease begins to decrease In 10 years - Your risk of lung cancer is about half that of continuing smokers. In 15 years - Your risk of heart disease returns to the level of people who have never smoked. Ten ways to make quitting easier 1. Prepare yourself. Make a list of your reasons for quitting and read it often. 2. Pick a quit date. Get rid of ashtrays and lighters, and throw out all cigarettes. 3. Have a smoke-free car and home. It is healthier for others and will help you not smoke. 4. Get support and encouragement. Tell you family, friends, and coworkers that you are quitting and ask for their support. 5. Get a quit buddy. Ask a smoker to quit with you, or find someone who has already quit who you can talk to for support. 6. Notice what makes you want to smoke. Alcohol, coffee, and stress can make you feel like smoking. So can seeing others smoke; ask smokers you know not to light up in front of you. 7. Think about using medications. The nicotine patch or gum, and medications such as Zyban (bupropion) and Chantix (varenicline) greatly reduce your cravings and double your chance of success. Talk to your doctor. 8. Help yourself cope. Drink a lot of water to help with cravings. Exercise to get rid of stress and improve your mood and health; a fast walk often does the trick. 9. Get your mind off smoking. Talk to a friend when you feel like smoking. Get busy with a simple task, eat a healthy snack, take a walk, or chew gum. Stay away from places and situations you associate with smoking. 10. Stay away from that first cigarette. Having even one can make you start up again. Cravings will decrease the longer you don't smoke. If you can quit for 3 months, you'll likely quit for good.

Tobacco Links

webmaster — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 01:47:06 +0000

Chinese Tobacco Links: http://tobaccofreecenter.org/zh/smoke_free_factsresources Smoke-Free Laws - 无烟空气法：基本事实和资源 http://tobaccofreecenter.org/zh/taxation_and_price_factsresources Taxation & Price - 税和价格：基本事实和资源 http://tobaccofreecenter.org/zh/advertising_promotion_factsresources Advertising & Promotion - 广告和促销：事实和资源 Local Tobacco Links: http://www.tco.gov.hk/english/legislation/legislation_so.html HK Government Tobacco Control Office http://www.tco.gov.hk/english/legislation/legislation_dsb2.html#bar List of Qualified Hong Kong Establishments which have a smoking exemption until June 30th 2009 http://www.fehd.gov.hk/licensing/licence-type.html List of licensed general restaurants in Hong Kong http://www.fehd.gov.hk/licensing/licence-grosa.html List of General Restaurant Liquor Licenced pemises in Hong Kong with Outside Seating Accommodation http://www.fehd.gov.hk/licensing/licence-lrrosa.html List of Light Refreshment Liquor Licenced premises in Hong Kong with Outside Seating Accommodatio http://www.govtlab.gov.hk/english/pub_tnrpt.htm Tar and NicotineReport - Government Laboratory International Tobacco Links: http://www.tobaccoatlas.org/default.asp The Tobacco Atlas http://www.who.int/tobacco/tobacco_free_youth/home.html World No Tobacco Day (NEW) http://www.who.int/tobacco/research/smokers_body/en/index.html WHO | The Smoker's Body (NEW) See for yourself some the effects of tobacco use on your health. Poster available online in English, French and Spanish. http://www.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/ Tobacco Control Archives PURPOSE To collect, preserve, and provide access to papers, unpublished documents, and electronic resources relevant to tobacco control http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/ Read the shocking lies and deceit - in Big Tobacco's own mail, faxs and words http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/about/about_collections.jsp#ucbw The Master Settlement Agreement - Hong Kong should pursue similar action http://bat.library.ucsf.edu/ British American Tobacco document archives online http://www.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/batco/ British American Tobacco document archives in Guildford UK online http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/tobacco2/index.htm US Department of Justice - tobacco litigation timeline The defendants are currently adjudged Racketeers (RICO) http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/tobacco2/amended%20opinion.pdf Judge Gladys Kessler's final opinion 1,682 pages http://tobacco.neu.edu/litigation/cases/DOJ/kessler_decision_0806.htm Big Tobacco - adjudicated Racketeers 2006 http://www.tobacco.org/news/ Worldwide news on the tobacco fight http://www.fctc.org/ The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: A Public Health Movement http://www.ashaust.org.au/ Action on Smoking and Health Australia - a fantastic resource on anti tobacco news Clear the Air Hong Kong and ASH Australia co-operate on the provision of news information http://www.newash.org.uk/ash_home.htm Action on Smoking and Health UK - another super resource http://tobaccofreekids.org/ Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids Clear the Air and Tobacco Free Kids have shared information to help fight a Hong Kong trademark case against Big Tobacco http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/sgr_2006/index.htm Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2006 Surgeon General's Report—The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/Factsheets/SmokefreePolicies.htm Smoke-Free Policies Do Not Hurt the Hospitality Industry (October 2006) http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/Factsheets/Ventilation.htm Ventilation Does Not Effectively Protect Nonsmokers from Secondhand Smoke (October 2006) http://www.talktoyourpatients.org/ Don't Be Silent About Smoking - Talk To Your Patients http://www.globalink.org/ Global Tobacco Control http://www.realitycheckny.org/RCNY/rcnyFlash.cfm Reality Check

More Proof Secondhand Smoke Damages Lungs

webmaster — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:52:57 +0000

Published by WebMD on the 27th of November, 2007

More Proof Secondhand Smoke Damages Lungs (WebMD) For the first time, researchers say they have evidence that long-term exposure to secondhand smoke can cause structural damage in the lungs that is indicative of emphysema. Their study also suggests that the modified magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique used to detect the lung damage may be able to spot emphysema long before symptoms occur. The researchers used global helium-3 diffusion MRI to study the lungs of 13 current or former smokers and 45 people who had never smoked. Of the nonsmokers, 22 had heavy exposure to secondhand smoke, meaning they lived with a smoker or worked in a bar for at least a decade. None had symptoms of lung disease. The modified MRI detected signs of early lung damage in 67 percent of smokers and 27 percent of nonsmokers with heavy exposure to secondhand smoke, says researcher Chengbo Wang, Ph.D., of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. In contrast, only 4 percent of nonsmokers who had never smoked and had fewer than 10 years of exposure appeared to have signs of early lung damage, he says. The research was presented here at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Modified MRI Detects Lung Damage Wang tells WebMD that it's long been thought that prolonged exposure to secondhand smoke can cause lung damage and emphysema, but doctors lacked a way to prove it. "Previous methods of detection weren't sensitive enough," he says. Helium-3 diffusion MRI offers more detailed images of the lungs than previous techniques, he says. It works like this: first, helium gas is polarized with a laser; this makes it more visible on MRI. Then, while lying in a conventional MRI scanner, a person inhales the energized helium. In just six seconds, the scanner collects images showing how the helium gas distributes in the tiny air sacs called alveoli in the lung. Prolonged exposure to cigarette smoke causes the walls of the air sacs to break down and the air sacs to become bigger and bigger - early signs of emphysema, Wang says. As a result, helium travels much further in people with enlarged air sacs than in people with healthy alveoli, he explains. "Using helium MRI, we were able to detect microscopic changes suggestive of emphysema in smokers and people exposed to secondhand smoke," Wang says. RSNA spokeswoman Katarzyna Macura, M.D., Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, tells WebMD that the modified MRI needs to be studied in larger numbers of people before it's ready for prime time. "Accessibility and cost are the two big issues that need to be addressed," she says. "Before any recommendations can be made, we need solid data and proof that what we are seeing [on the scan reflects lung changes indicative of emphysema]."

Smokers & passive smokers

webmaster — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 08:00:51 +0000

The death toll from active and passive smoking in Hong Kong is equivalent to 20 aeroplanes each with 350 people crashing each year.

Light Cigarette Lawsuits in the United States: 2007

webmaster — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 02:48:39 +0000

Many smokers and potential smokers believe that light cigarette brands* are less hazardous to their health than standard brands.1 As a result, millions of smokers have switched to light cigarettes instead of attempting to quit.2 For the same reason, light cigarettes are popular among new smokers, particularly youth.3 The truth, however, is that light cigarettes are not safer than other brands and are just as addictive.4 Have these smokers been misled? In 2001, the National Cancer Institute published an analysis of internal industry documents that appeared to show that the cigarette industry knew the truth about light cigarettes, but kept it secret.5 Further evidence of wrongdoing was revealed by the United States Department of Justice’s lawsuit against the leading cigarette manufacturers.6 Federal District Court Judge Gladys Kessler, who presided over the case, made the follow key findings in August of 2006:

For several decades, Defendants have marketed and promoted their low tar brands as being less harmful than conventional cigarettes. That claim is false. . . . By making these false claims, Defendants have given smokers an acceptable alternative to quitting smoking, as well as an excuse for not quitting.7 . . . Defendants’ conduct relating to low tar cigarettes was intended to further their overarching economic goal: to keep smokers smoking; to stop smokers from quitting; to encourage people, especially young people, to start smoking; and to maintain or increase corporate profits.8

Believing they were misled, light cigarette smokers have begun to bring lawsuits against cigarette manufacturers. The manufacturers deny any wrongdoing and are vigorously defending themselves in court. This law synopsis examines light cigarette litigation. Section I provides a brief history of light cigarettes and their marketing. Section II provides an introduction to the ways tobacco litigation advances public health goals. Sections III and IV focus respectively on light cigarette class actions and individual light cigarette lawsuits. Section V discusses some key federalism issues at play in the litigation. Section VI touches on some of Judge Kessler’s findings of fact about the cigarette industry’s marketing of light cigarettes. Key Points:

Cigarettes branded as “light,” “ultra light,” “low tar,” and the like are not designed to deliver less tar or nicotine to the smoker or otherwise reduce harmful exposure to the many toxic chemical compounds in cigarette smoke.
Internal industry documents show that cigarette manufacturers have been aware for many years that light cigarettes expose smokers to just as much tar and nicotine as other brands, but still misled smokers and potential smokers into believing otherwise.
Class action lawsuits alleging that cigarette manufacturers fraudulently misled consumers into believing light cigarettes are less harmful than other brands have been filed in over two dozen states, but only a few of the class actions have been allowed to proceed to trial.
The only light cigarette class action lawsuit to reach trial resulted in a multibillion dollar judgment against Philip Morris, but was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court.
In 2006, a federal judge ruled that leading cigarette manufacturers violated the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ─ in part because of their light cigarette marketing.

Read the entire document on Light Cigarette Lawsuits in the United States here.

Protocol on Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products

webmaster — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 03:09:25 +0000

COMMENTS ON THE TEMPLATE FOR A PROTOCOL ON ILLICIT TRADE IN TOBACCO PRODUCTS Introduction: Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) recognize, in Article 15.1, that the elimination of all forms of illicit trade in tobacco products, including smuggling, illicit manufacturing and counterfeiting, is an essential component of global tobacco control. Illicit trade in tobacco products undermines high tobacco taxation policy, which evidence shows is one of the most effective ways to reduce tobacco consumption,1 and deprives governments of billions of dollars in taxation, thereby reducing the funding available for public health and other policies. In addition to being a major health problem, illicit trade in tobacco products poses a significant threat to the maintenance of law and order. There is evidence that illicit trade in tobacco products is carried out by organized transnational criminal groups, and that money gained from illicit trade in tobacco products is used for other serious criminal enterprises, including terrorist operations.2 The Framework Convention Alliance (FCA) estimates that the global illicit cigarette trade represents approximately 10.7% of global sales, or 600 billion cigarettes annually, and that losses to government revenue as a result of illicit trade in tobacco products total approximately $US 40 to 50 billion annually.3 Illicit trade in tobacco products is a transnational problem, the resolution of which will require international cooperation. While Parties to the FCTC have already accepted important obligations with respect to illicit trade in Article 15 of the Convention, an effective approach to the problem will require Parties to commit to the implementation of additional measures, including a comprehensive system of international cooperation. The need to supplement the provisions of Article 15 with additional commitments was recognized by the first session of the Conference of the Parties to the FCTC (COP-1), which noted ‘the need to further develop the obligations set out in Article 15 in an internationally binding legal instrument’,4 and decided to establish an expert group to prepare a template for a protocol on illicit trade, to be presented to its second session (COP-2).5 At COP-2, the Parties to the FCTC decided to establish an intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) to draft and negotiate a protocol on illicit trade.6 The decision recognised that the template prepared by the expert group establishes a basis for initiating the negotiations by the INB. As such, it invited Parties and accredited intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations to provide comments on the template, at the latest three months prior to the first session of the INB. In its capacity as an accredited nongovernmental organization, representing over 300 nongovernmental organizations from more than 100 countries, the FCA submits these comments in support of the template prepared by the expert group. The content of the template: key elements of a protocol on illicit trade On the basis of a firm recognition that illicit trade in tobacco products ‘significantly contributes to the global death and disease burden caused by tobacco consumption by making cigarettes cheaper, more accessible and more difficult to regulate’,7 the template prepared by the expert group recommends the adoption of a protocol to the FCTC under which Parties agree to implement a comprehensive set of measures – at both the domestic and international levels – to combat illicit trade. Key elements of a protocol, as identified in the template, include:

measures dealing with control of the tobacco product supply chain, including tracking and tracing of tobacco products, licensing of participants in the tobacco business, obligations on tobacco manufacturers to control the supply chain for their products, record keeping obligations, anti-money laundering measures, and restrictions on internet sales of tobacco products;
measures dealing with criminalization and enforcement, including establishment of offences, sanctions and penalties, search, seizure, tracing, freezing, confiscation, destruction and disposal, enhanced law enforcement capacity, special enforcement techniques, and establishment of jurisdiction; and
international cooperative measures, including information sharing, cooperation in scientific, technical and technological matters, cooperation in training, cooperation in respect of investigation and prosecution of offences, mutual legal and administrative assistance, and extradition.

The template also discusses a number of significant measures which may support the core commitments proposed, including public awareness raising and an appropriate institutional framework to support the protocol and its implementation (including financial resources and implementation mechanisms such as reporting and compliance monitoring). Each of the measures identified in the template prepared by the expert group will be significant in an effective protocol to combat illicit trade in tobacco products. The rationale for the inclusion of each of these measures, and the content which should be considered for inclusion in a protocol, is discussed below. See the entire Framework Convention Alliance 'Comments on the template for a protocol on illicit trade in tobacco products' here.

Combating The Illicit Trade In Tobacco Products

webmaster — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 03:24:32 +0000

See why a protocol to the WHO-FCTC is needed on Combating The Illicit Trade In Tobacco Products here.

Successful Implementation of Smoking Bans

webmaster — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 02:00:32 +0000

Stop smoking NHS clinics 'work' NHS 'stop smoking' clinics have been hailed a success after figures showed particular progress in deprived areas. The study found 8.8% of smokers in poorer areas had quit at the four-week mark, compared to 7.8% elsewhere. The comparison is particularly relevant as smoking is a key factor in health inequalities with those from deprived backgrounds more likely to smoke. The Bath University-led team compiled the data from the 1.5m people using the clinics in England from 2003 to 2006. Smoking cessation clinics, offering counselling and treatment in the form of nicotine replacement therapy, were set up in 1999.

"This study shows that extra NHS cash really has managed to get more people to stop smoking" Tim Crayford, of the Association of Directors of Public Health

Lead researcher Dr Linda Bault, who worked with experts from Edinburgh University, said: "Our study shows that the NHS stop smoking services are helping to reduce the health gap between rich and poor, which is good news for the overall health of the nation." But she added stop smoking services had to be accompanied by the continued successful implementation of smoking bans and rises in tobacco prices to have a wider effect. The study, published in the Tobacco Control journal, compared data from smokers who accessed services in officially designated disadvantaged areas, called spearhead areas which have received extra funds and cover just over a quarter of the population, and compared them with other areas of the country. The study found that quit rates were slightly lower for smokers from spearhead areas, at 53% at four weeks compared with 58% elsewhere. 'Good news' But it added the services were treating them in larger numbers as a proportion of overall smokers than their more affluent neighbours, 17% compared with 13% elsewhere. The overall effect was that a higher proportion of smokers in the more disadvantaged areas were successful in quitting. Although previous research has shown that of those who quit after a month, less than one in four were still not smoking by the year-mark. Tim Crayford, of the Association of Directors of Public Health, said: "This study shows that extra NHS cash really has managed to get more people to stop smoking. That is good news for the health of the country. "Better still, the NHS has worked with smokers from deprived communities, and this will reduce health inequalities." He called for more money to be put into NHS services after recent predictions show the health service was heading for a £1.8bn surplus this year. A Department of Health spokeswoman said NHS smoking cessation services had been "highly effective". And she added: "Narrowing the inequalities gap is a major challenge, but it is achievable." Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7127193.stm Published: 2007/12/05 02:12:13 GMT

No Smoking Area Research Paper

webmaster — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 04:39:58 +0000

Designated ‘‘no smoking’’ areas provide from partial to no protection from environmental tobacco smoke T Cains, S Cannata, R Poulos, M J Ferson and B W Stewart The full research paper can be downloaded here: No Smoking Area Research Paper Objective: To determine the efficacy of designated ‘‘no smoking’’ areas in the hospitality industry as a means of providing protection from environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), and whether certain design features assist in achieving this end. Methodology: In the greater metropolitan region of Sydney, a representative group of 17 social and gaming clubs, licensed to serve alcoholic beverages and in which, apart from designated areas, smoking occurs, agreed to participate. In each establishment, simultaneous single measurements of atmospheric nicotine, particulate matter (10 mm; PM10) and carbon dioxide (CO2) levels were measured in a general use area and in a designated ‘‘no smoking’’ area during times of normal operation, together with the levels in outdoor air (PM10 and CO2 only). Analyses were made of these data to assess the extent to which persons using the ‘‘no smoking’’ areas were protected from exposure to ETS. Results: By comparison with levels in general use areas, nicotine and particulate matter levels were significantly less in the ‘‘no smoking’’ areas, but were still readily detectable at higher than ambient levels. For nicotine, mean (SD) levels were 100.5 (45.3) mg/m3 in the areas where smoking occurred and 41.3 (16.1) mg/m3 in the ‘‘no smoking’’ areas. Corresponding PM10 levels were 460 (196) mg/m3 and 210 (210) mg/m3, while outdoor levels were 61 (23) mg/m3. The reduction in pollutants achieved through a separate room being designated ‘‘no smoking’’ was only marginally better than the reduction achieved when a ‘‘no smoking’’ area was contiguous with a smoking area. CO2 levels were relatively uninformative. Conclusion: Provision of designated ‘‘no smoking’’ areas in licensed (gaming) clubs in New South Wales, Australia, provides, at best, partial protection from ETS—typically about a 50% reduction in exposure. The protection afforded is less than users might reasonably have understood and is not comparable with protection afforded by prohibiting smoking on the premises.

Licensing Scheme For Tobacco Sales in Hong Kong?

webmaster — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 04:58:04 +0000

Breaking down Big Tobacco Article Launched: 12/05/2007 08:17:50 PM PST WHAT'S the No. 1 product sold at your local convenience store? Milk? Beer? No and no. Guess again. Lottery tickets? Guess again. OK, give up? It's cigarettes. Convenience stores in the U.S. last year sold $56 billion worth of cigarettes, accounting for 35 percent of their sales, according to the Center for Tobacco Policy and Organizing's 2007 State of the Industry Report. Why are we telling you this? Because the county of Los Angeles is considering establishing a licensing policy for tobacco sellers that strikes at the heart of the convenience stores' bread and butter. Frankly, the convenience stores are scared to death of such an arrangement because it would lead to a long-overdue tobacco-sales enforcement program that would clamp down on sales to minors. Considering the cost of tobacco use to residents' health, local hospitals and taxpayers (Medi-Cal and other entitlements), this figures to be a worthwhile county program. In LA County alone, the health care cost from diseases that are tobacco-related is $2.7 billion. Any drop in sales - especially to minors - would be good for the county and its residents. Already, some cities police tobacco sales run through convenience stores. Usually, studies show, it sends scofflaws into stores located in county unincorporated areas. The county's proposed $235-a-year license fee - set for a Dec. 11 vote by the Board of Supervisors - would help shore up this illegal tobacco loophole in unincorporated areas such as Altadena, Rowland Heights, Valinda, Hacienda Heights, etc.. For example, since Pasadena began levying a tobacco sales license fee on stores within its city limits, it has resulted in greater enforcement. Retailers selling cigarettes to minors (that's illegal, by the way) quickly dropped from 23 percent of retailers in Pasadena to 6 percent. And recently that has gone down to zero, according to testimony given to the county Board of Supervisors from Statice Wilmore who oversees Pasadena's program. However, the problem may have moved. According to Day One, a nonprofit group in the west San Gabriel Valley, stings they've conducted using underage patrons found convenience store clerks more than willing to sell them cigarettes. The county figures that more than 30 percent of retailers sell cigarettes to minors. Day One's 15-year-old decoy from Pasadena High School said stores in county areas such as Altadena would ask for her ID, realize she was a minor, but sell her the pack of smokes anyway. Talk about flaunting the law. This is right up Big Tobacco's alley: Getting more of our young people hooked on cigarettes. It's time to break up the axis of death between Big Tobacco and convenience stores. Because there's nothing convenient about lung cancer and heart disease.

What Do You Think Of The Smoking Ban?

webmaster — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:47:37 +0000

Dec 05, 2007 - SCMP It is unbelievable and embarrassing to read legislator Tommy Cheung Yu-yan's claim that it is a human "need" to keep smoking, and that no law should ignore that need. (Talkback, May 14). His letter shows that he is still out of touch with reality, and is simply trying to hold on as long as possible to the support of the threatened tobacco lobby. His main constituency is the catering industry, and part of the reason for his claim that the recent smoking ban is painful to some of his members is because the government has yet again failed to live up to its moral obligations. Smoke is a pollutant, and it also happens to be cancer-causing, not only to those who smoke but also to bystanders who inhale the exhaust from those who disregard themselves and others in their surroundings. In every city in the world that has - out of moral civic duty - installed a smoking ban, the catering industry has actually benefited. The majority of the world is non-smoking, yet smokers end up ruining it for the rest of us, and we therefore do not patronise the venues which allow smoking. The catering industry should therefore benefit by catering to the majority. This is not rocket science. The government's weak stance to allow exemptions to the smoking ban has caused Mr Cheung's constituents to lose out because there is not a level playing field. If the government had done what was right for its citizens, and protected them from pollution and significant health risks, as the smoking ban was meant to do, then every catering establishment would have been equal. In an equal world, they can compete based on the quality of their food and service, which is what their main business is meant to be in the first place. Customers will not stop eating just because the venues which allow them to carry out their "need" to smoke have been changed. Instead, the majority of the population, which the government seems to keep forgetting, can come out to eat because they can breathe. An economic analysis of these benefits is something Mr Cheung needs to carry out. K. Lim, Wan Chai

Smoking Costs Over 6.5% Of National Income To Nations

webmaster — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 05:25:47 +0000

6 Dec, 2007, 1138 hrs IST, PTI - The Economic Times NEW YORK: Love for nicotine is weighing heavily on developing nations with top ten smoker countries losing more than $30 billion annually which is more than 6.5 per cent of their gross national income (GNI). The top ten smokers countries, identified by Forbes magazine include Kenya, Turkey, Namibia, Yemen, Guinea, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Mongolia, Nauru and Sao Tome and Principe. Thanks to celebrity activism and widespread media attention, the magazine notes, HIV, malaria and starvation are well-known diseases of the third world. But there's another resource-draining plague afflicting these countries - smoking. While the smoking population is half what it was a generation ago in the US and other industrialised nations, with only one in five using tobacco, it's different in Africa and East Asia, where time stands still when it comes to cigarettes, it says. Smoking rates of 40 per cent or more of the population are common in these regions and medical services are limited. In Turkey, for example, 44 per cent of its 71.5 million population smokes, draining USD 22.4 billion annually which accounts for 5.8 per cent of its GNI of 384.3 billion dollars. Around 45 per cent of Yemen's population smokes costing $1 billion to its economy annually and accounts for 6.2 per cent of GNI. Societal costs in those countries, Forbes says, can't be calculated the same way they would be in the US, where most studies measure how much smokers burden taxpayers with extra medicare and medicaid payments. For poor countries, there is no medicare-like programme to fund. Nor is there enough data about the economic impact of other diseases to make real comparisons. Tom Glynn, Director of International Care Control for the American Cancer Society has been quoted as saying. "In Africa, these health care systems don't exist, at least not in the form we're used to," Only Kenya, he says of Africa's low income nations, has a medical care system that reasonably resembles that of the western world. Most studies conclude a cigarette costs 10 minutes of life, so a pack-a-day smoker (20 cigarettes a day) loses 13.9 per cent of a year to the habit over the long haul, the magazine notes. In Namibia, where half of the country's two million citizens smoke, the average income is about $3,230 a year, according to the World Bank. The habit drains about USD 448.61 per year in lost income. Multiplied by just over 1 million smokers, it adds up to $461 million in income losses nationwide, or 6.9 per cent of the country's $6.6 million total. The average lifespan in Namibia is 47, meaning that many people are losing a lot of prime earning years. And while smoking is hardly the only reason--low income nations have many variables affecting life expectancy--the habit has always been picked up most heavily by the less well-to-do, adding to the health and earning problems even more, it adds. Guinea, Kenya, Namibia and Yemen, which together average $1,245 in gross national income per capita, are all among the 10 heaviest smoking countries in the world. The Gross National Income in Nauru, which tops the list, is $5,000 per capita, of which a smoker can expect to lose an average of $694 over his working life. Over the full population, the national annual income of $67.6 million would be $5.1 million or 7.5 per cent higher if the 54 per cent of the citizens who smoke didn't lose a portion of their earning years.

Tobacco Kills 100 Million

webmaster — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 23:56:16 +0000

Public Health and Cancer Prevention: Success and Future Challenges in Cancer Policy WEBWIRE – Saturday, December 08, 2007 PHILADELPHIA - Medical research has revealed much about cancer prevention, but is the information reaching all Americans, and are they acting on it? Today, at the American Association for Cancer Research’s Sixth Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, being held from December 5 to 8 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, researchers explore the question of how best to translate cancer prevention science into public health policy. Quitting smoking and inoculation with the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine are two ways that major segments of the general population can drastically lower their risk of developing certain cancers, yet researchers have found that these messages are not necessarily translating into action by the public. Policies to reduce tobacco harm: What works? Abstract no. A29 To discourage cigarette use, the strategies that are working best on a global basis are to

use large graphic package warning labels,
ban cigarette advertising,
institute smoke-free policies,
increase cigarette prices and
implement methods to prevent smuggling and counterfeiting of tobacco products,

say researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute involved in an International Tobacco Control (ITC) Policy Evaluation study. What hasn’t worked as well as hoped is mandating tar and nicotine levels in cigarettes, they add. The researchers have been investigating progress on controlling tobacco use from the ongoing Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the treaty devoted to improving public health put forth by the World Health Organization. The FCTC was adopted by WHO’s member states in May, 2003, and became legally binding for those countries that ratified the treaty in 2005. To date, 151 countries have done so, and are thus required to implement the policies within three years. "For the first time ever, we are beginning to scientifically assess which governmental tobacco control policies are working and which ones are not" said K. Michael Cummings, Ph.D., MPH, chair of the Department of Health Behavior at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. "In the same way that evidence-based medicine has been built from rigorous evaluation of treatment options, our goal is to contribute to the development of a sound science base for tobacco control policies" The ITC serves to study which policies are working best in countries that have imposed restrictions, says Cummings. Cummings started the study in four countries in 2002 with a $1.5 million grant from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, and to date, $35 million has been raised to expand the research into 15 countries, utilizing the aid of 60 investigators from 17 research institutes. Because randomized clinical trials can’t be used to evaluate government policies, the ITC study uses as controls those countries that have implemented tobacco control policies and compares the effects on tobacco use behaviors in countries that have not, such as the United States. It is tracking tobacco use behaviors of 1,000 to 2,000 participants in each of the countries, Cummings says. "This is a new model for global public health research that can be used to evaluate other public health policies such as HIV, diet, and cancer screening" he said. "It made sense for WHO to start off with tobacco as a focal point for action since tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the world today and is a growing epidemic in the developing world" he said. Tobacco use was responsible for 100 million deaths in the 20th century, and that number is expected to grow to 1 billion in the 21st century, he says. ITC researchers have found that boosting tobacco taxes, comprehensive advertising bans, smoke-free laws, and strengthening cigarette package warnings is an effective recipe for reducing tobacco consumption. "Our research on package warnings has revealed that these warnings, especially if they are large and graphic, are more effective than anyone realized, especially in poorer countries that can’t afford expensive counter-marketing campaigns" he said. An example of a policy that hasn’t worked, Cummings says, is the European Union’s (EU) establishment of maximum emission standards for tar and nicotine. The goal was to make cigarettes less toxic, but the testing method adopted by the EU was flawed and cigarette makers increased filter ventilation to get around the new rules. Actual exposure to toxins didn’t change. "The well intentioned, but flawed EU policy has given smokers the false illusion that their cigarettes deliver less tar and nicotine, when they don’t" he said. The ITC has also established the first international cigarette repository, which currently holds 10,000 cigarette pack varieties from 15 different countries. This research shows that tobacco manufacturers alter their products frequently without revealing that they are doing so, he says. "Foods and drugs are regulated so that consumers are informed when the products are altered. The same should be true for tobacco products" Cummings said.

Nicotine Addiction Controlled By Influencing Brain Mechanisms?

webmaster — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 05:20:31 +0000

American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Study suggests nicotine addiction might be controlled by influencing brain mechanisms Findings provide possible clues to addiction in humans, animals Boca Raton, FL, December 8, 2007 –There is a clear link between GABA – a chemical substance of the central nervous system that inhibits neurons in the brain – and nicotine dependence, according to a study presented today at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) annual meeting. Researchers discovered that nicotine has significant effects on brain GABA, a finding which could potentially help curb the pleasurable effects of nicotine and help people break their addiction to it. “We found that GABA may provide a very useful target for nicotine addiction therapies,” said Graeme Mason, Ph.D., associate professor in the Magnetic Resonance Research Center in the Departments of Diagnostic Radiology and Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine and an ACNP member. “GABA is just one of a complex network of actors that promotes addiction, and we’re hoping that this research will ultimately lead us to ways to help people quit smoking.” Mason sought to discover whether the enjoyable effects associated with smoking could be reduced in some way. When people use nicotine they may experience a sensation of reward, diminished anxiety, or a belief that they can focus more clearly or learn more easily. Researchers wanted to explore how a specific type of neuron that releases dopamine, a chemical that has been associated with pleasure, can prolong and intensify the pleasurable effects of nicotine. Although GABA inhibits those neurons, nicotine works against the ability of GABA to inhibit dopamine neurons after about 20 minutes, so the gratifying effects of nicotine are prolonged. Researchers gave people who smoked regularly nicotine inhalers that deliver the same amount of the drug as in one cigarette. The amount of GABA in the subjects’ brains rose about 10%, but the brain was found to make GABA four times faster after using the inhalers, and the rate of new GABA generation remained high for at least 45 minutes. In other words, keeping the supply of GABA levels high has the potential to reduce the pleasurable effects of smoking, in terms of duration and intensity. “While GABA is probably not the root of nicotine addiction, it is part of a complex network of actors that are involved in addiction,” Mason says. Another study presented at the ACNP annual meeting which explored the role of GABA, genetics and environmental factors in smoking found that tobacco addiction is at least 50% determined by genetics. For this reason, researchers may be able to identify individuals who are vulnerable to nicotine dependence, and then implement prevention strategies accordingly. For this study, Ming Li, Ph.D., Professor of Genetics in Psychiatry and Neurosciences at the University of Virginia recruited more than 2000 participants representing more than 600 families of smokers. They examined different regions on various chromosomes that showed linkage to nicotine addiction. Then they searched for susceptibility genes within these regions that appear to be associated with addiction. Some of these are the GABA-B receptor subunit 2 (GABAB2) gene on chromosome 9, and the GABA-A receptor-associated protein (GABARAP) gene on chromosome 17. Li says the research could have significant public health implications because it could help curb smoking rates since researchers may be able to predict who is more prone to nicotine addiction. Tobacco is one of the most widely used substances; it kills more than 435,000 Americans each year, and despite increasing public awareness of the health risks associated with its use, little reduction in smoking prevalence has been achieved nationwide in recent years.

Smoking Ban Opportunity Missed

webmaster — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 23:56:14 +0000

Smoking ban 'bungled quit goal' Anita Lam Updated on Dec 11, 2007 The government missed a golden opportunity to help smokers quit when the smoking ban was introduced almost a year ago, campaigners say. The comments yesterday followed a poll that found that since the smoking ban was imposed on January 1, nearly one in seven smokers had little idea of what could help them quit apart from will-power. Some 43.8 per cent said air quality was better and 37.1 per cent said the ban had cut involuntary inhalation of second-hand smoke. But 72.2 per cent of non-smokers said promotion of cessation services was inadequate and free anti-smoking drugs should be offered. The Alliance for Patients' Mutual Help Organisations and Quit-Winners Club interviewed 1,004 people. Homer Tso Wei-kwok, chairman of the Council on Smoking and Health, said the government had missed the best chance to convert smokers. "For many smokers, the will to quit is momentary." He said finance was also an obstacle, with a complete course of nicotine chewing gums and patches costing up to HK$3,000. Health Department clinics offer free anti-smoking drugs to people on the dole, but only samples or limited doses are provided to others. Lo Wing-lok, chairman of People's Health Action, said authorities should at least subsidise medication for the poor, and heavy smokers.

webmaster — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 01:16:49 +0000

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ____________________________________ ) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) C.A. No. 99-CV-02496 (GK) ) PHILIP MORRIS USA, INC. f/k/a ) PHILIP MORRIS INCORPORATED, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) ____________________________________ ) MOTION BY CLEAR THE AIR TO APPEAR AS AMICI CURIAE IN OPPOSITION TO CERTAIN DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR CLARIFICATION OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE FOR RELIEF UNDER RULES 52, 59 AND 60 WITH RESPECT TO THE COURT’S AUGUST 17, 2006 ORDER Clear The Air respectfully requests that this Court grant it leave to appear as amicus curiae in opposition to the motion by the defendants for “clarification that the Court does not intend that certain aspects of the Order — i.e., those provisions prohibiting the use of descriptors and those requiring corrective statements at retail point-of-sale — apply to sales wholly outside the United States.” A description of Clear The Air and the bases for granting it leave to appear as amicus curiae are set forth below. The Amicus brief is attached hereto as Exhibit 1. Description Clear The Air is an anti-air pollution non-profit group in Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. Clear The Air is committed to the introduction and implementation of measures to significantly reduce air pollution in Hong Kong. Clear The Air has identified tobacco smoke as one of the major causes of air pollution that is making people sick in Hong Kong, including US citizens. This pollution harms people through both active and passive smoking. Bases How many people die of tobacco smoke in Hong Kong?  Smoking kills 5,700 persons per year, 19% by passive smoking.  Smoking accounts for 90% of lung cancer deaths in men, and more than 30% of all cancer deaths.  In 2000, almost 34,500 people required hospitalization due to illnesses from smoking. Our Chairperson and many Clear The Air members are US citizens and therefore members of the US public. Any decision by a US court that withholds protection from US citizens visiting and living abroad is of particular interest to us. There are over 50,000 US citizens living in Hong Kong2. Over a million US residents arrived in Hong Kong as tourists in 2005.3 US citizens abroad are entitled to protection by the US Government.4 “Americans at home and abroad face threats to their physical and economic well-being. The State Department protects our nation, its people, and our prosperity by helping to:  Protect and assist American citizens who travel, conduct business, and live abroad. “ To effectively reduce air pollution you must do so at the source. If fewer children start smoking, and more children and adults stop smoking because they no longer believe that they are smoking “healthy” cigarette, then we believe we will reduce tobacco smoke pollution and the health impact on US citizens in Hong Kong.

1 Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health - http://www.smokefree.hk/cosh/ccs/detail.xml?lang=en&fldrid=193 2 Trade and Industry Department, The Government of the Hong Kong SAR http://www.tid.gov.hk/english/aboutus/publications/factsheet/usa2006.html 3 Legislative Council Secretariat FS01/05-06 www.legco.gov.hk/yr05-06/english/sec/library/0506fs01e.pdf 4 US Department of State http://future.state.gov/why/protect

CONCLUSION We believe it is important that you be fully aware of the nature of the deception that US citizens in Hong Kong are facing from the marketing practices of the defendants to US citizens living and visiting Hong Kong. For the foregoing reasons, Clear The Air respectfully requests that we be granted leave to appear as amicus curiae in this action. Respectfully submitted, Annelise Connell Chairperson Clear The Air 8/F Eastwood Centre, 5, A Kung Ngam Village Rd, Shaukeiwan, Hong Kong Phone: Country Code (852) 2886-2655 DATED: December 11, 2007 Exibit 1. BRIEF OF AMICUS CURAE BY CLEAR THE AIR IN OPPOSITION TO CERTAIN DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR CLARIFICATION C.A. No. 99-CV-02496 (GK) ____________________________________ ) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) C.A. No. 99-CV-02496 (GK) ) PHILIP MORRIS USA, INC. f/k/a ) PHILIP MORRIS INCORPORATED, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) ____________________________________ ) BRIEF OF AMICUS CURAE BY CLEAR THE AIR IN OPPOSITION TO CERTAIN DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR CLARIFICATION OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE FOR RELIEF UNDER RULES 52, 59 AND 60 WITH RESPECT TO THE COURT’S AUGUST 17, 2006 ORDER 1. US citizens have a right to be protected from dangers known by the US Government to the health and safety of their families even if they live or travel outside the United States. We note from the “US Department of State for Youth” website that one of the duties of the US Government is to “Protect and assist American citizens who travel, conduct business, and live abroad.” 1 2. There are about 54,000 US citizens living in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. 2 3. 1,143,089 US residents arrived in Hong Kong as tourists in 2005.3 4. A major outlet for deception of US citizens in Hong Kong by the defendants is the duty free tobacco concession at the Hong Kong International Airport. Here, the defendants attempt to deceive over one million members of the US public and their children every year as they return by air to the United States and pass by or enter this outlet.4

1 4 Protect America http://future.state.gov/why/protect/ 2 Trade and Industry Department, The Government of the Hong Kong SAR http://www.tid.gov.hk/english/aboutus/publications/factsheet/usa2006.html 3 Legislative Council Secretariat FS01/05-06 www.legco.gov.hk/yr05-06/english/sec/library/0506fs01e.pdf 4 BAT “Note for the Tobacco Executive Committee” dated 14 Nov 1991; Philip Morris “Worldwide Duty Free” Executive Biographies

5. The 7-11 and Circle-K retail chains are distributors of the defendants deceptively labeled tobacco products in Hong Kong. They have stores in 90% of the mass transit railway (MTR) stations. All US citizens using the MTR and entering these stores are exposed to the deceptively labeled tobacco products because the products are shown at eye level behind the cashier to all customers. 5 6. It is illegal in Hong Kong to register a Trade Mark that is “likely to deceive” the public. 6 7. The People’s Republic of China has ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.7 Article 11 of the FCTC requires measures so that: (a) tobacco product packaging and labelling do not promote a tobacco product by any means that are false, misleading, deceptive or likely to create an erroneous impression about its characteristics, health effects, hazards or emissions, including any term, descriptor, trademark, figurative or any other sign that directly or indirectly creates the false impression that a particular tobacco product is less harmful than other tobacco products. These may include terms such as “low tar”, “light”, “ultra-light”, or “mild”; 8. The Hong Kong Government Intellectual Property Department (IPD), which is responsible for granting Trade Marks, had not by February 2006 when Clear The Air contacted them, been informed by the defendants of the deceptive nature of descriptors on existing registered Trade Marks or pending Trade Mark applications. 8

http://www.philipmorrisinternational.com/PMINTL/pages/eng/press/Executive_bios.asp 5 MTR website http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/stationshop/stationshop_e.htm#revamp 6 Chapter: 559 Title: TRADE MARKS ORDINANCE Gazette Number: L.N. 31 of 2003 Section: 11 Heading: Absolute grounds for refusal of registration 7 WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control http://www.who.int/tobacco/framework/en/ 8 Email to Clear The Air from Peter Cheung for Director of Intellectual Property. Exibit 2

9. The current court ruling in this case states that “All Defendants, Covered Persons and Entities are permanently enjoined from making, or causing to be made in any way, any material false, misleading, or deceptive statement or representation, or engaging in any public relations or marketing endeavor that is disseminated to the United States public and that misrepresents or suppresses information concerning cigarettes.” In March 2006 it was Clear The Air, not the defendants, that took the initiative to inform the IPD of the deceptive nature of certain descriptors included in pending and registered trademarks resulting in changes to the IPD Trade Mark Work Manual. 8 We believe that the defendants continued failure to inform the IPD of the deceptive nature of certain of their existing trademarks and pending Trade Mark applications is in contravention of your order and is an attempt to suppress information that would then be disseminated to US citizens in Hong Kong. 10. On 22 September 2006 an objection was filed with the IPD in Hong Kong to the registered Trade Mark “Marlboro Lights” as “likely to deceive” the public. Your ruling will help determine if the Trade Mark owner will be compelled to provide information or believe they are entitled to suppress information that would be disseminated to US citizens in Hong Kong regarding this deceptive Trade Mark. CONCLUSION US citizens have a right to be protected when living abroad. It is not lawful in Hong Kong to have a Trade Mark that is “likely to deceive”. US citizens visiting and living abroad are entitled to the same protection as those living in the US as we continue to be members of the US public. Therefore, we ask that you do not exempt the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, in your ruling on remedies. Respectfully submitted, Annelise Connell Chairperson Clear The Air 8/F Eastwood Centre, 5, A Kung Ngam Village Rd, Shaukeiwan, Hong Kong Phone: Country Code (852) 2886-2655 DATED: December 11, 2007 Exhibit 2 Letter from Hong Kong Government Intellectual Property Department regarding deceptive descriptors on Trade Marks peter.cheung@ipd.gov.hk wrote on 3/8/2006, 5:51 PM: Dear Miss Connell Thank you for your mail dated 1 March. We have again taken note of the issues raised in your previous emails. The working practice of trademark examiners under the Trade Marks Ordinance Cap 559 has been set out in the Trade Mark Work Manual, a public document published here: http://www.ipd.gov.hk/eng/intellectual_property/trademarks/registry/Absolute%20grounds%20for%20refusal.pdf Regarding the paragraphs on "Section 11(4)(b) – marks that are likely to deceive", we have inserted a new paragraph, which will bring the relevant matters in the FCTC to the attention of our examiners when they exercise their discretion in deciding whether any given mark is misleading. Such discretion is based on established trademark law practice, and has regard to the particular circumstances of each case. … Regards Yours sincerely Peter Cheung for Director of Intellectual Property Exibit 3 Application for revocation of Trade Mark For Marlboro Lights (available from Clear The Air)

Cigarette Smoking and Disease

webmaster — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:00:12 +0000

This admission of health issues caused by cigarette smoking is published on the Philip Morris USA website here: http://www.philipmorrisusa.com/en/health_issues/cigarette_smoking_and_disease.asp

Smoking & Health Issues Cigarette Smoking and Disease There is no safe cigarette. Philip Morris USA (PM USA) agrees with the overwhelming medical and scientific consensus that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema and other serious diseases in smokers. Smokers are far more likely to develop such serious diseases than non-smokers. These have been and continue to be the messages of the U.S. Surgeon General and public health authorities worldwide. Smokers and potential smokers should rely on these messages when deciding whether or not to smoke.

Philip Morris Agrees - Cigarette Smoking is Addictive

webmaster — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:05:12 +0000

This admission of addiction to cigarette smoking is published on the Philip Morris USA website here: http://www.philipmorrisusa.com/en/health_issues/addiction.asp

Smoking & Health Issues Addiction Philip Morris USA agrees with the overwhelming medical and scientific consensus that cigarette smoking is addictive. It can be very difficult to quit smoking, but this should not deter smokers who want to quit from trying to do so.

Quitting Smoking Greatly Reduces Serious Risks to Your Health

webmaster — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:19:23 +0000

This admission of serious risks to your health caused by cigarette smoking is published on the Philip Morris USA website here: http://www.philipmorrisusa.com/en/health_issues/quitting_smoking.asp

Smoking & Health Issues Quitting Smoking To reduce the health effects of smoking, the best thing to do is to quit. Public health authorities do not endorse either smoking fewer cigarettes or switching to lower tar and nicotine brands as a satisfactory way of reducing risk. In fact, one of the required cigarette warnings for packages and advertisements in the U.S. is, "SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Quitting Smoking Now Greatly Reduces Serious Risks to Your Health."

Philip Morris says There is No Safe Cigarette

webmaster — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:36:47 +0000

This admission of the fact that there is no safe cigarette based on brand descriptors is published on the Philip Morris USA website here: http://www.philipmorrisusa.com/en/health_issues/low_tar_cigarettes.asp

Smoking & Health Issues Low Tar Cigarettes Philip Morris USA's Use of Brand Descriptors Philip Morris USA does not imply in our marketing, and smokers should not assume, that lower-yielding brands are safe or safer than full-flavor brands. There is no safe cigarette. "Medium," "mild," "light" and "ultra light" cigarettes are no exception. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has stated that "smoking 'low tar' or 'light' cigarettes does not eliminate the health risks of smoking. If you're concerned about the health risks of smoking, stop smoking ... There's no such thing as a safe smoke." As of today, there is no cigarette on the market which public health organizations endorse as offering "reduced risk." If smokers are concerned about the risks of smoking, quitting is by far their best alternative for reducing those risks.

Pregnancy Health Risks Caused by Smoking

webmaster — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 04:42:29 +0000

This admission of pregnancy issues related to cigarette smoking is published on the Philip Morris USA website here: http://www.philipmorrisusa.com/en/health_issues/smoking_and_pregnancy.asp

Smoking & Health Issues Smoking and Pregnancy Women who quit smoking before or during pregnancy reduce the risk of adverse reproductive outcomes. Women who smoke have more difficulty becoming pregnant and have a higher risk of never becoming pregnant. Women’s smoking during pregnancy increases the risks for pregnancy complications, premature birth, spontaneous abortion and stillbirth. Babies of mothers who smoked during pregnancy on average have lower birth weights. Low birth weight babies are at greater risk for childhood and adult illnesses and even death. Women who quit smoking before the third trimester (the last 3 months) of their pregnancy are more likely to have babies who are close to normal weight. Smoking by pregnant women can cause sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). According to the 2004 US Surgeon General’s Report, infants whose mothers smoked before and after birth are at three to four times greater risk for SIDS, and babies exposed to secondhand smoke after birth are at twice the risk. When mothers smoke during pregnancy, it hurts their babies’ lungs. Infants of mothers who smoked during pregnancy have reduced lung function and may have increased frequency of lower respiratory tract illness. They may also have increased risk for impaired lung function in childhood and adulthood. For pregnant women, smoking could also put their babies at increased risk of asthma and respiratory infections.

Secondhand Smoke Causes Disease in Non-Smokers

webmaster — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 04:54:40 +0000

This admission that secondhand smoke causes disease is published on the Philip Morris USA website here: http://www.philipmorrisusa.com/en/health_issues/secondhand_smoke.asp

Smoking & Health Issues Secondhand Smoke Secondhand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke or ETS, is a combination of the smoke coming from the lit end of a cigarette plus the smoke exhaled by a person smoking. Public health officials have concluded that secondhand smoke from cigarettes causes disease, including lung cancer and heart disease, in non-smoking adults, as well as causes conditions in children such as asthma, respiratory infections, cough, wheeze, otitis media (middle ear infection) and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. In addition, public health officials have concluded that secondhand smoke can exacerbate adult asthma and cause eye, throat and nasal irritation. PM (Philip Morris) USA believes that the public should be guided by the conclusions of public health officials regarding the health effects of secondhand smoke in deciding whether to be in places where secondhand smoke is present, or if they are smokers, when and where to smoke around others. Particular care should be exercised where children are concerned, and adults should avoid smoking around them. We also believe that the conclusions of public health officials concerning environmental tobacco smoke are sufficient to warrant measures that regulate smoking in public places. We also believe that where smoking is permitted, the government should require the posting of warning notices that communicate public health officials' conclusions that secondhand smoke causes disease in non-smokers.

European Commission and JT International (Japan Tobacco) sign 15-year Agreement to combat contraband and counterfeit cigarettes

Ryan Chan — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 02:50:03 +0000

Brussels,

14 December 2007

The European Commission, together with 26 participating Member States of the European Union [1], and JT International (JTI) today announced a multi-year agreement that includes an efficient system to fight against future cigarette smuggling and counterfeiting. Through the Agreement, JTI will work with the European Commission, its anti-fraud office OLAF, and law enforcement authorities of the Member States to help in the fight against contraband, including the problem of counterfeit cigarettes. The Agreement includes substantial payments by JTI, which total USD 400 million over fifteen years. “I welcome the conclusion of the negotiations of this important agreement. It is to the advantage of the EU because it protects its financial interests,” said Commission President José Manuel Barroso. “This Agreement represents a further major step forward in the continuing battle against contraband and counterfeit cigarettes,” said Vice-president Siim Kallas, responsible for the fight against fraud. “Contraband and counterfeit products cheat everyone: governments, consumers and legitimate businesses. This new agreement will further enhance the ability of the European Commission and of the Member States to combat the illegal trade in cigarettes, which results in the loss of substantial tax and customs revenues each year. It sends a strong signal to the world that agreements between authorities and industry to fight illegal trade work and bring substantial benefits,” he added.

Fight against counterfeit

The Commission and the EU Member States point to several reasons why they view expanded anti-counterfeit and anti-contraband efforts as requiring significant priority. Among other reasons, the European Community and the Member States are losing hundreds of millions of Euros in unpaid taxes from counterfeit cigarettes. In addition, counterfeit and other forms of contraband create a parallel illegal supply chain that invades and compromises legitimate distribution channels and competes unfairly with genuine products distributed through legitimate channels.

Over the last few years, the incidence of contraband JTI cigarettes has been greatly reduced, but during the same time period, counterfeit cigarettes have become a growing threat to the European Community and the Member States. The Commission has therefore announced that it will build on existing efforts to combat the illegal trade in cigarettes which consist of: - vigorously investigating cigarette counterfeiting in close cooperation with the Member States and law enforcement officials in key locations worldwide; - targeting and interrupting the production of counterfeit cigarettes with the goal of preventing counterfeit cigarettes from being introduced into the European Community; and - recording and pursuing seizures of counterfeit cigarettes in the European Community to identify the source of the product and other relevant information.

Fight against contraband and money laundering: Know your customers and tracking and tracing

The Agreement builds on the efforts of all parties and introduces innovative procedures to combat the diversion of JTI’s products into contraband channels in Europe and around the world. Today’s agreement reflects the reality that success in defeating the contraband and counterfeit cigarettes trade can be aided greatly through a joint agreement whereby major manufacturers like JTI and European law enforcement combine their resources and enhance their coordination in combating contraband and counterfeiting.

The Agreement contains strong provisions, approved by all parties, which provide them with a mechanism for the long-term prevention of any large-scale smuggling of genuine Japan Tobacco cigarettes in the European market. The Agreement requires JTI to build on its existing review process for selecting and monitoring customers, to enhance its capabilities to track and trace certain packaging, and to provide expanded support to European law enforcement in its battle against the illegal trade in cigarettes. Under the Agreement, JTI agrees to continue limiting its sales to volumes commensurate with legitimate market demand. The Agreement also incorporates and builds into a comprehensive contractual framework JTI’s existing compliance programmes.

Historically, a key concern for the European Community has been the introduction of contraband cigarettes into the European Community. For that reason, the European Community has taken vigorous action to address cigarette smuggling. European law-enforcement efforts have resulted over the past several years in the reduction of the amount of cigarettes that enter the EU as contraband. The European Commission has determined that constructive and forward-looking agreements, such as this Agreement with JTI, are useful tools in addressing these issues.

The initiative includes far-reaching product-tracking procedures that will facilitate law enforcement efforts to determine the point at which any genuine product is diverted from the authorised sales channel. Consistent with the Agreement, JTI will mark certain packaging with information indicating the intended market of retail sale, mark “master cases”[2] of cigarettes with machine-scannable barcode labels, and implement other procedures useful for the tracking and tracing of its products.

These obligations embody a far-reaching, joint tracking and tracing initiative which is consistent with the anti-contraband provisions of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and which will underpin the efforts of the EU to promote a strong Protocol to that Convention on the Illicit Trade in Tobacco products.

Obligations under the Agreement

The European Community and the participating Member States will receive substantial payments over a number of years. The amount of JTI’s payments under the Agreement totals USD 400 million over 15 years to the EC and participating Member States.

The Agreement also includes a guarantee by JTI to make payments in the event of future seizures in the European Community of its genuine products above defined quantities. These payments will be made without regard to fault or wrongdoing by JTI. These payments will be available to all participating Member States.

The Agreement excludes any future lawsuits against JTI for civil claims arising out of past conduct related to the manufacture, sale, distribution or storage of cigarettes. On April, 18 2007, JTI purchased the Gallaher group. The parties have therefore agreed on a framework and a timetable in which JTI will bring former Gallaher entities up to the standards of the Agreement, with a view to bringing them within the full scope of the Agreement.

Other future Agreements

The Commission is always prepared to have discussions with manufacturers who are willing to commit the necessary resources to improve ways to combat illegal trade in their products and associated criminal activity, such as money laundering. Producers also have a responsibility to fight illegal trade in their products, in full cooperation with relevant government authorities. This Agreement should therefore serve as a further model for those cigarette companies that have yet to assume fully such responsibilities.

Slowly, China tries to break tobacco habit

webmaster — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 08:32:32 +0000

Slowly, China tries to break tobacco habit That won't be easy where even many doctors still smoke. By Tim Johnson McClatchy Newspapers BEIJING - Smoking has no place at the Olympic Games. But Beijing Mayor Wang Qishan is a reluctant antismoking crusader. After all, he's a smoker. He has company at the Olympic Village, where the chief of the Games' organizing committee also can sometimes be seen through a haze of cigarette smoke. An astonishing number of China's cabinet members and sports officials are among the 350 million Chinese whose cigarette habits support a state industry that is generating more taxes in China than any other industry. Smoking is common even at the Health Ministry. Deputy Minister Gao Qiang smokes heavily, and surveys show that more than 50 percent of China's male doctors and health workers smoke. "They are under high pressure, stress, so they smoke to get relief," said Zhi Xiuyi, the nonsmoking chief of the lung cancer center at Capital Medical University hospital. Under growing criticism from the World Health Organization and other international bodies, China is slowly combating tobacco usage. It has agreed to put warning labels on cigarette packs by 2009 and prohibit tobacco-related advertising and promotion by 2011. Last month, Beijing banned smoking in the city's 66,000 taxis. But the state tobacco monopoly keeps increasing production. It's on course to crank out more than two trillion cigarettes this year. Smokers snap up packs of White Sand, Red Pagoda, Yellow Mountain, and 400 other national brands, adding to state coffers. The tobacco industry contributes $31 billion a year in taxes. In March, the deputy chief of the state tobacco monopoly warned antismoking campaigners not to press too hard. "We take very seriously the health dangers of smoking, but not having cigarettes also impacts stability," Zhang Baozen, deputy chief of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, told state television. Cigarette taxes provide Beijing with steady revenue. According to the World Bank, 8 percent of China's central revenues come from taxes on cigarettes, compared with 3 percent in Britain, 1.8 percent in India, and 0.4 percent in the United States. Yet there are signs that the central government is embracing limited antismoking efforts, wary of being out of step with much of the rest of the world. Last year, Beijing ratified a World Health Organisation antismoking convention that commits it to curb smoking in public places, such as schools and buses, and further limit cigarette advertising. Global health advocates are urging China to reexamine the economic burden of health issues tied to smoking. The WHO says that one million Chinese die every year from diseases related to smoking and that the toll will climb to 2.2 million fatalities a year by 2020 if current rates continue. It says China faces $5 billion a year in smoking-related health-care costs, part of what it calls a "massive tobacco burden." Perhaps even more surprising, the World Health Organisation says that one-third of all Chinese men below the age of 30 today eventually will die of smoking-related disorders. Part of the reason is that Chinese are smoking at a younger age and smoking more per day. In 1984, the average age when people began to smoke was 22.4 years. By 2006, it was 19.7. As incomes rise, Chinese smoke more often. Average daily consumption has risen from four cigarettes in 1972 to 10 cigarettes in 1992 and to about 15 today. Smoking is deeply ingrained in Chinese culture - male culture, that is. In China, 63 percent of men smoke, while only 3 percent of women do. At weddings, the bride normally circles the reception hall, offering cigarettes to each man, a rite said to augur well for her eventual childbearing. Cigarettes are also handed out at funerals. Between courses at banquets, male diners frequently pause for a smoke. China's soaring economy is precisely why some antismoking activists see light ahead. They say the state-owned cigarette companies are becoming a smaller portion of total tax revenue for the government, making measures to contain smoking more feasible. In a move that pleased antismoking activists, China last year ratified the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which requires it to stiffen bans on advertising and promotion. As a result, Beijing told the television industry to cut down on unnecessary smoking scenes and pledged that the 2008 Beijing Summer Games would be smoke-free.

webmaster — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 04:10:24 +0000

The Case For The Plain Packaging Of Tobacco Products

webmaster — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:20:31 +0000

Simon Chapman, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. E-mail: sc@med.usyd.edu.au Aims: The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) requires nations that have ratified the convention to ban all tobacco advertising and promotion. In the face of these restrictions, tobacco packaging has become the key promotional vehicle for the tobacco industry to interest smokers and potential smokers in tobacco products. This paper reviews available research into the probable impact of mandatory plain packaging and internal tobacco industry statements about the importance of packs as promotional vehicles. It critiques legal objections raised by the industry about plain packaging violating laws and international trade agreements. Methods: Searches for available evidence were conducted within the internal tobacco industry documents through the online document archives; tobacco industry trade publications; research literature through the Medline and Business Source Premier databases; and grey literature including government documents, research reports and non-governmental organization papers via the Google internet search engine. Results: Plain packaging of all tobacco products would remove a key remaining means for the industry to promote its products to billions of the world's smokers and future smokers. Governments have required large surface areas of tobacco packs to be used exclusively for health warnings without legal impediment or need to compensate tobacco companies. Conclusions: Requiring plain packaging is consistent with the intention to ban all tobacco promotions. There is no impediment in the FCTC to interpreting tobacco advertising and promotion to include tobacco packs.

Hong Kong Smoking Ban

webmaster — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 03:12:07 +0000

How do you feel about the smoking ban after a year? Updated on Dec 20, 2007 SCMP The "smoking ban" is a farce that panders to the business whims of the Liberal Party. Any licensed premises wishing to get an exemption can do so until July 1, 2009, by simply filling out a form and applying to our "health department". This ludicrous exemption is not only unjust under any sensible, fair competition law, it obviates the total idea of the anti-smoking legislation, which is to protect the health of catering workers forced to breathe the equivalent of a packet of cigarettes a day. Meanwhile, their employers remain liable under existing workplace health and safety laws for not keeping the workplace safe from dangers to the health of the workers. The slow-burning side-stream smoke from the tip of a cigarette is four to six times more toxic than the smoke inhaled by the smokers, and this comprises 85 per cent of the cigarette smoke in a room at any one time. A University of Hong Kong study shows passive smoking kills an average of 1,324 innocent people a year of the 6,000-plus tobacco deaths in Hong Kong. James Middleton, Clear the Air Hong Kong

Smoking Drops As Tobacco Taxes Rise

webmaster — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 06:39:14 +0000

By The Associated Press Friday, December 21, 2007 PIERRE -- Smoking appears to have declined sharply in South Dakota since the state tax on tobacco was increased substantially a year ago. Voters who went to the polls in the 2006 general election approved a $1 increase in the cigarette tax, making it $1.53 a pack on Jan. 1. The previous 10 percent tax on cigars, chewing tobacco and other tobacco products was raised to 35 percent. Tobacco stamps were issued for 37,389,568 packs of cigarettes through November in South Dakota, or roughly 9 million fewer packs than for the same 11-month period in 2006, said Michael Kenyon, who manages the collection of special taxes for the state Department of Revenue and Regulation. Although some smokers may have crossed state borders to buy cigarettes where the tax is less, tax stamp sales would seem to indicate a 20 percent reduction in smoking this year. Lewey Kruger, 53, of Lennox and his wife, Barb, quit smoking Jan. 19. "I quit because they started ripping me off when they raised the tax, and I knew I should quit," he said. A smoker since 14, Kruger said he was going through nearly three packs a day until quitting, which he accomplished with the help of a prescription drug. "I smoked for the first week I was on it, and I only took it for six weeks," he said. "I had a morning cough all the time, and within a week my cough was gone." Kruger, who admits to occasionally smoking a cigar, said he drops into a jar the money he would have spent on cigarettes. He recently turned it in for $1,100. "I took it to the bank and put it into a special account for cruises," Kruger said. The 20 percent reduction in cigarette sales is almost exactly what health groups believed would happen if the tax was raised by $1 a pack, said Jennifer Stalley of the American Cancer Society. "This is on par with what we expected, if not exceeding our expectations for the number of people who are quitting," she said. "This is a strong indicator that smokers are quitting or reaching out to get assistance to quit." Stalley was one of those deeply involved in a health coalition petition campaign to get the tax proposal on the ballot. State tobacco tax revenues totaled nearly $61.4 million through November, Kenyon said. That was an increase of 136 percent, or $35.4 million. Gail Gray, health and medical services director in the state Health Department, said more than 550 people contacted the agency's QuitLine in October -- about double the usual monthly tally. "That's just going up every month," she said. Possibly because of New Year's resolutions, January is always a busy month for the QuitLine, which offers help and free tobacco cessation products, Gray said. "You can choose a nicotine replacement, whether it's gum or a patch, or you can choose medications, and they are free, too," she said. People seeking medications must get prescriptions from their doctors, but the drugs are free through the QuitLine program, Gray said. Beginning July 1, the rules were changed to give people up to three chances to go through the program. Previously, only two chances were given. "We know that quitting smoking is hard to do," Gray said. "We know it doesn't always happen the first time. Even with the QuitLine and the products, the quit rate is only 25 percent after a year. But without them, it's 5 percent."

Smoking Ban In All Public Places In Iran

webmaster — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 23:26:22 +0000

Posted on : 2007-12-22 | Author : DPA - Earth Times - News Category : Middle East Tehran - As of Saturday, Iran will implement a strict smoking ban in all public places, Tehran media reported. According to the new law, smoking is prohibited in all public organizations, hotels, restaurants, tea houses and coffee shops. Police has been ordered to decisively confront all restaurant owners nationwide with a warning first, then temporary closing and, in case of repetition, permanent closing of their enterprise. Also forbidden is the offering and smoking of the traditional Persian water-pipe which is a must in Iranian tea houses. The ban could inflict heavy losses especially for tea houses and coffee shops - there are no bars or pubs in Islamic Iran - but it is expected that the ban would be widely ignored except in hotels where controls are tighter. A smoking ban for all car drivers nationwide was implemented since last March and although offenders could face fines up to 14 US dollars, the ban was widely ignored by the drivers. Also selling tobacco products to anyone under 18 would result in confiscation of the vendor's tobacco products and a cash fine up to 65 dollars. Repeated violations would lead to cash fines amounting to 1,400 dollars. There are no official statistics on the number of smokers in Iran but it is said that 60,000 Iranians die directly or indirectly due to smoking every year.

Tobacco Is As Lethal To The Health And As Damaging To Society As Ever

webmaster — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 04:21:49 +0000

Death and tobacco taxes Tobacco is as lethal to the health and as damaging to society as ever. Enter the taxman By Prabhat Jha - Taipei Times - Tuesday, Dec 25, 2007, Page 9 A global killer is ripping through the world's poorer countries largely unchecked. Within 25 years, it will cause 10 million deaths a year worldwide -- more than malaria, maternal deaths, childhood infections and diarrhea combined. Over half of the dead will be aged 30 to 69, losing about 25 years of life expectancy. The culprit? Tobacco. The same addiction that became the top preventable cause of death in Western countries has made big inroads in developing countries. Smoking killed 100 million people in the 20th century, mostly in developed countries. On current trends smoking will kill about 1 billion people in the 21st century, mostly in developing countries. In India, smoking triples the risk of death from tuberculosis in men and women and may even contribute to the spread of tuberculosis to others. About 1 million people per year will soon die from smoking in China and India. Perhaps 150 million young adults will be killed by tobacco in these two countries alone, unless there is widespread cessation. But the death tolls of the past need not become the world's future. We know how to control tobacco use. Cessation by the 1.1 billion current smokers is needed to lower tobacco deaths over the next few decades. Reduced uptake of smoking by children would save lives chiefly after 2050. Quitting works: even those who stop smoking in their 40s lower their risk of death remarkably, and those who quit in their 30s have death risks close to lifelong non-smokers. Tobacco tax increases, dissemination of information about the health risks of smoking, smoking bans in public, complete bans on advertising and promotion, and cessation therapies are effective in helping smokers to quit. Tobacco taxes are probably the single most cost-effective intervention for adult health in the world. A tripling of the excise tax would roughly double the price of cigarettes (as has happened in New York City), preventing about 3 million deaths per year by 2030. Most OECD countries began to take tobacco control seriously in the last two decades, and have decreased male tobacco deaths since. But effective tobacco control measures are not under way in developing countries. Taxes are about 80 percent of the street price of cigarettes in Toronto, but less than 30 percent in Beijing or Delhi. In many countries, tobacco taxes have fallen in real terms. Knowledge of the health risks from smoking is low: 61 percent of Chinese smokers in 1996 thought tobacco did them "little or no harm." Opposition from the tobacco industry is an obvious obstacle to tobacco control. Spurious economic arguments against higher taxes have been debunked in the West, but are still commonly repeated in the finance ministries of developing countries. Money not spent on tobacco would be spent on other goods and services. Indeed, even sharply reduced demand for tobacco would not mean unemployment in most countries. Tax hikes lower consumption and raise revenue in the medium-term: a 10 percent higher tax means about 7 percent higher revenue over the medium term. These funds are a precious resource in fighting poverty. In China, a 10 percent higher price would reduce consumption by 5 percent and raise enough excise revenue to pay for a basic health package for 33 million poor rural Chinese. Even in the face of smuggling, higher taxes reduce consumption and raise revenue. Smuggling is abetted by the tobacco industry in order to gain market share and scare finance ministers into lowering taxes. But governments can counter it in several ways: local language warnings with a prominent tax stamp on cigarette packs are one example. Another common argument against tobacco control -- that if people are not harming others, governments should not interfere with their individual decisions -- is at odds with both common sense and the evidence. Most smokers become addicted as adolescents or young adults, when shortsightedness and lack of information make rational decisions difficult. In countries with good information about tobacco risks, by the time child smokers become adults, more than 80 percent wish they never started. Recently, no less a person than William F. Buckley has argued that nicotine addiction cannot be dismissed as free choice. Moreover, recent economic research finds that higher taxes are justified on welfare grounds, because the costs to smokers are huge (even though the external costs to others might be small), and that higher cigarette taxes do not hurt the poor (since the self-control value of higher taxes helps the poor more). Nobel laureate Amartya Sen wisely reminds us that "it is important that the practical case for tobacco control is not dismissed on the basis of an incomplete libertarian argument." The agenda is clear. Governments must take tobacco seriously as a leading killer of adults worldwide. International poverty goals must include tobacco control. Developing countries must not be fooled by the empty economic arguments that paralyzed control efforts in the West for so long. The Gates Foundation can fund action and research. There are hopeful signs: more than 160 countries have signed the World Health Organization's global tobacco control treaty, and the Caribbean heads of state have recently declared they want to tackle tobacco together. Between 150 million and 180 million deaths would be avoided before 2050 if the proportion of adults in developing countries who quit smoking increases from below 5 percent today to 30 percent to 40 percent by 2020 (like current quit rates in Canada). Because control policies deter children from starting, even greater benefits can be expected beyond 2050. Benjamin Franklin once said: "In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Yet we have a tax that could prevent hundreds of millions of premature deaths. It is time to use it. Prabhat Jha is professor of health and development at the University of Toronto and director of the Centre for Global Health Research, St. Michael's Hospital.

Wisconsin Provide Quit Smoking Starter Kits

webmaster — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:59:11 +0000

Free stop-smoking medications available in new year New Richmond News Published Friday, December 28, 2007 At a recent news conference in Milwaukee, the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services and the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention announced an expansion of Quit Line services for Wisconsin tobacco users who want to quit. This includes free medication for those who participate in Quit Line coaching, and a new interactive Web coaching service that provides personal tracking tools and discussion forums for those trying to quit. These enhancements to the tried-and-true Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line (1-800-QUIT-NOW) come at a critical time for the 800,000 tobacco users in the state. New Year’s is a traditional time that smokers think about quitting. Additionally, the excise tax on cigarettes in Wisconsin will increase by $1 per pack on Jan. 1. The expanded Quit Line services are designed to assist the great majority of Wisconsin smokers who want to quit and may try in response to the tax increase and the New Year. Starting on Jan. 1, Wisconsin residents who call the Quit Line for coaching can obtain a free two-week starter kit of quit-smoking medications that will be mailed directly to their homes, either nicotine patches, gum or lozenges. Study after study has shown that providing medications in addition to Quit Line coaching is a cost-effective way to get large numbers of smokers to make a quit attempt. "This is an unprecedented moment for Wisconsin,” said Dr. Michael Fiore, director of UW-CTRI. “We are capitalizing on that moment. The New Year, the tax increase, Quit Line coaching and the free medication represent a combined triumph over an addictive product that kills half of the people who use it. We now have the potential to spare thousands of Wisconsin families from the pain of losing loved ones to tobacco-related disease. I’m so pleased that Gov. Jim Doyle and the Legislature provided the leadership that enables us to offer this assistance to tobacco users and their families.” St. Croix County healthcare providers have also used the Quit Line with their patients over the years and welcome the enhancements. “We recently added the ability to fax a patient’s Quit Line request to their staff”, notes Dr. Paul McGinnis, a Western Wisconsin Medical Associates family physician in Hudson. “The patient fills out a brief form, signs it and the Quit Line will call them at a time the patient chooses. The Quit Line, and now medications, are great free benefits for those attempting to overcome tobacco addiction.” Other St. Croix County cessation opportunities can be found by visiting WiQuitLine.org. The Quit Line is available from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week. At other times, callers can leave a message for a return call. Coaches fluent in many languages are available to callers. The Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services contracts with UW-CTRI to provide services through the Quit Line.

Wisconsin Increases Tobacco Tax for 2008

webmaster — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 00:56:28 +0000

Posted: 4:37 PM Dec 29, 2007 Last Updated: 4:37 PM Dec 29, 2007 Reporter: Amy Pflugshaupt Email Address: apflugshaupt@wsaw.com One of the most common New Year's Resolutions People make is to quit smoking and this just might be the year that many tobacco users in Wisconsin keep their resolutions. On January 1st, Wisconsin will raise the tax on all tobacco sales. The US dollar-per-pack increase means Wisconsin smokers will now pay US$1.77 in taxes on every pack of cigarettes. It's the 12th highest tobacco tax in the nation and it has many tobacco users saying enough is enough. Local stores are saying many people are coming in and buying several cartons before the increase takes effect. The campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids predicts the higher tax will stop nearly 66,000 Wisconsin children from starting smoking, and it will help more than 33,000 smokers quit. The campaign estimates the state will save about US$ 1.5 billion in long-term smoking-related health care expenses.

Experts Aim To Stub Out Tobacco Smuggling

webmaster — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 01:18:36 +0000

Dec 29 2007 by Marie Levy, Evening Gazette TEESSIDERS who buy cut-price cigarettes could be smoking mud, dirt and even animal excrement. The shocking revelation was made as experts in the region joined forces to try to stub out tobacco smuggling in the area. Hosted by Fresh Smoke Free North East, the 200-strong delegation heard from organisations including the Department of Health and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs on the extent of the problem and its serious impact on public health. The summit revealed: Up to one in five cigarettes and half of all loose tobacco in the North is sold at knockdown prices. Smokers often think they are smoking genuine “duty free” products, but increasingly are being sold fake and counterfeit products. The majority of smuggled tobacco is brought in from Russia and Eastern Europe where packets of 20 cigarettes cost as little as £1 but can be sold on in the UK for about £3. Counterfeit tobacco - where copies of the bigger known brands are made - are even worse for smokers’ health. All cigarettes contain arsenic and heavy metals, but counterfeit cigarettes sometimes contain even higher levels of these poisonous substances, along with floor sweepings - including animal excrement, mud and dirt. The North-east has become a hub for the illegal trade in contraband tobacco with unprecedented quantities entering the country via Tees Port as well as the region’s airports. Large hauls of tobacco have been found behind panels on vessels, within loads of logs, flowers, and even concrete blocks. John Kinghorn, HMRC’s head of detection for the North of England, said: “Many smokers think they are getting a good deal but these cigarettes are usually cheap because they are not the genuine article. “Counterfeit cigarettes are even worse for health than normal cigarettes and it is not easy to tell the difference.” Ailsa Rutter, director of Fresh Smoke Free North East, added: “We look forward to working with a number of organisations as we develop an action plan to tackle this problem in the North-east.”

Tobacco Taxes Versus Needless Deaths

webmaster — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 03:30:15 +0000

Prabhat Jha Updated on Dec 29, 2007 - SCMP A global killer is ripping through the world's poorer countries largely unchecked. Within 25 years, it will cause 10 million deaths a year - far more than malaria, maternal deaths, childhood infections and diarrhoea combined. At least half of the dead will be aged 30 to 69, losing about 25 years of life expectancy. The culprit? Smoking tobacco. The same addiction that became the top preventable cause of death in western countries has made big inroads in developing nations. Given current trends, smoking will kill about 1 billion people in the 21st century, mostly in developing countries. In India, smoking cigarettes triples the risk of death from tuberculosis in men and from respiratory disease among women. We know now that quitting works: even those who stop smoking in their forties lower their risk of death remarkably, and those who quit in their thirties have death risks close to those of lifelong non-smokers. So cessation by the 1.1 billion current smokers would lower tobacco deaths over the next few decades. Tobacco tax increases, the dissemination of information about the health risks of smoking, smoking bans in public spaces and workplaces, prohibition of advertising and promotion, and cessation therapies help smokers to quit and prevent youngsters from starting. Of these, tobacco taxes are as close to a silver bullet as exists in public health. Indeed, they are probably the single most cost-effective intervention for adult health in the world. A tripling of the excise tax would roughly double the price of cigarettes, preventing about 3 million deaths per year by 2030. Most developed countries began to take tobacco control seriously in the past two decades, reducing male tobacco-related deaths. But effective tobacco control measures are not under way in developing countries. Taxes are about 80 per cent of the street price of cigarettes in Toronto, but less than 30 per cent in Beijing or New Delhi. And knowledge of the health risks from smoking is low: 61 per cent of Chinese smokers in 1996 thought tobacco did them "little or no harm". Spurious economic arguments against tobacco control, debunked in the west, are still commonly repeated in the finance ministries of developing countries. Money not spent on tobacco can be spent on other goods and services. Tax increases lower consumption and raise revenue: a 10 per cent higher tax means about 7 per cent higher revenue over the medium term. These funds can be a precious resource in fighting poverty. In China, a 10 per cent higher price would reduce consumption by 5 per cent, and raise enough revenue to pay for a basic health package for 33 million poor rural Chinese. One common argument against tobacco control - that if people are not harming others, governments should not interfere - is at odds with both common sense and the evidence. In countries with good information about tobacco risks, by the time child smokers become adults, more than 80 per cent wish they had never started. The agenda is clear. Governments must take tobacco seriously as a leading killer of adults worldwide. International poverty goals must include tobacco control. There are hopeful signs: more than 160 countries have signed the World Health Organisation's global tobacco control treaty, and the Bloomberg and Gates Foundations are stepping up funding for its implementation. If the proportion of adults in developing countries who quit smoking increases from below 5 per cent today to 30 to 40 per cent by 2020, then 150 million to 180 million tobacco deaths would be avoided before 2050 - half of these in productive middle age. Benjamin Franklin once said, "In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Yet we have a tax that could prevent hundreds of millions of premature deaths. It is time to use it. Prabhat Jha is research chair of health and development at the University of Toronto

France To Introduce Nationwide Smoking Ban

webmaster — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 11:04:20 +0000

By RIA Novosti (MCT) Saturday, December 29, 2007 1:56 AM CST PARIS -- France will introduce a nationwide ban on smoking in most public places from January 1, 2008, the French health minister said Friday. Eleven months after smoking became illegal in offices, schools, hospitals, airports and train stations, Europe's heaviest smokers, the French will now be banned from smoking in cafes, bars, restaurants, hotels, clubs and casinos. "The ban has been ready for a year and everyone knows that it is coming into effect. No one can say they were taken by surprise," said Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot. However, the minister said the ban will be enforced gradually and police will be in no hurry to impose fines for those caught smoking on the first few days after New Year. Meanwhile, French cafe owners fear that they will lose clients and their profits could plunge. Owners of France's 800 shisha bars are particularly concerned by the new law fearing it will lead to mass closures. (Shisha is flavored tobacco smoked through a water pipe -- also known as hookah.) Psychologists also warned that the country with 15-million smokers could face a shock. France is the latest of the EU member states to ban smoking in public places. In 2004, Ireland became the first European country to introduce a comprehensive ban, prohibiting smoking in pubs, restaurants and other enclosed workplaces. Ireland's anti-smoking measures were followed by Italy, Norway, Sweden, the U.K, Denmark and Portugal.

Smoke-Free Policy Legislation Failure

webmaster — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 17:10:53 +0000

The Editor Talkback South China Morning Post Dear Sir Paul Surtees (Talkback 31 Dec) provides an excellent summary of the frank failure of the current smoke-free policy legislation to protect large numbers of people from tobacco smoke. The catering industry ,while not fully supportive of the policy, did ask the government to at least give them a level playing field. They didn't get it and since then the Department of Health has expended considerable resources trying to deal with manoeuvres to by-pass the legislation. One way of doing this is simply to change the venue's name to include the word "bar". Others pretend they can be non-smoking at certain hours of the day or days of the week when they want to attract different clientele, including families and offer children's menus. At the same time they defend their exempted status with spurious arguments about the proportion of their revenue from alcohol sales. All this is understandable given the vagaries of the Bill and the unequal constraints placed on their ability to compete for custom. The government will privately argue that covert deals with vested interests were needed to push through the tobacco control Bill. In doing so they abrogated their duty of care to the workforce and with over 1300 exemptions subjected thousands of workers to irreversible harm to their heart and lung function. The government ignored the overwhelming global evidence that second-hand smoke kills and that comprehensive smoke free policies ultimately benefit the hospitality sector. Paul Surtees rightly looks to make the policy more effective, but the government is now looking at proposals by The Hon. Tommy Cheung Yu Yan and British American Tobacco to create smoking rooms in catering venues. Nothing could be more damaging to the industry, workers, patrons and the health care system of Hong Kong. Anthony Hedley School of Public Health University of Hong Kong

Federal Trade Commission Cigarette Report For 2004 and 2005

webmaster — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 03:51:32 +0000

This report is the latest in a series on cigarette sales, advertising, and promotion that the Federal Trade Commission (“the Commission”) has prepared since 1967. The statistical tables appended to this report provide information on domestic sales and advertising and promotional activity for U.S.-manufactured cigarettes for the years 1963 through 2005. The tables were compiled from raw data contained in special reports submitted to the Commission pursuant to compulsory process by the five major cigarette manufacturers in the United States: Altria Group, Inc. (the ultimate parent of Philip Morris); Houchens Industries, Inc. (the ultimate parent of Commonwealth Brands, Inc.); Loews Corp. (the ultimate parent of Lorillard Tobacco Co.); Reynolds American, Inc. (the ultimate parent of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. and which acquired Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. in 2004); and Vector Group Ltd. (the ultimate parent of Liggett Group, Inc. and Vector Tobacco, Inc.). View the entire Federal Trade Commission Cigarette Report For 2004 and 2005.

Hong Kong Smoking Ban

webmaster — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 07:06:36 +0000

What do you think about the smoking ban after a year? Published in the SCMP - Updated on Dec 31, 2007 We should look ahead at how to make the prohibition of smoking in restaurants and other places in Hong Kong more effective in 2008 and beyond. The ban has resulted in smoke-free shops, hotel lobbies and some (but not all) bars and restaurants. Dining out in a smoke-free atmosphere makes for a great improvement but too many bars-cum-restaurants have exemptions, making the visitor obliged to inhale smoke emitted by others. That carries with it even greater health risks to the unfortunate staff, who are obliged to breathe in second-hand smoke every day at their workplace. The long-term effects of this will sadly mean illness, even death, for some of them. The sooner these numerous exemptions are withdrawn, the better. In public areas where smoking is supposed to be prohibited, smokers are often seen indulging their habit. These include train stations and the Central escalator, for example. More effective enforcement action is clearly needed in such places. Many restaurants have set up smoking areas outside their entrances, with an open frontage to the street. Consequently, patrons inside are still subjected to smokers' fumes, blown in off the street. Clearly, such smoking areas should be out of range of the restaurants. Office building approaches are now littered with discarded fag ends and when you visit an office block, you often have to pass by people smoking heavily on both sides of the entrance. Firms should make provision for smokers on a rooftop or terrace, and there should also be in-house quitting campaigns. As the intention of the legislation is to see a general reduction in smoking, the duty-free allowance for cigarettes should be withdrawn. More sustained campaigns against smoking are clearly needed. But this first year of partial prohibition has generally been accepted and is certainly to be welcomed. What is now needed is to stiffen the provision of anti-smoking methods, as outlined above, with the intention of better safeguarding the health of us all, smokers and non-smokers alike. Paul Surtees, Mid-Levels

Banning smoking in cars carrying children

webmaster — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 09:24:19 +0000

Banning smoking in cars carrying children: an analytical history of a public health advocacy campaign Objective: Framing public health policy reform in ways that attract public and political support is a core skill of advocacy. In this paper we summarise the 12- year Australian history of advocacy for banning smoking in cars carrying children, culminating in the governments of the Australian States of South Australia and Tasmania enacting legislation. Method: ‘Smoking in cars’ was searched on the factiva.com print news media database, with returns limited to Australian newspapers published before 1 June 2007. Results: The issue of smoking in cars received extensive and emotive media coverage, primarily in support of legislating a ban. Invoking the protection of vulnerable children in the debate about smoking in cars was a powerful and persuasive theme. Unlike all other advocacy for smoke-free areas, this debate was not contested by the tobacco industry or other commercial interest groups. Conclusions: Even in the absence of a co-ordinated advocacy campaign, public opinion studies on support for such legislation have been consistently strong. Communities view the protection of children as paramount and non-negotiable. Implications: Smoke-free cars legislation can and should be fast tracked in order to capitalise on this community support. See the full document on Banning smoking in cars carrying children here.

Protection From Exposure To Second-Hand Tobacco Smoke

webmaster — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:20:50 +0000

Protection from exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke. Policy recommendations. Scientific evidence has firmly established that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS), a pollutant that causes serious illnesses in adults and children. There is also indisputable evidence that implementing 100% smoke-free environments is the only effective way to protect the population from the harmful effects of exposure to SHS. Moreover, several countries and hundreds of subnational and local jurisdictions have successfully implemented laws requiring indoor workplaces and public places to be 100% smoke-free without encountering significant challenges in enforcement. The evidence from these jurisdictions consistently demonstrates not only that smoke-free environments are enforceable, but that they are popular and become more so following implementation. These laws have no negative impact – and often have a positive one – on businesses in the hospitality sector and elsewhere. Their outcomes – an immediate reduction in heart attacks and respiratory problems – also have a positive impact on health. These experiences offer numerous, consistent lessons learnt, which policy-makers should consider to ensure the successful implementation of public policies that effectively protect the population from SHS exposure. These lessons include the following:

Legislation that mandates smoke-free environments – not voluntary policies – is necessary to protect public health;
Legislation should be simple, clear and enforceable, and comprehensive;
Anticipating and responding to the tobacco industry’s opposition, often mobilized through third parties, is crucial;
Involving civil society is central to achieving effective legislation;
Education and consultation are necessary to ensure smooth implementation;
An implementation and enforcement plan as well as an infrastructure for enforcement are essential; and
Implementation of smoke-free environments must be monitored and, ideally, their impact measured and experiences documented.

In light of the above experience, the World Health Organization (WHO) makes the following recommendations to protect workers and the public from exposure to SHS:

Remove the pollutant – tobacco smoke – by implementing 100% smoke-free environments. This is the only effective strategy to reduce exposure to tobacco smoke to safe levels in indoor environments and to provide an acceptable level of protection from the dangers of SHS exposure. Ventilation and smoking areas, whether separately ventilated from non-smoking areas or not, do not reduce exposure to a safe level of risk and are not recommended;
Enact legislation requiring all indoor workplaces and public places to be 100% smokefree environments. Laws should ensure universal and equal protection for all. Voluntary policies are not an acceptable response to protection. Under some circumstances, the principle of universal, effective protection may require specific quasi-outdoor and outdoor workplaces to be smoke-free;
Implement and enforce the law. Passing smokefree legislation is not enough. Its proper implementation and adequate enforcement require relatively small but critical efforts and means.
Implement educational strategies to reduce SHS exposure in the home, recognizing that smoke-free workplace legislation increases the likelihood that people (both smokers and non-smokers) will voluntarily make their homes smoke-free.

WHO encourages Member States to follow these recommendations and apply lessons learnt to advance the goals of public health through legislated implementation of 100% smoke-free environments in workplaces and public places. Download the entire document on Protection From Exposure To Second-Hand Tobacco Smoke here.

It's Time To Build On Smoking Ban's Success

webmaster — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 01:44:34 +0000

LEADER Jan 02, 2008 SCMP The year-old public smoking ban has, without doubt, saved lives by reducing people's exposure to second-hand smoke. But as a society, we have not made much headway in encouraging smokers to quit or discouraging others from taking up the deadly habit. The ban, therefore, has only been a partial victory for public health in Hong Kong. As we report today, tobacco imports for local consumption rose slightly last year compared with the 12 months before the ban was introduced in January last year. Customs seizures of smuggled cigarettes also shot up. Much work lies ahead if we are to reduce the number of smokers in the city and the cost to public health services. Still, what the anti-smoking ban has already achieved deserves recognition and celebration. It has overcome the resistance and scepticism of the food services industry. Many restaurateurs who originally complained about a drop in business from smoking customers now acknowledge that business has returned to normal; many say their establishments now attract non-smoking customers who tended to avoid them in the past. Their experience will, it is hoped, convince operators of massage and mahjong parlours, nightclubs and bars to comply with the law when their exemption from the ban expires on June 30 next year. But the ban's most important result is no doubt the number of lives that have been saved from diseases caused by the inhalation of other people's smoke. Though the ban is only a year old, that number should be significant. According to the US surgeon general, there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke, which increases the risk of a heart attack by 30 per cent for non-smokers. This is on top of other smoke-related diseases they may develop from exposure. Two new authoritative overseas studies, cited by the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health, find that the number of heart attack admissions to hospitals dropped considerably just one year after a public smoking ban was imposed. Nine hospitals in Scotland experienced a 17 per cent drop in heart attack admissions a year after a ban was introduced in March 2006. New York State hospitals had, in general, an 8 per cent decline in admissions in 2004 after an anti-smoking law was introduced the year before. There is no reason to doubt something comparable has been achieved in Hong Kong with our own smoking ban. But we need to do more. Food and Health Bureau officials should move quickly to streamline the ban's enforcement by replacing the current summons system with a fixed penalty. This has widespread support among lawmakers, and its prompt passage by the Legislative Council is virtually guaranteed. What's more, it will save the courts time and resources in having to handle summonses for smoking violations. An unfortunate side effect of the indoor smoking ban is that it has pushed more smokers to light up in the streets. This has caused many people to complain frequently about having noxious fumes blown in their faces. In many overseas cities, people are banned from smoking outside main entrances to buildings and other public facilities. A similar ban should be considered in Hong Kong. Some established office buildings have already set aside smoking corners to stop smokers from causing a nuisance at entrances. As a liberal society, we cannot outlaw smoking, but we should certainly do our best to ban the noxious practice where we can and frown upon it when we can't.

Cigarette Consumption Up Despite Smoking Ban in Hong Kong

webmaster — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 13:00:41 +0000

Smokers puff 12m more each month after ban Cigarette consumption up despite limit on smoking areas Scarlett Chiang and Mary Ann Benitez - SCMP Jan 02, 2008 A year after the smoking ban was introduced in most public places, more than 12 million more cigarettes a month are being smoked in the city. According to the Customs and Excise Department, the city consumed an average of about 289.67 million cigarettes per month last year, or about 14.5 million packs, while the average monthly consumption in 2006 was 277.65 million. Census figures for the end of 2006 showed the city had about 840,000 smokers. Medical sector legislator Kwok Ka-ki said the increase showed the smoking ban was not motivating people to quit smoking. "I think the smoking ban can prevent second-hand smoke in public places," he said, "but to motivate people to quit, the government still has a long way to go." Anti-smoking campaigner James Middleton of Clear the Air said the partial smoking ban had "no chance of success as long as [people] can continue to smoke in bars and restaurants that are granted these pathetic deferral exemptions". Mr Middleton said it was "business as usual for the tobacco companies and smokers alike". But the Tobacco Control Office insisted the ban was working. Smoking is not allowed in indoor workplaces, restaurants, sports stadiums, parks and playgrounds or on beaches. But six types of establishments, including bars, nightclubs and mahjong parlours, have been given exemptions until June 30, 2009. Anthony Hedley, chair professor of the department of community medicine at the University of Hong Kong, said the city's growing population could account for the rising figures but added that so long as the prices of cigarettes stayed low, consumption would remain high. "The price of cigarette and tobacco duty has not increased for seven years," he said. "The low price is the biggest driver of consumption. I am convinced this is because of long-term negotiations between the government and tobacco companies." The Tobacco Control Office has issued 3,360 summonses, including 998 at amusement game centres, 565 at food premises, 336 at markets, 315 at shops, 259 in shopping malls, 236 in parks, 139 on backstairs and 512 at other indoor public places. As of November 30, about 1,300 people had been convicted, paying fines from HK$50 to HK$1,500. Christine Wong Wang, head of the Tobacco Control Office, said: "The majority of the public, including some smokers, have shown appreciation of the statutory smoking ban, and voluntary compliance remains by and large the established norm." Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades vice-chairman Lock Kwok-on said restaurant business was hurt in the first six months of the ban but had steadied as customers became accustomed to it and more considerate in the second half of the year. Many customers now were willing to step outside to smoke when told of the ban. Dr Wong said the main aim of the ban was to protect people from second-hand smoke, but it may also have motivated more smokers to quit. A smoking cessation hotline (1833183) set up by the Department of Health to counsel smokers had handled at least 5,800 calls since January last year - about 70 per cent higher than the previous year, she said. But Dr Kwok said the department's promotions were not enough to counter increased tobacco marketing towards teenagers since the introduction of the ban. "A tobacco company will offer free delivery if you buy only two packages," he said. "Who needs delivery services to buy two packages of cigarettes? It must be targeting teenagers who cannot get them in a shop."

Proposed Guidelines for the Implementation of Article 8

webmaster — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:28:45 +0000

China (Hong Kong) has ratified the FCTC treaty, yet its requirements are not being enforced in Hong Kong.

The rationale for protection from exposure to tobacco smoke is clearly stated in Article 8.1 of the FCTC, in which Parties accept the overwhelming scientific consensus that second-hand smoke kills: Parties recognize that scientific evidence has unequivocally established that exposure to tobacco smoke causes death, disease and disability. In the time since the Convention was negotiated, the scientific consensus that exposure to tobacco smoke causes death, disease and disability has grown ever stronger, with the publication of important new expert reports, including those by the UK Scientific Committee on Tobacco or Health, 1 the US Surgeon General, 2 the French National Assembly, 3 the California Environmental Protection Agency,4 and others. These authorities further confirm that exposure to tobacco smoke causes a variety of illnesses, including fatal illnesses, in adults and children. During this time, civil society has played a central role in educating opinion leaders, stakeholders and the general public in many countries about the hazards of exposure to tobacco smoke and the benefits of smoke-free legislation. Advocacy organizations, academic experts and institutions, medical associations and health professionals have all contributed to an ongoing transformation in the world’s understanding of this global problem. As the proposed guidelines acknowledge, civil society has a central role to play in building support for smoke-free measures, and must be an active partner in developing, implementing and enforcing legislation (Proposed guidelines, para 10). Most importantly, since the negotiation of the FCTC, many national jurisdictions, including several States Parties, have adopted laws that provide almost universal protection against tobacco smoke in all indoor public places and indoor workplaces. The number of subnational jurisdictions with such laws has also grown quickly. Evidence surrounding the implementation of these laws shows a remarkably similar pattern. Smoke-free laws are effective. They are practical, workable, and economically beneficial. They are popular, enjoying exceptionally high levels of public support. Read more on the Joint Briefing Paper: Proposed Guidelines for the Implementation of Article 8 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Electronic cigarettes go up in deep smoke

webmaster — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 04:07:32 +0000

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.

Smoking in Cars Hazardous

webmaster — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 10:38:44 +0000

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

More Cigarettes Sold in Hong Kong After Smoking Ban

webmaster — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 23:53:34 +0000

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

Bars Keep Right To Host Smokers

webmaster — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 11:03:52 +0000

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.

Smoking Fine May Rise In Hong Kong

webmaster — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 01:24:30 +0000

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.

Raise Smoking Age to 21

webmaster — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 00:10:17 +0000

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."

Electronic Cigarette To Be Tested On Smokers In Trial

webmaster — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 00:22:42 +0000

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.

Quit Smoking? Move to California

webmaster — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 03:00:38 +0000

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

New Study Confirms Smoking Dangers For Elderly Chinese

webmaster — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 03:28:01 +0000

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.

Chinese Tobacco Economy

webmaster — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:29:42 +0000

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.

US Anti-Tobacco Efforts

webmaster — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 01:31:18 +0000

U.S. falls short in anti-tobacco efforts - report Thu Jan 10, 2008 12:00am EST - Reuters By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor WASHINGTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress and President George W. Bush have stymied efforts to tighten regulation of tobacco and discourage smoking and states have not spent nearly enough to battle cigarettes, the American Lung Association said on Thursday. The group implied that heavy lobbying and spending by tobacco companies was influencing at least some politicians and urged Congress to give the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate cigarettes. "While many states have failed to make meaningful progress at protecting their most vulnerable citizens, the tobacco companies are spending billions of dollars annually marketing their deadly products," the report reads. "A report issued by Common Cause and the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund found that the tobacco industry made almost $3 million in Political Action Committee contributions to federal candidates during the 2005-2006 election cycle, including more than $1.7 million in contributions directly to federal candidates," it adds. "The Institute on Money in State Politics found that tobacco companies and retailers gave over $96 million to state-level candidates, committees and ballot measure campaigns during the 2005 and 2006 election cycle." In 1998, states reached a settlement with tobacco companies in which they received $246 billion over 25 years to pay for the costs of smoking-related illnesses. But anti-smoking campaigners say states have raided these and other tobacco-prevention funds to cover budget deficits, build roads or pay for non-tobacco related projects. PRESIDENTIAL VETO "While the American Lung Association applauds the U.S. Congress for increasing the federal cigarette excise tax by $0.61 to $1.00 per pack, unfortunately it was vetoed by the president and will not take effect," the report read. "The increased tax would have resulted in current smokers quitting and fewer children starting to smoke." The report praises efforts by some states. "Twenty-one states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have now approved comprehensive smoke-free air legislation," it reads. "In 2007, seven states -- Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Oregon and Tennessee -- significantly strengthened their smoke-free air laws. Tennessee is the first traditional tobacco-growing state to pass strong restrictions on smoking in public places and workplaces." But states are slower to raise tobacco taxes -- which several studies show can deter smokers. And they also do not spend nearly as much as is recommended on programs to prevent smoking and to help smokers kick the habit, the Lung Association complained. "More than half of states have not passed comprehensive laws prohibiting secondhand smoke in workplaces and other public places," the report reads. "Until the political will can be found to implement the proven and effective policies graded in this report, over 438,000 people each year will continue to die from tobacco-related diseases." The Lung Association report accuses tobacco companies of marketing to youths and even to children with new flavored cigarettes and brightly colored packaging. Nearly 21 percent of Americans smoke -- a total of 45 million people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Reporting by Maggie Fox, editing by Todd Eastham)

Wisconsin's Cigarette Tax Inspires Many To Quit.

webmaster — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 02:49:47 +0000

Jan 10, 2008 11:32 AM (1 day ago) AP MADISON, Wis. (Map, News) - The increase in Wisconsin's cigarette tax seems to have inspired many to quit. The week after the tax went up, the state's tobacco quit line received as many calls as it got all of last year. Nine-thousand people called the toll-free line in the first week of January. Usually only about 200 people a week call the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line. The cigarette tax increased by US$1 per pack on Jan. 1. On New Year’s Day, the tax for a pack of cigarettes in Wisconsin increased by $1. Wisconsin residents are now paying $1.77 in taxes for a single pack of cigarettes. The tax on a single pack of cigarettes in Michigan is $2. Maureen Busalacchi, executive director for SmokeFree Wisconsin, said the organization estimates 33,000 adults will quit for good because of this tax increase. Thousands of people are calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW looking to quit, she said. The demand for quitting is high, and two-week starter kits of medication are being offered to help smokers kick the habit. “With the support people are getting from the quit line, hopefully, that number will be higher but that is our projection,” Busalacchi said. Wisconsin has a population of 5.5 million, and there are 900,000 smokers in the dairy state.(HK has 7 million population and 840,000 smokers hence the comparison) A smoker usually does not quit the first time he or she tries. “The more you quit, the better you get at it. If you’re not successful, try again because your success rate increases,” Busalacchi said. Among carcinogens and other harmful chemicals, cigarettes contain nicotine, a highly-addictive substance. “Your brain is calling for this,” Busalacchi said. “We should support (people) and help them so they can be successful in quitting.” Busalacchi said Smoke Free Wisconsin was one of the biggest proponents of this tax increase. “We support it because it is the best way to reduce use from starting a lifetime of 66,000 kids won’t get started smoking because of this tax,” Busalacchi said. “We hope that it exceeds our expectations in the number of people that quit smoking. With health care costs and how much Wisconsin spends a year, that can be nothing but a good thing.” Wisconsin currently spends $10 million a year for tobacco prevention, according to Smoke Free Wisconsin. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the state spend between US$31.2 million and $82.4 million a year to have an effective, comprehensive tobacco prevention program. Money generated from the increased tax on cigarettes will go into the state’s general fund. “It originally was suppose to go into Medicaid, which is really the best place for taxpayers ... we spend over a half a billion dollars in Medicaid treating tobacco related diseases. That is just Medicaid,” Busalacchi said. Wisconsin is the 12th highest taxed state for cigarettes in the nation. Six states have cigarette tax rates of $2 or more with 22 states that have cigarette tax rates of $1 or more. New Jersey is the highest at $2.28 in taxes for a pack of cigarettes.

webmaster — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:16:02 +0000

Full report here

webmaster — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:21:13 +0000

Impact of tobacco tax reforms on tobacco prices and tobacco use in Australia

Thailand Joins World With Smoking Ban In Bars

webmaster — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:41:18 +0000

Thailand to ban smoking in bars, restaurants: Health ministry BANGKOK (AFP) — Thailand will ban smokers from lighting up in bars, restaurants and open-air markets across the kingdom in a bid to curb smoking, the public health ministry said Friday. The ban will take effect on February 11 and smokers violating the regulation will be fined 2,000 baht (60 dollars) with night club and restaurant owners facing a 20,000 baht fine, a health ministry official said. Thailand already bans smoking at public places such as government buildings, train stations and hospitals. Hathai Chitanondh, who heads the anti-smoking NGO National Health Foundation, said he would lobby the government to expand the smoking ban to public beaches. "Thailand is a leading country in this region to aggressively fight against smoking. We have reduced the number of smokers to around 9.4 million" of the 65 million population, Hathai told AFP. In addition to banning smoking in Bangkok's bars and nightclubs, the new regulation will also prevent people from lighting up in the popular Chatuchak market, the city's biggest outdoor market and a major tourist draw, he said. Although Thailand was long a holdout for smokers, Pavornwan Koonmongkon, president of the 70,000-member Thai Restaurant Association, said she believed the ban would face little resistance. "Smokers usually cooperate and respect no-smoking rules. This shouldn't cause any problems. I think it's a sign of the success of the government's campaign to raise public awareness about smoking," she said.

Russia Agrees to Tobacco Convention

webmaster — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:47:02 +0000

Friday, January 11, 2008 / Updated Moscow Time Business Cabinet Agrees to Tobacco Convention By Anatoly Medetsky - Staff Writer The Cabinet on Thursday backed further efforts to battle one of Russia's most unhealthy addictions -- smoking -- by giving the go-ahead to a total ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorships. The bill approved by the Cabinet in its Thursday session clears the way for Russia to join a UN tobacco control convention requiring members to take these steps within five years of signing on. Current laws forbid outdoor, radio and television advertising for tobacco, but major international firms that dominate the domestic market, such as British American Tobacco, run ads in glossy magazines, the metro and are heavily involved in sponsorships. British American Tobacco most recently helped organize an art exhibition at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. Promoters often hand out cigarettes to passersby in busy locations. Accession to World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control will come if and when the bill is passed in the State Duma and is signed by the president. Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov, whose United Russia party holds an overwhelming majority in the chamber, has already signaled his support for the bill. "I personally don't smoke," he said. "I think accession to the convention is absolutely the right thing to do." The convention also requires that member countries raise taxes on cigarettes in order to discourage consumption. Russia currently charges a token 3 percent tax on tobacco production, compared with some 50 percent in Western Europe, said Azam Buzurukov, the WHO's national tobacco-control officer in Moscow. The cheapest cigarette brand costs a mere 6 rubles (25 cents) per pack in central Russia, he said. The convention binds governments to restrict smoking in public places, a measure that many West European countries adopted over the past year, with the latest bans hitting French cafes, hotels and clubs on Jan.1. It also tells member states to require producers to remove words like "light" and "mild" from packaging, which should also bear larger health warnings. In an effort to reduce supply, the document also calls for a crackdown on counterfeit products. The WHO hailed the government's decision. "We are positively thrilled," said Buzurukov. "It would have been great if it had happened even earlier." According to the WHO web site, Angola and Uganda, for example, both ratified the document last year. Galina Sakharova, deputy director of the government's Pulmonology Research Institute, attributed the delay to heavy lobbying by the tobacco industry and a government reshuffle in 2004, a year after the convention was opened. Russia has attracted significant investment from tobacco companies in recent years as they looked to make up for markets where tight anti-smoking regulations had come into effect, including neighboring Ukraine. British American Tobacco, a leading domestic producer, said Thursday that it supported Russia's efforts to enter the convention, but that it expected that government decisions about regulating the industry would be balanced. "Every country is an individual case, and practical decisions aimed at reducing the effect of tobacco consumption on health may vary significantly," company spokesman Alexander Lyuty said in an e-mailed statement. The government's health watchdog, the Federal Consumer Protection Service, said in November that 65 percent of Russian men and 30 percent of women smoke. Some 400,000 people died in 2005 from smoking-related illnesses, according to government statistics released last year. In 2000, the government recorded 340,000 such deaths.

Is The Smoking Ban Effective?

webmaster — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 01:26:00 +0000

Do you think the smoking ban is effective? Jan 12, 2008 - SCMP But how about taxis? There is no curb on either drivers or passengers smoking in these small spaces. Hong Kong administrators should note that Japan virtually banned all smoking in taxis whether it be by passengers or the drivers themselves. It will be a great day when I can drive a few kilometres and not have to witness a taxi driver with his window wide open spilling cigarette ash, and probably the butt as well, on to our roads or pavements, winding up his window and then driving away. No wonder most taxi cabins smell filthy. J. R. Paine, Chai Wan Do you think the smoking ban is effective? Jan 12, 2008 - SCMP The smoking-ban legislation has been in force for a year now and I think it has been ineffective. As I am a non-smoker, I sometimes find it hard to breathe on our streets because there are so many people smoking. The law mostly applies to indoor public places. It does not stop people lighting up on the street, and the number of smokers in Hong Kong has not decreased. The fact is that non-smokers are exposed to second-hand smoke in our streets, and so they continue to face a health risk. I would like to see a blanket smoking ban, including outdoor areas. This would help protect non-smokers and might help some smokers kick their habit. Angel Lau Ho-yan, Tung Chung

Macau Support for Tobacco Control

webmaster — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 07:13:03 +0000

High support for tightening restrictions on tobacco: survey Saturday, 12 January 2008 - Macau Daily Times A survey showed that 44.8 percent of the Macau people endorsed a stricter control on tobacco, according to a survey released by the yesterday. The survey, launched by Macau's Department of Health, consulted public opinions on the SAR government's proposed revision of tobacco control laws, including increase of tobacco tax, expansion of no-smoking area, regulations of tobacco advertisements and sales. Among the proposed regulations, 76.8 percent of the people support the expansion of no-smoking area in the island city of 528, 000 residents, according to the survey. Feedback from the surveyed also suggested that the government should establish a tobacco supervising office to step up its control over tobacco, and ban smoking in casinos and world heritage sites. Meanwhile, the survey also indicated that tobacco dealers, souvenir retailers and some restaurant owners were partly or fully against the proposed regulations on tobacco.

Tobacco-Free Electronic Cigarettes and Cigars

webmaster — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 00:27:36 +0000

Tobacco-free electronic cigarettes and cigars deliver nicotine and generate concern John Pauly, Qiang Li and Matthew B Barry doi:10.1136/tc.2006.019687 2007;16;357- Tob. Control Novel cigarette-appearing items have been introduced to the market with the intent, either stated or implied, of reducing toxicants in mainstream and second-hand smoke and/or helping smokers break their nicotine addiction. We report here the introduction to the market of electronic products that mimic a cigar, cigarette or pipe. These articles are unique in that they are the first to have the appearance of conventional tobacco products but contain no tobacco. The products deliver nicotine, at different amounts, but no smoke or tar. See the full article here: Tobacco-Free Electronic Cigarettes and Cigars

Tobacco-Free Electronic Cigarettes and Cigars

webmaster — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:05:14 +0000

Introduction to the market of electronic products that mimic a cigar, cigarette or pipe.

Nigeria Takes On Tobacco Giants

webmaster — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 07:36:38 +0000

By Andrew Walker Nigeria analyst - BBC News 14th Jan Nigeria's government is suing three international tobacco firms for $44bn (£22bn) - the first such case in the developing world - due to start in the capital, Abuja. It says tobacco manufacturers are putting unacceptable pressure on the country's health services, and companies are targeting younger and younger people in an attempt to replace former smokers in Europe and America. British American Tobacco (BAT), Philip Morris and International Tobacco Ltd, deny the claims and say they are socially responsible companies who do not target children. They question the massive sums demanded by the government and say the case "has no merit". But government lawyers are convinced they have a strong case. E-mails between tobacco firm employees to be shown to the court in the capital Abuja will reveal deliberate attempts to increase the number of "young and underage" smokers and attempts to influence lawmakers to keep tobacco sales unregulated, they say. Four Nigerian state governments also plan to go to court early in 2008 to argue similar cases. Cigarette smoking is widespread in Nigeria and BAT recently set up a factory in the West African country. Campaigners in Nigeria say children are sent positive messages about smoking all the time. And young people across Nigeria can buy cigarettes from vendors in single "sticks", which campaigners say makes it easier for young people to pick up the habit. The World Health Organization estimates that 18% of young Nigerians smoke - storing up huge potential health problems in a country of 140 million people, most of whom are under 20. Dossier "If this case gets to the evidence stage, the companies are dead on arrival," says Babatunde Irukera, prosecuting the case for the government. "We expect they will try to delay the case by questioning the jurisdiction of the court. But if they see that they're in trouble we expect them to try and settle out of court." He says they have a dossier of evidence that runs to 3,000 pages consisting of internal company e-mails discussing how to target children and influence lawmakers in Nigeria. "Documents we have refer to ways of increasing the number of 'YAUS' in Nigeria. We have expert testimony that says YAUS means 'Young And Underage Smokers'," he said. The e-mails come from a public depository of evidence uncovered during a series of class-action lawsuits across the US. Many of those cases have been initially successful, but litigants have seen payouts slashed or kicked out on appeal. In 2000 a Florida court awarded $145bn damages to hundreds of thousands of smokers, but the case was thrown out on appeal. The Florida supreme court said making such an award would "result in an unlawful crippling of the defendant companies". Poor hospitals Nigerian public hospitals are chaotic, poorly funded places where equipment is often out of date or broken. Corruption and inefficiency are also responsible for the overload on the health service. Tobacco company lawyers may argue there is little evidence that the government has been taking responsibility for its own health services. "We haven't got a clue where the government got the amount they are asking for. Much of what they claim doesn't add up," said British American Tobacco spokesperson in London Catherine Armstrong. The company says they have been operating in Nigeria since the early 1900s and has never targeted children. "It is false to suggest that tobacco companies have had a knee-jerk reaction to falling markets elsewhere in the world," Ms Armstrong said. The tobacco firms expect legal arguments to go on for "years and years", she added. Counter-productive But anti-smoking campaigners say children are definitely the targets of marketing campaigns. Cigarette companies sponsor fashion shows and music concerts, said Eze Eluchie of People Against Drug Dependence and Ignorance (Paddi), a Lagos-based organisation. "They have something called an 18-plus programme, which they say tries to prevent young people from taking up smoking. But when 16- and 17-year-olds see that, it makes them think smoking is grown-up. It's counter-productive," he said. Whatever happens with the court case, the government is already trying to curb the spread of smoking. Cigarette adverts have been restricted - only allowed on radio and TV after 2200 and billboards have been scrapped. The authorities in the capital, Abuja, are also considering a smoking ban in public places.

RAISING CIGARETTE TAXES REDUCES SMOKING, ESPECIALLY AMONG KIDS (AND THE CIGARETTE COMPANIES KNOW IT)

webmaster — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:32:45 +0000

FG Seeks N130bn Damages against Philip Morris

webmaster — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 04:03:11 +0000

Tobacco: FG Seeks N130bn Damages against Swiss Firm From Funso Muraina and Awashima Ugaden in Abuja, 01.15.2008 The Federal Government yesterday sought a N130 billion damages from a tobacco firm, Philip Morris International for selling tobacco related products to under aged persons. It has also accused the company of evading court service in the suit it filed against British American Tobacco Nigerial Limited and four other companies over the production and marketing of tobacco products in the country. The Federal Government through its counsel, Joseph Daudu SAN, told Justice Binta Murtala-Nyako that he has made attempts to serve Phillip Morris International who are the 5th defendant in the suit but have not been successful. He said the company refused to accept the court processes from the courier company that took the envelope containing the processes to them. Daudu said, “I was told that the 5th defendant in this case has not been served with the processes in this case. “The courier company we sent came back and told us that they (Philip Morris) refused to accept the envelope containing the processes from them. We are hopeful that by the next adjourned date all parties in the case would have been served. He asked the court for a date to enable him effect service on all the defendants in the case. Other defendants in the suit are British American Tobacco Limited, British American Tobacco Company PLC and British American Tobacco Investment Limited. Before the case was adjourned to the 17th of March by Justice Nyako, counsel to British American Tobacco Investment Limited, Mrs. Funke Adekoya told the court that he was filing a preliminary objection to the suit. In the main suit, the Federal Government approached the court for an order compelling the defendants in the suit to cease the marketing, promotion, distribution, and sale of tobacco related products to minors and under aged persons. They also asked for an order of mandatory injunction restraning the defendants from representing or portraying to minors or persons under the age of 18,any alluring or misleading image regarding tobacco related product whether by direct depictions,pictorial, advertorials, images, words messages,sponsorship, branding and or through overt or covert and or subliminal means. The Nigeria Tobacco Alliance organized a rally at the court yesterday in support of the step taken by the Federal Government against the tobacco companies. The Program Manager of the Alliance , Mr. Adeola Akinremisaid, “we are supporting the Federal Government’s suit against the tobacco industry because what BAT cannot do in Britain must not allowed be allowed inNigeria". “It is illegal to sell minors in the United Kingdom ,so why are they doing it here. It is illegal to sell cigarette in unit in the UK, so why are they doing that here". In the statement of claim, the Federal Government asked for the following declarations notably a declaration of this honourable court that the tobacco related product are manufactured, marketed,promoted, distributed and sold by the defendants are additive; a declaration of this honourable court that the tobacco related product as manufactured, marketed,promoted, distributed, promoted and sold by the defendants are harzadous and injurious to the public health; a declaration of this honourable court that the defendants’ conduct as specified herein in the complaint/statement of claim in relation to its misrepresentation and concealment of material facts and other such acts, are reprehensible. They want the defendants to pay N1346,250,421,627.39as special damages occasioned by their conduct They also want the defendants to pay 130 billion for wrongful conduct.

China Seizes 9 Billion Counterfeit Cigarettes In 2007

webmaster — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 15:29:39 +0000

China seizes 9 bln counterfeit cigarettes in 2007 - ChinaView BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- A total of 9.28 billion counterfeit cigarettes were seized nationwide in 2007, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) announced here on Wednesday. Law enforcement agencies raided 3,876 counterfeit cigarette warehouses and rounded up 7,026 people in connection with the false brands, prosecuting 3,492 people, said STMA head Jiang Chengkang. He added law enforcement agencies also solved 5,505 cases, each of which involved more than 50,000 yuan (about 6,906 U.S. dollars). Among those, 49 cases were valued at more than ten million yuan. In 2006, the country seized 9.07 billion counterfeit cigarettes and cracked 24 major cases. Each were valued at more than ten million yuan and resulted in the prosecution of 2,313 people. China's tobacco industry generated 388 billion yuan in taxes and profits last year, a 25 percent year-on-year increase, according to the STMA. By calculation, tobacco industry taxes and profits will account for about eight percent of the country's fiscal revenue in 2007.

DTP Calls For Ban On E-Cigarettes

webmaster — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:54:35 +0000

News National - Today's Zaman Democratic Society Party (DTP) Şırnak deputy Hasip Kaplan, meanwhile, called on Parliament to ban the usage of electronic cigarettes, asserting they are no less harmful than normal cigarettes as marketed. An electronic cigarette, made from microelectronic and supercritical atomizing technologies, takes the form of a tiny rod which is slightly longer than a normal cigarette. The mouthpiece of the device contains a replaceable cartridge filled with liquid. The main substances contained in the liquid are nicotine and propylene glycol. “Under the law, smoking is prohibited in schools and hospitals, but such a prohibition is not valid for electronic cigarettes. Imagine a person who walks along the corridors of a school with an e-cigarette in his hand. Why do we deceive ourselves? It is claimed that e-cigarettes increase the risk of addiction because of their high levels of nicotine. We need to ban the usage of such devices,” he noted.

Study Shows Fall in Heart Attacks After Italian Smoking Ban

webmaster — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 02:40:25 +0000

The Italian Government banned smoking in all indoor public places on Jan. 10, 2005. A new study suggests that this has resulted in a fall of 11 percent in hospital heart-attack admissions in those under age 60.Hospital admissions for acute heart attack in people under age 60 fell by 11 per cent in the Piedmont region of Italy in the five months after the introduction of a ban on smoking in indoor public places, compared with admissions for the same period in the previous year, according to the study, which was published in the European Heart Journal. Dr. Francesco Barone-Adesi, a cancer researcher at the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at the University of Turin, says that smoking acts on the aggregation of platelets in the blood and was most likely to increase acutely the risk of acute myocardial infarction. "It suggests that smoking regulations may have important short-term effects on health," he says. "The long-term effects on respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and cancer will have to be evaluated over the years to come." The researchers observed reduction in active smoking after the ban could account for only a 0.7% decrease in admissions and that about a 10% decrease is due to the sharp reduction of exposure to passive smoking. See the full report here: http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/27/20/2468

Should Tobacco Companies Be Required to Reduce Their Number of Customers?

webmaster — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 02:00:08 +0000

By Stephen D. Sugarman, Berkeley Law School - Independant Media Institute Posted on January 18, 2008, Printed on January 18, 2008 http://www.alternet.org/story/73783/ If tobacco companies were required by law to sharply reduce their number of U.S. customers, we might finally rid our country of the scourge of smoking. It's a bold idea that merits a closer look. The traditional public health strategy is to order tobacco companies to do things like put warnings on their packages or stop advertising on billboards in the hope that this would reduce smoking rates. But U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., has proposed a tobacco-control plan that cuts to the chase and simply orders companies to get fewer people to smoke. With roots in the regulation of power plant emissions and the educational reform act known as No Child Left Behind, Enzi's idea is that government would set performance goals for tobacco companies to meet. Instead of conventional "command and control" regulation -- in which government regulators tell people what to do -- under "outcome-based regulation," government tells them what to achieve. How would tobacco firms comply? They could raise prices, promote cessation aids, sell nontobacco competitive products or innovate in ways we can't imagine. What to do and how to do it is their decision to make. Under the senator's plan, tobacco companies would be required to reduce their U.S. customer base by approximately 90 percent over two decades. At the end of that period, our country could be down to an incredibly low smoking rate of about 2 percent, an ambitious target. Companies that failed to meet performance goals would face whopping financial penalties, making it fiscally more attractive for them to lose smokers than to gain new ones. As bold as it sounds, Enzi's idea of imposing outcome-based regulation on cigarette companies is not entirely new. It surfaced as part of the never-enacted "Global Settlement" of tobacco litigation to prevent teen smoking in the late 1990s. It re-emerged in testimony presented by the Department of Justice in its racketeering case against the tobacco industry. But once the Bush administration took control of the case, the idea of outcome-based regulation was dropped. Certain tobacco-control measures have proven to be effective -- increased cigarette taxes, bans on indoor smoking and harsh "counter-ads" that disparage the tobacco industry -- all of which have been adopted in California. Yet even here the impact of such tactics may have peaked. Social norms may continue to evolve against smoking without further governmental intervention. But leading anti-smoking advocates are not content to wait. Most support a bill that would give the Food and Drug Administration regulatory authority over tobacco products. But there has been grumbling within the tobacco-control community about this bipartisan effort lead by democrats -- Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. Dissenters consider the proposed bill flawed and inherently suspect, given its support by tobacco giant Philip Morris. Other anti-smoking advocates call for increasing the federal tobacco tax, a strategy included in the congressional plan to expand the federal health insurance program for children in low- and middle-income families. But this law ran afoul of a presidential veto that supporters seem unable to override. And in California, voters recently nixed a sharp increase in cigarette taxes proposed in a ballot initiative. Enzi's idea deserves bipartisan support. It establishes a laudable public health goal and forces business to take responsibility for achieving it. It does not impose anything that can be called taxes (at least not if tobacco firms do their jobs right). If Congress does not move on the Enzi proposal, the idea could be adopted by California. Gov. Schwarzenegger and the legislature could team up to commit the tobacco industry to reduce the smoking rate in our state below 10 percent by 2012, a reduction of one percentage point per year. Dramatically reducing smoking rates is one of the greatest public health steps we can take to prevent the more than 400,000 annual deaths caused by smoking. Stephen D. Sugarman is the Roger J. Traynor Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, Law School and author of books on smoking policy and tobacco regulation.

Wisconsin Cigarette Tax Increase Benefits

webmaster — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 04:41:12 +0000

Electronic Cigarettes Being Sold Illegally

webmaster — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 02:31:04 +0000

Mary Ann Benitez - SCMP Updated on Jan 20, 2008 Electronic cigarettes, widely advertised on the internet, are unregistered in Hong Kong and anyone selling them in the city would be breaking the law, the government said. At least one leading brand has acknowledged that its e-cigarettes are on sale in Hong Kong. The latest fad in devices to help smokers quit, e-cigarettes deliver nicotine without the harmful effects of burning tobacco. They have caught the attention of Auckland University researchers, who will begin tests on them this month. Anti-tobacco lobbyists in Hong Kong were at odds, however, about regulating the device. Hong Kong-based Ruyan Group Holdings said its e-cigarettes were sold in Hong Kong. "You can purchase e-cigarettes by phone," a Ruyan representative told the Sunday Morning Post. Its product information said Ruyan's "unique product" has two targets: habitual smokers and those who want to quit. Habitual smokers would get regular nicotine from e-cigarettes, while those who wanted to quit would have an "effective nicotine replacement therapy, a more satisfying alternative to nicotine pills and patches". Ruyan e-cigarettes, patented in 40 countries, included e-cigars, e-cigarettes, e-pipes and cartridges with different flavours and levels of nicotine, the company said. But the Department of Health said such devices were pharmaceutical products and must be registered before they could be sold. "There is no e-cigarette registered as a pharmaceutical product in Hong Kong," it said. Possession or sale of unregistered pharmaceutical products carries a maximum HK$100,000 fine and two years' jail. The law covers products sold on the internet, the department said. When asked whether the device should be regulated, Council on Smoking and Health chairman Homer Tso Wei-kwok said the watchdog had known about e-cigarettes for some time and had even been sent a sample. "It is a nicotine-delivery device. It atomises the nicotine so you can suck it in," Dr Tso said. The council did not plan to test the device but, he said: "It is probably more dangerous than cigarettes [as] you are delivering pure nicotine." However, Anthony Hedley, chair professor of the department of community medicine at the University of Hong Kong and a former council chairman, said: "I am kind of neutral at the moment. On the one hand, we have to continue looking at the issue of harm reduction. "Nicotine is not totally innocuous but it is hugely less toxic than the by-products of combustion of tobacco or heavily chemically contaminated chewing tobacco.'' He said the device could be a "gateway" for young people to take up smoking but its prohibitive price - about HK$1,600 a unit - would be a deterrent.

Protect The Health of Our Citizens

webmaster — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 10:22:28 +0000

SCMP - 20/01/2008 The SAR administration's persistent failure to protect the health of our citizens is shown by the steady rise in cigarette consumption. Increased consumption of any product is obviously associated with a lower relative price and low tariff. The financial secretary must be aware of this reality but has chosen to disregard it. In effect, he is giving foreign tobacco hawkers a windfall profit each year. If our non-elected bureaucrats are really concerned about the health of the citizens of Hong Kong, they have to move quickly in the following directions:

Much higher duties must be imposed on cigarette imports in the next budget and smugglers of tobacco should receive more severe penalties when they appear in court.
A cap on imports must now be imposed with an annual reduction of 4 per cent. This would mean phasing out all imports of carcinogenic products in 25 years.

This will allow time for hapless tobacco addicts to die out or to hopefully give up their addiction to tobacco.

Public hospitals must charge victims of tobacco-related diseases higher medical fees.

Why should wise taxpayers be forced to subsidise foolish smokers or enrich foreign tobacco barons?

Foreign tobacco executives should be banned from working in Hong Kong and a higher profits tax should be imposed on their companies.
Legislation should designate the sale and promotion of tobacco as commercial genocide since it kills millions of people who were duped into believing that it was harmless.

The above measures may seem harsh, even draconian to some. However, this is only because they have become numb to the suffering and death caused by foreign tobacco imports - a toll of more than 4,000 deaths in Hong Kong per year. Isn't it time to stop? Or do SAR government officials prefer to enrich foreign tobacco executives rather than help our young people to avoid addiction? J. Garner, Sham Shui Po

No Smoking Not Slowing Business

webmaster — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 02:13:02 +0000

By News 25 Staff Fears the smoking ban would devastate the bar business is just a myth to one establishment. Some sports bar employees say the Smoke Free Illinois Act is not stopping their business from booming this football season. It is just 20 days into the new smoking ban law and Buffalo Wild Wings employees in East Peoria say they are still getting their normal January crowds. Assistant manager Bridget Wiemer says smokers are still coming in but they are just taking their habit outdoors. "Most of the people are actually glad it has happened because most of them are non-smokers. I really haven't received many complaints. Business has still been good and most people are enjoying coming into a non-smoking restaurant," Assistant Manager Bridget Wiemer says. The East Peoria Buffalo Wild Wings plans to build a heated outdoor awning to accommodate smokers.

Most Retailers Ignore Ban, Survey Finds

webmaster — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 06:10:10 +0000

Cigarettes easier for teenagers to buy Colleen Lee - Jan 21, 2008 SCMP Cigarettes appear to have become easier for teenagers to buy, with a survey finding under-18s could feed their habit from most retailers. The Neighbourhood and Worker's Service Centre sent six teenagers aged 15 to 17 to buy cigarettes at 522 shops in 18 districts. Attempts were made to buy cigarettes at 29 shops in each district, including supermarkets, convenience store chains, small stores and newsstands, in August last year. It was the third consecutive year that the group conducted the survey. The 2006 survey found 74 per cent of outlets sold to under-18s and last year's figure was 86 per cent. Newspaper vendors and small stores were among the worst offenders, with 97 per cent of newsstands and 96 per cent of stores selling cigarettes to the undercover teenagers. The chairman of the Coalition of Hong Kong Newspaper and Magazine Merchants, Bacon Liu Sair-ching, said: "It is difficult to tell from a youngster's appearance whether he is under 18 or not. Some look like adults and some do not. We do not want to lose customers to our competitors. Under-aged smokers can still buy cigarettes from convenience stores nearby even if we refused to do so." In a separate survey of newsstand vendors, 11 per cent said they sold cigarettes to under-18s because they needed the income. The poll of 186 newsstand vendors was carried out by the centre at the end of last year. About 53 per cent of respondents said the biggest difficulty in abiding by the law was that they could not judge whether the customer was an adult by their appearance. About 32 per cent said the main problem was that they had no right to ask for identity documents. Since last January, smoking has been banned in most public indoor areas, but 74 per cent of the vendors said their sales had increased in the past year despite the new rule. Lawmaker Leung Yiu-chung, of the Neighbourhood and Worker's Service Centre, said this might be because more people threw away their cigarettes before finishing them when they went indoors. Another possible reason was that people smoked more as a rebellion against the regulations, he said. Meanwhile, another poll by the centre found about 10 per cent of teenagers smoked regularly and 17 per cent of them said they first smoked when they were 10. The survey recently interviewed 564 people under 18. A total of 61 per cent of the teenage smokers said they usually bought cigarettes at newsstands or small stores, and 28 per cent said they smoked because of peer pressure. One of the undercover teenagers, Chan Yuen-hei, 17, said: "I was scared at first, but I found it so easy after successfully buying about 50 packs of cigarettes from retailers. "Some even gave me a lighter for free." Mr Leung said under-aged smokers should be held liable if they bought cigarettes. He urged the Tobacco Control Office to send more staff to enforce the law. At present, the law only forbids retailers from selling cigarettes to people under 18, not teens from buying them.

Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation Videos

webmaster — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 13:31:45 +0000

Quit Smoking - Avoid Lung Cancer

webmaster — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:15:47 +0000

How Tobacco Ages

webmaster — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 10:22:26 +0000

Take a look at how you will look after a few too many cigarettes. This game will let you upload your own picture and add the realistic effects of smoking: http://www.roycastle.org/atyc/game/

Cigarettes Leave Deadly Path By Purging Protective Genes

webmaster — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:34:46 +0000

ScienceDaily (Jan. 24, 2008) — A University of Rochester scientist discovered that the toxins in cigarette smoke wipe out a gene that plays a vital role in protecting the body from the effects of premature aging. Without this gene we not only lose a bit of youthfulness -- but the lungs are left open to destructive inflammation and diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer. By identifying the Sirtuin (SIRT1) gene's role in pulmonary disease, scientists also hope to find ways to restore it and jump-start lung healing. They've begun testing the powerful antioxidant resveratrol, which is extracted from red grape skins, to develop a treatment to target SIRT1 and reverse lung damage, or at least enhance the way standard COPD therapies work. "This novel protein will allow us to program our body's immune-inflammatory system against lung damage and premature aging. The hallmark of this discovery is that we may be able to provide remedies to millions of smokers who would like to quit but cannot kick their addiction, and millions of former smokers who, despite quitting, remain at risk for illness as they age," said Irfan Rahman, Ph.D., associate professor of Environmental Medicine and an investigator in the University of Rochester's Lung Biology and Disease Program. Approximately 23 million Americans have COPD, which is induced by inflammation and results in progressive breathlessness. By the year 2020, it is expected to be the third leading cause of death worldwide; today at least 9 percent of the elderly population is estimated to suffer from debilitating lung conditions. Rahman has spent years studying how the 4,700 toxic chemical compounds in cigarettes assault lung tissue. He also focuses on why some people seem genetically predisposed to develop lung diseases while others are more fortunate, despite being smokers. SIRT1 plays a pivotal role in the puzzle. It belongs to a class of genes that regulate chronic inflammation, cancer and aging. When SIRT1 is highly active, or over-expressed in mice, worms and fruit flies, their life spans are greatly increased. Recent studies also show that SIRT1 plays a positive role in stress resistance, metabolism, apoptosis and other processes involved in premature aging. However, environmental stress such as cigarette smoke or pollution can decrease production of SIRT1 in the lungs. In collaboration with Vuokko L. Kinnula, M.D., at Helsinki University Hospital in Finland, Rahman's team studied the levels of SIRT1 in the lungs of nonsmokers and smokers with and without COPD. Thirty-seven patients from Helsinki who were undergoing either a lung resection for suspected cancer or a lung transplant, volunteered to provide tissue samples for the study. Researchers confirmed that SIRT1 was significantly lower in smokers who had COPD and in smokers who did not have disease, compared to nonsmokers. The next step was to investigate what pathways lead to the depletion of SIRT1. Researchers found that Sirtuin also plays a role in regulating the entire chemical signaling system that protects the lungs from smoke and pollution. They investigated how SIRT1 relates to another key protective molecule, Nrf2, a transcription factor. Just as in the case of SIRT1, an airway deficient in Nrf2 is weak and inflamed and more prone to conditions such as COPD, researchers found. Nrf2 was also important because it directly regulates several antioxidant genes such as gluthathione (GSH), the most abundant cellular antioxidant responsible for detoxifying the airways. Therefore, the pathway from SIRT1 to Nrf2 ultimately leads to the depletion of GSH, exacerbating the organ's aging process. "You can be 45 years old and look great on the outside, but if you are a smoker or former smoker, your lungs can easily be 60 years old because of the chemical assault," Rahman said. Other University of Rochester research teams are investigating the Nrf2 pathway and various ways to boost fundamental genetic changes in the body that would arm it with amplified natural antioxidants. The result could be the development of a target for new drugs that would protect us from age-related diseases such as cancer and emphysema. Although he was not involved in the study, James D. Crapo, M.D., a leading expert in the field of lung disease and a professor of Medicine at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, said Rahman's novel finding opens new doors. "This is certainly an important breakthrough in understanding the persistent lung damage and inflammation that occur in patients with COPD, and therapies can now be directed towards this protein." The research was published in two separate studies, in the American Journal of Respiratory Critical Care Medicine, appearing online Jan. 3, 2008, and in the American Journal of Physiology, appearing Dec. 27, 2007. The Environmental Health Sciences Center of the University of Rochester, which is partially funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), supported the research. In addition, the University of Rochester has filed a patent to protect the identification of a novel molecular target to treat the progression of COPD and emphysema by inducing the Sirtuin1 gene.

FREE Smoking Cessation Counseling Service

webmaster — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 13:28:19 +0000

Poles Buy Less Cigarettes, Legally

webmaster — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 11:46:35 +0000

25.01.2008 13:28 The sale of tobacco dropped to 69.8 billion cigarettes in Poland in 2007, i.e. 2.5 billion less than in the previous year, the National Association of Tobacco Industry has revealed. It looks as if Polish smokers are beginning to turn away from cigarettes, at least those purchased legally. An increase in the excise duty that has contributed to a significant rise in tobacco prices and antismoking campaigns in the Polish media seem to be the main reasons for the change of attitudes among 9 million habitual smokers in Poland. By 2009, tobacco prices in Poland will go even further up when the country will have to be fully compliant with the EU requirements regarding excise duty on tobacco (at least 64 EUR per 1000 cigarettes). The news is bad for tobacco manufacturers in Poland. In 2006, out of seven tobacco producers only 2 were profitable, according to Puls Biznesu. The Polish State Treasury is one of few winners in the situation. In spite of the sharp drop in tobacco sales, in the 11 months of 2007, the budget recognized 11.8 billion zlotys in revenues compared with 10.4 billion in the previous year. In 2008, the profit is expected to grow by additional 2.3 billion zlotys. Puls Biznesu warns that the high tobacco prices will result in an increased number of cigarettes smuggled to and sold illegally in Poland. Estimates show that the share of smuggled cigarettes in the total national tobacco consumption has reached 30 per cent. In 2007, the Polish Customs seized more than 503 million illegal cigarettes, mainly on the eastern border.

Global Youth Tobacco Surveillance

webmaster — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 12:12:27 +0000

Global Youth Tobacco Surveillance, 2000--2007 Problem: Tobacco use is a major contributor to deaths from chronic diseases. The findings from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) suggest that the estimate of a doubling of deaths from smoking (from 5 million per year to approximately 10 million per year by 2020) might be an underestimate because of the increase in smoking among young girls compared with adult females, the high susceptibility of smoking among never smokers, high levels of exposure to secondhand smoke, and protobacco indirect advertising. Reporting Period Covered: This report includes GYTS data collected during 2000--2007 from 140 World Health Organization (WHO) member states, six territories (American Samoa, British Virgin Islands, Guam, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), two geographic regions (Gaza Strip and West Bank), one United Nations administered province (Kosovo), one special administrative region (Macau), and one Commonwealth (Northern Mariana Islands). For countries that have repeated GYTS, only the most recent data are included. For countries with multiple survey sites, only data from the capital or largest city are presented. Description of System: GYTS is a school-based survey of a defined geographic site that can be a country, a province, a city, or any other geographic entity. GYTS uses a standardized methodology for constructing sampling frames, selecting schools and classes, preparing questionnaires, conducting field procedures, and processing data. GYTS standard sampling methodology uses a two-stage cluster sample design that produces samples of students in grades associated with students aged 13--15 years. Each sampling frame includes all schools (usually public and private) in a geographically defined area containing any of the identified grades. In the first stage, the probability of schools being selected is proportional to the number of students enrolled in the specified grades. In the second sampling stage, classes within the selected schools are selected randomly. All students in selected classes attending school the day the survey is administered are eligible to participate. Student participation is voluntary and anonymous using self-administered data collection procedures. The GYTS sample design produces independent, cross-sectional estimates that are representative of each site. Results: The findings in this report indicate that the level of cigarette smoking between boys and girls is similar in many sites; the prevalence of cigarette smoking and use of other tobacco products is similar; and susceptibility to initiate smoking among never smokers is similar among boys and girls and is higher than cigarette smoking in the majority of sites. Approximately half of the students reported that they were exposed to secondhand smoke in public places during the week preceding the survey. Approximately eight in 10 favor a ban on smoking in public places. Approximately two in 10 students own an object with a cigarette brand logo on it, and one in 10 students have been offered free cigarettes by a tobacco company representative. Approximately seven in 10 students who smoke reported that they wanted to stop smoking. Approximately seven in 10 students who smoked were not refused purchase of cigarettes from a store during the month preceding the survey. Finally, approximately six in 10 students reported having been taught in school about the harmful effects of smoking during the year preceding the survey. Interpretation: The findings in this report suggest that interventions that decrease tobacco use among youth (e.g., increasing excise taxes, media campaigns, school programs in conjunction with community interventions, and community interventions that decrease minors' access to tobacco) must be broad-based, focused on boys and girls, and have components directed toward prevention and cessation. If effective programs are not developed and implemented soon, future morbidity and mortality attributed to tobacco probably will increase. Public Health Action: The synergy between countries in passing tobacco-control laws, regulations, or decrees; ratifying the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control; and conducting GYTS offers a unique opportunity to develop, implement, and evaluate comprehensive tobacco-control policy that can be helpful to each country. The challenge for each country is to develop, implement, and evaluate a tobacco-control program and make changes where necessary. View the full report here: Global Youth Tobacco Surveillance

Tobacco Lobby Told Not To Stand In Way Of Fixed Penalties

webmaster — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:31:02 +0000

Mary Ann Benitez and Loretta Fung Jan 26, 2008 Tobacco-friendly legislators were told yesterday not to use delaying tactics on a bill to impose a fixed penalty on smoking offences. The comments came as the Executive Council on Tuesday endorsed the bill for a HK$1,500 fixed-penalty system on lighting up in no-smoking areas. The bill is expected to be tabled in the Legislative Council for first reading in April or May, after it was discussed by Legco's health services panel in February or March, sources said. Secretary for Food and Health York Chow Yat-ngok has already said he expects the bill to be implemented next year. Council on Smoking and Health chairman Homer Tso Wei-kwok said he hoped a fixed penalty would be enforced as early as possible. "The sooner the better," he said. "But it does not look likely. It is beyond my comprehension why it is taking so long." He said a fixed penalty was first brought up during the amendment stage in the bills committee that scrutinised the amended Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance. A source described the bill as "not a big deal", requiring just a minor change in the law. But the source said legislators might form a subcommittee to scrutinise the amendment. "We do not know when a bill can be implemented until it is passed by legislators," the source said. Medical sector legislator Kwok Ka-ki confirmed the Executive Council endorsement yesterday, adding that the bill could be introduced to the Legco by next month. "I believe the majority of legislators will support the bill, and I hope everything can be done in the first quarter," Dr Kwok said. Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong legislator Li Kwok-ying, who is chairman of the Legco health services panel, said he believed most members would endorse the fixed penalty. "I understand all political parties will agree to a fixed-penalty system but the details are being discussed," he said. But Liberal Party legislator Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, who represents the catering sector, said the fixed-penalty bill should be scrutinised. "I do not think delaying the enforcement is an issue," he said. Penalties for smoking offences were already in place, with fines of up to HK$5,000, he said. "Anything that would arouse public interest should be scrutinised," he said. Health services panel vice-chairman Joseph Lee Kok-long was concerned about the tight schedule. "If the government puts it to the Legislative Council in April, we will only have three months to [discuss it] before the end of our term." Professor Lee said the passage of the bill would depend on the amendments. "If it is just a fixed penalty, it will be simple. Otherwise it will be a prolonged discussion," he said. The Department of Health will review the manpower strength of the Tobacco Control Office, which has 70 inspectors to enforce the smoking ban.

Make Tobacco Giants Pay

webmaster — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 11:34:43 +0000

Make Tobacco Giants Pay for causing addicts so much misery - SCMP J. Garner's concern ("Radical changes are needed in regulation of cigarettes", January 20) about the government's failure to control the epidemic of disease caused by tobacco, does not justify passing the cost on to those who are sick. They are paying a high price already for nicotine addiction, mostly acquired before their 18th birthday. The government and the community have other instruments which should be used to prevent tobacco-induced disease and pay for the damage which is caused by the tobacco industry. First, we desperately need a very large increase in tobacco duty. Cigarettes in Hong Kong are now among the cheapest in the world, relative to our gross domestic product and yet price controls through fiscal measures are proven to be the best preventive medicine by reducing consumption. Second, we need to develop litigation against tobacco companies either on an individual or class action basis as is happening in other jurisdictions. However, it is unlikely that our major law firms will align themselves against the tobacco industry from which many benefit by lucrative contracts. Third, the relative scarcity of publicly-funded professional smoking cessation services means they do not begin to match the level of need in the community. At present tobacco duty pays for less than half of the costs of health care and lost productivity caused by tobacco. If the Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah fails to deal effectively with this problem in the budget next month, then we must accept that recruitment of young people to tobacco dependency will continue to escalate and in turn increase the need for health care. At that point we will all have to pay. Anthony Hedley, department of community medicine, school of public health, The University of Hong Kong

Tax Is Best Way To Fight Tobacco

webmaster — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:04:19 +0000

Jan 28, 2008 - SCMP Any consideration of tobacco tax cannot be viewed from the perspective of profit to industry or government revenue. Increasing tax is the single most effective way to reduce tobacco consumption - it is an important public health tool to curb smoking in society, especially among the young, and thereby decreasing the diseases and deaths so caused. As a public health physician, I congratulate Hong Kong for having passed the tobacco control legislation in 2006. However, the proportion of smokers quitting has not been satisfactory. Tobacco is still the deadliest consumer product sold legally and it promises to kill more than half of its regular consumers. Any standalone controlled measure, even an effective smoking ban in public places, cannot be relied upon for lasting changes. In 2007, the government did not boost its quit-smoking services to coincide with the smoking ban, thereby losing a golden opportunity for tobacco control. There remains another chance that tobacco consumption in the community can be controlled at no extra cost to the government, and that is to increase tobacco tax. At present, our tobacco tax policy is shamefully below the world standard. In Hong Kong, tax amounts to less than half of the retail price of cigarettes, while The World Bank proposes the proportion should be two-thirds to four-fifths. Our tobacco tax policy is backward and uncivilised compared with other world cities, and the best time to increase tobacco tax is now. Dr W. Y. Wan, director of Public Health Consultancy Network

Smokers Kicking Habit After Ban

webmaster — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 23:26:25 +0000

BBC NEWS Nearly 165,000 people in England gave up smoking with the help of the NHS last summer, when lighting up was banned in enclosed public spaces. This is a 28% increase in the number of people successfully using the Stop Smoking Services compared to 2006. Although these findings only relate to those using the NHS service, they are the first figures on quitting to emerge since the smoking ban was introduced. The Information Centre for Health and Social Care published the data. It covers the period between April and September of 2007. NUMBER OF QUITTERS 2005: 142,188 2006: 128,868 2007: 164,711 While the figures do show a significant increase from 2006, in that year the number of quitters had actually declined from 2005. They also do not take into account those who quit using other methods outside the NHS, and whether these numbers rose or declined. However they do tally with other available figures. Cigarette sales in the UK dropped by almost 11% in July 2007 compared with the same month the year before, although it is unclear whether this effect lasted. Smoking was on the decline well before the ban. The latest available figures show the overall prevalence of smoking among the adult population fell to 22% in 2006 - its lowest recorded level. "It's great news that so many smokers have been able to quit, preventing serious health problems and complications. It's not easy to overcome a nicotine addiction so it's clear that the NHS Stop Smoking Service is providing a vital service," said Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo. "And these figures are confirmation that the £56m we invested into the service last year was money well spent." According to the ONS, the drug Champix was the most successful in helping people quit. The highest success rates were reported by the East Midlands, East of England, South East Coast and South Central Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs), while the North East SHA reported the lowest rate, although the difference was not great. Quitters were defined as those who, by their own account, were still not smoking four weeks after treatment. According to public health specialists, perhaps as many as 50% of those will however be smoking again six months later. Dr Tim Crayford of the Association of Directors of Public Health said this does not detract from the benefits of the service. "Even if some do eventually go back to smoking, the fact that others have permanently quit is what's important. It remains one of the most cost-effective services the NHS can provide."

Pub Landlord Charged in UK re Smoking Ban

webmaster — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 00:20:22 +0000

First pub landlord charged with refusing to enforce smoking ban hit with £10,000 fine Last updated at 13:34pm on 29th January 2008 - The Daily Mail UK The first publican to be convicted after challenging the smoking ban is today facing a £10,000 legal bill. Nick Hogan, 40, was taken to court after repeatedly flouting rules by letting customers light up in his pubs in Bolton, Greater Manchester. He pleaded not guilty, claiming he had "advised" customers about the ban and left them to decide whether to act on it. But in the first conviction of its kind a district judge condemned Hogan for "flagrant breaches" of the law. Another landlord, from Blackpool, defied the smoking ban but last year admitted the charges in court. A Gloucestershire landlord who pleaded not guilty to defying the ban was acquitted. The first person to be caught flouting the smoking ban, 47-year-old Gerard Hart, was spotted lighting up in Hogan's Barristers pub. Today after Hogan was fined £3,000 plus costs of £7,236 he vowed to fight on against the ban. He said: "I still believe that this legislation is draconian, and I am sure that the fight against it will go on. This was not just about smoking. It was about people's rights. "I'm not pro-smoking, but I am pro-choice. I have respect for the law, but I have no respect for an unfair law. I don't want to break the law, but I feel I've been pushed into it." He added: "At the end of the day it's my pub, not the Government's. I have been asking for my day in court since the ban was introduced. I want to show that this legislation is unworkable and discriminatory." He had already held a "mass light-up" in defiance of the ban on the day it came into force - claiming he "wanted his day in court". Inspectors found letters on tables saying: "The management and staff of The Swan believe you have the freedom to choose whether or not you wish to smoke. If you choose to smoke, it is entirely your responsibility." Hogan later asked the inspectors to leave as they tried to give him a warning that he could face a £2,500 fine if he continued to allow people to smoke inside.

Philip Morris Readies Aggressive Global Push

webmaster — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 00:25:26 +0000

Division Spinoff Enables Blitz of New Products; High-Tar Smokes in AsiaBy VANESSA O'CONNELL - January 29, 2008; Page A1 - The Wall Street Journal LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Sitting in his office overlooking Lake Geneva, Philip Morris International Chief Executive André Calantzopoulos takes a long drag from an unusually short cigarette. Called Marlboro Intense, the product has been shrunk down by about a half inch, and offers smokers seven potent puffs apiece, versus the average of eight or so milder draws. The idea behind Intense is to appeal to customers who, due to indoor smoking bans, want to dash outside for a quick nicotine hit but don't always finish a full-size cigarette. Pointing to his lit Intense, the CEO says there are "possibly 50 markets that are interested in deploying it." Marlboro Intense is likely to be part of an aggressive blitz of new smoking products PMI will roll out around the globe once the company -- now a unit of New York-based Altria Group Inc. -- becomes a standalone entity. That change will be set into motion tomorrow, when the Altria board is expected to approve a long-awaited decision to split PMI from Philip Morris USA. The move would free the tobacco giant's international operations of legal and public-relations headaches in the U.S. that have hindered its growth. The separate entity, for example, would be exempt from U.S. tobacco regulations and out of reach of American litigators. Importantly, its practices would no longer be constrained by American public opinion, paving the way for broad product experimentation. By as early as March, PMI could be operating as an independent company -- the third most profitable consumer goods concern in the world after Procter & Gamble Co. and Nestlé SA. The move will make it easier for the tobacco behemoth to market an array of new smoking concepts, each targeted to different foreign populations, who, collectively are expected to smoke 5.2 trillion cigarettes this year. Among the new products in test phase is a hand-held electronic smoking device called the Heatbar, which emits less smoke than a regular cigarette. Another is Marlboro Wides -- an extra-thick cigarette whose package flips open from one side. To appeal to customers in some emerging markets, the company is making sweet-smelling cigarettes that contain tobacco, cloves and flavoring -- with twice the tar and nicotine levels of a conventional U.S. cigarette. While smoking rates in developed countries have slowly declined, they have shot up dramatically in some developing counties, where PMI is a major player. These include Pakistan (up 42% since 2001), Ukraine (up 36%) and Argentina (up 18%). Some antitobacco types are sounding alarm bells that an independent PMI will be a corporation which, from a practical viewpoint, is stateless and answers to no one. "There is a fear that after the spinoff, PMI will become even less accountable than it is today," says Richard Daynard, a professor of law at Northeastern University, who worked as a consultant on class actions against tobacco companies. Mr. Calantzopoulos, 51 years old, says such concerns are a "misconception." He notes that regulatory regimes in Europe, for instance, are harsher than in the U.S., where the most severe restrictions were created in a late 1990s settlement of antitobacco lawsuits by the states. The World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, an international public-health treaty, has 152 participating countries, including China, Brazil and Pakistan. While it has led to greater regulation in many of the world's markets, countries such as Indonesia and Russia haven't signed on. Given the fast-changing legislative climate around the globe, "manufacturers are needing to spot potential first, act rapidly on a national level rather than on a regional level," says Zora Milenkovic, head tobacco analyst for the research firm Euromonitor International. Moving Headquarters Mr. Calantzopoulos, a former automotive engineer and PMI's CEO for the past six years, will become president of PMI, reporting to Louis Camilleri, the current chief of Altria. Mr. Camilleri will depart Altria and relocate to Switzerland to run the independent, publicly-traded international tobacco business. Altria, which plans to move its headquarters to Richmond, Va., will consist of the company's domestic tobacco businesses and a 28.6% stake in United Kingdom-based brewer SABMiller. PMI stands to rank as the world's largest nongovernment tobacco company, with sales volume totaling more than four times that of its U.S. sibling. In 2006, PMI had revenue of $48.26 billion, compared with $18.47 billion at Philip Morris USA. Mr. Camilleri has argued that the breakup will lead to a "renewed" focus at PMI. Ahead of the restructuring, Mr. Calantzopoulos has simplified PMI's decision making to quicken the introduction of new products. Local managers have the "power to decide" which new ideas might have legs in a particular region, he says. PMI is also streamlining manufacturing. By this fall, it will halt imports of about 57 billion cigarettes annually from its U.S. sister company. Instead, it will begin to get its entire supply internationally, primarily from its own 42 manufacturing centers, the largest of which are in Holland, Russia, Germany, Turkey and Ukraine. One of PMI's immediate goals is to harness the huge potential of China's smoking population, as well as some of that country's own brands. After more than three years of negotiations with the Chinese government, PMI is expected this year to begin marketing three home-grown brands. The smokes -- selected from hundreds of varieties produced by state-run China National Tobacco Corp. -- will be sold in Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Latin America, according to PMI. The launch is slated for sometime in the next six months. It is part of a December 2005 deal in which Philip Morris agreed to market Chinese brands internationally in exchange for the right to produce its own Marlboro brand at state-owned factories. At the moment, Philip Morris is limited to importing its cigarettes for sale in China and is restricted by stringent quotas. China National Tobacco, based in Beijing, declined to comment. With some 350 million smokers, China has 50 million more cigarette buyers than the U.S. has people, according to Euromonitor. Its booming tobacco industry, which the government says generates around $30 billion in tax revenue in 2005, is a pillar of the economy. China and PMI, says Mr. Calantzopoulos, spent the past year figuring out which of China's top brands might have the greatest potential for sales abroad. "The objective is not to sell Chinese brands to the Chinese immigrants. That's not difficult," says Mr. Calantzopoulos. "But what we want and they want is to adapt these products in a way that they become appealing" to foreigners. Chinese smokers, for instance, prefer the stronger taste of full-tar cigarettes, while most Europeans and Latin Americans favor lower-tar cigarettes with blends of different tobacco leaves. Another concern: The packaging of Chinese brands tends to be "flashy," says Mr. Calantzopoulos. One of the three brands to be sold abroad is called RGD and is manufactured by Wuhan Cigarette Factory of Wuhan city of Hubei province. It's a milder version of an existing Chinese brand called Red Gold Dragon. In preliminary marketing materials, China National Tobacco touted it as being "carefully formulated" with Chinese and non-Chinese tobacco leaves, "and flavored by fragrance extracted from the unique natural plants from Central China." PMI says the positioning has changed, but declines to be more specific. Many of PMI's other new products are intended to strengthen and broaden the world's leading Marlboro brand, whose sales volumes outside the U.S. slid by 0.53% from 2001 to 2006. "It's in pretty good shape, but we can do much more with the brand," Mr. Calantzopoulos says. High Nicotine, High Tar Recent Marlboro launches include Marlboro Mix 9, a high-nicotine, high-tar cigarette introduced in Indonesia last July. PMI is poised to export the clove-infused Mix 9 to other Southeast Asian markets as soon as this year. Another iteration of the iconic brand, the Marlboro Filter Plus, is being sold in South Korea, Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. It touts a special filter comprised of carbon, cellulose acetate and tobacco that claims to lower the tar level while giving smokers a smoother taste. The short but strong Marlboro Intense, which the CEO lit up in his office, is newly available in Turkey. A more unusual product, the Heatbar, has a different objective: preparing for the onslaught of smoking bans in some mature markets. But it's risky -- requiring consumers to embrace an odd-looking product that is as far from a Marlboro as a cigarette can be. Heatbar smokers insert specially-designed cigarettes into the device, a plastic holder resembling an electric toothbrush. They place their lips on the cigarette but when they inhale, the device heats up the cigarette, delivering a flavored aerosol, without causing any tobacco to burn. PMI says Heatbar releases 90% less smoke into the atmosphere than a traditional cigarette. Smokers can either rent or buy the device, which is powered by a rechargeable battery. The gadget's prospects are uncertain. Philip Morris USA struck out with a similar product in the late 1990s. Known as the Accord, it was pulled from U.S. store shelves after a test market run in Richmond, Va., failed to generate interest. In late 2006 PMI opened an intimate wine and coffee bar, Heatbar Tasting Room, to drum up interest in its latest version. One night in late October, business at the Zurich lounge was so slow that nobody showed up over the course of an hour and a half. A lone employee, trained to teach customers the merits of Heatbar, blamed the chilly weather. But surrounding pubs and restaurants were packed with smokers. PMI shuttered the bar last month, taking down its prominent displays of the device in a range of colors, and of packs of cigarettes that go with it. But late last year, PMI convinced two independent Zurich bars to carry the product. The idea, says a spokesman, is to test Heatbar in pubs and other places where smokers would naturally tend to gather. In December it took Heatbar to Australia, opening another PMI-owned store, New Movement Tobacconist, in Melbourne. Mr. Calantzopoulos says the device is in the midst of an upgrade that's easier to use and provides a better taste. Meanwhile, PMI has shown prototypes of the technology to regulators in Australia, New Zealand and the U.K., among other countries with tough antismoking policies. The idea, says Mr. Calantzopoulos is to engage them in early discussion about any future marketing restrictions on so-called reduced-risk cigarettes. "It gives us some access to regulators," he says. "If you don't have a concrete product out in the market, it is very difficult for regulators to focus" on the issues. Seeking Attention At times PMI says it will also launch new products specifically to draw attention to paradoxical regulatory or tax policies. Internationally, 62% of the average retail price of a cigarette is attributable to taxes, versus roughly 50% in the U.S., according to PMI data. But in certain countries in Europe and elsewhere, tax rates on roll-your-own tobacco products are one-third to one-half the rates on cigarettes, the CEO notes. That explains PMI's launch of TBS ("Tobacco Block System") in Germany, where roll-your-own tobacco is taxed at significantly lower rates. Smokers use the system -- which includes a foot-long machine and compressed blocks of tobacco -- to assemble their own cigarettes. After inserting empty paper sleeves into the side of the device, a dose of tobacco shoots inside the shell to create a cigarette. PMI says it hopes the unusual tobacco kits can expand its market share so it can apply more pressure on the German government to close the disparity in tobacco tax rates. Future products in the PMI pipeline will feature unusual packaging, a response to limits on cigarette advertising imposed by the WHO antitobacco treaty. Marketing restrictions are a particular challenge to PMI. Roughly half of its cigarettes, and all those bearing the Marlboro name, are so-called "premium" brands at the top end of the price spectrum in their local markets. That makes PMI highly vulnerable to competition from cheaper local smokes. Without traditional advertising, "your product and your packaging become the key conveyor of what the brand stands for," Mr. Calantzopoulos says, noting that there's always an opportunity for gaining market share. Fancier packs are intended to lure smokers into paying a premium for the company's brands. One example is the Marlboro Filter Plus, which Mr. Calantzopoulos thinks might work in as many as 50 additional markets. The top third of its pack slides straight up, and then backwards -- a sleek design similar to a cellphone. "If I put in front of you two packs of cigarettes and asked you to choose, you will choose, based on some criteria," Mr. Calantzopoulos says, adding: "The whole idea" is to give smokers a reason to choose the PMI-made cigarette -- "not one made by somebody else." --Nicholas Zamiska in Hong Kong and Gordon Fairclough in Shanghai contributed to this article. http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120156034185223519.html

Cut In Tobacco Tax Would Be Death Warrant For Young People

webmaster — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 02:38:58 +0000

Updated on Jan 29, 2008 - scmp Philip Bowring ("Sharing the spoils", January 23) advocates a cut in tobacco tax, "another impost that most hurts lower-income earners who are generally more frequent smokers". Does Bowring realise cutting tax will sign the death warrants of our youth? The tax on tobacco, which has not increased here since 1999, should be tripled immediately. This will save lives. An excise tax increase is proven worldwide to be the most effective fiscal health care method of preventing youth tobacco use. It lowers the levels of adult smoking significantly. The New York tax on a packet of cigarettes, is HK$28, in Britain it is HK$62, in Hong Kong HK$16. Hong Kong, as an SAR of China, is bound to comply with the directive of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which mandates signatories increase tobacco taxes forthwith and regularly. Ratified signatories must acknowledge FCTC is grounded in fundamental human rights. Guidelines should affirm 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 enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health. To underscore effective protection of health requires the creation of 100 per cent smoke-free environments. Providing just ventilation and designated smoking rooms is not acceptable. This duty of care to protect against this epidemic is implicit in the right to life recognised by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the fundamental right of all persons to enjoy the highest attainable health standard as recognised in the Constitution of the World Health Organisation, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and other international legal instruments. Parties' obligations to protect their citizens from exposure to tobacco smoke flow from the citizens' universal rights as recognised in numerous other international instruments. Clear the Air urges any parent who cares for the welfare of their children to e-mail the financial secretary at budget@fstb.gov.hk urging him to adopt a stringent increase on tobacco tax. James Middleton, Clear the Air

Selling Cigarettes To Minors

webmaster — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 02:52:11 +0000

SCMP - 29th January All of us understand the seriousness of selling cigarettes to minors. But how can this problem be solved? A law does exist which makes it illegal to sell cigarettes to minors and it must be enforced and the appropriate punishment be meted out. Even though a law was introduced last year which banned smoking in most public spaces, smoking is still a problem among Hong Kong's youth and there does not appear to be any sign of improvement. One way, therefore, in which we may be able to curb the habit is to punish vendors who sell cigarettes to minors. It is a bit like littering. If someone is caught and prosecuted for littering in the street, they are less likely to litter again. Similarly with vendors, they may think twice about selling cigarettes to a minor if they have been prosecuted in court. Although that is a short-term solution to the problem, it could prove effective. The government should also be looking at more deep-rooted solutions. Sandy Cheung, Sau Mau Ping

Cigarette Modification the Ultimate Public Health Nightmare

webmaster — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 05:47:02 +0000

Cigarette Smoking and the Church's "Pro-Life" Position By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H. - American Council on Science and Health This week's announcement by Philip Morris that it plans a "global blitz" to dramatically increase the number of cigarette smokers around the world represents the ultimate public health nightmare. The industry's insidious strategies to modify cigarettes to meet changing cultural and social needs will add to the allure of this inherently dangerous product: the soon-to-be-launched "Marlboro Intense" will allow smokers to cope with indoor smoking bans by taking quick, deep puffs of a shorter but more potent cigarette during a quick outdoor break, while innovative clove-infused cigarettes will suit the taste of smokers in Southeastern Asia. The end results will be hundreds of millions of new cigarette addicts and the inevitable surge in the full spectrum of devastating cigarette-related diseases. Not only will the increase in smoking lead to soaring numbers of premature deaths, but the economies of these countries will suffer devastating losses due as large portions of their workforce are incapacitated and demand smoking-related medical care. Altria brags that by spinning off Philip Morris International, the newly-independent company will be outside of the reach of most regulatory efforts and threats of legal liability. It considers itself autonomous, responsible to no one at all. Where is the outrage at this brazen campaign that will cause the deaths of millions of people in the next several decades? Where, for example, is the voice of the Roman Catholic Church, which is apparently so committed to a "pro-life" position? Why are they not deeply concerned about the lives of the millions who will soon die from this now-intensified Philip Morris sales blitz? ••• To say that the Roman Catholic Church's stance on the public and personal health implications of cigarette smoking has been dismal would be an understatement. The Church has been largely mute on the subject, more concerned with the moral depravity of alcohol and illicit drug use than smoking. Indeed back in the 1950s, when the avalanche of data on smoking and disease began to hit the medical journals, the cigarette companies were terrified that the Catholic Church might make a pronouncement about smoking's imperiling of human life and health. But the Church did not. Of course, the tobacco folks had a real scare back in 1957 when Pope Pius XII suggested that the Jesuit order give up smoking. There were only 33,000 Jesuits in the world at that point, so the industry was not afraid of losing lots of priest-customers. But they did worry that the Pope might eventually ask the question, as a magazine headline once put it: "When Is a Cig a Sin?" -- and, worse yet, that the answer might be "always." So the spin doctors in the industry worked on the Pope's Jesuit statement and came up with this: an industry rep wrote in the United States Tobacco Journal, "the Jesuits have a way of life that is traditionally stricter than other segments of the clergy or laity in general." What the Pope was really saying, the industry argued, was that cigarette smoke is good fun and pleasurable, and the only reason Jesuits should not smoke is that they are supposed to reject human gratification. Thus smoking is fine for everyone else! ••• Some twenty years ago, while preparing a book on the history of the cigarette in America (A Smoking Gun: How the Tobacco Industry Gets Away With Murder, Stickley, 1984), I wrote to the Cardinal of New York and asked him why the Church had no pronouncements on cigarettes, the leading cause of premature death -- a clear threat to the value of life. The letter I received back was scathing, calling me stupid and naive, arguing that I had obviously not traveled outside the U.S. much and seen poverty and hunger -- otherwise, I would not be worrying about something as trivial as cigarette smoking. As a public health professional, I do not consider 485,000 premature deaths annually in the United States to be "trivial." And I am outraged to see the ongoing marketing of cigarettes here in our country. But the recently-announced move by Philip Morris to addict hundreds of millions more people in Africa, China, Korea, Russia, and beyond is nothing short of appalling. As this international massacre continues -- indeed, intensifies -- is silence by the Church compatible with a pro-life commitment, or is it just sheer hypocrisy? Dr. Elizabeth M. Whelan is president of the American Council on Science and Health

Tobacco Control Programs Reduce Number of Smokers

webmaster — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:25:49 +0000

New CDC Study: Well-Funded Tobacco Control Programs Can Reduce Number of Smokers by Millions Statement of William V. Corr, Executive Director, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids - 29th Jan 2008 Washington, D.C. - As state legislatures across the country convene their 2008 sessions, an important new study provides powerful evidence of the direct relationship between increased funding for state tobacco prevention and cessation programs and declines in adult smoking. The study, being published in the February 2008 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, examined state tobacco prevention and cessation funding levels from 1995 to 2003 and found that the more states spent on these programs, the larger the declines they achieved in adult smoking, even when controlling for other factors such as increased tobacco prices. The researchers also calculated that if every state had funded their programs at the levels recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) during that period, there would have been between 2.2 million and 7.1 million fewer smokers in the United States by 2003. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids estimates that such smoking declines would have saved between 700,000 and 2.2 million lives as well as between $20 billion and $67 billion in health care costs. The new study was conducted by researchers at the CDC and RTI International, an independent nonprofit research institute based in Research Triangle Park, N.C. The study adds to earlier research, using similar methods, which demonstrated the same type of relationship between program spending and youth smoking declines. These studies, along with reviews by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, the President’s Cancer Panel and numerous other experts demonstrate conclusively that state tobacco prevention and cessation programs work to prevent kids from smoking and help adults quit, thereby saving lives and health care dollars. This overwhelming evidence that state tobacco prevention and cessation programs work and deliver so many health and financial benefits leaves elected leaders with no excuse for failing to fund such programs in every state at CDC-recommended levels. The decision should be an easy one: * The problem is huge and warrants urgent action. Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S, resulting in 400,000 premature deaths and costing the nation nearly $100 billion in health care bills each year. * We know the solution works. Comprehensive, well-funded state tobacco prevention and cessation programs are highly effective, especially when combined with higher tobacco taxes and smoke-free workplace laws. * States have the revenue. The states will collect about $25 billion this year in revenue from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes. It would take just 15 percent of this revenue for each state to fund a tobacco prevention and cessation program at the CDC’s new recommended levels. Right now, the states are spending less than 3 percent. * The public supports it. Poll after poll shows that Americans strongly believe tobacco settlement and tax dollars should be spent on tobacco prevention. States with well-funded programs have reported strong success. Washington state, with a well-funded tobacco prevention and cessation program, has reduced adult smoking by 24 percent since it launched the program in 1999. Washington’s dramatic decline in adult smoking translates to more than 230,000 fewer smokers in the state, saving about $2.1 billion in future health care costs Despite the overwhelming evidence that state tobacco prevention and cessation programs are highly effective when they are funded appropriately, only three states currently fund these programs at even the minimum level recommended by the CDC. This is part of the reason that declines in both youth and adult smoking in the United States have stalled in recent years. With the tobacco companies spending more $13.4 billion per year marketing their deadly products, it is imperative that state leaders act now to fund programs that we know work to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit. The CDC recently updated its recommendations to the states for funding and implementing tobacco prevention and cessation programs, taking into account new scientific evidence, state experiences and cost factors such as inflation and population increases since last issuing its recommendations in 1999 (see CDC’s Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs – 2007). The new study should spur state legislatures and governors to heed the CDC’s call for greater investment in programs proven to reduce smoking, save lives, and save money.

Lighting Up

webmaster — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:39:39 +0000

Marlboro's Move Into China May Boost Philip Morris International

webmaster — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 01:22:58 +0000

http://www.dj.com/ - January 30, 2008: 05:04 PM EST NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Philip Morris International, Altria Group Inc.'s (MO) soon-to-be-independent international business, will begin manufacturing and selling its famous Marlboro brand in China later this year, a move that could eventually provide a big boost to the international tobacco company. That move is part of a deal struck with the state-owned Chinese tobacco company a few years ago, and it's taking off after lengthy discussions. China has an estimated 350 million smokers, and at the moment Marlboro isn't manufactured in the country. Altria Chief Executive Louis Camilleri said in a Wednesday conference call that Marlboro will be made and sold in China within the first six months of this year. The production of Marlboro in China, part of a deal that Altria cut in 2005 with the state-owned China National Tobacco Co., would not be subject to any quotas. At present, Marlboro cigarettes are imported in limited quantities into China. As part of the deal with Chinese National Tobacco, Philip Morris International will also help sell some Chinese tobacco products internationally. In China, Philip Morris International is going to have to grow from a small base against entrenched local brands, says Standard & Poor's analyst Ken Shea. "It's going to be a good long-term move, but is unlikely to move the needle immediately," he said. Earlier Wednesday, Altria confirmed that it would spin off its Philip Morris International unit. While fast-growing emerging markets offer the Marlboro maker the potential for speedy growth, navigating these markets can be tricky due to local monopolies, regulations on foreign investment and the prevalence of alternative, regional tobacco products. The spin-off would transform Altria into a domestic tobacco company from a global conglomerate. It would be left with Philip Morris USA and a 28.6% stake in brewer SABMiller PLC (SAB.JO). -By Anjali Cordeiro; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2408; anjali.cordeiro@ dowjones.com

Is Tax The Best Way To Fight Tobacco?

webmaster — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:03:24 +0000

I refer to the letter by "public health physician" Dr W. Y. Wan ("Tax is best way to fight tobacco", January 28). The government should not unconditionally increase tobacco tax so that it reaches record-high levels. It is obvious that there is a market demand for cigarettes. If there is a substantial increase in tax, the criminal syndicates will seize the opportunity to import untaxed cigarettes and such smuggling activities will increase. As a result, the revenue derived from the tax on cigarettes which are sold legally, could go down. The only people who will benefit from this are the criminals. Surely, education is the best course to follow. We have to educate people who are not yet addicted about the negative effect smoking will have on them. I think the graphic pictures on cigarette packets (showing the effects of smoking), can get the message across. We should also offer encouragement to people who are addicted to smoking to quit. More must be done to try and put more young people off smoking. Enforcement policy should also be reviewed. It has been argued that the Tobacco Control Office has not been effective. There are still people smoking in places where it is banned, such as karaoke bars. The office must be given more teeth. Jeff Leung, Wong Tai Sin

Altria/Philip Morris Break-Up

webmaster — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:19:12 +0000

Altria/Philip Morris Break-Up Threatens to Worsen the Global Tobacco Pandemic "The breakup of Philip Morris will unleash a Philip Morris International that will be even more predatory in pushing its toxic products worldwide," says Robert Weissman, director of Essential Action, a corporate accountability group based in Washington, D.C. "An independent Philip Morris International, which is likely to be based in Switzerland, will no longer feel constrained by public opinion in its home country and most important market, the United States." Altria/Philip Morris is the world's biggest multinational tobacco corporation. Eighty percent of its sales are outside of the United States. The company announced last August its intention to pursue the spin-off. Today, Altria’s Board of Directors is expected to finalize the decision and announce the planned timing of the spin-off. Essential Action has spearheaded an effort by more than 150 public health organizations in over 70 countries worldwide to respond to the Philip Morris break-up. The groups have urged governments (www.philipmorrisbreakup.org/calltogovs) to adopt comprehensive tobacco control measures to ensure that the spin-off of Philip Morris International does not worsen the tobacco epidemic. Among other measures, they are urging that governments ratify and strongly implement the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, ban the tobacco industry from lobbying or working on legislation to implement the global treaty, and exclude tobacco products from bilateral and multilateral trade and investment agreements. Public health groups have also called on Philip Morris to commit to public health principles -- a set of principles the company has rejected. "An independent Philip Morris International based outside of the United States will be immune to even the possibility of domestic regulation in the United States or litigation in U.S. courts," says Anna White of Essential Action, "This has been a real threat to Philip Morris International." The litigation risk to Philip Morris International was recently made apparent in the U.S. government case against the tobacco industry. In that case, U.S. Judge Gladys Kessler ruled that Philip Morris and other tobacco companies must stop using misleading terms like "light," "mild" and "low" (as in "Marlboro Lights"). The tobacco industry has used these terms to deceive smokers into thinking they are using a reduced risk product, when they are not. Judge Kessler ruled that the prohibition on use of these misleading terms extends to Philip Morris International. If an independent PMI had no connection to the United States, the judge would not have been able to issue this order. The Wall Street Journal reported on January 29 on Philip Morris International's plans to inflict on the world an array of new products, packages and marketing efforts. According to the Journal, these are designed to undermine smokefree workplace rules, defeat tobacco taxes, segment markets with specially flavored products, offer sweetened cigarettes sure to appeal to youth, and overcome marketing restrictions. "The World Health Organization projects that 10 million people will die annually from tobacco-related disease by 2030, 70 percent in developing countries," says White. "We must work to lessen this toll, not allow an independent Philip Morris to make it worse." Weissman notes that there is also a danger of the independent Philip Morris International selling its new products into the United States -- perhaps immune from the modest marketing restrictions now imposed on the major tobacco companies as a result of past litigation.

Worsening The Tobacco Pandemic

webmaster — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:21:53 +0000

Prevent an independent PMI from worsening the tobacco pandemic By Bobby Ramakant - Scoop In anticipation of the expected announcement on 30 January 2008 of the timing of Philip Morris International's spin-off, public health organizations worldwide say there is heightened urgency for governments to enact comprehensive laws to control Philip Morris and other tobacco companies. "The unleashing of Philip Morris International from Philip Morris USA poses the risk that Philip Morris International will become even more predatory in pushing its toxic products to young people worldwide," says Anna White, of the U.S.-based corporate accountability group Essential Action, "An independent Philip Morris International, which is likely to be based in Switzerland, will no longer feel constrained by public opinion in its home country and most important market, the United States." Altria/Philip Morris is the world's biggest multinational tobacco corporation. Eighty percent of its sales are outside of the United States. The company announced last August its intention to pursue the spin-off. Today, Altria's Board of Directors is expected to finalize the decision and announce the timing of the spin-off, assuming required regulatory approvals. More than 150 public health organizations in over 70 countries worldwide have endorsed a call on governments to adopt comprehensive tobacco control measures to ensure that the spin-off of Philip Morris International does not worsen the tobacco epidemic. Among other measures, they are urging that governments ratify and strongly implement the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, ban the tobacco industry from lobbying or working on legislation to implement the global treaty, and exclude tobacco products from bilateral and multilateral trade and investment agreements. A list of their demands is available at www.philipmorrisbreakup.org/calltogovs "An independent Philip Morris International based outside of the United States will be immune to even the possibility of domestic regulation in the United States or litigation in U.S. courts," said Anna White, "This has been a real threat to Philip Morris International." The litigation risk to Philip Morris International was recently made apparent in the U.S. government case against the tobacco industry. In that case, U.S. Judge Gladys Kessler ruled that Philip Morris and other tobacco companies must stop using misleading terms like "light," "mild" and "low" (as in "Marlboro Lights"). The tobacco industry has used these terms to deceive smokers into thinking they are using a reduced risk product, when they are not. Judge Kessler ruled that the prohibition on use of these misleading terms extends to Philip Morris International. If an independent PMI had no connection to the United States, the judge would not have been able to issue this order. "The World Health Organization projects that 10 million people will die annually from tobacco-related disease by 2030, 70 percent in developing countries," says White. "We must work to lessen this toll, not allow an independent Philip Morris to make it worse."

Chinese Cigarettes to Go Global

webmaster — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 06:16:14 +0000

By Nicholas Zamiska and Juliet Ye in Hong Kong and Vanessa O'Connell in New York - The Wall Street Journal China is hoping a partnership with Philip Morris can make it a global player in the tobacco business. After more than three years of negotiations, the Chinese government has selected three domestic cigarette brands, of the hundreds sold, to market abroad in partnership with Philip Morris International, according to PMI and the Chinese companies involved. China has more smokers, some 350 million, than the U.S. has people. China's booming tobacco industry, which the government says generates about $30 billion of annual tax revenue, is an important part of the national economy. But all cigarettes in China are produced under stringent quotas restricting the industry's domestic growth, and so far, the industry's international efforts have been marginal at best. Now, China National Tobacco Corp., the country's state-owned cigarette monopoly, is hoping to change that. China and PMI have chosen markets for the three brands, although PMI says only that they are in Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Latin America. The rollout is part of a December 2005 deal in which Philip Morris agreed to market Chinese brands internationally in exchange for the right to produce its own Marlboro brand at Chinese state-owned factories. The Chinese cigarettes will be made in factories owned by CNTC and PMI, according to PMI, which is expected to be split off soon from Altria Group Inc. The joint venture will serve as another test of China's ability to transplant homegrown brands, not just products, overseas. It has succeeded with such familiar names as Haier appliances and Lenovo computers, after years of watching foreign brands infiltrate the mainland and capture loyal followings. The question is whether it can pluck three cigarette brands -- RGD, Harmony and Dubliss -- from relative obscurity and elevate them to an international, or at least regional, presence. This isn't the first time China has entertained ambitions of going global with its cigarettes. Golden Deer cigarettes are sold in Russia through a joint venture with Japan Tobacco Inc.'s Gallaher Group and have entered the American, Taiwanese, Middle Eastern and African markets, according to a booklet handed out by CNTC officials at an international tobacco-industry conference in Paris in November. Operating mostly on its own, CNTC has been forced to use a complex patchwork of arrangements to get its products into various regions. Through its joint venture with PMI, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, CNTC will have access to one of the industry's most powerful distribution networks. With a 15% share of the international tobacco market, PMI does business in more than 160 countries. It can introduce a cigarette brand in dozens of countries at once. CNTC, based in Beijing, declined to comment. PMI Chief Executive André Calantzopoulos said the venture was delayed partly because of cultural differences. "By Chinese standards, urgency is in terms of decades, versus U.S. companies, where urgency is next quarter," he said. --Gordon Fairclough in Shanghai contributed to this article.

Altria Sets Date For Tobacco Break-Up

webmaster — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 04:10:08 +0000

By Christopher Bowe in New York - Financial Times Published: January 31 2008 02:01 | Last updated: January 31 2008 02:01 Altria on Wednesday set a date for the long-awaited spin-off of Philip Morris International, putting in motion the break-up of the world's largest cigarette maker. The move, due on March 28, will allow investors a choice between the fast-growing international operations and the remaining Altria business, which is tied to the declining US market. Under a stabilising US tobacco litigation environment, Louis Camilleri, chief executive, has moved to break up Altria, which was viewed more valuable in pieces than together. Last year, it completed the spin-off of Kraft, its US food group. The spin-off also decouples PMI from some US litigation concerns and gives it stock to use as currency in rapid industry consolidation. It also allows Altria to make its own strategic moves for the domestic business. Putting the final details on the spin-off plan, launched last August, Altria said the companies would be focused, flexible and financially powerful to compete in their markets. After the split, PMI and Altria will launch share repurchases of $13bn and $7.5bn respectively over two years, and will pay dividends of $1.84 and $1.16 this year. Mr Camilleri will become chief of PMI, which will be based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and maintain an office in New York. Altria will close its New York office and be based in Philip Morris's long-time home of Richmond, Virginia. The group will comprise Philip Morris USA and also retain its minority stake in brewer SABMiller. It will be headed by Michael Szymanczyk, chief executive of PMUSA. Under the deal, shareholders of Altria as of March 19 will receive one share of PMI for each share they hold of Altria. PMI will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the planned symbol of PM, Altria said. On Wednesday Altria provided an upbeat financial outlook for the separate businesses this year. It expects PMI's earnings to increase 12-14 per cent from last years $2.78 per share. Altria's US business is expected to rise 9-11 per cent from last years $1.50 per share. Last year, Altria's revenues increased 10 per cent to $73.8bn. US revenues were flat at $18.5bn, while total international tobacco sales rose 14 per cent to $55bn.

Tobacco Compliance Check In Hong Kong

webmaster — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 07:43:31 +0000

Ming-yue Kan, Maggie Lau Received 12 December 2006; accepted 31 March 2007 We examined tobacco retailers’ rates of compliance to the law forbidding the sale of tobacco products to persons under 18 years of age in Hong Kong. The overall compliance rate was only 18.9%. The low compliance rate may be attributed to poor enforcement of the youth access law. Overseas experiences show that regular checking is an effective way to evaluate the compliance of tobacco retailers to restrictions on youth access to tobacco. Periodic tobacco compliance checks should be adopted in Hong Kong to exert pressure on law enforcement bodies and tobacco retailers. See the full document on the Tobacco Compliance Check In Hong Kong here.

Increases In Tobacco Tax Can Help Put Off Young Smokers

webmaster — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 04:06:30 +0000

2nd Feb 2008 - SCMP I strongly support a substantial rise in tobacco tax in the forthcoming budget, as suggested in the timely letters from Tony Hedley ("Make tobacco giants pay for causing addicts so much misery", January 27) and W. Y. Man ("Tax is best way to fight tobacco", January 28). Price measures have been shown around the world to be the single most effective measure in reducing tobacco use, especially among the young. How can anyone oppose this? Hong Kong is now under international treaty obligation to the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which calls upon governments to adopt tax and price policies that reduce tobacco consumption. It is no accident that the first protocol being negotiated within the convention is on smuggling. It is recognised that, even in spite of smuggling problems, tax increases significantly reduce cigarette consumption. Smuggling seriously harms public health, helps finance criminal groups and reduces government revenue. But cigarettes are smuggled across all borders, often multi-directionally. The solution to this, as with all crimes, is for governments to fight crime and not reduce commitment to public health. Tax increases are a win-win situation: they benefit public health and also generate more government revenue. Hong Kong should go a step further and follow Singapore's example of abolishing duty free cigarettes. There can be little justification for making cheap and therefore more affordable cigarettes available, especially to the young. We are falling well behind our neighbours in Asia, for example, Thailand uses 4 per cent of tobacco tax to fund tobacco control and public health. The time for a further tax increase in Hong Kong is long overdue. Our graphic health warnings have received international recognition, for example, they were recently featured in a full page of a newspaper in India. Let us do the same with our tobacco taxation policy. Dr Judith Mackay, director, Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control

Five Years For Cigarette Smuggler

webmaster — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 07:58:52 +0000

BBC News - February 4, 2008 A lorry driver has been jailed for five years for attempting to smuggle almost eight million illegal cigarettes into the UK through Immingham docks. Egidijus Navalinskas, 42, of Lithuania, was sentenced at Hull Crown Court after a 10-month investigation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) officers. They found 7.7m cigarettes in a cargo of frozen blackcurrants when he came to Immingham from Denmark in April 2007. The duty lost on the cigarretes was estimated at £10m, the court heard. In sentencing Recorder Ekins said: "The figures involved are vast, on one count alone the duty evaded is £1.2m. "The offences are aggravated by the repeat imports and the complex and sophisticated operation of which you are a part. "Without you this operation would not have been possible. "You are a trusted driver, relied upon to do the organisation's bidding and no other sentence but a custodial one can be passed to act as a deterrent to others." John Kinghorn, from HMRC, said: "This was a sophisticated attempt to flood our streets with illegal counterfeit cigarettes. "People offered cheap fags are not getting the bargain that they think they are but an un-regulated product that can contain harmful chemicals. "They are also damaging the local economy by removing the local shopkeepers' livelihood. "This sentence sends out a strong message to those involved in this illegal trade."

Some Campuses Decide Tobacco Company Money Is Tainted

webmaster — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:40:57 +0000

February 4, 2008 - The New York Times Some Campuses Decide Tobacco Company Money Is ‘Tainted’ By ALAN FINDER Officials at the University of Texas business school in Austin became uneasy when they realized that a reliable donor to student activities — the parent company of the tobacco maker Philip Morris — wanted a more prominent role in sponsoring events, and more interaction with students. So the school decided two months ago to draw a line, and refuse all tobacco money for student groups, as well as for faculty research. “What it came down to for us was the ethical dimension,” said George W. Gau, dean of the Texas school, the McCombs School of Business. “The leadership of the school felt that in some sense it was tainted money, that it is money gotten from a product that is significantly harming people.” Across academia, universities and graduate schools are wrestling with whether to accept financing from tobacco companies for research or student activities. In the past few years, 15 public health and medical schools have turned away donations from the industry; McCombs’ move was unusual because of its longstanding ties to an array of corporations. But on some campuses, faculty who get tobacco money for research grants have led pitched battles over proposed bans. Last spring, because of such faculty opposition, Stanford University and regents of the University of California system rejected prohibitions on tobacco dollars. Many faculty members argued that the restrictions would infringe on academic freedom and lead to fights over money from other potentially controversial sources, like liquor, pharmaceutical or oil companies. They said that even if tobacco companies financed research, professors would guard their independence and not permit the companies to influence their results. “We take funding from corporations, from the Department of Defense, from many, many sources, but ultimately the responsibility for the science belongs to the faculty member who did the science,” said Robert C. Dynes, president of the University of California system. The California Board of Regents decided in September that rather than ban tobacco money, it would require research financed by tobacco companies to be approved by the chancellor on each campus. The origins of the movement to ban tobacco money are traced to Australia, where nearly 20 universities stopped accepting money from the industry during the 1990s, said Stanton A. Glantz, a professor of medicine in the division of cardiology at the University of California, San Francisco medical school. Dr. Glantz was among the prime proponents of a tobacco ban in the California university system. Universities also received a nudge from the American Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit group created as part of a $206 billion settlement in 1998 of a lawsuit filed by 46 states against the tobacco industry. The foundation, dedicated to reducing tobacco use, awards research and other grants to universities, but only if the unit of the university seeking financing does not accept tobacco money. The medical school at Emory University and the public health schools at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Ohio State, Louisiana State and the Universities of Arizona, Iowa and North Carolina have also banned tobacco money. Proponents of bans often argue that universities should stop accepting tobacco money not only because of the public health impact of smoking, but because of what they view as the industry’s misuse of scientific research to confuse consumers about the risks of smoking and second-hand smoke. “The argument for rejecting funding is that the tobacco industry has a 50-plus-year history of a corrupting influence on medical research,” said Dr. Michael J. Thun, the chief of epidemiological research at the American Cancer Society. Philip Morris says the money it donates for research is given with no strings attached. “When we make those grants, the control of the grant is by the researchers, and we ask them to publish their results and to make sure to make public that we funded it,” said Bill Phelps, a spokesman for Philip Morris U.S.A., the largest tobacco company in the United States. “We think that the research we’ve funded has contributed to the base of scientific knowledge.” He declined to disclose how much the company spends on research grants. Philip Morris is currently financing one research project at the University of Texas at Austin, a three-year, $455,000 effort to study how certain toxic compounds in cigarette smoke react with DNA, causing damage that can lead to cancer. Jennifer S. Brodbelt, a chemist who is a researcher on the study, said the company has had no role in the research. “We are all struggling to maintain our research programs,” Dr. Brodbelt said. “If we can find new sources to support meritorious research, I say let’s make the most of it.” Some of the nearly $150,000 that Philip Morris or its parent company, the Altria Group, gave to the McCombs school in recent years helped support two research centers. But most of the money went to student groups and activities, from the Hispanic Business Students Association to a conference on women in business leadership. Because Philip Morris recruits employees from the business school — an activity not affected by the ban — it wants to support student events and educational programs, said Mr. Phelps, the company spokesman. The company donates money for similar activities at several dozen colleges and universities, he said. But department chairmen and deans at the business school had become uncomfortable with the company’s role, and in particular its desire for more interaction with undergraduates. Some wondered whether giving the company more prominence on campus would suggest that the university was in some way endorsing it, said Dr. Gau, the dean. Paula C. Murray, associate dean for undergraduate programs at McCombs, was among those who pushed for the ban. “We know the product is deadly,” she said. “We know it causes cancer. And we know that the younger you start smoking, the more likely you will find it hard to quit. With two-thirds of our undergraduates under 21, to me it’s a no-brainer.” “Just because it’s green,” Ms. Murray added, “we don’t have to take it.”

Cannabis Now Three Times Stronger

webmaster — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 07:19:46 +0000

The strongest type of cannabis - known as Skunk - now dominates the UK market, according to new Home Office research. Skunk now accounts for between 70% and 80% of samples seized by police, compared with 15% six years ago. It is three times stronger than other types. Senior police officers are urging the government to reclassify cannabis as a Class B drug. The police are among several bodies giving evidence to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. The Association of Chief Police Officers said reclassification would end confusion over the status of cannabis. "We do support a re-classification back to B, and there's three reasons for that", Assistant Chief Constable Simon Byrne told BBC News. Cannabis farms "Firstly, we are worried about the rise in the number of cannabis farms we're discovering, which is frankly fuelling a more home-grown market in the more potent type of cannabis. "That then links in to... our professional concerns about the potency of some of that cannabis, and the effect on some people's mental health." "And thirdly... I think there's confusion on the streets about whether this drug is legal or not, and that's causing problems for officers who are trying to enforce the law." Tougher penalties Police said the reclassification would help them target organised crime gangs who are profiting from the booming trade in herbal cannabis cultivated in the UK. The reclassification would be accompanied by stiffer penalties, something that Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith are believed to support. But David Blunkett, who downgraded the drug when he was home secretary, said a reversal of his decision would create confusion.

I'm not talking about it just being a gateway drug. It is dangerous in itself Debra Bell, Talking About Cannabis Parental Action Group

Speaking at the weekend, he said: "Rather than affecting practice on the ground, classifying cannabis back to class B now would simply cause confusion." And the mental health charity Rethink said cannabis use could be reduced without reclassification, if warnings about the risks were placed on packs of cigarette papers, which are used to roll joints. Debra Bell, of the Talking About Cannabis Parental Action Group, said: "Skunk cannabis is one of the evils of our time. "I'm not talking about it just being a gateway drug. It is dangerous in itself."

Cannabis use has been falling Harry Shapiro, Drugscope

Skunk is a specific type of cannabis and is so-called because it has a very strong smell, but these days it has become the generic term for stronger forms of the drug. It is regarded as stronger because it contains much higher levels of the active ingredient in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). It also contains much lower levels of cannabidiol (CBD), which is an anti-psychotic substance that can moderate the effect of THC on the mental health of users. Opinion poll A survey for the Advisory Council, by Ipsos/Mori of 1,000 people in England, Wales and Scotland over the age of 16 suggests that most people believe cannabis should be moved into a category reserved for more dangerous drugs. Of those polled, 32% said cannabis should be moved into Class A - alongside heroin, cocaine and ecstasy; 26% said it should be in Class B and 18% said it should be class C - its currentl category. Eleven per cent said it should be legalised. But the poll indicates that less than half know that cannabis is currently in class C, and less than a quarter want tougher penalties than those already in force for cannabis possession - the maximum prison term is currently two years. Schizophrenia risk The mental health charity, Sane, is also giving evidence to the review. Its chief executive, Marjorie Wallace, said there was a significant risk for people who smoke the drug who are under 15 years old. She said: "Their chances of developing a later illness like schizophrenia can be between two and four times higher - that means there may be about 1,500 people who are developing schizophrenia who, without taking cannabis, might not otherwise have had this long sentence of mental illness."

TYPES OF CANNABIS Herbal , also known as "grass" or "weed", stronger varieties now dominate the market Skunk contains three times as much of the active ingredient, THC Resin , also known as hash, was formerly the most common form of the drug, sold in blocks and crumbled

But the charity Drugscope said it saw no good reason for reclassifying cannabis, so soon after the government decided to make it Class C four years ago. Harry Shapiro, of Drugscope, told BBC News: "In 2004 it was predicted that there would be a huge increase in the amount of cannabis use as a result of the fact that it was downgraded from a Class B to a C. "Not only has that not happened, but the government figures suggest that, actually, cannabis use has been falling since then." The Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, has said she will maintain an open mind on the subject of re-classification until the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs presents its recommendations. Story from BBC NEWS

Tobacco Companies Linked to Criminal Organizations

webmaster — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 07:27:03 +0000

Tobacco Companies Linked to Criminal Organizations in Lucrative Cigarette Smuggling When Tommy Chui failed to show up at the grand opening of his wife's new boutique in downtown Singapore, alarm bells rang 1,600 miles away in the offices of Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption. It was March 29, 1995, and the news that Chui was missing devastated the commission's assistant director, Tony Godfrey. He immediately sent two investigators to Singapore. Three days later, on April 1, his worst fears were realized. Dockworkers found Chuis bloated body floating in Singapore Harbor. A former director of British American Tobaccos biggest distributor of contraband cigarettes to China and Taiwan, the 38-year-old Chui had been abducted, ritually tortured, gagged, suffocated and thrown into the harbor just weeks before he was to testify against his ex-associates. Chui was the star prosecution witness in an international tobacco smuggling investigation launched in 1993 by Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption. He was about to blow the lid off a $1.2 billion smuggling operation to China and Taiwan and implicate three former British American Tobacco executives in a HK$100 million bribery scandal. In addition, his testimony was key to the prosecution of his two former business associates, several corrupt customs officers and various members of Asias most notorious criminal gang, the Triad. Read more on this report at the The Center for Public Integrity

Hong Kong's Smoking Offenses Bill 2008 Gazetted

webmaster — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 01:53:12 +0000

www.chinaview.cn 2008-02-06 19:28:42 HONG KONG, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Fixed Penalty (Smoking Offenses) Bill 2008 was gazetted in Hong Kong on Wednesday, which seeks to deal more effectively with the offense of smoking or carrying a lit cigarette, cigar or pipe in a statutory no smoking area or a transport carrier. The bill could help better utilize the resources of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government and the courts, a press release from the Information Services Department of HKSAR government said. Under the bill, the fixed penalty level for smoking offenses is proposed at 1,500 HK dollars (about 193 U.S. dollars). This is on par with the fine level for public cleanliness offenses which also have public health implications. This is also the penalty level that attracted majority support in the HKSAR government's public consultation, said the press release. Deputy Secretary for Food and Health Ingrid Yeung said that introducing a sufficiently high standard fixed penalty level, together with the obligation to pay the penalty more promptly, would be a stronger deterrent and would convey a more consistent message on the HKSAR government's determination to enforce the smoking ban. Under existing arrangements for prosecution proceedings, it could take up to three months after the day of the offense before a defendant appears in court. Under the proposed fixed penalty system, a person given a fixed penalty notice for smoking offenses has to make payment in 21 days. When the payment is settled, the person is no longer liable to be prosecuted or convicted for that offense. "With the implementation of the fixed penalty system for smoking offenses, enforcement officers could then take more enforcement action, which would increase the strength and effectiveness of our whole enforcement strategy. There may be a reduction of court's workload if offenders are ready to pay the fines without fighting the cases," Yeung said. At present, tobacco control inspectors of the Tobacco Control Office (TCO) and police officers are empowered to enforce the smoking ban under the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance. Under the bill, the Food and Health Bureau would further empower specified public officers of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Housing Department to issue fixed penalty notices within some of their premises to offenders. Yeung said the empowerment of officers of these departments to issue fixed penalty notices was meant to complement the work of the TCO to further step up the enforcement strength. It would not overtake their current work priorities. Yeung urged people to cooperate with the law enforcement officers. She pointed out that if the law enforcement officers intended to issue a fixed penalty ticket or summons to an individual, they were empowered by the bill to request the individual to provide documentary proof of identity. Refusal to doso would constitute a breach of the law under the bill, with the offender liable to a maximum fine of 10,000 HK dollars (about 1, 285 U.S. dollars). The bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council on Feb. 20, the press release said.

Drastic Cut Of Outlets Selling Tobacco Can Help Curb Smoking

webmaster — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 07:55:51 +0000

Feb 06, 2008 - SCMP We should not be surprised by the findings of the survey conducted by the Neighbourhood and Workers' Service Centre that an overwhelming majority of outlets were willing to sell cigarettes indiscriminately to under-18 minors in violation of the law ("Cigarettes easier for teenagers to buy", January 21). The relevant legislation has not worked. In pursuit of their economic interests, these outlets, be they supermarkets, convenience stores, news-stands, or small and large restaurants, were willing and able to flout the law with impunity and render it a mockery. Minors unable to buy cigarettes from one retailer, would quite quickly find one nearby who would sell them cigarettes and so they could satisfy their nicotine addiction. That is the crux of the problem - there are just too many outlets selling cigarettes, making effective enforcement impossible. Therefore, the government must quickly reduce the number of outlets and there must be a substantial cutback. A drastically-reduced number of outlets will make enforcement of the law more cost-effective. At the same time, access to cigarettes will be made more inconvenient, requiring greater efforts from smokers, adults and minors alike, to source their killer substance. Nicotine is a poisonous and cancer-causing substance and its availability should be restricted, not facilitated at every street corner as it is now; otherwise, we should also be permitting the sale of cocaine and ketamine. The government has the moral responsibility to protect lives, including harm from smoking. We must fight the aggressive importers and manufacturers of cigarettes and tobacco products by restricting their access to the market place. Only then is there a chance to help prevent new generations of smokers from emerging. At the same time, it may also lead to a reduction in the number of existing smokers and their levels of consumption. I urge the government to seriously consider a drastic reduction in the number of authorised outlets which sell cigarettes. I believe that this can reverse the continuing rise in cigarette consumption. Ang Ah-lay, Causeway Bay

$1,500 Fine Proposed For Flouting Smoking Bans

webmaster — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:34:27 +0000

2008-02-06 HKT 16:43 - RTHK The government has published a bill proposing a fixed penalty fine of $1,500 for lighting-up in non-smoking areas. Apart from the Tobocco Control Office, hundreds of officers from the Leisure and Cultural Services, Food and Environmental Hygiene and Housing Departments would be deployed to carry out enforcement action. They would have the power to demand identity cards from suspected offenders.

Snack-Sized Mini-Cigarettes Spark Nationwide Reaction

webmaster — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:47:03 +0000

‘Snack-sized' mini-cigarettes spark nationwide reaction A new, "snack-sized" mini-cigarette brand, Marlboro Intense, has recently been introduced to the Turkish market and sparked nationwide reaction after it was reported by several Turkish newspapers that the new cigarette is being tested first in Turkey. Several anti-tobacco organizations and parliamentary deputies have raised concerns over Marlboro Intense following wide coverage in the news media that the new brand was being tested first on Turkish smokers, who are reportedly being used as guinea pigs for the product set to then be released in other countries. Marlboro Intense was introduced to the Turkish market in November 2007 by Philip Morris, a tobacco company partnered with Turkey's Sabancı Holding. The Marlboro Intense, half an inch shorter than the 8.4-centimeter regular Marlboros, is designed to appeal to employees who can only take quick, outdoor cigarette breaks while at work, often in cold weather. The mini-cigarette allows smokers to smoke their cigarette much more quickly than regular sized ones, but still delivers the same amount of nicotine as the full-size version. Philip Morris is testing the cigarette in Turkey but says it believes the product has worldwide potential as more than 50 countries now have bans on smoking in public places. The Foundation Combating Smoking Vice President Kıyas Güngör said launching new products in underdeveloped countries was a Philip Morris “tactic.” “Philip Morris introduces new tobacco products in underdeveloped countries and Turkey is one of them. Turkey offers a good and young market for tobacco products. Cigarette-producing companies make their products attractive with alluring packages. As Turkey takes new steps to reduce the number of people addicted to smoking, tobacco companies devise new plans to avoid losing such a lucrative market,” Güngör was quoted as saying by daily Vatan. Green Crescent Fight against Alcohol and Cigarette Abuse Chairman Mustafa Necati Özfatura said that Turkey trails in the seventh place in smoking among 200 world countries. In a phone interview with Today’s Zaman, Özfatura said: “Over 120,000 people die in Turkey each year due to a wide variety of diseases caused by smoking. Almost 60 percent of adult males and about 30 percent of adult females are currently addicted to smoking and these figures are increasing rapidly.” Underlining that the number of smokers has increased by 80 percent in the last few years, Özfatura said it was natural that Philip Morris chose Turkey to launch its new product, as Turkey is a haven for smokers. “We hope that the new anti-tobacco law will influence smokers to stop smoking,” stated Özfatura. The Turkish Parliament passed a proposal in early January that expands the former Prevention and Control of Harm from Tobacco Products Law to bring strict public bans on smoking inclusive of workplaces, restaurants and bars. Under the provisions of the new law television stations will broadcast public service announcements about the harmful effects of smoking and broadcasts that encourage smoking will no longer be allowed. The law will go into effect in May. Philip Morris’ move to introduce Marlboro Intense in Turkey first has sparked reaction among parliamentarians as well. Sacid Yıldız, a Republican People’s Party (CHP) İstanbul deputy and member of the Parliament’s Health Commission, said his party is considering making a motion to bring the issue to Parliament’s agenda. “Turkey is being used as a pilot country in various domains. The Health Ministry has to inform the public about such new tobacco products. We need to investigate whether Philip Morris has obtained authorization to put such a product on the market,” Yıldız said. An İstanbul deputy from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), Mehmet Domaç, also leveled criticism at Philip Morris for testing a new product in Turkey. “It is wrong to test the cigarette in question in our country. We need to probe whether it was introduced to the Turkish market through legal means,” he noted. Süleyman Latif Yunusoğlu, a Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputy from Trabzon, commented that it was strange for an American company to test one of its new products in Turkey. “Philip Morris is an American company, but it is testing Marlboro Intense in Turkey. Health authorities should take the necessary steps to investigate this issue. The US has taken several incentives to reduce the number of its cigarette-smoking citizens but is testing a new product in Turkey. This is wrong,” Yunusoğlu said Officials from Philip Morris, on the other hand, complain that press organs have moved to quickly criticize their company without conducting necessary research into the issue. “Marlboro is an international brand sold in more than 150 countries around the world. Market dynamics and adult smoker preferences in different countries are taken into consideration when offering new variants of Marlboro. It is not the first time that Philip Morris has launched a new product in a country. Having said that, there are many Philip Morris International (PMI) brands and Marlboro variants not sold in Turkey but available in other countries,” said Elvan Özkaya, external relations manager at Philip Morris Turkey. Philip Morris marketed Marlboro Wides for the first time in Portugal in April 2006, Marlboro Filter + in South Korea in November 2006 and Marlboro Mint Series in Hong Kong in May 2007. Upon a question over whether Philip Morris is testing Marlboro Intense on Turkish smokers, Özkaya said in a written statement that the product in question is part of the company’s innovation in order to best respond to consumer preferences. “Like any other PMI product, this cigarette has undergone a significant and rigorous development process to ensure that it does not increase the risks inherent in any other cigarette -- and the product conforms with the relevant Turkish regulations, including the tar and nicotine ceilings in place in the country,” she said, adding that this cigarette, like any other, is dangerous and addictive. Marlboro Intense is also being criticized by several circles for not including a Turkish translation of the word “intense” on the pack. Asked about the reason for this, Özkaya recalled that the Marlboro Intense trademark was registered in April 2007 and added: “Regulations in Turkey do not oblige manufacturers to use trademarks in Turkish for their products. Product specifications are communicated to consumer on the side of the pack with T/N/Co numbers in line with the current regulations. All products are required to get approval from the Tobacco Authority in Turkey before they are launched,” she added. On the legal dimension of Philip Morris’ initiative to test a new product in the Turkish market, legal expert Ali Odabaşı said it would not be easy for Marlboro Intense consumers to file a lawsuit against Philip Morris if they suffer from health problems in the future. “It is difficult in our country to prove that a cigarette-smoking individual is innocent and has had health problems related to smoking while unaware of the harms of tobacco products on human health,” he said. Underlining that he has not heard of any Turkish citizen winning a lawsuit filed for damages suffered due to smoking, Odabaşı said the Turkish justice and indemnity system is not advanced enough to protect the rights of smokers. “Smokers consume tobacco products though they know their effects on human health. Thus, it is not easy to justify a smoker before the court when he sues against a tobacco company,” he added. 06.02.2008 BETÜL AKKAYA İSTANBUL

New WHO Data Out On Tobacco

webmaster — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:31:12 +0000

Posted: Thursday, February 07, 2008 The World Health Organization (WHO) today Thursday February 7 is releasing new data showing that while progress has been made, not a single country fully implements all key tobacco control measures, and outlined an approach that governments can adopt to prevent tens of millions of premature deaths by the middle of this century. In a new report which presents the first comprehensive analysis of global tobacco use and control efforts, WHO finds that only 5% of the world’s population live in countries that fully protect their population with any one of the key measures that reduce smoking rates. The report also reveals that governments around the world collect 500 times more money in tobacco taxes each year than they spend on anti-tobacco efforts. It finds that tobacco taxes, the single most effective strategy, could be significantly increased in nearly all countries, providing a source of sustainable funding to implement and enforce the recommended approach, a package of six policies called MPOWER. “While efforts to combat tobacco are gaining momentum, virtually every country needs to do more. These six strategies are within the reach of every country, rich or poor and, when combined as a package, they offer us the best chance of reversing this growing epidemic,” said Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO. Dr Chan launched the WHO Report of the Global Tobacco Epidemic at a news conference with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg Philanthropies helped fund the report. “The report released today is revolutionary,” Mayor Bloomberg said. “For the first time, we have both a rigorous approach to stop the tobacco epidemic and solid data to hold us all accountable. No country fully implements all of the MPOWER policies and 80% of countries don’t fully implement even one policy. While tobacco control measures are sometimes controversial, they save lives and governments need to step up and do the right thing.” The six MPOWER strategies are; Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies Protect people from tobacco smoke Offer help to quit tobacco use Warn about the dangers of tobacco Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship Raise taxes on tobacco The report also documents the epidemic's shift to the developing world, where 80% of the more than eight million annual tobacco-related deaths projected by 2030 are expected to occur. This shift, the report says, results from a global tobacco industry strategy to target young people and adults in the developing world, ensuring that millions of people become fatally addicted every year. The targeting of young women in particular is highlighted as one of the “most ominous potential developments of the epidemic’s growth.” The global analysis, compiled by WHO with information provided by 179 Member States, gives governments and other groups a baseline from which to monitor efforts to stop the epidemic in the years ahead. The MPOWER package provides countries with a roadmap to help them meet their commitments to the widely embraced global tobacco treaty known as the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which came into force in 2005. WHO is also working with global partners to scale-up the help that can be offered to countries to implement the strategies. Dr Douglas Bettcher, Director of WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative, said the six MPOWER strategies would create a powerful response to the tobacco epidemic. “This package will create an enabling environment to help current tobacco users quit, protect people from second-hand smoke and prevent young people from taking up the habit,” he said. Other key findings in the report include: o Only 5% of the global population is protected by comprehensive national smoke-free legislation and 40% of countries still allow smoking in hospitals and schools; o Only 5% of the world’s population lives in countries with comprehensive national bans on tobacco advertising and promotion; o Just 15 countries, representing 6% of the global population, mandate pictorial warnings on tobacco packaging; o Services to treat tobacco dependence are fully available in only nine countries, covering 5% of the world’s people; o Tobacco tax revenues are more than 4000 times greater than spending on tobacco control in middle-income countries and more than 9000 times greater in lower-income countries. High- income countries collect about 340 times more money in tobacco taxes than they spend on tobacco control. Source: WHO

A Smoldering Controversy At UCLA

webmaster — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 04:32:30 +0000

From the Los Angeles Times The school accepts money from tobacco giant Philip Morris in its three-year study of nicotine addiction. Teenagers and monkeys are part of the research. By Richard C. Paddock -Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 9:31 PM PST, February 8, 2008 Here's a recipe for academic controversy: First, find dozens of hard-core teenage smokers as young as 14 and study their brains with high-tech scans. Second, feed vervet monkeys liquid nicotine and then kill at least six of them to examine their brains. Third, accept US$6 million from tobacco giant Philip Morris to pay for it all. Fourth, cloak the project in unusual secrecy. At UCLA, a team of researchers is following this formula to produce what it hopes will be a groundbreaking study of addiction. So far, the scientists have proved that the issues of animal testing and tobacco-funded research are among the most contentious on university campuses. UCLA professor Edythe London, the lead scientist on the three-year study, said it could discover new ways to help people quit smoking and lead to innovative treatments for other addictions. "We are doing this because we really want to save lives," she said. "I am really proud of what we are doing. We have a track record for contributing to science, and we would like to bring that to bear on the problem of nicotine addiction." But even before she had a chance to select her first teenager for study, London paid a price for her research. In October, activists opposed to animal testing flooded her Westside home with her garden hose, causing more than $20,000 in damage. They struck again this week, leaving an incendiary device at night that charred her front door. A gardener discovered the damage Tuesday. The activists, who have also targeted other UCLA researchers, accused London of using "sadistic procedures" and "torturing nonhuman animals to death" in earlier studies. No one has been arrested in the attacks. At the same time, Philip Morris' role in the study has drawn sharp criticism from anti-tobacco activists. They doubt that the company wants to help people stop smoking and question whether the study of teenage and monkey brains could help Philip Morris design a more addictive cigarette. "It's stunning in this day and age that a university would do secret research for the tobacco industry on the brains of children," said Matt Meyers of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids in Washington, D.C. "It raises fundamental questions about the integrity, honesty and openness of research anywhere at the University of California." London said that Philip Morris would not have any oversight or other involvement in the study. The suggestion that the company might use her findings to make cigarettes more addictive is "twisted," she said. "That is not something we ever considered," she said. "The representatives of Philip Morris were very sincere." Roberto Peccei, vice chancellor for research at UCLA, said the company's motives were immaterial. "I have no idea why Philip Morris decides to fund this anti-smoking research, but they do," he said. "As long as we do not feel that we are interfered with and that the research is done with the highest intentions, what's in the mind of the funder is irrelevant." But critics say the UCLA study allows Philip Morris to sponsor research on adolescents that would prompt an outcry if the company did this work in its own laboratories. "Edythe is a very good researcher, and frankly I'm shocked she would take the money," said Michael Cummings, a senior researcher at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y. "I think she's naive." Philip Morris, which is paying for 23 research projects at seven UC campuses, supports the UCLA study as part of the company's effort "to reduce youth tobacco use and increase scientific understanding in the field," said William Phelps, a Philip Morris spokesman. He said the company has no intention of using the results or teenagers' brain scans to develop more addictive cigarettes. "We would never do that," he said. Phelps declined to comment on the use of animals in the study. Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), who backed efforts by an activist to obtain a copy of the grant proposal, said UC has no business accepting money from tobacco companies. "It is absolutely outrageous to see this kind of funding and this type of research within the UC system," said Yee, a psychologist. "The fact that a piece of research is funded by the tobacco industry, and their singular issue is how to sell cigarettes, taints the results of whatever the findings might be." At UCLA, as at other University of California campuses, faculty members are free to accept money from any source. The only restriction is that studies involving animal and human subjects be approved by university review committees to ensure that they meet standards for the treatment of their subjects, university officials said. For more than a year, anti-tobacco scientists and activists have pushed UC to prohibit faculty from accepting money from tobacco companies for research on tobacco. The Board of Regents, citing academic freedom, agreed instead to establish a committee that will review tobacco company research proposals. UCLA officials say that the idea for the study of teenagers and monkeys originated with Philip Morris. Phelps said Philip Morris began searching the country in 2006 for scientists who might be interested in conducting research on helping adolescents quit smoking. The search led the company to London, a noted UCLA professor of psychiatry and pharmacology who had studied addiction at the National Institutes of Health. Philip Morris invited London to submit a grant proposal, which she did, said Carol Stogsdill, senior executive director of UCLA's media relations office. The company awarded London US$6 million to establish the Adolescent Smoking Cessation Center at the school and conduct the study on teenage and animal brains. The smoking-cessation center is modeled on one at Duke University in North Carolina, which also receives money from Philip Morris. London said she hopes the UCLA center will receive additional funds for related research from Philip Morris or other donors. UCLA has attempted to keep quiet about London's study out of fear of attacks on its researchers. Animal rights activists were suspected in June of placing a bomb under the car of a UCLA ophthalmologist who had conducted tests on monkeys. In 2005, another UCLA researcher who conducted animal studies was targeted by a bomb at a residence. Neither device went off. In September, UCLA responded to a Public Records Act request from anti-smoking activist Kimberlee Homer Vagadori by releasing a heavily redacted copy of London's grant proposal. There were so many deletions from the document that tobacco foes charged that the university was trying to hide work for Philip Morris. In response to a subsequent Public Records Act request from The Times, UCLA provided more details but released virtually no information on the animal studies, citing the danger to its staff if specifics were made public. Officials said it was the first time UCLA had withheld research information on the grounds of public safety. Peccei, who oversees research at the campus, acknowledged that UCLA could face a legal challenge but said that protecting researchers comes first. "It's not like we are trying to protect this Philip Morris center because we have some secret to hide," Peccei said. "We will probably wind up in court, but we don't want firebombs in the backyards of people who work on animals." In interviews, London and Peccei discussed some aspects of the study, which will include research on rats as well as monkeys. In the first phase, researchers will test smoking-cessation techniques on 200 smokers between 14 and 20, an age when the brain is still developing. London said one focus is to understand why young people smoke, including whether depression or attention-deficit disorder contributes to the habit. For the second phase, researchers will recruit 40 hard-core smokers, most of them from the first study group, as well as a control group of 40 nonsmokers, London said. They will undergo functional MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans of their brains while they take psychological and personality tests. The third phase will focus on animals. Researchers will administer liquid nicotine to adolescent and adult vervet monkeys, London said. The monkeys will undergo different behavioral tests and have PET (positron emission tomography) scans of their brains. Eventually, six to 12 monkeys will be killed and their brains studied, Peccei said. London, who has been at UCLA since 2001, hopes that the research will lead to a new understanding of how addiction works. "It's very important to do animal studies," she said. "The animal studies are very focused on the effects of nicotine during development and the ability of the brain to do its work." After the first attack on her house, London took the unusual step of standing up to the activists. She wrote an opinion piece for The Times contending that animal studies are a necessary part of research, saying it would "be immoral" to turn down the Philip Morris money and "decline an opportunity to increase our knowledge about addiction." UCLA Chancellor Gene D. Block, a research scientist who generally uses mice for his own laboratory tests, defended London. "All the evidence leads me to believe that the research supported by Philip Morris is independent research of high quality," the chancellor said. "Edythe London's program is celebrated. She is studying addiction, important issues, human issues, that have an enormous effect on people's lives."

Case Links Death To Environmental Tobacco Smoke

webmaster — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 04:43:25 +0000

A young asthmatic woman who collapsed and died shortly after arriving for her shift as a waitress at a bar may be the first reported death to be reported nationally from acute asthma associated with environmental tobacco smoke. This case report by a Michigan State University physician, published in the February edition of the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, not only outlines circumstances under which the woman died, but also raises a number of issues regarding safety in the workplace. The report states the woman arrived at the bar in Michigan and, according to co-workers, seemed happy and healthy. About 15 or 20 minutes later she collapsed and within a few minutes died. “This is the first reported acute asthma death associated with work-related ETS,” said Kenneth Rosenman, an MSU professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. “Recent studies of air quality and asthma among bar and restaurant workers before and after smoking bans support this association.” In 2006, the surgeon general’s report concluded that ETS causes coronary heart disease, lung cancer and premature death. But at that time there was little hard evidence linking ETS to the exacerbation of asthma in adults. However, Rosenman and colleagues believe this case provides plenty of evidence to link secondhand smoke to this death. “The autopsy clearly indicates she died from asthma,” Rosenman said. “There was no other cause of death. Her death is consistent with what we know about exposures in bars like this. We know asthmatics are more susceptible to irritants and other particulates in the air. “We know that particulate levels from secondhand cigarette smoke in bars like this reach sufficient levels to set off an asthma attack.” As an occupational and environmental health physician, Rosenman said he also is concerned about the long-term effects of ETS on all employees, not just those with pre-existing conditions like asthma. “As a consumer, I don’t have to go into that bar,” he said. “But is it a safe environment for the employees? We have federal laws that say employers have to provide a safe and healthy workplace. This was clearly not a safe and healthy workplace for this employee. “This death dramatizes the need to enact legal protections for workers in the hospitality industry from secondhand smoke.” In the United States, 23 states have already banned smoking in restaurants and bars. A number of other states, including Michigan, are considering it. While many bar and restaurant owners say a smoking ban would hurt business, Rosenman argues that just the opposite is true. “Consider that 75 percent of the population doesn’t smoke,” he said. “Banning smoking could actually serve to increase business. Studies of restaurants and bars in Boston, New York City, San Francisco and Washington D.C. all show business up since they banned smoking. Chicago went smoke free the beginning of this year. “We’re behind the times if we want to attract tourists and help businesses be more profitable.” Source: Michigan State University

WHO Report On The Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008

webmaster — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 04:55:15 +0000

In the 20th century, the tobacco epidemic killed 100 million people worldwide. During the 21st century, it could kill one billion.

Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies
Protect people from tobacco smoke
Offer help to quit tobacco use
Warn about the dangers of tobacco
Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship
Raise taxes on tobacco

The six policies of WHO’s MPOWER package can counter the tobacco epidemic and reduce its deadly toll. WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008 is the first in a series of WHO reports that will track the status of the tobacco epidemic and the impact of interventions implemented to stop it. We must act now to reverse the global tobaco epidemic and save milions of lives We hold in our hands the solution to the global tobacco epidemic that threatens the lives of one billion men, women and children during this century. In fact, tobacco use can kill in so many ways that it is a risk factor for six of the eight leading causes of death in the world. The cure for this devastating epidemic is dependent not on medicines or vaccines, but on the concerted actions of government and civil society. This is a unique point in public health history as the forces of political will, policies and funding are aligned to create the momentum needed to dramatically reduce tobacco use and save millions of lives by the middle of this century. Reversing this entirely preventable epidemic must now rank as a top priority for public health and for political leaders in every country of the world. The global consensus that we must fight the tobacco epidemic has already been established by the more than 150 Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Now, the WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008 gives countries a roadmap that builds on the WHO Framework Convention to turn this global consensus into a global reality through MPOWER, a package of six effective tobacco control policies. But countries need not act alone. WHO, with help from its global partners, is scaling up its capacity and is committed to supporting Member States as they implement and enforce the MPOWER policies. The WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008 also enables WHO to present a unique and comparable set of country-specific data from around the world that will cast an intense spotlight on tobacco use, its impact on people and economies, and the progress countries are making to reverse the epidemic. Prompt action is crucial. The tobacco epidemic already kills 5.4 million people a year from lung cancer, heart disease and other illnesses. Unchecked, that number will increase to more than 8 million a year by 2030. Tragically, with more than 80% of those deaths occurring in the developing world, the epidemic will strike hardest in countries whose rapidly growing economies offer their citizens the hope of a better life. To the tobacco companies, these economies represent vast new marketplaces. This will result not only in large increases in illness and death, but also in less productive workforces and escalating avoidable healthcare costs. We cannot let this happen. I call on governments around the world to take urgent action to implement the policies outlined in the MPOWER package. Dr Margaret Chan Director-General World Health Organization View the full report on The Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008 - 342 pages

Low Tar Cigarettes Harm Rather Than Help

webmaster — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 07:44:34 +0000

The Korea Times - February 8, 2006 - Bae Ji-sook In a desperate effort to quit smoking, many people buy special aids, while those who find that too difficult smoke "low-tar," "mild" or "light" cigarettes. However, recent reports say these methods could actually do more harm to the body, let alone not help one quit smoking. Shin Yoon-jeong of the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs conducted a survey on 443 male and 57 female smokers in 2007 and found "people tend to smoke more and inhale deeper when smoking low tar cigarettes." About 63 percent of the respondents said they smoked "mild" cigarettes, "believing" this would be safer for their health. However, Shin said this could cause even worse damage to their bodies. About 59 percent of the 316 low tar smokers said the number of cigarettes they smoked increased after switching to the lighter brand. Shih said that could lead the nicotine content in their bodies to increase even more. Also many people said the lighter cigarettes did not give them confidence that they could quit smoking in the future, the report said. "Low tar cigarettes increase addiction to nicotine, making it easier to smoke but harder to quit. We need to put more regulations on their production and marketing while holding more campaigns to let people know the reality of what they are smoking," Shin said. The smoking cessation aids, popular among chain smokers who have been smoking for more than ten years and are afraid of heavy withdrawal symptoms, can have serious effects, too. The U.S. and Korean Food and Drug Administration recently ordered multinational drug maker Pfizer to add warning tags on its cessation aid "Champix" about possible suicide impulses it could bring to users. The drug was one of the best selling items in 2007 but there were constant allegations that the drug brought with it potential side effects such as depression, anxiety and even the desire to commit suicide. Also, according to the Korean no-smoking research center, there were hundreds of cases of nightmares, chest pain, vertigo, fatigue and tiredness among other effects after using nicotine patches.

Saying No to Tobacco Money

webmaster — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 02:16:29 +0000

How McCombs decided to put a halt to donations derived from the sale of a product that's dangerous to consumer health by George W. Gau - Viewpoint February 10, 2008 - Business Week In November of last year, the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin instituted a new policy regarding the school's relationship with tobacco companies: It would no longer accept money from them. This ban covers contributions to student organizations, career fairs, faculty research projects, and research centers. Was this a difficult decision? We certainly knew it would be controversial as well as unprecedented for an American business school. However, after careful deliberation, it was a decision we believed was right for our school and our students. The school's leadership joined me in believing it is not ethical for us to continue to accept donations from tobacco companies, since those gifts come from revenue generated through the sale of a product that has damaging health consequences for its consumers. This is not to say we did not fully consider all the arguments against instituting this policy. I respect and understand these different viewpoints. The most prominent argument against such a ban is the "slippery slope" one. A few of the negative letters I received from alumni addressed this point. What will be next? Banning donations from fast-food companies? From alcohol companies? For me, this argument doesn't hold up. It is evident that tobacco has been a unique product in American history, and extensive research has shown it is highly addictive and harmful. While there are other legal products that can be misused by some, such as alcohol, tobacco is different in that it is damaging no matter how it's used. Many universities and schools that have debated similar bans on tobacco money, such as the University of California system, have received pushback from faculty who consider it an incursion on academic freedom. We considered this as well. I would have been concerned if we had faculty research projects that were dependent on funding from tobacco companies, because banning those funds could have infringed on the freedom of those faculty members to pursue their research. However, all of the research at the school that was supported by tobacco donations could continue without that funding. As for the students, to their credit, the organizations that have lost funding have been supportive and respectful of the decision. Under the new policy, tobacco companies will still be allowed to recruit prospective employees at our school. I believe that as a public university, we do not have the right to prohibit recruitment activities by lawful companies. Therefore we will continue to provide them with the same placement support given to other companies. This assistance includes posting job opportunities, allowing on-campus interviews, offering information sessions, and requesting résumé books from our programs. At McCombs, we have put ethics at the core of our mission in educating the next generation of business leaders. In the final analysis, I simply felt that accepting money from an industry that has caused so much harm to so many without any redeeming qualities was incompatible with this mission. George W. Gau is dean of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.

Signatories To The WHO FCTC

webmaster — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 03:51:23 +0000

View the Signatories to the WHO FCTC here.

The Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008

webmaster — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 05:30:29 +0000

Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton Hotels Go Smoke-Free

webmaster — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 01:16:34 +0000

Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton Hotels Go Smoke-Free More Than 300 Hotels in the U.S., Canada and Caribbean to Implement 100% Smoke-Free Policy WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 11, 2008--Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) announced today that its Sheraton(R) and Four Points(R) by Sheraton hotel brands will implement a smoke-free policy at more than 300 hotels and resorts throughout the U.S., Caribbean and Canada. Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton have begun converting all smoking guestrooms to non-smoking in preparation for the new policy. In addition, all public areas will also be 100% smoke-free*. Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton hotels decision to go smoke-free reflects both brands' commitment to providing guests with a clean, comfortable and healthy stay. The new policy also follows in the footsteps of their sister brand, Westin, who became the first hotel chain to go smoke-free in January 2006 when the brand introduced the policy across all hotels in the U.S., Canada and Caribbean. Due to the overwhelming feedback from guests Westin hotels in Australia, Fiji, and Scotland have also gone smoke-free. To prepare for the new policy approximately 8,000 smoking rooms will undergo an extensive cleaning process. This includes deep cleaning all soft goods, and treating all hard surfaces, walls and carpets to eliminate allergens, replacing air filters and deep cleaning all air conditioning units. "We are committed to the health and quality of life of our guests and associates and that includes providing a clean, smoke-free environment," said Hoyt Harper II, Senior Vice President for Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and Four Points by Sheraton. "Our core customers are road warriors who we know endure a rigorous travel schedule. At Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton we want to provide a welcoming, comfortable atmosphere that is healthy." All Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton hotels and resorts in the U.S., Caribbean and Canada will offer a designated outdoor area for guests who smoke. There are currently 70 Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton hotels in the U.S., Canada & Caribbean that are currently smoke-free. Both hotel brands expect to be completely smoke-free in the U.S. and Canada by December 31, 2008. About Sheraton Hotels & Resorts Sheraton Hotels & Resorts is the largest brand of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, and has more than 400 hotels in 75 countries. One of the world's most global hotel brands, Sheraton is a favorite among business and leisure travelers who expect warmth from the moment they walk through the door. The welcoming ambience, friendly staff, upscale amenities and timeless style create a setting where travelers are comfortable being themselves. About Four Points by Sheraton Four Points by Sheraton, with more than 130 properties in 22 countries, is offers the self-sufficient traveler a new kind of style and comfort combined with a spirited "can-do" service -- all at an honest value. Four Points by Sheraton hotels are located in easy-to-reach areas - close to major airports, suburban centers, urban hot spots and resort and vacation destinations. Four Points Simple Pleasures(SM) program offers little indulgences such as tasty pie, a great cup of coffee and premium craft beers from around the world. It's those little extras that score big points with Four Points by Sheraton customers. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 900 properties in more than 100 countries and 155,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis(R), The Luxury Collection(R), Sheraton(R), Westin(R), Four Points(R) by Sheraton, W(R), Le Meridien(R) and the recently announced Aloft(SM) and Element(SM) Hotels. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com. *Smoking may be permitted in areas not owned or operated by Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and Four Points by Sheraton and in designated outdoor smoking areas. CONTACT: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Nadeen Ayala, 914-640-8259 SOURCE: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

WHO Opens Talks to Ban Illicit Tobacco Trade

webmaster — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 01:59:04 +0000

WHO Opens Talks to Ban Illicit Tobacco Trade By Lisa Schlein - Geneva - 11 February 2008 http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-02-11-voa56.cfm Representatives from more than 150 countries have opened negotiations on an international treaty to combat illicit trade in tobacco products. The World Health Organization warns the smuggling of cheap cigarettes worsens the health hazard from smoking that kills 5.4 million people a year. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva. The president of the negotiating panel, Hatai Chitanondh, unveils the so-called death clock before a group of health experts and anti-tobacco campaigners. "As I speak before you now, one tobacco user will die every 6.5 seconds and by the time this first session of the intergovernmental negotiated body ends this Saturday, more than 60,000 people will perish," said Hatai Chitanondh. The death clock has counted more than 36 million deaths since it was started on October 25, 1999. That was when the World Health Organization began its first meeting aimed at achieving a Tobacco Control Treaty. The World Health Organization says if current trends continue, eight million people a year will lose their lives to tobacco by 2030. And, this number will increase to one billion by the end of the century. Eighty percent of these deaths will occur in the developing world. Director of WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative, Douglas Bettcher, tells VOA the illicit trade in tobacco products undermines efforts to reduce tobacco use and save lives. He says smuggled tobacco products help fund organized crime and terrorist organizations, and costs governments billions in revenue. "What happens is hundreds of billions of smuggled cigarettes are dumped onto markets, particularly developing country markets without taxes paid," said Douglas Bettcher. "So, it means cheaper, brand name tobacco products are dumped at cheap prices in developing countries, which means that poorer groups which are more price sensitive will consume more of this deadly cocktail, this highly addictive drug and more will die." Bettcher says smuggled cigarettes are particularly threatening to young people because they are cheap and affordable. Experts estimate in 2006, illicit trade accounted for nearly 11 percent of global cigarette sales, or about 600 billion cigarettes. They say this lethal trade is worth about US$60 billion a year.

Chinese Smokes Burning Issue

webmaster — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 02:09:39 +0000

By IAN ROBERTSON, SUN MEDIA http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/National/2008/02/11/4839286-sun.html BOWMANVILLE -- Ship containers packed with illegal cigarettes smuggled into Canada from China are fuelling the growing, lucrative trade in underground smokes, Sun Media has learned. Such cargoes -- including one with 10,320,000 counterfeit cigarettes recently shipped through Vancouver's port and seized in Toronto -- not only cut deep into tax coffers. Some illegal cigarettes from the People's Republic are made "in underground operations . . . caves and old warehouses," and could have unknown, dangerous or unhealthy contents, RCMP Const. Guy Martin said. "Every country has different quality controls," he said. Smokes from China "don't likely meet our standards." The packaging may also contain benzene, a flammable, cancer-linked toxic hydrocarbon solvent, Martin said. In the Greater Toronto Area Customs and Excise Section lockup here, some seized cigarette cartons bore only Chinese characters. Others had some English text. They were far more legitimate-looking than clear plastic-wrapped bags of smokes recently seized from a Central Ontario man. They bore labels with a smoking warning from the "Surgeon General." Canada does not have such an official, Martin said. "These cigarettes were smuggled in from the U.S.," he added. The 51,600 made-in-China cartons intercepted last month by his unit, which works with Canada Border Services Agency investigators, contained fake U.S.-branded Marlboro cigarettes. Estimated to be worth at least $3.6 million if sold, the RCMP estimates the 10.3 million cigarettes would have resulted in lost duties and taxes worth $1.135 million. Ming Kai Cheng, 44, and Yiu Lam Li, 55, of Scarborough, and Zhehao Song of Markham, are charged under the Excise Act with unlawfully possessing tobacco products. Some buyers love beating tax collectors out of their 74-per-cut cut from each smoke, others want to save up to $60 a carton, Martin said. Regardless of the motive, sales of bootleg or bogus smokes "all comes back to the almighty dollar." Health issues are important, but his unit focuses on contraband for lost revenue, Martin said. Governments survive on taxes "and if they don't get them from one thing, they'll increase taxes elsewhere, such as on fuel." Smuggling costs federal and provincial taxpayers $1.6 billion in lost taxes, the tobacco industry says. Ontario revenue ministry spokesperson Scott Blodgett said $1.236 billion in cigarette taxes were collected in the year ending March 2007. That's 12.35 cents each, or $24.70 per carton of 200. Calling 31.5 per cent of the province's cigarette sales illegal, the Ontario Convenience Store Association asked Premier Dalton McGuinty last month to consider the negative impact of tobacco taxes. After several fierce gun battles between police and organized crime smugglers in the Cornwall area, Canada cut tobacco taxes in February 1994, resulting in a drop in federal and provincial revenue of more than $1.2 billion in fiscal 1994-1995. Ontario lost $450 million. Pressured by lobbyists demanding higher taxes to force smokers to butt out, and seeing a way to regain funds for its general tax coffers, the Liberal government boosted provincial tobacco taxes three times from 2003 to 2005. Last Monday, the Canadian Coalition for Action on Tobacco appealed to federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to implement measures in his next budget to control the "crisis" of cigarette smuggling. "Cigarette smuggling has negative ramifications in terms of youth smoking, public health, government revenue loss, border security and crime prevention," the group's chairperson, Aaron Levo, said. "Unless urgent action is taken, things will get even worse." The group also insisted Ottawa get Washington to shut down illegal cigarette-makers at a large New York reservation. The main sources of contraband smokes in Ontario are smuggled from the U.S. sector of the Akwesasne reservation in New York, made on reserves here, and illegal overseas imports, Blodgett said. Reserve cigarettes usually reach the GTA in clear plastic bags, bought by smokers or underground wholesalers from outlets where natives can legally buy untaxed tobacco. Some are sold in U.S. brand packages by merchants who get them at a discount. Usually priced at $10-to-$15 per 200 instead of a retail price averaging $70, Martin said some contain tobacco scooped off floors. Cut-rate workers also chop up stalks and sometimes leave in lumps due to blunt cutters. "It's just human nature for people to save a dollar," the 10-year investigator said. "But it's not good in the long run." The risks of cancer and emphysema could end up as an added expense for the health-care system, he said. One Toronto business owner who buys reserve-made cigarettes said, "This way the government gets cheated out of the taxes. They've been cheating me all my life." A companion who joined him outside a coffee shop to puff cigarettes they transferred to a recycled brand-name package from freezer bags, said "they taste similar" to a name brand, "but you can tell the difference." In some cases the filter tips "don't go on quite right." The first man, a 40-year smoker, said if governments "were serious about stopping smoking, they'd go after the big tobacco companies. "They say this raises money for hospitals? Right!" To combat contraband tobacco, Ontario has boosted penalties several times since 2004, Blodgett said. And with the recent hiring of more Revenue Ministry investigators and inspectors, last year's monthly retailer inspection rates are expected to increase by 300 to about 800 a month. Some cases are before the courts, so totals were unavailable. But convictions under Ontario's Tobacco Tax Act doubled from 2005 to 2007, he said, adding in the two years ending March 13, officials seized 14 million smuggled cigarettes, 112,000 untaxed cigars and an undisclosed amount of fine-cut tobacco. Fines can hit $10,000 at the provincial level, "plus three times the tax owing, and imprisonment for up to two years," Blodgett said. Buyers also face similar fines, with $500-to-$1,000 minimums. Federal penalties include civil court fines of $22 per smuggled carton of smokes to cover lost taxes, plus a criminal conviction fines of 16.5-to-24.5 cents per smoke. Martin said seized contraband cigarettes are eventually destroyed. But instead of burning them, which poses a risk to the environment, they're crushed and buried.

Organized Crime Has Major Role

webmaster — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 03:37:41 +0000

TorontoSun.com Illegal tobacco sales is a highly complex problem that will take an army of politicians, tobacco industry types and police enforcement to resolve. The tobacco industry says the illegal cigarette trade is mushrooming. Karen Bodirsky, spokesman for Rothmans Benson & Hedges Inc., a member of the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers Council, said contraband tobacco is a huge issue for the tobacco industry, making up 22% of all cigarettes smoked in Canada in 2007. That's up from 16.5% of all cigarettes smoked in Canada in 2006. It costs Canada $1.6 billion in lost tax revenues each year. Illegal smokes are bought primarily through third parties and delivered to the consumer. "Of that $1.6 billion across Canada, Ontario alone loses $565 million in taxes each year, which will grow to a billion in the next three years. The government agencies, revenue, cross-border taxation, and police enforcement all have to come together to resolve this issue because it's growing out of control," said Dave Bryans, president of the Canadian Convenience Stores Association. The number of cigarettes legally produced in Canada in 2007 was 17,771,802,000, compared to 2006 when 25,146,208,000 cigarettes were produced. In 1997, the number of cigarettes produced legally in Canada was 48,084,000,000, compared to 50,186,000,000 in 1996. Bodirsky said the majority of illegal cigarette volume is concentrated in Ontario and Quebec, with one in three cigarettes sold being illegal. In Ontario, 31.5% of cigarettes bought are illegal, and in Quebec it's pegged at 30.5%. "It's scary because it's responsible for a significant infiltration of the society by organized crime. You can buy 200 contraband cigarettes for $10, which is incredibly cheap compared to $55 you pay in stores," Bodirsky said, adding the bulk of contraband cigarettes is coming from New York State. "Law enforcement is trying to make a dent in the illicit cigarette trade, but they're not able to stop it," said Andre Benoit, spokesman for JTI Macdonald Corp., a member of the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers Council. "Millions of dollars have been spent by governments on tobacco control ... however, I am dismayed and angry when the good intentions of these programs are being thwarted by an out-of-control illegal cigarette trade," Norman Inkster, former RCMP commissioner, said in a speech to a forum on the illegal sale of tobacco. Inkster said the sale and trafficking of illegal tobacco products is not exclusive to Canada and is estimated to account for almost 7% of global tobacco consumption. Inkster said if one converted the 7% into individual cigarettes, it represent 390 billion cigarettes per year. If you were to lay cigarettes end to end, the 390 billion cigarettes would circle the globe almost 730 times or make it to the moon and back 38 times. Inkster said the illegal tobacco trade is not carried out by small renegade operators running "amateur" outfits. "The reality is that highly sophisticated international criminal operators are increasingly dominating the picture," Inkster said. "According to INTERPOL, the organizations involved in the drug trade, people trafficking and arms smuggling are often also the ones behind the trade in illicit cigarettes and alcohol." Inkster said the proliferation of illegal tobacco is manufactured by a criminal element using a large, innocent and victimized population in Ontario, Quebec, and New York State First Nation reserves as safe havens for their criminal activity.

Strict Smoking Bans In Thailand

webmaster — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 04:00:28 +0000

Strict Smoking Bans In Force All bars, pubs, discos, clubs and markets SURASAK GLAHAN AND AFP A total ban on smoking in pubs and clubs throughout the country takes effect today, to the delight of non-smokers and the chagrin of smokers. The ban covers all air-conditioned bars, pubs, discos and clubs. In addition, the owners of outdoor restaurants and markets are required to designate smoking and non-smoking zones. ''They will have to cross the street to smoke over there,'' said Than Leebamrung, the 36-year-old owner of the Sapha Kafe (Coffee Council) bar, when asked what arrangements he had made to help his customers. Other bars and clubs may simply ask customers to smoke outside in the doorways, but Mr Than was not sure if the same could be applied to his bar, which is in the Din Daeng area. This is because it is situated in a commercial building, where smoking is not allowed. Like Mr Than, most bar owners see the law as impinging on people's civil liberties. ''People going to these entertainment places find it acceptable to be exposed to cigarette smoke. I have never received any complaints from non-smokers,'' he said. The owner of a bar on Khao San road, who asked not to be named, frowned on the ban, saying it would certainly affect his business. ''Lawmakers should instead allow operators to set up both smoking and non-smoking areas to be fair,'' he said. The law previously exempted nightclubs and bars from a smoking ban which was introduced in 2002. The original ban covered indoor public places, including air-conditioned restaurants. The ban's extension is being hailed by health advocates who say it is another milestone for tobacco control. ''By banning smoking in pubs and nightclubs, Thailand has once again shown its leadership in tobacco control in the international community, following the examples of Ireland, Uruguay, the UK, France and others,'' said Bungon Ritthiphakdee, director of the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance. ''Hopefully, in the near future, all open-air restaurants in Thailand will be 100% smoke free,'' she added. Health advocates said the new law would protect both patrons and workers in bars and clubs from the effects of second-hand smoke, which studies have shown can cause asthma, strokes and even heart attacks. They said it would also help smokers quit the habit more easily. Chonticha Putharak, a 21-year-old non-smoker who used to work in a bar, said she developed breathing difficulties and her eyes would also hurt when she was there. ''The law sounds good to me because I have an allergy,'' she said. Chai Jeam-mornrat, a 33-year-old fashion designer who smokes almost a packet of cigarettes a night when visiting his favourite bars at weekends, said the new law is good as it would discourage him from smoking. ''I like to smoke when drinking alcohol. Being forced to go out of a club just to smoke outside could make me choose to not smoke to avoid the inconvenience,'' he said. However, many are still doubtful about whether the law will be effectively enforced. One bar worker said that bar owners may ignore the law and bribe police into turning a blind eye so that things could continue as before. Karn Yaempetch, 33, who once co-owned the Original Sin club in the Chatuchak area agreed that it could be a problem. ''Now it all depends on how effective the law enforcement will be,'' he said. ''Law enforcement in this countryrarely works. ''I think a voluntary measure with proper education on tobacco's impact on health would be more effective than the smoking ban.'' The health ministry said bar and restaurant owners can relax, at least for now, because authorities won't begin fining the law breakers until June. ''Although the ban takes effect on Feb 11, we will focus more on educating people and issuing warnings rather than fining wrongdoers until May 31,'' said Seri Hongyok, deputy director-general of the Disease Control Office. The ministry is prepared to advise businesses on how to comply with the new rules, and will distribute copies of the regulations by the end of February, Mr Seri said. ''If there is any breach of the law, our authorities will consider them on a case-by-case basis to ensure fair treatment,'' he said

Prevent Smoking or Face Catastrophe

webmaster — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 07:15:55 +0000

from the February 11, 2008 edition - The Christian Science Monitor Tobacco: An Inconvenient Weed WHO cites a 21st -century 'catastrophe' if nations don't act to prevent smoking. http://www.who.int/tobacco/mpower/en/ A call for world action last week sounded as familiar as, say, that against global warming. But while a UN report did warn of a "catastrophe" in the 21st century, the topic wasn't the usual greenhouse gases. It was tobacco smoking. In terms of global priorities to save lives, the math alone argues for as much attention to be paid to tobacco addiction as to climate change – maybe even more. In the 20th century, more people died prematurely from smoking (100 million) than those who perished under the ruthless regimes of Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. Today, tobacco is seen as responsible for more deaths than from AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined, according to the World Health Organization in its 300-plus-page report, "Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008." And with escalating numbers of people taking up the habit in poorer countries, WHO predicts another 1 billion people will die prematurely in the 21st century – unless more governments and people act to prevent smoking. At its root, of course, smoking is more than a public health problem. Like choosing to operate cars or appliances that cause carbon dioxide emissions, it is an individual moral choice that creates a harmful dependency but which can be reversed by an appeal to a person's higher nature and concern for the future. Fear of dying in a horrible way may compel many smokers to quit – 1 in 10 deaths is reportedly related to tobacco – but many ex-addicts say it is their love of life that saved them. In fact, the theme of WHO's new antitobacco campaign is "fresh and alive." Its report is the first of yearly ones to come that will track each nation to see if it is following the UN agency's six recommendations, which are to: •Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies. •Protect people from tobacco smoke. •Offer help to quit tobacco use. •Warn about tobacco's dangers. •Enforce bans on tobacco ads, promotion, and sponsorship. •Raise taxes on tobacco. As with global warming, only a few places have set the pace, such as Uruguay, California, and New Zealand. More than 150 countries have ratified the 2005 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which requires nations to take antismoking steps – although few have. Only 5 percent of the world's population lives in countries with smoke-free public spaces, prominent warning labels on cigarette packs, cessation support, and a ban on tobacco marketing. Hiking tobacco taxes has helped reduce tobacco usage, but another way would be for filmmakers to avoid smoking scenes in movies. Walt Disney Co. plans to do so and the Motion Picture Association of America started last year to consider smoking in its film ratings, along with sex, violence, and language. Another sign of change: Nigeria is the first developing country to sue international tobacco firms. It alleges that three firms have targeted children in their marketing. Too many governments rely on tobacco taxes for use as general revenues – about $200 billion globally. Less than 1 percent is spent on tobacco control. All that tax money should be invested – yes, invested – to end smoking. Ever since King James I in 1604 called it a "vile and stinking" custom, tobacco use has been destined for the ashtray of history.

Review Sought On Smoking Ban

webmaster — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:42:57 +0000

Nishika Patel - The Standard - Tuesday, February 12, 2008 A swank Central bar-eatery that caters to the financial community is seeking the first judicial review to challenge no-smoking rules. Biztro, located in IFC, is fighting to quash an Appeal Board ruling that had upheld a decision by the director of health to enforce a smoking ban at the premises. The director of health struck Biztro off a list of venues that are for now exempt from the smoking ban after two lunch-time visits to the premises last year determined it was more an eatery than a bar. A review is being sought on the grounds that the court decision made in November last year was "irrational" as it was based on two visits in March and May for a total of 35 minutes. "Only 35 minutes of lunch-time observations could not possibly have been a reasonable manner in which to determine the activities in the establishment of the applicants," said lawyer Adrian Halkes in a written application for a judicial review. Biztro maintains it is primarily a bar and that it derives most turnover from the sale of drinks rather than food - and most patrons smoke. Halkes said the applicants, Arthur Lok Kok- cheong and Mark East Enterprise, had suffered a "denial of substantial justice" as the business had seen a drastic drop in sales in November and December last year following the decision. The smoking ban was implemented last year, but bars, mahjong parlors, saunas and siuje nightclubs are exempt until July 1, 2009, to give them time to adapt.

Smoking Deferral Exemptions

webmaster — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 02:02:35 +0000

The following letter was sent by James Middleton of Clear The Air to Tobacco Control on the 12th of Feb 2008.

Dear Tobacco Control, The Department of Health grants smoking deferral exemptions to any liquor licensed premises that states on its application form for deferral that its main income is derived from the sale of intoxicating liquor and not from its food sales. The Department Of Health does not even request a certified set of accounts to prove this point. It seems pointless for restaurants to apply for a General Restaurant (full) license and abide by the rigid size requirements for the kitchen etc when their main sales are supposedly from liquor and they could pack more people in to sell drinks rather than having tables for food. It is obvious that many restaurants would apparently earn possibly more from its food sales than drinks. Tobacco Control should not rely on these declarations and should by inspection , ascertain what the main usage of the premises is : ie they are a genuine sit down restaurant or they are a bar with occasional full meals. As we see it, any premises that has a General Restaurant license rather than a Light Refreshment license is involved in the sale mainly of meals, rather than being a bar, then can be exempted . Furthermore any premises that has its exemption overturned should be prosecuted under the Crimes Ordinance for making a false declaration in order to obtain the initial exemption (ie that their premises conformed to all requirements listed in the application procedure) and such prosecutions will probably see a flood of sham bars that are actually restaurants rescinding their exemptions. Kind regards James Middleton CleartheAir

Study of Smoking and Death in India

webmaster — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 01:05:35 +0000

A Nationally Representative Case–Control Study of Smoking and Death in India Background: The nationwide effects of smoking on mortality in India have not been assessed reliably. Methods: In a nationally representative sample of 1.1 million homes, we compared the prevalence of smoking among 33,000 deceased women and 41,000 deceased men (case subjects) with the prevalence of smoking among 35,000 living women and 43,000 living men (unmatched control subjects). Mortality risk ratios comparing smokers with nonsmokers were adjusted for age, educational level, and use of alcohol. Results: About 5% of female control subjects and 37% of male control subjects between the ages of 30 and 69 years were smokers. In this age group, smoking was associated with an increased risk of death from any medical cause among both women (risk ratio, 2.0; 99% confidence interval [CI], 1.8 to 2.3) and men (risk ratio, 1.7; 99% CI, 1.6 to 1.8). Daily smoking of even a small amount of tobacco was associated with increased mortality. Excess deaths among smokers, as compared with nonsmokers, were chiefly from tuberculosis among both women (risk ratio, 3.0; 99% CI, 2.4 to 3.9) and men (risk ratio, 2.3; 99% CI, 2.1 to 2.6) and from respiratory, vascular, or neoplastic disease. Smoking was associated with a reduction in median survival of 8 years for women (99% CI, 5 to 11) and 6 years for men (99% CI, 5 to 7). If these associations are mainly causal, smoking in persons between the ages of 30 and 69 years is responsible for about 1 in 20 deaths of women and 1 in 5 deaths of men. In 2010, smoking will cause about 930,000 adult deaths in India; of the dead, about 70% (90,000 women and 580,000 men) will be between the ages of 30 and 69 years. Because of population growth, the absolute number of deaths in this age group is rising by about 3% per year. Conclusions: Smoking causes a large and growing number of premature deaths in India. See the complete study of Smoking and Death in India here.

Facts About Light And Mild Cigarettes

webmaster — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 01:35:50 +0000

There is no such thing as a ‘safe’ cigarette:

Many smokers believe that smoking “light,” “mild,” “low-tar,” or “ultra-light” cigarettes reduces the risk of smoking-related health problems
In fact, there is no such thing as a ‘safe’ cigarette or ‘safe’ level of consumption

Read about all the facts about light and mild cigarettes here.

UN Treaties Are National Issues

webmaster — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:57:34 +0000

SCMP On behalf of the World Health Organisation, I would like to answer the questions that Jake van der Kamp asks in his Monitor column ("Smoking out the real victim of heavy tobacco taxation", February 6) about the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), to which Hong Kong is now a party. Van der Kamp asks: "Did Legco approve it, did Exco sanction it, did the chief executive sign it into law?" This is not the way of any of UN conventions. The signatories are national governments; thus in Hong Kong's case, since 1997, China. In keeping with this, and specifically with regard to the FCTC, on October 11, 2005, the government of China informed the UN secretary general of the following: "In accordance with the provision of article 153 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and article 138 of the Basic Law of the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, the government of the People's Republic of China decides that the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control . . . shall apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China." As with all UN treaties, Hong Kong's reporting mechanism is also through China. Dr Judith Mackay, senior policy adviser, World Health Organisation

10 Facts On Tobacco And Second-Hand Smoke

webmaster — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:29:49 +0000

World Health Organisation Fact 1 Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the world. It causes 1 in 10 deaths among adults worldwide. In 2005, tobacco caused 5.4 million deaths, or an average of one death every 6 seconds. The death toll is projected to reach more than 8 million by 2030 if current trends continue. Fact 2 Tobacco kills up to half of its regular users. On average 29% of people around the world are smoking tobacco. Smoking is more common among men - 47.5% of all men smoke compared to 10.3% of women. Fact 3 More than 80% of the world's more than one billion smokers live in low- and middle-income countries. Unless urgent action is taken, by 2030, more than 80% of tobacco related deaths will occur in the developing world Fact 4 Tobacco caused 100 million deaths in the 20th century. If current trends continue, there could be up to one billion deaths in the 21st century. Fact 5 The smoke produced by burning tobacco products is known as second-hand tobacco smoke or environmental tobacco smoke. Tobacco smoke in enclosed spaces is breathed by everyone, exposing both smokers and non-smokers to its harmful effects. This is commonly referred to as involuntary smoking or passive smoking. Fact 6 Second-hand tobacco smoke is dangerous to health. There are about 4000 known chemicals in tobacco smoke. Second-hand smoke also causes heart disease and many serious respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in adults which can lead to death. Fact 7 An estimated 700 million children, or almost half of the world's children, breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke, particularly at home. Second-hand smoke causes many serious diseases in children and worsens conditions such as asthma. Fact 8 The International Labour Organization estimates that at least 200 000 workers die every year due to exposure to smoke at work. The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates that second-hand smoke is responsible for about 3000 lung cancer deaths annually among non-smokers in the country. Fact 9 Exposure to second-hand smoke also imposes economic costs on individuals, businesses and society as a whole, in the form of direct and indirect medical costs and productivity losses. Fact 10 There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke. Neither ventilation nor filtration, even in combination, can reduce the exposure indoors to levels that are considered acceptable. Only 100% smoke-free environments provide effective protection.

WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation

webmaster — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:33:52 +0000

WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation

webmaster — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:36:16 +0000

WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation

webmaster — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:37:40 +0000

WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation (TobReg) report on the scientific basis of tobacco product regulation WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation - get the PDF document here. The Tobacco Free Initiative announces the release of a WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation (TobReg) report on the scientific basis of tobacco product regulation. This report presents policy recommendations on the contents and design features of tobacco products, their relationship to dependence potential and consumer appeal; candy-flavoured tobacco products; biomarkers of tobacco exposure and resulting health effects; and, maximum limits for tobacco smoke toxicants. The Study Group hopes that these recommendations will be useful to WHO Member States, and national policymakers and regulators. The English printed version is now available, and the other UN language versions will be available soon.

Illicit Trade In Tobacco Products

webmaster — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 05:19:04 +0000

This note records the Chairperson’s personal view of the overall content of the discussions that have taken place during the first session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body on a protocol on the illicit trade in tobacco products. In accordance with decision FCTC/COP2(12) of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the template for a protocol on illicit trade in tobacco products prepared by the expert group (convened in accordance with decision FCTC/COP1(16)) formed the basis for these discussions. This note is not, and is not intended to be, a record of the discussions. Rather, it is an aide-memoire for the Chairperson and an attempt to capture the general tenor of the views exchanged during the first session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body. In accordance with decision FCTC/COP2(12), a chairperson’s text will be drafted and submitted to the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body for consideration at its second session. See the full document on Drafting and negotiation of a protocol on illicit trade in tobacco products here.

Treaty On Illegal Tobacco Trade

webmaster — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:01:51 +0000

WHO wants treaty on illegal tobacco trade by 2010 15/02/2008 AFP GENEVA (AFP) — The World Health Organisation announced Friday that it planned to adopt a new international treaty on the illegal tobacco trade by 2010. "We have finally assessed that we want a protocol on the illicit trade of tobacco," Ian Walton-George, the world health body's top negotiator on the issue, told a press conference at Geneva. The WHO has been meeting this week at its headquarters in the Swiss city to debate a new protocol on the illicit tobacco trade to tie in to its wider Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). "2010 is the date for finalising negotiations and adopting the text of the protocol," said Haik Nikogosian, who heads the WHO's anti-tobacco secretariat. The illicit tobacco trade is estimated to make up approximately 10 percent of global tobacco sales and costs governments between 40 and 50 billion dollars (27-34 billion euros) every year. In African countries such as Nigeria, its share is estimated to be even higher at between 10 and 16 percent, lobby group Corporate Accountability International (CAI) said earlier this week. "Controlling this trade, controlling the prices is crucial to prevent young people to use tobacco," Deborah Arnott, European head of the Framework Convention Alliance pressure group, said Friday. Campaigners alleged ahead of the WHO meeting that tobacco giants Philip Morris, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco actively collude with cigarette smugglers to gain a foothold in lucrative developing markets. "Transnationals benefit in a number of ways from the illicit trade in tobacco," said Kathyrn Mulvey, CAI's director of international policy. This includes establishing a brand presence in new markets, and getting more people addicted to cigarettes -- particularly children because smuggled tobacco is so cheap, she told journalists on Wednesday. "Documents do show industry complicity in this deadly business," Mulvey added. The WHO said last week that tobacco use could kill more than one billion people around the world this century unless governments and civil society act to reverse the epidemic. The existing FCTC agreement, signed in February 2005, aims to rein in the estimated five million annual deaths caused by smoking, which the WHO says will double by 2020 if nothing is done.

Casino Smoke Ruling

webmaster — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:15:50 +0000

Casino Smoke Ruling / Just Pass The Ban Published: Friday, February 15, 2008 - Press of Atlantic City Well, this always seemed inevitable to us. Why it hasn't seemed inevitable to the casino industry - and why the industry hasn't been more afraid of cases like this - is well ... hazy. A state workers' compensation judge has ruled that a casino dealer's 10 years of secondhand-smoke exposure materially contributed to her lung cancer. The dealer, Kam Wong, never smoked herself, nor did anyone in her household smoke. The insurance company for the former Claridge Casino Hotel is now responsible for any future medical treatment related to Wong's work in the casino. And this won't be the last such case. Yes, casino revenue in Atlantic City is down, and many in the industry blame the city's partial smoking ban, which restricts smoking to 25 percent of the casino floor. The state's public-smoking ban, which exempted casino floors, prohibits smoking in casino hotels' other public areas. But at least one poll has concluded that more New Jersey residents would patronize casinos if they went completely smoke-free. Besides, the debate is, in essence, over. Revel Entertainment Group's Atlantic City casino will be completely smoke-free when it opens. Last year, James Perry, then head of Trump Entertainment Resorts, said: "Generally speaking, we believe over the next three-year period, smoking will be banned in almost all casinos throughout the United States or certainly on the Eastern Seaboard. Long-term, we have to be prepared to operate these casinos in a smoke-free environment." And now, the court cases have come rolling in. The science about the dangers of secondhand smoke has been clear for sometime; more court cases will soon follow - and, almost certainly, in lawsuits posing far more liability for the industry than this one workers' compensation case. Atlantic City's partial ban is not really being enforced anyway. The casinos' plans for dividing up their casino floors into smoking/no-smoking areas or building nongaming smoking rooms will be neither cheap to build nor particularly effective. It's over. A bill in the state Senate to ban smoking on casino floors - just as it is banned in virtually every other workplace in the state - has been reintroduced. It was approved in the Senate last year but languished in the Assembly. It's time for the casinos to drop their opposition and for state lawmakers to end the casino smoking exemption. That would make Atlantic City's partial ban moot. The casinos could drop plans for the expensive retrofitting of their casino floors. And the industry won't look quite so culpable the next time a nonsmoking casino dealer with lung cancer goes before a judge or jury seeking damages.

Smoking May Kill a Million Indians Every Year By 2010

webmaster — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:22:15 +0000

Agence France-Presse in Chicago - Updated on Feb 15, 2008 - SCMPIndia is in the midst of a smoking epidemic which will kill about a million people annually - or nearly one out of every 10 deaths - during the 2010s, researchers said. And some 70 per cent of those people will die before they reach the age of 70, according to the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. "I am alarmed by the results of this study," India's Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said. "The government of India is trying to take all steps to control tobacco use - in particular by informing the many poor and illiterate of smoking risks." The first nationally representative study of smoking habits and associated mortality rates found that some 120 million Indians smoke, although they generally pick up the habit later in life. Some 37 per cent of men and about 5 per cent of women aged 30 to 69 smoke either cigarettes or leaf-wrapped bidis, which are unfiltered and contain about a quarter as much tobacco as a cigarette. The study projected that by next decade that deaths linked to smoking will rise to one in five among males and one in 20 among females aged 30 to 69. Men who smoked cigarettes lost an average of ten years of life, while smoking bidis cut an average of six years off the life expectancy of men and eight years off of the lives of women. Even light smokers saw their mortality risk jump: smoking between one and seven cigarettes a day nearly doubled the mortality risk while smoking the equivalent number of bidis raised mortality risks by a third. "It is truly remarkable that one single factor, namely smoking, which is entirely preventable, accounts for nearly one in ten of all deaths in India," said Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen. "The study brings out forcefully the need for immediate public action in this much neglected field." Indian, Canadian and British researchers led a team of 900 field workers who surveyed all adult deaths during 2001-2003 in a nationally representative sample of 1.1 million homes in all parts of India. Researchers compared the smoking histories of 74,000 adults who had died with 78,000 living and adjusted their findings based on education levels, alcohol use and whether they lived in rural or urban areas. They found about 61 per cent of men who smoked died between the ages of 30 and 69 compared with only 41 per cent of non-smokers. Some 62 per cent of women who smoked died in middle age, compared with only 38 of non-smokers. "The extreme risks from smoking that we found surprised us, as smokers in India start at a later age than those in Europe or America and smoke less," said lead author Prabhat Jha of the University of Toronto's Centre for Global Health Research. "And, smoking kills not only from diseases like cancer and lung diseases but also from tuberculosis and heart attacks." Quitting smoking has been shown to greatly reduce the mortality risk. But it is uncommon in India, where only about 2 per cent of adults have quit, and they often did so only after they fell ill.

Smoke Bans Deter Young

webmaster — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:39:58 +0000

Tobacco Groups (Could) Face Fines Over Contraband

webmaster — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 08:06:17 +0000

By Frances Williams in Geneva - The Financial Times Published: February 16 2008 02:00 | Last updated: February 16 2008 02:00 Tobacco companies could be made responsible for clamping down on cigarette smuggling, with stiff financial penalties for failure, under proposed guidelines for a new global treaty to tackle the multi-billion dollar illicit trade in tobacco products. The trade is estimated to deprive national exchequers worldwide of $40bn-$50bn (£20bn-£25bn) in lost taxes every year and undermines the drive to raise cigarette prices, which experts say is the single most effective way of deterring people from smoking, especially the young. At the end of a week of negotiations in Geneva involving about 130 countries, delegates said yesterday there was broad agreement to require companies to track and trace tobacco products from manufacture to point of sale and fine them if contraband is seized. The proposals are modelled on an existing agreement between 26 of the 27 European Union countries (excluding the UK) and two tobacco companies, Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International, that has already led to a big decline in cigarette seizures in the EU. The negotiations, conducted under the auspices of the World Health Organisation, marked the first step towards a legally binding protocol on illicit tobacco trade under the WHO's 152-member Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which took effect in 2005. Other measures envisaged for the protocol, scheduled for adoption in 2010, include strengthened international co-operation to prosecute smuggling gangs, tougher penalties for offenders and better law enforcement, and help for poorer countries to put the measures into effect. Ian Walton-Georges of the EU's anti-fraud office, who chaired the negotiations, said he planned to draft a protocol that was "practical, effective and strong" ahead of a second round of negotiations later this year. The Framework Convention Alliance, a coalition of some 300 anti-tobacco groups, says the global illicit trade - dominated by organised criminal gangs - may have amounted to nearly 11 per cent of total sales, or 600bn cigarettes, in 2006. Contraband trade is particularly rife in Russia and other countries in eastern Europe, in Latin America, and especially Brazil, and in Africa and the Middle East.

Britain May Introduce Permits To Buy Cigarettes

webmaster — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 08:13:28 +0000

16 Feb, 2008, 0740 hrs IST, PTI - The Economic Times LONDON: Smokers in Britain may soon need a permit worth 10 pounds to buy cigarettes. Health England, the government's health advisory body, has suggested introducing the permit without which no one would be allowed to buy cigarettes. "The scheme would make a big difference to the number of people giving up smoking," Chairman of the advisory body Julian Le Grand told BBC Radio 5 Live. "The cash raised by the proposed scheme would go to the National Health Scheme," Le Grand, an ex-adviser to former Prime Minister Tony Blair, said. But smokers' rights group, Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking (FOREST), described the idea as "outrageous", given the high prices smokers already pay. Le Grand said the idea is that inconvenience in getting a permit - as well as the cost - would deter people from persisting with the smoking habit. "You've got to get a form, the government's good at complex forms; you have got to get a photograph. It's a little bit of a problem to actually do it, so you have got to make a conscious decision every year to opt in to being a smoker," he said. About 70 per cent of smokers actually want to stop smoking. So if you just make it that little bit more difficult for them to actually re-start or even to start in the first place, yes I think it will make a big difference, he added. A Department of Health spokesperson did not rule out such a scheme as part of the next wave of tobacco regulation. She said: "We will be consulting later this year on the next steps on tobacco control. Ministers are seeking input from a whole range of stakeholders."

Vic Anti-Smoking Groups Lobbying For Ban Extension

webmaster — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 08:54:51 +0000

ABC News - February 18, 2008 - Jane Cowan There has been a victory in the battle against smoking, with new figures showing that young people are butting out in record numbers. In the last 12 months in Victoria, there has been a 30 per cent drop in the number of 18 to 29-year-olds lighting up. The figures are the first snapshot of smoking rates since cigarettes were banned in bars and clubs in the state last July. New South Wales and Western Australia also introduced bans at that time, prohibiting smoking in all enclosed areas. Anti-smoking groups say the new laws are working, and should be tightened even further. The latest anti-smoking advertisement to be launched onto Victorian television features a smoker squirming on an operating table, as a bronchoscopy tube is forced down her throat. "By the time most lung cancers are discovered, it's already too late to operate," the advertisement says. It is unpleasant to watch, and unpleasant to listen to. But the scare tactics will not be needed for 30 per cent of Victorian smokers, aged between 18 and 29, who, according to new statistics, have stopped smoking in the last 12 months. Executive director of Quit, Fiona Sharkie, says the changes can be partly attributed to the introduction of smoking bans. "We know that compliance has been very high, that pubs and clubs and people were certainly ready for it," she said. "We knew in that age group of young people, 50 per cent of those people said they were planning to quit smoking once the bans came in. "There was some preparation work done there that prepared people and young people about preparing to quit, but I think we'll see how that's really going to play out in the next surveys to come in the following years." Tasmania was the first state to ban smoking in pubs and clubs in 2006, followed the same year by Queensland and the ACT. Western Australia and New South Wales both went smoke free with Victoria in July last year. The Northern Territory is now the only place where you can still have a cigarette with your beer. But in most places, there has been no data on smoking rates collected since the bans making it difficult to ascertain the impact they are having on people's habits. In Queensland though, an independent study found 22 per cent of smokers tried to quit in direct response to the new laws, and 14,000 of them succeeded. Anita Tang chairs the National Tobacco Issues Committee at the Cancer Council of Australia, and says she is not surprised by the data. "We know that for young adults in particular, we have often considered pubs and clubs to be mercenaries for smokers in a way," she said. "It's where young people who are at the experimental stage of smoking spend their time and socialise, and if they are surrounded by other people who are also smoking, it's much more likely that they will smoke themselves." The director of National Affairs at the Australian Hotels Association, Bill Healey, says there has been a significant shift from indoor to outdoor activity. "That cost the industry a lot of money in terms of renovations to enable hotels to accommodate the new laws, and in some states such as New South Wales it's been estimated in the vicinity of $750,000 for the club and hotel sector," he said. Balancing act Ms Tang from the Cancer Council, says the bans should be extended. "The way that the respective governments have defined the areas where you can and can't smoke does still leave a lot of people exposed to smoke," she said. "In some states, particularly in New South Wales, a lot of pubs and clubs have actually created pseudo outdoor areas, which we believe don't actually address the public health issue." But a tightening of the bans is that last thing pubs and clubs want to see. "Unfortunately our venues are probably some of the more high-profile areas at the moment, where the smoking issue is getting some publicity and therefore we are being pulled into the broader debate about smoking in the community," he said. "It is unfortunate for us because we've done everything required by the Government to satisfy their needs in relation to smoking in enclosed areas. "We've invested to make our venues suitable to the news laws and to our patrons, and it is disappointing that the anti-smoking lobby hasn't recognised the efforts we've gone to."

China Aims for National Chain of Anti-Smoking Clinics

webmaster — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 08:57:03 +0000

CRI - February 18, 2008 China will survey smoking habits among key sectors, including doctors and teachers, in 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities this year as it works to establish a national network of anti-smoking clinics. The goal is to have at least one outpatient facility in each province, where smokers would be offered a combination of medical and psychological treatment depending on their nicotine dependence. The survey, whose parameters were yet to be determined, would study whether people knew of the risks of smoking and how to stop, according to the Department of Maternal and Child Health Care and Community Health of China's Ministry of Health. China has 350 million smokers, whose numbers are growing by more than 3 million a year. There are 50 million teen-aged smokers as well. The number of non-smokers in China affected by passive smoking was 540 million as of 2007, one-third of whom were under 18 years old. What these numbers mean is that about two-thirds of the population either smokes or is affected by those who do. Each year, second-hand smoking kills more than 100,000 people, the ministry estimated in a 2007 report. Nonetheless, there aren't many outpatient anti-smoking clinics, even in a city like Beijing. In the capital, for example, 22 clinics were set up in 1996, but only three remain. Other planned anti-smoking measures would be no-smoking workplaces and educational efforts in the school system. And of course, the Olympics are to be promoted as smoke-free. China has also made efforts to reduce support for tobacco product makers. In May 2003, the government signed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which took effect two years later and helped limit the promotion of domestic tobacco enterprises.

Research on Youth Smoking for the Tobacco Industry

webmaster — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 01:28:32 +0000

UC Continues to Act in Secrecy, Doing Research on Youth Smoking for the Tobacco Industry By Leland Yee, Ph.D. Assistant President pro Tem California State Senate Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Times uncovered a smoldering controversy regarding tobacco industry funded research at the University of California (UC). It is puzzling how, in good conscience, the UC can accept such money from a company with an extensive and documented history of marketing their addictive product to teens. In fact, in August 2006, a federal court condemned the tobacco industry’s grant research programs as self-serving investments designed to mislead the public and distort public policy. In addition, the US President’s Cancer Panel recommends that recipients of National Cancer Institute grants be prohibited from accepting money from the tobacco industry. Furthermore, prestigious institutions across the world have declared that taking money from the tobacco industry for research is against the mission and purpose of their university. In spite of this overwhelming condemnation of tobacco industry dollars supporting research, in September the UC Board of Regents ignored the findings of legal and academic experts and voted to continue to do business with the tobacco industry through research grant funding. Throughout the year-long debate on the issue of tobacco industry funding of research, the UC administration continually argued that the research conducted through tobacco industry-funded grants is transparent. This public university system claims that there is no need to deny tobacco funding or add special provisions to industry grants because all grants are open for the public to see. Despite this argument, tobacco industry-funded research grants at UC have been anything but transparent. UCLA, mentioned in the federal racketeering case against the U.S. tobacco industry, is once again at the center of the conflict by refusing to open their tobacco-industry research to the public eye. The original controversy involved a tobacco-funded UCLA researcher’s conclusion that secondhand smoke was not harmful. This claim is exploited by the tobacco industry and used to defend smoking-related lawsuits throughout the world. The most recent dilemma involves $6 million Philip Morris USA-funded grant to establish the Adolescent Smoking Cessation Center at UCLA. UCLA has denied formal requests for information about its Adolescent Smoking Cessation Center. After receiving pressure, UCLA finally agreed to hand over a copy of the grant proposal to members of the public, but the University redacted a majority of the proposal with the exception of background information and budget justifications. The level of redaction is alarming on a number of levels. First and foremost, Philip Morris – the world’s largest cigarette company and maker of the brand most popular with minors, has firsthand access to why and how youth get addicted and stay addicted to tobacco, yet a taxpayer-funded university will not share public information with interested citizens or public health professionals. This secrecy, on behalf of tobacco giant Philip Morris, leads to speculation that the UC is doing something it doesn’t want the general public to know about. It cannot be ignored that youth smoking prevention programs funded by the tobacco giant actually promote youth addiction to tobacco rather than prevent it. It is long overdue for the University of California – a public, taxpayer supported system – to stop doing their business in secret and it is even more imperative that they stop doing research on youth smoking for the tobacco industry. Leland Yee is a member of the California State Senate Democratic Leadership team and the Assistant President pro Tem of the Senate. Senator Yee is also a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley. Posted on February 19, 2008

EU Panel Says Oral Tobacco Is Addictive, Hazardous

webmaster — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 01:41:50 +0000

(Update2) - By Thomas Mulier Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Swedish-style snuff hasn't been proven to help people quit smoking, a European Union panel said, dealing a blow to tobacco companies that lobbied for lifting a ban on the product. Smokeless tobacco is addictive and hazardous to health, the committee said in a report on its Web site. Evidence that the snuff, known as snus, may help Swedish smokers stop isn't sufficient to lift an EU ban because it's "not possible to extrapolate the patterns of tobacco use'' to other countries, the committee said. Snus is a moist form of snuff that is placed between the upper lip and gums rather than sniffed. The tobacco industry, led by British American Tobacco Plc and Swedish Match AB, has been lobbying the EU to lift the ban, which applies to all members of the bloc except Sweden. Cigarette makers have been moving into smokeless tobacco products, trying to create a new market as public smoking restrictions spread through the U.S. and Europe. "This conclusion implies that there will be no impetus for a change in policy for a lifting of the ban,'' wrote David Hayes, an analyst at Lehman Brothers who has an "overweight'' rating on Swedish Match. The EU banned snus for health reasons before Sweden joined. The country negotiated an exception to the rule when it became a member, becoming the only EU nation where the product can be sold legally. Shares Fall Swedish Match shares fell 4 kronor, or 2.8 percent, to 138 kronor in Stockholm, where the company is based. That gives the company a market value of about 36.8 billion kronor ($5.84 billion). London-based BAT declined 19 pence to 1,825 pence in London. Studies show that all smokeless tobacco products contain carcinogens and may cause cancer of the pancreas, the committee said. Research indicates some kinds of oral tobacco are associated with a "high'' risk for mouth cancer, though it hasn't been proven for snus, the panel added. Smokeless tobacco also may increase the risk of death after a heart attack, the committee said. Snus is at least 50 percent less likely to lead to heart disease than cigarettes, and possibly 100 percent less likely to lead to lung cancer, the committee said. "Politicians must now decide on whether it is reasonable to continue to deny European smokers access to a dramatically less hazardous alternative to cigarettes,'' Lars Rutqvist, vice president for scientific affairs at Swedish Match, said in a statement. "This is probably only the first step in a long political process.'' Benefits, Risk The benefits of lifting a ban would be offset by the risk that consumers who might never have smoked would start using snus, or that consumers who quit smoking for the product would continue using it indefinitely, the panel said. Some evidence from the U.S. suggests that smokeless tobacco use may lead to cigarette smoking, while Swedish data don't support this conclusion, the report said. Cultural differences "suggest caution in translating findings across countries'' and there are no randomized trials on smokeless tobacco as a cigarette substitute. "We will continue to engage with the European Commission -- encouraging them and others to support the replacement of the current ban with a regulatory framework that allows the sale of snus,'' Chris Proctor, BAT's head of science and regulation, said in a statement. The Brussels-based commission is the EU's executive. To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Mulier in Geneva at tmulier@bloomberg.net . Last Updated: February 19, 2008 11:46 EST

Nicotine Nation

webmaster — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 01:26:35 +0000

SCMP David Eimer Feb 20, 2008 A pall of smoke has been hanging over mainland cities for the past two weeks and, for once, it's not pollution. Instead, it's the acrid residue of the millions of fireworks and cigarettes that go up in smoke every Lunar New Year. The tobacco industry gets a massive boost during the holiday season, with cigarettes a favoured gift, and fireworks remain enormously popular despite the many deaths they cause. In fact, it's a surprise that more people don't die from stray rockets. In Foshan last week, 15,000 cartons of fireworks exploded in a blast equal to a 1.1 magnitude earthquake that was felt as far away as Guangzhou. Typically, the explosion was caused by carelessly discarded cigarettes. But fireworks deaths are nothing compared with the 1 million people who die of smoking-related diseases each year. With 350 million smokers on the mainland, that death rate is expected to rise to more than 2 million by 2020. All of which is at odds with the ethos of the Beijing Olympics. The arrival of the Games in China was supposed to herald a new age in public health, according to Vice-Minister of Health Gao Qiang . At the end of last year, he vowed to use the Olympics to improve public health. Last week, the World Health Organisation called for a concerted anti-smoking campaign. So far, all authorities have done is ban smoking in the Olympic Village, as well as at the competition venues and the hotels where people involved with the Games will stay. But banning smoking in the Olympic Village is like banning razors in Afghanistan; it is unnecessary. Instead, it's on the streets of Beijing and other cities that the government needs to concentrate its efforts. It is true that Beijing's taxi drivers face fines of 200 yuan if they are caught smoking in their cabs, but, like the much-vaunted 50-yuan fine for spitting, in practice no one gets penalised. Nor has the idea of making restaurants in the capital non-smoking been greeted with enthusiasm. At Beijing's first smoke-free eaterie, customers have taken to locking the waitresses out of the VIP rooms while they have a quick puff. Such is the lack of awareness about using the Olympics to spread the non-smoking message that a recent sohu.com survey showed almost 8 per cent of respondents still think smoking isn't harmful. It also showed that half of all smokers couldn't contemplate giving up as they were afraid of offending people who offered them a cigarette at times like the Lunar New Year. Some would say this ignorance suits the government. After all, the mainland is responsible for one-third of the world's tobacco production, all government controlled and worth 500 billion yuan a year. But putting revenue ahead of the public's health is cynical in the extreme. With the Olympics less than six months away, it's time the authorities put the same effort into combating smoking that they have into building a Beijing fit for the Games. David Eimer is a Beijing-based journalist

Drug Cases Up 9% In 2007

webmaster — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 02:43:37 +0000

Below is an exchange of emails in regards to the total seizure of genuine/counterfeit illicit cigarettes between James Middleton of Clear The Air Hong Kong and J A Moosa of the Excise Statistics and Research Division for Commissioner of Customs & Excise. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 Dear James, Thank you again for your e-mail of 18.2.2008. Our department does not keep statistics on the total seizure of genuine/counterfeit illicit cigarettes but only individual significant cases. The total transhipment cigarettes that passed through Hong Kong in 2007 were 22,155.13 million sticks. Seized cigarettes will be destroyed subsequent to court proceedings. The origin port is difficult to determine as the seized cigarettes often traversed through a number of countries before their inception in Hong Kong, plus that the shipping documents are often forged. I hope the above information will be helpful to you. Regards (J A Moosa) Excise Statistics and Research Division for Commissioner of Customs & Excise ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 Dear Jeffrey Many thanks for this information. Can you tell us which of the illicit cigarettes were genuine product and which were counterfeits ? This would be most beneficial to the authors of the Tobacco Atlas Normally 1 x 40' container contains 960 cases of 10,000 sticks (9.68 million sticks / 40') so the seizure equates to 11.493 containers or appox one per month. Does Customs keep statistics of legal transhipments of cigarettes through Hong Kong ? If so what are the numbers please ? What happens to the seized illicit cargo ? Of the seized shipments in the port, what is the main origin of the shipments ? http://www.who.int/tobacco/statistics/tobacco_atlas/en/ kind regards James Middleton www.cleartheair.org.hk Clear the Air ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 Dear James, Thank you for your e-mail of 15.2.2008 enquiring the statistics of illicit and duty-paid cigarettes in 2006 and 2007. The illicit cigarettes cases effected by the department in 2007 was down 41% when comparing with 2006, whereas the illicit cigarettes seized in 2007 had increased by 39.45 million sticks when comparing those seized in 2006. It was because there were a number of cases involving substantial amount of illicit cigarettes (under transhipment) intercepted by Customs officers at the container port. The total illicit cigarettes seized in 2007 were 111.26 million sticks. The total duty-paid cigarettes in 2007 were 3,495.73 million sticks. I hope you find the above information useful. Regards (J A Moosa) Excise Statistics and Research Division for Commissioner of Customs & Excise. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sent: Friday, February 15, 2008 Dear Sir, I refer to the Government press release below. It states illicit cigarette cases were down 41% but the data provided by SCMP shows 45 million more illicit cigarettes were seized in 11 months of 2007 than the whole 12 months of 2006. Can you clarify this please ? What was the final illicit cigarette number for 2007 ? It also shows that even though there was a partial smoking ban in place during 2007, the total duty paid tobacco increased by 12 million sticks between January and November 2007. What was the final figure of duty paid cigarettes in 2007 please ? kind regards James Middleton Clear the Air www.cleartheair.org.hk ------------------------------------------------------------------- Law and Order - news.gov.hk - Published on the 1st Feb 2008 The Customs & Excise Department detected 695 drug-trafficking cases in 2007, up 9% over a year earlier. There were 627 arrests, five drug storage and distribution centre closures, and three indoor cannabis plantations shut down. At a year-end briefing today Customs Commissioner Richard Yuen said the amount of cannabis, cocaine and ice - or methylamphetamine - seized was higher than in 2006, but the amount of ketamine, ecstasy and heroin was on the decline. He recalled the biggest-ever transnational cocaine trafficking case in which Customs was involved, last July, in which 160kg of cocaine with an estimated value of $110 million was uncovered inside secret compartments in some incoming containers from Panama. As there has been an upward trend of youth engaging in drug abuse despite a drop in the overall number of drug addicts, Mr Yuen pledged his department would contribute to the work of the Task Force on Youth Drug Abuse and step up measures against cross-boundary drug trafficking and drug abuse. Stepped-up checks "We have increased random inspections of cross-boundary vehicles, especially cross-boundary coaches, and will carry out more joint operations with Shenzhen Customs to provide a stronger deterrence against youths engaging in cross-boundary drug abuse," he said. On smuggling, the department detected 172 cases last year, down 15.7% on 2006. Of these, 82 involved smuggling across a land boundary while 90 were carried out at sea. Goods seized valued a total of $435 million, and 352 people were arrested. The most common goods smuggled out of Hong Kong, mainly into the Mainland, were high-end and high-value consumer products such as computer accessories and electronic products and appliances. Usual items smuggled into Hong Kong were cigarettes, counterfeit and infringing articles. To prevent food smuggling, Mr Yuen said relevant departments - including the Food & Environmental Hygiene Department and Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department - will work closely to ensure food safety. Surveillance stepped up A task force has recently been set up to co-ordinate inter-departmental efforts and communication with industries to enhance the effectiveness of enforcement action against food-smuggling activities, he added. Turning to the protection of intellectual property rights, the Commissioner said there is a rising trend of people using the Internet to market and sell infringing articles. The number of cases climbed 50%, to 27 from 18 in 2006. More than 4 million pirated optical discs were also seized last year. His department has tightened surveillance and enforcement action and will work closely with auction website operators to identify effective measures to curb such activities. Raids against shops and hawker stalls selling counterfeit goods during festivals will also be stepped up. Consumer protection After unscrupulous jewellery and electronic product shops deceived a spate of Mainland tourists last year, Mr Yuen looked forward to this year's upcoming passing of the Trade Descriptions (Amendment) Bill, to enable Customs to more easily prosecute offenders. He noted a court fined a jewellery shop involved in such improper sales practices $100,000 last year and sentenced its director to six months in jail. Illicit cigarette cases were down 41% and those of illicit fuel down 3% over the previous year. The number of public complaints about such cases also dropped, 34% and 15%. On the overall situation in Hong Kong, Mr Yuen said it remained under control and showed no sign of deterioration from last year. His department will continue to clamp down on illegal activities and step up enforcement.

Anti-Smoking Bill Passed in Bahrain

webmaster — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 03:01:59 +0000

Anti-Smoking Bill Passed Gulf Daily News - The Voice of Bahrain - Published: 20th February 2008 MPs yesterday approved a tough anti-smoking law that includes fines for people who light up in cars with children on board. Traders who sell tobacco to children below 14 years could also face up to six months in jail under the new legislation. It is already illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone below 18 years. Restaurants that fail to properly separate smoking and non-smoking areas will be fined BD2,000 to BD5,000 and closed for up to two months for repeat offences. Smokers who light up in closed areas, such as cars with children onboard, buses, malls and other places, would face fines of BD20 to BD50. The government drafted the law in 1994, but it has still not seen the light. The new draft is a combination of the original draft and a parliamentary proposed law. It will now be discussed and voted on by the Shura Council, before being sent to His Majesty King Hamad for ratification.

Prioritise Anti-tobacco Smuggling Measures

webmaster — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 04:10:08 +0000

Health Groups Call On Chancellor To Prioritise Anti-tobacco Smuggling Measures And Sign EU-Wide Agreements ASH news release: Embargo: 00:01 Thursday 21st February 2008 On behalf of 22 health groups, ASH will be meeting the Exchequer Secretary, Angela Eagle today to present plans on tackling smuggling and raising tobacco taxes, ahead of the forthcoming Budget. [1] ASH and more than 20 other health groups are calling on the Chancellor to: - Re-introduce the real price escalator to raise the tax on tobacco by at least 10p per pack above the rate of inflation [2] - Maintain the 5% VAT on nicotine replacement therapies that was introduced in last year's Budget (the tax was reduced from 17.5% as an incentive to increase uptake) - Implement a revised anti-smuggling strategy with challenging new targets - Sign up to Agreements reached between other EU countries and two of the world's leading tobacco companies - Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International - which put the responsibility for reducing smuggling on the tobacco companies themselves As the UK is the only EU country not to have signed the new anti-smuggling agreements, ASH will be asking the Treasury to sign up without further delay. In December 2007, Japan Tobacco International signed an Agreement committing the company to stiff seizure payments if its products were found to be illegally traded within the EU. As JTI now owns the British company Gallaher, it commands around 40% of the UK tobacco market. Therefore there is a compelling reason for the UK to be a signatory to the EU Agreement. [3] ASH will also be asking the Government to explain its policy on measuring counterfeit tobacco, since the latest published estimate suggests that only a quarter of the illegal cigarette market consists of counterfeit product, yet the focus of attention has been on the counterfeit trade. [4] Deborah Arnott, Director of the health campaigning charity ASH, said: "Now is the time for the Government to build on the popularity of the smokefree legislation and demonstrate its ongoing commitment to reducing smoking by increasing tobacco taxes. Raising the price of tobacco is the single most important measure but this must be done hand in hand with effective anti-smuggling measures." Notes and links: [1] Budget 2008: Tobacco tax submission by ASH and 22 other health organisations. Available here. [2] Research has shown that there is widespread public support for raising tobacco tax if it is used to fund anti-smoking policies. A survey by Professor Robert West found that 78% of the adult population would favour a 20p per pack tax rise if the money raised was used to fund tobacco control measures. See here. [3] For further information about the JTI anti-smuggling agreement see here. [4] Although there has been a rise in the number of seizures of counterfeit products in recent years, the latest Government estimate suggests that only around a quarter of the smuggled cigarette market is counterfeit. Thus legitimately manufactured cigarettes that are sold onto the black market still represent the bulk of the illicit market share. HMRC Press release, 26 Sept 2006

FCTC Requirements For Hong Kong

webmaster — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 04:27:39 +0000

Below is a response from Dr Edmund FONG (for the Director of Health), to questions asked by James Middleton of Clear The Air regarding FCTC requirements for Hong Kong -------------------------------------------------------- Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2008 Dear Mr Middleton, I refer to your email on 19 January and our interim reply on 25 January 2008 regarding the implementation of World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Government adopts a multi-pronged strategy, comprising legislation, taxation, publicity, education and enforcement to seek, through a step-by-step approach, to discourage smoking, contain the proliferation of tobacco use and protect the public from passive smoking as much as possible. As one of the measures to fulfill the requirements of FCTC, the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance (Cap. 371) underwent major amendments in 2006 to strengthen tobacco control regime in Hong Kong. The amendments expanded the statutory no smoking areas to a vast expanse of venues, introduced requirements on graphic health warnings and tightened the control on tobacco advertisement and promotion. With effect from 1 November 2007, the packets or retail containers of tobacco products are required to bear health warnings in prescribed form with pictorial contents on two largest surface areas of the packet/retail container, one surface in English language and the other in Chinese language. The prescribed area of the health warnings on each surface is required to be at least 50% of the two largest surface area of the packet/retail container of the tobacco product. Taxation on tobacco products remains to be one of our tobacco control strategies to be considered in the light of changes in the trend of tobacco consumption and smoking offences. The significant amendments to the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance (Cap. 371) and the proposed fixed penalty on smoking offences should have much bearing on this trend. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and make proposals on the tobacco duty level as well as other useful means to reduce tobacco consumption based on our findings. Thank you for your concern and support in tobacco control. Best regards, Dr Edmund FONG for Director of Health -------------------------------------------------------- Sent: Saturday 19th January 2008 Dear Tobacco Control What are the Government's intentions as regards its requirements under the FCTC ? What is Tobacco Control doing to get the administration to increase tobacco taxation in order to save lives ? There has been no increase for 7 years. What is being done about graphic pictorial warnings on cigarette cartons ? Both are mandated under the FCTC. regards James Middleton Clear the Air

Barnsley Council in Britain to Ban Smoking Outside Pubs

webmaster — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 01:05:48 +0000

Council Sparks Fury as it Becomes First in Britain to Ban Smoking Outside Pubs Last updated at 10:34am on 22nd February 2008 Barnsley Council want to ban people smoking in the street outside pubs and cafes The first town in Britain looks set to ban smoking outside pubs and cafes but furious landlords have vowed to fight the extreme council plans. Bar and cafe owners have said they are prepared to go to court if the local authority's decision to ban smoking on pavements outside their businesses goes ahead. By April, smokers in Barnsley, South Yorkshire may find there are few places where they can light up. Under the new regulations smoking will only be allowed outside in private beer gardens. The move has caused uproar among the town's licensees who have seen trade dwindle since the indoor smoking ban came into force. Publican Paul McNicholas, chairman of the town centre Pubwatch scheme said: "I feel so strongly about this I would be prepared to go to court. "There is no other place in the country even contemplating it. It would be difficult to enforce." Mr McNicholas has spent £9,000 on awnings, tables and heaters so customers can sit outside his Irish pub and enjoy a pint and a cigarette. He said: "Having the outside area has compensated me and evened things out since the smoking ban. These new guidelines could be the difference between bars surviving and not." Walkabout bar manager Greg Harding said: "I think it is ridiculous." He has a street drinking area in front of the town-centre premises and was offered the lease of the land by Barnsley Council. He said: "It gets people out front and brings a bit of colour to the town. This rule would make it untenable for us to continue taking this space from the council." Barnsley Council's environment department came up with the scheme in a document entitled "Guidelines for street cafes" in Barnsley town centre. The new rule states: "As of April 1 the licensed cafe area will be a no-smoking area. "It will be the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that customers are reminded of this. "If it is noted that on three separate occasions customers are witnessed to be smoking, then the licence will be revoked." Councillor Roy Miller, Barnsley's environment committee head said consultations were still taking place and input would be welcomed from licensees. He said: "We are awaiting the responses and I am having a meeting with several landlords." The move has been attacked by the pro-smoking organisation FOREST which says the scheme is "dubious, difficult to enforce and a potential death knell for businesses without space for a beer garden." Director Simon Clarke said: "It is the first time we have heard of such a plan anywhere in the country. "If the council wants smokers off the streets it would be more productive to use resources for smoking rooms. "If this is brought in I will come to Barnsley myself and light up even though I don't smoke."

Bangladesh Govt Urged To Increase Taxes On Tobacco Products

webmaster — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 01:10:55 +0000

Govt urged to increase taxes on tobacco products The Financial Express - February 22, 2008 Bangladesh Anti-tobacco Alliance urged the government to increase taxes on tobacco products in the coming budget for controlling the massive use of tobacco in the country, reports UNB. "Taxes on all tobacco products including dried tobacco leaves, `gul' and `zarda' have to be increased for effectively controlling the use of tobacco," general secretary of Consumers’ Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Kazi Faruk told a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club Wednesday. He said an increase in prices of tobacco products would have the greatest effect on the important target groups like poor and youths. "Some 10 per cent increase in price reduces consumption by 4 per cent in developed countries and 8 per cent in countries like Bangladesh." Referring to the report of a survey conducted jointly by `Work for a Better Bangladesh (WBB)' and 'Mental and Health Bridge', Kazi Faruq said most people in the country supported the increase of taxes and prices on tobacco and tobacco products. "Some 73.2 per cent respondents opined in favour of increasing taxes on tobacco while some 60.1 per cent agreed to cut down on the use of tobacco with high price of tobacco products."

Toronto Judge Reinstates Charges Against Cigarette Executives

webmaster — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 01:16:40 +0000

Judge reinstates charges against cigarette executives - The Gazette February 22, 2008 Peter Brieger A Toronto judge has put Canada's biggest cigarette-smuggling case back into play by ordering that fraud and conspiracy charges be reinstated against six former executives of tobacco giant JTI-Macdonald Corp. Ontario Superior Court Justice Ian Nordheimer this week quashed a decision last year to throw out the case against the six men for lack of evidence, saying a preliminary hearing judge made legal errors in his ruling. Crown lawyers appealed that ruling. "Put simply, the conduct of JTI and its employees is conduct that a reasonable person could see as dishonest," Nordheimer wrote in his Feb. 19 decision. "The decisions to discharge these six individuals cannot stand." The 37-page ruling also denied a bid by Ed Lang, JTI's former chief executive, to void seven counts of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud against him. The other JTI employees are: former vice-president of operations Pierre Brunelle, former vice-president of finance Paul Neumann, director of finance Roland Kostantos and managers Dale Sisel, Jaap Uittenbogaard and Peter MacGregor. The seven are accused of defrauding federal and provincial governments out of more than $1 billion in tax revenue during early 1990s by operating a smuggling ring through the United States and First Nations reserves. JTI and its former employees were charged in 2003 after a four-year police probe. None of the allegations has been proven. Evidence at the 19-month preliminary hearing is subject to a publication ban. But Nordheimer, who overturned former Bay Street investment banker Andrew Rankin's insider-tipping conviction last year, said he disagreed there isn't enough evidence to put the former tobacco executives on trial. "Presumably, each of these employees believed, in acting as they did, that they were just doing their jobs," Nordheimer wrote. "However, if the manner by which they chose to undertake their responsibilities was criminal in nature, the fact that they also acted within the scope of their employment will not absolve them from criminal liability."

Young Smokers Looking To Quit 'Need More Help'

webmaster — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 01:47:36 +0000

Young Smokers Looking To Quit 'Need More Help' Scarlett Chiang - SCMP Updated on Feb 22, 2008 The smoking ban has been effective in encouraging young smokers to quit, a survey has found, but there were not enough avenues for them to seek help. A University of Hong Kong survey found that more people called its hotline enquiring about quitting after a ban came into force in most public indoor areas on January 1 last year. The university's Youth Quitline for people aged 12 to 25 said it recorded a 60 per cent increase in calls from smokers after the ban. In the first nine months of 2006 there were 179 calls, compared with 214 in the same period last year. Calls from non-smoking parents seeking advice on how they could help their teenagers quit increased 45 per cent from 69 in the first nine months of 2006 to 100 in the same period last year. Among the calls received since January 1 last year, 50 per cent of callers said they had more motivation to quit since the ban came into force, and 40 per cent said they received more encouragement to quit from their friends and family. Sophia Chan Siu-chee, head of the university's nursing studies department, said the figures showed there had been a sharp increase in the number of young smokers seeking to quit in the first few months after the legislation was introduced, and the government should do more to encourage people to quit. She said young smokers needed professional support to help them quit and the university's hotline was the only one available for teenagers. "The government should help smokers," Professor Chan said. "If there is a smoking ban for the public to protect them from second-hand smoke, there should also be some ways to help smokers quit." She said the government had provided a one-off HK$300,000 subsidy in 2005 from the Health Care Promotion Fund. The hotline needs funding to continue its services. "If we want to continue to help teenage smokers, we need more help, especially from the government," she said. The university said there were 15,700 daily smokers aged 15 to 19 in the city. An anti-smoking organisation also urged the government to raise the tobacco tax every year by about 15 per cent to encourage people to quit. Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health chairman Homer Tso Wei-kwok said he hoped the government could either raise the tobacco tax every year or make a one-off increase of 40 per cent to 50 per cent in the budget on Wednesday. "The tobacco tax should be about two-thirds more than the retail price of a packet of cigarettes to deter people from smoking," Dr Tso said. He also complained that the government had no measures to encourage young people to quit. A Health Department spokeswoman said the government had encouraged smokers to quit through legislation, education and tobacco tax. She added that the department had set up a clinic and a hotline for people who wanted to quit.

50pc Tax Hike Sought In Bid To Help Smokers Quit

webmaster — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 01:48:42 +0000

Damon Pang - The Standard - Friday, February 22, 2008 An increase in tobacco tax of up to 50 percent in the upcoming budget speech on Wednesday will help smokers quit the habit, Council on Smoking and Health chairman Homer Tso Wei-kwok said yesterday. Tso also criticized the government for "seriously lacking" in efforts to help youths aged 15 to 19 - when most smokers pick up the habit - quit. The tax increment would mean 75 percent of the price for a packet of cigarettes - about HK$30 depending on brands - would be taxed, compared with about half the price now. The World Health Organization recommends a standard tax of two- thirds of the price. "Increasing the tax must also go along with increased provision of services to smokers to quit smoking, as it is also necessary to show that the government is not in it for the money, but for the protection of public health," Tso said. "Increasing the tax is only one method to control smoking, but most importantly [government policy] needs to be consistent. "There are about 15,700 young smokers locally, yet we only have one youth quitline at Hong Kong University capable of helping 400 people." He said the service should be readily accessible, through community help channels, not hospitals. Quitting needed to become a popular trend like slimming. In response, a Department of Health spokeswoman said the government had successfully decreased the smoking rate. She said the percentage of smokers had fallen from 23 percent in 1982 to 14 percent in 2005 through "gradual and multiple means," including legislation, tobacco taxation, public education and quit-smoking services. Hong Kong University, meanwhile, surveyed 304 young smokers who phoned its quitline between August 2005 and last September. Sophia Chan Sin-chee, head of the university's nursing studies department, said young smokers aged between 15 and 19 went through fewer cigarettes per day after smoking was banned in public indoor places in January last year - from 12.2 before the ban to 10.1 after it took effect. She said the ban marked a change in the general environment "where more important people around [the smokers] urge them to quit smoking, as more smokers themselves urge others to quit also." Chan said the survey also showed more smokers believed others want them to quit smoking after the start of the ban because 51.9 percent of those interviewed had greater motivation to quit. Nearly two in five smokers said they received more encouragement to quit from key people around them after the ban, while 42.7 percent said they had less exposure to secondhand smoke. Chan also said that, since the implementation of the ban, 214 smokers, up 20 percent from before the ban, called the youth quitline. She added 19.2 percent of smokers said they wanted to quit because of pressure from family and friends.

Anson Chan Retains Links To Tobacco Industry

webmaster — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 00:44:52 +0000

Mary Ann Benitez - SCMP Updated on Feb 24, 2008 Anson Chan Fang On-sang has maintained ties to a luxury goods group despite quitting as a director before she was elected as a legislator last year because of its links to the tobacco industry. The former chief secretary remains on the advisory council of a fund management company whose investors include Compagnie Financiere Richemont, from which she resigned in September after the South China Morning Post inquired about her links to the tobacco industry. Richemont said at the time that her continued participation on the board would be "incompatible" with her role as a legislator if elected. But Mrs Chan's recently released declaration of interests shows she is a member of the advisory council of the General Enterprise Management Services (Gems), which also has ties to the tobacco industry. As well as Richemont - which holds a 19.2 per cent interest in British American Tobacco - Gems investors include J apan Tobacco, the world's third-biggest tobacco company. Asked about it, Mrs Chan defended her role, saying it was in an advisory capacity, and she was not on the management board. But the revelation brought calls from the legislator for the medical sector, Kwok Ka-ki, and a former medical legislator for her to resign the post. Gems is an investment fund company founded by Simon Murray, the former Hutchison taipan, who is a board member of Richemont. Mrs Chan is being paid as an advisory council member, but she declined to say how much. A statement from Mrs Chan's office said she was "not involved with any day-to-day operations or investment decisions of the company". Her responsibilities included giving advice on "the macro political and economic environment of Hong Kong, nothing more". The Gems advisory council is chaired by Lord Powell of Bayswater, a former adviser to British prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and John M ajor. Other council members are former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, Christie's chairman Patricia Barbizet, and the former chairman of the board of management of DaimlerChrysler, Jurgen Schrempp. Mr Kwok said: "If she is paid, then she needs to decline it. She should let the people know what is behind it." Former legislator Lo Wing-lok - who ran against Mrs Chan in the contest to represent the pan-democratic camp in the Hong Kong Island by-election - said he hoped she would resign from Gems, even if her links with the tobacco industry were indirect. "I won't challenge her integrity, that would be a matter for God to decide," Dr Lo said. "But even indirect connections should be terminated." Clear the Air, an anti-tobacco lobby group, said it regretted Mrs Chan's association with the tobacco industry, adding that she "has seemingly been incapable of completely severing her ties with an industry that the WHO confirms to threaten Hong Kong's and the world's public health". "Clear the Air opines that no Legco members should have directorships or other connections in organisations which might possibly cause a conflict of interest with the impartial duties, ethics and voting of a Legco member." Anthony Hedley, anti-tobacco advocate and chair professor of the department of community medicine at the University of Hong Kong, said he was more concerned that there were tobacco executives in other areas. He was referring to Anthony Lau Chun-hon, formerly general manager of Philip Morris Singapore who is now executive director of the Tourism Board; Philip Ho Wing-hong, BAT's head of local corporate and regulatory affairs who is on the Central Policy Unit; and Charles Ho Tsu-kwok, chairman of the Hong Kong Tobacco Company, who is on the Bauhinia Foundation.

Incidence Of Heart Diseases Drops After France Enacts Anti-Smoking Laws

webmaster — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 03:24:46 +0000

People's Daily Online - February 24, 2008 Incidence Of Heart Diseases Drops After France Enacts Anti-Smoking Laws The incidence of smoking-related diseases has sharply decreased after France enacted tough anti-smoking laws, the Health Ministry said in a report released Saturday. According to the report, the incidence of myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular diseases dropped by 15 percent in recent two months. It will be further proved in the next two months that anti-smoking laws will bring significant and instant benefits to the health of the French people, said the report. French has banned smoking in companies, government offices and shopping centers since Feb.1, 2007. From the beginning of this year, smoking are banned in all public places across France, including bars, cafes, restaurants and discotheques. The French government has said the measures, widely supported by the public, are aimed at cutting the number of annual deaths caused by smoking, the leading cause of preventable deaths in the country. Source: Xinhua

Call To Double Tobacco Tax Wins Wide Support

webmaster — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:55:30 +0000

Colleen Lee - SCMP Updated on Feb 25, 2008 "A new call has been made by the Committee on Youth Smoking Prevention for tobacco duty to be doubled after a survey by the group found 74 per cent of Hongkongers supported a drastic increase. Committee chief executive Li Cheong-lung urged the government to double the duty in Wednesday's budget to discourage under-age smoking. If such an increase was introduced, the duty on a pack of 20 cigarettes would be raised from about HK$16 to about HK$32. The group also urged the government to use 5 per cent to 10 per cent of tobacco tax revenue to set up a fund to cover work on preventing teenagers from smoking. Mr Li said: "Prevention is always better than cure. It will be so hard for teens to get rid of the habit once they get hooked." Government figures show cigarette tax revenue in the 2006-07 financial year totalled HK$2.75 billion, the largest sum in the past 15 years. In the poll of 1,008 people aged at least 18, 86.5 per cent backed a law to allocate a percentage of the tobacco tax towards efforts to prevent under 18s taking up the habit. The committee commissioned Chinese University's Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies to carry out the survey in December. The poll also found that 87.5 per cent of interviewees supported a ban on the sale of cigarettes to students wearing school uniform. "It would make it easier for law enforcers and passers-by to notice the wrongdoing," committee vice-chairman Thomas Tse Lin-chung said. A new call has been made by the Committee on Youth Smoking Prevention for tobacco duty to be doubled after a survey by the group found 74 per cent of Hongkongers supported a drastic increase. Committee chief executive Li Cheong-lung urged the government to double the duty in Wednesday's budget to discourage under-age smoking. If such an increase was introduced, the duty on a pack of 20 cigarettes would be raised from about HK$16 to about HK$32. The group also urged the government to use 5 per cent to 10 per cent of tobacco tax revenue to set up a fund to cover work on preventing teenagers from smoking. Mr Li said: "Prevention is always better than cure. It will be so hard for teens to get rid of the habit once they get hooked." Government figures show cigarette tax revenue in the 2006-07 financial year totalled HK$2.75 billion, the largest sum in the past 15 years. In the poll of 1,008 people aged at least 18, 86.5 per cent backed a law to allocate a percentage of the tobacco tax towards efforts to prevent under 18s taking up the habit. The committee commissioned Chinese University's Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies to carry out the survey in December. The poll also found that 87.5 per cent of interviewees supported a ban on the sale of cigarettes to students wearing school uniform. "It would make it easier for law enforcers and passers-by to notice the wrongdoing," committee vice-chairman Thomas Tse Lin-chung said.

A Strategy For Controlling The Marketing Of Tobacco Products: a regulated market model

webmaster — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 01:46:48 +0000

Tobacco Tax Drive To Help Youths Quit

webmaster — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 05:17:27 +0000

February 25, 2008 - Damon Pang - The Standard Spending 10 percent of the extra revenue from a doubling of the tobacco tax in Wednesday's budget speech on education would help youths quit smoking, the Committee on Youth Smoking Prevention said yesterday. A survey conducted jointly by the committee and the Chinese University's Hong Kong Institute of Asia Pacific Studies in December showed nine out of 10 respondents thought there is "an urgent" need to conduct anti-youth smoking campaigns. Tik Chi-yuen, the committee chairman, said doubling the tax would provide more resources for the campaigns. "Currently, each cigarette is taxed 80 HK cents. If you double that it could bring a certain level of deterrent effect as the increased cost make youths more cautious in their consumption, even when they share the cigarettes," he said. Tik noted that most youths smoke because of peer pressure as well as copying their idols' behavior. They still smoke even though they know the habit is detrimental to their health, although an education fund can form a better foundation to discourage smoking. Thomas Tse Lin-chung, the committee vice chairman, said regional neighbors such as Taiwan, Macau and Thailand, have used part of their tax on education as recommended by a recent World Health Organization report. He suggested tighter legislation to prevent students in school uniforms to buy cigarettes. Tse also feared youths have been smoking more as the cost of an average packet has actually gone down to HK$29 compared to about HK$31 in 2001. Li Cheong-lung, the chief executive of the committee, said the survey of 1,008 people found that 87.1 percent believed the issue of young smokers is "serious" or "very serious." Four out of five thought the government lacked sufficient effort on the issue, while nearly three out of four believed the government should "sharply increase" the tobacco tax. Another 86.5 percent felt the tobacco tax should be used to fund preventive measures.

Heart Attack Rates Fall Following National Smoking Bans

webmaster — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 03:38:47 +0000

ScienceDaily (Feb. 26, 2008) French researchers announced a striking 15% decrease in admissions of patients with myocardial infarction to emergency wards since the public ban on smoking came into effect in restaurants, hotels and casinos in France last January. The announcement was made on 23 February by the National Sanitary Institute. Similar results were published in Italy on 12 February by the Environmental Health Authority: researchers in Rome found an 11.2 percent reduction of acute coronary events since the January 2005 smoking ban took effect in Italy. The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) wishes to stress the positive impact of smoking bans in all European countries that have adopted laws banning tobacco use in public places. "There is a wealth of data linking smoking and cardiovascular disease (CVD)," stated Prof Daniel Thomas, of the European Society of Cardiology and a Senior Cardiologist in the Centre Hospitalier Pitié- Salpêtrière in Paris. "Although further studies are needed all over France to confirm the strong decrease in smoking related deaths over time, these statistics show the same tendency professionals have already observed in Italy, Ireland and Scotland when these countries introduced their own bans on tobacco. To me, the most striking aspect in this study is the reduction of pollution inside cafés and restaurants by over 75% between December 2007 and January 2008. Passive smoking has been shown to increase the risk of coronary heart disease and the recent smoking ban is obviously having a beneficial effect on both smokers and non-smokers." The European Society of Cardiology together with other health institutions has continuously informed the public of the overwhelming evidence of the adverse effect of smoking on cardiovascular health. The European Guidelines on CVD prevention warn that smoking is responsible for 50% of all avoidable deaths and that smoking causes heart attacks at any age. Data produced by Prof Pekka Jousilahti from Finland at the ESC's EuroPrevent Congress in 2006 showed that smoking releases over 4000 chemicals into the body affecting every organ. "The swift reduction of heart attacks and strokes in France is very good news indeed!"states Prof Jean Pierre Bassand, Past President of the ESC and Head of the Cardiology Department at the University Hospital of Besançon . "Cardiologists do not need to be convinced that smoking and passive smoking have an important impact on the rate of heart attacks; they are also convinced that giving up cigarettes and eliminating passive smoking has a very favourable effect on the rate of heart attacks. Unfortunately the ban on smoking in public places has not led to a reduction in the number of smokers in France, confirming data observed elsewhere." Prof Daniel Thomas agrees: "Governments must learn from these findings and not give in to pressure from the tobacco lobby. In France people are actually still buying tobacco but just the fact that working and living environments are free from smoke pollution has made an enormous difference to public health, not only regarding cardiovascular disease, but also respiratory disease and other complaints such as headaches, as the INVS findings show. It is very important to stress the immediate results observed on cardiovascular disease when people live in smoke free environments." "Although cardiovascular diseases are very complex in nature and due to many causes, smoking bans most certainly have caused a reduction in coronary events. This is consistent with the pollution reduction observed in indoor public places" explains Roberto Ferrari, President Elect of the ESC. The European Society of Cardiology would like to encourage smoke cessation across the continent through smoking bans and taxes on cigarettes. There is a consensus on the benefits of smoking cessation which are usually almost immediate and contribute to diminish the burden of cardiovascular disease. The positive figures communicated last week in Italy and France should encourage other European countries to enforce similar measures to protect their citizens. EUROPEAN SOCIETY OF CARDIOLOGY (ESC) The European Heart House 2035 Route des Colles B.P. 179 - Les Templiers FR-06903 Sophia Antipolis http://www.escardio.org

Bahrain Bans F1 Tobacco Advertising

webmaster — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 03:47:10 +0000

by Amy Glass on Tuesday, 26 February 2008 Tobacco advertising on billboards related to Formula One motor racing has been banned in Bahrain in a move to reduce smoking in the kingdom, where one in three adults smoke. The ruling is part of a long-term campaign to remove cigarette and tobacco advertising at all of the kingdom's sporting events, Bahrain daily Gulf Daily News reported on Tuesday. Mariam Al Jalahma, under-secretary for primary care and public health at the Health Ministry, said the ban was a significant development in Bahrain's effort to tackle its growing smoking epidemic, quoted the newspaper. However, Al Jalahma would not comment on whether this ban would be extended to tobacco advertising during the race itself. There is already a blanket ban on tobacco advertising in Europe and many F1 teams are no longer sponsored by tobacco companies. A ban on all tobacco sponsorship in F1 will come into affect in 2009. Al Jalahma said the government was currently studying anti-smoking laws of several countries, as it drafts its own legislation, according to Gulf Daily News. The government first drafted an anti-smoking law in 1994, but it was not implemented. The new draft is a combination of the original draft and a new law proposed by the parliament. The proposed anti-smoking law will see smokers fined up to 50 Bahrani dinars ($132) for lighting up in specified public areas, while restaurants which fail to properly separate smoking and non-smoking areas will be fined up to 5,000 dinars and closed for up to two months. Al Jalahma expected the law would be passed by the Shura Council before the end of the year.

Mexico to Go Tobacco Free

webmaster — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 04:16:25 +0000

VivirLatino - 26 Feb 2008 The Mexican Senate just passed the much talked about "Anti-tobacco Law", which would make many parts of the country smoke free, and the consequences for breaking it are no joke: The General Law for Tobacco Control will prohibit smoking in closed public spaces and violations will be punished with up to 36 hours of jail time. In addition, fines up to the equivalent of 100 to 10,000 minimum wage days [a common way of calculating fines in Mexico] and the temporary or permanent closing of businesses violating the law will be applied. For repeat offenders, the fine can go up to 1 million pesos. The new law establishes "100% smoke free zones" in public spaces, workplaces both public and private and universities. Mexico's Milenio reports that once the official bulletin is released by the government, the law will take effect in 90 days all over the republic. No Smoking signs will be visibly placed in areas where smoking is prohibited, and the government will provide a phone number where citizens can report violations of the law. In addition, business owners who wish to allow smoking in their establishments will have 180 days to modify their property to close off an area for that. The law also establishes new regulations for tobacco-related advertising, which from now on may only appear in publications geared toward adults or in places where only adults are allowed to enter, such as bars and nightclubs.

Tobacco Smoke Derived Particle Levels

webmaster — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 09:59:04 +0000

A 32-country comparison of tobacco smoke derived particle levels in indoor public places ABSTRACT - TC Online - 26th February 2008 Objective: To compare tobacco smoke-derived particulate levels in transportation and hospitality venues with and without smoking in 32 countries using a standardised measurement protocol. Methods: The TSI SidePak AM510 Personal Aerosol Monitor was used to measure the concentration of particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5) in 1822 bars, restaurants, retail outlets, airports and other workplaces in 32 geographically dispersed countries between 2003 and 2007. Results: Geometric mean PM2.5 levels were highest in Syria (372 mg/m3), Romania (366 mg/m3) and Lebanon (346 mg/m3), while they were lowest in the three countries that have nationwide laws prohibiting smoking in indoor public places (Ireland at 22 mg/m3, Uruguay at 18 mg/m3 and New Zealand at 8 mg/m3). On average, the PM2.5 levels in places where smoking was observed was 8.9 times greater (95% CI 8.0 to 10) than levels in places where smoking was not observed. Conclusions: Levels of indoor fine particle air pollution in places where smoking is observed are typically greater than levels that the World Health Organization and US Environmental Protection Agency have concluded are harmful to human health. View the full report on Tobacco Smoke Derived Particle Levels in Indoor Public Places here.

Hong Kong Tobacco Tax

webmaster — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 03:45:15 +0000

In Hong Kong the low tobacco tax and smoking exemptions in 2007 saw a 29.5% increase in cigarette sales above 2006 pre smoking 'ban' sales as opposed to UK which has high tobacco tax and a comprehensive smoking ban. The HK Financial Secretary chose not to increase tobacco tax, a proven method of preventing youth smoking, since 1999.

Cigarette sales drop 4% following smoking ban - The Daily Mail February 27, 2008 A drop in cigarette sales prompted by England's smoking ban gathered pace at the end of last year, latest figures show. Smokers in Britain bought 47 billion cigarettes in the past 12 months - a year-on-year dip of nearly four per cent, according to market analysts Nielsen. The drop became more acute in the last three months of 2007 with a year-on-year drop of 6.7 per cent. This compared to a sales decline of just 0.1 per cent year-on-year during the six months before the ban came into force in England, according to Nielsen data for The Grocer. Smokers spent more money on cigarettes in 2007 than they did the previous year but this was mainly due to higher taxes, the trade magazine says. A Nielsen spokesman told The Grocer: "Value growth was driven by price and duty increases, while volume sales reflect a market that is coming to terms with an unprecedented year; legislation and the poor summer took sales out of the market." The true impact of the smoking ban will not become apparent for another few months because sales temporarily lifted over the Christmas period, the spokesman said. He added: "2008 looks to be a further difficult year for the tobacco industry with the full effects of the smoking ban realised, the forthcoming pictorial health warnings and restriction on selling tobacco to those aged under 18." The smoking ban came into force in Wales on April 1, 2007 and in England on July 1, 2007. A ban came into force in Scotland in 2006. Nielsen's data on cigarette sales in the year to January 26, 2008 comes from its Scantrack survey of till sales representing 74,000 outlets around Britain.

2008 Hong Kong Government Budget

webmaster — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 01:31:13 +0000

An article on the Hong Kong's governments' failure to raise tobacco taxes can be viewed on our news blog here: http://news.cleartheair.org.hk/2008/02/29/2008-hong-kong-government-budget/

Education Key To Stamping Out Smoking

webmaster — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 01:57:18 +0000

news.gov.hk - February 29, 2008 FS: Proposals Based On Wide Consultation Financial Secretary John Tsang answered wide-ranging questions from a talk-show audience this morning, days after he presented his maiden Budget in the Legislative Council. He stressed that the Budget proposals came about after a four-month public consultation process. "We went around, listened to all the political groups, to all the community groups, went down to town hall meetings a few times, go to people's homes, talk to people, and so forth. We have indeed seen a lot of people, listened to their views, didn't say very much, but we were listening and we got a lot of input and we have constructed our budget based on what they have told us," he told listeners. The end result, Mr Tsang said, is a "quite balanced" Budget. While some parties have agreed, he has also heard criticisms that it does not go far enough for some sectors. He promises to take all comments into consideration - but is unlikely to make any changes to the document. "If we move something, we have to move other things, otherwise it's going to be skewed. So I don't have a great tendency towards changing any one of the different aspects. This is a basket," he said. Responding to a comment that the Budget did not do enough for senior citizens, the Financial Secretary countered that they were a main focus. "I have paid a lot of care to the elderly. There must be over a dozen paragraphs just on the initiatives for the elderly, from elderly academies to care services to old age allowance, maintenance of self-occupied properties, home environment and so forth. So we have given a lot of consideration to them." When another caller suggested there were not enough initiatives aimed at protecting our environment, Mr Tsang noted that in the next year the Environment Bureau had a "record-breaking" budget of $7 billion. "We have never had that much money put in environment. We are putting more and more money into it," he said. ... Education Key To Stamping Out Smoking Asked why the Budget did not propose raising the tobacco tax, the Financial Secretary noted that tax is only one way to reduce the smoking habit in Hong Kong - and that he thought education is a lot more important. "If all the young children and the adults of Hong Kong can learn all the bad things about smoking, I think that would be a more permanent way of reducing the smoking," he said. "We need to take a more balanced approach. We already have a high tax there, if we raised it at this time, it would increase the smuggling. We need to look at all different aspects. Tax is just one aspect. It is now about 80 cents per cigarette. We could raise it further. But there are other things we can do better." ...

Burden Of Care Created By Disease Caused By Tobacco

webmaster — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 02:06:45 +0000

A letter sent to the SCMP by Anthony J Hedley, Department of Community Medicine, University of Hong Kong on the 29th Feb 2008.

The Editor South China Morning Post Dear Sir As expected John Tsang Chun wah failed to use his budget to increase tobacco duty to protect community health and help pay for the burden of care created by disease caused by tobacco .He continues the recent tradition, of a succession of financial secretaries, of adopting a firm tobacco industry friendly position,protecting brand value and directly facilitating the promotion of cheap tobacco to youth. Your columnist Jake van der Kamp accuses me of failing to protect the pockets of the poor who generally have the highest prevalence of smoking(Post January 1 2008). However there is nothing more regressive than fostering an epidemic of disease and premature death among a vulnerable sector of the population,especially when it has its origins in children and adolescents.Applying higher tobacco duty isn't "moral highmindedness" as Van der Kamp claims but an essential duty of care toward young people. It is clear that the treasury now dictates public health policy (or lack of it)and refuses to apply fiscal measures even when they are proven to be needed.They are able to do this regardless of the evidence-based advice of the Department of Health and the Food and Health Bureau. As we struggle to contain the need and demand for health care perhaps the government auditor could now adjudicate on the bizarre incongruity of government actions. Anthony J Hedley Department of Community Medicine University of Hong Kong

John Tsang on RTHK re Tobacco Tax

webmaster — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:25:00 +0000

RTHK 29/2/08 Transcript http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/radio3/budget_phone_08/20080229.html Subject: Phone in: Budget Review 2008 Presenters: Bryan Curtis and Nick Beacroft The Financial Secretary, Mr John Tsang, answers listeners' questions about his 2008-2009 Budget Speech. (Transcription of relevant Tobacco Tax portion of phone in only.) FS: Financial Secretary, John Tsang BC: Bryan Curtis NB: Nick Beacroft Approx Time code: 15.38 minutes BC: We have an email here from James which is actually a letter written into the South China Morning Post, but I don’t think that the writer would mind us reading it out. It’s from James and the letter is actually from Anthony Hedley at the University of Hong Kong so you might know what it’s about. [Quoting] “As expected John Tsang failed to use his budget to increase tobacco duty to protect community health and help pay for the burden of care created by disease caused by tobacco. He continues the recent tradition of a succession of financial secretaries of adopting a firm tobacco industry-friendly position, protecting brand value and directly facilitating the promotion of cheap tobacco to youth. It’s clear that the treasury dictates public health policy or lack of it and refuses to apply fiscal measures even when they are proven to be needed. They are able to do this regardless of the evidence based advice of the Department of Health and the Food and Health Bureau.” He wraps up “as we struggle to contain the need and demand for health care perhaps the government auditor could now adjudicate on the bizarre incongruity of government actions.” That’s from Dr. Anthony Hedley. FS: Well, tax is only one way to reduce the smoking habit in Hong Kong and I think education is a lot more important and I really hope that Dr. Hedley would dedicate a lot of his resources to educating people about the wrong of smoking. I think that would really help reduce it in a more permanent way, then the young children and adults of Hong Kong can learn the bad things about smoking. And I think that would be a more permanent way of reducing the smoking habit. NB: But why don’t you use the tax stick to dissuade people from taking up smoking? FS: This is one way of doing it but I think we need to take a more balanced approach in what we are doing. We already have a pretty high tax there and if we were to raise it at this time it would no doubt increase the smuggling activities. NB: Yes but we’re not being held to ransom by the smugglers, we have our own policy. By putting up a tax you’d discourage people from smoking and you will snub the smugglers because every year our financial secretary comes on this programme and says ‘we can’t increase the tax because the smugglers will increase their business’. We’re being held to ransom by the smugglers! FS: No surely not. But this is one aspect. NB: But surely yes I think is the answer. FS: But surely we need to really look into all different aspects and I think tax is one aspect, it’s just one aspect. It is now about 80-something cents per cigarette now. We could raise it further no doubt but there are other things that we can do better, such as education. BC: Perhaps ancillary to that – if you look at the amount of money that the government has spent on health, we spent 31 or 32 billion dollars in 2001 and we spent 31.6 billion last year. How come we haven’t seen any increase – and I think it’s almost exactly the same for education. That education was slightly lower spending last year than it was in 2001/02. FS: No I think it has been increasing in both, on both sides. I think you need to look at the full picture…I don’t have… BC: Well I have the picture here. In 2001/2002 we spent 32 billion dollars on health and only 31.7 I believe last year. NB: That’s right 31.6 billion in 2007/8 and as Brian says, 32 billion back in 2001. So we seem to be spending less money on health and education. Why is there this under-spending? FS: No. In 2007/08 the original estimate was 30 billion dollars and we are estimating 32.5 billion this year for health alone. NB: Well in any case roughly the same as in 2001/02 so some people would say the economy has gotten bigger and yet we seem to not be spending more on things like health and education.

Clarification by AmCham

webmaster — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 09:36:09 +0000

Updated on Mar 04, 2008 - SCMP As a matter of clarification, Douglas Woodring's letter ("Chance to cut tobacco sales squandered", February 29), represents his own views and does not represent the positions or views of the American Chamber of Commerce, whose environment committee he chairs. AmCham has taken no formal views of the new Hong Kong budget and issued no statements regarding its contents. Mr Woodring speaks as one of 2,000 members and 25 committee chairmen in AmCham, as is his right to do. Richard R. Vuylsteke, president, the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong

ASH Action: Protecting Children From Tobacco

webmaster — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 00:03:57 +0000

A growing alliance of health, medical, child welfare, educational, church, social equity, community and research organisations want to see children protected from tobacco. We'd like to see the selling of tobacco products made more responsible and brought into line with other dangerous and addictive products. ASH Action: Protecting Children From Tobacco

Tobacco Statistics Update

webmaster — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 01:05:39 +0000

Increase in Hong Kong’s tobacco excise duty received in 2007 $ 132,961,161 over 2006 In UK in 7 months after their complete ban with tobacco tax at $62 a packet and free quit lines many people have given up In Hong Kong with Smoking exemptions and tax of $ 16 a packet the smoking rates have increased dramatically after our 'ban'. A 100% increase in local excise tax woud stop 40% of our youth smoking.

Judith Mackay

webmaster — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 01:52:00 +0000

Dr Judith Mackay named one of the "most influential people in the world"

Judith Mackay

webmaster — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 01:52:50 +0000

Dr Judith Mackay named one of the "most influential people in the world"

Tobacco Opportunity Squandered

webmaster — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 09:29:24 +0000

Opportunity squandered Updated on Mar 05, 2008 - SCMP John Tsang Chun-wah failed to use his budget to increase tobacco duty to protect community health and help pay for the burden of care created by disease caused by tobacco. He continued the recent tradition, of financial secretaries, of adopting a firm tobacco industry-friendly position, which facilitates the promotion of cheap tobacco to youth. Monitor columnist Jake van der Kamp accuses me of failing to protect the pockets of the poor who generally have the highest prevalence of smoking ("Moralising on smoking is also a bad habit. Stub it out", January 4). However, there is nothing more regressive than fostering an epidemic of disease and premature death among a vulnerable sector of the population, especially when it has its origins in children and adolescents. Applying higher tobacco duty isn't "moral high-mindedness" as van der Kamp claims, but an essential duty of care towards young people. It is clear that the treasury now dictates public health policy and refuses to apply fiscal measures even when they are clearly needed. It is able to do this regardless of the evidence-based advice of the Department of Health and the Food and Health Bureau. As we struggle to contain the need and demand for health care perhaps the government auditor could now adjudicate on the bizarre incongruity of government actions. Anthony J. Hedley, department of community medicine, University of Hong Kong

Quit Calls For Plain Cigarette Packaging

webmaster — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 13:20:31 +0000

The Sydney Morning Herald - March 5, 2008 Anti-smoking group Quit Victoria has called for the introduction of plain cigarette packaging to reduce the ability of tobacco companies to promote their product. Quit executive director Fiona Sharkie said graphic health warnings on cigarette packets, introduced two years ago, had shown that smokers were influenced by what they saw on packaging. She said all cigarette packets should have a standard colour, shape and format, with brand colours and logos removed. "We know smokers are influenced by the images they see on the pack, so we need immediate action to stop the tobacco industry from using the pack itself as free advertising space to promote their deadly products," Ms Sharkie said in a statement. "Graphic health warnings are a strong deterrent to smokers and it's about time the tobacco industry stopped using the remainder of the pack to water down and distract smokers from these important health messages." Ms Sharkie welcomed the federal government's review of graphic health warnings and said she hoped the importance of plain packaging would be considered as part of the review. Calls to the Quitline rose by almost 15 per cent following the introduction of graphic health warnings on cigarette packets two years ago, with Victoria's Quitline receiving more than 50,000 calls from people interested in quitting smoking since March 1, 2006.

Poland Cracks Cigarette Smuggling Gang

webmaster — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 10:38:41 +0000

(AFP) 6 March 2008 - Khaleej Times Online WARSAW - Polish police announced Thursday they cracked a major gang smuggling cigarettes from China and the former Soviet republics to Western Europe, detaining 27 suspects including alleged gang kingpins. ‘One of the smuggling routes ran through the former Soviet Union via Poland to Britain. Another maritime route began in China to Poland and further west,’ Lublin regional police spokesman Janusz Wojtowicz told Poland’s PAP news agency. One alleged kingpins, a 49-year-old Pole, was questioned by German police in Aachen, Wojtowicz said. ‘This is the first international organised crime organisation of such substantial size to be cracked in Poland,’ he said. According to police, the gang was created more than a year ago by the owners of transport companies based in Lublin, eastern Poland. Police found a truck loaded with 340,000 packs of cigarettes without excise tax seals. Law enforcement agents have also frozen 29 bank accounts and vehicles owned by the suspects. Police also found milk jugs containing two million euros (3 million dollars) and around 500,000 pounds sterling (1 million dollars, 653,000 euros) as well as nine kilograms of items in gold in one of the raided homes.

Tobacco Rap - Graphic Content

webmaster — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:20:37 +0000

Techno Tobacco - Graphic Content

webmaster — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:18:58 +0000

Cigarette Smoking Causes Strokes In Chinese Men

webmaster — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 02:40:33 +0000

Seventh of strokes blamed on smoking Chinese study pins down tobacco risk Reuters and Mary Ann Benitez - Updated on Mar 08, 2008 One in seven strokes among Chinese men are due to cigarette smoking, researchers in China and the United States found in a large-scale study that identified the habit as a major risk factor. In an article published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, the researchers said prevention and kicking the smoking habit could reduce stroke deaths by almost 5 per cent on the mainland. "Of the stroke risk factors that can be modified, cigarette smoking is probably second only to hypertension," said Jiang He at Tulane University's school of public health and tropical medicine, which led the study. The study involved 83,533 men and 86,336 women over the age of 40 from 17 provinces. Nearly 60 per cent of the men and 13 per cent of the women were smokers at the start of the study in 1991. The researchers tracked them over an average of 8.3 years, during which there were 6,780 strokes, 3,979 of them fatal. After adjusting for factors such as age and blood pressure, smoking accounted for 14.2 per cent of strokes and 7.1 per cent of stroke fatalities in men, and 3.1 per cent of strokes and 2.4 per cent of stroke deaths in women. Lam Tai-hing, head of the department of community medicine at the University of Hong Kong, said smoking was well established as a cause of stroke, but the significance of the study was that it was based on a large population sample. "That is why their estimates of risk will be more precise than previous studies," Professor Lam said. A 2001 study by Professor Lam's team estimated that the excess risk of death in Hong Kong smokers was from 58 to 120 per cent, depending on the number of cigarettes they smoked per day. In an average year, strokes occur in 0.19 per cent of the Hong Kong population aged 15 and over, according to the Department of Health. "Smoking can kill by causing various fatal diseases such as strokes and heart diseases. People are advised not to start smoking," a spokesman said. Wong Tze-wai, of Chinese University's department of community and family medicine, said smoking could lead to a narrowing of blood vessels in the brain, leading to strokes. The chairman of the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health, Homer Tso Wei-kwok, said he hoped a smoke-free Beijing Olympics would be "the beginning of tobacco control policy for the mainland". "We have the largest smoking population in the world - 350 million. If we can just keep it at that number and not let it grow, that will be quite an achievement. Hong Kong is setting a good example [in tobacco control]," Dr Tso said. The link between smoking and stroke was the strongest for ischemic stroke, which is caused when a blood clot blocks the circulation of blood to the brain. Participants who smoked a pack or more per day were 51 per cent more likely to suffer an ischemic stroke. Previous studies have shown that the Chinese are more prone to ischemic stroke than westerners.

Drafting and negotiation of a protocol on illicit trade in tobacco products

webmaster — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 07:14:41 +0000

British American Tobacco and cigarette smuggling in Asia

webmaster — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 07:26:14 +0000

British American Tobacco And Cigarette Smuggling In Asia

webmaster — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 07:29:44 +0000

Complicity in contraband: British American Tobacco and cigarette smuggling in Asia Objectives: To examine the complicity of British American Tobacco (BAT) in cigarette smuggling in Asia, and to assess the centrality of illicit trade to regional corporate strategy. Methods: Analysis of previously confidential documents from BAT’s Guildford depository. An iterative strategy combined searches based on geography, organisational structure, and key personnel, while corporate euphemisms for contraband were identified by triangulation. Results: BAT documents demonstrate the strategic importance of smuggling across global, regional, national, and local levels. Particularly important in Asia, contraband enabled access to closed markets, created pressure for market opening, and was highly profitable. Documents demonstrate BAT’s detailed oversight of illicit trade, seeking to reconcile the conflicting demands of control and deniability. Conclusions: BAT documents demonstrate that smuggling has been driven by corporate objectives, indicate national measures by which the problem can be addressed, and highlight the importance of a coordinated global response via WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. See the full document on British American Tobacco and cigarette smuggling in Asia here.

Tobacco Compliance Check In Hong Kong

webmaster — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 08:00:58 +0000

Banning smoking in cars carrying children

webmaster — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 09:30:07 +0000

Exposure To Environmental Tobacco Smoke in an Automobile

webmaster — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 09:38:34 +0000

Smoke From Cigarette Tip Toxic

webmaster — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 10:55:17 +0000

Smoking in Public Places

webmaster — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 11:04:52 +0000

Hong Kong Cigarette Pack Warnings

webmaster — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 14:30:12 +0000

Smoking and Death in India

webmaster — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 01:15:47 +0000

facts about light and mild cigarettes

webmaster — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 01:42:15 +0000

Officials Urged To Curb Social Smoking

webmaster — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 12:38:33 +0000

Reuters in Beijing - Updated on Mar 10, 2008 Government employees should be banned from offering or receiving cigarettes on social occasions, a member of parliament said, a move that would reverse an entrenched tradition and is unlikely to see the light of day. Premier Wen Jiabao promised in 2004 that August's Beijing Games would be “smoke-free”, but there has been no announcement of Olympic restrictions with just months to go until the opening ceremony. Beijing banned smoking in taxis last October, and in 1995 the city designated hospitals, schools, theatres, libraries, banks, shops and all public transport as smoke-free areas, a ban that is commonly ignored. “Government departments and their employees are responsible for taking the lead in China's tobacco control,” Xinhua news agency on Monday quoted Yan Aoshuang, a Beijing deputy to the National People's Congress, as saying. Mr Yan said government employees should not be allowed to accept cigarettes for free or at discounted prices from tobacco companies. “Besides, all government offices should ban smoking in the workplace to ensure a smoking-free environment,” she said on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary session. Mr Yan also said the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and Ministry of Culture should draft regulations to ban disguised tobacco adverts and smoking scenes in films and on television. China is the world's largest cigarette producer and Chinese are the world's most enthusiastic smokers, with a growing market of about 320 million making it a magnet for multinationals and focus of international health concern. Mainland cigarettes are also among the cheapest in the world, with a packet costing as little as US$0.08 (HK$0.62). Business deals are commonly signed in a pall of smoke and cigarettes are commonly offered as gifts.

Smoking Ban Spurs One In Four To Cut Tobacco Use

webmaster — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:12:04 +0000

MORE than one in four Scottish smokers have cut down on cigarettes since the introduction of the smoking ban in public places, new research suggests. In the survey by YouGov ahead of No Smoking Day tomorrow, 27 per cent of respondents said they were smoking less since the smoke-free legislation came into effect in March 2006. The poll also showed that 18 per cent of smokers across Scotland planned to stop smoking on No Smoking Day, with the ban proving a key factor in triggering attempts to quit. The research suggested that more than 2.25 million smokers (19 per cent) would take part across the UK, making it the biggest No Smoking Day for years. Dan Tickle, the chief executive of No Smoking Day, said: "If you're ready to quit, there's never been a better time." The Scotsman newspaper - 10 March 2008

Confession of the Tobacco Companies

webmaster — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:12:43 +0000

How Many Cigarettes Do Your Kids Smoke?

webmaster — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:29:57 +0000

Dead In Chair Chinese

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Dead In Chair English

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Family Chinese

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Family English

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Foot Cancer Chinese

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Foot Cancer English

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Impotence Chinese

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Impotence English

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Lung Cancer Chinese

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Wrinkles Chinese

webmaster — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:48:38 +0000

New Tobacco Law Goes Into Effect in Pacifica

webmaster — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:46:55 +0000

PACIFICA, Calif. (KCBS) -- A new law took effect in Pacifica Tuesday that makes it one of the most expensive in the Bay Area for retailers who want to sell tobacco products. Thanks to a bill passed by the city council last month, merchants will now have to pay $300 a year for a license to sell cigarettes. The intent is to keep retailers from selling tobacco to minors. The money raised by the license fee will go toward educating merchants about selling smokes to kids and for police enforcement. "They're easily accessible because so many people are smoking now," said Terra Nova senior Barbara Louthan, who helped passed the new law. A similar law in Riverside cut youth access to cigarettes from 65 percent to zero.

Do You Think The Smoking Ban Is Effective?

webmaster — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:51:16 +0000

Sent to SCMP Talkback on the 12th March 2008:

The so called smoking ban has been a dismal failure. The Government has allowed a smoking exemption to any licensed bar applying for one and even restaurants if they state that they earn more from drinks' sales than food sales. It is business as usual for the tobacco companies. The University of Hong Kong handles just one quitline capable of a maximum of 400 callers. In Hong Kong there are currently almost 16,000 replacement smokers in the 15-19 age group. This is a sham. More than 1,324 people die a year in Hong Kong from passive smoking. In 2006 pre smoking ban, there were 3331.74 million duty paid cigarettes sold in Hong Kong; in 2007 after the smoking ban 3495.73 million duty paid cigarettes were sold here. The Government reaped 2.834 billion in tobacco tax in 2007 but plied next to nothing into smoking prevention, multi lingual Quitlines and therapy. The Financial Secretary, despite repeated requests from expert sources, failed in his Budget to increase the tobacco tax which is proven worldwide to be the most effective measure in reducing smoking especially amongst youth. On the contrary, in UK which has had a comprehensive smoking ban without exemptions since July last year , tax of $62 a packet and available and ready services to those who want to quit, there has been a 4% decrease in tobacco use in just 8 months. James Middleton Clear the Air

Do You Think The Smoking Ban Is Effective?

webmaster — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 06:52:08 +0000

Updated on Mar 12, 2008 - SCMP I do not think the ban has been effective. Smoking is banned in public places, such as offices, many restaurants, sports grounds, parks and playgrounds. However, I still see lots of teenagers smoking at basketball courts. I have never seen any officials telling them they are in a no-smoking area and to put out their cigarettes. I suggest that staff of public estates who see people smoking in prohibited areas should report these incidents to the Tobacco Control Office. Also, people still smoke in public toilets. Once they lock the door inside a cubicle, they feel it is okay. If there are no tobacco control officers to stamp this out, then people will continue to smoke in public toilets. Tsang Yung-ho, Fanling

Patrons Become Actors As Bars Find Way To Evade Smoking Ban

webmaster — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 06:54:40 +0000

Agence France-Presse in Maplewood, Minnesota - Updated on Mar 12, 2008 Sick of sending their patrons outside to shiver in the cold, dozens of bars in Minnesota are challenging the state's smoking ban with a new spin on the Shakespearean adage that all the world's a stage. They have started handing out posters and calling their customers actors to exploit a loophole in the law that exempts theatrical productions from an October 1 ban on smoking in public places. Legislators are not amused. But in the weeks it took them to respond to the first foray into treating life as art, the idea has spread like wildfire. And smokers and bar owners across the state are digging in their heels. "It's rebellion. People want to speak their mind," Sarah Brent, 38, said as she puffed on a cigarette in the Rock Nightclub in Maplewood, a suburb of the state capital, St Paul. Twenty-three states have extended public smoking bans to bars and restaurants, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. But in Minnesota, where the winters are so cold a puff of breath will turn to frost by the time it reaches your eyelashes, a revolt began on February 9 at a resort popular with snowmobilers and ice fisherman in Lake Mills Lacs where lawyer - and non-smoker - Mark Benjamin persuaded the owners to let him stage the "Tobacco Monologues". "I realised when I saw the exception, which I had never heard of before, that that's it," said Mr Benjamin, who attended the first "performance" in medieval costume. "All we had to do was exploit it." Within weeks more than 100 bars in mining towns and suburbs had staged "performances" Most pretences of stagecraft soon fell by the wayside. The ashtrays serve as props and, while a few lines of dialogue may be spoken in jest, the performances mostly consist of people sitting around drinking, talking and smoking - just as before the ban. The performances are particularly popular in the heart of the Iron Range, a section of the state where mining is the prevailing industry and the winters are harsh even by Minnesota standards. "Everybody up here is trying to jump on that bandwagon because [the ban has] affected business so badly," said Deb Davey, who has helped several bars stage performances in the town of Gilbert. After complaints, the Minnesota Department of Health announced last week that the performances did not comply with the law and threatened bar owners who kept staging them with fines of up to US$10,000. But the performances have been a lifeline for proprietors of small bars, who say their revenues have plummeted since the ban.

Tobacco Duty Should Be Higher

webmaster — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:45:36 +0000

Tobacco Duty 'Should Be Higher' The Press Association - 13/3/2008 Anti-smoking campaigners have said they were disappointed that tobacco duty rises announced in the Budget were not higher but added that they backed the planned crackdown on tobacco smuggling. Chancellor Alistair Darling said that from 6pm on Wednesday the duty on tobacco will rise, adding 11p to the price of a packet of 20 cigarettes and 4p to the price of five cigars. He said the Government was continuing the 5% reduced rate of VAT on smoking cessation products beyond June 30. Budget documents also revealed a new crackdown on smugglers of cheap illicit tobacco with the UK Border Agency set to develop a comprehensive strategy to reduce tobacco smuggling. The group Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) said it welcomed the announcements on smuggling and VAT on smoking cessation products. Deborah Arnott, Ash director, said: "Substantially reducing tobacco smuggling must be a key plank of any policy to tackle health inequalities as research shows that low income smokers are much more likely to buy smuggled tobacco. "This announcement is encouraging and we hope that the new strategy will be implemented as quickly as possible." But she added that Ash was critical of the Government for not "substantially" raising tobacco tax above the inflation rate. The No Smoking Day charity said smokers with a 20-a-day habit would be paying more than £2,077 a year for their habit after the tax rise announced by the Chancellor.

No Smoking Day

webmaster — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 01:10:47 +0000

24dash.com Smokers with a 20-a-day habit will be paying over £2077 a year for their habit after the latest Budget tax rise. Chancellor Alistair Darling’s announcement of a 11p per pack rise coincides with the 25th annual No Smoking Day, which takes place today (12 March). To mark the event, the No Smoking Day charity has released new research showing almost one in five smokers plan to stop today*. Research indicates the rising cost of smoking is proving a key factor in triggering quit attempts. No Smoking Day chief executive Dan Tickle said: “Today’s Budget rise, coming on the back of smokefree legislation, is likely to be a decisive factor for many smokers considering quitting. A 20-a-day smoker will now be spending well over £2000 a year, up from under £500 when we launched our first No Smoking Day, 25 years ago. “But the good news is that the now leads the world in services for people who want to quit smoking. You’re four times more likely to succeed if you use the free local stop smoking services. So if you are thinking about quitting, there’s really never been a better time.” This year’s campaign, The Great No Smoking Day Challenge, sees events taking place across the , with local stop smoking services, employers, GPs and others providing help, support and advice to those that are ready to stop.

Cigarettes Should Be Sold In Dull Packaging

webmaster — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:36:18 +0000

Make ciggie packs dull - experts By Tamara McLean - March 14, 2008 01:32pm - Article from: AAP CIGARETTES should be sold in dull, homogenous packs stamped only with a brand name and a health warning, a major review by leading Australian public health researchers says. The report published in the international journal Addiction reveals the full extent to which tobacco companies treasure glitzy packs as their most powerful marketing tool. "They are quite open about it," say Professor Simon Chapman and Becky Freeman from the University of Sydney, who trawled through previously private internal tobacco industry documents and trade magazines. "Now that the law prevents them from advertising, the main game is now via the pack. "Pack design is now the leading edge of making tobacco products attractive and interesting, particularly to young starters." The specialists called for all cigarettes to be sold in plain cardboard packs marked only with the brand and the standard health warnings. "Prescription drugs are all sold in plain packaging without alluring colours and imagery," said Prof Chapman, who has been awarded the World Health Organisation (WHO) medal for tobacco control. "These promote health. Cigarettes kill half their users and should be made as unattractive as possible." He said plain packaging may seem a radical policy today, but the same was once said about banning tobacco advertising, sports sponsorship and banning smoking in workplaces. The change would be possible with federal government endorsement, an extension of the large and now grisly pack warnings. "Not one cent has been paid by any government to compensate any company for loss of trade mark," Prof Chapman said. "International law is plain on this: governments can over-ride all arguments about the sanctity of trade marks and branding by invoking public health concerns." The WHO recently forecasted that one billion people will die from tobacco-caused disease this century. Anne Jones, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said anti-smoking lobby groups had long backed a move to plain packaging. "This is an addictive lethal product that is causing 15,000 thousand deaths a year, and the fact that we still glamorise the packaging is terrible," Ms Jones said.

Study Finds That Smoking Ban Had No Effect On Revenues

webmaster — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 09:19:44 +0000

Mar 14, 2008 - 04:05:09 CDT - By SARA KINCAID - Bismarck Tribune A smoking ban had no effect on restaurant and bar revenue, according to an analysis of tax records by the Bismarck Tobacco Free Coalition. The analysis showed revenue growth prior to the city smoking ban and revenue continued to increase, even after the ban went into effect. Duane B. Pool, presented the analysis at the coalition's meeting Thursday. Pool analyzed tax records from the first quarter of 2002 to the first quarter of 2006. The city smoking ban started in October 2006, which restricted smoking in restaurants and bars attached to restaurants. Free-standing bars, truck stops and hotels could still allow smoking under the ordinance. Individual businesses were not studied, rather full-service restaurants only were placed in groups of five based on revenue. The five businesses that produced the most revenue were group one, and so-forth, to the five lowest revenue-generating restaurants. Over the five-year period, revenue increased. Prior to the ban, revenue increased 3.2 percent, and after the ban, revenue increased 7.2 percent, Pool said. The ban did not cause revenue to go up, but it did not hinder the business' ability to earn money, he said. "Regulation costs are not being transferred to the business, and the ban is not affecting growth in the industry," Pool said. The cause for the increase in revenue is likely the addition of 13 new restaurants in Bismarck. Revenue increased, and the new restaurants also cornered a larger share of the restaurant revenue each year. The new establishments had 14.2 percent of the market share at the beginning of the study and 23 percent of the market share at the end of the study. The economic analysis was done by Pool. Robin Reich of Colorado State University and Michael Carroll of Bowling Green State University contributed to the analysis.

Tobacco Industry Needs To Answer To FDA

webmaster — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:02:02 +0000

3/14/2008 2:30:00 AM - LETTER 03.14.2008 Dear Editor, Even though tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, currently no government agency has oversight over the manufacturing and marketing of tobacco products. Tobacco companies are free to add whatever ingredients they want, even if it makes products more attractive to kids, more addictive or even more deadly. A new report released last week by leading public health organizations shows the extent to which tobacco manufacturers take advantage of the lack of regulation over their industry to entice new users. The report shows how the tobacco industry attracts children by adding candy flavorings like strawberry and grape to their products. They also know that smoking is unpleasant for new smokers, so they carefully design the product to make it less harsh by adding sugars and chemicals that numb the throat. They even address how the cigarette should be designed so that the novice smoker can light it more easily. A lifetime of addiction almost always starts in the teenage years: 90 percent of adult smokers began smoking as teens, so any attempt to limit the national epidemic of tobacco addiction must begin with eliminating the marketing and manufacturing these products to target children Congress has an historic opportunity to stop the special protection of Big Tobacco and protect Indiana kids by passing bipartisan legislation that would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority over tobacco products and their marketing. While the bill would help protect all Americans, it includes specific provisions to protect our children from this deadly addiction. The bill's strong restrictions on advertising and marketing of tobacco products to children include provisions to keep tobacco out of their hands, prohibit candy flavorings in products, and require larger more effective warning labels. Tobacco products take a significant toll on Hoosiers every year, leading to 9,800 deaths annually and costing Indiana more than $2 billion each year in preventable costs. The legislation before Congress will give us additional crucial tools for preventing the disease and death caused by tobacco products. Senators Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh, and Representative Brad Ellsworth are co-sponsors of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. They will play a critical role its passage. With their help, Congress can take a major step to protect our children and reduce the terrible toll of tobacco on our community. I want to thank Senators Lugar and Bayh and Representative Ellsworth for co-sponsoring this life-saving legislation and urge them to do all they can to ensure its safe passage in the Congress this year. NANCY D. TURNER President and CEO American Lung Association of Indiana

Tobacco Bill Targets Use By Teens

webmaster — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:22:03 +0000

By MICHAEL RISPOLI • Gannett State Bureau • March 14, 2008 TRENTON — Teenagers less than 19 years old would be banned from smoking in public under a bill passed by the Assembly on Thursday. Last session, lawmakers raised the legal age to buy tobacco products in New Jersey to 19 but hadn't passed a law prohibiting teens from smoking in public. Assemblyman Fred Scalera, D-Essex, said the bill would bring tobacco laws in line with alcohol laws that making underage possession illegal. Currently, Scalera said, "A 10-year-old could be walking down the street, smoking a cigarette, waving to a police officer, and the officer would not be able to do anything." The bill, which passed 53 to 20, with three abstentions, would issue a written warning and parental notification for first time offenders. A second offense would require 25 hours of community service and participation in a smoking education program, and subsequent offense would require 50 hours of community service and a $75 fine. The bill is targeted to curb high schoolers from smoking. Nearly 23 percent of high school students are cigarette smokers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The U.S. Health and Human services estimates more than 3 million American children under 18 consume more than 947 million packs of cigarettes combined every year. Assemblyman Scott Rudder, R-Burlington, tried to amend the bill to exclude 18-year-olds in the military, but his motion was shot down. More than a dozen students from Nutley High School who came up with the bill in their Advanced Placement government class were present for the vote and received applause for their efforts. "It's pretty crazy," said Rose Stoffers, 17. "I never though I'd be involved in something like this." Stoffers said it felt good to be a part of something that is going to positively affect upcoming generations. Seven hundred students from Nutley High School signed a petition in support of the legislation, which began as a class project. A Senate version of the bill is in committee, and likely would not be acted upon until the late spring. The Assembly also passed a bill that would allow state psychiatric hospitals to ban smoking if they offer a cessation program. The Senate passed that legislation, which now heads to Gov. Jon S. Corzine for consideration.

Lawsuit Against Tobacco Industry

webmaster — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:24:15 +0000

N.B. Becomes Second Province To File Lawsuit Against Tobacco Industry The Canadian Press - 14th March 2008 FREDERICTON — New Brunswick has become the second province to officially file a lawsuit targeting the tobacco industry. Health Minister Mike Murphy said Thursday the province is committed to holding tobacco companies accountable for the suffering caused by tobacco products. "The suit is on behalf of people whose health has been harmed by tobacco products, families who have lost loved ones to tobacco-related illness, and taxpayers who have borne the added costs to the health-care system," he said. While no one in the government was willing to put a dollar figure to the suit, it's expected the province will be seeking to recover tens of millions of dollars. "Numbers, of course, are going to be substantial because we believe the province of New Brunswick has spent millions of dollars in health care for citizens who have tobacco-related injuries or damages," said T.J. Burke, New Brunswick's attorney general. "Tobacco has caused tremendous damage to citizens in the province of New Brunswick, and the government has paid substantial costs in medicare with respect to damages related to smoking activity and we're going to recover those costs from these tobacco companies." News of the lawsuit was welcomed by the president of the New Brunswick Lung Association. Ken Maybee said thousands of Canadians have died prematurely because of smoking, and people who started smoking at a younger age are now suffering from emphysema and acute bronchitis. "It is very painful and debilitating to them and very costly to the health-care system," said Maybee. He said once a settlement is reached, his group and others will have to be vigilant to ensure a portion of the money is used to fund smoking prevention. British Columbia was the first province to launch a lawsuit against the industry while Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia have all taken legislative steps to clear the way for their own. New Brunswick's Liberal government announced in December 2006 that it would take legal action, but provincial legislation allowing it to do so was only proclaimed last week. The province is using a consortium of lawyers, including two U.S. firms that have been involved in settlements at the state level. Negotiated settlements by the 50 American states totalled more than US$245 billion over 25 years. Michael Perley, director of the Ontario Campaign for Action on Tobacco, said he expected lawsuits in Canada could be of the same magnitude. "There's no reason to believe we shouldn't achieve the same results here in Canada because the behaviour of the American companies that led to that settlement is no different from the Canadian companies over the same periods of time," said Perley. He called New Brunswick's case "good news," but said it was long overdue. Perley said all the provinces should have filed suit 10 years ago. He hoped that New Brunswick's action would spur other provinces, including Ontario, to take the tobacco industry to court. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has said his government doesn't want to punish big tobacco and warned there's "considerable doubt" about the likely success of a lawsuit.

ISO/FTC Method to Measure Cigarette Yield

webmaster — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 03:08:13 +0000

SACTob Conclusions on Health Claims Derived from ISO/FTC Method to Measure Cigarette Yield 烟草制品管制科学咨询委员会关于以国际标准化组织/美国联邦贸易委员会测定香烟含量的方法所标示的健康说明的结论 Background 背景 The United States Federal Trade Commission [FTC] adopted standardized testing methods for the measurement of tar and nicotine yields of cigarette smoke in the 1960s and for carbon monoxide in 1981, mandating the disclosure of these ratings in cigarette advertising (1). Under the International Organization for Standardisation [ISO] method, similar testing methods were adopted in Europe and many other countries. 美国联邦贸易委员会于1960年代对测定香烟烟雾的烟碱和尼古丁含量以及于1981年对一氧化碳通过了标准化检测方法，指令在香烟广告中披露这些分级(1)。在国际标准化组织的方法之下，类似检测方法已在欧洲和许多其它国家采用。 For nearly three decades, the ISO / FTC methods were relied upon as meaningful predictors of the differences in exposure to tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide received by smokers of brands with different machine measured yields. This difference in exposure was expected to result in substantive differences in the health effects of smoking various types (low/high yield) of cigarettes (2). Since the 1980s, however, there has been growing concern among health authorities and scientists alike about the validity of the health claims based on these methods (3, 4, 5, 6, 7). 在约30年里，依靠国际标准化组织/美国联邦贸易委员会的方法，作为各品牌在吸烟者对烟碱、尼古丁和一氧化碳接触方面与不同机器测定的含量差别的有意义预测。预期接触方面的这种差别造成了吸各种类型香烟（含量低/高）的健康效应方面的实质性差别(2)。但是，自1980年代以来，卫生当局和科学家都日益关注以这些方法为基础的健康说明的有效性(3,4,5,6,7)。 Even in the early 1980’s, it was understood that measurements made using the ISO/FTC protocol did not quantify the actual delivery of toxins to the smoker since individual smokers smoked with a variety of puff profiles that differed from those used in the machine testing. Today, with a better understanding of the modern cigarette designs and the concept of compensatory smoking of the low yield cigarettes (2), the limitations of the ISO/FTC measurements, even for comparisons of smoker exposures between brands of cigarettes have become more evident (8, 9). The validity of communications made to consumers on the basis of the ISO/FTC methods regarding the delivery of carcinogens and other toxins from different types of cigarettes are now being questioned (8,10,11). Considerable concern exists about the misuse of test results by tobacco companies to support their marketing claims, which imply that cigarettes with lower yield ratings are ‘safer’ than those with higher ratings (12,13,14, 15). 即使在1980年代初期，也认为采用国际标准化组织/美国联邦贸易委员会的方案所作的测定不能量化毒素对吸烟者的实际提供，因为各吸烟者以各种吸烟方式吸烟，与机器检测中使用的吸烟方式是不同的。今天，随着对现代香烟设计以及低含量香烟补偿性吸烟概念的更好了解(2)，即使用于比较香烟品牌之间吸烟者的接触，国际标准化组织/美国联邦贸易委员会测定的局限性已变得更加明显(8,9)。现在正在对以国际标准化组织/美国联邦贸易委员会的方法为基础就不同类型香烟释放的致癌物和其它毒素向消费者传递的信息的有效性提出质疑(8,10,11)。对于烟草公司滥用检测结果以支持其市场营销宣传存在着相当多的担忧，这些宣传暗示低含量等级的香烟比高等级的香烟“更为安全”(12,13,14,15)。 The ISO/FTC protocols were never designed to accommodate the variations in human smoking habits as opposed to the standard machine smoking methods (1,16,17). It is now clear that the combination of compensatory changes in smoking patterns by smokers and cigarette design changes (particularly ventilation holes in filters) which increase the yield of smoke can restore the smoke delivery of the so-called low-yield cigarettes to that of full flavour cigarettes with much higher machine measured yields (18, 19, 20, 21). However, as a consequence of the conventional format for conveying tar and nicotine information, the consumer believes that the ‘low yield’ cigarettes provide an alternative to smoking cessation (22,23). This belief persists even though it is now accepted that “low yield” cigarettes do not offer any proven health benefit in comparison to higher yield cigarettes (2,4,5,24,25). 国际标准化组织/美国联邦贸易委员会的方案从未预定适应相对于标准的机器吸烟方法而言人的吸烟习惯方面的变化(1,16,17)。现已明显的是，吸烟者吸烟模式方面补偿改变与增加烟雾含量的香烟设计改变（特别是过滤嘴的通气孔）相结合，可将所谓低含量香烟的烟雾释放恢复到浓味香烟的水平，比机器测定的含量要高得多(18,19,20,21)。但是，由于传递烟碱和尼古丁信息的常规形式，消费者认为，“低含量”香烟提供了一种戒烟的替代方法(22,23)。即使现已相信“低含量”香烟与较高含量香烟相比不提供任何经证实的健康效益，这种信念仍继续存在(2,4,5,24,25)。 The United States F.T.C stated in 1998 that: “new data suggests that the limited health benefits, previously believed to be associated with lower tar and nicotine cigarettes may not exist.” (26). Also, a 1999 quotation reads: “They (the ratings) are not intended to reflect what any individual consumer would get from any particular cigarette”(27). 美国联邦贸易委员会1998年指出：“新的数据表明，可能不存在以前认为与烟碱和尼古丁含量较低香烟有关的有限健康效益”(26)。而且，1999年一条引文写明：“它们（分级）并不预定反映任何消费者个人会从任何特定香烟中摄入的一切”(27)。 In 2001, the U.S. National Cancer Institute completed its evaluation of the scientific basis for the relationship between the FTC methods and the health effects of smoking, as well as the effects of marketing claims (e.g., “reduced tar” and “light”) that are supported by the information derived from these methods (15). 2001年，美国国立癌症研究所就联邦贸易委员会的方法与吸烟的健康效应以及这些方法产生的信息所支持的市场营销宣传（如“烟碱减少”和“淡味”）的效应之间的关系完成了对科学基础的评价(15)。 The NCI Monograph (Number 13, 2001) “Risks Associated with Smoking Cigarettes with Low Machine-Measured Yields of Tar and Nicotine” presented the following five main conclusions:

“Epidemiological and other scientific evidence, including patterns of mortality from smoking-caused diseases, does not indicate a benefit to public health from changes in cigarette design and manufacturing over the last fifty years.”
“For spontaneous brand switchers, there appears to be complete compensation for nicotine delivery, reflecting more intensive smoking of lower-yield cigarettes.”
“Widespread adoption of lower yield cigarettes in the United States has not prevented the sustained increase in lung cancer among older smokers.”
“Many smokers switch to lower yield cigarettes out of concern for their health, believing these cigarettes to be less risky or to be a step toward quitting. Advertising and marketing of lower yield cigarettes may promote initiation and impede cessation, more important determinants of smoking-related diseases.”
“Measurements of tar and nicotine yields using the FTC method do not offer smokers meaningful information on the amount of tar and nicotine they will receive from a cigarette. The measurements also do not offer meaningful information on the relative amounts of tar and nicotine exposure likely to be received from smoking different brands of cigarettes.”

国立癌症研究所专著（第13期，2001年）“与吸经机器测定的烟碱和尼古丁含量低的香烟有关的风险”提出了下列5项主要结论：

“流行病学和其它科学证据，包括由吸烟引起的疾病的死亡模式，并不表明在过去50年期间香烟设计和生产方面的改变对公共卫生带来利益。”
“对自发的品牌转换者而言，看来对尼古丁释放获得充分的补偿，反映更强烈地吸含量较低的香烟。”
“在美国普遍采用含量较低的香烟并未在老年吸烟者中间制止肺癌的持续增加。”
“许多吸烟者由于担忧自己的健康而转向含量较低的香烟，相信这些香烟风险较小或是朝着戒烟迈进一步。含量较低的香烟广告和市场营销可促进开始吸烟和阻碍戒烟，它们是吸烟相关疾病的较重要决定因素。”
“采用美国联邦贸易委员会的方法测定烟碱和尼古丁并不向吸烟者提供关于从一支香烟中所摄入烟碱和尼古丁量的有意义信息。这些测定也不提供从吸不同品牌香烟中可能获得的烟碱和尼古丁接触量的有意义信息。”

Currently, there are two major issues of concern about the health claims based on the ISO/FTC methods: one, machine-measurements are not valid estimates of the exposure to smoke or nicotine received by smokers when they smoke different brands of cigarettes (4,16) and two, many smokers currently believe that lower yield or light cigarettes deliver less tar, produce lower rates of disease and are therefore ‘safer’ (17,22,28,29). Because of these misconceptions, smokers believe those cigarettes marked as lower yield or light and ultra light are a reasonable intermediate step or alternative to cessation and may defer or avoid the one change in smoking behaviour proven to actually reduce their disease risk-cessation. 目前关于以国际标准化组织/美国联邦贸易委员会的方法为基础的健康说明存在着两个有利害关系的重要问题：一个问题是，当吸烟者吸不同品牌的香烟时，机器测定的量度并不是他们接受的接触烟雾或尼古丁的有效估计数(4,16)，以及第二个问题是，许多吸烟者目前相信，含量较低或淡味香烟释放烟碱少，发病率较低，因此“更为安全”(17,22,28,29)。由于这些误解，吸烟者认为，这些标明含量较低或淡味和极淡味的香烟是戒烟的一个合理中间步骤或替代选择，并可推迟或避免吸烟行为方面经证明可实际减少其疾病风险的唯一改变—戒烟。 The Health Education Authority in the UK (30) and several other studies have revealed that the tar and nicotine ratings as they are displayed by the industry are not clearly understood by the consumers (28,31). Due to the advertising and packaging methods adopted by the industry, smokers see these terms not as technical descriptors but as implying health benefits (13,32,33). These advertising and marketing approaches have contributed to consumers’ using low yield cigarettes in an attempt to reduce their health risks, or as a step towards or an alternative to smoking cessation (34,35). A number of reputed bodies have therefore recommended banning terms such as ‘light’, ‘mild, etc (25,36) 联合王国健康教育当局(30)和若干其它研究表明，工业界所显示的烟碱和尼古丁分级尚未为消费者所明确理解(28,31)。由于工业界采用的广告和包装方法，吸烟者不是将这些词语看作为技术描述词，而是看作为暗示健康效益(13,32,33)。这些广告和市场营销作法已促进消费者使用低含量香烟，以试图减少其健康风险，或作为朝着戒烟迈进一步或作为其替代选择(34,35)。一些知名机构已建议禁止使用“淡味”、“柔和”等词语(25,36)。 Additionally, awareness levels among the general public about the limitations of the ISO/FTC test methods and the ratings based upon them (37,38,39) are very low. The regulatory measures undertaken for the disclosure of this information have clearly proven ineffective (40,41). 此外，公众对国际标准化组织/美国联邦贸易委员会检测方法的局限性和以这些方法为基础的等级(37,38,39)的认识水平很低。为披露这一信息所采取的管制措施已清楚地证明不起作用(40,41)。 The message that there is no such thing as a safe cigarette still has not been effectively communicated to the smoking public… 不存在安全的香烟这一信息仍尚未有效地向吸烟的公众传播… Based on the existing science, SACTob makes the following conclusions and recommendations:

Tar, nicotine, and CO numerical ratings based upon current ISO/FTC methods and presented on cigarette packages and in advertising as single numerical values are misleading and should not be displayed.*
All misleading health and exposure claims should be banned.
The ban should apply to packaging, brand names, advertising and other promotional activities
Banned terms should include light, ultra-light, mild and low tar, and may be extended to other misleading terms The ban should include not only misleading terms and claims but also, names, trademarks, imagery and other means to conveying the impression that the product provides a health benefit.

以现有科学为基础，烟草制品管制科学咨询委员会提出下列结论和建议：

以国际标准化组织/美国联邦贸易委员会目前方法为基础并在香烟包装和广告中作为单一数值出现的烟碱、尼古丁和一氧化碳数字分级是误导的，不应予以显示。∗
应禁止所有误导性健康和接触说明。
禁止应适用于包装、品牌名称、广告和其它促销活动。
禁止的词语应包括淡味、极淡味、柔和和低烟碱，并可扩大到其它误导性词语。禁止不仅应包括误导性词语和说明，而且应包括名称、商标、图象和传递该制品提供健康效益的印象的其它手段。

http://www.who.int/tobacco/sactob/recommendations/en/iso_ftc_en.pdf http://www.who.int/tobacco/sactob/recommendations/en/iso_ftc_ch.pdf

Anti-Smoking Advocates Say Plan Protects Youths

webmaster — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 06:56:47 +0000

Anti-Smoking Advocates Say Plan Protects Youths; Pacifica Merchants Balk At Fee By Alan Fackler, CORRESPONDENT - Article Created: 03/17/2008 02:34:01 AM PDT PACIFICA — Teenage smoking is a serious problem, and a group of local teens decided to do something about it — much to the consternation of city merchants. In Pacifica, where retailers in the past were not required to hold local permits to sell tobacco, more than 25 percent of merchants sold tobacco to minors, according to surveys conducted by youth advocates in 2006. But a new ordinance went into effect March 11 requiring any merchant in Pacifica to pay US$300 annually for a special license to sell tobacco. The new ordinance received major advocacy from teenagers in the Jefferson Union High School District's Tobacco-Use Prevention Education Program and the Youth Leadership Institute. Pacifica's new tobacco ordinance calls for suspending and revoking the licenses of merchants who are caught selling cigarettes to minors. Merchants are also subject to fines. As of October 2007, 47 other communities throughout California have passed similar ordinances, according to the Center for Tobacco Policy and Organizing. Becky Sha, a tobacco-prevention coordinator at Terra Nova High School, has been working with students for more than four years to develop and pass the ordinance. "It was a very, very long process, but we believed in what we were doing," Sha said. The leadership institute trained various youths to visit stores and attempt to buy tobacco to discover which local merchants weren't carding youths. The institute did public opinion surveys that found a high percentage of Pacifica residents supported the prevention of tobacco products to teens, Sha said. Barbara Louthan, a 17-year-old senior at Terra Nova, is the leader of the local chapter of the district's tobacco education program. Louthan and other high school students were integral in gathering the information needed to pass the law. "I got involved with TUPE because I've always been against smoking," Louthan said. "It makes me sad to see kids starting at such a young age." Sha said the $300 fee will be collected and used to find and punish merchants who are selling cigarettes to minors. "This license fee will give money to the police to do random checks three or four times a year," Sha said. "The police will train kids to do purchase surveys, and have them go in and attempt to purchase cigarettes." The presentation was officially brought before the City Council in February, where it was met with an overwhelming amount of support, Sha said. "These merchants need to be educated and shown what could happen if they sell cigarettes to teens," Sha said. "You need a license to sell a mattress, how do they not need a license to sell cigarettes?" The Center for Tobacco Policy and Organizing claims similar ordinances have produced positive results. In Banning, a city in Riverside County, the youth-sales rate plummeted from 71 percent to 21 percent after a $350 special license fee was passed in August 2006. In Riverside, the sales rate dropped from 65 percent to nearly zero after a $350 ordinance was passed in 2006, according to the center. But local Pacifica merchants aren't thrilled with the new law. "Why is any of this the merchant's responsibility?" said Stephanie Lang, the owner of a local 7-Eleven. "Last time I checked, this is a free country, and kids know the law, too. Why should the business owners be liable for their actions? That's just not fair." I'm not surprised at all that they're doing this," said Julia Pak, co-owner of Pacific Market, a local liquor store. "There's only a handful of people in this city that sell cigarettes, and I just don't see how making us pay $300 is going to make a difference. This city is the joke of California." Pak said the city was eager to pass the bill "to get Pacifica out of financial trouble" and not out of concern for teens. "If kids want to smoke, they'll find a way to smoke. It's the parents' responsibility, not ours," Pak said. "We've received the Responsible Alcohol Merchant Award for two years now," Pak said. "We shouldn't have to pay anything. "They already use undercovers for alcohol," Pak said. "Now what? Are they going to do the same for tobacco?" The answer would appear to be yes.

Raise New York Tax On Cigarettes

webmaster — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 07:00:28 +0000

Editorial: Raise New York Tax On Cigarettes March 17, 2008 - Newsday.com If a 100 percent increase in one tax can reduce smoking and help cut the state's budget deficit - and it can - there's no good reason for state legislators not to pass it. Right now, the state tax on a pack of cigarettes is $1.50. On top of that, the City of New York imposes another $1.50, for a total there of $3. A $1.50 increase would put the state back in the forefront of those willing to curb smoking by taxing it more heavily. The last time New York raised the tax was 2002. Since then, many other states have raised theirs. The main reason for the increase is to deter people from buying an expensive and lethal product. Proponents of the tax increase estimate that it will keep more than 291,000 kids from starting this habit - and help a lot of adult smokers to quit, as they say they want to do. In fact, 63 percent of smokers polled last month say they favor the higher tax. The increase would raise an estimated US$500 million a year, even factoring in the inevitable tax-evasion efforts. Supporters want $50 million of that to go toward tobacco cessation; the rest can help trim the state's $4.5 billion-plus deficit. New York used to do a poor job of curbing tobacco. But now advocates rate its cessation programs among the best in the nation. In 2007, the American Lung Association gave the state an "A" on overall tobacco control. But the same report gave New York a "C" for levying too small a tax. With $50 million from the increased tax, on top of the $86 million the state now spends annually on cessation, New York can become an even stronger leader in avoiding smoking deaths. That's a distinction well worth achieving.

Illegal Cigarettes

webmaster — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 09:06:53 +0000

Billions of cigarettes are smuggled each year, equal to about one third of the cigarette market. Cigarettes are the World's most widely smuggled legal consumer product. They are smuggled across almost every national border and along constantly changing routes. Read more about illegal cigarettes.

Free Nicotine Patches Are Given By Ohio Program

webmaster — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:41:12 +0000

Auroraadvocate.com Free Nicotine Patches Are Given By Program Nearly 2 million Ohio tobacco users (of 11.48 million population) can receive two weeks of free nicotine patches when they enroll in the OhioQuits program, the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation's new, expanded tobacco cessation program. OhioQuits will provide a combination of free nicotine replacement therapy and expanded cessation coaching options by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW. This pairing is one of the most proven-effective methods for successfully quitting tobacco and is recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We anticipate that the offer of free nicotine patches to those who call 1-800-QUIT-NOW and enroll will serve a much larger number of Ohioans who want to end their deadly addiction to tobacco for good," said Mike Renner, executive director of the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation. The new OhioQuits program will also offer Ohioans expanded methods of cessation coaching including telephone based counseling plus individual and group centered face-to-face coaching through five Tobacco Treatment centers and an online option, offered later this spring. Locally, Tobacco Treatment centers are located at the Cleveland Clinic and Humility of Mary Health Partners' St. Elizabeth and St. Joseph Health Centers in Youngstown. Ohioans ready to quit tobacco may call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit www.OhioQuits.com. Calls will be answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year-round. To date, 1-800-QUIT-NOW has fielded more than 130,000 calls and helped more than 27,000 Ohioans.

Philip Morris Genetically Engineered Tobacco Plants

webmaster — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 03:07:49 +0000

Cigarette Maker Has Conducted 33 GM Tobacco Tests Since '05 By Alexis Madrigal EmailMarch 20, 2008 | 4:41:06 PMCategories: Genetics Tobaccoplant_2 Two days ago, Philip Morris backed NC-State scientists announced they'd genetically engineered tobacco plants to have reduced levels of some carcinogens. Further investigation by Wired.com revealed that the tobacco giant has applied for 34 field test permits for genetically modified tobacco since May of 2005, according to the USDA field trials database. 33 of the permits were issued. Over the last three years, the USDA received 117 total applications to test GM tobacco strains, including 19 by North Carolina State University, which received $17.5 million from Philip Morris in December 2002 to map the tobacco genome. Little can be determined about the types of studies that Philip Morris has run because they've labeled the details of their field permit applications, "Confidential Business Information," sealing them from public scrutiny. Philip Morris is not alone among tobacco companies in genetically modifying tobacco. Vector Tobacco, which has developed a low-nicotine variety of the crop, has applied for 14 field permits since 2005, although five were rejected. RJ Reynolds has applied for six, and had one denied. But the scale of the Philip Morris' genetic engineering program caught even staunch anti-GMO groups off-guard. Bill Freese, of Center for Food Safety, commented, "I'm shocked." Many groups that fight genetically modified organisms focus on genetically modified food or "pharming," or the practice of synthesizing pharmaceuticals in plants. Tobacco, however, is a natural drug crop and falls between the cracks of most watchdog groups. For example, Vector has been marketing cigarettes with genetically modified tobacco under the Quest 1-2-3 brand since 2003, according to an interview the company's CEO gave to Business Week. Almost no public outcry has resulted.

illegal cigarettes

webmaster — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 09:11:53 +0000

Asian Environmental Tobacco Smoke Consultants Programme

webmaster — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 09:59:35 +0000

Please find the relevant information (both English and Chinese version) for your reference here.

webmaster — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 01:02:00 +0000

Community Centres

webmaster — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 01:11:30 +0000

The Health of Catering Workers in Hong Kong

webmaster — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 01:16:03 +0000

Professor Anthony Hedley from the University of Hong Kong, Department of Community Medicine is carrying out a survey on The Health of Catering Workers in Hong Kong. In the survey, they need the workers to complete a simple questionnaire about their health and workplace. They would also like them to perform a lung function test. At last, they will collect a urine sample from each worker. As an appreciation, each participant will be compensated with a cash payment of HKD100 upon completion of the survey. The health report will be sent to each worker afterwards. In addition, they wish to recruit 3-4 non-smoking workers (preferably waiter/waitress) in each venue visit. Please find the relevant information (both English and Chinese version) for your reference here. The attached booklet includes:

Information sheet to the catering workers about details of our survey
Informed Consent Form
Questionnaire
Sign up sheet for the incentive payment
Brochure for off-site interview

The brochures will be distributed to the catering workers who are unable to participate during their work shifts. They have reserved several community centers from 7 districts and would like to invite the catering workers to visit any of these venues after their work shifts : If you have any questions please contact Ms. Ada Ho at 2819 9901.

Community Centres

webmaster — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 01:33:43 +0000

Comments on the template for a protocol on illicit trade in tobacco products

webmaster — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 03:23:14 +0000

Combating The Illicit Trade In Tobacco Products

webmaster — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 03:29:38 +0000

Signatories to the WHO FCTC

webmaster — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 04:06:07 +0000

Henningfield Testimony

webmaster — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 01:26:17 +0000

the dark side of marketing seemingly “Light” cigarettes: successful images and failed fact

webmaster — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 01:52:05 +0000

Relationship with Amount Smoked and Cigarette Type

webmaster — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 02:01:05 +0000

2006 Judge Kessler's Final Opinion

webmaster — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 02:32:53 +0000

Findings from United States v. Philip Morris

webmaster — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 02:47:45 +0000

Light Cigarette Lawsuits in the United States

webmaster — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 03:00:00 +0000

Public Health Implications of Changes in Cigarette Design and Marketing

webmaster — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 03:06:55 +0000

Federal Trade Commission Cigarette Report For 2004 and 2005

webmaster — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 03:55:54 +0000

Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs

webmaster — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 11:41:32 +0000

Protection From Exposure To Second-Hand Tobacco Smoke

webmaster — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:26:45 +0000

Tobacco Cash Behind Cancer Study Shocks Scientists

webmaster — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:39:01 +0000

Associated Press in Milwaukee - Updated on Mar 28, 2008 Revelations that tobacco money was behind a big study suggesting that lung scans might help save smokers from cancer has shocked the research community and raised fresh concern about industry influence in important science. Two medical journals that published studies by Weill Medical College researchers at Cornell University in 2006 are now looking into tobacco cash and other financial ties that were not revealed. The prominent studies reported benefits from lung scans, which the Cornell team has long touted. It is a crucial public health issue: dozens of groups, including such anti-smoking crusaders as the American Cancer Society, have given the Cornell team money to see if routinely screening smokers with CT scans can spot the world's most lethal cancer in time to prevent deaths. The federal government has also given money - even though scientists have criticised the Cornell study's design and the government is conducting its own more rigorous study. Many were stunned to learn on Wednesday that a foundation Cornell had set up and listed in the New England Journal of Medicine in October 2006 as a sponsor of the study actually received US$3.6 million from a parent company of cigarette maker Liggett Group. The tobacco source was reported in a story in The New York Times. Liggett - whose owner Vector Group was the first to break with other tobacco companies and say that tobacco was addictive and deadly - announced its donation to the Cornell foundation in 2000 in a press release. But the foundation's funding source was not disclosed to the journal. On Wednesday, company spokeswoman Carrie Bloom noted in a statement that the company "had no control or influence over the research". National Cancer Institute director John Niederhuber said scientists must maintain the trust of patients in research studies, and "any breach of that trust is not simply disappointing but, I believe, unacceptable". Any findings from a study tainted by hidden industry ties "will be much less believable", Sidney Wolfe, director of the Public Citizen's Health Research Group, said. The problem was avoidable, he added. "There are plenty of people around who are bright and knowledgeable and don't have conflicts of interest. We need to look harder to find these people." The cancer society's chief medical officer, Otis Brawley, said the society would not have contributed to the study if it knew "Big Tobacco" was co-funding the work. Still, there was no sign that the study's findings were tainted, and "it is my belief that something can be learned that can be useful", he said. The chief Cornell researcher, Claudia Henschke, did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment. Weill's dean, Antonio Gotto, said: "The claim that we set this foundation up in order to cover up the money just isn't true. "We made a public announcement that we were taking the money from the tobacco company." In retrospect, Dr Gotto said perhaps the tobacco cash and patents that Cornell researchers hold on related technology should have been disclosed in Dr Henschke's journal articles. Instead, one listed only the Cornell foundation. Catherine DeAngelis, editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association, said she contacted Dr Henschke months ago after others pointed out patents not disclosed in a July 2006 study. Dr DeAngelis said Dr Henschke did not believe the patents were relevant to the research and resisted disclosing them. "We'd been working with Dr Henschke trying to get her to write a letter of apology - which is our policy - and to take responsibility," Dr DeAngelis said. "It was not easy to get her to do anything." Asked whether she would have published the research if the tobacco funding had been known, Dr DeAngelis said: "Absolutely not. I would have turned down the paper." A spokeswoman for the New England Journal, which published the Henschke paper listing the Cornell foundation as a sponsor, one of about 30, said only that the journal was investigating the matter.

About.com Smoking Cessation

webmaster — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 04:41:13 +0000

What Happens When You Quit Smoking? Nicotine is the addictive substance in cigarettes and it is the reason people experience withdrawal when trying to quit smoking. Learn more about how nicotine affects the body. http://video.about.com/quitsmoking/Nicotine-Withdrawal.htm

Wales: Support For Smoking Ban - 1 Year On

webmaster — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 01:59:12 +0000

On the first anniversary of the smoking ban in Wales, figures show that just 79 people have been issued with fines for breaking the law. The Welsh Assembly reports that there have been consistently high rates of compliance in Wales and growing support for the public health legislation, which outlawed smoking in all enclosed public and workplaces. The latest survey suggests that 84% of adults in Wales support smoke-free public places, compared with 71% before the ban, according to the Welsh Assembly Government. The Assembly Government is now expected to focus its attention on, and try to promote, smoke-free homes, in a bid to reduce children's exposure to second-hand smoke. Dr Tony Jewell, Wales' chief medical officer, said, "The introduction of the smoking ban in enclosed public places has been a milestone for public health and the single most important measure that the Welsh Assembly Government could take to improve the health of the nation and reduce health inequalities." Wales was the first country in the UK to vote in favour of a smoking ban, but because it lacked law-making powers, the legislation was not introduced until April last year - after Scotland and Ireland. But in the year since the ban, air quality in pubs has improved by up to 77%, in line with the Scottish experience. About a third of Wales' adult smokers - a quarter of the population smokes - said that they were smoking fewer cigarettes. The Assembly Government expects the health benefits of the ban to be similar to those in Scotland. Early research findings from Scotland, where smoke-free legislation came into force in March 2006, have been extremely positive. These include a 17% reduction in heart attack admissions and an 86% reduction in bar workers' exposure to second-hand smoke. Western Mail, 31/3/08

Olympic Clean-Air Rules Hard For Nicotine Addicts To Bear

webmaster — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 06:09:51 +0000

New smoking bans challenge an ingrained way of life Associated Press in Beijing - Updated on Mar 31, 2008 Deputy Sports Minister Cui Dalin told legislators the Beijing Olympics would inspire Chinese to live healthier lives. He then stepped out into a non-smoking hallway and lit a cigarette. The recent incident illustrates the uphill battle the country faces as it prepares to take what health advocates hope will be a big step against smoking in what is the world's biggest tobacco market. A ban on smoking in most Beijing public places, similar to efforts in Hong Kong and major North American, European and Asian cities, is expected to take effect in May, aimed at meeting the mainland's pledge of a smoke-free Olympics. The mainland is home to 350 million smokers - a third of the global total. More than 150 cities already have limited restrictions, but the capital would be the first to ban smoking in all restaurants, offices and schools, said health expert Cui Xiaobo, who helped draft the regulations. The restaurant ban may be limited at first. "There's no way it will work," said Jin Xianchun, a co-owner of Little Jin's Seafood Restaurant, where diners were smoking up a storm. "Of course it will affect my business ... We will try our best to enforce it, but really...," she said, shaking her head. Cigarettes are woven into mainlanders' daily lives. They are an icebreaker, a way of greeting a friend, and a means of bribery. A night out typically means a good meal and cigarettes paired with baijiu, a clear sorghum liquor with a vicious kick. Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping were heavy smokers, and their favourite brands are as well known as they are: Panda for Deng and Zhonghua (China) for Mao. Almost 2 trillion cigarettes are sold every year, at prices as low as 1.50 yuan for a pack of 20, complete with a discreet warning on the side of the box that says "Smoking is harmful to your health". The government estimates 1 million people die of smoking-related deaths annually - projected to double by 2020. Beijing has had some smoking restrictions since 1995, when the municipal government prohibited lighting up in large public venues such as schools, sports arenas and movie theatres. The new rules, which the city government is expected to unveil soon, expand the scope to include restaurants, bars, hotels, offices, vacation resorts and all indoor areas of medical facilities, according to a draft released this year. "The world will be watching Beijing because its success means a big step towards the success of the whole world, given the large smoking population of China," said Cui Xiaobo, an associate professor at the Capital University of Medical Sciences in Beijing. Olympic organisers have said they want smoking bans in all hotels serving athletes and all competition venues and restaurants in the Olympic Village by June. Last October, Beijing banned smoking in the city's 66,000 taxis, threatening drivers with a 200 yuan fine if they are caught. After a branch of the Meizhou Dongpo restaurant chain banned smoking, revenue dropped by 5 to 8 per cent in the first two months, but picked up as word got out to nonsmokers, deputy manager Guo Xiaodong said. "Smoke-free restaurant: A mountain forest in the city," posters in the restaurant say. A man with a pack of cigarettes by his plate grumpily relents when his friend reminds him he can't light up. "Some customers didn't understand why there was a ban in a restaurant - a public place. They think cigarettes and liquor can't be separated," Mr Guo said. In 2005, China ratified World Health Organisation rules urging the country, within three years, to restrict tobacco advertising and sponsorship, put tougher health warnings on cigarettes, raise tobacco prices and taxes, curb second-hand smoke, prohibit cigarette sales to minors, and clamp down on smuggling. "The problem is there are commercial interests that make it hard," said Sarah England, who heads the tobacco control department of the organisation's Beijing office. She was referring to the state-run tobacco industry, which made 388 billion yuan last year, up 25 per cent compared with a year earlier.

The Best Way To Quit Smoking?

webmaster — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 02:05:25 +0000

Make Tobacco Firms Pay Up

webmaster — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 03:07:52 +0000

Updated on Apr 01, 2008 - SCMP I could not agree more with Martin Brinkley ("Stopping causes of illness better policy than imposing 'health tax'", March 28) Tobacco is the only legal consumer product which kills its users and innocent bystanders when used as directed by its makers. Cigarette smoking is the single most preventable cause of premature death in the world. A University of Hong Kong study placed a value on the loss of productivity and life in Hong Kong due to smoking at 25 times the revenue received from tobacco taxation. Tobacco tax was last increased in Hong Kong in 1999. The World Health Organisation says increasing excise tax is the most effective method of reducing smoking levels worldwide; a 10 per cent increase in tobacco tax will reduce youth smoking by 7 per cent and overall smoking by approximately 4 per cent. Each year 1,324 people die of passive smoking here. The government has the taxation capability. If we prevent our youth smoking through tax increases there will be no need to treat the lethal devastating effects. In his RTHK interview the financial secretary said that if he increased tobacco tax, smuggling would increase thus casting doubt on the abilities of the Customs and Excise Department to handle this problem. This is a poor excuse for his failure to act. The government has a duty of care to the health of its residents and has yet again missed the opportunity to save lives. If you relieve the major financial and manpower burden of treating smoking related illnesses, does this not make more sense than taxing non-smokers to pay for this treatment? The government should sue the big tobacco firms to recover the costs of treating smoking illnesses. James Middleton, Clear the Air

The World Bank Report 2008

Ryan Chan — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:20:57 +0000

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

2nd April, 2008

Influencing Tax Policies for Tobacco Control

Polluted Mexico City Bans Smoking

webmaster — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:14:36 +0000

By Anahi Rama - Reuters - Thu Apr 3, 2008 8:21pm EDT MEXICO CITY, April 3 (Reuters) - Mexico City on Thursday banned cigarette smoking in all public places, from bars to office buildings, to reduce the amount of carcinogens inhaled by residents of the smog-filled capital. The city, home to some 18 million people in the metropolitan area, is the latest large city around the world to pass a smoking ban to improve public health and protect nonsmokers from secondary smoke. But not all Mexicans are happy about the prospect of smoke-free cantinas where tequila and cigarettes are traditionally enjoyed hand-in-hand. "Right now I'm fine, but later tonight -- after a couple of drinks -- I'm going to really want one," said 26-year-old Rodrigo Nunez, a smoker and government office worker playing a game of pool in a bar in the fashionable Condesa neighborhood on his lunch break. The law to ban smoking in all enclosed areas, from sidewalk cafes to public transportation to elevators and schools, was passed by the city assembly in November. Smokers who violate the ban can be fined between $50 and $300, with higher penalties for bar and restaurant owners who allow smoking. The fines will not be applied until next week, giving restaurant and bar owners time to post large no-smoking signs to let people know about the change. Major U.S. cities like New York and Los Angeles as well as countries across Europe have enforced similar bans. The Dutch government is even planning a cigarette smoking ban in Amsterdam that would apply to coffee shops where patrons can legally smoke marijuana. But in Mexico, where businessmen still often smoke in meetings and most restaurants lack nonsmoking sections, the habit will be hard to break. "The young people will accept it because they will realize that it's a step forward ... it's the old people who will be upset," resident Jose Manuel Ogando said.

Tequila To Be Downed Without Cigarette In Hand

webmaster — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 01:16:13 +0000

In Mexico City, tequila to be downed without cigarette in hand Apr 4, 2008, 0:45 GMT - M & G Mexico City - Mexico City citizens who enjoy smoking while visiting the city's 35,000 public establishments had to stub out their cigarettes Thursday. People who defy the law multiple times face fines of up to 150 dollars, and determined repeaters could even be thrown in jail for 36 hours. Owners of restaurants and hotels also face fines, and office buildings, hospitals and universities which continue to allow smoking in public spaces also face harsh sanctions. Restaurants where smokers are caught twice in one year will be closed, according to the law. The anti-smoking law reflects a growing trend across the North American continent and, more recently, Europe, spurred on by health- conscious governments trying to stem the human and material costs of tobacco's health consequences.

Smokers Urged To Cough Up The Truth

webmaster — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:12:46 +0000

Life Insurance: Smokers urged to cough up the truth myfinances.co.uk - April 4, 2008 Life insurance companies are increasingly checking if claimants are truly non-smokers, and turning down claims for those failing to prove they are smoke-free. Analysis from Onlyinsurance.com shows non-smokers enjoy much lower life insurance premiums – proving a solid incentive for smokers to lie on forms to reduce the cost of cover. A 25-year female smoker faces life insurance premiums of £11.20 a month, while a non-smoker can pay from £7.50 a month. Meanwhile a non-smoking 40-year-old male will pay £49.26 per month for critical illness cover (CIC) and a 40-year-old smoking male £93.78. However, smokers are being warned if they die of a smoking related illness and their insurer thinks they are a non-smoked there will be no pay-out. Ian Durrell of Onlyinsurance said: "Smokers who declare they have given up but continue to smoke, no matter how infrequently, will be paying for nothing should they die from a smoking related condition. "The policy simply won’t pay out and their beneficiaries will be the losers." To be classed as a non-smoker, for life insurance you need to be fag free for 12 months – over which time you would be £2,016 a year better off through not buying cigarettes. "Smokers will pay twice the price for critical illness cover than a non-smoker – it’s a no win situation for the smoker, their nicotine addiction is tightening both their heart and purse strings," concluded Mr Durrell.

Empower The FDA To Regulate Tobacco

webmaster — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 01:05:49 +0000

Michael Schwalbe - The News and Observer RALEIGH - Invent a drug to help people stop smoking and you'll need approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before you can bring it to market. The approval process requires clinical testing, disclosure of ingredients and expert review of the data concerning safety and effectiveness. All drugs that can have powerful effects on the body are similarly regulated. The curious exception is nicotine delivered in tobacco products. Fortunately, this deadly loophole might soon be closed. That nicotine is a powerful drug is not in doubt. The 1988 Surgeon General's report reviewed the scientific research on nicotine and concluded that it is as addictive as cocaine or heroin. Tobacco companies hated to see the word "addiction" applied to tobacco, but they were not surprised by the findings. As we know from whistleblowers and from documents pried loose by litigation, the tobacco companies have long understood that they sell a psychoactive drug. In public they call tobacco use a habit. In private the companies acknowledge their dependence on nicotine's addictiveness to stay in business. Worse, the companies have manipulated nicotine levels to foster addiction. This was Judge Gladys Kessler's conclusion in 2006 at the end of the five-year Department of Justice trial that found the industry guilty of racketeering and of lying about the health hazards of smoking. Last year, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that nicotine yields from smoking had increased each year between 1998 and 2005, by a total of about 11 percent. This was true for all brands tested. Critics of the industry surmised that nicotine levels were adjusted upward to keep smokers addicted after the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement led to price increases that prompted more people to try quitting. Legislation pending in Congress may soon curtail the industry's ability to hook new users. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act would give the FDA power to regulate tobacco products much as it now regulates other potentially hazardous consumables. UNDER THIS LEGISLATION, THE FDA could require that nicotine levels in tobacco products be reduced to levels that do not cause addiction. The legislation would also tighten controls on tobacco advertising seen by children. In addition, it would ban candy flavorings, require disclosure of ingredients to the FDA, forbid the industry from implying that "low-tar," "light" or "mild" cigarettes are safer and require enlarged health warnings on tobacco products. This legislation isn't perfect. It won't allow the FDA to reduce nicotine levels to zero. It doesn't require disclosing ingredients directly to consumers. And it permits menthol flavoring. Some critics of the legislation have argued that it might encourage tobacco use by allowing the industry to claim that its products are FDA approved. But after recent hearings by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee, language is being added to the bill to prohibit the industry from making such claims. DESPITE ITS FLAWS this legislation could save millions of lives. So who could be opposed? Tobacco companies, naturally. But in this case there is a twist to the story. The largest cigarette maker in the U.S., Philip Morris, supports the bill, while R.J. Reynolds and the smaller tobacco companies oppose it. Philip Morris' support reflects its beliefs that regulation would not threaten its dominant share of the market and that regulation would put a heavier burden on its competitors. Philip Morris also uses menthol flavoring not banned by the legislation, while R.J. Reynolds uses the kid-catching candy flavorings the legislation forbids. Both of North Carolina's senators, Richard Burr and Elizabeth Dole, recipients of a combined $132,700 in contributions from Reynolds over the last five years ($21,500 for Dole, $111,200 for Burr), oppose the bill. In doing so, they may serve the interests of one segment of the tobacco industry, but they fail to represent the views of most North Carolinians. National polls show that two-thirds of Americans favor FDA regulation of tobacco. A 2007 survey by the Mellman Group found that 62 percent of adults in North Carolina's 1st Congressional District felt the same way. That's in tobacco country. Every year in North Carolina about 14,000 teenagers start smoking and about 12,000 adults die prematurely because of smoking. As a result, we pay $2.46 billion in excess health care costs and $3.3 billion in costs due to lost productivity. Giving the FDA authority to regulate tobacco would help reduce these costs. Some of North Carolina's elected leaders agree (U.S. Rep. David Price co-sponsored the bill). Others are still in thrall to corporate interests that put profits ahead of public health. Urging our representatives in Congress to support FDA regulation of tobacco products is a way to tell them that it's time for change, even in tobacco country. (Michael Schwalbe is a professor of sociology at N.C. State University. He is writing a book about people whose lives have been changed by tobacco-related disease.)

Tobacco Profits Going Up in Smoke?

webmaster — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 01:03:59 +0000

Tobacco Profits Going Up in Smoke? (PM, CG, RAI) 07 April, 2008 12:06:00 Thom Buschman - Investerms Tobacco companies may face an uphill battle against regulators after new legislation was proposed that would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority of tobacco products. The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 38-12 in favor of the proposal that is now ready to be passed on to the U.S. Senate before becoming effective. Shareholders of tobacco companies are divided as the legislation may benefit some while hurting others. The new legislation is expected to impose significant restrictions on marketing as well as require larger warning labels. These are developments that are more likely to hurt smaller tobacco companies rather than the nationally-recognized and established brand names. This means that big companies like Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM), which recently spun off from Altria Group (NYSE: MO), stand to benefit at the expense of other smaller players like Carolina Group (NYSE: CG) and Reynolds American (NYSE: RAI). This may sound great for larger companies, but there is a big downside. The FDA will also likely require manufacturers and importers of tobacco to pay user fees to fund the new regulatory responsibilities under the bill. These fees are expected to net $90 million this year, but increase to $755 million by 2018. These fees would be assessed based on market share, which means that the lion's share of the fees will be levied on companies like Philip Morris. The best options for shareholders may be those tobacco companies with greater international exposure. Companies like Imperial Tobacco Group (NYSE: ITY) with particular strengths in the United Kingdom, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, the Republic of Ireland, France, Spain, Greece, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Australia, Taiwan and sub-Saharan Africa are of particular interest. Strong international brands may become more important than strong domestic brands if the measures pass. In the end, tobacco companies are likely to suffer from these new measures. Reduced marketing will put pressure on top-line growth by limiting their ability to attract new customers. Meanwhile, the fees associated with the new regulation will put pressure on margins and negatively impact the bottom-line. Combined, this is bad news for tobacco companies if the bill is passed in its current state.

Early Life Second-Hand Smoke Exposure

webmaster — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 02:32:25 +0000

Early life second-hand smoke exposure and serious infectious morbidity during the first 8 years: evidence from Hong Kong’s ‘‘Children of 1997’’ birth cohort ABSTRACT Background: Second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure is a modifiable cause of ill health. Despite the smoking ban in public places introduced in Hong Kong in 2007, infants and children continue to be exposed within the home. Aims: To determine the critical windows of SHS exposure and the duration of its impact on serious infectious morbidity in the first 8 years of life. Methods: The Hong Kong ‘‘Children of 1997’’ birth cohort is a prospective, population-based study of 8327 children comprising 88% of all births in April and May 1997, of whom 7402 (89%) were followed up until their eighth birthday in 2005. We used multivariable Cox regression to assess the relation between postnatal SHS exposure and risk of first admission to public hospitals (together accounting for .95% total bed-days overall) for respiratory, other and all infections from birth to 8 years of age, for all individuals and for vulnerable subgroups. Results: Overall, household SHS exposure within 3 metres in early life was associated with a higher risk of admission for infectious illness up until 8 years of age (hazard ratio 1.14, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.31), after adjustment for sex, birthweight, gestational age, feeding method, maternal age, highest parental education and proxies of preferred service sector. The association was strongest in the first 6 months of life (HR 1.45, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.83). In vulnerable subgroups such as premature babies, the association held through to 8 years of age (HR 2.00, 95% CI 1.08 to 3.72). Infants exposed to SHS in the first 3 months of life were most vulnerable to infectious causes of hospitalisation. Conclusion: Household SHS exposure in early infancy increases severe infectious morbidity requiring hospital admission. Reducing SHS exposure in infants and particularly in more vulnerable infants will lower the beddays burden due to infectious causes. View the full study on Early life second-hand smoke exposure.

Tobacco Tax Hike Justified

webmaster — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 01:13:47 +0000

OUR VIEW: Tobacco tax hike justified April 08, 2008 6:00 AM - South Coast Today Raising the tobacco tax makes sense. The best benefit has nothing to do with money: It could reduce the number of young people who take up smoking, giving them years of better health and saving them the agony of quitting later in life. Existing smokers might redouble their efforts to quit, too. But even from a purely financial perspective, the take hike is justified. Though smokers still have a right to smoke, their exercise of that right costs the public money — a lot of money. A 2000 study by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health estimated the annual health care costs for smoking-related conditions at US$2.8 billion. An additional — and shocking — US$7.3 million is spent caring for babies who acquire smoking-related problems in the womb. Not only does smoking cause cancer, which is expensive to treat, but some smokers develop devastating long-term health problems like heart disease and pulmonary obstruction. If just a small fraction of those smokers is uninsured, the public will pay a hefty sum to treat them. So as Massachusetts looks for ways to cover the cost of income-based subsidies in its mandatory health insurance program, tobacco users represent a fair place to lay some of the burden. Over the years, the state has taken a leading role on the tobacco issue, funding smoking cessation programs and raising the tobacco tax higher than other states. Massachusetts had the highest cigarette tax in the nation as recently as 2002, when it was doubled to $1.51 per pack. Since then, other states have followed suit, and the Bay State now has the 15th-highest tobacco tax. The ranking isn't as important as the amount of revenue it generates as a proportion of smoking-related costs. At the rate health care costs are rising, the tobacco tax — though not intended to be a direct reflection of tobacco-related spending — certainly has not kept pace. Cigarette makers and convenience store operators, who have an obvious financial interest in keeping the tax low, warn that smokers will take their business elsewhere, namely to neighboring states or the Internet. But those who are inclined to do so are probably already doing it, since New Hampshire charges tax of just $1.08 per pack. And Massachusetts is getting more sophisticated about collecting taxes on cigarettes shipped into the state as the result of online sales. It collected $2.4 million in the six-month period that ended in January, and Gov. Deval Patrick has proposed using new technology that he says could raise the amount to $12 million a year. So the idea that business will go out of state no longer does much to change the equation. Massachusetts' landmark health care law serves the public good, and it needs funding. The tobacco tax can help serve that need. If the gradual result is fewer smokers, fewer health problems and less need for the very funding that started the trend, so much the better.

Smoking Ban To Cover All Schools

webmaster — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 02:58:21 +0000

Apr 10, 2008 - SCMP The country's health departments are planning a complete smoking ban in schools from next month. The Beijing News quoted the Ministry of Health as saying nursery, primary and middle schools would not be allowed to have smoking rooms. The ministry said the ban would be introduced as part of activities to mark World No Tobacco Day on May 31.

Lax Tobacco Tax Remains Unattended

webmaster — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:10:37 +0000

Written by ADRIAN WAN CHUN-HO - Thursday, 10 April 2008 00:00 Although many had voiced support for the idea of raising the tobacco tax, the government thinks education is a better way of cutting smoking, and so left the tax unchanged in the Budget. Some experts believe that a rise in tobacco tax can highly reduce youth smoking, yet the government is still leaving the current law unattended. Secretary for Finance John Tsang Chun-wah announced in the Budget on February 27 that “education is more important than a tax increase when considering stamping out the smoking habit in Hong Kong”. Anti-tobacco campaigners such as Committee on Youth Smoking Prevention (YSP), Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health (COSH) and Clear the Air, however, believed that a tobacco tax increase would be very effective. Chief Executive of YSP Li Cheong-lung said that he was disappointed at the government for not taking his committee’s demand of doubling the tax into account in the Budget. “Since 2005, we have been urging the government to lift the duty to reduce underage smoking,” he said, “when the price of cigarettes goes up, many teenagers smoke less or quit altogether.” If such an increase were introduced, the tax payable on a pack of 20 cigarettes would be raised from about $16 to $32. James Middleton, a member of Clear the Air, a volunteer group committed to combat air pollution in Hong Kong, said a ten per cent increase in tobacco tax can reduce youth smoking by seven per cent and overall smoking by four per cent. “Tobacco tax is proven worldwide the most effective way of preventing and reducing smoking. It is the most feared available preventative measure by the tobacco companies,” he said. The World Bank (WB) and World Health Organisation (WHO) both advocate population-wide prevention of chronic diseases. Tobacco use is alongside other detrimental factors like improper diet, inadequate physical activity and excessive alcohol consumption, which cause chronic diseases, according to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), an international treaty for tobacco control. “The government is obliged under FCTC rules to regularly increase tobacco tax,” Mr Middleton said. The WB has issued guidelines on appropriate tax level. They admonish high-income regions, like Hong Kong, to impose a 65 to 80 per cent tax on each cigarette. In Hong Kong, the retail price of a pack of cigarettes is $32, of which $16.08 is tax. Tax per cigarette is thus tad higher than 50 per cent. A regular smoker, said that if the tobacco tax were doubled, it would undoubtedly affect his accustomed smoking pattern. If a pack of cigarettes cost as much as $48, I don’t think I could afford a pack a day. It would be a luxury, he said. Albert Kwan Yui-leung, 19, a regular smoker, said that if the tobacco tax were doubled, it would undoubtedly affect his accustomed smoking pattern. “If a pack of cigarettes cost as much as $48, I don’t think I could afford a pack a day. It would be a luxury,” he said. Mr John Tsang said in the Budget: “We need to take a more balanced approach. We already have a high tax there, if we raised it at this time, it would increase smuggling.” Mr Middleton from Clear the Air argued that, “He [John Tsang] is pandering to the business lobby and playing with peoples’ lives in doing so.” Concerned groups such as YSP, COSH and Clear the Air said the current tobacco tax in the city is relatively low compared with New York and Britain where the tax on a packet of cigarettes is $28 and $62 respectively. Mr Li from YSP commented, “The government can say whatever it justifies. I should say, however, that every time the tobacco tax was increased in the recent 20 years, the number of smokers fell.” Tsang’s comment in the Budget may call into question the government’s confidence in guarding against smuggling. C. K. Ng, Senior Inspector from the Customs and Excise Department, said reassuringly that “Tobacco smuggling in Hong Kong has been subsiding.” According to Mr Ng, the quantity of each illicit shipments has shrunk from 200 cases (two million sticks) several years ago to around 100 cases (one million sticks) in the recent two years; a steady rise in revenue collected from tobacco suggested the shift of consumption from illicit to legitimate cigarettes; and illicit cigarettes are usually sold by means of telephone orders instead of blatant touting in streets. Asked to comment on the enforcement against smuggling tobacco, Ng said, “The current enforcement against illicit cigarettes is deemed effective. However, when there are any signs of rampant smuggling, we [the Excise and Customs Department] would consider stricter measures.” Mr John Tsang said in the Budget: “"If all the children and the adults of Hong Kong can learn all the bad things about smoking, I think that would be a more permanent way of reducing smoking. We could raise the tax further. But there are other things we can do better.” Dr Barry Tam, Head of Tobacco Control Office (TCO), elucidated how his team plans to educate the public through various means. He said there would be promotion of the harmful effect of smoking and second-hand smoke, smoke cessation and smoke free environment through media publicity, community involvement programmes, interactive education theatre programmes, youth tobacco control advocate training programmes and outreaching school-based health talks. “1,324 people a year die of passive smoking in Hong Kong; 50 per cent of smokers will be killed by their addiction,” Mr Middleton said. Dr Tam said the Department of Health (DH) would also strengthen publicity such as TV and radio announcements or public interest (APIs) in order to enhance public support so as to help building a smoke-free environment in Hong Kong. Tobacco facts * Tobacco causes around 13,500 deaths per day. * Half of children are exposed to tobacco smoke at home. * 47.5% of males smoke. * 10.3% of females smoke. * A cigarette is the only legally available consumer product that kills through normal use. Source: WHO

Let's Blow Out Those Tobacco Tax Falsehoods

webmaster — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:19:15 +0000

Megan Hannan and Stephanie Lash: Let's blow out those tobacco tax falsehoods Saturday, April 12, 2008 - Bangor Daily News In order to keep smokers smoking and get young people addicted, the tobacco industry and its supporters will say almost anything to avoid an increase in the tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products. That’s because they know that the higher the price, the fewer kids start smoking and the more smokers quit or cut back. As a result, they resort to a series of well-worn myths based on faulty research and outright false claims that are designed to scare and intimidate — creating a smokescreen of economic woe to obscure the truth about improved health, lives saved, lower health costs, and ultimately a reduced financial burden on taxpayers and businesses. When the smoke lifts, the reality is that raising the price of tobacco products is both sound health policy and prudent economic policy. The tobacco industry has started this year’s drumbeat of misinformation by stating that cigarette tax revenue is not a predictable source of income. Maine’s experience over the past 10 years proves that cigarette tax revenue follows a consistent and predictable pattern of steep increases after a tax hike, followed by gradual and consistent declines (of approximately 1 percent per year). Compare this to Maine’s corporate income tax revenue. During the same period, corporate income tax revenue fluctuated from $107 million to $77 million to $184 million. Cigarette tax revenue is clearly the more reliable revenue stream. The cross-border myth is another industry favorite. The story goes that Maine smokers will flock to New Hampshire to buy their cigarettes when prices in Maine go up. The reality is that when Maine raises its cigarette tax, New Hampshire sales don’t respond. In fact, after each of Maine’s last four tax increases, New Hampshire cigarette sales per capita were lower than they had been the previous year. Another myth is that Internet cigarette sales are growing rapidly and will only get worse with a tax increase. The truth is that less than 2 percent of Maine smokers buy their cigarettes over the Internet, and Maine’s law regulating Internet sales ensures that tax avoidance and under age sales are minimized. Most Maine residents are law-abiding citizens and this myth is both unsubstantiated and unjust. Opponents of a tax increase also claim that the cigarette tax is regressive and that it disproportionately hurts low-income smokers. In fact, low-income people are the hardest hit by the effects of tobacco use and are specifically targeted by tobacco industry promotions. Smokers of all incomes who quit or cut back save money on both cigarettes and health care costs (a pack a day smoker who quits saves about $1,700 a year). Over 70 percent of smokers want to quit, and for some, raising the price of cigarettes may be what they need to be successful. Those who profit from cigarettes also claim that raising the tax will hurt retailers who sell cigarettes. No data are offered to support these claims, and it is certainly difficult to have sympathy for those who put profits over health, especially the health of children and the poor. Nonetheless, logic would suggest that smokers who quit or cut back would have more money to spend on other things. Perhaps the biggest myth is that a cigarette tax is just another tax that adds to our overall tax burden. The reality is quite the opposite. A cigarette tax actually saves money for taxpayers and businesses, not to mention the lives of our families, friends, and neighbors. A $1 per pack increase would motivate 6,000 adults to quit, keep 10,000 kids from becoming addicted smokers, save 4,700 lives, and reduce health costs by $233 million. Healthier people are more productive workers, and getting Maine’s health costs under control is one of the most important things we can do to help businesses thrive. It’s time to cut through the myths and smokescreens and see tobacco taxes for what they are: a powerful economic tool that supports businesses, taxpayers and (Maine) families by reducing the death and disease of tobacco addiction. Megan Hannan is director of government relations and advocacy for the American Cancer Society, New England Division. Dr. Stephanie Lash is a physician in Bangor.

Big Tobacco Handed Victory by Manhattan Appeals Court

webmaster — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:48:26 +0000

Date Published: Monday, April 14th, 2008 - News Inferno Tobacco giants Brown & Williamson Holdings and Philip Morris USA won a huge victory last week when a Manhattan appeals court reversed a ruling in favor of a lung cancer victim who had argued that the cigarette makers were negligent by failing to market only “light cigarettes”. In a 3-2 decision the appellate division ruled that the plaintiff failed to prove that light cigarettes would “have been acceptable to the consumers that constitute the market for the allegedly defective product,” regular cigarettes. However, two dissenting judges sharply criticized the tobacco companies, finding that the test of consumer acceptability amounted to “nothing more than a cynical effort by the defendants to maintain the commercial advantages of continuing to sell unreasonably dangerous addictive products to addicts.” The lawsuit in question was filed by Norma Rose, a 73-year-old woman diagnosed with lung cancer and other health problems caused by a smoking habit she began in the 1940s. In her lawsuit, Rose v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., she alleged that the cigarette makers’ failure to sell only low-tar, low-nicotine products amounted to negligence. Rose said she briefly tried two low-tar brands, but found the taste unappealing. According to the site Law.com, on March 18, 2005, in a case presided over by Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen S. Smith, a Manhattan jury handed down a $3.4 million compensatory award, to be split evenly against Philip Morris and Brown & Williamson. Rose also received a $17.1 punitive damages award against Philip Morris. The tobacco companies asked Judge Smith to overturn the jury’s decision, but she refused. Last Thursday, the Appellate Division reversed her decision and granted the dismissal the tobacco companies requested. The majority opinion, written by Justice David S. Friedman, noted that New York law does not allow a manufacturer to be held liable for declining to “adopt an alternative product design that has not been shown to retain the ‘inherent usefulness’ the product offers when manufactured according to the more risky (but otherwise lawful) design that was actually used.” Rose’s lawyers maintained that her lawsuit had satisfied this burden by showing that it was technically feasible to manufacture light cigarettes. But the majority on the court held that Rose had failed to present evidence of “consumer acceptability” of light cigarettes, because supposedly, the majority of individuals smoke for the taste and psychological effects of tar and nicotine.

Beijing Drops Restaurants in Smoking Ban

webmaster — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:52:48 +0000

By HENRY SANDERSON – Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — Beijing has backtracked on a proposed public smoking ban ahead of this summer's Olympics, with a city official saying Monday that restaurants will no longer be included due to concerns it would hurt their business. Lighting up in restaurants will be allowed after the citywide ban goes into effect May 1 as long as they have separate smoking and nonsmoking areas, said Zhang Peili, an official with Beijing's municipal government supervising the ban. Restaurants that do not comply will be fined $714, Zhang said, though she added that implementing the regulation will be "extremely difficult." "There is a Chinese saying that tobacco and alcohol always come together. This has developed into the Chinese people's habit," she said. The China Daily newspaper reported Monday that bars and Internet cafes also would be exempt from the ban after originally being included. The newspaper said the government was worried a stricter smoking restriction on restaurants would hurt their business. China is home to 350 million smokers — a third of the global total. Beijing pledged to hold a smoke-free Olympics and last month proposed a smoking ban in government offices, sports venues, hospitals and museums. Last week, Chinese media reported it would also be extended to primary and secondary school campuses. Last October, Beijing banned smoking in the city's 66,000 taxis, threatening drivers with a $29 fine if they are caught. In 2005, China ratified World Health Organization rules that urged it, within three years, to restrict tobacco advertising and sponsorship, put tougher health warnings on cigarettes, raise tobacco prices and taxes, curb secondhand smoke, prohibit cigarette sales to minors and clamp down on smuggling of cigarettes.

Beijing's Smoking Pollution To Remain Cloudy

webmaster — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:40:48 +0000

The Province - 15th April 2008 Vancouver isn't the only place where banning smoking in bars and restaurants results in a fog of complaints. It is a difficult challenge, even in Communist-run China. And Chinese officials appear to have have softened a plan to restrict smoking in Beijing restaurants, bars and internet cafes during the Olympics, citing concerns from business owners. According to China Daily, separate smoking rooms will be required instead of the ban, starting May 1. "It is difficult for us to control smoking in restaurants. It's just part of the culture," puffed Zhang Peili, an official with the municipal government's legislative affairs office. ""Originally, we wanted restaurants to keep 70 per cent of their areas smoke-free, but owners of Chinese restaurants - both big and small - worried the plan would hurt their business." The city had previously promised "a smoke-free Olympics." The rule change means only government offices, schools, museums, hospitals and sports venues will be designated as totally smoke-free areas. Major cities including Shanghai, Guangzhou and Qingdao are also mulling amending laws on public smoking as part of a nationwide campaign in the run-up to the Olympics. In Hong Kong, which banned smoking in restaurants on Jan. 1., 40 per cent of restaurants reported their business was down as a result. Beijing banned smoking in taxis in October and launched a drive targeting businesses and residents last year. Smoking is banned in cinemas, gymnasiums and other enclosed public places in Beijing although the rules are not strictly enforced. The new regulations extend smoking bans to sport venues and fitness centers, but allow smoking away from "service areas" at restaurants, bars, clubs and parks. Hotels would be required to provide non-smoking rooms. The Chinese are among the world's most enthusiastic smokers, with a market of about 350 million.

Philip Morris International Commences New Plans to Spread Death and Disease

admin — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:52:41 +0000

by Robert Weissman - April 15th, 2008 Philip Morris International today starts business as an independent company, no longer affiliated with Philip Morris USA or the parent company, Altria. Philip Morris USA will sell Marlboro and other cigarettes in the United States. Philip Morris International will trample over the rest of the world. Public health advocates have worried and speculated over the past year about what this move may mean, but Philip Morris International has now removed all doubts. The world is about to meet a Philip Morris International that will be even more predatory in pushing its toxic products worldwide. The new Philip Morris International will be unconstrained by public opinion in the United States — the home country and largest market of the old, unified Philip Morris — and will no longer fear lawsuits in the United States. As a result, Thomas Russo of the investment fund Gardner Russo & Gardner tells Bloomberg, the company “won’t have to worry about getting pre-approval from the U.S. for things that are perfectly acceptable in foreign markets.” Russo’s firm owns 5.7 million shares of Altria and now Philip Morris International. A commentator for The Motley Fool investment advice service writes, “the Marlboro Man is finally free to roam the globe unfettered by the legal and marketing shackles of the U.S. domestic market.” In February, the World Health Organization issued a new report on the global tobacco epidemic. WHO estimates the Big Tobacco-fueled epidemic now kills more than 5 million people every year. Five million people. By 2030, WHO estimates 8 million will die a year from tobacco-related disease, 80 percent in the developing world. The WHO report emphasizes that known and proven public health policies can dramatically reduce smoking rates. These policies include indoor smoke-free policies; bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; heightened taxes; effective warnings; and cessation programs. These “strategies are within the reach of every country, rich or poor and, when combined as a package, offer us the best chance of reversing this growing epidemic,” says WHO Director-General Margaret Chan. Most countries have failed to adopt these policies, thanks in no small part to decades-long efforts by Philip Morris and the rest of Big Tobacco to deploy political power to block public health initiatives. Thanks to the momentum surrounding a global tobacco treaty, known as the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, adopted in 2005, this is starting to change. There’s a long way to go, but countries are increasingly adopting sound public health measures to combat Big Tobacco. Now Philip Morris International has signaled its initial plans to subvert these policies. The company has announced plans to inflict on the world an array of new products, packages and marketing efforts. These are designed to undermine smoke-free workplace rules, defeat tobacco taxes, segment markets with specially flavored products, offer flavored cigarettes sure to appeal to youth, and overcome marketing restrictions. The Chief Operating Officer of Philip Morris International, Andre Calantzopoulos, detailed in a March investor presentation two new products, Marlboro Wides, “a shorter cigarette with a wider diameter,”and Marlboro Intense, “a rich, flavorful, shorter cigarette.” Sounds innocent enough, as far as these things go. That’s only to the innocent mind. The Wall Street Journal reported on Philip Morris International’s underlying objective: “The idea behind Intense is to appeal to customers who, due to indoor smoking bans, want to dash outside for a quick nicotine hit but don’t always finish a full-size cigarette.” Workplace and indoor smoke-free rules protect people from second-hand smoke, but also make it harder for smokers to smoke. The inconvenience (and stigma of needing to leave the office or restaurant to smoke) helps smokers smoke less and, often, quit. Subverting smoke-free bans will damage an important tool to reduce smoking. Philip Morris International says it can adapt to high taxes. If applied per pack (or per cigarette), rather than as a percentage of price, high taxes more severely impact low-priced brands (and can help shift smokers to premium brands like Marlboro). But taxes based on price hurt Philip Morris International. Philip Morris International’s response? “Other Tobacco Products,” which Calantzopoulos describes as “tax-driven substitutes for low-price cigarettes.” These include, says Calantzopoulos, “the ‘tobacco block,’which I would describe as the perfect make-your-own cigarette device.” In Germany, roll-your-own cigarettes are taxed far less than manufactured cigarettes, and Philip Morris International’s “tobacco block” is rapidly gaining market share. One of the great industry deceptions over the last several decades is selling cigarettes called “lights” (as in Marlboro Lights), “low”or “mild” — all designed to deceive smokers into thinking they are safer. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control says these inherently misleading terms should be barred. Like other companies in this regard, Philip Morris has been moving to replace the names with color coding — aiming to convey the same ideas, without the now-controversial terms. Calantzopoulos says Philip Morris International will work to more clearly differentiate Marlboro Gold (lights) from Marlboro Red (traditional) to “increase their appeal to consumer groups and segments that Marlboro has not traditionally addressed.” Another, related initiative is Marlboro Filter Plus, which claims to reduce tar levels. First launched in Korea, in 2006, Calantzopoulos says it has recorded “an impressive 22 percent share” among what the company designates as “Young Adult Smokers.” Philip Morris International also is unrolling a range of new Marlboro products with obvious attraction for youth. These include Marlboro Ice Mint, Marlboro Crisp Mint and Marlboro Fresh Mint, introduced into Japan and Hong Kong last year. It is exporting clove products from Indonesia. Responding to increasing advertising restrictions and large, pictorial warnings required on packs, Marlboro is focusing increased attention on packaging. Fancy slide packs make the package more of a marketing device than ever before, and may be able to obscure warning labels. Most worrisome of all may be the company’s forays into China, the biggest cigarette market in the world, which has largely been closed to foreign multinationals. Philip Morris International has hooked up with the China National Tobacco Company, which controls sales in China. Philip Morris International will sell Chinese brands in Europe. Much more importantly, licensed versions of Marlboro are expected to be available in China starting this summer. The Chinese aren’t letting Philip Morris International in quickly — Calantzopoulos says “we do not foresee a material impact on our volume and profitability in the near future.” But, he adds, “we believe this long-term strategic cooperation will prove to be mutually beneficial and form the foundation for strong long-term growth.” What does long-term growth mean? In part, it means gaining market share among China’s 350 million smokers. But it also means expanding the market, by selling to girls and women. About 60 percent of men in China smoke; only 2 or 3 percent of women do so. The global vilification of Big Tobacco over the last decade and a half is one of the world’s great public health stories. Directly connected to that vilification has been a reduction in smoking, and adoption of life-saving policies that will avert millions of deaths. Yet here comes Philip Morris International, now the world’s largest nongovernmental tobacco company. It is permitted to break off from Altria with no regulatory restraint. It proceeds to announce plans to subvert the public health policies that offer the best hope for reducing the toll of tobacco-related death and disease. The markets applaud, governments are mute. What an extraordinary commentary on the political and ideological potency of the multinational corporation — and the idea that corporations should presumptively be free to do what they want, with only the most minimal of restraints.

Robert Weissman is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Multinational Monitor, and director of Essential Action. Copyright © 2007 Robert Weissman Read other articles by Robert, or visit Robert's website.

Cigarette Companies Have Infiltrated Administration

webmaster — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:49:09 +0000

Experts say cigarette companies have infiltrated administration Mary Ann Benitez - SCMP - Updated on Apr 18, 2008 Senior government officials are being chummy with tobacco industry insiders who have infiltrated the administration, even using the industry's stock phrases to rationalise why Hong Kong has not increased tobacco duties, international experts said yesterday. David Simpson, former director of Action on Smoking and Health UK who recommended the setting up of the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health, said his main concern for Hong Kong was "that tobacco industry people have taken positions in influential places where in my view they should not be permitted to be". He pointed to government officials using the phrase "people who choose to smoke". "For example, we heard that at quite senior level in a private conversation, a senior government official was saying it is difficult to ask taxpayers to foot the bill when people choose to smoke," Dr Simpson, director of the International Agency on Tobacco and Health, said. "Why should taxpayers have to pay for the cost of enticing them to quit?" he said, adding: "There is only one source of the phrase `choose to smoke'." The hard-hitting statements were made at a press briefing yesterday on the eve of today's seminar on priority issues on tobacco control. Secretary for Food and Health York Chow Yat-ngok will give the keynote address. Dr Simpson said the phrase being used by senior officials raises "a red flag of warning to me that government has somehow been infiltrated by the tobacco industry". The phrase was "straight tobacco propaganda". "And immediately when I heard this phrase, it's like when you meet a gangster, you can tell he is a gangster because of the bulge of the gun in his pocket. This is the verbal equivalent. Those people have been spending too much time with tobacco industry people," he said. Hana Ross, strategic director of the American Cancer Society's international tobacco surveillance programme, called on Hong Kong to raise tobacco duties because it had been shown in many countries that taxes were the most effective tobacco control measure. The last time tobacco duties rose in Hong Kong was in 2001. "Taxes are the most effective tobacco control measure that can be used," Dr Ross said. Affordability of tobacco products improved in Hong Kong in 2005, almost to the same level as in 1997, she said, adding that she expected the affordability of the products would now be even higher than in 1997. Comparing cigarette prices in the region last year, Hong Kong is behind Singapore, Canada and Australia. But if one looked at the prices of tobacco adjusted for local purchasing power, Hong Kong was almost at the same level as Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. "Cigarettes here are really becoming very affordable," Dr Ross said. Since 2000, the prevalence of smoking had levelled off. "If taxes are not increased, we will not see as much decrease in smoking prevalence in Hong Kong," Dr Ross said. By increasing taxes on tobacco products by 20 per cent, the number of smokers could be cut by 21,000, and 5,250 smoking-related deaths could be prevented, she said. Anthony Hedley, chair professor of community medicine at the University of Hong Kong's school of public health, said: "We need to raise the red flag. Hong Kong is in serious danger of stalling in the process [of tobacco control], of losing its place regionally or globally, and indeed, in relative terms, of going backwards." Judith Mackay, director of the Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control in Hong Kong, said that since 2000, the tobacco industry had put on a "charm offensive" and this had led to what she called "a recession" in tobacco control. She said this might be because Hong Kong had to battle an economic crisis, had been distracted by Sars and bird flu, or that the tobacco industry had become more influential in government.

Should The Tax On Tobacco Be Increased?

webmaster — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:00:03 +0000

Updated on Apr 22, 2008 - SCMP When you are out in the streets of Hong Kong, you will see a lot of smokers. I think the problem related to smoking outdoors has been made worse now that smoking is banned in many venues. This means that when there are a lot of smokers outside in any one place, it is difficult for non-smokers like me to enjoy fresh air. I am also concerned, from a health point of view, about the effect this can have on non-smokers. Therefore, in order to decrease the prevalence of smoking in Hong Kong, the government should raise the tax on tobacco. Not only can it prevent smoking-related diseases, but it will also discourage new smokers, especially youngsters, from lighting up. However, this may not be completely effective. As people's living standards improve, the cost of buying cigarettes will not be that great a drain on people's resources. Therefore, I would suggest that the Hong Kong government follow the policy launched in Japan, where people are not allowed to smoke in the streets and residential areas. They would only be allowed to smoke in designated areas. I think this would be the most effective way of dealing with the smoking problem in Hong Kong. Liu Ming-ming, Sham Shui Po

Should Tobacco Tax Be Increased

webmaster — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:57:03 +0000

TALKBACK - Should tobacco tax be increased ? The so called ' smoking ban ' has been a dismal failure. The Government has allowed a smoking exemption to any licensed bar applying for one and even restaurants if they state that they earn more from alcoholic drinks' sales than food sales. It is business as usual for the tobacco companies. The University of Hong Kong handles just one quitline capable of a maximum of 400 callers. In Hong Kong there are currently almost 16,000 replacement smokers in the 15-19 age group. This is a sham. More than 1,324 people die a year in Hong Kong from passive smoking. In 2006 pre smoking ban, there were 3331.74 million duty paid cigarettes sold in Hong Kong; in 2007 after the smoking ban 3495.73 million duty paid cigarettes were sold here. The Government reaped 2.834 billion in tobacco tax in 2007 but plied next to nothing into smoking prevention, multi lingual Quitlines and therapy. The Financial Secretary, despite repeated requests from expert sources, failed in his Budget to increase the tobacco tax which is proven worldwide to be the most effective measure in reducing smoking especially amongst youth. On the contrary, in UK which has had a comprehensive smoking ban without exemptions since July last year , tax of $62 a packet and available and ready services to those who want to quit, there has been a 4% decrease in tobacco use in just 8 months. James Middleton Clear The Air www.cleartheair.org.hk

A Stricter And Wider Ban On Smoking In Public Places

webmaster — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:03:05 +0000

An Inconvenient Truth Beijing Review - April 23, 2008 - Li Li Only a stricter and wider ban on smoking in public places will rid China of the health burdens caused by tobacco On the eve of the national publicity week for tumor prevention and control starting on April 14, Wu Yilong, Deputy Principal of Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, revealed an inconvenient truth to the media: children and adolescents are increasingly becoming the victims of smoking induced cancers. Wu told Guangzhou Daily that his hospital received three young lung cancer patients of around 20 in 2007, all diagnosed with senior stage cancer. Each of them was a non-smoker, but had been subject to an environment of frequent passive smoking. "Studies exhibit that it usually takes 15 years of being exposed to the pollution of smoke to developing cancer," Wu was quoted as saying. He said children were particularly sensitive to the cancer-causing agents in cigarette smoke as their bodies are still growing. Beijing issued new rules in March to expand smoking restrictions from schools, sports arenas and movie theaters to bars, Internet cafes, hotels, offices, holiday resorts and all indoor areas of medical facilities from May 1. Besides being a move to meet China's pledge of a smoke-free Olympics, this new measure will hopefully reduce the kind of tragedies Wu has seen. Secondhand smoke China has 350 million smokers, the largest national smoker population in the world. Meanwhile, 540 million Chinese are victims of secondhand smoke, of who 180 million are children under 15 years of age, according to the annual tobacco control report of the Ministry of Health for 2007. Professor Li Yan of the Tumor Surgery Department of Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University said during an interview in April that tobacco smoke out of smokers' mouth with moisture was like an aerosol, more penetrating than smoke from lit tobacco. As an aerosol it attacks all the respiratory organs, including windpipes, bronchi and lung air sacs. Children's lungs have weaker mucous membrane, which makes them more vulnerable to poisoning from secondhand smoke. According to figures on the occurrence of cancer in 2006 released by the Ministry of Health recently, lung cancer was the most deadly cancer for both Chinese men and women. Zhou Huaqing, Principal of Tianjin Medical University General Hospital and a renowned lung cancer expert, said it is common knowledge within the international medical community that smoking is the most important cause of lung cancer and over 80 percent of lung cancer cases are related to smoking or passive smoking. He said of the more than 5,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, over 50 are cancer-causing agents, which could do more harm to passive smokers than to smokers themselves. He said the intensity of some cancer-causing agents in the smoke in the air from a lit cigarette is higher than that of smoke inhaled by smokers, such as nitrosamines. The report also revealed that according to the national prevalence surveys on smoking from 1984, 1996 and 2002, although the numbers of smokers among the population was declining, there was no progress in passive smoking. Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention released a survey on smoking in 2007, which indicated that one of every three middle school students was an active or passive smoker at school and over half of middle school students were active or passive smokers at home. Starting young A survey by Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention last year was conducted on 1,302 students, including 731 males and 571 females, with 949 of the students less than 18 years old. The researchers found that 21.1 percent of the respondents had tried smoking, 24 percent among male respondents and 6.3 percent among female respondents, and 6 percent has bought cigarettes in the last month. Among those who had started smoking, 24 percent had tried smoking before the age of seven. Statistics from the Ministry of Health indicate that Chinese smokers are starting younger. Compared with 1984, the average first cigarette age of Chinese smokers in 2002 had dropped by four to five years, to 18 for males and 20 for females. The national prevalence surveys on smoking of 1984, 1996 and 2002 showed that the population of adolescent smokers had expanded to at least 50 million. Yan Jie, an expert on children's tumors at Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, told Tianjin Daily in a report in April that children became smokers mainly due to their surrounding environment. Yan said children have stronger curiosity toward new things than adults and like imitating what adults do. Therefore, children often smoke at first by imitating adult smokers around them and smokers on television; they smoke for fun and the rebellious air in the beginning and gradually get addicted and become serious smokers. China signed the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in November 2003 and approved it in August 2005. The FCTC officially came into force on January 9, 2006. According to Article 8 of the FCTC, member states are required to adopt and implement legislative measures to protect people from exposure to tobacco smoke. This includes indoor workplaces, public transport, and, as appropriate, other public places. Beijing's smoking ban in most public places starting from May 1 is a step forward in implementing the convention clause. The theme for World No Tobacco Day on May 31 this year is ‘tobacco-free youth.' The Ministry of Health announced on April 8 that kindergartens, primary and middle schools nationwide should become totally tobacco free. Smoking fallacies The tobacco control report of the Ministry of Health for 2007 said although public knowledge on the harm caused by smoking has been steadily rising in China in recent years--with the knowledge rate rising from 24 percent in 1996 to 35 percent in 2002--much of the public still holds fallacies about smoking. After the Tianjin Daily published an article titled Smokers Are 10 Times More Likely to Have Lung Cancer Than Non-smokers on March 31, the newspaper received calls from suspicious readers, questioning why some chain-smokers never get lung cancer while some non-smokers die from lung cancer, and why people get cancer immediately after quitting smoking. The newspaper dismissed the misunderstandings by publishing another article two weeks later, saying that the only way to reduce the possibility of getting lung cancer is to quit smoking, the earlier the better. Beijing has led the country in opening clinics in hospitals to help people quit. In 1996, the city had 22 smoking cessation clinics affiliated to hospitals, most of which closed in less than a year due to nominal visits. Only three remained by April 2007. Chaoyang Hospital was the first hospital in China to have a smoking cessation clinic. Xiao Dan, a doctor in the clinic, said in an interview with Beijing Evening News in 2007 that the general atmosphere on tobacco control in the beginning was so bad that they received less than 1,000 people altogether in the first few years. Things turned around after her clinic received an interview with China Central Television, which was broadcast nationwide in September 2006. Three new clinics in Beijing were officially launched on World No Tobacco Day in 2007, which were regarded by the local government as a measure to meet China's pledge of a smoke-free Olympics. The three clinics, two opening half a day a week and one opening one day a week, held consultations with 1,000 people in their first three months of operation, according to Beijing Municipal Health Bureau. Liu Xiurong, an official at the Beijing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention supervising the three new clinics, said Beijing Municipal Health Bureau had provided free training for doctors at the clinics on the methods and medication for smoking cessation that have been proved useful and safe in other countries. She said the doctors usually spend at least 40 minutes on one therapy session with patients and one treatment lasts two to three months. The medicine and nicotine patch used cost about 600 yuan ($85.7). "We will definitely embrace a boom with the implementation of a smoking ban in public places in May. So many people will be looking to quit smoking or at least to find ways to reduce their consumption," Liu told Beijing Review.

Should The Tax On Tobacco Be Increased?

webmaster — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 07:00:56 +0000

Updated on Apr 23, 2008 - SCMP Hong Kong has forbidden smoking in public areas since last year. This policy has had some success, in that people can breathe cleaner air. Now there are calls for increasing the tax on tobacco. I think such a proposal has advantages and disadvantages. On a positive note, raising the tobacco tax would lead to more people quitting smoking because they are not prepared to buy expensive cigarettes. This would lead to more smokers escaping from the addiction, which is the aim of those calling for a higher tax. However, on the down side, we could see an increase in cigarettes being sold on the black market, rather than legally in shops. Also, the tobacco sold illegally may be of questionable quality because it is not subject to the strict tests undertaken by cigarette companies. Therefore, it could put smokers at even greater risk than brand cigarettes sold over the counter. I think the government should think very carefully before deciding whether or not to increase the tobacco tax. Sandy Cheung, Sau Mau Ping

Top Judges Call For Total Smoking Ban

webmaster — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 01:11:21 +0000

Cyprus: Top judges call for total smoking ban The existing smoking ban law is not being enforced and what Cyprus really needs is a total ban on smoking. These are not the conclusions of health experts or politicians, but of two Supreme Court judges who have had enough of the shortcomings of anti-smoking legislation. The law which prescribes measures for the restriction of public smoking was passed by the House of Representatives in June 2002. It outlines that nobody can smoke in an area where smoking is banned, except in a designated area which has been specifically regulated to accommodate smokers. Furthermore, employers can only allow smoking in designated areas and employees must ask for written permission to smoke in these. Penalties for non-compliance are a fine of up to £1,000 (approximately €1,710), and/or a six-month jail sentence. The judges note that the House of Representatives has failed to adequately define in which areas smoking should be banned and how big these areas should be. The judges also note that it is paradoxical that police who are present in closed sports centres to prevent violence between fans, do not take any action to stop people who are breaking the law by smoking. According to the judges passive smoking is a major worry and the only solution is a total ban on smoking in public places. They do not think that this would be impossible, since countries whose populations were considered fervent smokers such as Italy, Scotland and France have enforced it. Source: Cyprus Mail, April 2008

Support A Higher Tobacco Tax

webmaster — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:02:21 +0000

Apr 26, 2008 - SCMP I, along with 70 per cent of the population of Hong Kong, am a non-smoker and I support a higher tobacco tax. Given the threat to health posed by tobacco, anything that can lead to fewer people smoking is an improvement. I think a higher tobacco tax could achieve this aim. Young smokers, with only a limited amount of pocket money, would probably smoke less and some might even decide to kick the habit. Tobacco can also exacerbate the environmental problems in Hong Kong, with so many people smoking outside. The benefits of increasing the tax on tobacco outweigh the disadvantages and the tax should be increased as soon as possible as all Hongkongers will benefit. Tiffany Ho Sin-yu, Lam Tin

AMA Push For Tobacco Licence Scheme

webmaster — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:19:22 +0000

The Age - Marc Moncrief - April 28, 2008 MILK bars, supermarkets and petrol stations are among business that would be subject to a new licence under a plan to harvest more than $20 million for the state from the sale of tobacco. The Australian Medical Association, in its submission to the state budget, suggests the sale of tobacco should be licensed by the state. It suggests a licensing fee of $1000, to be increased by $250 a year. "Vendors which currently sell small amounts of tobacco would baulk at the cost of a licence to sell tobacco, and would remove themselves from the market," the submission says. "Small-volume tobacco vendors often are the only choices available after hours, at convenience stores and service stations. Some of these vendors would prefer to forgo the limited sales they have from tobacco than pay a licence fee." Australian Retailers Association executive director Richard Evans said that the initiative might be well intentioned but probably would not work. Mr Evans said it was likely that cigarette companies would pay licence fees and help retailers with compliance as part of supply arrangements.

Call To Increase Tobacco Tax

webmaster — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:28:31 +0000

Jessica Irvine and Yuko Narushima - The Sydney Morning Herald - April 28, 2008 THE Rudd Government's chief adviser on preventive health has called for an increase to the excise on tobacco of 2.5 cents a cigarette, which could raise $400 million a year on top of the $500 million to be raised from the increased excise on "alcopops". Rob Moodie, who chairs the National Preventative Health Taskforce, said the increased excise on ready-mixed spirits - imposed at the weekend to fight teenage binge drinking - was "terrific" and should be extended to cigarettes. "Using taxation or pricing as a lever for reducing harmful consumption is a really good idea," Dr Moodie told the Herald. He said Australians were very sensitive to price rises, and increasing the excise by 2.5 cents a cigarette would reduce consumption by about 3 per cent. "There is certainly room to move [and] this issue will certainly come up in the taskforce," Dr Moodie said. The Government has raised the excise on drinks such as Bacardi Breezers and Vodka Cruisers from $39 per litre of pure alcohol to $67, adding as much as $1.30 to a bottle. The excise was expected to raise $2 billion over four years, or $500 million a year, a "significant proportion" of which would be channelled into preventive health programs, a Government spokesman said. It comes as a National Household Drug Survey reveals that risky drinking has risen among girls and young women. The survey found that girls aged 14 to 19 were more likely than boys their age to drink at risky levels. It found 10 per cent of teenage girls had 15 or more drinks in a week, and 4 per cent were at high risk of doing long-term harm by consuming 29 drinks or more. This compared with 7 per cent of teenage boys drinking at dangerous levels. Less than 3 per cent of boys consumed high-risk quantities of alcohol - for them, 43 drinks or more in a week. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 60 per cent of female drinkers aged between 15 and 17 consume pre-mixed drinks, compared with 14 per cent in 2000. "This is an explosion that we think needs to be tackled," the Minister for Health, Nicola Roxon, told Channel Nine yesterday. "We have a problem that must be turned around and this is the place where we're starting." She blamed the Howard government for fuelling binge drinking when it cut the excise in 2000, with the introduction of the GST. The Opposition Leader, Brendan Nelson, called this an "outrageous slur" but supported the tax rise as long as some of the money was spent on public hospitals and drug treatment. Paul Dillon, from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, said it might not work. "One of the common misperceptions is that young people see pre-mixed drinks as cheap, whereas if you speak to any teenager they'll tell you it's actually an expensive option. "So price will be a barrier for moderate drinkers, but problem drinkers will just move to the cheaper alternative, which is commonly spirits." Health groups welcomed the increase but urged the Government to go further. The chief executive of the Australian Drug Foundation, John Rogerson, wants a uniform tax on all drinks, based on the amount of pure alcohol they contain. "This is a big step in the right direction but there's some way to go," he said The Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation wants a full review of alcohol taxation and is calling for a volumetric tax across all alcohol products. "We believe this is the fairest system, and one which will ensure binge drinking challenges are comprehensively addressed," said the foundation's chief executive, Daryl Smeaton. The latest available figures show alcohol cost the Australian economy $15.3 billion in 2004-05 through lost productivity, crime, violence, treatment and premature death. A spokesman for Ms Roxon said there were no plans to extend the tax rise to other alcoholic drinks or cigarettes but the Government would listen to its taskforce's recommendations, which are due in full by June.

Ban Smoking In Cars When Kids Are Present

webmaster — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:39:47 +0000

Legislation aims to ban smoking in cars when kids are present Lindsay Kines - Canwest News Service - Monday, April 28, 2008 VICTORIA - Following through on a throne speech promise, B.C. Solicitor General John van Dongen introduced legislation Monday that bans smoking in cars when children are present. The changes to the Motor Vehicle Act give police the power to ticket anyone caught smoking in a vehicle with a passenger under 16 years of age. If people fail to pay their fines they won't be able to get a driver's or vehicle license. The fines have yet to be determined. "More than 4,000 chemicals can be found in secondhand smoke, including carbon monoxide, nickel, formaldehyde and arsenic," van Dongen told the legislature. "Secondhand smoke has also been measured to be significantly more toxic in the enclosed space of a vehicle than in a home. "Although secondhand smoke is dangerous to anyone, it is particularly hazardous to children who are at greater risk due to their smaller lungs and the fact that their bodies are still developing." Nova Scotia, Prince Edward island and the Yukon have introduced similar legislation, as have the U.S. states of Arkansas, California, Louisiana and Maine.

More Government Action To Curb Smoking

webmaster — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:31:54 +0000

Public Demand More Government Action To Curb Smoking, UK 29 Apr 2008 - Medical News Today The government will launch a public consultation next month on its plans to tighten legislation on the sale of tobacco - but new research reveals that people, including smokers, are already demanding more action. A poll carried out for ASH revealed that: - 76% of GB adults support a ban on smoking in cars carrying children under the age of 18, - 85% of adults in England and Wales want retailers who are convicted of selling tobacco illegally to children to be banned from selling tobacco products, and - 88% of adults in Scotland agree that businesses found to have sold or supplied tobacco to under-18s more than once should have their right to sell tobacco suspended. Results of the research will be presented at a tobacco control conference attended by health professionals in Cardiff today. Deborah Arnott, Director of ASH said: "It's what people want; health campaigners need to work hard to keep up with the demand for further reform." Smoking remains the biggest cause of preventable deaths in the UK - five times greater than traffic accidents, poisoning, over-dose, alcoholic liver disease, HIV, accidental death, murder and manslaughter combined [2] The government is considering action on the display of tobacco products in shops, requiring retailers to sell them from under the counter, and a possible ban on cigarette vending machines. The ASH research shows a majority of people are in favour of these policies but for the following measures more than three out of four want more action: - Easier access to quitting medications, such as nicotine gum and patches (82%); - Licences for tobacco vendors, which should be removed if they are caught selling to underage smokers; (87%) - A crackdown on tobacco smuggling (75%). Report author Martin Dockrell said: "The law on smokefree public places has been very popular. Our research shows that almost two out of three (63%) people strongly support it compared to only one in 12 who are strongly opposed. People understand that it is not about smokers: 76% say smokefree legislation has been good for their health and overall people support a wide range of further tobacco control measures."

Smoking Ban Behind Attempts To Quit

webmaster — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:42:28 +0000

The Press Association More than 40% of smokers in England tried to kick the habit in the year it was banned in enclosed public places, it was revealed. The matter is being discussed at a conference in Cardiff organised by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Wales. Professor Robert West, Cancer Research UK's director of tobacco studies, will tell delegates the biggest motivator for smokers wanting to give up is New Year's Eve, when 10% decided to quit. Eight per cent of smokers and ex-smokers surveyed said they attempted to quit due to the ban on smoking in public places being introduced in England last July. Professor West, co-director of Cancer Research UK's Health Behaviour Research Centre at University College London, said 43% of the 27,000 smokers and ex-smokers in England surveyed from November 2006 to January 2008 had tried to quit. He said: "It can take many attempts to stop smoking for good, but the more times you try, the more likely you are to succeed in the end. I think the best chance of success comes from getting advice and assistance from the specialist NHS Stop Smoking Service. It provides friendly advice and assistance and is based on sound evidence of effectiveness." The survey showed that half of those who tried quitting used products like nicotine gum, patches or lozenges. Research suggests smokers are four times more likely to quit successfully with NHS support and nicotine patches and gum, Cancer Research UK said. Legislation banning smoking in enclosed spaces was introduced in England on July 1 2007. Elspeth Lee, Cancer Research UK's head of tobacco control, said: "It's good news that the smoke-free legislation, as well as protecting people from second-hand smoke, encouraged some smokers to quit. But with about 10 million smokers in the UK, half of whom will die from a smoking related disease, we cannot be complacent. "We need the Government's continued commitment to reducing smoking rates and stopping future generations from starting to smoke."

Swedish Anti-Nicotine Vaccine

webmaster — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:46:09 +0000

Swedish anti-nicotine vaccine to be tested in Nordic countries STOCKHOLM (AFP) — An anti-nicotine vaccine will be tested on 400 people in the Nordic countries over the next year aimed at helping smokers kick the habit, the Karolinska Institute in Sweden said on Monday. "A Swedish vaccine against nicotine will be tested on 400 people in three Nordic countries," the institute said in a statement. Lena Wikingsson, head of Independent Pharmaceutica, which is running the experiment, told Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet that people taking part in the study -- heavy smokers who would like to quit -- would be given counselling before they stop smoking and would be given a drug to help them quit. They will then receive one injection a month for four months. Half of the participants will be given the vaccine and the other half a placebo. They will be followed for a year to see whether they begin to smoke again, Wikingsson said. The vaccine, called Niccine, has been developed over the course of 10 years by Swedish researchers at the Karolinska Institute, under the guidance of professor Torgny Svensson who founded Independent Pharmaceutica. Niccine is supposed to help the immune system build antibodies against nicotine. If a person who has taken the vaccine smokes a cigarette, the antibodies jump into action, latching onto the incoming nicotine and preventing it from reaching the reward system in the brain -- thereby stopping the smoker from getting the "kick" that makes smoking addictive. One problem in developing nicotine vaccines is that the immune system doesn't react to normal nicotine. In order to activate the immune system, the nicotine in the vaccine needs to be latched onto a "carrier" or "host" that stimulates the immune system to create as many antibodies as possible. For the vaccine to be successful, a large number of antibodies must be created, and the carrier component is therefore the key part of Niccine, Wikingsson said. "There are several possible applications if the vaccine proves to be effective," Wikingsson told Svenska Dagbladet.

Secondhand Smoke Blocks Artery Repair

webmaster — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:04:42 +0000

By Ed Edelson - HealthDay Reporter - Washington Post - Tuesday, April 29, 2008; 12:00 AM TUESDAY, April 29 (HealthDay News) -- Secondhand smoke not only damages the delicate cells that line blood vessels but also disrupts the body's natural repair mechanism for those cells, a new study shows. The research was done because there still are skeptics who doubt the health value of public smoking bans, said study co-author Stanton A. Glantz, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education. "There still are some people out there saying these effects [from smoking bans], seen in terms of reduced heart attacks and an immediate drop in heart attacks, are just not feasible," Glantz said. The findings were expected to be published in the May 6 issue of theJournal of the American College of Cardiology. The new study tested the arterial effects of 30 minutes exposure to secondhand smoke on 10 young adult nonsmokers. The concentration of ambient smoke used was "about the level you would get in a bar," Glantz said. The researchers did a number of detailed tests to measure the impact of that exposure on the endothelial cells that line blood vessels. These cells line the entire circulatory system and serve as a kind of interface between circulating blood and the interior of the vessel wall. That endothelial cells are damaged by secondhand smoke was already known, Glantz said. However, "Everybody asks how long that effect persists, but nobody had studied that question," he said. The answer, according to the study, is that "most of the effects persist for at least a day," Glantz said. "We only did 24 hours, because we thought they would be gone after 24 hours. They weren't." There was also a clear negative effect on endothelial progenitor cells, which are produced in the bone marrow and circulate through the body. The progenitor cells' job is to seek out and repair endothelial damage. Secondhand smoke exposure interfered with chemical signals that bring these progenitor cells to the sites of damage, Glantz said. "It wiped out the chemotaxis [direction signaling] for at least a day," he said. "We don't know how long the effect persists." It's a "fascinating" study, said Dr. Norman H. Edelman, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association. "We already know that exposure to secondhand smoke can cause endothelial changes," Edelman said. "The beginning of arterial disease is endothelial damage. What this study shows is that the cells that are essential in the repair of the endothelium are also affected by secondhand smoke." The study comes as Atlantic City becomes the latest American community to ban smoking in public places, Edelman noted. "The good news is that a little more than half of the country is now smoke-free," Glantz said. "The bad news is that a little more than half of the country is not smoke-free."

Secondhand Smoke Causes Cell Damage in 30 Minutes

webmaster — Thu, 01 May 2008 17:57:52 +0000

UC SAN FRANCISCO Corinna Kaarlela, News Director Source: Kirsten Michener, (415) 476-2557 E-mail: Kirsten.Michener@ucsf.edu Web: www.ucsf.edu FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 2, 2008 BRIEF SECONDHAND SMOKE EXPOSURE CAN CAUSE BLOOD VESSEL AND STEM CELL DAMAGE IN 30 MINUTES Exposure to secondhand smoke even for a brief period is injurious to health, a new study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco has found. According to the study, a 30-minute exposure to the level of secondhand smoke that one might normally inhale in an average bar setting was enough to result in blood vessel injury in young and otherwise healthy lifelong nonsmokers. Compounding the injury to the blood vessels themselves, the exposure to smoke impedes the function of the body’s natural repair mechanisms that are activated in the face of the blood vessels’ injury, the researchers report. Many of these effects persisted 24 hours later. Study findings are reported in the online edition of the “Journal of the American College of Cardiology,” and will appear in the Journal’s May 6 print issue. The results showed that brief exposure to real-world levels of passive smoke have strong and persistent consequences on the body’s vascular system, the researchers conclude. For the study, subjects were exposed to carefully controlled levels of secondhand smoke in a research setting. The smoke was equivalent to being in a bar where smoking is allowed--as it still is for 51 percent of the US population and in other countries, such as Germany--for 30 minutes. As a control, the same subjects were exposed to clean air on a different day. In both settings, the researchers evaluated the subjects’ blood vessel health through ultrasound to measure blood flow and analysis of blood samples. In the exposure environment, this was done before exposure to establish baseline measures, immediately after exposure, and then 1 hour, 2.5 hours, and 24 hours after exposure. The study involved 10 young adult subjects between the ages of 29 and 31. The study is the first of its kind to link injury to blood vessels with the decreased efficacy of the body’s own repair mechanism, namely the endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). EPCs are circulating stem cells in the blood that play a key role in the repair mechanism of injured blood vessels. The researchers examined three effects of secondhand smoke exposure:

the effect of smoke on the mechanical function of blood vessels
whether they could detect particles in the blood that are known to be increased in the blood due to blood vessel injury
whether there was any effect on the stem cells (EPCs) that comprise the body’s blood vessel repair mechanisms

“We wanted to study whether even a brief 30 minutes of exposure to second hand smoke in otherwise healthy subjects would result in blood vessel injury and how the body’s own repair mechanisms—the EPCs—would be affected by such an exposure,” says Yerem Yeghiazarians, MD, director of the Translational Cardiac Stem Cell Program at UCSF. The secondhand smoke’s effect on all measures was profound, he says. “Even brief secondhand smoke exposure not only resulted in blood vessel injury, but it also interfered with the body’s ability to repair itself by making the EPCs dysfunctional. It is quite amazing that only 30 minutes of exposure could cause such demonstrable effects.” The study also showed that the deleterious effects of the exposure remain in the body for at least 24 hours, much longer than previously thought. Study results showed that smoke exposure made EPCs less functional. “So it’s a double hit: not only does a person develop blood vessel injury, but the cells that are supposed to help repair this damage are themselves also dysfunctional, compounding the injury,” he says. The public health implications of the study findings are significant, according to Yeghiazarians. “Our study helps explain why there is about a 20 percent drop in hospital admissions for heart attacks when cities and states pass laws mandating smokefree workplaces, restaurants and bars.” The study suggests that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, he says. The study was supported by awards from the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute, the American Heart Association, the Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation, and the UCSF Cardiac Stem Cell Foundation. In addition to Yeghiazarians, other lead investigators on the study are Christian Heiss, MD, and Nicolas Amabile, MD, who contributed to the work as fellows in the Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, at UCSF. Other investigators in the study are Andrew C. Lee, MD; Wendy May Real, BS; Suzaynn F. Schick, PhD; David Lao, MD; Maelene L. Wong, BS; Sarah Jahn, MB; Franca S. Angeli, MD; Petros Minasi, BA; Matthew L. Springer, PhD; Stanton Glantz, PhD, FACC; William Grossman, MD, FACC; and John Balmes, MD, FACC; all of the Department of Medicine at UCSF. S. Katharine Hammond, PhD, of the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, UC Berkeley, also contributed to the study. UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. For more information on UCSF, visit www.ucsf.edu .

Judith Mackay on China Smoking Ban

webmaster — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:16:35 +0000

China Smoking Ban CNN Interview with Judith Mackay

Bills Committee on Fixed Penalty (Smoking Offences) Bill

webmaster — Sat, 03 May 2008 02:29:19 +0000

The following was submitted to LegCo Bills Committee on the 3rd May 2008

25 April 2008 Legislative Council Secretariat Legislative Council Hong Kong Dear Sirs Re: Bills Committee on Fixed Penalty (Smoking Offences) Bill We hereby submit our views on the above as follows:

We strongly support the proposals on fixed penalty and we urge the Legislative Council to adopt them as soon as possible, with no more delay. We understand there is strong support from the public.

Whereas such measures can facilitate better and more efficient enforcement of the law, and can send a strong message to those smokers who have been non-compliant, we emphasise that most of the smokers do comply.

The major loophole in the present law is that owners and management personnel of premises with prohibition of smoking by the law are not required by law to ensure that smoking is not allowed in their premises. This has created much difficulties for law enforcing agencies who can only prosecute the smokers who have violated the law, but not the management at all. We urge the Legislative Council and the Government to review this important loophole and to examine the relevant laws in many other countries, including the UK, which require the premise owners and management to ensure that smoking is prohibited in their premises and are liable to prosecution and penalty if they do not comply. We recommend the law be amended accordingly.

The introduction of prohibition of smoking in many public places since 1 January 2007 has not been accompanied by major quitting campaigns with expansion of smoking cessation support services. Hence, we have already missed one golden opportunity to cut down tobacco consumption and increase the quit rate.

The current emphasis on prohibition of smoking and law enforcement and penalty for noncompliance is not adequate to increase quitting, reduce smoking and the related health problems and economic costs to our community. There must be parallel, regular and intensive campaigns on quitting to motivate more smokers to quit smoking, and to encourage nonsmokers to support their smoking relatives and friends to quit. There must be easily and widely accessible and affordable smoking cessation support services, such as quitline, smoking cessation clinics, nicotine replacement therapy and other drugs for smoking cessation, to help as many smokers to quit as quickly as possible. All these measures have been shown to be the most cost effective interventions in improving health and saving health care costs.

This time, we must not miss another golden opportunity from the new measure of fixed penalty. There should always be two hands coming from the Government to the smokers: one hand to say no to smoking, and the other to say yes, we are ready to help you quit.

Heavy government subsidies are needed especially for many smokers who cannot afford the costs of such services or therapies. Such provision of free or low cost smoking cessation services have also been shown to be effective and cost effective in Hong Kong, and are acceptable to many smokers. Many health care professionals, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists and social workers have been trained by us at the University of Hong Kong in providing more specialised smoking cessation counselling. They need to be supported by giving them dedicated time and resources so that they can fully utilise their skills to benefit as many smokers as possible. Strong government support and adequate funding are needed for sustained publicity campaigns and smoking cessation services, and such will be good investment, not only in reducing health care costs both short and long term, and can reduce health inequality.

We are very disappointed the tobacco tax has not been raised for many years. The cheap price of cigarettes is a disincentive to quitting and an incentive to greater cigarette consumption and to smoking among young people and children. We urge the Government to introduce a tobacco levy to support the campaigns on and services for smoking cessation.

Yours sincerely ________________________ ________________________ Professor TH Lam Head Department of Community Medicine Professor Sophia Chan Head Head Department of Nursing Studies

Clear the Air Submission to Legco Bills Committee

webmaster — Sat, 03 May 2008 02:42:36 +0000

Clear the Air Submission to Legco Bills Committee 3rd May 2008

Dear Sir, Clear the Air considers the introduction of the Fixed Penalty system is a good move by the Administration. We also consider that prior to its commencement, Cap 371 should receive amendments:

Onus on licensees of restaurants , bars, mahjong centres, game centres, night clubs etc. In overseas locations where effective anti smoking laws are in place such as UK, the onus to prevent smoking taking place lies with the person in charge of the premises. We cannot see why this is not the case in Hong Kong. The licensees would then pay more attention to preventing their customers from smoking if they knew they would also receive a ticket. To save the hassle of having a separate FPN the law could mandate licensees receive 2 tickets for a first offence, three for a second offence etc and loss of licence to operate the premises on a 'three strikes and you are out' basis. Licensees have the legal obligation not to serve alcohol to intoxicated persons and we see no reason why they cannot be obliged to enforce non smoking in their premises also. Please see UK legislation at the addendum for your consideration.

Smoking in vehicles when other persons , children or animals are present. It is the intention of anti smoking legislation to protect innocent workers and parties from the toxic passive cancerous poisons. An enclosed vehicle has one hundred times more concentrated poisons (studies available) than a pub prior to the smoking ban. The law already bans smoking in public and Government transport and should be amended to protect both human and animal passengers in all motor vehicle cabs.http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/uksi_20070760_en_1

Tobacco tax. If far fewer people smoked it will be easier to enforce the Fixed Penalty system ; i.e. prevention rather than enforcement. The WHO and World Bank state clearly that the most effective way to prevent youth smoking is by tobacco tax increase to be at least 70% of the sales price. The HK$ 16 per 20 sticks excise tax has not been increased here since 1999 and after adjustment for inflation should be at least $25 - $ 30 per pack tax to have the required effect of preventing youth smoking and reducing adult smoking. University of HK studies show 50% of local male smokers aged 35-69 will die from tobacco related illnesses here with resultant costs on local medical facilities and loss of productivity . A HK Department of Community Medicine study shows the cost of smoking including loss of life to the community at 25 times the yearly excise tax and we consider the Ombudsman should task the Financial Secretary for not increasing the tobacco tax and reducing this phenomenal and totally preventable loss. Indeed the Legco Brief extract below says it all and we concur: " Economic Implications 32. With strengthened enforcement powers, the compliance rate with the statutory smoking ban should be higher. Public exposure to second hand smoke in statutory no smoking areas would also be reduced. Some smokers may choose to quit smoking and some may reduce their daily consumption of cigarettes or other tobacco products. This should contribute towards better health of the local population, with intangible benefits on productivity and also saving in medical costs which would otherwise be incurred by smoking-related diseases. Sustainability Implications 34. In line with the sustainability principle of pursing policies which promote and protect the physical health of the people of Hong Kong, the proposal may encourage more smokers to quit or reduce their consumption of tobacco products, thereby improving the health conditions of the general population of Hong Kong."

Overseas studies by experts at Stanford University have shown the inherent dangers of high levels of passive sidestream smoke emanating from smokers gathered around entrances to buildings. Legislation is required to prevent people gathering near building entrances. The fewer legal places they have to smoke, the more people are likely to quit for the betterment of Hong Kong's overall productivity and reduction in health care costs.http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2007/may9/smoking-050907.html http://www.tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/cgi/reprint/9/1/98.pdf http://www.repace.com/pdf/OTS_FACT_SHEET.pdf

Hong Kong's first year of the smoking ban. Clear the Air anticipated the Financial Secretary's inaction as regards tobacco tax in the 2008 budget and as can be seen below there is a list of penalties provided by the Customs Department Task Force 3 weeks before the budget speech. The Customs Department reply is clear. Too bad the Financial Secretary did not evidently consult them before making, LC Paper No. CB(2) 1759/07-08(04) or rather not making a decision to increase taxation on tobacco. Please ask him what expert evidence he obtained that smuggling will increase here if he increased tobacco tax. Smuggling can only occur with the direct complicity of the Tobacco companies and again damning proof in their own words can be found in the tobacco company Legacy documents online. Major punitive penalties can be levied on the source manufacturer of any such products as happened in the EU and which resulted in massive long term settlements by the tobacco companies with the EU. The Financial Secretary's statement that increasing tax will result in increased smuggling is without merit and flawed and remedial urgent action is required on his part. HK Customs Department Quote : "The illicit cigarettes cases effected by the department in 2007 was down 41% when comparing with 2006, whereas the illicit cigarettes seized in 2007 had increased by 39.45 million sticks when comparing those seized in 2006.It was because there were a number of cases involving substantial amount of illicit cigarettes (under transhipment) intercepted by Customs officers at the container port. The total illicit cigarettes seized in 2007 were 111.26 million sticks." Without replacement (youth) smokers the tobacco companies are dead as their current customer base is dying off at a rate of 7,000+ per year here. In a pre-budget interview with the HK Standard , the head of COSH stated that there are almost 16,000 smokers aged between 15 - 19 years old in Hong Kong, but there is only one youth Quit-line at HKU capable (in Cantonese) of handling 400 applicants. Before the Fixed penalty scheme is implemented it is most important that a competent cessation service be already in place to handle the expected numbers of addicts wishing to give up their habit providing free NRT paid for by the tobacco tax funds. Please see Addendum for UK information on this.

Overseas Comparison The UK taxation on cigarettes is $ 62 a packet and there was already in place to enhance the UK smoking ban effective July 01 2007, NRT therapy and adequate Quit-lines. UK smoking rates have accordingly decreased 4% since the comprehensive ban commenced in July 2007. Almost 25% of 16-24 year old smokers and 21% of 25-34 year olds managed to give up, compared to just 4% of 45-54 year olds and 7% of 55-64 year olds. There are no smoking exemptions in UK workplaces and high tobacco taxation; hence the success of their ban. Conversely in Hong Kong from January 01 to December 31st 2007 , the first year of the new anti smoking legislation, the number of Duty Paid cigarettes sold here increased by an incredible 163,990,000 sticks. In 2006 pre smoking ban, there were 3331.74 million duty paid cigarettes sold in Hong Kong; in 2007 after the emasculated smoking ban 3495.73 million duty paid cigarettes were sold here. The Government reaped $ 2.834 billion in tobacco tax in 2007 but plied next to nothing into smoking prevention, multi lingual Quitlines and free NRT therapy and the availability of same outside of working hours. We do not consider the increase is due to tourists buying cigarettes here since they will carry Duty Free tobacco with them. This dismal failure shows clearly that the combined effects of: a) no tobacco tax increase hence affordable tobacco prices even for youth b) smoking exemptions in bars, restaurants claiming to have more liquor sales than food sales, mahjong parlors and night clubs reflect a failed policy. This Hong Kong example will soon feature in an article in the Journal 'Tobacco Control' written by Professor David Simpson , Director International Agency on Tobacco and Health , showing how we have regressed rather than advanced as a result of our flawed anti smoking system. Comments on Legislative Brief LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL BRIEF FIXED PENALTY (SMOKING OFFENCES) BILL 2008

"We do not propose to deal with other offences provided for by the Ordinance through an FPS, for example, the sale of tobacco products to persons under 18 years of age or the display of tobacco advertisement, as these may involve proof of complicated facts of the case in prosecution." Clear the Air considers that: a) all tobacco retailers in Hong Kong should be licensed. It is imperative our under-aged youth cannot buy tobacco products . b) that any licensed vendor must check the Identity card of any youth attempting to purchase tobacco c) enforcement of penalties for selling to under-aged persons including loss of the license to sell tobacco We cannot see how 'complicated proof' can be involved. Either the youth had an ID card showing he/she was over 18 or not.

"If the person to whom an FPN is issued wishes to dispute liability, he may do so by notifying the enforcement authority of his intention in writing. A summons will then be served on him. " The Fixed Penalty Traffic Contraventions Ordinance Cap 237 was developed in Hong Kong to decriminalize parking offences, making the transgressions into contraventions of civil law whereby the owner of the vehicle can either admit or deny liability. It is the most successful system of its kind worldwide. A computer generated notice of the offence is sent to the registered address of the vehicle's registered owner within a few days of the contravention. The owner , if not the driver, now has notification of the offence and can either pay the fee , decide to fight the case in court or ignore the notification. If the owner does not arrange payment within 3 weeks of the contravention a computer generated Summons to Defendant is issued and sent to the registered address of the vehicle owner. If the owner fails to attend court the case is heard ex parte in absentia and a judgement made including costs. If the owner fails to pay such fees his vehicle can be impounded and will not be released till he pays all outstanding charges. If he does not pay the vehicle can be auctioned. Clear the Air suggests that within a few days of the offence a computerized demand for payment notice be sent to the registered address of the offender as listed in the Government Registration of Persons / Transport Department / Hospital authority / Voters / Jurors / Agriculture and Fisheries / Inland Revenue Department etc databases. The notice will have a section for the recipient to complete and return should he/she wish to dispute liability for the smoking contravention. The notice should list the additional costs involved should the case be heard in court. This should have the effect of shortening the time it takes to issue summons proceedings , dissuade people from attending court and hence will likely result in them paying the fine without contest. Please see the UK legislation at the Addendum - you may wish to consider following their example and offer a discounted fine of perhaps $ 1,200 if the offender pays the FPN within 7 days of the offence as a further encouragement not to contest the case. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/uksi_20070764_en_1 For information herewith is a similar incident in Great Britain : "Cabbie fuming after smoking fine Apr 24 2008 by Dave Edwards, Rhondda Leader A TAXI driver has had to cough up more than £400 in court fines and costs after council officials spotted him smoking in his cab. John Colcomb, of Henllys, Trebanog, has become the first person in Rhondda Cynon Taff and one of the first in Wales to be prosecuted under the new smoking ban law thanks to a successful prosecution by RCT Council’s Public Health and Protection Enforcement Officers. But Mr Colcomb has blasted what he describes as the ‘Big Brother’ attitude of the council and claims he has been victimised. Mr Colcomb, who has been a taxi driver for 18 years, told the Leader that there were “plenty of other taxi drivers smoking in their cabs”. He said: “The council couldn’t even get the name of the taxi company right. It is called AC Taxis. “It just feels like Big Brother is watching you. I enjoy my fags and I don’t know what the world is coming to when you are not allowed to have a smoke in your vehicle. “There are plenty of other taxi drivers out there who are smoking in their cabs and the council will have their hands full trying to catch them.” Mr Colcomb, received two fixed penalty notices; one for smoking in a work vehicle and the second for throwing the cigarette butt onto the highway. When he refused to pay the penalties the case was heard at Rhondda Magistrates’ Court where he was ordered to pay £435.21. The court was told that at 4.40pm on September 17, 2007 two of the council’s enforcement officers saw Mr Colcomb driving a black Vauxhall Vectra along Trebanog Road, Trebanog. His vehicle was stationary and waiting to turn right into Trebanog Service Station when the offence took place. Mr Colcomb was seen throwing a cigarette butt through the driver-side window onto the road. The offence of littering contravenes Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The car he was driving was a licensed taxi, named as Ace Taxis, which resulted in him being fined for smoking in a work’s vehicle, contrary to Section 7 of the Health Act 2006. On the following day Mr Colcomb received the two fixed penalty notices of £50 for smoking and £75 for litter, both of which he disputed. RCT prosecuted Mr Colcomb for failure to pay the fixed penalty notices at Rhondda Magistrates’ Court. The defendant did not attend the hearing and the facts were proven in his absence. He was fined £100 for each of the charges, and ordered to pay £220.21 costs and £15 in victim surcharge. David Jones, Head of Community Protection said: “The council’s Public Health and Protection Officers led an extensive campaign on the run-up to the ban. Nobody has an excuse in saying that they are not aware of the implications of it.” Nigel Wheeler, Service Director for Streetcare said: “We continue to promote a programme of change to crackdown on litter, dog fouling, flyposting, flytipping, graffiti and waste issues. This is to ensure that Rhondda Cynon Taf will be a community where everyone who lives, works or visits the area will enjoy the benefits of a better quality of life.” a 'fine' mess: Taxi driver John Colcomb is the first person to be fined in RCT under new smoking laws http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/south-wales-news/rhondda/2008/04/24/cabbie-fuming-after-smoking-fine-91466-20802134/

"require that person to supply his name, address and contact telephone number, and to produce proof of identity. Failure to supply these personal particulars or to produce proof of identity, or the supply of false or misleading personal particulars is an offence" We can foresee numerous people attempting a 'runaway' approach to avoid the receipt of FPNs when they are caught . We suggest the new legislation includes the ability of all authorized persons who are allowed to issue such FPNs to be permitted to take the photograph of any suspected offender and indeed that they are instructed to do so for evidential value (by camera phone so the picture can be transmitted in case of a runaway.) Also that they be able to issue FPNs to persons they have not seen carrying lighted tobacco products but whom are identified by a witness (willing to attend court) who has seen the alleged offence. We also suggest the consideration of adding an offence of 'absconding to evade the issue of a FPN' and publicise the fact that this offence will carry a penalty of $10,000 for the first offence and higher for a repeat offence.

Tourists and business visitors Hong Kong had 27 million tourists last year. Half of these were from the Mainland and 63% of Mainland Chinese males smoke. The percentage of smokers amongst our overseas visitors is generally higher than the smoking percentage of our population in Hong Kong. Immigration counters / airport luggage trolleys should advertise the requirement to carry ID n Hong Kong and advertise the fact that smoking is illegal in many places here and that there will be strict enforcement. There needs to be co-operation between the issuing FPN department and the Immigration Department so that offenders trying to leave Hong Kong without paying their fines can make payment at Immigration points when they are trying to depart.

Exceptional Cases " There would be cases in which the offender could not afford to pay the fixed penalty or has other reasons to plead for different treatment. To retain flexibility for any compassionate consideration, a magistrate may for good cause, on an application by the enforcement authority at anytime, rescind any order for the payment of a fixed penalty and/or any additional penalty imposed and/or any administrative costs, or any other order made in the same proceedings." We consider that if the offenders can afford to buy cigarettes they can afford to pay the penalty. There has to be some form of punishment whether community service or other as an indication that smoking in public will not be tolerated. This basically tells any person that if they plead they are poor they have a licence to smoke anywhere they like since they will not be fined and this will be abused.

Yours faithfully, James Middleton Chairman Anti Tobacco Committee Clear the Air http://tobacco.cleartheair.org.hk http://www.cleartheair.org.hk

Asian Consultancy On Tobacco Control

webmaster — Sat, 03 May 2008 12:37:13 +0000

Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance Submission to Legislative Council Bills Committee on Fixed Penalties Hearing: 3rd May 2008

27 April 2008 Dear Convenor and Members of the Bills Committee, We support the introduction of the Fixed Penalty system as a good move by the Administration. In other countries where a Fixed Penalty system was introduced, there has been no real need to argue the rationale for fixed penalties as: a) The health hazards of second-hand smoke are widely known. b) Countries that have legislation on second hand smoke enjoy high compliance rates. c) Fixed penalties are easy and straightforward to implement; and d) Hong Kong has other examples of fixed penalties, which work smoothly. ASH Scotland (where fixed penalties are already in place) writes: “Fixed penalties are applied to other offences such as minor driving & parking offences or infringement of litter laws and are already widely accepted as a penalty measure and alternative to court proceedings. There is indeed an issue with capacity amongst enforcement officers and the fixed penalty system was viewed as quick and straightforward to implement, and fair since the law was well publicised.” World Health Organisation has pointed Hong Kong to Article 8 of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (to which Hong Kong, through China, is a party) on Protection From Exposure to Second-Hand Tobacco Smoke. WHO has the following recommendations related to penalties:

WHO encourages countries to use on-the-spot fines for breaches to save time and money in the prosecution process.

The legislation should specify fines or other monetary penalties for violations.

Penalties should be sufficiently large to deter violations or else they may be ignored by violators

Penalties should increase for repeated violations and should be consistent with a country's treatment of other, equally serious offences

Legislation should be simple, clear, enforceable and comprehensive

WHO will be submitting further to the Hong Kong Legislative Council on this issue. I will be happy to answer any questions on 3 May 2008. Yours sincerely, Dr Judith Mackay, SBS, MBE, JP, FRCP(Edin), FRCP(Lon) Director, Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control Appendix: The Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer, the US Surgeon General and the United Kingdom Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health all concur that secondhand smoke exposure contributes to a range of lethal diseases, including heart disease and several cancers. For example, second-hand smoke exposure increases the risk of coronary heart disease by 25–30% and the risk of lung cancer in non-smokers by 20–30%1 (WHO, MPOWER, 2008). Small children whose parents smoke at home have an increased risk of suffering lower tract respiratory infections and otitis media.2,3 SHS has also been linked to an increase in the number and severity of asthma episodes in asthmatic children.4 There is also evidence that SHS increases the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).5 All people have the right to breathe clean air. Research clearly shows that there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke. For that reason implement 100% smoke-free environments by law is the only scientifically proven way to protect people from SHS. In countries where strong smoke-free legislation has been enacted, the law must be implemented and enforced in a way that makes it a reality in daily life. To facilitate implementation the law should clearly identify offences, penalties and breaches (WHO, Building Blocks for Tobacco Control: A Handbook, 2004). The Conference of the Parties to the WHO FCTC also agrees that penalties should be plainly defined stating that, "legislation should specify fines or other monetary penalties for violations."6 Penalties should serve as a deterrent and should be greater than any direct financial benefit the offender realizes from the violation, and should be at least equal to the cost of enforcement. Generally, penalty levels must be determined in the context of the penalties a jurisdiction imposes under its other laws. It is important that these sanctions be perceived by the effected parties and the public as proportionate to the offence. This purpose can best be achieved with a graduated penalty structure. Under many laws, for example, an offender’s first violation results only in a warning notice. Penalties may increase for each subsequent offence (WHO, Tobacco Control Legislation: an introductory guide, second edition, 2004). While a graduated penalty structure is an effective practice, WHO also encourages countries to use on-the-spot fines for breaches to save time and money in the prosecution process. In administering such fines, enforcement officers must have clearly defined powers of enforcement, including the authority to issue fines (WHO, Building Blocks for Tobacco Control: A Handbook, 2004). 1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The health consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke: a report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2006 (http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke/ report/fullreport.pdf, accessed 5 December 2007). 2 Strachan DP, Cook DG. Parental smoking and lower respiratory illness in infancy and early childhood. Thorax 1997, 52:905–14. 3 California Environmental Protection Agency and Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Health effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. California Environmental Protection Agency, 1997. 4 Cook DG, Strachan DP. Parental smoking and prevalence of respiratory symptoms and asthma in school age children. Thorax 1997, 52:1081–94 5 Anderson HR, Cook DG. Passive smoking and sudden infant death syndrome: review of the epidemiologic evidence. Thorax 1997, 52(11): 1003–9 6 World Health Organization. Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (http://www.who.int/gb/fctc/PDF/cop2/FCTC_COP2_17P-en.pdf, accessed 25 April 2008)

Bills Committee on Fixed Penalty (Smoking Offences) Bill

webmaster — Sat, 03 May 2008 12:50:39 +0000

Department of Community Medicine & Unit For Behavioural Sciences Submission to Legco Bills Committee 3rd May 2008

25 April 2008 Legislative Council Secretariat Legislative Council Hong Kong Dear Sirs Re: Bills Committee on Fixed Penalty (Smoking Offences) Bill We strongly support the introduction of fixed penalties for smoking for the following reasons:

The fixed penalty is easy and relatively inexpensive to enforce.

It is easily understood by all members of the public.

It sends an immediate and clear message to smokers that their behaviour is harmful to others.

It sends a message to young people that smoking is undesirable and thus deters them from starting to smoke.

It shows non-smokers and workers that the Government is serious about protecting their health.

Existing fixed penalties for other offences are acceptable to the public and are effective.

For these reasons we consider that the Government should not delay in implementing this bill. Yours sincerely ________________________ Dr SM McGhee Tobacco Control Research And Policy Unit Department of Community Medicine School of Public Health

China Smoking Ban CNN Interview with Judith Mackay

webmaster — Sat, 03 May 2008 14:20:26 +0000

Antismoking Campaign Gaining Momentum

webmaster — Sun, 04 May 2008 02:40:11 +0000

Todays Zamen - 4th May 2008 " Mackay proposes conducting public opinion surveys, organizing media campaigns and getting celebrities to lead the charge. Glantz suggests the use of media by nonprofit groups against smoking: “They can press the government to advertise.” "Smoking is a necessity of existence to the Turk; one could almost fancy it a part of his religion; and naturally, therefore, the shops of tobacconists and of vendors of chibouques and amber mouthpieces abound everywhere. … Nothing is more delicious or favorable to poetic reverie, than to inhale, in gentle puffs, while seated upon cushions of a divan..." These words of praise and admiration were dispatched from İstanbul by Theophile Gautier and published in The New York Times on Aug. 1, 1875. Over 125 years have gone by since this article appeared in the well-respected US paper, yet here we are, as Turks, still addicted to smoking. In defiance of scientific research and health warnings, one in every seven people in Turkey today continues to smoke, not including second-hand smokers. The only difference is that we do not praise it as "an art or a religion," as Gautier described, but have begun to admit that it is "an addictive passion" we simply can't do without. In the last decade or so, however, antismoking campaigns have been very strong and successful in Turkey, resulting in legislation aimed at curbing smoking, especially among teenagers. To some extent, this legislation has exceeded some of the stringent legal regulations adopted by the European Union and the United States, according to Dr. Toker Ergüder, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Tobacco Control Program officer in Turkey. With new amendments to the legal code regulating “the prevention of the hazards of tobacco and tobacco-related products,” Ergüder argues, Turkey will be the first country in its region to take such measures. The changes, slated to go into effect on May 19, aim to reduce second-hand smoke exposure by expanding Turkey’s smoking ban to include public spaces such as cafeterias, bars and restaurants and even open spaces surrounding schools and educational institutions. Pushing legislators to enact laws is one thing, but putting these laws into practice is an entirely different matter in Turkey, experts say. The problem is not unique to Turkey, though. Speaking to Sunday’s Zaman, Judith Mackay, the director of the World Lung Foundation’s Global Tobacco Control Program, says: “Implementation is always a bit difficult, especially in remote areas. The police are often lukewarm about taking on this job, as they think it is more important to catch criminals. Some governments have a squad of dedicated tobacco control health officers -- we have 60 in Hong Kong for a city of 7 million -- whose job it is to check on the observance of smoke-free areas.” Antismoking campaign watchdogs in Turkey point to the previous bans in public places such as airports, train stations and passenger buses. In the initial stages, the ban proved to be difficult to enforce in many places, and public quarrels were a common occurrence among smokers and non-smokers’ “non-smoking” areas. Over time, however, the public seemed to accept the new conditions. For example, you no longer risk having a passenger sitting next to you in the bus blowing smoke rings in your face. Of course, you might still smell smoke coming from the bus driver, who thinks he is an exception to the rule and smokes out of the driver-side window. Strangely enough, most passengers seems agree with that and you don’t hear many concerns or criticisms. What we are seeing in Turkey is a direct impact of a worldwide campaign against tobacco that has been active for many years. Mackay sounds very optimistic. She says, “If you compare 2008 with 1968 -- or even 1988 -- there have been many, many developments.” She praises Turkey for being one of the earlier countries to ratify the WHO Convention on Tobacco Control in 2004. The convention has been signed by 168 countries and ratified by 154. Ergüder is more enthusiastic now that the new changes to the law are to be implemented by the middle of May, and he hopes 500,000 smokers will give up smoking within a year. Another well-known scholar in the global antismoking campaign is Stanton A. Glantz, who is a professor of medicine and the director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco. Sharing his expertise with Sunday’s Zaman, Glantz says he thinks of the antismoking movement as “clearly an idea whose time has come,” adding, “Many governments are taking steps to protect their people from the toxic chemicals in second-hand smoke.” His worry, however, comes from a tobacco industry that will do anything to prevent antismoking laws from being enacted. He says: “Of course, the tobacco companies understand how dangerous this is for them, because it confirms the falling social acceptability of smoking, helps people quit and prevents the initiation of young people, which costs them money. As a result, the industry does everything it can to prevent these laws. If it can’t stop them altogether, it works to put in place weak, useless laws (like smoking sections or ventilation). Failing that, it encourages people to ignore the law and prevents the government from properly enforcing it.” Mackay agrees with Professor Glantz about the threat the tobacco industry poses for the antismoking movement. She says: “In terms of legislation, smoke-free areas are now on an unstoppable roll, with country after country introducing legislation. This is usually fiercely opposed by the tobacco industry, but it is happening and the results are looking good.” She goes on to say: “Since the tobacco industry documents have been put into the public domain, we have a much better understanding of how the companies have been operating within countries.” She stresses that the litigation factor has brought popularity to the antismoking campaign worldwide. “The tobacco industry has been taken to court in dozens of countries for the harm it has done to individuals and governments,” she adds. Although the trend is gaining support worldwide and leading more people to give up smoking, tobacco industry projections in terms of profit still look good for the foreseeable future. “The tobacco industry has nothing to fear,” says MacKay, adding, “Global predictions for the epidemic are that the current 1.2-1.3 billion smokers will increase to 1.64 billion by 2030, principally due to population expansion in developing countries.” She argues, “Even if the prevalence falls, the absolute number of smokers will increase (even in countries like the US), and I am sure this will be true for Turkey.” She is right. In Turkey, children smoking are at epidemic levels. Ergüder says, “The last survey done in 2003 showed every one child in 10 smokes in Turkey.” “What is more concerning is the fact that 30 percent of these children start smoking before they hit the age of 10,” he adds. Ergüder urges the government to raise taxes on tobacco products to discourage people from smoking. He says, “The price in Turkey is very low when compared to prices in other countries.” “We also need to put more visible warnings on cigarette packages,” he notes. Mackay draws attention to another growing problem: “It is now quite rare to see tobacco ads on TV, in print media or on billboards. However, the industry has turned to more subtle forms of promotion, such as logos on clothing and other goods.” The question of what more can be done to prevent the hazards of smoking calls for further analysis. Mackay proposes conducting public opinion surveys, organizing media campaigns and getting celebrities to lead the charge. Glantz suggests the use of media by nonprofit groups against smoking: “They can press the government to advertise.” The challenge here, of course, comes from the abundance of financial resources commanded by the tobacco industry. Mackay admits, “Yes, they do have huge amounts of money compared with tobacco control, but more funding is slowly coming on board, as governments, health organizations and philanthropists are realizing that chronic diseases cause the majority of deaths in the world, even in developing countries.” Glantz doesn’t see the need for huge finances to succeed. He argues: “You don’t need to meet the industry dollar-for-dollar. Coming within a factor of four seems more than adequate. It is easier to sell the truth than to sell a lie.”

South African Govt To Amend Tobacco Act To Promote Healthy Lifestyles

webmaster — Sun, 04 May 2008 23:22:35 +0000

Date: 05 May 2008 http://www.buanews.gov.za/view.php?ID=08050516151003&coll=buanew08 Title: Govt to amend Tobacco Act to promote healthy lifestyles --------------------------------------------------------------- By Vivian Warby Cape Town - The Health Portfolio Committee is to hold hearings on amendments to the Tobacco Control Act to further enhance the control of tobacco products and promote healthy lifestyles. Addressing a Social Cluster briefing on Monday, Health Minister Manto Tshabala-Msimang said amending the Bill was part of the Department of Health's "healthy lifestyles" campaign, which seeks to encourage South Africans to adopt and practice healthy lifestyles as part of decreasing the burden of disease facing the country. The hearings, which will take place on Wednesday and Thursday, seek to amend the Act to be in line with the international standards set in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The amendment Bill she said included "strengthening sections which prohibit advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and the regulation of smoking in public places." Minister Tshabala-Msimang said the amended Bill would also introduce picture-based health warnings as well as the removal of misleading descriptions such as "mild" and "light" which carries a fine of R1 000 000. "The Bill increases the penalties so that they become a real deterrent against contravention of the Act. "The fine for the owner of a public place or employer who fails to ensure that there is no smoking in a smoke free area has been increased from R10 000 to R50 000,(HK$ 55,000) " the minister said. The penalty for selling tobacco products to a minor (under 18 years) has been increased from R10 000 to R50 000. Also included are new offences such as failing to protect employees from tobacco smoke pollution, selling tobacco products in a health institution and retailer not complying with point of sale conditions. The penalty for advertising and promotion has been increased from R200 000 to R1 000 000. This was part of the department's approach in dealing with comprehensive health care which looks at health promotion, reduction of communicable and non-communicable diseases and the unnatural causes of death such as accidents and injuries. Besides the amendments to the Tobacco Control Act in its drive toward healthier lifestyles for all South Africans, the department was also increasing the number of health promoting schools from 3500 to at least 5000 schools. These schools have initiated the programmes to prevent tobacco use, development of food gardens and sports participation. Speaking about malaria meanwhile, the minister said the department was encouraged by the fact that Limpopo and Mpumalanga had already covered over 85 percent of malaria risk areas with indoor residual spray for malaria vector control while KwaZulu-Natal was currently at 82 percent. She said developing and implementing malaria health promotion activities in the three affected provinces was underway. "In line with the call by the President in the State of the Nation Address, we are working on reducing the TB defaulter rates from 10-7 percent through the establishment of TB tracer teams and the training of 3000 health personnel in the management of this disease. "A total of 72 TB tracer teams have been established in all the nine provinces," the minister said. Each team comprises a healthcare worker, two community health workers and a data capturer. In addition, 122 healthcare workers were trained on MDR-TB management in the past two months." On HIV and AIDS, the minister said treatment, care and support intervention was gradually gaining momentum in line with the department's commitment to deal with this challenge. "As at February 2008, our figures show that at least 456 000 had been initiated on antiretroviral treatment and 39 759 of these are children in all 407 facilities accredited to provide this service. "We now have 86 percent of the sub-districts having at least one service point accredited to provide comprehensive care to people living with HIV and AIDS." - BuaNews

Restaurant Tobacco Bans Influence Teen Smoking

webmaster — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:21:17 +0000

Study: Restaurant tobacco bans influence teen smoking By STEVE LeBLANC – 6th May BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts study suggests that restaurant smoking bans may play a big role in persuading teens not to become smokers. Youths who lived in towns with strict bans were 40 percent less likely to become regular smokers than those in communities with no bans or weak ones, the researchers reported in the May issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. The findings back up the idea that smoking bans discourage tobacco use in teens by sending the message that smoking is frowned upon in the community, as well as simply by reducing their exposure to smokers in public places, said Dr. Michael Siegel, of Boston University School of Public Health, and the study's lead author. "When kids grow up in an environment where they don't see smoking, they are going to think it's not socially acceptable," he said. "If they perceive a lot of other people are smoking, they think it's the norm." Siegel and his colleagues tracked 2,791 children between ages 12 and 17 who lived throughout Massachusetts. There were no statewide restrictions when the study began in 2001 but about 100 cities and towns had enacted a hodgepodge of laws restricting smoking in workplaces, bars or restaurants. The teens were followed for four years to see how many tried smoking and how many eventually became smokers. Overall, about 9 percent became smokers — defined as smoking more than 100 cigarettes. In towns without bans or where smoking was restricted to a designated area, that rate was nearly 10 percent. But in places with tough bans prohibiting smoking in restaurants, just under 8 percent of the teens became smokers. The study found that having a smoker as a parent or a close friend was a factor in predicting whether children experiment with cigarettes. But strong bans had a bigger influence on whether smoking grew into a habit, reducing their chances of becoming smokers by 40 percent. "There is really no other smoking intervention program that could cut almost in half the rate of smoking," Siegel said. Age was also a factor. Smoking bans had a greater effect on younger teens than on older teens. The researchers said it's not clear whether strong bans would have the same effect in other states since local towns adopted their restrictions as part of an aggressive anti-smoking campaign throughout the state. A statewide workplace smoking ban that included restaurants went into effect in mid-2004. Since then, high school smoking rates in Massachusetts have continued to decline, from about 21 percent of students in 2005 to about 18 percent in 2007. Many restaurant owners fought the ban, saying it could drive away diners, according to Janine Harrod, director of government affairs for the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, which represents 2,000 restaurant owners. While some restaurants were hurt initially, the effects have eased over time since the ban applies to everyone, she said. Bill Phelps, a spokesman for Altria, parent company of cigarette-maker Philip Morris USA, said the study shows that the reasons teens take up smoking are complex. "There is no single reason why young people engage in risky behaviors like smoking," he said. "We believe that there should be a multifaceted approach to address youth smoking." At least 23 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico require most public places and workplaces, including restaurants and bars, to be smoke free, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Another nine states ban smoking in workplaces but have various exemptions for restaurants or bars. "We already have more than enough evidence why we should pass these smoke-free laws, but certainly this study should help push them along," said Danny McGoldick of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.

article-8-who-fctc

webmaster — Tue, 06 May 2008 23:44:13 +0000

Joint Briefing Paper: Proposed Guidelines for the Implementation of Article 8 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Views Sought On Competition Law

webmaster — Wed, 07 May 2008 02:27:55 +0000

Business and Finance news.gov.hk - 6th May 2008 A three-month consultation on the proposed new competition law for Hong Kong has been launched. Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Frederick Ma says such a law can help facilitate a better business environment for companies and protect consumers' rights, for the benefit of all sectors of society. Mr Ma said the Government is looking forward to receiving the public's views on the proposed framework before finalising the Competition Bill for introduction to the Legislative Council in the 2008-09 legislative session. "Introduction of the new law will help us to more effectively implement our competition policy, which is aimed at enhancing economic efficiency and the benefit of consumers through promoting sustainable competition," Mr Ma said. Rights protected "By setting out a clear and enforceable prohibition against anti-competitive conduct, a competition law can help facilitate a better business environment for companies and protect consumers' rights, for the benefit of all sectors of society," he added. Mr Ma said during the last public consultation exercise on the way forward for Hong Kong's competition policy, there was general support for the introduction of a cross-sector competition law. "However, we recognise that some stakeholders, particularly business-sector representatives and small and medium-sized enterprises, had concerns that such a law should not create extra compliance costs or lead to excessive litigation. To this end, the public consultation paper has specifically set out a number of proposals to address their concerns," he added. The consultation paper covers key elements that will form the basis of a competition law, including the proposed regulatory structure, types of conduct that will be prohibited, penalties that will apply for infringing the law, the right to take private action, and criteria and mechanisms for granting exemptions and exclusions from the law's application. Key elements The new competition law has proposed: * to set up a Competition Commission, which would operate independently from the Government, to investigate anti-competitive conduct, determine whether law infringements had occurred and impose remedies as appropriate; * to set up a separate Investigation Committee within the commission to maximise checks and balances; and * to set up an independent Competition Tribunal to review the commission's decisions. The commission would require an annual budget of up to $80 million and the initial cost of operating the tribunal would be about $6 million a year. The law will set out general prohibitions against anti-competitive agreements between competing undertakings and abusive conduct by undertakings with substantial market power. Three options for merger regulation have been proposed in the consultation paper for stakeholders' comments and discussions. Under the new law the commission should have the authority to grant exemptions for agreements where it considers these would not cause any net economic harm. The Chief Executive-in-Council should have the power to exclude the relevant activities from the law's application where broader public-policy considerations apply. The new, cross-sector competition law would not apply to the Government or statutory bodies. The penalties for infringement would be civil in nature, with fines of up to $10 million imposed by the commission. The commission could apply to have the tribunal impose more serious penalties, including higher fines with a cap of 10% of total turnover during the period when the infringement occurred and disqualification from holding a directorship or a management role in any company for up to five years. More details about the proposed new law can be found here. The consultation will end on August 5. People can air their views by writing to the bureau at Level 29, One Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, faxing 2877 5650 or emailing competition@cedb.gov.hk. Mr Ma said views willl be taken into full account when finalising the Competition Bill.

View on Competition Law

webmaster — Wed, 07 May 2008 02:43:25 +0000

A letter sent by James Middleton of Clear The Air to competition@cedb.gov.hk in response to the Views Sought On Competition Law article posted on the Business and Finance news.gov.hk site.

Dear Sir,

Consultation on Competition Law - we read that the current proposals include the usual Government let out. "Government and statutory bodies exempt from law" No Government should be and must never be above the Law. They should be the example, not the exemption. The Government should ensure its laws and policies are fair and just before enacting them. If they enact policies which are unfair and anti competitive they should be liable to to tasked accordingly. The same applies to the Race Discrimination laws where they sought to exclude Government from liability and which has been queried on high from afar as well as by local legislators. A perfect example is the current debacle created by Government to appease the Liberal party with the smoking exemptions for 'Qualified Premises'. In the UK in the lead up to their smoking ban last year, the House of Commons report discussed the possible options by way of allowing exemptions to the new laws for specific premises . The public and the Catering Trade unanimously agreed that a level playing field was required whereby all licensed premises would be subject to the ban. In Hong Kong the Government has unfairly allowed exemptions to premises choosing to bar the entry of U-18s to the licensed premises. This has created an unfair competition between those premises choosing to follow the new anti smoking laws here and those who took the freely available exemption. The proposed use of "A cross-sector competition law to prohibit conduct that reduces competition substantially;" seems prima facie already to have been broken in this example. The Government should be held responsible for instigating such an unfair trading advantage whilst at the same time ignoring the workers who are being killed by passive smoke. They have usurped their Duty of Care to their workforce and should be held accountable, not exempt from current and any future laws they intend to mess with to suit political compliance. yours faithfully, James Middleton Clear the Air www.cleartheair.org.hk

Price-Fixing, Bid-Rigging Will Be The Major Focus

webmaster — Wed, 07 May 2008 02:51:58 +0000

Dennis Eng - Updated on May 07, 2008 - SCMP Businesses that engage in price-fixing, bid-rigging, carving up markets, and fixing sales and production quotas will be targeted under the government's proposed competition law, although exemptions will be allowed. An independent competition commission with investigative powers, and a separate tribunal, will be set up to give the cross-sector law teeth. Civil penalties can be imposed, with fines of up to HK$10 million. The government estimates the commission will need about 70 full-time staff and cost between HK$60 million and HK$80 million a year. The tribunal's annual overheads are expected to be around HK$6 million. Exemptions and exclusions are to be judged on economic benefits and public interest, like essential medical services. The law does not apply to the government or statutory bodies. "By setting out a clear and enforceable prohibition against anti-competitive conduct, a competition law can help facilitate a better business environment for companies and protect consumers' rights for the benefit of all sectors of society," Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Frederick Ma Si-hang said. The focus on the four anti-competitive practices does not mean the proposed law excludes other areas, such as joint boycotts, unfair or discriminatory standards and abuse of dominant position. Mr Ma's deputy, Linda Lai Wai-ming, said the commission would determine the economic impact on competitiveness in other cases. Merger rules have been left out of the proposed law for now. Three options for public consideration are: to adopt a "light-handed approach"; to delay adopting a policy until the effect of the competition law is reviewed; or not to include merger rules but to reconsider the issue after a review of the law. The government has launched a three-month public consultation on the proposed law. A similar one was held in November 2006. Government policies on competition have come under increasing scrutiny, highlighted in recent years by the potential for price-fixing by major operators of petrol stations. However, the prospect of an all-encompassing competition law has polarised the business community. Small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) fear it would lead to higher costs and frivolous lawsuits. There is also a risk that a "catch-all" law would unintentionally include firms that would not necessarily be covered by it. The government says measures are in place to address these concerns, including appointing at least one commission member with SME experience. Jonathan McKinley, principal assistant secretary for commerce and economic development, said: "Generally speaking, SMEs regard competition law as something that is very positive, something that will help them. We have found very few cases where ... private action has been taken against SMEs in any of the major jurisdictions we've looked at." Key proposals

A cross-sector competition law to prohibit conduct that reduces competition substantially;
Actions such as price fixing, bid-rigging, output restriction and market allocation would be considered serious anti-competitive conduct;
An independent competition commission would investigate anti-competitive conduct, determine infringements and impose remedies;
A competition tribunal with power to review the commission's decisions;
Commission to cost up to HK$80 million a year; initial operating costs of tribunal about HK$6 million a year;
Commission may impose penalty up to HK$10 million; tribunal may impose even higher penalty - up to 10 per cent of company business turnover and disqualification from directorship for five years;
Anti-competitive agreements may be exempted if the economic benefits outweigh potential harm;
Agreement between firms involving aggregate market share of 20 per cent or less would not be pursued;
Victims of anti-competitive conduct to seek compensation privately;
Government and statutory bodies exempt from law;
Chief executive and Executive Council empowered to exempt certain activities

Lance Armstrong Speaks Out On Smoking Laws

webmaster — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:56:29 +0000

By Agence France Presse - Posted May. 8, 2008 Seven-time Tour de France winner and anti-cancer advocate Lance Armstrong said Thursday he has discussed banning smoking in public places across the United States with the three White House contenders. "I've asked all the presidential candidates whether America should be smoke-free," he told a Senate committee hearing on how to tackle cancer. "The consensus is that it's better left to the cities and states," he said, agreeing that state- or community-level bans were "the way to go." "Second-hand smoking is something I'm very passionate about," he told the committee. "I don't like to sit next to someone who's smoking in a restaurant — I raced for 15 years in Europe and I've been around enough cigarette smoke to last me a lifetime," said Armstrong, who overcame metastisized testicular cancer to win every Tour de France from 1999 through 2005. Since he retired from professional cycling, Armstrong has become a leading advocate in the fight to beat cancer, a disease which, he told the hearing, claims 560,000 American lives a year. Around one-third of cancer deaths are linked to smoking. Armstrong said banning smoking, or using other means to make people never start, or kick a tobacco habit, were good preventive measures against cancer. "We know what works in terms of cancer prevention — targeting tobacco, sun, diet and exercise. "You now have cities like New York; Austin, Texas that are smoke-free," Armstrong lauded, before looking to the traditionally smoke-filled pubs, cafes and bars of Europe. "Ireland has taken steps," he said. "For God's sake, even Paris, France is smoke-free."

New Guidelines For Treatment Of Tobacco Dependence Released

admin — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:33:32 +0000

Medical News Today | Friday, 9-May-2008 The U.S. Public Health Service today released an updated version of the clinical guidelines for treating tobacco dependence. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update contains strategies and recommendations designed to guide doctors and other medical professionals to help smokers quit. The guidelines, updated for the first time since 2000, call attention to the need for clinicians to understand that there are multiple effective treatment options for tobacco dependence. The guidelines emphasize the benefits of group and individual counseling sessions and the use of medications in helping smokers to be successful in their quit attempt. There is also new evidence of the need to consider tobacco use as a chronic disease and to treat it as such through multiple interventions. The guidelines highlight the need for tobacco dependence treatment strategies to be integrated into the health care system as there is new evidence that health care policies, such as insurance that covers tobacco dependence treatment as a benefit, impact the likelihood that smokers will receive effective treatment and successfully quit smoking. Tobacco use remains world's most preventable cause of death, claiming the lives of 438,000 Americans each year and millions more globally. Smoking accounts for at least 30 percent of all cancer deaths and 87 percent of lung cancer deaths. It is associated with an increased risk of at least 15 types of cancer. "There are 45 million smokers in the U.S. and 70 percent of them say they would like to quit smoking," said John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society. "This updated clinical guideline on the treatment of tobacco dependence provides physicians and other health care providers, administrators and insurers, and smokers themselves, with clear, useful information on how to stop smoking and stay tobacco-free. It is critical that clinicians utilize these guidelines to stay current on the latest information that will help their patients to quit and to do so successfully. The Society is proud to endorse this important resource in the fight to reduce tobacco use." The American Cancer Society offers smokers who want to quit a clinically proven, confidential, free telephone-based counseling program, Quitline. Quitline is available in 12 states and the District of Columbia, as well as in more than 100 businesses and health plans nationwide. Since its inception in 2000, Quitline has provided support to more than 320,000 smokers. Studies have shown that more than 40 percent of people who were contacted six months after completing the Quitline program remained smoke-free, putting the Society's quit rates among the highest in the country. Smokers who are seeking to quit can reach Quitline toll-free at 1-800-ACS-2345 or can log onto www.cancer.org/greatamericans to embark on a personal plan to quit. The American Cancer Society is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by saving lives, diminishing suffering, and preventing cancer through research, education, advocacy, and service. Founded in 1913 and with national headquarters in Atlanta, the Society has 13 regional Divisions and local offices in 3,400 communities, involving millions of volunteers across the United States. http://www.cancer.org

How Peer Pressure Can Prevent Teenagers Smoking

webmaster — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:58:55 +0000

May 9 2008 by Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail TEEN smoking can be reduced by training popular secondary school pupils to spread anti-smoking messages. The scheme, which was developed by experts in Cardiff, could reduce the number of teen smokers in the UK by 43,000 every year. Research into the effect of the Assist (A Stop Smoking in Schools Trial) programme, which is published today in The Lancet, comes as teen smoking rates – particularly among girls – remain high in Wales. The latest figures suggest that more than a quarter of children under 16 smoke – 27.5% of girls aged 15 and 16 in Wales smoke. It is thought that many children only choose to smoke if their friends already do. But peer-pressure can also have a positive impact and result in some children deciding to remain smoke-free. Professor Laurence Moore, director of the Cardiff Institute of Society, Health and Ethics, which developed the Assist programme, said: “A lot of time and effort goes into encouraging children not to take up regular smoking in schools but that generally hasn’t been found to be particularly effective as often kids will do the opposite of what their teachers tell them. “With the rise in social networking websites, we know that kids are much more responsive to messages they get from their peers.” The Assist training programme involves initially asking pupils to nominate influential students in their year group. The most popular – those who are respected by their peers and are considered to be good leaders – were recruited and trained as peer supporters. They were then asked to have conversations with other students in their year group about the benefits of not smoking over a 10-week period. The research into the Assist programme was done in 59 schools across Wales and western England among pupils aged 12 and 13 – 30 schools received the Assist training programme while the remainder continued their normal smoking cessation programmes. The researchers, from Cardiff University and the University of Bristol, found that students were 25% less likely to take up regular smoking immediately after the Assist project had been run in their school; 23% less likely to start regular smoking after one year and 15% less likely after two years. In schools using conventional smoking-cessation programmes, 21% were less likely to smoke immediately after; 25% after one year and 15% after two years. The Assist programme will be rolled out to 49 Welsh schools this year .

Smokers At Greater Risk Of Mishaps

webmaster — Sun, 11 May 2008 15:09:22 +0000

Source: BBC News, 11 May 2008 A new study has found that smoking while driving is a leading contributor to injuries and motor vehicle crashes, supporting US research which found that smoking causes risk factors for injury including fires, depressed reflexes and non-coordination. The study done by B N Leistikow, D C Martic and S J Samuels interviewed adults (ages 18 plus) and followed up for vital status after a gap of five years using the National Death Index (NDI). Participants were classified as never smokers (fewer than 100 lifetime cigarettes), ex-smokers, and current smokers (smokers by baseline self report). The study found that smokers have significant dose-response excesses of injury and death, independent of age, education and marital status. This supports earlier studies suggesting that smoking may be a leading contributor to injuries. In fact, researchers have suggested that the correlation of smoking and driving should be studied in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Also, smoking-involved crashes may be studied in the same manner as alcohol-involved crashes. Dr Ashok Seth, chairman and chief cardiologist of Max Heart Institute, says: "This is an interesting study. Smoking and driving may lead to accidents, and smoking is a distraction, far more distractive than any activity in the car. The accidents may occur as cigarettes are an inflammable object, and lead to fires. It may make the smoker distracted and spoils his concentration with one hand constantly engaged and moving to drop the ash. Smoking is also believed to release certain hormones which pump up confidence levels, leading to errors." Dr Anoop Misra director and head, department of diabetes, Fortis Hospitals said, "Tobacco smoke contains high quantity of carboxy haemoglobin, which replaces normal haemoglobin and transiently decreases oxygenation of brain." Smoking impairs certain motor reflexes and has adverse effects on message transfer in brain due to shifts in neurochemicals. All these would impair any complex motor task as driving. Those who are heavy smokers or relatively new smokers are worst affected. Over long periods, smoking causes permanent damage to neurons and this results in decline of intellectual functions."

Cruise Company Extends Smoking Ban

webmaster — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:48:27 +0000

Monday, 12 May 2008 - micebtn P&O Cruises Australia has extended its ban on smoking to include all indoor areas on its ships from July 2008. Ann Sherry, chief executive of Carnival Australia which operates P&O Cruises, said the move reflected changing social trends and customer feedback. “The majority of passengers have indicated they’d prefer to cruise in a smoke-free environment,” said Sherry. “Clearly there’s been a shift in community thinking on this issue and we’re keeping pace with that.”

Woman Fined For Smoking In Car With Children

webmaster — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:53:46 +0000

Posted Mon May 12, 2008 9:02am AEST - abc.net One woman has been fined and other people have been cautioned about smoking in cars with children. Tasmanians have been caught out by new legislation aimed at reducing the number of people smoking in cars with children on board. A woman in Devonport has been fined A$120 for smoking with two children in the car and four other people have been cautioned. Police and tobacco control officers began enforcing the legislation in April, following a three month amnesty. Tasmania's environmental health manager, Stuart Heggie, says the fact that smokers have already been caught out should make others think twice before lighting up with children in the car.

Cigarette Bill Treats Menthol With Leniency

webmaster — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:01:31 +0000

May 13, 2008 - The New York Times - By STEPHANIE SAUL Some public health experts are questioning why menthol, the most widely used cigarette flavoring and the most popular cigarette choice of African-American smokers, is receiving special protection as Congress tries to regulate tobacco for the first time. The legislation, which would give the Food and Drug Administration the power to oversee tobacco products, would try to reduce smoking’s allure to young people by banning most flavored cigarettes, including clove and cinnamon. But those new strictures would exempt menthol — even though menthol masks the harsh taste of cigarettes for beginners and may make it harder for the addicted to kick the smoking habit. For years, public health authorities have worried that menthol might be a factor in high cancer rates in African-Americans. The reason menthol is seen as politically off limits, despite those concerns, is that mentholated brands are so crucial to the American cigarette industry. They make up more than one-fourth of the $70 billion American cigarette market and are becoming increasingly important to the industry leader, Philip Morris USA, without whose lobbying support the legislation might have no chance of passage. “I would have been in favor of banning menthol,” said Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire, who supports the bill. “But as a practical matter that simply wasn’t doable.” Even the head of the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network, a nonprofit group that has been adamantly against menthol, acknowledges that the ingredient needed to be off the bargaining table — for now — because he does not want to imperil the bill’s chances. “The bottom line is we want the legislation,” said William S. Robinson, the group’s executive director. “But we want to reserve the right to address this issue at some critical point because of the percentage of people of African descent who use mentholated products.” Supporters of the tobacco legislation, including the Senate bill’s sponsor, Edward M. Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat, say the bill addresses the potential health risks of menthol by giving the F.D.A. the authority to remove cigarette additives, including menthol, if they are proved harmful. Menthol is particularly controversial because public health authorities have worried about its health effects on African-Americans. Nearly 75 percent of black smokers use menthol brands, compared with only about one in four white smokers. That is why one former public health official says the legislation’s menthol exemption is a “cave-in to the industry,” an opinion shared by some other public health advocates. “I think we can say definitively that menthol induces smoking in the African-American community and subsequently serves as a direct link to African-American death and disease,” said the former official, Robert G. Robinson, who retired two years ago as an associate director in the office of smoking and health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The current lead scientist on tobacco related issues for the C.D.C, Terry F. Pechacek, said the legislation’s exemption for menthol was an issue being discussed in the scientific community. "I would just say this is an area of clear scientific interest and it merits very careful attention." The legislation could soon be up for vote in both chambers of Congress, where it has broad support. It is by no means a sure bet — though not because of the menthol exemption. Despite the support of Mr. Kennedy and 56 co-sponsors in the Senate, the legislation faces some determined opposition from tobacco-state lawmakers who resist industry regulation. And the White House has said it opposes the legislation, arguing that F.D.A. regulation could create the false impression that tobacco is safe. The legislation is largely a result of negotiations during sessions in 2003 and 2004 between lawmakers, antismoking groups and Philip Morris — the only major American cigarette company that supports the effort to regulate the industry. “My recollection is that we were able to eliminate the use of flavored cigarettes, strawberry, mocha, and all this stuff that is clearly targeted at young kids and to start them smoking tobacco,” Mike DeWine, the former Ohio senator who helped arrange a series of negotiations between Philip Morris and an influential antismoking group, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said in a recent telephone interview. “Where the compromise was made as I recall was on menthol,” Mr. DeWine said. While Philip Morris and other tobacco companies acknowledge the health hazards of smoking, they contend that menthol does nothing to worsen those risks. One of the government’s current top public health scientists on tobacco, however, says there are few definitive answers about the health impact of menthol cigarettes. Still, he points to several studies that suggest menthol smokers may be exposed to higher levels of dangerous compounds than nonmenthol smokers. “There are multiple lines of evidence, generally consistent, suggesting that there’s reason for concern,” said Dr. Pechacek, the associate science director of the office on smoking for the C.D.C. Of 45 million smokers in this country, the American Lung Association identifies about 33 million as non-Hispanic whites and 5 million as African-American. Historically, statistics showed that a somewhat higher percentage of African-Americans smoked than whites. Recent figures, though, indicate about the same rate of smoking for both groups — in the 21 to 22 percent range. But the use of menthol cigarettes is disproportionately an African-American phenomenon, which critics say has been reinforced by decades of advertising aimed at black consumers. Concerns about menthol have circulated since at least 1998, when the C.D.C. reported that menthol “may increase the absorption of harmful smoking constituents.” Four years later the C.D.C., along with the National Cancer Institute, sponsored a meeting in Atlanta on menthol cigarettes and disease rates in African-Americans. The official report from that meeting said the research up to that point had been inconclusive, but it called for further studies. In five large studies of menthol to date, only one has found higher rates of cancer among menthol smokers than nonmenthol smokers, and only in men. But a growing body of evidence suggests that menthol makes it harder to kick the smoking habit — a view shared even by many scientists who say that menthol in cigarettes is not itself dangerous. A tobacco company spokesman, Brendan J. McCormick, said menthol was “an ingredient and a flavor preference that is widely preferred by more than a quarter of adult smokers out there, and it’s got a long history of use.” Mr. McCormick works for the Altria Group, the parent company of Philip Morris USA, whose Marlboro Menthol is the second-largest menthol brand in this country and also the fastest growing. Last year, to counter concerns about menthol, a mint extract that can also be made synthetically, Philip Morris scientists published a 26-page paper in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, a peer-reviewed scientific journal. After examining dozens of studies on menthol, the company’s scientists said they found little evidence that menthol cigarettes were any more harmful or addictive than other types or that they encouraged people to start smoking at younger ages. Its support of the tobacco legislation has put Philip Morris at odds with other cigarette companies, which generally oppose regulation. As the American industry’s biggest player, Philip Morris says it is willing to let the F.D.A. oversee tobacco because as the company tries to develop products that are less harmful, it wants a regulatory agency to evaluate and approve those products. The company also says it would prefer national tobacco regulations rather than a hodgepodge of state and local rules. But the company’s rivals complain that the legislation could help Philip Morris, with its best-selling Marlboro franchise, further entrench itself as the industry’s dominant player by placing new restrictions on cigarette marketing, making it difficult for rivals to use advertising to catch up. Besides banning the marketing of cigarettes on the basis of most flavorings — other than menthol — the new rules would also place additional limits on the types and placement of signs and magazine advertising for tobacco products. Even with the menthol exemption, the legislation is opposed by Reynolds American, whose R. J. Reynolds unit sells menthol brands that include Kool and Salem. Another opponent is Lorillard, which makes Newport, the best-selling brand among African-Americans and the menthol market leader over all. “Bottom line, the scientific publications to date have not concluded that menthol cigarettes are more hazardous or addictive than nonmenthol cigarettes,” a Lorillard spokesman, Michael W. Robinson, said in a written response to questions. Lorillard is a subsidiary of the Loews Corporation. Scientists who study smoking have identified various disparities in the health of black and white smokers. National Cancer Institute data shows that African-American men get lung cancer at a rate 50 percent higher than white men — a gap that most scientists say cannot be fully explained by historically higher rates of smoking by black men. One theory suggests that menthol in cigarettes, by providing an additional pleasurable sensory cue to smokers, reinforces addiction. “There is evidence from different studies that it’s harder to quit menthol cigarettes,” said Dr. Neal L. Benowitz, a pharmacologist and professor at the University of California, San Francisco and one of the nation’s leading tobacco researchers. He calls menthol a “public health risk.” In work published in 2006, Dr. Mark J. Pletcher and colleagues at that same university analyzed smoking behavior for 1,535 people over 15 years. Their findings suggested that menthol smokers were 30 percent less likely to quit smoking and 89 percent more likely to relapse than other smokers. One African-American woman, Joya Robinson of North Brunswick, N.J., said she began smoking Newport in 1988 and developed a pack-a-day habit. After several unsuccessful attempts to quit, she is now enrolled in a tobacco dependence program. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Ms. Robinson, 46, said. Dr. Pechacek, the C.D.C. official, said a combination of menthol and genetic factors that predispose African-Americans to certain cancers may be in play for black smokers. “There is sufficient reason to maintain a strong public health interest in it,” he said.

John Brumby May Ban Smoking In Cars

webmaster — Tue, 27 May 2008 14:44:30 +0000

Article from: Herald Sun - Jane Metlikovec - May 27, 2008 10:31am VICTORIANS could soon be banned from smoking in cars carrying young children, under a plan being considered in Parliament. The Queensland Government yesterday said it would slap $150 on-the-spot fines on adults smoking in cars carrying children under the age of 16. Premier John Brumby said today the Victorian Government had been considering introducing such a law for the past four months. "It is a matter which is being examined in Parliament at the moment,'' Mr Brumby told 3AW. "We need to weigh up the right of parents to make judgements about their children, but if you are puffing away in a car with two young kids in the back, you are really doing no good to your kids at all.''

US Games Developer Makes Quitting Smoking Child's Play

webmaster — Thu, 29 May 2008 02:26:29 +0000

29th May 2008 WASHINGTON (AFP) — Smokers are about to get help kicking the tobacco habit: an interactive computer game that aims to "coach" cigarette users away from their addiction. Based on the successful "Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking" method which reportedly has helped more than 10 million smokers to stub out their cigarettes once and for all, the game, designed for Nintendo DS, will be developed by the Quebec bureau of California-headquartered Ubisoft. It is expected to go on sale in November. Ubisoft is the company that has brought the world games that pit players against an invasion of demonic rabbits or allow them to learn a foreign language using the Nintendo DS, with its interactive touch screen. In the smoking cessation game, players enter a brief personal smoking history and their tobacco habits and choose a personal coach to guide them through the process of quitting, according to a press release issued by Ubisoft. Fifteen mini-games help to "dispel the illusions about nicotine addiction" and players can track their progress in kicking the habit using the "Path to Freedom" meter. And even after that last cigarette butt has sullied the ashtray, "you can still play the game and measure the daily benefits you get from your new life without cigarettes," Ubisoft promises. "The player experiences a truly interactive engagement with the game, through which he or she learns that it can actually be enjoyable to quit smoking," said Christian Salomon, vice president of worldwide licensing at Ubisoft.

Cigarette Makers Still Lure Region's Youth

webmaster — Thu, 29 May 2008 14:36:02 +0000

Shigeru Omi - SCMP - Updated on May 29, 2008 Did you smoke when you were 13? I did, and so did many of my friends. In those days, it was second nature for youngsters to smoke. Boys did it because they thought it made them look and feel more like men: distinguished, respected, feared. For girls, it showed they were fun loving and grown up. Years later, as I began to understand the hazards of smoking, I quit. Now, some 20 years on, I have noticed that a number of my friends who carried on smoking are suffering from cancer or heart disease. I can't help wondering if I should have done more to persuade them to quit. It has been a long time and I would like to think things have changed. But they haven't. Figures from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) from 2000 to 2007 estimate that of children aged 13 to 15 in the Western Pacific Region, an average of 13.4 per cent smoke. The rough average for this age group in the whole of Asia is one out of five boys and one out of six girls. In the Philippines, one out of four boys smoke. And one out of three boys smoke in Malaysia, the Federated States of Micronesia and Tuvalu. Today, I stopped to think about why I started smoking at such an early age. But the reason I kept on smoking was the image in my head that came from billboards, television and radio. The tobacco industry is still using the same pernicious techniques. Now, as then, it targets youth in fun and familiar environments - the movies, fashion events, music concerts and sports. Lately, the internet has been the sea where this marketing net has been cast. Today the industry's marketing net targets half a billion children and youths aged 6-23 in the Western Pacific. Smoking tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the world. It is the only legal consumer product that kills one-third to one-half of those who use it as intended by its manufacturers, reducing their lives by an average 15 years. It is estimated that related health care costs and productivity losses amounted to US$5 billion in China in 2000, US$327 million in Vietnam in 2005, and US$2.8 million in the Philippines in 2003. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is designed to curb this epidemic and to protect young people from the diseases that smoking brings. In Asia and the Pacific, countries are working hard to control a scourge that claims two lives every minute. Under the terms of the FCTC, signatory governments undertake to curb the kind of inducements that first drew me into tobacco use. These commitments are reflected in the slogan for World No Tobacco Day, this Saturday, which calls on governments to "break the tobacco marketing net" and ban the advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products. The tobacco industry's tactics may not have changed since I was 13. But years of tobacco control advocacy have resulted in less acceptance of smoking as a norm and higher levels of awareness of the hazards of tobacco use. Dr Shigeru Omi is WHO regional director for the Western Pacific

Tobacco Additives

webmaster — Fri, 30 May 2008 02:29:12 +0000

Tobacco Additives – A Study of the Available Literature Introduction Tobacco smoking is the most widespread nonpreventable global cause of premature deaths developed by human beings. The harmless looking cigarette is a cocktail of specially tailored chemical additives, which causes immense addiction in the user, and eases the initial phase for the non-smoker to begin smoking. No aspect of a cigarette is redundant of superfluous, every single added component has been scientifically designed, through many years of development, to refine and optimize the impact and the effect of the tobacco in the cigarette. Smoking-related medical conditions, such as emphysema, heart disease, lung cancer and other cancers, are tragic consequences leading to suffering and death among users. These adverse effects regrettably only appear after a long time of repeated impacts, after the addiction to the cigarette has been established. Thus, unfortunately, these effects cannot be discovered and counteracted through early testing. Benzyl benzoate (Xn: harmful), Allyl Hexanoate (T: toxic), Alpha Pinene (Xn: harmful and N: Dangerous for the environment), Menthol (Xi: Irritant), and Cocoa are just a few examples out of the massive number of additives that are frequently applied to cigarettes and tobacco products in general. Aims The primary aim of this work is to establish an international knowledge base about the additives that have been reported to the Danish Minister of Health, in order to provide the persons and decision-makers who work with these substances a secure source of exact information about them. We wish to provide insight into the various effects the additives can have on health. Additionally, this report discusses the toxic properties of additives, inform about the formation of countless new chemical compounds during the burning process of tobacco, Pyrolysis, and finally, the report also demonstrates how additives are contributing to tobacco addiction. Existing legislation In Denmark at the present moment there exists no legislation intended to govern and control which kinds of additives can be safely added to cigarettes. As this review indicates, a number of additives are hazardously toxic. The EU authorities frequently request from the tobacco companies information on what kind of additives they use, for what reasons, and if there exists some information about their toxic effects. However, such information is not often forthcoming. The lack of legislation on the use of additives in tobacco products have given the tobacco industry a free space here in Denmark, as opposed to in a range of other countries such as the USA, France, and Germany, which at least have some general guidelines for which additives are permitted. Finally in 2006, House of Prince, a subsidiary to Scandinavian Tobacco Company, reported to the Danish health authorities a list of 299 additives that they claim to use in their tobacco products. 249 of these reported additives seem to be added directly to the tobacco, while the final 50 are used in the production of filter, ink, glue and paper. In this project we have focused only on these 249 directly added substances. Read the full report on Tobacco Additives here.

Interactive Video Game May Help Smokers Quit

webmaster — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:40:17 +0000

Agence France-Presse in Washington - SCMP - Updated on May 30, 2008 Smokers are about to get help kicking the tobacco habit: an interactive video game that aims to "coach" cigarette users away from their addiction. Based on the successful "Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking" method which reportedly has helped more than 10 million smokers to stub out their cigarettes once and for all, the game, designed for Nintendo DS, will be developed by Montreal games developer Ubisoft. It is expected to go on sale in November. Ubisoft has brought the world games that pit players against an invasion of demonic rabbits or allow them to learn a foreign language using the Nintendo DS, with its interactive touch screen. In the smoking cessation game, players enter a brief personal smoking history and their tobacco habits and choose a personal coach to guide them through the process of quitting, according to Ubisoft. Fifteen mini-games help to "dispel the illusions about nicotine addiction" and players can track their progress in kicking the habit using the "Path to Freedom" meter. And even after that last cigarette butt has sullied the ashtray, "you can still play the game and measure the daily benefits you get from your new life without cigarettes", Ubisoft promises. "The player experiences a truly interactive engagement with the game, through which he or she learns that it can actually be enjoyable to quit smoking," said Christian Salomon, vice-president of worldwide licensing at Ubisoft.

Unbranded Cigarette Packets Plan

webmaster — Sat, 31 May 2008 07:11:08 +0000

Unbranded Cigarette Packets Plan In New Crackdown On Smoking Proposals to put heavy restrictions on marketing Consultation paper opens 12-week national debate John Carvel, social affairs editor - The Guardian - Saturday May 31, 2008 Under government proposals issued for consultation today, tobacco companies would be obliged sell cigarettes in plain packets, stripped of corporate logos, emblazoned with health warnings. Further restrictions on the marketing of tobacco products in England have been drawn up by ministers to stop adults smoking and discourage young people from taking up the habit. These include: · Banning the sale of cigarettes in pack sizes of less than 20, in an attempt to make smoking less accessible to young people who can only afford a pack of 10. · Banning cigarette vending machines or converting them to take tokens that could only be purchased with proof of age. · Restricting the display of tobacco products in shops, possibly by requiring they are placed under the counter. · Banning the advertising of cigarette papers and other smoking paraphernalia. The proposals are in a consultation paper entitled The Future of Tobacco Control that is being issued by the Department of Health to trigger a 12-week national debate. A spokeswoman said the government is definite about wanting to restrict the display of tobacco products and limit access to vending machines - measures proposed by the devolved government in Scotland last week. But ministers are more open-minded about the other ideas. She said the proposals were targeted mainly at young people, who were considered to be more susceptible to brand advertising. Dawn Primarolo, the public health minister, said: "Protecting children from smoking is a government priority and taking away temptation is one way to do this. If banning brightly coloured packets, removing cigarettes from display and removing the cheap option of a pack of 10 helps save lives, then that is what we should do - but we want to hear everyone's views first." Dr Vivienne Nathanson, head of science and ethics at the British Medical Association, said: "It is good news that the government has taken many of our recommendations on board. It is essential that cigarettes are made more inaccessible to children and one way to do this is to ban 10-packs of cigarettes and to get rid of tobacco vending machines." Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: "Two-thirds of smokers start before the age of 18. We need to aim to stop today's children from starting to smoke and becoming part of these unacceptable and wholly preventable statistics." But the Tobacco Alliance, which represents more than 16,000 independent retailers across the UK, said: "Seeing tobacco on display in shops is not a significant cause of youth smoking and banning it will not solve the problem." A poll for the alliance found 94% of people believed the main reason under-18s started smoking was because friends and family smoked, and because teenagers regarded it as an act of rebellion. Simon Clark, director of the smokers' lobby group Forest, said: "Banning point-of-sale display will make smoking even more attractive to teenagers. Worse, it will drive many smokers towards cheaper counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes ... yet again, freedom of choice and personal responsibility are being sacrificed by politicians who think they know best."

End Of Duty-Free Tobacco Can Curb Smoking

webmaster — Sat, 31 May 2008 14:41:55 +0000

Updated on May 31, 2008 - SCMP Today is the World Health Organisation's World No Tobacco Day. This year's theme is to press for a tobacco-free younger generation. Most smokers start on their habit before they reach 18, leading to a lifetime's tobacco dependence. Smoking tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the world. Regular smokers shorten their own lives, on average, by 15 years. The smoking habit kills between a third to a half of all users eventually. Youngsters do not think of that when they start smoking. The diseases caused by smoking generally surface only later in life so have little deterrent effect on the young. In the last century 100 million people died of smoking-caused diseases, my own father being among them. These diseases include emphysema, cardiovascular diseases, and lung and mouth cancers. The current global death rate from tobacco-related health problems is thought to be about 10,000 people a day. Most smokers are feeding an addiction to nicotine and feel bad if they do not continue doing so. It is not only smokers who are putting themselves at risk from their habit. Those in the vicinity of smokers, the so-called passive smokers, can also be killed. Two-thirds of the world's smokers live in only 10 countries, led by China, India, Indonesia and Japan. I have seen many schoolchildren smoking in Hong Kong on the way home from school. Clearly more needs to be done to alert them to the grim reality of the severe damage they are doing to their bodies. It would be appropriate to abolish the duty-free allowances on tobacco products. The government loses out twice by these duty-free allowances - by the loss of tax on those sales and later by covering the medical costs of the many smokers who end up in hospital. Tobacco products should be priced at a prohibitively high rate, to deter use and especially to deter young people from smoking. Schoolchildren should not be able to afford to buy cigarettes. We also need to regulate to get smokers away from the open frontages of restaurants and bars, where their exhalations poison the air for others. Today's older generation should make every effort to limit the incidence of tobacco dependence in the young and the measures I have proposed can be a start in that direction. For how much longer can it be thought acceptable to have 10,000 deaths from smoking each and every day? Paul Surtees, Mid-Levels

UK Considers Teen Smoking Crackdown

webmaster — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 02:45:50 +0000

1st June 2008 - abc.net.au The British Government is considering banning cigarette machines and forcing manufacturers to sell cigarettes in plain boxes with no branding. The Department of Health for England and Wales has put out a discussion paper that proposes making cigarette vending machines and packets of 10 cigarettes illegal, to try and target teenage smokers. It also suggests the introduction of plain packaging for cigarettes, carrying only the product name in standard lettering and without brand colours. The department also wants to ban point of sale advertising and to force shops to put cigarette boxes beneath shop counters where they cannot be seen. Tobacco manufacturers oppose the moves saying new laws need to be supported by credible evidence, and need to show they can address the Government's stated objective of reducing smoking amongst teenagers.

Japan Tobacco Falls on Higher Cigarette Tax Proposal

webmaster — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:54:23 +0000

Japan Tobacco Falls on Higher Cigarette Tax Proposal (Update2) By Taku Kato June 6 (Bloomberg) -- Japan Tobacco Inc., the world's third- largest publicly traded cigarette maker, fell the most in more than four months in Tokyo trading after a minister said the government may consider increasing cigarette taxes. The stock declined as much as 5.5 percent and was 5.1 percent lower at 488,000 yen as of 1:37 p.m. on Tokyo's stock exchange, heading for the biggest decline since Jan. 28. Higher taxes may quicken a decline in cigarette sales in Japan, where the percentage of men who smoke has fallen by half over the past 40 years to about 40 percent because of an increase in health consciousness. Japan Tobacco's operating income from cigarette sales in the country slid 9.4 percent to 222 billion yen ($2.1 billion) in the 12 months through March. ``Tobacco taxes are a candidate'' to make up for revenue shortfalls, Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Hiroko Ota told reporters in Tokyo today. ``We need to first have a discussion on the entire tax system.'' Hidenao Nakagawa, a former secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, wants lawmakers to consider a proposal to triple the retail price of a pack of cigarettes to about 1,000 yen from about 300 yen, the Nikkei newspaper said today. The government collects 2.2 trillion yen annually from cigarette duties and Nakagawa's proposal would increase this by 8 trillion yen, the Nikkei said. Nakagawa said raising the tax rate would bring Japan cigarette prices in line with other developed countries, the report said. Taxes account for 189 yen of the cost of a 300-yen packet.

Tobacco Excise Tax Reduction Expected

webmaster — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:55:34 +0000

WICHIT CHANTANUSORNSIRI The Excise Department is planning to reduce base valuation prices used for calculating taxes on cigarettes following complaints from cigarette importers of unfair treatment. The department had previously announced a maximum retail price as a base for calculating excise taxes, which in turn were based on CIF (cost, insurance and freight) prices as declared by importers. But declines in CIF have led the department to consider revising downward its maximum prices, possibly by around 10 baht per pack, which in turn will lead to a lower overall tax burden for importers. In addition to excise taxes, the maximum retail price is also used as a base for calculating value-added taxes for goods. The maximum price in practice is often higher than actual retail prices paid by customers. Chawewan Kongcharoenkikul, a deputy director-general of the Customs Department, noted that under the most favoured nation (MFN) concept of the World Trade Organisation, tariffs must be levied equally for goods imported from various members. As a result, the maximum retail price method of calculating excise taxes, which is set individually on a brand basis, may not be in keeping with the principles of MFN. Indeed, cigarette importers have been pushing this argument, citing the fact that cigarettes produced by the government's Thailand Tobacco Monopoly have excise charges based on ex-factory prices whereas imported cigarettes are taxed based on the maximum retail price concept. Dr Chawewan said many countries, such as the Philippines, used actual market prices for calculating taxes. Allowing taxes to fluctuate based on actual market prices rather than an arbitrary figure determined by the state in turn helps foster genuine competition in the market among producers. From the perspective of the Excise Department, however, using maximum prices ensures that tax revenues are relatively stable when compared with calculating taxes based on actual market prices. Historically, the right to establish and tax based on maximum retail prices was given to authorities during a period when the Thai economy was dominated by monopoly players with relatively little competition in the market. As a result, maximum prices were seen as actually benefiting consumers by limiting the scope of firms to take advantage of their market dominance through pricing. But Dr Chawewan acknowledged that the economy today differed significantly from that of past decades, as competition now was relatively free for a wide range of products and services. ''At the end of the day, whether we like it or not, we can't avoid having to comply with international regulations,'' he said. Dr Chawewan said pressure from policymakers for tax officials to meet revenue targets was one factor influencing the valuation process. At the same time, valuation is open to interpretation. The concept of GATT value, for instance, a key principle in assessing import tariffs, calls for calculations to be based on transaction value. But proving that a transaction value was valid and included charges such as royalties that should also be included was difficult, Dr Chawewan said.

Smoke And Mirrors Cloak Tobacco Research

webmaster — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:57:48 +0000

Friday, June 06, 2008 - NewCSR - By Kelly Scott It was yet another stop on an alarming statewide tour when Kim Homer-Vagadori visited the Amador County Health and Human Services building in Sutter Creek last month. The spokeswoman for California Youth Advocacy Network, an anti-tobacco coalition, was there to tell an assembly of public health officials, educators, parents and their children about how a Southern California university and major cigarette company had spent the past three years secretly studying the brains of smoking teenagers. In a multi-year study funded by tobacco giant Philip Morris, the center for smoking cessation at the University of California in Los Angeles conducted research on both vervet monkeys that were fed liquid nicotine and hardcore smokers as young as 14, according to the Los Angeles Times. "The contract was negotiated between UCLA and the Philip Morris Youth Smoking Prevention corporate responsibility office," Homer-Vagadori said. "The grant appears to be similar to past industry 'special projects' and did not go through a formal peer review process." The $6 million-grant funded three projects designed to examine how youth become and stay addicted to tobacco. Using human subjects as young as 14, a stepped approach focused on smoking cessation while their neural systems were analyzed. According to Homer-Vagadori, the center was learned about in January 2007 when it was included on a list of tobacco industry-sponsored grants. But requests of the grant went ignored by the university. A freedom of information request was submitted and denied in July 2007, followed by an intervention from the chairman of the board of regents, which resulted in a heavily redacted copy of the grant. Under pressure from state Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) and the media, a less redacted copy was released last October. Aside from the secrecy, anti-tobacco activists were concerned Philip Morris could use the research findings to design more addictive cigarettes, Homer-Vagadori said. But UCLA Professor Edythe London, the lead scientist in the three-year study, said she was hopeful it would result in new and innovative cessation treatments. "We are doing this because we really want to save lives," she said in an e-mail to the Ledger Dispatch. "I am proud of what we are doing. We have a track record of contributing to science and would like to bring that to the problem of nicotine addiction." Anti-tobacco activists have criticized Philip Morris' involvement in the study and have expressed doubt that the company is aiding in the cessation of nicotine addiction. On the contrary, they're questioning the validity and honesty of all UCLA research. "It's stunning that in this day and age a university would do secret research for the tobacco industry on the brains of children," said Matt Myers, spokesman for the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, in a release. Philip Morris spokesman William Phelps issued a statement that the company is currently funding 23 projects at seven UC campuses and supports the UCLA study as part of the company's effort to reduce youth tobacco use. "This is to increase scientific understanding in the field," he said, adding that the company has no intention of using the research to create a more addictive cigarette. "We would never do that." According to Phelps, Philip Morris began searching in 2006 for a scientist who would be interested in conducting research on adolescent tobacco addiction. The search led to London, a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology who applied for and was granted $6 million to establish the Adolescent Smoking Cessation Center at the school. Roberto Peccei, vice chancellor of research at UCLA, said this is the first time the campus has withheld research information and acknowledged the school could face legal challenges. Larry Fossen, 4-H and youth development program director at the county's UC Cooperative Extension, attended Homer-Vagadori's presentation in Jackson and said he was surprised at UCLA's reluctance to reveal the details of its study. Fossen said UC programs, the public and those who work with youth are all interested in research concerning tobacco's effects on health. "Since youth usage is on the rise, it would be helpful to know how tobacco impacts our youth," he said. Fossen added that Tobacco Reduction of Amador County, which sponsored the presentation, is making strides in reducing nicotine addiction within the community. Across the nation, more than 400,000 people die each year, while more than 4,000 kids try their first cigarettes every day and 1,000 become addicted. One third of those will die prematurely as a result of that addiction. A regional survey showed Amador County outpacing surrounding counties when it came to adolescent smoking. In 2005-06, 18 percent of 11th-grade students said they had smoked within the last 30 days, which topped the list. In addition, 12 percent of 9th-graders and 9 percent of 7th-grade students had also smoked within the last 30 days. While it may seem that the percentages are low, they are actually the highest in the region by double and, in some cases, triple the rates reported by other counties. "Kids are a powerful part of the solution to reducing youth tobacco use," said Dr. Bob Hartmann, county health officer. "Tobacco will be more responsible for preventable deaths than drunk driving, violent crime, drug use and HIV/AIDS combined."

End Easy Access To Cigarettes

webmaster — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 14:20:41 +0000

SCMP - 7th June 2008 I share L. M. S. Valerio's view that it is "an uphill battle" to get existing smokers to quit their health-destructive habit and more importantly to save future generations from this scourge. ("Tough to curb young smokers", June 3). It is clear that the legislation to forbid sales of cigarettes to under-18 minors is not working, with the number of young smokers growing steadily in Hong Kong. The government should curb cigarette manufacturers' easy access to the marketplace by reducing the huge number of outlets allowed to sell cigarettes. A drastic reduction in the outlets will make access to cigarettes inconvenient and demand greater effort from smokers, adults and minors to purchase tobacco. Nicotine is a poisonous and cancer-causing substance and its availability should be restricted, not facilitated. As it is now, cigarettes can be purchased too conveniently from supermarkets, convenience stores, newsstands, neighbourhood stores and restaurants, where cigarettes are always prominently displayed. That cigarettes are as widely available as a bottle of water, a chocolate bar or a newspaper defies reason. The government has the moral responsibility to protect lives, including addressing the harm done by smoking. We must fight aggressive importers and manufacturers of tobacco products by restricting their access to the marketplace. Hopefully, this will help curb or even prevent new generations of smokers from emerging. At the same time, it may also reduce the number of existing smokers and their consumption. Ang Ah Lay, Causeway Bay

No Buts About Tobacco Ban In Restaurants

webmaster — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 14:24:11 +0000

Updated on Jun 08, 2008 - SCMP I read about the dismay of the Wan Chai Business Association about how some members' bars and restaurants were being forced by the Tobacco Control Office to provide clean air to their staff ("Fuming bar owners to unite after losing smoking exemption", June 1). I took immediate action to ease their pain. As a public service and to create a level playing field, I have checked the relevant websites, identified 72 "bars" in Hong Kong that have a smoking exemption - yet hold a general restaurant license. I have requested that Tobacco Control pull their exemption. I even found one smoking nightclub that holds a full restaurant licence. If Noel Smyth can, with a straight face, point to the licence on the front door of his shop that states boldly that Delaney's is a restaurant, and then say it is not a restaurant - then he should be doing stand-up comedy. Annelise Connell, Stanley

China's Smokers Light Up Young

webmaster — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:32:24 +0000

11 June 2008 - SCMP China admits it has 15 million underage smokers, most of whom started before they turned 13, according to a Health Ministry report that blames advertising, easy access to cigarettes and low prices. China's three top-selling brands cost less than five yuan a packet, and more than 90 per cent of young smokers surveyed said no stores had ever refused to sell them tobacco, despite a ban on sales to those under 18, AFP reports.

Warrant Issued After Businessman Fails To Appear

webmaster — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:34:42 +0000

Danny Mok - SCMP - Updated on Jun 11, 2008 A former chairman of a tobacco manufacturer is being sought by graft-busters on an arrest warrant after he failed to appear in court for his alleged connection to a HK$50 million cigarette-smuggling case. Lu Dayong, 60, former chairman of Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company, had been facing two counts of conspiracy for an agent to accept an advantage and one of conspiracy to defraud. Lu was earlier granted court bail of HK$3 million in cash. He was required to appear in court yesterday for the resumption of the hearing, which had gone on for 54 days, the Independent Commission Against Corruption said. District Court Judge Joseph Yau Chi-lap issued a warrant for Lu's arrest after he failed to turn up. The commission said people who had information on the whereabouts of Lu or any other information that could lead to his arrest should call its 24-hour hotline, 2526 6366. Co-defendants Ko Kit, 39, director of Hang Chun Trade Development; and Chan Kai-san, 40, sales manager of the same firm, had their case adjourned to today. One of the bribery charges alleges Lu, Ko and Chan conspired together and with other people for Lu to accept advantages from purchasers of cigarettes from the mainland between March 2003 and February 2004. The alleged advantages were for Lu to cause Nanyang Brothers to sell Double Happiness cigarettes to Hang Chun so that they could be supplied to the mainland purchasers. The other conspiracy charge alleges Lu, Ko and Chan conspired to defraud the tobacco company by concealing from the firm that Lu had interests in Hang Chun. The defendants were alleged to have caused the tobacco company to supply Double Happiness cigarettes to Hang Chun, knowing that the cigarettes would be sold on the mainland, violating the contracts between the two firms. Another suspect in the case, mainlander Lin Jianding, 42, a former director of Hang Chun, is still being been sought by the ICAC.

Smuggling Trial To Go On Without Suspect

webmaster — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 02:16:31 +0000

Chandra Wong - Updated on Jun 13, 2008 - SCMP A district court judge presiding over a HK$50 million cigarette-smuggling case has decided to go ahead with the trial of two co-defendants even though a third, the former chairman of a tobacco manufacturer, has absconded. District Court Judge Joseph Yau Chi-lap yesterday exercised his discretion to resume the trial, which started last October, without the presence of Lu Dayong, 60, former chairman of Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company. The judge issued an arrest warrant for Lu and confiscated his HK$3 million bail on Tuesday after he failed to appear for a hearing. The judge also refused a request to either step down from the trial or hold a separate trial for the co-defendants, Lu's girlfriend Ko Kit, 39, director of Hang Chun Trade Development, and Chan Kai-san, 40, sales manager of the same firm. Cheng Huan SC, for Ko and Chan, said his clients had prepared their case on the understanding that Lu would call expert witnesses to counter the government forensics accountants' findings concerning Lu's bank accounts. The judge said Lu's disappearance would not influence his handling of the case. Ko and Chan are free on bail of HK$700,000 and HK$500,000, respectively. Lu and Ko have pleaded not guilty to a joint charge of conspiracy to arrange for Lu to accept an advantage. Lu, Ko and Chan have pleaded not guilty to joint charges of conspiracy to defraud, and conspiring to arrange for Lu to accept an advantage. The case involves Hang Chun's suspected involvement in the illegal smuggling of Double Happiness cigarettes to the mainland.

One Cent Up, 60,000 Smokers Down

webmaster — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 02:52:10 +0000

By Sarah Wotherspoon - June 13, 2008 - Herald Sun RAISING the price of a packet of cigarettes by as little as one cent a stick could result in at least 60,000 fewer smokers. And increasing exposure to anti-smoking ads could also drastically slash the smoking rate, an Australian-led study has found. The research, to be published in the American Journal of Public Health today, found price increases and media campaigns were the most effective ways to reduce the uptake of smoking and encourage people to quit. Study co-author Prof David Hill said the results showed the Government needed to consider greater investment in tobacco control to achieve gains in public health. "An increase in the real price of cigarettes and mass media campaigns broadcast at sufficient levels of exposure at regular intervals are critical for reducing population smoking rates," he said. "The public health gains from reducing tobacco use are huge and indisputable, but we will not see population-level change from irregular tobacco control activity. Ongoing exposure to mass-reach interventions, such as price increases and mass media campaigns are required." The study used monthly survey data from Australia's five largest capital cities to assess the impact of anti-smoking ads and other policies on adult smoking rates. Quit executive director Fiona Sharkie said cigarettes were cheap compared with food, petrol and even a night at the movies, and the tobacco tax had not increased in almost 10 years apart from CPI increases and the GST. "The study essentially provides the Government with a blueprint on the best ways to reduce smoking, and it will certainly be invaluable information for the new National Preventative Health Taskforce, who are currently considering ways forward to address tobacco use in Australia," she said.

MP Introduces Bill To Ban Youth Smoking

webmaster — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:36:15 +0000

ABC News - June 13, 2008 Nationals' MP Damien Drum is pushing to change Victoria's smoking laws. He introduced a bill into State Parliament yesterday to make it unlawful for people under the age of 18 to smoke and buy or sell cigarettes. The proposed legislation would also ban marketing tobacco to young people. Mr Drum says about 90 per cent of smokers started when they were teenagers. "Whilst the smoking rates are coming down they're not coming down fast enough," he said. "We've got something like 50 young Victorians everyday are starting smoking, it's just far too many. "Half of those are going to become committed full-time smokers." Mr Drum says the proposed legislation has been formed after years of discussion and research. "Well currently there's no restriction on youth at all, there's no minimum age for them to smoke, there's no offence if they continue to try to obtain cigarettes by purchasing them," he said. "The onus currently is on the retailer to not supply them. "So what we're going to do is share that responsibility between the youth themselves."

Cigarette Taxes and Media Campaigns Reduce Smoking

webmaster — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:52:04 +0000

New Study: Cigarette Taxes and Media Campaigns Reduce Smoking Statement of Matthew L. Myers - President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Washington, D.C. – A new study published online today by the American Journal of Public Health provides important new evidence that cigarette tax increases and mass media public education campaigns can significantly reduce smoking. These proven measures are a part of a package of cost-effective solutions for reducing tobacco use, called the MPOWER package, that the World Health Organization has recommended every nation implement. This new study adds to the overwhelming body of evidence that these solutions work and should spur governments to take urgent actions to protect the health of their citizens from tobacco use, the world’s leading cause of preventable death. The study, conducted by a team of Australian researchers, examined the impact of several tobacco control policies on adult smoking rates in Australia over a 10 year period. The study found that government action can effectively reduce tobacco use. Key findings include: · Higher cigarette prices resulting from tax increases led to rapid reductions in adult smoking rates, even when controlling for other factors. According to the study, increases in the cost of a pack of cigarettes created measurable declines in smoking rates. · Well-funded and sustained tobacco control media campaigns significantly reduced smoking rates. The study concludes that media campaigns must be adequately funded to ensure sufficient exposure to the public and must be sustained over time. The results of the study demonstrate that raising the price of tobacco by increasing tobacco taxes will reducing smoking, but an even greater impact can be achieved by using some of the revenue from the tobacco tax to fund a sustained media campaign. To effectively reduce tobacco use, the WHO recommends that nations implement a package of six cost-effective solutions called MPOWER: · Monitor tobacco use and assess the impact of tobacco prevention and cessation efforts; · Protect everyone from secondhand smoke with laws that require smoke-free workplaces and public places; · Offer help to every tobacco user to quit; · Warn and effectively educate every person about the dangers of tobacco use with strong, pictorial health warnings and hard-hitting, sustained media campaigns; · Enact and enforce comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorships and on the use of misleading terms such as “light” and “low-tar;” and · Raise the price of tobacco products by significantly increasing tobacco taxes. Tobacco taxes are one of the single most effective ways of reducing tobacco use, with studies showing that every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces overall cigarette consumption by 4 percent and youth smoking by 7 percent. In addition, the WHO has found that consumer mass media campaigns are effective in educating the public on the dangers of smoking, countering the tobacco industry’s marketing and promotional tactics, and reducing tobacco use. According to the WHO, tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the world today and will kill one billion people worldwide this century unless nations act now to save lives. Tobacco use already kills 5.4 million people a year and the epidemic is worsening, especially in the developing world where more than 80 percent of tobacco-caused deaths will occur in the coming decades. However, this epidemic is entirely preventable if nations urgently implement proven solutions. More information: The Cancer Council Victoria: http://www.cancervic.org.au/

tobacco-additives

webmaster — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 02:37:05 +0000

Heart Attack Admissions Fall By Up To 40% Since Smoking Ban

webmaster — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 04:50:43 +0000

The Times - June 16, 2008 - Will Pavia The number of heart attack patients being admitted to emergency wards has fallen sharply in more than half of England’s hospital trusts since smoking was banned in public places. The figures, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, are an early indication of the impact of the smoking ban on heart disease rates in England. Some hospitals have seen the number of cases fall by 41 per cent since last July. The British Heart Foundation said that it showed the ban was the “most significant public health initiative this century”. Studies in Scotland and Ireland, which introduced a public-smoking ban in 2006, showed hospital admissions for heart attacks falling by 17 and 14 per cent respectively. Comparable evidence has come from France and Italy. These drops in the rate of heart attacks have been attributed to a large number of people stopping smoking, and far fewer people being exposed to airborne toxins through passive smoking. The Government has not yet published figures documenting the effects of the ban in England. But NHS records show that there were 1,384 fewer heart attacks in the nine months after the legislation was introduced than in the same period a year earlier. The figures, obtained by the Daily Mail, show admissions for heart attacks from 114 trusts: 66 saw a drop in admissions compared with the same period the year before. The most striking figures came from Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, where there was a 41 per cent fall, or 418 fewer cases. In the remaining 48 trusts, the number of admissions remained the same or increased slightly. The Department of Health welcomed the figures as “good news” but added that it was too early to attribute falls in heart attack rates to the new legislation. Rates of heart disease were falling before smoking in public was banned in European countries, and various factors, including mild weather, can contribute to a fall. Nevertheless, the health benefits of stopping smoking are well established. A year after a person quits smoking, the risk of a heart attack falls to half that of a smoker. Nicholas Boon, of the British Cardiovascular Society, said: “When you place these figures with the research in Scotland, Ireland, France and Rome, it is consistent with the observation that the ban has been followed by improvements in heart attack rates.”

Ontario Passes Ban On Smoking In Cars With Kids Under 16

webmaster — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:39:09 +0000

The Canadian Press - June 18, 2008 Ontario became the latest Canadian province to ban smoking in a vehicle with a child present Monday after a government-backed private member's bill passed in the legislature with the support of all three parties. Smoking in Ontario workplaces and public areas, such as bars and restaurants, is already illegal in Ontario, but the new ban will provide an additional level of protection to children under the age of 16, said Health Promotion Minister Margarett Best. "This is about protection of our most vulnerable citizens - children who do not have a voice," Best told the legislature. Drivers and passengers in Ontario who don't butt out in cars carrying children won't be fined more than $250 for each offence, a much lighter fine than originally envisioned by Liberal backbencher David Orazietti's bill, which set penalties up to $1,000. Nova Scotia and British Columbia have already outlawed the practice, which critics liken to child abuse. Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick are also considering a similar ban. Health care groups who lobbied hard for a ban praised the province for taking the right steps to protect children's health. "Doctors have been calling for a ban since 2004 and raising awareness about the serious impacts on children of second-hand smoke in cars," Ontario Medical Association president Dr. Ken Arnold said in a statement. "The amount of support it has received publicly and from MPPs of all stripes is an indication that more people are becoming educated about the negative health impacts of smoking." Premier Dalton McGuinty once dismissed a province-wide ban as a slippery slope that infringed too much on people's rights, but changed his tune in March and threw his government's support behind the private members' bill. Mychoice.ca, a smokers' rights group financed in part by the tobacco industry, has raised concerns that the ban will eventually extend to private homes, but McGuinty said that's not under consideration. Government officials cite studies which show that kids are exposed to up to 27 times the toxins when they're in enclosed spaces like a car, which can worsen asthma and lead to other respiratory illnesses. The province will launch a campaign to better educate the public about the dangers of smoking in vehicles with children, but hasn't yet determined how much it will spend, Best said. "We expect the budget will not be a big budget because we expect that there's going to be a very high percentage of compliance with this piece of legislation," she said. But police will be expected to enforce the law once it takes effect, which will only make their jobs more onerous, said Opposition Leader Bob Runciman. "There will probably be very little enforcement of this, in terms of checking cars and that sort of thing," he said. "So I think education would be a critical part of this. It has to be." Ontario Provincial Police have said the ban won't be difficult to enforce, as it already inspects for seatbelts and child car seats. The ban should have also extended protection to teens until they're 19, when they're legally allowed to buy cigarettes, said NDP health critic France Gelinas. "You send this message that, 'We know there are a lot of kids between the ages of 16 and 19 that smoke. It's a problem we're not ready to tackle, therefore we're going to put the cutoff at 16 years old,"' she said. "That's the wrong message to send."

Appeal Bid By Absent Tobacco Tycoon Fails

webmaster — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:46:58 +0000

Ruling on bugging of defendant upheld Yvonne Tsui - Updated on Jun 18, 2008 The appeal court yesterday rejected an application by the director of a tobacco company - who has absconded - to argue in the top court against the continuation of his criminal trial in the District Court. The challenge was mounted after lawyers cited what they said was a deliberate breach of legal privilege, by anti-corruption officers who bugged the office of a defendant, as grounds for halting the trial. The trial judge rejected that argument, and a subsequent request for a judicial review of that decision was also rejected. Lu Dayong, 57, former executive director of Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Co Ltd, failed to appear last week at a District Court hearing on his alleged involvement in the illegal smuggling of Double Happiness cigarettes. A warrant for his arrest was issued. Lawyer Martin Lee Chu-ming SC said outside court that Lu's failure to appear at that hearing had not affected the application. He said he had been given detailed instructions on the application before Lu absconded. Mr Lee, who acted for Lu and two other applicants - both co-defendants in the trial - in the judicial review application, argued yesterday that legal privilege should be recognised as an absolute right. The appeal stemmed from a ruling on May 16 by Mr Justice Michael Hartmann, who refused to grant leave for a judicial review of District Court Judge Joseph Yau Chi-lap's decision on April 3 not to stay the criminal proceeding. Mr Justice Hartmann said it would be inappropriate for him to hear the case as Judge Yau had properly exercised his power to decide on the application for a stay of proceedings. He said the merits of the decision should be heard in the Court of Appeal upon a criminal appeal, not in a judicial review. Upholding that decision, yesterday's ruling by Mr Justice Michael Stuart-Moore and Mr Justice Frank Stock, of the Court of Appeal, brought an end to the matter. The criminal trial will continue in the District Court next Wednesday. Lu - along with Ko Kit, 36, director of Hang Chun Trade Development, and Chan Kai-san, 37, a sales manager for the same firm - had asked for a stay of the criminal proceedings on the grounds that the Independent Commission Against Corruption's covert surveillance operation "constituted an affront to public conscience" by bugging a conversation between Ko and her lawyer. Lu and Ko face one count of conspiracy to arrange for Lu to accept an advantage. All three face a charge of conspiracy to defraud and another count of conspiracy to arrange for Lu to accept an advantage.

Smoking Ban Near Entrances Of State Buildings

webmaster — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:44:46 +0000

By WWAY - Created 19 Jun 2008 The state senate wants to tighten tobacco restrictions on state owned property. The senate has approved bills that ban smoking within 25 feet of entrances to state buildings. Here in Wilmington, UNCW's campus is one of the largest state properties. Administrators already implemented the more restrictive policy earlier this month. Some students told NewsChannel Three today that it is for the best. Junior Jill Murtaugh said, "It's nice to go to residence halls and not have to walk through smoke to get through the door. So I really like the fact that they put this new rule in place." A recent university survey indicated that 88 percent of UNCW students don't smoke daily. Students who smoke called the new rules inconvenient.

9,851 Summonses For Smoking

webmaster — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:48:35 +0000

19th June 2008 - SCMP The number of summonses for breaching the smoking ban from January last year to this May was 9,851, with 6,687 issued by the Tobacco Control Office and 3,164 by the police. The ban covers some designated outdoor areas and all indoor public spaces, and offenders face a HK$1,500 fine.

Tobacco Inspectors Leaving Over Contract Terms

webmaster — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 04:49:36 +0000

Oriental Daily - 20th June - SCMP Frontline tobacco control inspectors, who are hired on non-civil servant contract terms, are leaving their posts in the run up to the effectiveness of fixed penalty and joint enforcement of the law by three more authorities from the first half of next year. The Tobacco Control Office admitted that over 20 per cent of inspectors had left in 2007 and 16 replacements had to be hired to fill all 85 inspector posts.

Dutch Tobacco Ban

webmaster — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 04:31:19 +0000

Cannabis smokers on a downer over Dutch tobacco ban Bloomberg in Amsterdam - Updated on Jun 22, 2008 As of July 1, marijuana will be the only leaf that can be smoked in public places in the Netherlands. Cannabis devotees are not celebrating. Pot smokers, who usually cut joints with tobacco, and owners of the "coffee shops" where they are allowed to light up will have to change their habits when the nation implements the indoor tobacco ban. Puffing a pure marijuana cigarette in public will still be permitted; smoking one with tobacco will merit coffee-shop owners a €300 (HK$3,650) fine for the first offence and €2,400 for a fourth. "Every customer will have to learn how to smoke pure," said Robert Kempen, co-owner of The NooN and Mellow Yellow in Amsterdam, which sell marijuana and hashish. The rule made him "sick to death", he said. Coffee shop owners said the ban would put some of them out of business as smokers stayed away. The nation's 720 outlets that serve marijuana smokers generate a large portion of their revenue from selling drinks, food and rolling papers to their patrons. Dutch sales of cannabis alone totalled €1.2 billion in 2001, the most recent official figures show. To permit tobacco smoking, shops will have to build separate, unstaffed rooms, and many say they do not have the space or money to do so. Others are investing in water pipes and US$400 vaporisers, initially intended to help people with lung problems inhale medicine, to help smokers light up without tobacco. "It's a bad year for marijuana smokers," Gwydion Hydref said, smoking in Coffee Shop Johnny. The Welshman works for Wickedtrips, which offers holiday packages, including a "no-holds-barred weekender" to Amsterdam ahead of the smoking ban. "Times have changed." The Netherlands follows other European countries in banning tobacco. Ireland was the first to forbid smoking in public in 2004. Sweden, Italy, Malta, France, Belgium, Finland, Lithuania, Portugal and England have followed, with full or partial restrictions. The Dutch ban, which prohibits tobacco smoking in all public places of employment to protect workers' health, is only for tobacco and makes no change to marijuana policy, a spokeswoman for Health Minister Ab Klink said. The government would have to see if the law was enforceable, she said. The Netherlands decriminalised marijuana in 1976, though it stopped short of fully legalising the drug because international treaties prohibited it from doing so. The country's first coffee shop, named after Donovan's song Mellow Yellow, had opened its doors four years earlier. The number has dropped by 39 per cent over the past decade as authorities cracked down on sales to young people and revoked the licences of owners committing crimes. To enforce the new policy, the government has more than doubled its number of food and consumer product inspectors to 200.

Hong Kong Bars And Nightclubs

webmaster — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 04:34:51 +0000

Toast Rack: what a drag Daniel Jeffreys - Updated on Jun 22, 2008 - SCMP It makes us furious to see the plight of Paul Newman. Remember the actor with the piercing blue eyes who was Butch to the Sundance and a fantasy in flesh for women of a certain age. It's said he has lung cancer. It's bad enough that somebody as smart as Newman could have been conned by the tobacco companies into thinking smoking was a harmless way to look sophisticated. What's worse is that so many Hong Kong bars and nightclubs will continue to promote the deadly addiction until next July, when their exemption from the city's smoking ban finally runs out. Maybe these venues could display photos of Newman behind the bar - not the one of him smiling from a bottle of salad dressing but the gut-wrenching shot of him as he left a charity event looking like a dead man walking.

Smoking's Hidden Death Toll Revealed

webmaster — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:28:40 +0000

Scotland On Sunday - June 23, 2008 - Murdo MacLeod Smoking causes hundreds of thousands more deaths each year than previously thought, dramatic scientific research has revealed. A study, led by experts in Glasgow, showed heightened chances of dying from cancers of the colon, rectum and prostate, as well as from lymphatic leukaemia. These illnesses cause 930,000 deaths worldwide each year, in addition to more than five million smoking-related deaths estimated by the World Health Organisation as being caused by diseases such as lung cancer, which have long been linked to smoking. Scotland's health minister and anti-smoking campaigners have welcomed the study as further proof of the need to clamp down on the habit. About 13,000 Scots a year die of lung cancer and other smoking-related diseases, such heart illnesses. Another 1,600 people die in Scotland each year from the cancers newly linked to the habit. The Scottish Government last month unveiled controversial new plans to curb smoking, by proposing a ban on cigarettes being displayed in shops. And ministers south of the border have suggested scrapping packs of 10 cigarettes because of their popularity among young smokers. The new study, which has been published in the journal Annals of Oncology, was carried out by a team led by experts at Glasgow University and was based on data from 17,363 male civil servants based in London. Information about their health and habits has been collated since the 1960s in an effort to gain information about health trends and find links between lifestyle and illness. The original link between smoking and lung cancer was found through similar analysis of medical data. The study found: • A 43% increase in the chances of dying from cancer of the colon if the person smokes. • A 40% higher likelihood of dying from rectal cancer. • An increase of 23% in the chances of losing one's life to prostate cancer. • A 53% rise in mortality from lymphatic leukaemia among smokers. The study concluded: "Cigarette smoking appears to be a risk factor for several malignancies of previously unclear association with tobacco use." Dr David Batty, of the Medical Research Council Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, based at the University of Glasgow, said: "What this study shows is that smoking is linked to more kinds of cancer than previously thought. It's important to remember that cancer is not a single disease and that the various kinds of cancers are different illnesses so you couldn't necessarily assume that smoking was linked to them in the same way. What's unclear is how exactly smoking causes these cancers." Health Minister Shona Robison said: "This study appears to demonstrate that smoking is even more carcinogenic than was realised. It also underlines the importance of Scotland's smoking ban in public places, which is helping to safeguard the health of thousands of people working in previously smoky environments." Sheila Duffy, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health Scotland, said: "This large-scale study adds to the weight of existing research confirming the harmfulness of smoking. It's vital that smokers receive support and encouragement to quit and as a nation we take steps to ensure future generations avoid getting hooked on this lethal and highly addictive substance." Ed Yong, health information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: "The dangers of cigarette smoke go far beyond its well-known link to lung cancer. It's interesting to see that even after 50 years of research, studies are still revealing new dangers." However, one leading medical experts questioned the conclusions. Fouad Habib, professor of experimental urology at Edinburgh University, and an expert in prostate cancer, said: "This study is bit of a surprise and very much the first of its kind. Until now it's not been thought that there was any link between smoking and prostate cancer and I would have thought that there are factors which play a much greater role, such as genetics." Meanwhile, smokers' groups insisted the research should not be used to push through tougher anti-smoking rules. Neil Rafferty, spokesman for the smokers' lobby group the Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco, said: "We are not suggesting the smoking is anything other than bad for you. People enjoy it, but they know that it's not good for them and they take the choice. No doubt the anti-smoking lobby will want to use this to erode our freedoms still further. At the end of the day, we are adults. Let us get on with our lives."

Tobacco Smoke Derived Particle Levels in Indoor Public Places

webmaster — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:00:14 +0000

Delayed Cigarette-Smuggling Trial Begins Without Key Suspect

webmaster — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:25:47 +0000

Chandra Wong - Updated on Jun 27, 2008 - SCMP The trial of three company heads alleged to have pocketed HK$12.6 million in commissions from a cigarette-smuggling racket started yesterday after months of delay. But it went ahead in the absence of one of the alleged conspirators, Lu Dayong, 60, former director of Hong Kong-based Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company, manufacturer of Double Happiness cigarettes. Lu, who has absconded, is said to have conspired with his girlfriend Ko Kit, 39, Chan Kai-san, 40, and other unknown conspirators who headed two companies, Hang Chun and Golden Leaf, which Lu approved as overseas distributors for his company's products. The cigarettes are alleged to have been smuggled to the mainland from Hong Kong via other places including the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam. In a 59-page document presented to open the case yesterday, the prosecution alleged the commissions were paid through various parties from the mainland in the form of deposits, cash and company or casino cheques to bank accounts controlled by unknown conspirators and Ko, who then received and held the funds on behalf of Lu in her bank accounts. The trio were said to have received the substantial commissions during the 14 months from December 2002 to February 2004, when they were arrested by undercover agents. The prosecution said anti-graft agents found Lu kept a diary on the commission payments and cigarette shipments. Ko, a former restaurant receptionist, had no experience in business dealing and was financially dependent on Lu despite holding top positions in the two overseas distributors, the court heard. The prosecution said the three were caught during covert surveillance discussing the cigarette shipments or commission payments. All three denied a charge of conspiracy to defraud and another count of conspiracy to arrange for Lu to accept an advantage. Lu and Ko pleaded not guilty to another count of conspiracy to arrange for Lu to accept an advantage. The trial continues today before Judge Joseph Yau Chi-lap.

Increased Taxes Drive Down Tobacco Sales

webmaster — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:27:30 +0000

Calgary Herald - June 27, 2008 - Michelle Lang Reduced revenues replaced by more drinking, gambling Higher tobacco taxes are discouraging Alberta smokers from lighting up, but gamblers and drinkers are making up for any lost revenue, according to new government figures. The Alberta government's annual report, released Tuesday, said provincial coffers collected about $845 million in tobacco taxes during 2007-08 -- $45 million less than the budgeted amount -- because of "lower than anticipated sales." Anti-tobacco advocates hailed the statistic as a turning point for smoking in the province and attributed the change to a 16 per cent increase in tobacco taxes, announced last year, as well as recent anti-smoking legislation. Action on Smoking and Health said Alberta has seen a six per cent decline in smoking during the past year, noting tobacco sales dropped by about 137,000 cigarettes at the same time the province's population increased. "It's the first drop in consumption in five years in Alberta," said Les Hagen of Action on Smoking and Health, an anti-tobacco lobby group. "It means we've turned an important corner in tobacco reduction." Despite the drop in sales, government still collected about $70 million more in revenue from tobacco, compared with 2006-07, because of the tax increase. Tuesday's statistics follow the province's decision in the spring 2007 budget to boost tobacco taxes by about 63 cents per pack. The increase made Alberta's cigarettes among the most expensive in Canada. Last fall, Alberta passed tobacco legislation that introduced a sweeping smoking ban in all public and work places as of Jan. 1. Representatives with the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission said Tuesday they weren't surprised by statistics showing a drop in sales, noting higher taxes are closely linked with lower smoking rates. "It's one time when we're delighted with a reduction in revenue," said Sue Lysachok of the commission. While tobacco sales are dropping, however, sales of liquor and gaming revenues are growing in Alberta. The province's annual report said gaming and lottery revenue have increased from $1.5 billion in 2006-07 to $1.6 billion during the past year. Liquor revenue increased from $658 million to $678 million over the same period. Alberta Finance officials said the province's population boom is likely boosting gambling and liquor revenues. A spokesperson with the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission said the province's strong economy may also play a role in the higher revenues, with Albertans having more disposable income to spend on entertainment such as gambling. Robert Williams, a University of Lethbridge professor and a co-ordinator with the Alberta Gaming Research Institute, said the growing number of casinos around the province is partly responsible for the increase.

Ban Sparks Rise In Smoking Quitters

webmaster — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:04:01 +0000

The Press Association - Jun 27, 2008 Almost a quarter of a million people have stopped smoking since the ban on lighting up in public places was introduced, according to an official report to be published next week. A total of 234,060 people have stopped smoking with the help of the NHS Quit Smoking Service since the ban was brought in on July 1, 2007. That is 22% more people than in the previous 12 months. The Department of Health report on the smoke-free legislation will be published on the first anniversary of the smoking ban. It also states the ban has cut pollution levels in bars and restaurants by 91%. Fears that the ban would not be enforced have proved groundless with 98% of premises inspected complying with the legislation and 76% of the population saying they back the law. In the foreword to the report, Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson writes: "The significance of the smoke-free laws cannot be underestimated. "A significant reduction in second-hand smoke with its damaging health effects has been achieved. We expect many lives have been saved. Everyone has the right to enjoy the benefits of a cleaner, healthier environment." Amanda Sandford, research manager at the campaigning charity Action on Smoking and Health, said the ban had been a resounding success. She said: "There are so many benefits from the legislation. For example, we have seen a decline in the number of people being admitted to hospital with heart disease and there has been a 76% reduction in the nicotine levels of bar workers. "But we can not sit on our laurels. There are still nine million adult smokers in England alone and smoking is still the biggest cause of preventable sickness and death in this country."

Quit-Smoking Option Expenses Spelled Out

webmaster — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 04:30:57 +0000

May Chan - Jun 28, 2008 - SCMP A Democratic lawmaker's proposal to offer smoking offenders a quit course would require the government to pay half the cost of treatment, the Food and Health Bureau says. Andrew Cheng Kar-foo made the suggestion last week in an amendment to the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance as the Legislative Council considered a government plan to introduce a HK$1,500 fixed penalty for offenders. The current penalty provides only for offenders to be summonsed to court, where they may be fined up to HK$5,000 - but usually the amount is just a fraction of that. Mr Cheng said smokers should have a choice of either paying the fixed penalty or paying for a course on quitting. But in a letter to Legco, the bureau said the average cost of a 12-week course was about HK$3,000. If a fifth of the projected number of fined smokers opted for the course, the government would have to budget an extra HK$2.8 million. And in the interest of fairness, HK$2.9 million would be needed to subsidise smokers who voluntarily attended cessation clinics. It may also have to pay HK$13 million to set up four extra clinics. Overall, Mr Cheng's proposal would cost HK$18.7 million a year. The bureau estimates there will be 8,000 prosecutions this year, but if the fine is introduced it estimates total number of smokers penalised this year will rise 20 per cent to 9,600. Mr Cheng said he was worried that his proposal - due to go before a Legco bills committee on Wednesday - might not even be discussed because of the costs stated in the letter. He reiterated that if illegal smokers were allowed the option, it would save expenses on medical services. "Even if I don't put forward this proposal, the government is still responsible for increasing expenditures on smoking cessation services," Mr Cheng said. The smoking ban, covering some designated outdoor areas and all indoor public areas, came into force on January 1 last year. A total of 5,929 summonses were issued from January 1 last year to April 30 this year for breaches.

Smoking Ban Forces Record Numbers To Quit

webmaster — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 07:08:50 +0000

By Patrick Sawer - Last updated: 8:06 AM BST 28/06/2008 - Telegraph News The smoking ban in pubs, clubs and restaurants has been described as the "single most important health measure for a generation" after record numbers are shown to have quit the habit last year. A leaked report shows 234,060 people gave up smoking in the months immediately before and after the law was introduced a year ago - a 22 per cent increase on the previous year. The report by the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, says that 76 per cent of people support the ban on smoking in the workplace and other public places while just three per cent of businesses reported a negative impact on trade. The report, to be officially published on the July 1 anniversary, also shows that 98 per cent of premises inspected complied with the smoke-free legislation. Air quality in pubs and restaurants has also improved dramatically since July 1 last year. Pollution levels fell 91 per cent inside pubs and restaurants after the ban and is "now comparable to outside air". At the same time bar workers showed a 76 per cent reduction in nicotine levels. In the foreword to his report, Sir Liam says: "The significance of the smoke-free laws cannot be underestimated. "A significant reduction in second-hand smoke with its damaging health effects has been achieved. We expect many lives will have been saved. Everyone has the right to enjoy the benefits of a cleaner, healthier environment." Amanda Sandford, of the campaigning charity Action on Smoking and Health, said last night: "This is great news." Ministers are set to use the anniversary of the smoking ban in England next week to publicise its success. However Sir Liam argues more needs to be done to persuade smokers to give up. From this autumn graphic picture warnings are to be printed on cigarette packets, a move described by Sir Liam as "essential". Ministers are also planning to ban packs of 10, stop newsagents displaying cigarettes and outlaw cigarette vending machines. Sir Liam said: "The smoking epidemic is far from solved. Tobacco kills 87,000 people annually in England alone. It remains the single greatest cause of preventable illness." England was the last part of the UK to ban smoking in public places and workplaces. Bans were introduced in Scotland in 2006 and in Wales and Northern Ireland in 2007. The British Beer and Pub Association said the smoking ban has had a devastating effect on pubs, with 1,409 pubs closing in 2007 compared with 216 in 2006 - a rate of nearly 30 a week.

Permit Option For Smokers

webmaster — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 07:01:21 +0000

Sunday Herald Sun - Evonne Barry, Health reporter - June 29, 2008 12:00am HEALTH Minister Nicola Roxon has warned smokers she is prepared to take radical action to force them to give up. A smoker's permit could be among the "innovative options" employed to get Australians to quit. The permit, which smokers would have to buy annually and display every time they bought cigarettes, has been mooted in Britain. And Ms Roxon said Australians could face similar measures to cut the national smoking rate. "They are the types of things that when the (National Preventative Health Taskforce) says, 'These are the next steps for the comprehensive plan', that you could take," she said. "I think with tobacco, because we have already gone a long way in Australia in terms of regulation of sale and advertising, there will probably be innovative options like that coming forward." Ms Roxon said while cutting binge drinking and obesity rates were high on her agenda, curbing smoking demanded the most drastic action. "With alcohol and obesity... the messages are more subtle because there are of course safe amounts of sweet foods and fatty foods you can eat. "But with tobacco, it's a pretty clear message - none of it is safe. So I'm looking forward to considering all of those options and I think they will go from the quite small, individual proposals for personal behaviour to what we need to do across the country." Under Britain's permit proposal, smokers would have to renew their permit every year and display it when buying cigarettes. Revenue raised from the licences would be pumped back into the public health system. Quit executive director Fiona Sharkie said plain packaging was at the top of her wish list for government reform on smoking. She said the tobacco industry should be forced to remove all colours and logos from its products. "We want the punishment being put on to the tobacco industry because they are the ones that are getting smokers addicted," Ms Sharkie said. Tuesday marks a year since smoking was banned in Victoria's 7000 pubs, clubs, gaming rooms and cigar bars.

Record Numbers Of Smokers Kick Habit

webmaster — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 07:06:31 +0000

Health bonus claimed from a year of restrictions Caroline Davies - The Observer - Sunday June 29, 2008 The number of smokers successfully quitting has soared because of the smoking ban in England, which celebrates its first anniversary this week. Research shows that almost 235,000 people managed to stub it out with help from the NHS in the nine months from April to December 2007 - a rise of 22 per cent on the year before. The figures, contained in a Department of Health report to be published next week, are being used as evidence that the ban on lighting up in enclosed public spaces has been a success. In the foreword Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson writes: 'The significance of the smoke-free laws cannot be underestimated. A significant reduction in second-hand smoke with its damaging health effects has been achieved. We expect many lives have been saved. Everyone has the right to enjoy the benefits of a cleaner, healthier environment.' Fears that smokers would smoke more at home appear to be unrealised, with 67 per cent imposing a total ban, compared with 61 per cent before the ban, according to the Office for National Statistics, which also shows that 80 per cent of those polled believed the legislation banning smoking was a good thing. 'That is a key finding,' said Linda Bauld, from the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies. 'Lots of people expected that if you stopped people smoking at work and in pubs and restaurants, they will smoke more at home. But there is no evidence of that,' she said. The British Lung Foundation yesterday claimed the ban was responsible for keeping people with breathing difficulties out of hospital and for saving lives. In a survey of more than 1,000 people with lung conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, 56 per cent said they were now able to go out more without the risk of suffering attacks of breathlessness from passive smoking in pubs and restaurants. 'People with lung conditions are often rushed to hospital with attacks of breathlessness, a terrifying experience which can result in death,' said a spokesman for the charity. 'In the past most people with a lung condition have been unable to enjoy a visit to the pub or restaurant because passive smoking could bring on an attack.' Nearly two-fifths of those questioned said the ban had helped to keep them out of hospital. Sue Matthews, 54, from Barking, east London, who suffers from COPD, said the ban had allowed her to live a more normal life. 'Our Breathe Easy support group met in a pub this year - it was the first time we had ever been able to do that without worrying that we might be rushed to hospital fighting for breath,' she said. A reduction in the number of heart attacks is also expected as a result of the ban, though experts say it is too early to monitor the full impact in England. In Scotland, which introduced the ban in March 2006, nine major hospitals experienced a 13 per cent reduction in heart attack admissions in the following year. 'I think we would expect to see a similar reduction in England in heart attack admissions,' said Bauld. 'For people who have a pre-existing heart condition, the response can be triggered by exposure to second-hand smoke.' But the ban contributed to the closure of 1,409 pubs in 2007, compared with just 216 closing in 2006.

Public Smoking Becomes Illegal Throughout Germany

webmaster — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:24:52 +0000

AFP - July 1, 2008 BERLIN (AFP) - Lighting up in bars and restaurants become illegal across Germany's 16 states on Tuesday, spelling the end of the country's status as one of Europe's last smokers' havens. North-Rhine Westphalia and Thuringia became the last two regions to implement public smoking bans on July 1, all other states having done so piecemeal since late 2007. In Berlin, where a ban took effect on January 1, smokers were granted a six-month period of grace that expired on Tuesday and those who breach the ban now face fines of 1,000 euros (1,575 US dollars). In the eastern state of Saxony, fines can run up to 5,000 euros but in the northern port of Hamburg and Thuringia, in eastern Germany, the highest fine authorities can issue is 500 euros. The wealthy southern state of Bavaria is considered to have the country's toughest public smoking ban because it prohibits restaurants from opening separate smoking sections -- a practice allowed in other states. The new anti-tobacco laws have met with strong popular resistance and are being challenged in courts around the country, where nearly one in three adults smoke. In Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Rhineland-Palatinate, judges have lifted the ban in single-room bars, provided the owners serve the drinks themselves. The German Constitutional Court last month began hearing three legal challenges to the new laws, including one from barkeepers and nightclub owners who contend that it interferes with their right to practise their profession. The German cancer association, which claims 3,300 people die from passive smoking in Germany annually, said Tuesday that the extension of the ban to all states meant "people can breathe a sigh of relief." But the country's biggest anti-tobacco lobby, Pro Rauchfrei, has said efforts to stamp out public smoking are doomed because the absence of a single federal ban and the number of exemptions allowed by the courts have created too much confusion.

Legco Chief Rejects Idea Of Flexibility In Smokers' Fines

webmaster — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:44:58 +0000

May Chan - Jul 02, 2008 - SCMP Legislative Council president Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai has rejected a proposed amendment to the anti-smoking law that would allow people caught puffing illegally to spend the amount of the penalty on a course to help them kick the habit. The amendment, proposed by democratic legislator Andrew Cheng Kar-foo, was to have been raised for discussion in Legco today. But Mrs Fan dismissed the amendment as irrelevant to the Fixed Penalty (Smoking Offences) Bill, which proposes a fine of HK$1,500 for smoking in places where it is banned. The rejection was in accordance with Legislative Council procedures, which stated that an amendment "must be relevant to the subject matter of the bill", she wrote in a letter on Monday. Mrs Fan also pointed out that the proposed fixed-penalty bill did not provide or allow other options to relieve the offenders of their legal responsibility to pay the fine. So it was not necessary to further discuss Mr Cheng's proposal, including its implications for government spending, she said in the letter. Mr Cheng accused Mrs Fan of being inflexible and ignoring the will of the wider public. The Democratic Party conducted a telephone survey of 779 people last week, 22 per cent of whom are smokers. Of the respondents, 79.7 per cent supported the notion that, with the passage of the HK$1,500 fixed penalty for smoking, fined smokers should be given the choice to spend the money on smoking cessation services, which they agreed should not cost more than HK$1,500. A similar percentage said the government should spend the revenue from the smoking penalty on setting up a fund to subsidise smoking cessation services. Mr Cheng said he would seek to push the government to set up such a fund. "I am most regretful over the council's rejection of my proposal," he said. "I don't understand why the smokers' money can't be spent on smokers, to help them quit. It is a shame that my proposal is not even being given the chance to be debated and voted in the council, despite its popularity among the public." He went on to say that there had been a regression in democracy since the handover. According to Mr Cheng, 31 proposed amendments had been turned down since 1997, on the grounds of being "out of the scope" of the discussion topic. That accounted for 53 per cent of the 58 amendments proposed to Legco from 1997 to 2008. "Legco should not be rigid in following rules, and should consider options that are practical and responsive to the practical needs of the public," Mr Cheng said. The Food and Health Bureau had earlier written to Legco outlining the financial implications of Mr Cheng's proposal. It could cost, they said, HK$18.7 million a year to provide extra clinics and subsidised services, as well as HK$7.9 million for an information system and HK$960,000 in yearly administrative costs.

British Pubs Closing Fast

webmaster — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 08:19:06 +0000

British pubs closing fast as smoking ban stubs out profits Tim Bryan - SCMP - Updated on Jul 02, 2008 It seems like an age ago, but yesterday marked only the first year of the smoking ban. Life seems to have changed little, except in the pub. Pubs are closing at their fastest rate ever, four a day in Britain and one every other day in London, says the British Beer and Pub Association, which highlights a perfect storm of rising beer and energy prices, the smoking ban and the credit crunch. The association said 78 of London's 3,879 urban pubs closed in the last six months of 2007 - one in 50. Tony Jerome, of beer pressure group Camra, said pubs were being crippled by the smoking ban and beer duty, the highest in Europe, and the supermarkets. "Supermarkets can sell alcohol cheaper than water," he said. "They make beer and wine a loss leader to bring people through their doors and spread the cost over other goods. Pubs can't do that. The smoking ban then makes smokers think twice about a pint." The ban has had many health benefits, with a study showing it had helped more than 400,000 smokers quit, the largest fall on record, the Health Behaviour Research Unit said. London now has the highest proportion of smokers in Britain, at 29 per cent, says Time Out - 2 percentage points higher than the norm in Britain. Why, no one really knows, though Meriel Jeater, curator at the Museum of London, which is showcasing the changing attitude to smoking in London, has a theory. She told Time Out that inexpensive, mass-market cigarettes were first made in London, fed by cheap tobacco streaming out of the docks in the 1880s. Londoners until then had preferred the pipe, with cigarettes seen as an effeminate European import. Why 2 million Londoners still smoke is another matter, although their more bohemian and liberal attitude might provide a clue, plus the fact cheap smuggled cigarettes are sold in market stalls. Ms Jeater said: "It occurred to me there must be lots of memories about smoking, which people would forget after the ban, so I created a record of smoking in London." The foyer display hosts smoking paraphernalia, from matches to advertisements, including an election poster from the 1920s of would-be prime minister Stanley Baldwin smoking a pipe, under the banner "Smoke Baldwin's security mixture - vote Conservative." Most memories don't stretch so far, though I can recall smoking on the Underground (it was banned after the King's Cross Tube station fire, sparked by a cigarette igniting trash under an escalator, killing 31 people in 1987). I still recall people smoking on the top deck of the bus, and it was only about four years ago that trains dropped smoking carriages. Three years ago you could smoke in a corridor at work - a horrific thought, in hindsight, subjecting non-smoking colleagues, and your boss, to a pall of smoke as they walked by. Staff smoke outside now, by the bike shed, ironically where most smokers started at school. Though many miss the days when friends could sit and drink together without half of them camped outside, there has been 99 per cent compliance with the ban in London, the highest rate in Britain. Many boozers have adapted, building covered outdoor smoking areas or gardens. Those suffering were the "landlocked pubs", said Mr Camra - those without any outside space, or scope for shelters.

Fixed Fine For Smoking Violators

webmaster — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:59:58 +0000

Bonnie Chen - HK Standard - Thursday, July 03, 2008 Smokers who light up in non-smoking areas will face a fixed penalty of HK$1,500, according to a bill passed in the Legislative Council yesterday. But Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food York Chow Yat-ngok said there is no timetable to enforce the fixed penalty as publicity remains to be done and the Health Department needs 10 months to set up an information system. "The HK$1,500 fixed penalty can cut out a lot of court procedures," Chow said. Currently, violators face a maximum fine of HK$5,000. But the highest penalty meted out so far is only HK$1,500 and the lowest HK$50. In addition to the Office of Tobacco Control, Chow said police and officers of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and Housing Department will be authorized to hand out the tickets. Violators have to pay the fine within 21 days. The Office of Tobacco Control currently has 80 inspectors and will hire more. To retain staff, Chow added its inspectors will be given status as permanent government staff. "We will eventually have over 3,000 law enforcement officers altogether," Chow said. Meanwhile, Democratic Party legislator Andrew Cheng Kar-foo cited a survey the party did last month which showed 80 percent of 700 respondents agreed to allow those caught to choose between paying the fine and using the money to pay for treatment to quit smoking. Cheng was disappointed when Legco president Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai rejected discussion on his suggestion as it was outside the scope of the bill. Lawmaker Li Kwok-ying of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong said Cheng's suggestion will make the law enforcement procedures more complicated. Li added it will also lead to more conflicts between the officer and violators. From the start of the year to last month, the Office of Tobacco Control gave away 9,851 tickets.

Legco Passes Bill Setting Smoking Fine At HK$1,500

webmaster — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:21:55 +0000

Loretta Fong - Updated on Jul 03, 2008 - SCMP A bill to impose a fixed-penalty fine on people caught illegally lighting up under the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance was passed by the Legislative Council yesterday. Smokers caught in no-smoking areas will be given a fixed fine of HK$1,500, to be settled within 21 days. If the offenders fail to settle the fine in time, they will receive a letter requiring payment within another 10 days. But if they still fail to do so, a court order will be issued. The bill also gave officers of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Housing Department and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department the power to issue the tickets to complement the efforts of the Tobacco Control Office. Three thousand officers from the three departments will join 85 tobacco control officers in enforcing the law. Under the smoking ban, which came into force in January last year, offenders are summonsed to court, where they can be fined up to HK$5,000, but are usually fined about HK$700. Tobacco Control Office inspectors are empowered only to collect evidence on offences and to issue summonses, but are not empowered to make arrests. Under the new legislation officers will have the power to issue fixed-penalty tickets. Democratic legislator Andrew Cheng Kar-foo was disappointed that his proposed amendment allowing offenders to spend the fine on a quitting course was rejected. The proposed amendment was dismissed by Legislative Council president Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai on Monday. She ruled that it was irrelevant to the Fixed Penalty (Smoking Offences) Bill. Li Kwok-ying, of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said Mr Cheng's proposal would complicate matters. He added the government should provide more training to officers to help them enforce the system. Some officers were worried the workload might be too high and also that they might have difficulties when dealing with offenders. The chairman of the Council on Smoking and Health, Homer Tso Wei-kwok, believed the fixed-penalty system would help reduce time in court and probably be a deterrent. The government is considering offering Tobacco Control Office officers civil service contracts to ease manpower concerns. It also plans to strengthen the anti-smoking drive by utilising NGOs. Secretary for Food and Health York Chow Yat-ngok said a date for the legislation to be introduced had not been set.

Pub Chain Stubs Out Smoking Ban Effects

webmaster — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:08:19 +0000

Edinburgh Evening News - July 4, 2008 - Michael Blackley Strong food sales within its pubs since the smoking ban has helped profits at Lothians-based Belhaven surge by 16 per cent. The Dunbar-based firm, which owns Edinburgh pubs including the Albanach and the World's End on the Royal Mile, Pivo on Calton Road and Drouthy Neebor's on West Preston Street, saw revenues rise six per cent to £126.1 million in the year to May 4. Operating profits climbed to £27.5m, compared to £23.3m last year. It attributed the success to repositioning specialist pubs to appeal to a wider customer base through an increased focus on food and value for money. Greene King, the pub company that owns Belhaven, said the performance of its Scottish operations was particularly encouraging. Following publication of its full-year results today, Greene King chief executive Rooney Anand said: "Although all our divisions have performed well in difficult circumstances, I am particularly encouraged by Belhaven's result. "Scotland's smoking ban came over a year before England's. In the second year of the ban, the Belhaven team have developed the business significantly towards food and families, and delivered operating profit growth of 18 per cent." During the last year, the number of Belhaven pubs trading increased from 299 to 321, 95 of which are managed and the rest leased or tenanted. The company said that like-for-like rents and beer supply income from the leased and tenanted pubs were both positive. And its managed pubs enjoyed "an excellent year" with strong profit growth. Mr Anand said: "Growth came from the successful repositioning of a number of specialist pubs to appeal to a broader consumer base, increased focus on food and value for money, and an impressive improvement in the rate of conversion of sales to operating profit. "Food business development has been a key theme throughout the estate. Overall, Belhaven's food revenue has increased by more than 50 per cent over the last two years." The Belhaven Brewery also performed well, with beer volume sales increasing despite the overall on-trade market being down six per cent. Volume sales of Belhaven Best increased by 4.6 per cent, giving it a "substantial" increase in market share. Greene King also acquired Loch Fyne Restaurants for £64.2m last August. It said the 41-outlet chain, which has a branch at Western Harbour, has now been successfully integrated into the group and is trading well. Overall Greene King pre-tax profits increased by two per cent to £142m, while revenues rose five per cent to £960m. Mr Anand said: "The year saw an unprecedented set of challenges for the industry but I am pleased to report exceptional performance across the business."

Linking Second-Hand Smoke And Lung Cancer

webmaster — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:10:01 +0000

Medical News Today - July 4, 2008 It is a widely accepted notion that second-hand smoke (SHS) is linked to lung cancer. However, medical professionals and researchers have not reached consensus on the extent of the increase in cancer risk due to SHS. In an article published in The Lancet Oncology, Dr Ahmad Besaratinia and Dr Gerd Pfeifer, Beckman (Research Institute of the City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA) suggest that a better approach to establishing risk level may be to screen for biological markers that are targeted to SHS and associated with lung cancer. SHS is a mixture of two types of smoke that result from tobacco consumption: mainstream and sidestream smoke. Mainstream smoke is created when a person puffs a cigarette (or other tobacco product) and draws smoke from the burning cone and hot zone of the product. Mainstream smoke can either move through the filter or out of the mouthpiece (depending on the apparatus used). The second type of smoke, called sidestream smoke, comes from the smoldering coal of a tobacco and is generated between puffs. Researchers have found that mainstream and sidestream smoke have similar chemical compositions and carcinogenic compound, but sidestream smoke has different quantities of these chemicals due to a lower burning temperature. Mainstream smoke is often partially filtered and scrubbed by the lungs and comprises less than 15% of SHS (sidestream smoke comprises 85% of SHS). Smokers intake more carcinogens than individuals exposed to SHS because smokers are actively inhaling high doses of mainstream-smoke carcinogens. "However," note the authors, "the finding that sidestream smoke-condensate is more potent than mainstream smoke-condensate in inducing mouse skin tumours suggests that SHS imposed on non-smokers might be even more carcinogenic than mainstream smoke inhaled by active smokers." Many of the carcinogenic compounds found in smoke are able to create additional substances that lead to DNA lesions called DNA adducts. In fact, these genotoxic carcinogens often create mutations at certain locations, which are like unique signatures genes that are related to cancer. Two laboratory techniques - DNA-lesion footprinting (locates the site of DNA damage) and mutagenicity analysis (finds changes in DNA sequences) - are used together to find these carcinogen signatures. Though these techniques have already been used to find DNA lesions that are linked to smoke-derived carcinogens such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the researchers suggest that they be implemented in cancer-relevant genes that are frequently mutated in smoke-related lung cancer. Besaratinia and Pfeifer also note that more research is needed that can determine how the type, frequency, and distribution of DNA adducts in cancer-related genes are different for non-smokers exposed to SHS and smokers exposed to mainstream smoke. This type of comparative analysis would provide analysts with information to determine if the different risks of lung cancer development are just due to the different doses of smoke exposure seen by smokers and those affected SHS. Further, the authors place importance on discovering if SHS can lead to lung cancer through an epigenetic pathway. That is, without changing the order of DNA molecules (the primary DNA sequence), environmental factors may cause the gene to express itself differently. They write that, "Future investigations using in-vitro systems, animal models, and biospecimens from chronically exposed individuals will be needed to determine whether SHS induces lung cancer through an epigenetic pathway." To conclude, Besaratinia and Pfeifer mention that environmental carcinogens contained in food, drink, and air, make it extremely difficult for models to specifically focus on the association between SHS and lung cancer in humans. In addition, SHS is not consistent in its composition and concentration, providing further barriers to research. They write: "Although the causal link between SHS exposure and lung-cancer development is well established, the estimated risk for lung cancer development consequent to SHS exposure remains somewhat debatable. Elucidation of the mechanisms of SHS action that are relevant to carcinogenesis can help identify unique biological markers that can be used for assessing lung cancer risk in relation to SHS exposure."

Anti-Smoking Restrictions In Japan

webmaster — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:12:27 +0000

Smokers face more and more anti-smoking restrictions in Japan The Earth Times - July 4, 2008 Another smokers' paradise in Asia is disappearing as Japanese smokers face ever more restrictions in the nation's effort to join the global anti-smoking campaign. Japan used to be a smokers' haven with very few laws and restrictions. Commuters lit up on station platforms morning, noon and night. People smoked while strolling around and at work. Cigarettes are available in vending machines and convenience stores on every street corner. But since the United States spearheaded the global anti-smoking campaign, the former smoker's paradise has become uncomfortable for the 43.3 per cent of Japanese men and 12 per cent of women who smoke. First, the price of cigarettes went up to an average 3 dollars per pack, which is still cheap compared to the prices in other parts of the world. Train stations limited hours of smoking to non-commuting hours because platforms were becoming too crowded and non-smokers feared they might suffocate on the open platforms. Then Tokyo districts began banning smoking outdoors. No-smoking signs began appearing on the streets of Tokyo, and police roamed the suburbs handing out tickets to the ordinance violators. Many cities across Japan have since adopted the non-smoking ordinance. A fine of up to 20,000 yen (186 dollars) applies in most places. Smokers can now only light up in closed booths, set up by the city council on the streets and near train stations. Restaurants and bars in Japan still allow people to smoke. But they have begun designating sections of their premises as smoking areas in a bid to join the global health movement. Legal gambling establishments or Pachinko parlors, which were hitherto famous for a smoker-friendly atmosphere, have also jumped onto the "clean environment" bandwagon. Their policy is "smoke-free, noise-free" pinball. The ultimate blow to smokers takes effect throughout Japan in early July when the Tobacco Institute of Japan introduces an identification card called Taspo to buy cigarettes from vending machines. The card must have photo identification. Those of a legal age to smoke, 20 and over, will soon receive the rechargeable cards. It may be easier and more convenient for smokers to just flash the Taspo card at a machine, but many have felt burdened by the idea of filling out an application form together with photo ID. Cigarettes are still available at individual tobacco stores and 24-hour convenience stores in Japan, which do not require ID. Some experts wonder what Taspo can accomplish in this environment. Japan Franchise Association in May reported a 15.9-per-cent increase in non-food sales, which include sales of tobacco, compared to a year before. The association said the Taspo requirement helped boost tobacco sales at franchise convenience stores as some provinces began setting up Taspo-only vending machines in May. Nonetheless, as the smoker's paradise slowly disappears amid all the restrictions, the nation's smokers are gagging for some air, space and freedom to light up.

Call For Smoking Controls

webmaster — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:23:49 +0000

5th July 2008 - SCMP Cigarette smoking among US teenagers is no longer declining, after dropping steadily from 1997 to 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Smoking by secondary school students (14 to 18-year-olds) dropped by 45 per cent in 10 years, from 36.4 per cent in 1997 to 20 per cent in 2007. However, the decline had stalled and the CDC recommended tobacco-control programmes be "revitalised". AP

Ex-Smokers - One Year After The Ban

webmaster — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:16:26 +0000

The Mirror UK - July 7, 2008 - Kate Jackson It's a year since the smoking ban came in. And since England's pubs, bars, restaurants and clubs became smoke-free zones it's reckoned 234,000 have given up completely with the help of the NHS. For the average 20-a-day smoker that means a very healthy saving of £1,800 since July 1, 2007. But what does an ex-smoker do with their extra dosh? Here, three proud quitters tell us how they spent their fag money. JUNE WHITEHOUSE, 45 £2,281 25-A-DAY HABIT June Whitehouse, 45, a food sales rep from Stafford, is splashing out on a trip of a lifetime to New Zealand to see her cousin, Susan. I'd been smoking since I was 15 and had tried to quit on several occasions. So when I found Allen Carr's Easyway To Stop Smoking on the internet, I was intrigued. I went to the seminar thinking, 'How can this work?' But it did. I used to smoke between 20 and 25 cigarettes a day, so I must have spent £40 a week. If you add up all the thousands of duty-free ciggies I brought back from holidays, I would have spent much more. My cousin Susan, pictured above with me, emigrated to New Zealand last November and I'm dying to go and see her. She lives in Auckland with her husband Anthony, son Ryan and daughter Lorna, who is also my goddaughter. Susan and I are very close - more like sisters than cousins. I've bought tickets for myself and my husband Ade - plus my aunt and uncle - to go on a trip to Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand for three weeks. I think the flights cost about £2,000, so that's where my smoking money has gone. Funnily enough, I used to think I was afraid of flying. But since I've stopped smoking, I've realised that maybe it was more of a fear of going without a cigarette for the journey. DAWN TUCKWELL, 25 £1,368 15-A-DAY HABIT Dawn Tuckwell, 25, who works in communications in London, bought a Madonna-style exercise machine. I quit the week before the ban started. If I could survive the week while people were still smoking in pubs and restaurants, then I could definitely do it during the ban. I was on 15 Marlboro Lights a day for six years. I tried - and failed - to stop five times. I felt unhealthy and didn't want to be any more. I used to be so fit before I started smoking. I was disgusted with myself. I was also buying a flat with a friend who has asthma so knew I couldn't smoke in the new place. So, without patches or replacements, I stopped. I told everyone, which helped. And when people had fag breaks at work, I'd make a cup of tea instead. Loose change that would have gone on cigarettes, I put in an enormous pink piggy bank instead. I made a point of putting in £1 and £2 coins, so I knew there'd be a lot in there. Last month, I broke it open and was amazed that there was £800 - which went straight on my Power Plates exercise machine. I'd wanted one for years and because I have back pain, the vibrating machine is one of the only things which eases it. Now I'm toned, I've lost four inches off my hips and I feel so much healthier. NADINE SMITH, 27 £900 25-A-DAY HABIT Expectant mum Nadine Smith, 27, from Manchester, has used the spare cash to buy everything she needs for her first baby, due in six weeks. My fiance and I didn't have a single thing for the baby before I quit smoking. We had to start right from scratch, buying everything from the pram, the cot, clothes, nappies... I reckon I've put away around £900 from what would have been my smoking money so far and it's all gone towards baby stuff, without us needing to use any other money. And everything else I save will go on the baby! I started smoking when I was 13, mainly because of peer pressure and by the time my 14th birthday came around, I was a regular smoker. But I wish now I'd never picked up that first fag. When it came to giving up, I went to the Manchester Stop Smoking clinic where I saw my support worker, Christine, once a fortnight and she called me up every couple of days to see how I was coping. I also used the nicotine patches, but I wouldn't have been able to give up smoking without the ban. Now, I can go out to a pub or restaurant and there's nothing to remind me of smoking. I feel so much healthier and we're both just looking forward to our baby. The money I've saved has gone to the best possible present - our baby. Smoking ban in numbers -2bn Fewer ciggies smoked in England and Wales since the ban -175m Fewer pints drunk in England and Wales post-ban -4: Number of pubs forced to close every day, with many blaming the ban -22% of population who still smoke, down from 24 per cent IN A YEAR GIVING UP CIGS CAN SAVE YOU... 10 a day -£912.50 20 a day -£1,825 30 a day- £2,737.50 40 a day -£3,650

Licensing Smokers A Healthy Option

webmaster — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:42:30 +0000

The Courier Mail - July 7, 2008 - Professor Simon Chapman You need a licence to drive. A licence to buy a gun. You can't legally go fishing without a licence, or own a dog. But smoking? Provided you are over 18 you can buy as many cigarettes as you like - no questions asked. Why not license smokers? After all, doctors issue tens of thousands of temporary licences every day in the form of prescriptions to allow us to access drugs that can save lives and improve health. Critics scoff at the idea, arguing that there would be too many difficulties in policing it, or that an underground market for cigarettes would develop. Given that obtaining a licence for other activities is so straightforward, these arguments hold little weight. Introducing a smoker-licensing scheme could be readily managed by allowing all current adult smokers over the age of 18 to acquire a permit. To be eligible, smokers would need to have their doctor affirm that they are smokers and then apply for a photo ID swipecard. Any new smokers wanting a licence after the scheme's starting date would be required to take a test, proving they fully understood the many health risks of smoking. ID cards could be swiped at stores to limit the number of cigarette packs that could be bought at a time. Two packs a day maximum, say. This would help to minimise a blackmarket of cigarettes being sold on to unlicensed or under-age smokers. And, just as for a driving licence, smokers would need to renew their commitment to smoking every five years. Or, if a smoker successfully quit they could permanently surrender their licence and be offered a full refund of their licensing fee, another incentive to quit. Tourists could show their passports and return tickets and be allowed to buy. Most smokers want to quit. Nearly all regret starting. As part of the licensing scheme, smokers could have the option to sign on to receive Quit smoking information or be regularly contacted by Quit counsellors. This support would be directly funded by the licensing scheme and quash concerns that it is nothing more than another cash cow for the government. Smoker licensing could first be trialled in an interested remote or small community. Evaluating and altering the scheme as necessary before rolling it out nationally just makes good sense. Critics could rest easy knowing a failed trial will make little difference to most smokers. Smoking kills some 15,000 Australians every year, half in middle age. Compare this with the annual road toll of 1600 deaths. We license drivers because we recognise that safe driving requires skills and experience. Licensing smokers is a way of ensuring that all smokers have a competent level of knowledge about the wide range of potentially fatal health effects. Licensing smokers is just one more way of reducing the tremendous health and social burden of tobacco use. Even tobacco companies should love the idea because no one could sue, saying they didn't know the risks they were taking: they would have passed the test.

Early life second-hand smoke exposure

webmaster — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:38:01 +0000

Total Ban On Public Smoking in India

webmaster — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:22:44 +0000

The Statesman Total ban on public smoking from 2 October NEW DELHI/PATNA, July 11: Smoking in public and private buildings across the country will be “completely banned’ from 2 October, according to a release issued by the Union ministry of health and family welfare here today. From 2 October smoking will not be allowed anywhere “except in selected open spaces like on roads and in parks and nowhere else”, the Union health minister, Dr Ambumani Ramadoss, also announced while addressing the media in Patna after inaugurating a day-long seminar to mark ‘World Population Day’. The ban will be enforced in clubs, restaurants, shopping malls, movie theatres and even inside individual homes, he added. The concerned Act, he warned, has been made more stringent and violators will be strictly punishable under the IPC. Quoting latest data from his ministry, Dr Ramadoss said while smokers in the West, including USA, UK, Australia and France, had reduced by more than 25 per cent during the last couple of years, in India the number, unfortunately, had gone up by about 20 per cent a year. The government, he said, had no option but to make legislation against smoking more stringent. Referring to the dangers of smoking and chewing of tobacco, Dr Ramadoss said in order to effectively impose the nationwide ban the Centre had allocated Rs 500 crore during the current fiscal under the National Anti-Tobacco Mission.

A Second Blow To Tobacco Appeal

webmaster — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:01:19 +0000

SCOTUSblog - July 11, 2008 - Lyle Denniston NOTE: The Supreme Court is scheduled to open its next Term on Monday, Oct. 6, with oral argument in a major case testing the right of smokers to go to court to challenge claims by tobacco companies that the health risk is less in using so-called “light” cigarettes (Altria Group, et al., v. Good, et al., 07-562). On June 18, the federal government — the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission — lined up on the side of the smokers. Now the FTC has gone further. For 42 years, the government’s main regulator of business conduct, the Federal Trade Commission, has had a general policy against challenging cigarette-makers for marketing their products with claims that an FTC test shows that “light” cigarettes — “low in tar and nicotine” — pose lesser health hazards. That policy forms a significant legal foundation for the now-pending Supreme Court appeal by a leading company, Philip Morris USA Inc., and its parent, Altria Group. Three weeks ago, the FTC, joined by the Justice Department, told the Supreme Court that Philip Morris was exaggerating the scope of the policy as it tried to head off damage lawsuits in state courts by smokers of “light” cigarettes. (The federal brief is [1] here. Then, on Tuesday, the FTC took a new step: by a 4-0 vote, it proposed to nullify the policy, asking for public reaction to withdrawal of its 1966 ”guidance that it is generally not a violation of the FTC Act to make factual statements of the tar and nicotine yields of cigarettes” when those statements are based on tests using what is called “the FTC Test Method.” (An FTC press release making the announcement is [2] here, and the formal Federal Register notice can be read [3] here.) The notice commented: “For some time, the Commission has been concerned that the machine-measured yields determined by the Cambridge Filter Method [’the FTC Method’] may be misleading to individual consumers who rely on the yields as indicators of the amount of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide they actually will get from smoking a particular cigarette. In fact, the current yields tend to be relatively poor indicators of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide exposure, and do not provide a good basis for comparison among cigarettes.” If it opts, after public comment due by Aug. 12, to withdraw its prior “guidance,” the agency said, “advertisers should not use terms such as ‘per FTC Method’ or other phrases that state or imply FTC endorsement or approval of the Cambridge Filter Method or other machine-based test methods.” In the pending Altria Group appeal in the Supreme Court, the “Cambridge Filter Method” — or “FTC Test” — is directly at issue. The company argues that FTC policy actually requires tobacco companies to disclose tar and nicotine yields based on the test, and that the FTC has authorized the companies to advertise cigarettes by using words such as “light” as short-hand ways of referring to the test results. Because of these FTC “mandates,” as the company calls them, federal policy on cigarette marketing of “light” cigarettes bars states from allowing lawsuits in their courts challenging the use of such words or phrases, the appeal contends. The specific case before the Court involves three former smokers of Philip Morris’s Marlboro Light or Cambridge Light cigarettes. Based on a Maine deceptive practices law, their lawsuit — allowed to go forward by the First Circuit Court — contends that the company deceived them into using “lights” so that they would get lower tar and nicotine yields that, in fact, they would not get. There is a conflict among Circuit Courts on the preemption issue, and that is probably why the Supreme Court on Jan. 18 agreed to hear the appeal in the First Circuit case. Dozens of other cases are pending in state courts, seeking what Altria Group asserts are”billions of dollars in potential liability.” In the federal brief filed last month, the U.S. Solicitor General’s office in the Justice Department, joined by the FTC, directly disputed the tobacco company’s claim that its ads on “light” cigarettes were the result of FTC “mandates.” The Commission’s policy, in 1966 and since, has never required the companies to use ads that refer to the yields from the FTC Test, and has not authorized them to use “light” or other descriptive phrases as short-hand indications of the Test’s results. The company’s claim that state court lawsuits are preempted by FTC policy, the brief said, “should be rejected because it is based on a mischaracterization of the scope and effect of FTC’s actions concerning cigarette advertising.” The FTC, the brief added, does not view state court lawsits like the one in Maine “as undermining the FTC’s policies in any way.” Current FTC policy, the government agencies said, does not require ads’ disclosure of tar and nicotine levels in the Test, and the agency has never explicitly authorized the companies to use “light” or “lowered tar and nicotine” in their marketing. In announcing its possible withdrawal of its 1966 policy, the FTC noted that the companies have used terms such as “light” or “ultra low” based on Test results. But, it added, it “has not defined those terms, nor provided guidance or authorization as to the use of descriptors.” Since it has “no Commission enforcement policy” on such words or phrases, it noted, its proposal “does not address the use of descriptors.” Thus, it would be limited to changing the guidance on ads that indicate that the claims are based on the FTC Test. The Solicitor General’s office on Tuesday notified the Court, [4] by letter, of the FTC’s new proposal to drop its 1966 policy. Attached to the letter was the Commission’s Federal Register notice of its plan. The tobacco company has gained added time, until Aug. 11, to file its reply brief; that will provide a chance to challenge not only the government brief, but also the impact, if any, of the FTC’s new approach.

Oversight for Big Tobacco

webmaster — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 13:51:05 +0000

It's time for Congress to make regulation a reality. Saturday, July 12, 2008; Page A12 - The Washington Post FROM ASPIRIN to zucchini, the Food and Drug Administration monitors much of what Americans consume. But cigarettes, which shorten a smoker's life by 10 years on average, have escaped FDA oversight, largely because of political pressure from Big Tobacco. That could change soon, thanks to a long-overdue bill the House is scheduled to vote on in the next few weeks that would give the agency authority to regulate the tobacco industry. Legislators should make the bill a priority so it has a chance to pass before Congress adjourns on Aug. 10. The bill would allow the FDA to require a detailed disclosure of cigarette ingredients and to instruct tobacco companies to remove additives harmful to smokers. The bill also would place restrictions on marketing tobacco to youths, make health warning labels more explicit, eliminate descriptions such as "light" or "mild" that misrepresent the hazards of smoking and ban fruit-flavored cigarettes intended to ensnare young smokers. The bill would impose a fee on tobacco companies to fund staff positions at the FDA to oversee the industry. The most significant obstacle facing the bill, besides Congress's desire for a summer vacation, is that it would not ban the use of menthol additives. Menthol softens the harsh taste of cigarettes, which may make it easier for smokers to become addicted. Menthols are the cigarette of choice for three-fourths of African American smokers, compared with one in four white smokers. This is one reason black men get lung cancer at a rate 50 percent higher than white men do. One organization, the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network, has withdrawn its support for the bill as a result. William S. Robinson, the group's executive director, emphasized that his organization did not oppose the legislation but said the bill discriminates against blacks. We understand Mr. Robinson's concerns and believe the FDA should consider banning menthol promptly if the bill passes. Lawmakers failed to include a ban on the additive out of political necessity; that allowed the bill to earn the support of numerous Republican legislators along with that of tobacco giant Philip Morris. The bill will probably pass overwhelmingly in the House, but it faces a stiffer challenge in the Senate. Fifty-seven senators, including 12 Republicans, have signed on as co-sponsors. This is three votes short of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster. If this remains so, lengthy debate and other parliamentary holdups could stall the bill; Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) has already threatened a filibuster. The House must vote on the bill soon so it has a chance to pass in the Senate. It's been 44 years since the U.S. surgeon general reported that cigarettes are harmful, and the country shouldn't have to wait another year for independent oversight of Big Tobacco.

Anti-Smoking Ads For DVDs

webmaster — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:59:06 +0000

Updated on Jul 13, 2008 LOS ANGELES - Six major Hollywood film studios agreed to place anti-smoking advertisements on new movie DVDs targeted at children in a move to counter the influence of tobacco use on screen. Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Studios and Twentieth Century Fox will include anti-smoking ads in the opening minutes of DVDs of all new movies with smoking scenes that are rated G, PG and PG-13. Reuters

WHO Praises Thai Smoking Campaign

webmaster — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:37:40 +0000

Bangkok Post - July 14, 2008 - Apiradee Treerutkuarkul Thailand's comprehensive efforts to control tobacco use have been praised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which plans to use Thai policy as a model for improved anti-smoking campaigns in low and middle-income countries. Thailand and Brazil are two countries being studied regarding bans on tobacco consumption and advertising, said Armando Peruga, a coordinator for the WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative. The WHO launched its "Mpower" project to help countries ratifying the Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC) achieve their anti-smoking schemes. Very few countries have been able to put into practice tobacco bans mainly due to a lack of capacity building. The treaty, adopted by all 195 countries, requires restrictions on all forms of tobacco advertising, trade, sponsorship and promotion, in addition to protection from exposure to tobacco smoke, effective taxation policies, pictorial health warnings on packaging and an end to duty free sales of tobacco products. Member countries have to enforce controls against the promotion of tobacco products within five years after the FCTC took effect in 2005. The planned study on the Thai anti-smoking effort was unveiled after a team of WHO experts met Thai officials during a three-day visit, which ended on Wednesday. The experts discussed the pros and cons of the anti-smoking strategy. The study will focus on six main topics - the epidemic smoking situation, tax policy, smoke-free environments, treatment, package and labelling, and a ban on advertisements. A report on Thailand's work is scheduled to be released in November. The WHO finished its survey in Brazil last May and plans to study Turkey's anti-smoking efforts next year. Dr Peruga said he was hopeful that a review would enhance the anti-tobacco campaign in Thailand and other countries since smoking is not only a health problem but also an economic and social problem. Thailand introduced a smoking ban in indoor areas of bars and pubs last year.

Tobacco Companies Concealed Data on Radioactive Material

webmaster — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:17:01 +0000

New Study Finds Tobacco Companies Concealed Data on Radioactive Material in Cigarettes Polonium-210 in Cigarettes May Kill Thousands Worldwide Each Year Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Washington, D.C. – A study published online today by the American Journal of Public Health finds that tobacco companies have suppressed research and information on the presence of the deadly radioactive poison, polonium 210 (PO-210), in tobacco and tobacco smoke. Estimating that polonium-210 in cigarettes may annually cause the deaths of some 11,700 people from lung cancer worldwide, the study finds that for more than four decades, tobacco companies have known PO-210 is present in tobacco and tobacco smoke. The industry suppressed information about PO-210 out of concern that it would cause public relations and litigation problems and to avoid “waking a sleeping giant,” as one industry official stated. Summarizing prior research, the study states, “It is estimated that smokers of 1.5 packs of cigarettes a day are exposed to as much radiation as they would receive from 300 chest X-rays a year. PO-210 has been estimated to be responsible for 1% of all U.S. lung cancers…. PO-210 may be responsible for more than 1,600 deaths in the United States and 11,700 deaths in the world each year.” Polonium-210 received significant media attention in 2006 when it was found to have been used in the fatal poisoning of former KBD agent and Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko. That poisoning sent health officials across Europe and the former Soviet states to isolate the source and contain potential areas of deadly contamination. “This study provides another important example of how tobacco companies willfully mislead the public about the dangers of their deadly products and cannot be trusted to tell the truth about their products,” said Damon Moglen, International Advocacy Director for the Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids. “The bottom line is that smoking kills and before taking a puff, people deserve accurate information about the many poisons in cigarettes, including radioactive polonium-210, and the many diseases caused by tobacco use. Governments must take action to protect their citizens from this deception.” Governments can effectively combat the tobacco industry’s manipulation, and reduce tobacco use, by ratifying the world’s first public health treaty and implementing a set of interventions recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) called MPOWER. These interventions, proven to be effective and inexpensive, include: • Monitor tobacco use and assess the impact of tobacco prevention and cessation efforts; • Protect everyone from secondhand smoke with laws that require smoke-free workplaces and public places; • Offer help to every tobacco user to quit; • Warn and effectively educate every person about the dangers of tobacco use with strong, pictorial health warnings and hard-hitting, sustained media campaigns; • Enact and enforce comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorships and on the use of misleading terms such as “light” and “low-tar;” and • Raise the price of tobacco products by significantly increasing tobacco taxes. There are 157 countries that have committed to implementing these interventions by signing the health treaty, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. According to the WHO, tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the world today. Unless nations act now, tobacco will kill one billion people worldwide this century. The new study, entitled “Waking a Sleeping Giant: The Tobacco Industry’s Response to the Polonium-210 Issue”, was conducted by researchers at two prestigious institutions in the United States, the Mayo Clinic and Stanford University. The study analyzed internal tobacco industry documents and industry testimony and found that tobacco companies attempted, but ultimately choose against, removing PO-210 from their tobacco products. Research on the dangers of PO-210 was also stopped as tobacco companies feared the data would ignite a firestorm of public concern. The study also found that tobacco companies “continue to minimize its [polonium-210’s] importance in smoking and health litigation and remain silent on their Web sites and in their messages to consumers.” The study analyzed internal documents, court testimony and trial depositions from tobacco companies including British American Tobacco, Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, Lorrillard, Liggett, Brown and Williamson, American Tobacco and others.

Smoking Ban Announced For Northern Territory Bars

webmaster — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:25:35 +0000

ABC News Posted Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:25pm AEST Updated Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:21pm AEST Smoking inside Territory pubs and clubs will be banned from 2010. (Reuters: Morris Mac Matzen ) The Territory government has announced its long awaited timeframe for banning smoking inside clubs and pubs, saying new restrictions will come into place from the start of 2010. The ban will not include outdoor areas where food and drink is not directly served. Minister Chris Burns says the ban will start in 2010 so businesses will have time to do building work or make other adjustments for the changes. "Venues need time to carry out works on their rooms and venue to accommodate this change. That's the advice that we've had from industry. "So we're prepared to work with industry and allow them some time to do those works, to allow for that change. "But certainly we foreshadow that if venues want to go before that date then we will be supporting them." The Northern Territory is the last place in the country to ban smoking in bars. Mr Burns says the move reflects public pressure and he is also hoping the smoking changes will end the Territory's less than prestigious winning run of the Dirty Ash Tray award, given by the Australian Medical Association to the jurisdiction with the worst smoking habits. State Opposition Gaming and Racing spokesman Matt Conlon has welcomed the move but has labelled it an election stunt because it will not come into effect for 18 months. "Are they actually approaching some of these licensee's and actually entering into some sort of negotiation?" he said. "There's been no funds set aside or there's no announcement in this particular announcement as to how much the whole thing is going to cost." The indoor smoking ban in all pubs and clubs has been met with mixed support. The Australian Medical Association's Dr Rob Parker says its about time. "It's very embarrassing for year after year to be brought up as the government that's done the least amount for smoking policy or smoking health related issues," he said. He also says it should have taken six months to impose the ban instead of 18 months. However the Australian Hotels Association says some pubs and clubs could lose up to 40 per cent of their revenue. The Association's Mick Burns says businesses will have to build special smoking areas if they are going to protect profits. "The large majority of pubs and clubs they either have or will need to make amendments or make changes to their premises to properly facilitate these announcements," he said. The Territory Government has also announced a cap on the number of poker machines in the Territory to 1,190. There will be no new poker machine licenses handed out. The State Government is also looking into buying back liquor licenses across the Territory.

65m Teens Victims Of Second-Hand Smoke

webmaster — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:15:06 +0000

Tobacco-related diseases kill 1m every year Minnie Chan - Updated on Jul 18, 2008 More than 65 million mainland teenagers have been affected by second-hand smoke, and about 1 million people die from smoking-related diseases every year, the Ministry of Health said yesterday. Because of the 350 million smokers in the mainland - one-third of the global total - at least 540 million people have become ill because of second-hand smoke, ministry spokesman Mao Qunan said as part of a promotion for tobacco and smoking control. "Among the 130 million young people, 15 million are regular smokers, and 40 million others had tried smoking," Mr Mao said, citing this year's report. "So far 65 million teenagers have suffered from second-hand smoke." He pointed out that more than 100,000 mainlanders had died from second-hand smoke and that smoking-related diseases had killed about 1 million annually. "Many studies forecast that the death toll of smoking-related diseases would double by 2020 to 2 million people a year, and that the cumulative number would be 100 million by 2050, with half of them dying between 35 and 69." He blamed fashionable tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship in public places for the increase in the number of young smokers. With almost 2 trillion cigarettes sold every year, the central government introduced restrictions in 1995 to ban all tobacco advertising. However, indirect tobacco advertisements and footage of popular idols on TV and movies that imply that smoking is mature and sexy had lured more teenagers to smoke, Mr Mao added. Chen Weiqing, of Sun Yat-sen University's School of Public Health in Guangzhou, said the lack of health education in schools and homes was also a key reason young people smoked. "We found many teenagers had not realised that smoking is harmful because teachers and parents do not pay too much attention to smoking control," he said. "Indeed, teenagers [find it] very easy to buy cigarettes on the streets due to the lack of prevention and loose restrictions." Professor Chen, who studied 3,000 students aged 13 to 15 in Guangzhou from 2005 to last year, said he found only 5.5 per cent of the teenagers continued to smoke after taking part in a three-year experimental workshop on smoking control. "Many students refused to smoke or go near others who smoke after witnessing the deaths of white mice from smoking in our experimental workshops," he said. "I suggest that our government introduce a smoking control experimental course ... into our educational system."

Early Exposure To Tobacco Smoke Causes Asthma And Allergy

webmaster — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:57:16 +0000

Published: Saturday, 19-Jul-2008 - Child Health News Babies exposed to cigarette smoke before birth or during the first months afterwards run a greater risk of developing asthma and allergy. This according to a doctoral thesis from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet. It is a well known fact that babies are harmed by tobacco smoke in numerous ways, but it has always been difficult to separate the effects of the mother smoking during pregnancy and passive smoking after birth. Dr Eva Lannerö's doctoral thesis now provides new detailed knowledge on how exposure to tobacco smoke early in life influences the risk of developing allergy and asthma respectively. The thesis, which is based on the so called BAMSE study, shows that smoking during pregnancy increases the chances of the child developing asthma. The study showed that children of mothers who had smoked while pregnant ran double the risk of developing asthma before the age of four. There was also a clear correlation between the number of cigarettes smoked and the risk of developing asthma. Her thesis also shows that passive smoking in early childhood increases the risk of allergy. Four-year olds who were exposed to tobacco smoke when they were two months old had IgE antibodies (allergy antibodies) against one or more allergens in the blood more often than their coevals from non-smoking homes. The strongest correlation was observed for antibodies against cat allergens, which were twice as common in these children. "This is particularly worrying as cat allergens are almost everywhere and are hard to avoid," says Dr Lannerö. "We can't say how many, but some of these children will definitely develop chronic asthma." Dr Lannerö's studies also show that smoking during pregnancy is least common amongst the higher educated. Of the 4,000 interviewed mothers, 7 per cent of those with university-level education said that they had smoked while pregnant, as opposed to 20 per cent of those who had opted out of tertiary or secondary education. The data applies to mothers of children born between 1994 and 1996. The BAMSE study is a project in which 4,100 Swedish children born between 1994 and 1996 have been monitored from birth in order that scientists can learn more about the impact of different environmental factors on the development of childhood allergy. Thesis: 'Parental smoking, wheezing and sensitisation in early childhood', Eva Lannerö Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM), Karolinska Institutet.

Tobacco Tax Hike

webmaster — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:12:12 +0000

Tobacco tax hike could raise price of cigarettes to 500 yen per pack The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Research Commission on the Tax System is discussing a major increase in tobacco tax for fiscal 2009 that could raise the price of cigarettes in Japan by 200 yen a pack, despite fierce opposition from the tobacco industry. The price of a pack is almost certain to go up by at least five yen per cigarette, and a raise of 10 yen per cigarette is also on the table, which would push the price of a 300 yen pack of 20 cigarettes up to 500 yen. While a price increase to 500 yen would force more people to give up and drive down cigarette sales, central and local government tax revenue is still projected to rise by about 1.5 trillion yen over the approximately 2.2 trillion yen predicted for fiscal 2008. An increase to 1,000 yen per pack has been all but nixed after it was felt that this would significantly decrease tax revenue. Japan Tobacco and tobacco farmers and retailers have already denounced any tax increases as a devastating blow to the tobacco industry. The LDP is toying with the idea of sugaring the pill for farmers by using some of the extra revenue to pay for subsidies, but debate on the size of the tax increase -- unavoidable as far as the commission and the Ministry of Finance are concerned -- could last until the end of the year. Proposed uses for the extra revenue include setting funds aside for an increase in the government's contributions to basic pensions that is planned for fiscal 2009. (Mainichi Japan) July 19, 2008

Gates, Bloomberg Pool Riches To Fight Smoking

webmaster — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:25:31 +0000

By SARA KUGLER NEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft founder Bill Gates and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg are pooling their piles of money to pour $375 million into a global effort to cut smoking. The billionaire philanthropists, who have a combined worth of more than $70 billion, said Wednesday that the money will help efforts in developing countries where tobacco use is highest. There are more than 1 billion smokers worldwide. The $250 million from Bloomberg and $125 million from Gates will support projects that raise tobacco taxes, help smokers quit, ban tobacco advertising and protect nonsmokers from exposure to smoke, their foundations said. It will also aid efforts to track tobacco use and better understand tobacco control strategies. "Bill and I want to highlight the enormity of this problem and catalyze a global movement of governments and civil society to stop the tobacco epidemic," Bloomberg said in a statement. Bloomberg, who built his fortune from the financial information company he founded in the 1980s, is adding to an anti-smoking initiative he funded with $125 million in 2006. That money goes toward tobacco-fighting campaigns in low- and middle-income countries, most specifically China, India, Indonesia, Russia and Bangladesh. The Bloomberg foundation is also conducting a survey to better understand smoking in those countries. When Bloomberg first announced that $125 million gift, he said at the time that he believed smoking was a public health issue that was largely ignored by philanthropists. He said he hoped publicizing it would bring more attention from other major foundations. Gates said Wednesday that $24 million of his gift will go directly toward Bloomberg's efforts that are already underway. The remaining money will be used by his foundation to begin its own anti-tobacco work, including preventing tobacco use from increasing in Africa. "Tobacco-caused diseases have emerged as one of the greatest health challenges facing developing countries," Gates said in a statement. "The good news is, we know what it takes to save millions of lives, and where efforts exist, they are working." Bloomberg, a former smoker who quit about 30 years ago, has crusaded against smoking as mayor. In his first term he banned smoking in bars and restaurants and his health department has an aggressive, ongoing campaign to help New Yorkers kick the habit.

Parental smoking, wheezing and sensitisation in early childhood

webmaster — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:09:51 +0000

Billion Deaths - Lifesaving Crusade

webmaster — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 00:26:54 +0000

July 27, 2008 - Sunday Gazette Mail The World Health Organization estimates that cigarettes will bring agonizing early death to 1 billion people around the planet during the 21st century. The World Health Organization estimates that cigarettes will bring agonizing early death to 1 billion people around the planet during the 21st century. Two concerned American billionaires who care about humanity teamed up last week to try to save some of the nicotine victims. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined with retired Microsoft guru Bill Gates in pledging $500 million to halt smoking everywhere. Bloomberg will add $250 million to $125 million he already gave for the crusade. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation promised $125 million more. (Both men grew rich from computers: Gates by creating operating systems, Bloomberg by providing online financial data to Wall Street firms.) Their joint effort will urge all governments to raise tobacco taxes sharply, ban smoking in public places, outlaw advertising to teens and free giveaways of cigarettes, start intensive warnings about tobacco danger, and offer nicotine patches to people trying to quit. The drive will focus on five heavy-puffing countries: China, India, Indonesia, Russia and Bangladesh. The New York Times commented: "It promises to be a struggle. Cigarettes are not only highly addictive and supported by huge advertising campaigns, they are also an important source of income for many foreign governments. In some countries, tobacco is a state-owned monopoly, and low- and middle-income countries collect $66 billion a year in tobacco taxes. About 5 percent of countries in the world have any anti-smoking measures like those the campaign envisions." That's dismaying. Such governments are drug-peddlers, just like U.S. cigarette firms, reaping profits from people's nicotine addiction, ignoring the terrible health toll caused by smoking. The Times noted that "waves of lung cancer deaths ... typically begin about 40 years after smoking takes hold in a society." In an editorial titled "Stub out that weed forever," Britain's Economist said: "Despite decades of work by health campaigners, more than 1 billion people still smoke today. Smoking kills up to half of those who fail to quit puffing, reducing their lives by an average of 10 to 15 years. The World Health Organization says more than 5 million people a year die early from the effects, direct or indirect, of tobacco." Billionaires Bloomberg and Gates deserve public gratitude for attempting to save lives. Oxford University epidemiologist Richard Peto summed up: "I reckon this will avoid tens of millions of deaths in my lifetime, and hundreds of millions in my kids' lifetimes."

Escambia County To Have Tobacco-Free Hiring Policy

webmaster — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 00:36:42 +0000

The Associated Press PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Escambia County will have a tobacco-free hiring policy starting in October. All applicants for county jobs are currently required to take a drug test, which will be expanded to include testing for tobacco use. Any applicant testing positive for tobacco will not be eligible. Officials say the policy is aimed at improving the health of employees and to get the county's health insurance costs under control. It's one of several policies county commissioners approved this week. The county also is enacting a 50-foot smoking ban from the entrance or exit of any county building on Oct. 1. In two years, no county employee will be allowed to smoke anywhere on county property.

U.S. House Casts Historic Vote To Protect Kids From Tobacco

admin — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 03:44:09 +0000

U.S. House Casts Historic Vote to Protect Kids from Tobacco, Save Lives; Senate Should Act This Year and President Should Sign Bill Into Law PR Newswire | Last update July 30, 2008 WASHINGTON, July 30, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Statement of William V. Corr, Executive Director, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids The U.S. House of Representatives today cast a truly historic vote to protect children from tobacco addiction and save lives by overwhelmingly approving legislation granting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products. This is the first time the House has ever approved such legislation. Today's vote by a clear veto-proof margin of 326 to 102 underscores the broad, bipartisan support for this legislation and provides powerful momentum for enacting it into law this year. The House vote is a giant step toward ending the special protection the tobacco industry has enjoyed for too long and at such great cost to the nation's health. Now the Senate should seize this unprecedented opportunity to protect the nation's health and approve this legislation when it returns in September. With 57 sponsors and several other senators who have committed to supporting the bill, the Senate has the votes to pass this legislation this year. It is disappointing that some of the President's advisors have said they would recommend a veto of the bill. We urge the President to support this historic effort to protect our children and address the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. We applaud the bill's sponsors, U.S. Reps. Henry Waxman and Tom Davis, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell and Health Subcommittee Chairman Frank Pallone for their leadership in moving this legislation forward. We are eager to continue working with them and the Senate sponsors, Senators Edward Kennedy and John Cornyn, to enact this legislation into law. This legislation has strong support across the nation. It has been endorsed by more than 680 public health, medical, faith and other organizations (see list at http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/fda/organizations.pdf. It is supported by 70 percent of American voters, with support across political lines, geographic regions and even by a majority of smokers, according to a poll conducted in May 2008 (detailed poll results: http://tobaccofreekids.org/fdapoll/). Last year, both the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences and the President's Cancer Panel issued landmark reports endorsing FDA regulation of tobacco products. This legislation is urgently needed. Tobacco use kills more than 400,000 Americans and costs the nation nearly $100 billion in health care bills each year. Every day, another 1,200 Americans die from tobacco use and more than 1,000 children become new regular smokers. Yet tobacco products are virtually unregulated to protect public health. This lack of regulation allows tobacco companies to market their deadly and addictive products to children, deceive consumers about the harm their products cause, make changes to their products without disclosing them (such as manipulating nicotine and menthol levels in cigarettes), and resist any meaningful change to make their products less harmful. This legislation would grant the FDA strong and effective authority over the manufacturing, marketing and sale of tobacco products. It would:

Impose specific restrictions on tobacco marketing and sales to kids. Among other things, it would limit tobacco advertising in publications with significant teen readership and outdoor and point-of-sale advertising to black-and-white text only and provide for enforcement and penalties against retailers who sell tobacco products to minors.
Grant the FDA authority to further restrict tobacco marketing to the full extent allowed by the First Amendment to the Constitution.
Require tobacco companies to disclose the contents of tobacco products, changes to their products and research about the health effects of their products.
Grant the FDA broad authority to require changes in tobacco products, such as the reduction or removal of harmful ingredients and the reduction of nicotine to non-addictive levels. This includes the authority to reduce or eliminate menthol in cigarettes.
Ban candy-flavored cigarettes.
Require larger, more effective health warnings on tobacco products and advertising. Health warnings would have to cover 30 percent of the front and rear panels of tobacco packages, and the FDA could require graphic warnings that cover 50 percent of the front and rear panels.
Prohibit health claims about so-called "reduced risk" products that are not scientifically proven or that would discourage current tobacco users from quitting or encourage new users to start.
Prohibit misleading terms such as "low-tar," "light" and "mild."

The FDA is the right agency to regulate tobacco products because it is the only agency with the combination of regulatory experience, scientific expertise and public health mandate. The pending legislation is carefully crafted to ensure the FDA's new tobacco-related responsibilities do not in any way impede or take resources from its current responsibilities. The legislation would require tobacco companies to pay user fees that would fully fund the FDA's tobacco-related responsibilities so no funding is taken from the FDA's current work. The legislation would also create a new, separate center for tobacco product regulation within the FDA, leaving existing offices and functions within FDA undisturbed by this new authority. We urge Congress to enact this life-saving legislation into law this year. There are few steps Congress can take that would make a bigger difference for our nation's health. SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org Copyright (C) 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved End of Story

Keys 'Sorry' For Cigarette Ads

admin — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:38:36 +0000

SCMP - Updated on Jul 30, 2008 Alicia Keys has apologised to fans in Indonesia after discovering one of her forthcoming concerts was sponsored by tobacco firm Philip Morris. Billboard posters for tomorrow night's Jakarta gig featured a logo for the A Mild cigarette brand, BBCi reported. In a statement, Keys (pictured) said she asked for "corrective actions" as soon as she learned of the advertisements. As a result, she added, the company had withdrawn its sponsorship and all signage had been removed. The Grammy award-winning singer had been criticised by anti-smoking campaigners, who claimed the deal would encourage young fans to take up smoking. Campaigning organisation Tobacco Free Kids said the branding was "inconsistent with [Keys'] advocacy for children's health through her involvement in Keep A Child Alive, a campaign to address the HIV/Aids epidemic in poor countries". It sent an open letter to the R&B star, signed by several anti-tobacco agencies, calling on her to "put the health of Indonesia's children first" and remove the advertising or cancel her concert. In her statement, Keys said: "I apologise for any misleading advertising initially associated with the show. I'm an unyielding advocate for the well-being and health of children around the world and do not condone or endorse smoking. "I look forward to bringing my music and message to my wonderful fans in Jakarta."

House Passes Bill To Regulate Tobacco

admin — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 04:16:11 +0000

STEPHANIE SAUL - The New York Times | July 31, 2008 Decades after the surgeon general first warned that cigarettes were a health hazard, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation on Wednesday that would for the first time give the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate tobacco products. Citing the long history of warnings about the dangers of smoking, Representative John D. Dingell, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said that it was hard to believe that the federal government had not yet regulated the tobacco industry. “With this legislation, we change this,” said Mr. Dingell, a Michigan Democrat. The White House has signaled its opposition to the bill. And while the legislation has strong support in the Senate, which could take up the measure this fall, it is not clear whether the bill has a veto-proof majority there. The show of support in the House, which passed the bill by a vote of 326 to 102, illustrated not only the strength of antismoking sentiment in the country but the benefit of enlisting a powerful ally. The legislation was partly the result of negotiations with Philip Morris USA, the nation’s largest cigarette company, which split with other companies by endorsing it. Most large public health groups supported the measure — and its passage was applauded by groups including the American Lung Association and the American Heart Association — but some antismoking advocates said the bargain struck with Philip Morris gave too many concessions to the industry. The bill specifically states that the F.D.A.’s new powers would stop short of the ability to order the elimination of nicotine from tobacco products or place an outright ban on all tobacco products. But the agency could reduce nicotine to nonaddictive levels if it determined that doing so would benefit public health. The F.D.A. could also require changes in tobacco products, like the reduction or elimination of other harmful ingredients. The bill bans flavored cigarettes that appeal to young people but exempts menthol from that ban. The exemption raised objections from black antismoking advocates because mentholated cigarettes are frequently chosen by black smokers. To satisfy the Congressional Black Caucus on that issue, last-minute changes were made in the bill to direct a scientific advisory committee to issue recommendations on menthol in cigarettes within one year. In a statement, Lorillard Tobacco Company, whose Newport cigarettes are the leading menthol brand, said it opposed the bill but “welcomes the provision in this bill that calls for a scientific review of menthol in cigarettes.” Lorillard said that scientific studies to date do not support a conclusion that menthol cigarettes are more hazardous or addictive than non-menthol cigarettes. The amendments also require the F.D.A. to publish an action plan on the advertising and promotion of menthol and other cigarettes to young people, giving priority to minority communities. The bill was opposed by many Republicans. Many said they objected to expansion of the federal bureaucracy, and complained in particular that the F.D.A. was already unable to fulfill its work overseeing pharmaceuticals and food. In floor discussion, John A. Boehner, the House minority leader, a smoker, called the legislation a “boneheaded idea.” “How much is enough?” Mr. Boehner said. “How much government do we need? There’s not a smoker in America that doesn’t understand that smoking isn’t good for you.” But Henry A. Waxman, the California Democrat who sponsored the bill, responded, “The minority leader said ‘When is enough, enough?’ Well cigarettes, one of the most dangerous products on sale today, are not regulated at all.” The legislation would finance the F.D.A.’s tobacco supervision primarily through new fees paid by tobacco companies that are earmarked for that purpose. If the legislation is enacted, consumers would see a wholesale revamping of the warning labels on tobacco products. The small messages currently on cigarette packs warning of the negative health effects would be replaced by graphic images of the physical ravages often caused by cigarettes, such as lung tumors and mouth growths. The bill will also require cigarette makers to provide detailed disclosure about the type and quantities of ingredients in their products — like ammonia and acetaldehyde — which are believed to work with nicotine to increase the addictiveness of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. The requirements mean that companies would be required to disclose internal research on the biological effects of those additives. Cigarette companies could no longer advertise their products as “light” or “ultralight” to convey the notion of less harmful ingredients. Some companies have anticipated those changes by packaging their products so that cigarettes packs are color-coded to denote different blends. Under the bill, any outdoor advertising of cigarettes, and advertising in publications seen by children, would have to be in black and white, to reduce their visual allure. House approval of the bill follows years of debate over whether tobacco products should be regulated. While attempts to place tobacco products under the agency’s jurisdiction date back at least to the 1980s, the impetus for the current bill originates in 1995, when Dr. David A. Kessler, then F.D.A. commissioner, proposed a set of regulations governing tobacco. Dr. Kessler asserted that nicotine was an addictive drug and that tobacco companies deliberately manipulated the nicotine content of their products. Dr. Kessler had tried to impose regulations on the industry but the Supreme Court overturned them in 2000. A bill that would have placed tobacco under F.D.A. jurisdiction was passed by the Senate in 2004 but was never approved by the House. The bill that the House approved Wednesday was introduced in both chambers in 2007.

Exposure To Environmental Tobacco Smoke And Health Effects Among Hospitality Workers In Sweden

admin — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:00:00 +0000

Larsson M, Boëthius G, Axelsson S, Montgomery SM. - The Department of Respiratory Medicine, Orebro University Hospital, Orebro, Sweden. matz.larsson@orebroll.se | Aug 2008 TOPIC: Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and health effects among hospitality workers in Sweden--before and after the implementation of a smoke-free law. OBJECTIVES: This study attempted to identify changes in exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, as well as symptoms and attitudes among hospitality workers after the introduction of extended smoke-free workplace legislation. METHODS: A total of 37 volunteers working in bingo halls and casinos (gaming workers) and 54 bars and restaurant employees (other workers) in nine Swedish communities participated in the study. Altogether 71 of 91 persons (14 daily smokers and 57 nonsmokers) participated in both the pre-ban baseline survey and the follow-up 12 months after the ban. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, smoking habits, respiratory and sensory symptoms, and attitudes towards the ban were recorded, and spirometry was carried out. RESULTS: The frequency of reported respiratory and sensory symptoms was approximately halved among the nonsmokers in both occupational groups after the introduction of the ban. Initially 87% had exposure to environmental tobacco smoke that was over the nicotine cut-off level chosen to identify possible health risk ( <0.5 microg/m3) while, after the ban, it was only 22%, a relative risk of 0.25 (95% confidence interval 0.15-0.41). The risk decreased in both occupational groups, but gaming workers experienced the highest pre-ban exposure levels. Attitudes towards the legislation were largely positive, particularly after the ban. However, there was no notable change in lung function, and there was no notable reduction in the number of cigarettes consumed by smokers. CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of smoke-free legislation was associated with a substantial reduction in respiratory and sensory symptoms, as well as reduced exposure to environmental tobacco smoke at work, particularly among gaming workers.

Anti-smoking Advert 'Understates' Real Costs

admin — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 02:22:30 +0000

Mary Ann Benitez - SCMP | Updated on Aug 03, 2008 A government-funded anti-smoking advocacy group has been criticised for understating the health-related cost of tobacco in its promotional campaign. The Council on Smoking and Health's latest radio advertisement, calling on people to quit smoking, is causing concern for anti-smoking lobbyist Clear the Air. "Smoking costs the Hong Kong economy HK$5.3 billion each year. This is what it costs for the health care, medical expenses and productivity losses," the advertisement says. "Quit smoking now for a better return." The council said the HK$5.3 billion estimate came from a study conducted by the University of Hong Kong's community medicine department in 2005. The advertisement was part of the Smoke Free Hong Kong Campaign launched in May. James Middleton, of Clear the Air, said the council should have used a higher figure which the HKU study had also suggested. "This selective choice of information for the public service announcement is based on information from a University of Hong Kong research report. [The announcement] needs to be redone to reflect the actual costs to Hong Kong society," he said. The widely reported HKU study found that the total cost of active and passive smoking was HK$5.3 billion a year. It took into account the cost of health care, residential care and lost working time. It also said: "If we add the value of attributable lives lost but deduct productivity loss due to premature death to avoid double counting the value of a lost life, the annual cost would be US$9.4 billion [HK$73.36 billion]." Council chairman Homer Tso Wei-kwok defended the agency's decision to use the HK$5.3 billion a year health-related cost of smoking because no one could put a value on life. "Life is priceless. That figure does not take into account the cost of lives. We only talked about the medical and other burdens," he said, adding it was also the figure mostly used by the media at the time. "We are talking about an advocacy message." Meanwhile, the Department of Health said it would take 10 more months for the fixed-penalty scheme for smoking offences to be implemented. The bill was passed on July 2. From January 1 last year to the end of June this year, the Tobacco Control Office issued 7,322 summonses.

Tobacco Cure

admin — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 03:13:48 +0000

SCMP | 4th August 2008 Stanford University researchers have developed a cancer vaccine using tobacco leaves that triggers the body's immune system, can be tailored to a person's tumour type and has no significant side effects. It has cured cancer in mice, but the researchers haven't yet proved that the immune response it sparks in people is sufficient to do the same. However, of 16 patients recently diagnosed with incurable follicular B-cell lymphoma who were given the vaccine, none experienced major side effects and 13 developed an immune response. Plant-based vaccines can be developed faster and cheaper that those using animal or human cells, don't carry the same risk of infection, and the antibodies produced may trigger a stronger immune response, AFP reports.

Why Some Smokers Become Addicted With Their First Cigarette

webmaster — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:32:54 +0000

Science Daily - August 8, 2008 New research from The University of Western Ontario reveals how the brain processes the 'rewarding' and addictive properties of nicotine, providing a better understanding of why some people seemingly become hooked with their first smoke. The research, led by Steven Laviolette of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry could lead to new therapies to prevent nicotine dependence and to treat nicotine withdrawal when smokers try to quit. "Nicotine interacts with a variety of neurochemical pathways within the brain to produce its rewarding and addictive effects," explains Laviolette. "However, during the early phase of tobacco exposure, many individuals find nicotine highly unpleasant and aversive, whereas others may become rapidly dependent on nicotine and find it highly rewarding. We wanted to explore that difference." The researchers found one brain pathway in particular uses the neurotransmitter 'dopamine' to transmit signals related to nicotine's rewarding properties. This pathway is called the 'mesolimbic' dopamine system and is involved in the addictive properties of many drugs of abuse, including cocaine, alcohol and nicotine. "While much progress has been made in understanding how the brain processes the rewarding effects of nicotine after the dependence is established, very little is known about how the mesolimbic dopamine system may control the initial vulnerability to nicotine; that is, why do some individuals become quickly addicted to nicotine while others do not, and in some cases, even find nicotine to be highly aversive." The scientists identified which specific dopamine receptor subtype controlled the brain's initial sensitivity to nicotine's rewarding and addictive properties and were able to manipulate these receptors to control whether the nicotine is processed as rewarding or aversive. "Importantly, our findings may explain an individual's vulnerability to nicotine addiction, and may point to new pharmacological treatments for the prevention of it, and the treatment of nicotine withdrawal," says Laviolette. The research was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation.

Make Tobacco Illegal In Australia

webmaster — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 06:04:46 +0000

Published by Clindall on Aug 22, 2008 Category: Law Reform Region: Australia Target: Any concerned individual residing in Australia The three diseases that cause most deaths in Australia are heart disease, stroke and lung cancer, with tobacco smoking being a major cause for all three of these killers. It is the largest single preventable cause of death and disease in Australia, as recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and the world, as said by the World Health Organisation. If tobacco smoking causes so much harm, why should it be “allowed” to kill people in the way that it does? The adverse effects on health are not only suffered by smokers, but also by non-smokers who still breathe in tobacco smoke. Tobacco can even cause non-smokers to be more at risk of getting diseases such as lung cancer and others linked to smoking. Children are even more sensitive to the tobacco smoke, which can hinder lung development and cause respiratory problems and infections, as well as other illnesses. I fully support the current initiatives to protect children from the effects of smoking, but why stop there? Isn’t this akin to stopping slavery of children, yet allowing adults to remain enslaved? I suggest that the sale, production and importation of tobacco are made illegal in Australia and eventually, possession as well. This would greatly reduce the number of smokers in our country, as there are many people currently addicted to tobacco that wouldn’t be prepared to keep smoking through illegal means. Petition: We, the undersigned of Australia, call upon the Federal Government to make the sale, production and importation of Tobacco illegal and to eventually make possession also illegal.

Yunnan Tobacco Merger To Create Industry Giant

admin — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:49:11 +0000

Jasmine Wang - SCMP | Updated on Aug 26, 2008 Two Yunnan-based tobacco companies, Hongyun Group and Honghe Group, agreed to merge yesterday, forming the world's fourth-largest tobacco firm and the biggest on the mainland, state media reported. The deal, pending government approval, will form a new entity with annual sales volume exceeding 4.5 million boxes of cigarettes, ranking only behind Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco in the world, China News Services reported yesterday, citing tobacco bureau officials. "The move is significant to the monopolised industry," said an analyst at a local brokerage covering mainland companies. "It shows the government's intention to nurture giants and then encourage them go out as Chinese tobacco brands are not that well known abroad." He said creating a giant could boost the price of Chinese cigarettes overseas. Hongyun and Honghe could not be reached for comment yesterday. The price of cigarettes on the mainland, which has the world's largest smoking population, are controlled by the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration whether they are locally made or imported. More than 80 per cent of the mainland's 320 million smokers consumed domestic brands, although the market share of global giants was growing, said Mao Zhengzhong, an economic professor at Sichuan University who studies smoking control on the mainland. Mr Mao said Yunnan was one of the biggest tobacco-producing provinces. It is home to three major tobacco firms, Honta Group, which makes the popular "Hongtashan" brand and was once No1 on the mainland, Hongyun and Honghe. Established in 2005 after waves of mergers, Hongyun produces more than 3 million boxes of cigarettes under the brands of "Yunyan" and "Lesser Panda" each year through its five plants, according to the company's website. Last year, it had turnover of 29 billion yuan with net assets reaching 31 billion yuan. Honghe, which produces cigarettes under its own name, has an annual production capacity of 1.6 million boxes. Established in 1985, Honghe generated revenue of 16 billion yuan last year. Hunan is another major province, where the Baisha Group that owns the popular "He" brand is located.

Ending Tobacco Smoking In Britain

admin — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 05:20:35 +0000

the Tobacco Advisory Group of the Royal College of Physicians - September 2008 Ending tobacco smoking in Britain - Radical strategies for prevention and harm reduction in nicotine addiction Summary Preventing people from starting smoking, and helping smokers to stop smoking, are crucial if the massive burden of premature death and disability caused by smoking in the UK is to be reduced. The Royal College of Physicians has argued consistently for more effective tobacco control policy in the UK, including harm reduction strategies to help to achieve this. In particular, we strongly advocated the establishment of a Nicotine Regulatory Authority to implement a radical overhaul of the way that nicotine products are regulated in the UK. This Authority would rebalance the restrictions on the different nicotine products and maximise the likelihood that smokers who want to stop smoking will succeed. Also, those who fail or do not want to stop using nicotine are would be more likely to choose a less hazardous nicotine source that tobacco. We acknowledge and applaud the progress that has been made in implementing tobacco control policy in the UK over the past ten years, but we belive that a great deal more could and should be done. In this short report we outline how more effective tobacco control and harm reduction policies could be designed and implemented. In it we call for a dramatic increase in the restrictions on availability, affordability and promotion of smoked tobacco; and for the radical liberalisation of the medicinal nicotine market. We provide a framework to harness any potential public health benefit from other, non-medicinal sources of nicotine, including tobacco-based products. We also set out the primary responsibilities of a Nicotine Regulatory Authority in overseeing these changes. We believe that these approaches, if fully implemented, have the potential to end tobacco smoking in the UK within the next 20 years. Contents

Why we need radical solutions to the smoking epidemic
What are conventional approaches to preventing smoking, and how do they work?
What is harm reduction, and how would it work for smoking?
What is the safest way to provide nicotine without smoking?
What are the alternatives to medicinal nicotine?
How should harm reduction be incorporated into conventional tobacco control?
How are nicotine products regulated at present?
How should nicotine regulation be reformed?
Regulating, monitoring and managing nicotine product use: the need for a Nicotine Regulatory Authority

Published: September 2008 Document Downloads

Ending tobacco smoking in Britain full text

Passive Smoking Ups Risk Of PAD By 50% CME

admin — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 02:40:50 +0000

News Author: Lisa Nainggolan - CME Author: Laurie Barclay, MD - From Heartwire — a professional news service of WebMD | September 22, 2008 Chinese researchers have reported, for the first time, a link between exposure to passive smoke and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in a cohort of women who have never smoked. Dr Yao He (Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China) and colleagues publish their findings today in Circulation [1]. "We found that compared with women who were not exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS), among women who were exposed to SHS, the risk of intermittent claudication was increased by 87% and risk of PAD — assessed by ankle-brachial index < 0.90 — was increased by 47%, with significant dose-response relationships for both number of cigarettes exposed to and duration of exposure," they state. In line with previous studies, He et al also found an increased risk of both coronary heart disease and stroke in the women exposed to passive smoking, with this being the first study to specifically report a positive association between SHS and ischemic but not hemorrhagic stroke. "In China, only 4% of women are current smokers, but more than 50% of women are exposed to SHS," they note. "But most people [there] are unaware of the serious health hazards of SHS. Thus, urgent public health measures are warranted to protect individuals from exposure to SHS." Passive smoking linked with ischemic, but not hemorrhagic stroke The researchers explain that China is the largest producer and consumer of tobacco in the world, with its 350 million smokers puffing their way through 30% of the globe's cigarettes. But awareness of the health hazards of either active or passive smoking is still low. They set out to examine the relationship between SHS and cardiovascular diseases, particularly PAD and stroke, in older Chinese women (60 years or older) who had never smoked from a population-based cross-sectional study in Beijing. SHS was defined as exposure to another person's tobacco smoke at home or in the workplace. "Because the vast majority of women were never smokers (87%) we had a unique opportunity to evaluate the association of SHS with risk of CVD [cardiovascular disease], particularly PAD," they note. After adjustment for 13 potential confounding factors, they found that women who had been exposed to SHS had a significantly higher risk of coronary heart disease (CHD; adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.69; p<0.001) and ischemic stroke (OR 1.56; p = 0.035) than those never exposed to SHS. The adjusted OR's of PAD defined by intermittent claudication (IC), by ankle-brachial index (ABI) < 0.90 and by either IC or ABI < 0.90 were: 1.87 ( p=0.001), 1.47 (p=0.018) and 1.67 (p<0.001) respectively. Dose-response relationships were found between SHS exposure amount (cigarettes per day) and duration (minutes per day) and increasing prevalence of CHD, ischemic stroke and PAD. "Our finding of a dose-dependent association of SHS with CHD is consistent with the literature," He et al explain. They also note that their findings with regard to stroke support previous studies, but that many of these did not investigate subtypes of stroke. "This population based study is the first to report a positive association of SHS exposure with ischemic stroke but not hemorrhagic stroke among Chinese female nonsmokers." PAD underdiagnosed and undertreated in China An important advantage of the study, say He et al, was that PAD was diagnosed by ABI measurement. They explain that PAD is an underdiagnosed and undertreated condition in China: previous studies have shown almost 50% of PAD patients are asymptomatic and most of them are unaware of their condition. "To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study showing an increased risk of PAD with increasing SHS exposure," they note, adding that they believe their results are generalizable to similar populations in China. "SHS exposure in women is highly prevalent in China. In addition to being a causal factor for CHD, SHS should be considered an important risk factor for ischemic stroke and PAD in Chinese women who never smoked," they conclude. This study is supported by research grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Beijing Natural Science Foundation, and the Health Service in the Health Ministry of China. Dr Hu was partly supported by an American Heart Association Established Investigator Award. Coauthor Dr. He was partly supported by the Gordon Wu and Cheng YuTung Exchange Professorships in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong. The other study authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships. Source 1. He Y, Lam TH, Jian B et al. Passive smoking and risk of peripheral arterial disease and ischemic stroke in Chinese women who never smoked. Circulation. 2008:doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.108.784801. Clinical Context There is strong evidence to date that SHS exposure is a causal factor for CHD. However, the relationship between SHS exposure and ischemic stroke and PAD is still unclear. Several studies suggest a positive association between SHS and the risk for stroke. There have been recent estimates of the prevalence of PAD attributable to active smoking in a Chinese population, but no study to date has reported on the association of SHS with PAD. The complete contents of Heartwire, a professional news service of WebMD, can be found at www.theheart.org, a Web site for cardiovascular healthcare professionals. Medscape Medical News 2008. ©2008 Medscape Legal Disclaimer The material presented here does not necessarily reflect the views of Medscape or companies that support educational programming on www.medscape.com. These materials may discuss therapeutic products that have not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and off-label uses of approved products. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product discussed. Readers should verify all information and data before treating patients or employing any therapies described in this educational activity.

Smoking Help Goes Online

admin — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:57:29 +0000

http://www.canstopsmoking.com/ | 23 September 2008 Smokers in Scotland will be able to get live assistance online to help them kick the habit, NHS Scotland has announced. A website, called Can Stop Smoking, is being launched which will have advisors online between 18:00 and 20:00 to offer advice on giving up cigarettes. The online service will run in addition to a telephone offering which is already in use. 'The Smokeline telephone advice line as proved popular in the past and I'm sure that making use of new technology will enable even more people to access these services and take the first vital step to becoming a non-smoker,' said Shona Robison, minister for public health. More than 13,000 Scots die each year from smoking, the Scottish Government claims, with 1,000 of these from passive smoking. The country has taken large steps in the last through years to deal with smoking-related diseases, including becoming the first UK country to introduce a ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces in 2006.

Commission Issues Warning

admin — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 04:37:14 +0000

25 Sep 2008. New Zealand’s Commerce Commission has issued warnings to three major tobacco companies that the use of the terms 'light' and 'mild' risked breaching the Fair Trading Act. The Commerce Commission has been investigating whether the use of the descriptors 'light' and 'mild' on cigarettes could be potentially misleading under the Fair Trading Act. "Our concern with these descriptors is that consumers may believe they are exposing themselves to less harm if they smoke these cigarettes, as compared to regular-strength cigarettes," says Adrian Sparrow, director of the Commerce Commission of Fair Trading. "Whilst technical machine testing of these products might show them to have a lower level of toxicants, our investigations suggest that the impact of human behaviour results in there being little difference between the intake of toxicants from these products and their regular-strength counterparts." During the investigation, British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco gave the commission assurances that they would remove the descriptors from their packaging. Philip Morris has planned to do the same by 17 October. Meanwhile, the parliamentary health select committee has recommended the banning of tobacco and cigarette displays in shops. The committee's report, issued on 29 September, found that displays could "create a false impression of the safety, social acceptability, and prevalence of tobacco use". (pi)

Kicking The Habit

admin — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:30:35 +0000

BEN FAWKES - The Dominion Post | Thursday, 25 September 2008 Experts say nicotine is as addictive as heroin or crack cocaine, with most smokers taking close to 20 attempts to stub out the habit. So when I was offered the chance to try the bioresonance stop smoking treatment - with a reported success rate of between 85 and 90 per cent after one month - I fell upon the opportunity with a mix of hope and disbelief. Two weeks later, I was standing outside a health shop in Cuba St, smoking my "last" cigarette in preparation for a dose of bioresonance. It would be my eighth attempt to quit. The last big effort was in January last year, the result of a rather rash New Year resolution. Three days later, a flatmate found me and a friend going through the rubbish bin to retrieve a rather soggy pack of Marlboro Lights, enthusiastically discarded some time on the morning of January 1. Undeterred, I made a further attempt six or seven weeks later. My undoing was the rural sports day I had to cover for the country paper I was working on at the time. Having dramatically tossed half a packet of fags out the car window on the way to the sports day, three hours of sheep shearing and dog trials got the better of me, and I spent half an hour on the return trip scrambling around a ditch looking for my discarded Special Filters. So it was with some trepidation, 18 months later, that I lay plugged in to a machine at The Stop Smoking Clinic, one of two bioresonance providers in Wellington. The clinic is run by Shona Ellis, a Southlander who worked as a radiographer before becoming interested in bioresonance after meeting a doctor who had it used on patients with allergy problems. According to Ms Ellis, the advantage of bioresonance is that it not only rids the body of nicotine but also cancels out the craving to smoke. "Bioresonance is designed to eliminate the cravings to a point where people don't need to smoke," she says. The oldest person Ms Ellis has treated is an 81-year-old and she says it's not uncommon to have clients who have previously smoked 40 cigarettes a day. The most important criteria for successful treatment is a motivation to quit, she says. "If the person is not committed and not serious about it, they'll just keep smoking and not stop." *** I was determined to give it a crack, but my track record wasn't so hot. The treatment was quite straight forward. A probe was stuck into the soles of my feet to take a nicotine reading and I was plugged into the bioresonance machine. Electrodes were placed on my forehead and chest. The session lasted about an hour. To finish, I received acupuncture to pressure points in my ears and was dispatched with a potion designed to ease any cravings and an unusual metal disc which apparently carried a memory of my treatment and was to be worn for the next month. Despite the helpsheet noting that some people had no urge to smoke after the first treatments session, I was not one of them. The strong cravings I experienced in the first two or three days, progressed to extreme grumpiness and shortness of temper within a week. But the foul mood eventually passed, and, to my extreme surprise, I didn't have a single cigarette during the first month. Another month on, I have smoked - on occasion - but I wouldn't say I have started smoking again. It's more a case of having slipped up a few times, usually under the influence of a few drinks. Bioresonance has its detractors, among them ASH - the country's largest antismoking lobby group. Director Ben Youdan says ASH doesn't recommend bioresonance due to a lack of clinical evidence and the comparatively high cost when compared with other methods, such as government-subsidised nicotine replacement therapy. At $395, it is not a cheap, though people who start smoking again inside the first month can opt to have a second treatment at no extra cost. But nicotine patches - without the government subsidy - are not significantly cheaper. A 12-week course of patches costs about $315 (based on the cost of a packet of seven patches from the local supermarket). If subsidised, the same course of treatment costs less than $50. And though Mr Youdan says nicotine replacement therapy is three to four times more effective than stopping cold turkey, the success rate is still not that high. Given that going cold turkey succeeds with only about three or four per cent of smokers, that puts the success of patches and gum at about 15 per cent. "Because of the high level of [cigarettes'] addictiveness, it can be really tough to resist," Mr Youdan says. "It's really important that you want to quit." How does bioresonance work? * Bioresonance is said to work through the use of electromagnetic waves. * It's believed nicotine emits an electromagnetic charge over your body causing the craving to smoke. * The machine then reads the energy pattern of the nicotine in the cigarette smoked prior to treatment. * The opposing wave forms cancel each other out, reducing the electromagnetic charge of nicotine in the body, enabling it to be easily eliminated and dramatically reduce the cravings.

Where There's Smoke

admin — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:32:58 +0000

Indonesia is a world leader in cigarette consumption, but health advocates face an uphill battle in the face of a powerful tobacco lobby and seemingly indifferent politicians

Fabio Scarpello - SCMP - Updated on Sep 25, 2008 The performance by American singer Alicia Keys in Jakarta in July was notable for more than just the quality of the music. The sultry R&B star took a stance against cigarette advertisements and earned herself more than a few extra fans among Indonesia's anti-smoking lobby. Her position led to Philip Morris International withdrawing its sponsorship - something quite extraordinary in a country where tobacco advertisements are ubiquitous. "I am an unyielding advocate for the well-being of children around the world and do not condone or endorse smoking," Keys said at the time, and the comment could not have been made in a more appropriate place. Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous country, also has one of the world's youngest populations and it is the incidence of smoking among the young that is most disturbing to the anti-smoking lobby. According to a World Health Organisation global youth tobacco survey last year, smokers in Indonesia are getting younger, with the number of smokers aged between five and nine climbing dramatically. The same study said more than 141 million - or over half of Indonesia's 220 million inhabitants - were smokers and as many as 78.2 per cent of those were youngsters. This percentage has doubled in just three years. Indonesia is third on the list of countries with the largest number of smokers, after China and Russia, but has the highest percentage of juvenile smokers. Experts say this is due to the fact that producers are targeting young people, while the government and lawmakers do little to prevent it, with legislation limited and rarely enforced. Rita Damayanti, of the University of Indonesia's Faculty of Public Health, said that children too young to buy cigarettes were being targeted by the cigarette industry, which wanted to get them addicted and become long-term smokers. "Even though it is illegal to show a picture of cigarettes, cigarette companies just work twice as hard to send the message," she said. Mrs Damayanti explained that creative advertisements exposed young audiences to positive images, exciting lifestyles of youth culture and heroic characters, followed by a cigarette brand. "And we can predict how children will react to that," she said. Cigarette companies regularly hold promotions in parks and at concerts and sports venues. The effect of advertisements is that young people receive strong messages suggesting that smoking is cool. A teenager, cited in a 2006 study conducted by Nawi Ng, a public health specialist, summed up prevailing attitudes among his peers, saying: "If I don't smoke, I'm not a real man." Seto Mulyadi, head of Indonesia's National Commission on Child Protection, said the government must do more to restrict youth smoking. "Cigarette companies should not be allowed to sponsor school events and give out free cigarettes. This is simply immoral," he said. Mr Mulyadi said cigarette companies had intensified these two approaches since a recent regulation banned television advertisements before 9.30pm. The major cigarette firms deny targeting the young. "In the last 10 years, all international tobacco companies have changed their policy to not focus on juveniles as their consumers," Niken Rachmad a spokesman for Sampoerna, which is 98 per cent owned by Philip Morris, told The Jakarta Post. He added that the tobacco industry targeted only young adults above the age of 18, "for example, university students, who can decide for themselves". Mr Mulyadi said that part of the problem was that the law prohibiting sales to minors was not policed. Schoolchildren smoked in the street to general indifference, he said. "The government should also ratify the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which bans cigarette commercials altogether, among other things," he added. The FCTC is a global agreement on public health, which the WHO endorsed at a meeting in Geneva in May 2003. Indonesia was involved in drafting the FCTC but, although the framework has since been ratified by 157 countries, Indonesia has not signed it. North Korea is the only other country in Asia not to have done so. The government's relaxed attitude is mirrored by that of lawmakers. Parliament is yet to debate the Control of Impacts of Tobacco Products on Health Bill. The draft has been sitting idle for more than two years. Government inertia means there is unlikely to be an increase in the tobacco tax - a key to fighting cigarette addiction, according to experts. "If you raise the tobacco tax, you make cigarettes more expensive. It means low-income earners will not waste their money on cigarettes, and young people will not find it affordable to buy cigarettes any more. That is the purpose of increasing the tax. The increased revenue can be put towards tobacco control," Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance representative Mary Assunta told The Jakarta Post. The government "hasn't taken the basic steps it needs to take - banning tobacco advertising, increasing tax, putting graphic warnings on cigarette packs and banning smoking in public places", Ms Assunta said. The issue of the tax on cigarettes is a delicate one for politicians who are fearful of damaging the tobacco industry. Indeed, they say it needs to be protected. The global average for tobacco taxes is 70 per cent of the sales price. In Indonesia, the average is 37 per cent, the lowest in Southeast Asia. Indonesian cigarettes are among the cheapest in the world, with a pack of 20 selling for the equivalent of US$1. Indonesia is the world's fifth-largest cigarette market and the US$8 billion tobacco industry provides jobs for 7 million people and contributes about 10 per cent of government revenue. The industry expects to pay 42 trillion rupiah (HK$35.02 billion) in excise taxes this year, up from 11 trillion rupiah in 2001. This constitutes the fourth-largest state revenue after value-added tax, corporate income tax, and oil and gas tax. At a recent tobacco conference, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that Indonesia needed a healthy tobacco industry and that "the economy and job creation are the government's No1 priority". Tobacco producers represent a powerful and influential lobby that not even the Indonesia Ulama Council (MUI), the country's highest Islamic body, is able to challenge. When MUI deputy chairman Amidhan recently mentioned that the body was considering an edict forbidding the country's 200 million Muslims from smoking, Abdum Hafidz Azis, secretary of the Association of Indonesian Tobacco Farmers, attacked him, saying that the tobacco industry provided jobs and "it would be more human if the MUI switched to a regulation supporting smoking". The MUI seems to have dropped the idea. Health experts are adamant that smoking is a ticking time bomb and that Indonesia will pay dearly. According to the WHO, about a quarter of deaths in Indonesia in 2005 were caused by smoking and 80 per cent of lung and respiratory cancer cases were due to cigarettes. The WHO estimates that 25 per cent of all male deaths in Indonesia will be smoking related within a decade. The danger is compounded by the kretek, the clove-flavoured cigarette favoured by 90 per cent of Indonesia's smokers. Kreteks have roughly double the nicotine and tar levels of ordinary cigarettes. "I understand that the legislators are concerned about certain kinds of flavours that may lure the underage to smoke. But clove is not one of them. Clove has been used for ages as a flavour in cigarettes," Indonesian Clove Cigarette Producers Association chairman Ismanu Soemiran told The Jakarta Post. Anti-smoking campaigners also argue that smoking is making impoverished Indonesians even poorer. In a study of Indonesia's tobacco economy, Sarah Barber, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, found that among poor families, an average of 11 per cent of household income was devoted to cigarettes compared with 2.1 per cent spent on health and 1.8 per cent on education. Dr Barber added that "what poor people spend on cigarettes is more than double what they spend on meat, fish and eggs". Parents who smoke are also a negative role model. "If a teenager has parents who smoke, it is really hard for him not to follow," said Fransciskus, the secretary of the Youth Heart Club. Fransciskus, 19, is among those trying to stop youngsters from smoking. His club, which operates under the Indonesian Healthy Heart Foundation, advocates healthy living and leading by example. "We organise bike rides, camping and outdoor activities. We also receive and distribute material about healthy living," he said. Fransciskus, who only uses one name, added that what Alicia Keys did was very positive. "Her teenage fans may even support her in that campaign," he said.

English Pub Sells Electronic Cigarettes To Indoor Smokers

admin — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:23:24 +0000

Patrick Horan with wires - Herald Sun - AFP, Reuters | September 26, 2008 AN English pub reckons it has the perfect solution to the smoking ban as their winter approaches – an electronic cigarette. The UK Telegraph reports that the Butler’s Arms near Birmingham is selling the new E.cig, a device that smokes like a real cigarette with users getting a shot of nicotine every time they inhale. It even produces a cloud of water vapour with every puff. Electronic cigarettes are usually made of stainless steel and have a chamber for storing liquid nicotine in various concentrations. Users puff on them as they would a real cigarette but do not light them - rather the cigarettes produce a fine, heated mist which is absorbed into the lungs. The makers of the product, The Electronic Cigarette Company, claims the gadgets offer a "new generation of healthier smoking". The pub’s assistant manager Becky Giles, 18, told the Telegraph: "It is just like a real cigarette but without all the bad elements. “There is no harm to other people in the bar as no smoke is given out, just water vapour, and there is no smell like with a real cigarette.” But despite Becky’s considered opinion, the World Health Organisation isn’t so sure, warning the product could prove highly poisonous because it has not been subjected to rigorous scientific tests. "It's 100 per cent false to affirm this is a therapy for smokers to quit," WHO anti-tobacco official Douglas Bettcher told journalists. "There are a number of chemical additives in the product which could be very toxic," he warned. The WHO "knows of absolutely no scientific evidence whatsoever that would confirm that the electronic cigarette is a safe and effective smoking cessation device," he added. The WHO is particularly aggrieved that some manufacturers have implied the organisation views it as a legitimate nicotine replacement therapy, like nicotine gum, lozenges and patches. "Manufacturers of this electronic cigarette around the world have included WHO's name or logo, for example on their website, on package inserts or on advertisements," Bettcher said, without naming any company or manufacturer. The WHO has sent "cease-and-desist" letters to the manufacturers demanding they immediately withdraw these claims or otherwise face legal action. First made in China and sold mainly over the internet in countries including Brazil, Britain, Canada and Israel, electronic cigarettes have grown in popularity despite a lack of regulatory approval. Back at the Butler’s Arms, a starter pack costs £39.99 ($88), and users can choose between No nicotine, Low, medium or high nicotine, menthol, strawberry or cherry.

Light vs Regular Cigarettes on Nicotine

webmaster — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:37:50 +0000

26-Sep-2008 - University of California - Los Angeles Do 'light' cigarettes deliver less nicotine to the brain than regular cigarettes? For decades now, cigarette makers have marketed so-called light cigarettes — which contain less nicotine than regular smokes — with the implication that they are less harmful to smokers' health. A new UCLA study shows, however, that they deliver nearly as much nicotine to the brain. Reporting in the current online edition of the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, UCLA psychiatry professor Dr. Arthur L. Brody and colleagues found that low-nicotine cigarettes act similarly to regular cigarettes, occupying a significant percentage of the brain's nicotine receptors. Light cigarettes have nicotine levels of 0.6 to 1 milligrams, while regular cigarettes contain between 1.2 and 1.4 milligrams. The researchers also looked at de-nicotinized cigarettes, which contain only a trace amount of nicotine (0.05 milligrams) and are currently being tested as an adjunct to standard smoking-cessation treatments. They found that even that low a nicotine level is enough to occupy a sizeable percentage of receptors. "The two take-home messages are that very little nicotine is needed to occupy a substantial portion of brain nicotine receptors," Brody said, "and cigarettes with less nicotine than regular cigarettes, such as 'light' cigarettes, still occupy most brain nicotine receptors. Thus, low-nicotine cigarettes function almost the same as regular cigarettes in terms of brain nicotine-receptor occupancy. "It also showed us that de-nicotinized cigarettes still deliver a considerable amount of nicotine to the brain. Researchers, clinicians and smokers themselves should consider that fact when trying to quit." In the brain, nicotine binds to specific molecules on nerve cells called nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, or nAChRs. When nerve cells communicate, nerve impulses jump chemically across gaps between cells called synapses by means of neurotransmitters. The neurotransmitters then bind to the receptor sites on nerve cells — in the case acetylcholine resulting in the release of a pleasure-inducing chemical called dopamine. Nicotine mimics acetylcholine, but it lasts longer, releasing more dopamine. "It can cause specific neurons to communicate and thus increases dopamine for an extended period of time," Brody said. "Most scientists believe that's one key reason why nicotine is so addictive." In an earlier study, researchers determined that smoking a regular, non-light cigarette resulted in the occupancy of 88 percent of these nicotine receptors. However, that study did not determine whether inhaling nicotine or any of the thousands of other chemical found in cigarette smoke resulted in this receptor occupancy. The central goal of the present study was to determine if factors associated with smoking — other than nicotine — resulted in nAChR occupancy. The authors reasoned that if nicotine is solely responsible for receptor occupancy, then smoking a de-nicotinized cigarette or a low-nicotine cigarette would result in the occupancy of roughly 23 percent and 78 percent of nicotine receptors, respectively, based on the cigarettes' nicotine content. "That would still be substantial," Brody said. Fifteen smokers participated in the study. Each was given positron emission tomography (PET) scans, a brain-imaging technique that uses minute amounts of radiation-emitting substances to tag specific molecules. In this case, the tracer was designed to bind to the nicotine receptors in the brain. The researchers could then measure what percentage of the tracer was displaced by nicotine when the research subjects smoked. In total, 24 PET scans were taken of participants' brains before and after three different conditions: not smoking, smoking a de-nicotinized cigarette and smoking a low-nicotine cigarette. The PET data showed that smoking a de-nicotinized cigarette and a low-nicotine cigarette occupied 26 percent and 79 percent of the receptors, respectively, which was very close to what the researchers had originally estimated. "Given the consistency of findings between our previous study with regular cigarettes and the present study — that showed us that inhaling nicotine during smoking is solely responsible for occupancy of brain nicotine receptors," Brody said.

Committee Recommends Ban On Tobacco Displays [New Zealand]

admin — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 03:48:31 +0000

Stuff | Monday, 29 September 2008 A Parliamentary committee says the Government should ban tobacco and cigarette displays in shops. The Health Committee made the recommendation after considering a petition signed by more than 20,000 people in support of the ban. The National Party, in a minority view, said there needed to be more evidence before implementing a ban. There was already a ban on advertising tobacco products but they could still be displayed in shops. The Health Ministry said there were over 10,000 retail outlets selling tobacco products, usually displayed in large highly visible units. The New Zealand Association of Convenience Stores said tobacco products accounted for about 37 percent of members' annual sales. The association said financial incentives offered to retailers by tobacco companies were confidential. The ministry is looking at whether such arrangements are allowed, under smokefree legislation. The association said moving displays units would cost each retailer up to $6000 and revenue would decline. It also said risk to retailers would be heightened if staff had to take their eyes off customers to get cigarettes from under counters. The report said in other countries where bans were implemented stores had not had to close, nor were jobs lost. The committee recommended shop interiors be made visible to the street to improve safety. Iceland, Thailand and most of Canada banned displays. Iceland recorded some decline in smoking but it could not be attributed solely to the ban. In New Zealand, smoking decreased by 23.4 percent in 2002-03 to 18.87 percent in 2006-07. The Health Ministry estimated the cost of smoking to the economy at $1.7 billion as of 2005. Smoking caused illnesses cost the health system between $300 million and $350 million a year. Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) New Zealand welcomed the committee's decision. ASH director Ben Youdan said tobacco should not be treated like other products. "It kills half the people who use it, yet for too long we have allowed these addictive and deadly poisons to be sold next to the milk and chocolates." Mr Youdan said the ban was critical to tackling youth smoking. The average start age was around 14-15 years old. "Young people are the new recruits the tobacco companies need to replace the 4700 Kiwis who die every year from smoking." "We know this ban will be effective -- that's why industry has been so vocally opposed to the idea -- the displays are one of the last bastions of cigarette marketing."

During submissions researchers said the displays were de facto advertising which encouraged impulse buys and made it harder for people trying to kick the habit

Smoking Parents Can Hook Kids On Nicotine

webmaster — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:35:35 +0000

Charlie Fidelman - Canwest News Service - Tuesday, September 30, 2008 You know smoking sets a bad example for the kids and second-hand smoke is harmful. As if that wasn't warning enough, a strongly worded Montreal study shows someone else's smoke can lead to nicotine addiction in children. "Increased exposure to second-hand smoke, both in cars and homes, was associated with an increased likelihood of children reporting nicotine dependence symptoms -- even though these kids had never put a cigarette in their mouths," said epidemiologist Jennifer O'Loughlin, senior author of the study and a professor at the Universite de Montreal. Published in the September edition of the journal Addictive Behaviors, the study, involving nine Canadian institutions, builds on previous findings on second-hand smoke in non-smokers and withdrawal symptoms including depression, anxiety and trouble concentrating. The physiological consequences of second-hand smoke have already been shown, O'Loughlin said of bar and restaurant workers (before the cigarette ban) with nicotine metabolites in their urine and saliva as if they had smoked. Also, it is known that children exposed to second-hand smoke started smoking earlier than other children, said O'Loughlin who, in a previous study, mapped the stepping stones to tobacco addiction, showing it can take one puff to turn a teenager into a smoker. The study looked at students age 10 and 11 from 29 Montreal area schools. It found an association between exposure to second-hand smoke and nicotine dependence. Five per cent of 1,488 children who never smoked but were exposed to second-hand smoke reported symptoms of nicotine addiction. "They told us, 'I want it, I need it,' and that they are physically and mentally addicted," O'Loughlin said. "Why would a kid do that?" Lead investigator Mathieu Belanger said he was surprised to see evidence of nicotine dependence in children as young as 10, even though they had never smoked. "But we were not surprised to see it was related to second-hand smoke," said Belanger, research director of the Centre de Formation Medicale du Nouveau Brunswick. Researchers did not make a direct link between cause and effect, Belanger said. "More studies are needed. But there's a lesson for parents," he added. "Most (of those reporting nicotine dependence) came from homes of smokers," Belanger said, or they had friends that already smoked. "Maybe there's a genetic path we're not yet exploring." While it may seem unconventional that non-smokers are reporting cigarette cravings, Belanger also noted tobacco studies have found toddlers with carcinogens in their blood related to second-hand smoke. The next step will focus on following these children to see whether they pick up smoking faster than others, he said. The study was funded by the Canadian Tobacco Control Research Initiative, the Institut national de sante publique du Quebec and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Kill The Tobacco Industry, Or It Will Keep Killing

admin — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 04:14:30 +0000

Simon Chapman and Becky Freeman - The Sydney Morning Herald | October 3, 2008

This month in Rio de Janeiro, the global tobacco industry's annual conference features a special session on what many are seeing as its Armageddon: plain, generic packaging. All packs are identical except for the brand name, printed in standard font. No colours, no logos, no box variations. Nothing but the brand and the health warning. The British Government has released a consultation paper on the idea. Morgan Stanley advised its clients recently that "homogenous packaging" would "significantly restrict the industry's ability to promote their products".

Tobacco Journal International, the industry's main trade journal, had as its latest cover story a warning:

"Plain packaging can kill your business."

That's the whole idea, ladies and gentlemen. The World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, now ratified by 160 nations, is rapidly accelerating a long overdue regulation of the tobacco industry. Plain packaging has not happened in any nation yet, but the race is on. Here is why it is the most important next step in reducing Australia's leading cause of death.When you take a doctor's prescription to a pharmacy for a drug designed to prolong life, relieve pain or symptoms or in some way promote health, radically different things happen than when you buy a packet of cigarettes. First, the pharmaceutical company making the drug will have spent a small fortune trialling it to see if it does what it is meant to do - such as act as an effective contraceptive or lower blood pressure - and that it does not cause adverse reactions that are so severe as to radically alter the cost-benefit ratio of the drug (for example, chemotherapy for cancer often causes nausea but may prolong life). Tobacco companies, by contrast, have to meet no standards for their products and can add any legal substance that will, for example, get nicotine to your brain faster or mask the astringent, choking sensation of smoke. While Philip Morris once withdrew its salmonella-contaminated Kraft peanut butter from shops because it might have harmed customers, it is relaxed and comfortable about half of its best customers dying from using its tobacco products in the intended way. Next, your prescription will be made up by a pharmacist with a minimum four-year university degree, while your cigarettes will be handed to you by someone who may have left school at 15.

You will get a limited supply from the pharmacist and have to go back to your doctor if you want a repeat prescription. With cigarettes, you can buy as many as you like. If a pharmacist supplied drugs to someone without a prescription, they would be fined, perhaps jailed and almost certainly struck off the register. If a store supplies cigarettes to a child, hell would freeze over before they were caught or any serious action taken.In the pharmacy, prescribed drugs are not on open display but stored in the dispensary. Until now, cigarettes have been on open display, sending the message that they are profoundly ordinary products, no different from sweets, soft drinks and groceries. Verity Firth, when she was the minister for cancer, prepared a raft of reforms that will have their final reading in State Parliament on Friday. The most important "denormalising" proposal will see all tobacco products stored out of site, as occurs in Canada, Thailand and Iceland. The final difference between tobacco and prescribed drugs is packaging. When you pick up your next prescription, check out the plain, dull box. It is not designed to express the product's "personality" or to confer prestige or some other desirable attribute in the user. It simply states the drug's name, dosage and any contraindications. Tobacco products, by contrast, are the result of ongoing market testing to ensure they are as attractive and beguiling as possible, particularly to what the industry euphemistically calls "starters" or "young adult smokers". Research released this week by Professor Melanie Wakefield, from the Cancer Council Victoria, shows how smokers feel about plain packaged cigarettes. When shown regular packaged brands and the dull, generic packs, the 813 smokers rated the dull packs as much less attractive and popular, and those who would smoke them as much less stylish, outgoing and mature than smokers of the original pack. They inferred that cigarettes from the plain packs would be less satisfying and of lower quality. The federal Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, has repeatedly put prevention front and centre of national health policy. By making Australia lead the world - by taking a step that the history of tobacco control suggests is inevitable - she could start global dominoes tumbling, and save millions of lives. If the tobacco industry thinks plain packaging will kill its business, no stronger recommendation is available. Simon Chapman is a professor of public health and Becky Freeman is a doctoral student on the future of tobacco control at the University of Sydney.

Source:How does increasingly plainer cigarette packaging influence adult smokers’ perceptions about brand image? An experimental study Tob Control. Published Online First: 30 September 2008. Melanie A Wakefield, Daniella Germain, Sarah J Durkin The Cancer Council Victoria, Australia http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/... http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/... Editor's note: The full text PDF is freely available from the link immediately above. If this link does not work, please send your request to shatensteins@sympatico.ca and kindly remember to include the name of the full citation (study title, journal and authors' names) and your e-mail address in the body of your message. Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

No Butts As Anti-smoking Minister Targets Bollywood Star

admin — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:34:14 +0000

S. N. M. Abdi - SCMP - Updated on Oct 03, 2008 The Indian government's campaign to curb smoking has spilled over into a very public spat between a crusading minister and Bollywood's reigning superstar. From yesterday, a new law bans smoking in public places, including bars and restaurants. In his zeal to wean smokers off the habit - which kills more people in India than in any other country - Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has targeted chain-smoking actor Shah Rukh Khan. "The clash between the politician and the film hero throws a spotlight on the landmark Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008, which empowers state-appointed watchdogs for the first time to slap fines ranging from 200 to 1,000 rupees (HK$32 to HK$160) for lighting up virtually anywhere except parks, roads and homes," said columnist Rajat Roy. "Khan is known for his addiction to cigarettes in real life as well as smoking scenes in many a super-hit film. So targeting one of India's most high-profile smokers makes a lot of sense." Mr Ramadoss has ordered a non-governmental organisation in Mumbai to bombard the actor's palatial house daily with pamphlets highlighting the effects of cigarettes. The minister has also instructed the NGO to flood the actor's wife and son with letters and e-mails warning them about the threat nicotine poses to his health. "Shah Rukh must stop smoking both on and off screen because our studies show that popular actors and actresses exercise a big influence on teenagers and youths of both sexes. He is a role model for the young generation, which is increasingly getting addicted to cigarettes. I expect him to kick the habit for the sake of the country," says Mr Ramadoss who boasts that he is waging a war against smoking. "While I appreciate the minister's concern, I do not like anyone telling me what to do and what not to do," an unfazed Khan retorted. "I will quit smoking if I decide to. I might give up smoking - and I might not. I'm fully aware of the consequences of inhaling nicotine. But it's a personal issue between me, my family and my doctor, and I thoroughly disapprove of it being made a public issue." The acclaimed actor - who has featured in more than 100 smoking scenes since 1991 and tops a recent list of Bollywood's "serial offenders" compiled by the World Health Organisation - is even more critical of the minister's attempts to ban smoking scenes in films and television serials. "Contrary to claims, films do not glorify murder, rape, robbery or smoking and drinking. These negative aspects are depicted because they are a reality. Films reflect what's happening around us. So cinema can't portray only good things as everyday life is a mix of the good and the bad." Mr Ramadoss refuses to buy the argument. "India has the highest number of smokers who get addicted between the age of 13 and 15 in South Asia," he says. "And the biggest culprits are films and superstars. Tragically, more and more youngsters and women are using tobacco because films glorify smoking. Some 15 million Indians go to the movies every day. So one can imagine the magnitude of the incitement. "Our data shows that 52 per cent of children smoked their first cigarette under the influence of film celebrities." Besides Khan, Mr Ramadoss has also attacked former Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan for popularising what he derisively calls "the cancer stick". The minister, whose campaign is reportedly backed by India's teetotal prime minister, Manmohan Singh, and ruling Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi, says that the new legislation and targeting Bollywood's smoking stars are in the public interest because 1 million Indians die annually from smoking-related diseases. The latest National Family Health Survey shows that 33 per cent of men across India aged 15 to 49 are smokers. In urban areas, 31 per cent of women in the same age bracket are addicted to cigarettes. The trend is particularly alarming because, in 1995, only 10 per cent of women smoked. His drive, Mr Ramadoss insists, also makes economic sense: while the tobacco industry is worth 350 billion rupees, the government is forced to spend 360 billion rupees annually on treating and preventing tobacco-related diseases. As of yesterday, anyone lighting up in government and private buildings, including workplaces, cafes, restaurants, schools, hotels, pubs, discos, stadiums, railway stations, airports, hospitals and bus stands, will be fined. The new law also bans matches, lighters and ashtrays from public spaces. However, airports, hotels with more than 30 rooms and restaurants seating more than 30 diners, are permitted to have a smoking bay. "We have excluded roads and parks from the list of no-smoking zones although, strictly speaking, they are public places. Homes, too, are exempted but I expect smokers to seek the permission of their spouse and children before lighting up in their residence," Mr Ramadoss said. A survey conducted five days before the clampdown by Mumbai's Healis Sekhsaria Institute of Public Health showed that 92 per cent of respondents in the four largest cities - Mumbai, New Delhi, Calcutta and Chennai - are in favour of smoke-free public spaces and workplaces, while 99 per cent want smoke-free restaurants. "The public evidently can't wait for the implementation of the new law, whose prime objective is to protect non-smokers from second-hand smoke," said Monika Arora, convenor of the Advocacy Forum for Tobacco Control, an NGO fighting for tougher anti-smoking regulations. But the tobacco and hotel industries are up in arms against the new law and are apparently planning to sue the government in the Supreme Court. An Indian Tobacco Company spokesman said that the ban on smoking in workplaces could be easily challenged because it includes private offices like a lawyer's chamber or a painter's studio. Similarly, the Indian Hotels Association has objected to the banning of matchboxes and lighters in restaurants. "I would not be able to organise a candlelit dinner. I cannot even use matchboxes if there is a power cut," complained one association spokesman. But Ms Arora says that the hospitality industry had no reason to worry. She cited research from Australia, Canada and the US that shows anti-smoking legislation had no negative impact on sales, revenues or employment in restaurants, bars and hotels in the long run. Mr Ramadoss has also read the riot act to powerful politicians. He told a TV channel that Buddhadev Bhattacharya, West Bengal's chain-smoking chief minister, should not light up in Writer's Building, the administrative headquarters of the state government. Mr Bhattacharya remains defiant, saying he has no plans to quit smoking.

Effects Of Smoking And Solid-fuel Use On Health In China

admin — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:05:14 +0000

Hsien-Ho LinMD, Megan MurrayMD, Ted CohenMD, Caroline ColijnPhD and Majid EzzatiPhD - The Lancet DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61345-8 | Title: Effects of smoking and solid-fuel use on COPD, lung cancer, and tuberculosis in China: a time-based, multiple risk factor, modelling study Summary Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, and tuberculosis are three leading causes of death in China, where prevalences of smoking and solid-fuel use are also high. We aimed to predict the effects of risk-factor trends on COPD, lung cancer, and tuberculosis. Methods We used representative data sources to estimate past trends in smoking and household solid-fuel use and to construct a range of future scenarios. We obtained the aetiological effects of risk factors on diseases from meta-analyses of epidemiological studies and from large studies in China. We modelled future COPD and lung cancer mortality and tuberculosis incidence, taking into account the accumulation of hazardous effects of risk factors on COPD and lung cancer over time, and dependency of the risk of tuberculosis infection on the prevalence of disease. We quantified the sensitivity of our results to methods and data choices. Findings If smoking and solid-fuel use remain at current levels between 2003 and 2033, 65 million deaths from COPD and 18 million deaths from lung cancer are predicted in China; 82% of COPD deaths and 75% of lung cancer deaths will be attributable to the combined effects of smoking and solid-fuel use. Complete gradual cessation of smoking and solid-fuel use by 2033 could avoid 26 million deaths from COPD and 6·3 million deaths from lung cancer; interventions of intermediate magnitude would reduce deaths by 6–31% (COPD) and 8–26% (lung cancer). Complete cessation of smoking and solid-fuel use by 2033 would reduce the projected annual tuberculosis incidence in 2033 by 14–52% if 80% DOTS coverage is sustained, 27–62% if 50% coverage is sustained, or 33–71% if 20% coverage is sustained. Interpretation Reducing smoking and solid-fuel use can substantially lower predictions of COPD and lung cancer burden and would contribute to effective tuberculosis control in China. Funding International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. Affiliations a. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA b. Department of Population and International Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA c. Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA d. Community Health Society, Mennonite Christian Hospital, Hualien, Taiwan e. Division of Infectious Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA f. Division of Social Medicine and Health Inequalities, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, USA g. Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK h. Initiative for Global Health, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence to: Majid Ezzati, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA

30-year Smoke Toll Put At 63m

admin — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:26:33 +0000

Agence France-Presse - Updated on Oct 04, 2008 Tobacco use and smoke from coal and wood are likely to claim tens of millions of lives in China in the next quarter-century, according to a study published online today by the British journal The Lancet. Smoke from tobacco, biomass and coal will kill 53.3 million Chinese people from chronic respiratory illnesses and 13.5 million from lung cancer from 2003 to 2033, its authors calculate, using the current rate of exposure as a benchmark. Half of Chinese men smoke, and more than 70 per cent of Chinese households use solid fuels - such as wood, crop residue and coal - for heating and cooking, providing a potent source of indoor air pollution, the study says. Smoke from these sources will account for 82 per cent of the likely 65 million deaths in China from respiratory disease from 2003 to 2033, and 75 per cent of the probable 18 million deaths from lung cancer, it projects. The lead authors of the paper were Hsien-Ho Lin and Majid Ezzati of the Harvard School of Public Health in Massachusetts.

Millions To Die In China From Lung Disease: Report

admin — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 14:10:27 +0000

Reporting by Tan Ee Lyn; Editing by Jerry Norton - Reuters | Sat Oct 4, 2008 HONG KONG (Reuters) - Tens of millions of people will die from respiratory illness and lung cancer over the next 25 years in China if nothing is done to reduce smoking and fuel burning indoors, scientists warned. In an article published in The Lancet, they predicted 65 million deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 18 million deaths from lung cancer between 2003 and 2033 from smoking and biomass burning at home. Those figures would account for 19 and 5 percent respectively of all deaths in China during that period, said the researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). However, interventions to reduce smoking and household use of biomass -- like wood, charcoal, crop residues and dung -- for cooking and heating could reduce the number of deaths. Using mathematical models, they said gradual elimination of smoking and biomass burning would avoid 26 million deaths from COPD and 6.3 million deaths from lung cancer by 2033. Interventions include building proper chimneys, air circular stoves with chimneys ending outside the house and ventilated ground stoves to cut respirable particulates, carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide circulating indoors. "There are proven ways to reduce tobacco smoking and to provide homes with clean-burning energy alternatives. China can save millions of premature deaths from respiratory diseases in the next few decades if it ... implements these interventions," said Majid Ezzati, associate professor of international health at HSPH and senior author of the study. Respiratory diseases are among the 10 leading causes of deaths in China. About half of Chinese men smoke and in more than 70 percent of homes, Chinese cook and heat their homes with wood, coal and crop residues. Smoking and pollution from indoor burning of these fuels are major risk factors for COPD and lung cancer and have been linked to tuberculosis. Globally, more than 900 million of the world's 1.1 billion smokers currently live in low-income and middle-income countries and about one half of the world's population uses biomass and coal for household energy. © Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved.

Smoking Threatens Millions In China

admin — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 07:08:33 +0000

Al Jazeera and agencies | 5 October 2008 Tens of millions of Chinese will die of lung diseases over the next 25 years unless the government takes action to combat smoking and the indoor burning of fuel, scientists have warned. The study*, published on Saturday in the British journal, The Lancet, said chronic respiratory illness would kill 53.3 million, while lung cancer would leave another 13.5 million dead. Half of Chinese men smoke and more than 70 per cent of Chinese households use solid fuels, such as wood, crop residues and coal for heating and cooking, providing a potent source of indoor air pollution, according to the study. The paper - written by scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health in the US state of Massachusetts - said that smoke from tobacco products and indoor fuel use would be the cause of more than 80 per cent of all deaths from respiratory disease. However, it suggests that a number of measures could be taken to dramatically reduce the risk, including building proper chimneys, air circular stoves with chimneys ending outside the house and ventilated ground stoves to reduce the toxic chemicals circulating indoors. "There are proven ways to reduce tobacco smoking and to provide homes with clean-burning energy alternatives. China can save millions of premature deaths from respiratory diseases in the next few decades if it ... implements these interventions," Majid Ezzati, senior author of the study, said. 'Tobacco epidemic' Dr Sarah England, the technical officer at World Health Organisation's Tobacco Free Initiative in China, told Al Jazeera that at least one million people were dying from tobacco related causes every year in China. "The Chinese experience is particularly severe because there haven't been enough steps taken yet to curtail the tobacco epidemic," she said. She noted that though the government had signed the global convention for tobacco control, the country still dominates sales and production. "We see that China has a vested interest in tobacco production and marketing, and that is a tough thing for China to come to grips with as it tries simultaneously to curb the horrible health impacts that tobacco is exerting on the Chinese people," she said. More than 900 million of the world's 1.1 billion smokers currently live in low-income and middle-income countries and about one half of the world's population uses biomass and coal for household energy. * Harvard University report published in the Lancet on 4 Oct 2008: Effects of smoking and solid-fuel use on COPD, lung cancer, and tuberculosis in China: a time-based, multiple risk factor, modelling study BY Hsien-Ho Lin, Megan Murray, Ted Cohen, Caroline Colijn, Majid Ezzati

Study Reveals Mechanism Behind Nicotine Dependency

admin — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:11:18 +0000

The Scripps Research Institute By Gary Kuhlman and Mika Ono Benedyk - October 8, 2007 Many more people try to quit smoking than succeed in giving up this nicotine-delivering habit. Now, a group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has identified one neurobiological mechanism that contributes to nicotine dependence, and to the anxiety and craving experienced upon withdrawal. The findings also suggest a new approach to developing drugs that could help smokers quit. The research was published the week of October 1, 2007, in an advance, online issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences(PNAS). The new study reveals that, in rats, chronic nicotine use recruits a major brain stress system, the extrahypothalamic corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) system, which contributes to continued tobacco use by exacerbating anxiety and craving upon withdrawal. The researchers found that administering a compound that blocked the receptors involved in this stress system alleviated withdrawal symptoms. "We reduced the need to take nicotine by blocking CRF-1 receptors in the brain," says Olivier George, a research associate in the Scripps Research Koob lab who conducted the study with Sandy Ghozland and other colleagues. "We were surprised by the compound's dramatic effectiveness. We don't know yet if the same mechanism is involved in humans with tobacco dependence, but it is very promising." Tobacco addiction is the leading avoidable cause of disease and premature death in the United States, responsible for more than 438,000 deaths annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nicotine, the main psychoactive ingredient in tobacco, is a tough drug, with smokers continuing to crave it long after they've started withdrawal. Most smoking-cessation medication is based on nicotine replacement therapy, using nicotine gum or patches, that substitutes one source of nicotine for another. Roughly 80 percent of smokers who try to quit relapse within a year. While nicotine can produce mildly pleasurable effects, the Scripps Research scientists believe a more important factor in the difficulty in quitting is the brain's adaptation to that reward, which produces an intense discomfort upon withdrawal. "The key in nicotine addiction is that the positive pleasurable effects of nicotine are instantaneous and short lasting, while the negative effects are delayed and long lasting," George says. "Even if nicotine may transiently induce a relief from a negative emotional state, its long-term consequences are disastrous." For years, scientists have wanted to know what changes in the brain occur in the transition from nicotine use to nicotine dependence. In the current study, the researchers set out to see if nicotine dependence is linked to changes in the CRF system in the amygdala, an area of the brain that plays a primary role in the processing and memory of emotional reactions. The CRF system is activated by CRF-1, an essential protein for coping with stressful events. When the researchers induced nicotine withdrawal in rats, the nicotine-deprived group exhibited severe anxiety-like behavioral symptoms of withdrawal—such as burying and "freezing" (becoming motionless)—compared with controls. In addition, withdrawal whetted the rats' appetite for even greater quantities of the drug, a result the researchers call the "nicotine deprivation effect." "Rats exhibited drug-loading behavior following a cycle of abstinence, attaining an amount of nicotine in roughly six hours that previously took 12 hours," George says. "This is like the light smoker becoming a chain smoker after trying to quit." Measurements showed this behavior was indeed matched by hyperactivity in the CRF system, and that these withdrawal effects lasted a surprisingly long time. In addicted rats, these effects developed in under a week and maintained a hold for at least two months. "That's a long time for a rat, considering its life expectancy is two years," says George. "These results suggest long-lasting neuroadaptations of the CRF system, possibly through gene regulation, that may help explain why many cigarette smokers relapse even after a long abstinence from smoking." Importantly, the researchers were able to moderate the effects of nicotine deprivation. When addicted rats were injected with a CRF receptor antagonist, the injected rats showed less anxiety-like behavior during withdrawal and self-administered less nicotine compared with an addicted controls. The Scripps Research scientists hope their work will lead to new nicotine-free pharmacological treatments, as well as shedding light on questions such as what makes some people more likely than others to become addicted in the first place. In addition to George and Ghozland, authors of the paper, titled "CRF-CRF1 system activation mediates withdrawal-induced increases in nicotine self-administration in nicotine dependent rats," are Marc R. Azar, Pietro Cottone, Eric P. Zorrilla, Loren H. Parsons, Heather N. Richardson, and George F. Koob of The Scripps Research Institute; and Laura E. O'Dell of the University of Texas, El Paso. The research was supported by the Tobacco Related Disease Research Program of the State of California, the National Institutes of Health, the Pearson Center for Alcoholism and Addiction Research at The Scripps Research Institute, and the Tobacco Etiology Research Network of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Send comments to: mikaono@scripps.edu

"Working To Shape What Society’s Expectations Of Us Should Be": Philip Morris’ Societal Alignment Strategy

admin — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:50:24 +0000

Published Online First: 9 October 2008. doi:10.1136/tc.2008.026476 Tobacco Control 2008;17:391-398 Copyright © 2008 by the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. RESEARCH PAPERS J S Yang¹, R E Malone² 1 Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA 2 Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA Correspondence to: R E Malone, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California Street Suite 455, San Francisco, California, USA 94118; ruth.malone@ucsf.edu Background: A key element of Philip Morris’s (PM’s) corporate social responsibility initiatives is "societal alignment", defined as "strategies and programs to meet society’s expectations of a responsible tobacco company". This study explored the genesis and implementation of Philip Morris' (PM) societal alignment efforts. Methods: The study retrieved and analysed approximately 375 previously undisclosed PM documents now available electronically. Using an iterative process, the study categorised themes and prepared a case analysis. Results: Beginning in 1999, PM sought to become "societally aligned" by identifying expectations of a responsible tobacco company through public opinion research and developing and publicising programs to meet those expectations. Societal alignment was undertaken within the US and globally to ensure an environment favourable to PM’s business objectives. Despite PM’s claims to be "changing", however, societal alignment in practice was highly selective. PM responded to public "expectations" largely by retooling existing positions and programs, while entirely ignoring other expectations that might have interfered with its business goals. It also appears that convincing employees of the value and authenticity of societal alignment was difficult. Conclusions: As implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control proceeds, tobacco control advocates should closely monitor development of such "alignment" initiatives and expose the motivations and contradictions they reveal.

Hong Kong bars win court battle to allow smokers

webmaster — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:41:07 +0000

The Sun Daily Hong Kong (Oct 9, 2008) : Hong Kong's city-wide anti-smoking drive was facing a serious setback Thursday after three popular bars won a court ruling that may allow them to let smokers back indoors. The bars successfully argued in the High Court that health inspectors were wrong to ban them from allowing smokers inside on the basis that they make most of their money from serving food not drink. Currently, only bars that make most of their money from drink sales are allowed to admit smokers while those that make most of their money from serving food are not. At a hearing Wednesday, The Bull and Bear in Wan Chai, Sticky Fingers in Tsim Sha Tsui and Biztro in Central all had the findings of the health inspectors overturned on the basis that they visited at lunchtime only. Scores more bars which have been forced to evict smokers on the basis that their main business is food may now be able to challenge the health inspectors' findings. The High Court ordered a new hearing into the status of the three bars and whether they should or should not be allowed to let people smoke inside. Smoking was banned in all Hong Kong restaurants and bars at the beginning of 2007 but nightclubs and bars making most of their revenue through drink sales were exempted until June 2009. -- dpa

Hong Kong Up In Smoke?

webmaster — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:42:55 +0000

Star: World briefs - Oct 9, 2008 Hong Kong - Hong Kong's city-wide anti-smoking drive faces a serious setback after three bars won a court ruling that may allow them to let smokers back in. The bars argued that health inspectors were wrong to ban them from allowing smokers inside, as they make most of their money from food, not drink. Currently, only bars that make most of their money from drink sales may admit smokers.

Bars Win In Smoking-Ban Case

webmaster — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:56:31 +0000

Peter Brieger - Oct 09, 2008 The director of health used a flawed process to decide which places of entertainment should be excluded from a wide-ranging smoking ban, the Court of First Instance ruled yesterday. The decision was a win for three bars, which fought the prohibition, and threw into question how the health watchdog might fight other legal challenges to the ban, introduced two years ago but with exemptions for some premises until June 30 next year. In his ruling, Mr Justice Anselmo Reyes said health inspectors must do more than just look at, for example, lunchtime sales to determine whether or not to allow smoking at an establishment. The Bull and Bear pub in Wan Chai, Sticky Fingers in Tsim Sha Tsui and Biztro in Central had argued that alcohol accounted for the vast majority of their sales even though customers could order full meals. The judicial review centred on whether the three - booted off a list of bars exempted from the smoking ban - sold mainly food or alcohol. Smoking is not allowed at restaurants that rely on food sales for most of their revenue. Health Department inspectors concluded that the three bars should be removed from the list on the basis of checks on their lunchtime trade. Mr Justice Reyes wrote: "As a matter of logic, that an establishment serves certain foods at certain hours will not necessarily mean that it is `primarily' engaged in the supply of meals. One has to look at what the establishment does as a whole." The judge sent the case back to the appeal board - which had upheld the Health Department's ruling - for "reconsideration". "We will study the judgment of the court in detail in consultation with the Department of Justice before we decide on the way ahead," a Health Department spokeswoman said. The ratio of food to liquor sales might help determine what sort of business an establishment ran, but it was not the only factor to consider, Mr Justice Reyes wrote. He also criticised the appeal board for having made "inconsistent decisions" in the past and noted that board members relied too much on what kind of food places served. "This vindicates what our position has been throughout the process," said Chris Dundon, a solicitor who represented Biztro and the Bull and Bear. "The approach of the Director [of Health] was misconceived all the way along." Yesterday's ruling could open the door for other establishments to challenge their removal from the department's list of exempted establishments, Mr Dundon said. "As far as I'm aware, [health authorities] haven't changed their approach," he said. "Now that there's actually been a judge pronouncing on this, it shows the route map by which bars can look at their operations and decide if they fit within the ordinance." The decision also helped create a "level playing field" for establishments that suffered under the dual system, said Ian Thomson, chief executive of the Bull and Bear's parent company. It had suffered an appreciable drop in sales when it had to ban smoking for a month until it won the right to fight the decision in court, he said. "We're pleased because it means we're back to business as usual and on a level playing field with other bars," he said.

Signaling Pathway Through Which Nicotine Promotes Breast Cancer Migration Discovered

admin — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:23:33 +0000

GEN News Highlights - 13 Oct 08 Researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center determined that breast epithelial-like MCF10A cells and cancerous MCF7 cells both express four subunits of nicotine receptor nAChR. When bound, it initiates a signaling process that promotes migration in mammary epithelial or tumor cells. The treatment of these cells with nicotine enhanced the activity of protein kinase C (PKC) without changing its expression level, the scientists reports. Nicotine also stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation into the genome of these cells as well as forces serum-starved cells to enter S phase of the cell cycle, resulting in growth promotion. Also on nicotine treatment, the mobility of MCF10A and MCF7 cells was enhanced, which could be blocked by the addition of nAChR or PKC inhibitor, the research team adds. Experiments using siRNA knockdown or ectopic expression of cdc42 showed that cdc42 functions as a downstream effector of PKC and is crucial in the regulation of nicotine-mediated migratory activity in the cells. “The best known role of nAChR is in the nerve system,” according to Chang Yan Chen, Ph.D., M.D., lead author of the study. “Although cells from various tissue origins express different subunits of nAChR, we know very little about the functions of nAChR in nonneuronal cells and tissues, in particular in mammary cells.” When injected into the tail of a mouse, the cancerous MCF7 cells migrated to the lungs. In vivo and in vitro studies indicated that nicotine is not a conventional carcinogen, thus no metastasis occurs with nicotine alone, according to the researchers. Rather, they say that it combines with other factors to enable tumorigenesis. Scientists say the next step is to explore the effects of nicotine in relation to first- and second-hand exposure on breast cancer initiation and development. In particular, they want to study genetic backgrounds with loss or defect of different tumor suppressors. The paper appears in Cancer Research.

Success Of Nicotine Replacement Therapy Unproven

admin — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:39:28 +0000

13 Oct 2008 As smokers spend millions of dollars purchasing over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy, a Hunter researcher has revealed the treatments are of uncertain effectiveness when used alone. Associate Professor Raoul Walsh from the Centre for Health Research and Psycho-oncology (CHeRP) reviewed 12 studies relating to the effectiveness of over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy. He discovered that the results of the studies did not convincingly demonstrate that the therapy, when used alone without additional support, was effective in helping smokers to quit. Associate Professor Walsh said his review revealed that the methods used in nicotine replacement therapy trials were very different from real life. Based on the results, people cannot make valid assumptions on the effectiveness of the therapies. "Nicotine replacement therapies, such as nicotine gum, lozenges or patches, purchased at the local supermarket can be effective as part of an overall strategy to help people stop smoking. However we do not really know the long term success of over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy when used alone without additional support. "Many smokers regard patches as magic bullets in their quest to stop smoking. This may be misleading because minimal support, such as medical advice or telephone counselling, in addition to the patches may be the necessary ingredients for achieving modest success rates." Associate Professor Walsh said it was important that over-optimistic assumptions were not made about the effectiveness of the therapy when purchased over the counter. "To gain realistic measures of success, future research must involve more innovative, rigorous controlled trials where nicotine dependence is adequately assessed." Associate Professor Walsh's review findings are published in the latest edition of the journal Drug and Alcohol Review. He hopes the review will result in education programs that emphasise the need for people to use over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy in conjunction with other strategies. (Source: Drug and Alcohol Review: University of Newcastle: October 2008)

Court Decision Bad News For Workers' Health

webmaster — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:44:23 +0000

Oct 14, 2008 - SCMP The decision by the Court of First Instance to reject the appeal board's support for the director of health - in his quest to prevent abuse by hospitality venues of the criteria for exemption from the indoor smoking bans of the 2006 Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance - is bad news for public health in Hong Kong ("Bars win in smoking-ban case", October 9). This section of the ordinance, on the designation of so-called qualified premises for exemption, must be the most badly conceived and unenforceable piece of legislation ever to reach the statute book. The Department of Health's legal advisers are clearly unable to help the director try and achieve control of this chaotic situation. Furthermore, among all the arguments about revenue from sales of alcohol versus food, there is no room for the most salient issue that the legislation was supposed to address - namely the prevention of lethal health problems of the heart, lungs and blood vessels caused by second- hand smoke among catering workers. When catering managers called for a level business playing field (which a comprehensive ban would provide), they were denied it. Instead the government and legislature created a major health hazard for thousands of workers in over 1,000 exempted sites. This is in spite of the toxicological evidence in Hong Kong that the body fluids of non-smoking workers in smoking premises are heavily contaminated with tobacco chemicals. The disgraceful social injustice created by the poisoning of catering workers will continue unabated until at least next June. But it is now vitally important that the movement to extend the exemptions and also introduce "smoking rooms" is stopped in its tracks before we do further damage to occupational health in this city. Anthony J. Hedley, department of community medicine, school of public health, University of Hong Kong

Implement Full Smoking Ban

admin — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 23:18:56 +0000

SCMP - Updated on Oct 15, 2008 Imperfect laws always end up causing havoc ("Bars win in smoking-ban case", October 9). Instead of a simple smoking ban, as successfully implemented in restaurants in 2007, some Legco members pushed for extensions and exemptions in the indoor areas of bars open to those aged 18 and above, mahjong parlours and clubs, commercial bathhouses, massage establishments and nightclubs. This was further complicated by clauses as to whether food was served and in what amount. There has been considerable confusion and challenges to this law, never mind workers continuing all the time to be exposed to second hand smoke. The health lobby always supported a complete ban to establish a level playing field, to aid implementation and to protect workers' health. One hundred and sixty countries have now ratified a WHO treaty that states: "Parties recognise that scientific evidence has unequivocally established that exposure to tobacco smoke causes death, disease and disability." Why did Legco not follow this mandate? Virtually every study done on the introduction of complete smoke-free areas in restaurants and bars shows that such bans are good for the health and the wealth of establishments. Legco should bring forward the date of a ban in the premises given exemptions and immediately make them smoke-free. Dr Judith Mackay, director, Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control

A Restaurant By Any Other Name

webmaster — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:52:22 +0000

SCMP - Public Eye Have our courts gone crazy? First we have a judge who ruled in favour of dogs that drive you mad with their non-stop yelping and now we have another who says a restaurant is not really a restaurant if it sells a lot of booze. Huh? By that same logic, a bar is probably not a bar if it doesn't sell enough booze. Mr Justice Anselmo Reyes' ruling involves three establishments that claimed they made more money from alcohol than food and so should be exempt from the smoking ban that applies to restaurants. It is true that our smoking ban law contains a really stupid loophole that lets establishments off the hook until the end of next June if they're genuine bars. The loophole was included, at the insistence of the once arrogant but now humbled Liberal Party for big business, which got thrashed in last month's elections. Big business would rather sell cigarettes and keep the cash register ringing at bars than stop people from getting cancer. But all that aside, shouldn't judges uphold the spirit of the smoking ban law rather than the right of establishments to exploit the loophole? This is how one of the three establishments involved describes itself on its website: "The Bull & Bear has full catering facilities and serves full meals throughout the day such as bangers and mash, fish and chips and steak and ale pie catering to breakfast, lunch and dinner patrons." That's not a restaurant? For goodness sake. Many of these "bars" operate a scam - full-blown restaurants during lunch that morph into bars in the evening. It's easy to expand on the scam - reasonably-priced set lunches but costlier evening drinks. This makes the alcohol revenue higher which then qualifies them for the smoking ban loophole. It's a nice little number, even Public Eye has to admit. mickchug@gmail.com

The HK Broadcasting Authority’s Public Consultation on Provisions on Advertising of Nicotine Replacement Therapy Products (WC2/2008)

admin — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:01:49 +0000

Dr Judith Mackay - World Lung Foundation/Bloomberg Initiative - Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control - 17 October 2008 Background The harm caused by smoking is immediately reduced and can be virtually eliminated over time after smokers quit. This is true even for lifelong smokers. Many people have little trouble kicking the habit, while others struggle through a difficult cycle of personal change. While most smokers quit on their own (“cold turkey”), there are an increasing number of programmes and aides are helping to liberate smokers from their addiction. Nicotine replacement therapies (gum, patch, and inhaler) are available, with or without prescription, in most countries. Pharmacologic agents, such as bupropion and varenicline, are widely approved for use in smoking cessation. Cessation programs not only change individual lives, they also reshape social norms and community values, fostering a world where children are less likely to casually experiment with cigarettes, and the confidence of adults in their ability to quit is strengthened. NRT NRT is a product entirely designed and marketed to encourage smokers to quit. NRT is pure nicotine. It is nicotine for which smokers smoke, so NRT satisfies smokers’ craving for smoking, yet delivers a much safer product. NRT therefore does not contain any of the cancer-producing elements, or thothat cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Nicotine has an effect on the arteries, but this single component is infinitely safer than the thousands of dangerous chemicals in tobacco. NRT doubles, if not trebles the quitting rates, if used properly, with support. It behoves the health authorities to support and promote the use of any product that saves lives to this extent. There is no evidence that NRT encourages youth non-smokers to start smoking In practice, the pharmaceutical industry puts funds into promoting NRT, and this amplifies any health promotion that the health departments and organisations are producing. I do not know of any circumstances where the marketing of NRT has been in conflict with the messages of the health authorities. HK Consultation document Section 5 a, b: I am not convinced that the advertisements for NRT need to comply with the advertisements for tobacco itself. The latter is in a uniquely different category, killing 50% of its users. NRT is designed to save lives. Clauses 5 c,d,e are sensible and acceptable. In addition to the relaxing of the advertising of NRT, the issue of allowing broadcasting of other proven tobacco cessation products cannot be ignored, and should be considered. I am not proposing a free for all, but only those approved by a medical licensing authority, or approved by WHO. Finally, World Health Organisation is fully in favour of Public-Private partnerships, such as with the pharmaceutical industry, as it is realised that tobacco use cannot be reduced by the public sector alone. Dr Judith Mackay, SBS, OBE, FRCP(Edin), FRCP(Lon) Director, Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control Riftswood, 9th milestone DD 229, Lot 147 Clearwater Bay Road Kowloon, Hong Kong Tel: +852 2719-1995 Fax: +852 2719-5741 Email: jmackay@pacific.net.hk

Addicted To Nicotine Gum

admin — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 06:43:23 +0000

JANE SYMONS - The Sun Newspaper | 17 Oct 2008 RUBY WAX gave up smoking 12 years ago but remained hooked on nicotine for another ten years. The nicotine replacement gum that should have been the solution to her addiction became a bigger problem than cigarettes ever were. Ruby admits: "I was really addicted. I used the chewing gum for about ten years. "I was chewing it even though I had sores in my mouth and it was doing terrible things to my stomach." Ruby ignored the instructions to chew the gum a couple of times then leave it in the mouth to slowly release nicotine. Instead, she chomped through piece after piece, demolishing two packs of gum a day -the equivalent of 48 cigarettes. Health experts recommend using no more than 15 pieces of nicotine replacement gum a day and advise quitters to try to wean themselves off it within three months. But Ruby, who is about to start filming a new sitcom in Kenya, ignored the warnings and developed the secrecy and sneakiness that often go hand in hand with an addiction. She admits: "I would buy it from different chemists so they didn't realise how much I was using. It was so hard. If I had one, I would eat the whole pack. "It cost me just as much as cigarettes and it was just as dangerous -you still get cancer, just a different type of cancer." Ruby found it easy to keep her nicotine addiction secret. There was no telltale smell of stale smoke and the constant chewing became part of her sassy American image. Not even her own children realised she was hooked. Ruby finally conquered her gum habit with the help of counsellors from Allen Carr's Easyway. But she says: "It still lurks around the corner. If I'm in a pharmacy I'll notice the gum, like an old lover."

Croatia Bans Smoking In Most Public Places

admin — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:40:23 +0000

Associated Press | 17 October 08 ZAGREB, Croatia - Smoking in most indoor public places in Croatia will soon be prohibited. Croatia's parliament approved a government bill Friday prohibiting smoking in offices, bars, restaurants, schools, hospitals and cafes. The ban has one exemption - psychiatric clinics. The government did not provide a reason why it gave them an exemption. The Health minister is reported as saying smokers are all nuts anyway. The ban will be enforced in schools and hospitals later this month, while restaurants and bars will be given time to adapt until April. About 30 percent of Croatia's 4.5 million people are believed to be smokers. Copyright 2008 Associated Press

Obesity, Smoking All Time Bombs

admin — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:49:26 +0000

Reuters in Hong Kong | Oct 20, 2008 Chronic illnesses such as cancer and heart and respiratory diseases are ticking time bombs in the mainland, and Chinese must cut their intake of fatty foods and salt, stop smoking and start exercising, health experts said. Increasingly affluent mainlanders in urban and rural areas consumed between 25 and 100 per cent more fat each day in 2002 compared with 1982, sharply raising the risk of heart disease and cancer, the experts wrote in The Lancet medical journal. The report, by researchers in China and the United States, is part of a special series on the country’s health reforms. While the country was plagued by infectious diseases before 1990, chronic illnesses are now its main health problem and they accounted for 74.1 per cent of all deaths in 2005, up from 47.1 per cent in 1973, the researchers wrote. While these chronic illnesses have to do with people living longer, several high-risk factors are also involved. Apart from a fatty diet, many mainlanders consume a relatively high 12-gram dosage of salt daily, which the paper said accounted for hypertension in some 177 million adults. Based on mainland definitions, 22.8 per cent of Chinese were overweight in 2002, up 39 per cent from 1992. Some 7.1 per cent in the population were obese in 2002. The paper also drew attention to the country’s smoking habit. “One in every three smokers in the world is a Chinese man... consumption of cigarettes increased to 2,022 billion in 2006, 17.4 per cent higher than in 2002,” they wrote. The average mainland male smoker smoked 15 cigarettes a day in 2002, up from 13 in 1984. The costs of the mainland’s disease burden from smoking were likely to be vast, and China will suffer reduced productivity and more premature deaths, the researchers warned. “Hypertension and tobacco can be targeted health priorities. Reduction of salt intake should become a national campaign,” wrote the team, led by Yang Gonghuan of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in Beijing. In another paper, also in the Lancet series, a team led by Yuanli Liu of the Harvard School of Public Health said only 12 per cent of hypertension patients in urban areas and seven per cent in the countryside were covered by treatment. While 45 and 50 per cent of men in urban and rural areas were regular smokers in 2003, only 5-6 per cent of them tried to quit. In an accompanying comment, Xiao Shuiyuan of China’s Central South University and Matthew Korman of Stanford University in the United States warned of dire consequences. “If present smoking trends continue, 100 million Chinese men will die (of smoking-related causes) between 2000 and 2050, with many of their family members squandering life savings in desperate attempts at treatment,” the two scientists wrote.

Police Bust Cigarette Smugglers In South China

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:05:40 +0000

www.chinaview.cn | 2008-10-22 GUANGZHOU, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese police seized three people involved in a four-million yuan (585,265 U.S. dollar) cigarette smuggling operation on Tuesday. A frontier police brigade at Yantian of Shenzhen, southern Guangdong Province, was tipped off Tuesday morning that two trucks loaded with smuggled cigarettes were heading for Hong Kong. They pulled over two trucks, matching the description from the tipsters, on the Pinghu section of a highway around 10:00 a.m.. Three people tried to escape the scene but were caught. The trucks were loaded with 1,000 boxes of brand-name cigarettes labeled as biscuits and toys. The drivers failed to provide required export documents. An investigation is underway.

Effective Anti-tobacco Ads Should Either Scare Or Disgust Viewers

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:11:42 +0000

ScienceDaily | Oct. 22, 2008 Anti-tobacco public service announcements have been around for decades, designed to encourage people to quit smoking or to refrain from starting. Often these ads try to encourage people to avoid smoking by scaring them with the harmful effects of tobacco use. In a new study, University of Missouri researchers examined the effects of two types of content commonly used in anti-tobacco ads – tobacco health threats that evoke fear and disturbing or disgusting images. The researchers found that ads focused on either fear or disgust increased attention and memory in viewers; however, ads that included both fear and disgust decreased viewers’ attention and memory. “When fear and disgust are combined in a single television ad, the ad might become too noxious for the viewer,” said Glenn Leshner, lead author of the study and co-director of the Psychological Research on Information and Media Effects (PRIME) Lab in the Missouri School of Journalism. “We noticed several ads in our collection of anti-tobacco public service announcements that contained very disturbing images, such as cholesterol being squeezed from a human artery, a diseased lung, or a cancer-riddled tongue. Presumably, these messages are designed to scare people so that they don’t smoke. It appears that this strategy may backfire.” There is limited understanding of the cognitive and emotional processes associated with the effects of advertising messages, according to Paul Bolls, co-author of the study and co-director of the PRIME Lab. Bolls said the purpose of the study was to examine key characteristics of anti-tobacco ads that influence viewers’ cognitive processes engaged during message exposure, which potentially contribute to the messages’ effectiveness. “This study provides important insight into how young adults process anti-smoking messages, and it offers practical suggestions for designing effective tobacco prevention messages,” Bolls said. “The way the human mind perceives and processes information in a persuasive message is the very foundation of any desired effect on targeted individuals. The PRIME lab at MU is dedicated to studying how very specific elements of health campaign messages engage attention and emotion so that messages can be produced that might actually help persuade individuals to adopt healthier attitudes and behaviors.” The researchers measured the physiological responses of 58 viewers while the viewers watched a series of 30-second anti-tobacco ads. The ads included fear messages that communicated health threats resulting from tobacco use (lung cancer, heart disease, etc.) or disgust content that focused on negative graphic images (dirty insects, blood, organs, etc.) or both fear and disgust content. Electrodes were placed on the viewers’ facial muscles to measure emotional responses. Attention, which was defined as the amount of mental effort participants expended to interpret the messages, was measured by taking participants’ heart rates. To measure recognition, the participants completed a visual recognition task that consisted of watching brief video scenes (1 second) while pressing computer keys to indicate whether or not they believed the scene was from one of the ads they viewed during the experiment. Journal reference: 1. Scare Them or Disgust Them: the effect of graphic health promotion messages. Health Communication, (in press) Adapted from materials provided by University of Missouri-Columbia.

Burden Of Chronic Diseases 'Increasing'

admin — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:20:29 +0000

Ella Lee in Beijing - SCMP | Updated on Oct 24, 2008 The burden of non-communicable diseases was getting heavier for the mainland, as they now took up almost two-thirds of national health-care expenditure and cause 80 per cent of all deaths in the country, senior health officials said yesterday. Vice-Minister of Health Yin Li said that efforts to control chronic diseases - a key part of the coming health-care reform - would have to take into account challenges such as an ageing population, unhealthy diets and the stressful lifestyle caused by urbanisation. "Early treatment is a kind of prevention," Mr Yin said. "The government has made preventive care a big part of health-care reform, and it will help reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases." The vice-minister was speaking at a policy seminar on health and development organised in Beijing by the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation and the World Bank. The seminar discussed ways of dealing with chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and hypertension. Officials and experts from the WHO and World Bank called on Beijing to introduce more cost-effective prevention programmes. They also want more details about the upcoming reform. The WHO estimates lost productivity in China due to chronic diseases between 2005 and 2015 will cost more than US$550 billion. In 2006, chronic diseases took up 620 billion yuan (HK$705.35 billion) or 64 per cent of total health expenditure in China, and cost 3.6 billion man-work days. The WHO said about 80 per cent of heart diseases and 40 per cent of cancers could be prevented. Tobacco control remains a big challenge for the mainland, which has 320 million smokers, most of them men. Alan Alwan, WHO's assistant director general, said the high prevalence of smoking was a "very serious" problem in the country. The health-care reform aims to provide medical insurance to the whole population by 2020. Dr Alwan said Beijing must make sure that poor people had access to basic health care. "The government has to agree on a package of selected cost-effective interventions, which can be financed through taxation, subsidies or a social insurance system. Tobacco control through taxation, inexpensive treatment for heart diseases and promotion of physical exercise are all good examples," he said. John Langenbrunner, lead economist for the human development sector of the World Bank, welcomed the health-care reform but said the consultation document lacked details. "People in the street may find it hard to understand the document because it does not say how the reform relates to them," Dr Langenbrunner said. Lack of accessible and affordable health care means chronic diseases are a big economic burden to mainland patients. A Ministry of Health analysis showed that a single hospital admission could cost more than half of an urban dweller's annual income, or 150 per cent of a rural dweller's. Rao Keqin, director general of the ministry's information and statistics centre, said controlling chronic diseases was important for the country, as among the 8.55 million deaths on the mainland each year, 80 per cent, or 6.85 million, were caused by such illnesses. Dr Rao said part of the health-care reform was to introduce a basic drug system to control the prices of 400 essential medicines. He said that in 2005, the profits of selling drugs on the mainland had reached 450 billion yuan, with 300 billion yuan going to pharmaceutical companies and hospitals, and the rest to the manufacturers.

Nicotine's New Appeal

admin — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:54:30 +0000

ScienceNews - Laura Beil | October 27, 2008 Mimicking the addictive compound’s action in the brain could lead to new drugs for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and schizophrenia First, let’s clear the air: Nicotine invites addiction, and it employs a delivery device that’s been killing people for centuries. But let’s also be honest: Nicotine has some attractive qualities. Smokers use it to calm jitters or perk themselves up. It’s a common (if ill-advised) tool for weight control. Nicotine lowers the risk and eases the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Patients with mental illness have high rates of tobacco use, partly because nicotine helps quiet the mind. Because of these talents—along with nicotine’s intense grip on the brain—scientists have sought compounds that can deliver the good without the harm. Now, almost 20 years after the quest began, the research has come a long way, baby. A number of experimental drugs—molecules reduced to mere shadows of nicotine—show signs of being able to exploit nicotine’s power to compensate for the defects in an ailing brain. Such drugs may offer new therapies for diseases that now have few treatment options—boosting cognition in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, calming hyperactivity, relieving pain or treating mental illness. Similar drugs are also in early testing for Parkinson’s disease, inflammation and even obesity. “We’re very blessed that nature gave us nicotine,” says Donald deBethizy, chief executive officer of North Carolina–based Targacept Inc., which broke off from tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds in 2000. Few other compounds, deBethizy says, affect the brain at such a basic neurological level, with so much power to control chemicals that ferry signals from one brain cell to another. Most common neurological diseases reflect problems with one of those messenger chemicals, or neurotransmitters. Drugs for such diseases usually target the activity of one neurotransmitter at a time. But nicotine is a volume knob for many at once. And that could make nicotine-mimicking drugs both potent and hazardous, affecting brain function so fundamentally as to cause worrisome side effects. In fact, the first modern drug approved that acts directly on the brain’s nicotine relay system—the smoking-cessation drug varenicline—has been tarnished by anecdotal reports of nightmares and suicidal thoughts in people taking the drug. How much those problems can be blamed on the drug’s action remains unclear, but it’s hard to find a researcher in the field who hasn’t thought long and hard about side effects. “The issue is, as with all drugs, they have pluses and minuses,” says Allan Collins of the University of Colorado at Boulder. “Finding compounds that have more pluses than minuses has been the problem.” But, he adds, “I’m more optimistic than I have been in the past.” Beginning with a bad reputation In this case, the past dates back to the late 1980s, when researchers began to realize the breadth of the brain’s inventory of nicotinic receptors. Receptors are like docking stations, allowing molecules to attach to a cell and set a chain of events in motion. Usually each molecule lodges in a specific receptor on a cell, like a garage that houses only one make and model of vehicle. Once the molecular car is parked, a lot of running around occurs inside the cellular house. In the case of nicotine, one molecule pulls into lots of garages. In a normal, tobacco-free existence, these receptors aren’t sitting around waiting for nicotine. They are made for acetylcholine, a powerful neurotransmitter associated in the brain with attention, learning and memory. Nicotine just happens to be a sometime impostor for acetylcholine in smokers. “Nicotine is a sloppy drug that acts at all these receptors,” says Martin Sarter of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Also, nicotinic receptors adapt to chronic exposure over time. The changes differ depending on the type of receptor and where it lies in the brain. Such changes are thought to explain why smokers lose sensitivity to nicotine, eventually requiring higher doses to achieve the same effect. As they identified more and more receptor subtypes, scientists began to wonder how the brain would respond to a nicotine-like molecule that could activate just one type of acetylcholine receptor. For 15 years or so, not many people cared to know. Aside from isolated academic exploration at universities, the vast majority of commercial drug pursuit came from the R.J. Reynolds team that would become Targacept, as well as the Illinois-based firm Abbott Laboratories. It seemed that nicotinic receptors’ pedigree presented a public relations headache. Even if the research could produce great new drugs for desperate needs—consider the prediction that more than 8 million North Americans will develop Alzheimer’s by 2050—pharmaceutical executives feared that nicotinic drugs would have a questionable image. (Indeed, the corporate public affairs office at Abbott said the company would not contribute to this story.) “It was very difficult in the beginning,” says Stephen Arneric, who worked on nicotinic drugs at Abbott during the 1990s, but has since joined the biotech startup Neuromed. “When the program was started at Abbott, the first question out of senior management was, ‘Merck isn’t doing it, why should we?’” Arneric and his colleagues even launched a quiet, so far unsuccessful, campaign to change the name of the receptors, removing the regrettable name “nicotinic” to make the research more palatable. “The demonization of nicotine is what we’re all up against,” deBethizy says. However, unlike the lonely years of the 1990s, it’s now difficult to find a major drug company not trying to capitalize on nicotinic receptors. Receptor by receptor Chemists have produced molecules with selectivity for only one particular receptor type at a time. The biggest players remain Abbott and Targacept. Generally, drugs in development target two particular subtypes of nicotinic receptors, known in shorthand as alpha-4-beta-2 and alpha-7. Other types of nicotinic receptors are scattered throughout the brain, in muscle and in cardiac tissue. But in the brain these two appear to be common and best suited for disease treatment. Farthest along in testing are drugs for Alzheimer’s disease, depression, pain and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. In 2006, Targacept researchers released the results of a study of a nicotine-like drug designed to improve cognition in people with Alzheimer’s disease. The drug is designed to bind only to the alpha-4-beta-2 receptors in the brain and boost other neurotransmitters. In collaboration with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, the company completed a randomized trial involving 193 patients with memory impairment (though not dementia) related to Alzheimer’s or schizophrenia. After taking the drug for 16 weeks, patients showed improvements on tests of attention and memory, the researchers reported during an Alzheimer’s research meeting the same year. But in September, the company issued a press release calling results of a larger study “inconclusive.” A separate Targacept drug, this one for depression, is also working its way through the testing process. In 2007, at a meeting of the British Association for Psychopharmacology, the company described a trial involving 184 volunteers who had not responded well to first-line antidepressant drugs. The results of this study were encouraging enough to expand trials, though the true effectiveness of the drug—as with all nicotinic compounds—won’t be known until further studies are completed. Also, a partnership of two companies, Abbott and the Denmark-based NeuroSearch, announced this year the results of tests on a drug for ADHD. That study, described in May during the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, involved 221 adults with ADHD. After taking the drug for four weeks, volunteers reported an increase in work productivity and a reduction in absenteeism. Based on these results, the companies plan to move the drug into further testing. In a twist that speaks to the broad influence of nicotinic receptors in the brain, the same drug also appears to be a candidate for pain control. Not all testing falls under the domain of pharmaceutical corporations. In August, a research team led by scientists from the University of Colorado Denver published the results of a study testing a nicotinic compound for schizophrenia, a disease that has been the subject of a decades-long search for new treatments. Upwards of 85 percent of people with schizophrenia smoke, largely because many patients feel a greater mental clarity when they light up. Writing in the August American Journal of Psychiatry, the research team described the results of tests in 31 people who received two different doses of the experimental medication. The molecule targets the alpha-7 receptors in the brain. The results were heartening, though not dramatic, and the usefulness of the drug is still unknown. Strong medicine In most of these early drug trials, complaints have been similar to those felt by many a teenager sneaking his first cigarette—nausea, diarrhea, dizziness. Nonetheless, side effects are still among the biggest concerns. Everyone in the field took note in February when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration hastily called a news conference to announce a public health advisory for varenicline, the antismoking drug made by Pfizer under the trade name Chantix. The FDA warned of mood changes, suicidal thoughts and suicide. “Clearly these are very concerning findings for this product which is being widely used,” the FDA’s Bob Rappaport told reporters. Until these reports began to surface, the approval of Chantix had been a bellwether in the race for nicotinic drugs: a medicine that had entered the market and shown record success. Smokers taking Chantix have a much better track record of giving up cigarettes than those trying other methods. Animal studies suggest the drug might one day have a role in treating alcohol addiction. The side effects remain unexplained. “They may indicate the heterogeneity of the human brain and the condition,” says Roger Papke of the University of Florida in Gainesville, who has long studied nicotinic receptors. As with other illnesses, each person may have variations in receptors that alter his or her response to the drug. Varenicline binds to nicotinic receptors, interfering with the mechanism most strongly associated with addiction, with the idea of still allowing the brain enough reward to ease withdrawal symptoms. Whether the molecule in its current form binds too many types of acetylcholine receptors, whether it activates other neurological systems or whether suicide risk is simply elevated among people giving up cigarettes is unknown. “I don’t think they’re going to see it in all drugs,” Arneric, the former Abbott scientist, says about these types of side effects. “If you look at nicotine itself, it doesn’t have those side effects.” An extra dose Developers of nicotinic drugs have had to make one other consideration: 20 percent of the adult U.S. population smokes, and will administer their own nicotine on top of whatever drug they may receive for an illness. In doing so, they will be stimulating nicotinic receptors in the blunt, old-fashioned way along with a treatment for memory or pain. No one can say with certainty what that means. Then there’s the property of nicotine everyone knows—addiction. Can a medicine that works like nicotine, even if it isn’t really nicotine, completely rid itself of nicotine’s most notorious quality? “The exact basis for the addiction to smoking—that is more complicated than it seems,” says University of Michigan’s Sarter. “Is it possible that these selective compounds produce an addictive component? I don’t think we know at this point. Personally, I don’t think this is the case.” DeBethizy of Targacept—who spent years as an R.J. Reynolds scientist—believes that addiction to nicotine has much to do with binding to another type of receptor, alpha-6. “We’ve decided that the best way to make nicotinic drugs is to develop selective compounds,” he says. “Steer away from a form of alpha-6, which is involved in addiction.” Though it’s still too early to draw conclusions, he says that so far the nicotinic drugs haven’t shown signs of causing cravings or dependence. Which means, for the first time in human history, drugs may come along that have a nicotine-like relationship with the brain in a way that has nothing to do with addiction. “There will be some good new medicines,” Arneric predicts. If that’s true, a drug that has been an accomplice in millions of deaths may finally have a chance to help make some lives better.

NICOTINE FOR WHAT AILS YOU: Click below to view a comprehensive, detailed timeline on Nicotine.http://www.sciencenews.org/...

See related research:Editorial: Nicotine Addiction Am J Psychiatry 165:1089-1092, September 2008 Wade Berrettini, M.D., Ph.D. http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/... Referenced Am J Psych study: Variants in Nicotinic Receptors and Risk for Nicotine Dependence http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/... Initial Phase 2 Trial of a Nicotinic Agonist in Schizophrenia Am J Psychiatry. 2008 Apr 1 [Epub ahead of print] Freedman R, Olincy A, Buchanan RW, Harris JG, Gold JM, Johnson L, Allensworth D, Guzman-Bonilla A, Clement B, Ball MP, Kutnick J, Pender V, Martin LF, Stevens KE, Wagner BD, Zerbe GO, Soti F, Kem WR. http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/... Editor's note: The PDFs of these articles are available. Please send your request to shatensteins@sympatico.ca and kindly remember to include the name of the full citation (study title, journal and authors' names) and your e-mail address in the body of your message. Source: ScienceNews

Smokers Increasingly Hooked On Nicotine: Study

admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:07:17 +0000

The National Post - Will Dunham | October 29, 2008 Smokers who are seeking medical treatment to give up cigarettes are more highly addicted to nicotine than smokers who sought help two decades ago, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday. The researchers examined nicotine dependence levels of about 600 smokers who entered treatment programs in northern California to quit smoking during three periods starting in 1989 and ending in 2006. Seventy-three percent of those seeking medical help to quit smoking in 2005 to 2006 were deemed highly nicotine dependent using scores from a questionnaire given to assess the severity of nicotine addiction, the researchers said. That compares to 55 percent of those seeking such help from 1989 to 1990 and 66 percent of those seeking treatment in 1994, Dr. David Sachs of the Palo Alto Center for Pulmonary Disease Prevention in California told a meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians. Sachs said the findings suggest nicotine dependence is worsening among U.S. smokers as a whole, although researchers don't know why. A report published by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in 2006 found that levels of nicotine in most cigarettes rose by nearly 10 percent from 1998 to 2004. Medical treatment to help people quit smoking may include nicotine replacement therapy such as a patch that delivers nicotine through the skin and into the bloodstream, nicotine gums, nasal sprays and inhalers, and antidepressant medication that raises the level of a brain chemical called dopamine. The new study's findings are "important because what studies have consistently shown is that the more physically dependent a cigarette smoker is, the more intensive the treatment needs to be if the patient is going to be able to have a good treatment outcome and be able to stop smoking," Sachs said in a telephone interview. "If you look at all of the cigarette smokers that we have around the United States, roughly three-fourths of them are going to be highly physically nicotine dependent," Sachs said. An estimated 21 percent of U.S. adults -- 45 million people -- are smokers, including 24 percent of men and 18 percent of women, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The questionnaire, used to determine the degree of a person's of nicotine dependence, asked a smoker a number of questions such as whether they smoke their first cigarette within 30 minutes of waking up in the morning. Other questions include whether they find it difficult to refrain from smoking in places where it is forbidden, how many cigarettes they smoke daily and whether they smoke even when they are so ill that they are bed-ridden.

See conference website: CHEST 2008 http://www.chestnet.org/... Source: The National Post

Mobile Smoking Cessation Programme

admin — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:02:47 +0000

Effectiveness Of A Mobile Smoking Cessation Service In Reaching Elderly Smokers And Predictors Of Quitting: Report Author: Abu Saleh M Abdullah, Tai-Hing Lam, Steve KK Chan, Gabriel M Leung, Iris Chi, Winnie WN Ho and Sophia SC Chan Credits/Source: BMC Geriatrics 2008, 8:25

Different smoking cessation programmes have been developed in the last decade but utilization by the elderly is low. We evaluated a pilot mobile smoking cessation service for the Chinese elderly in Hong Kong and identified predictors of quitting.

Methods: The Mobile Smoking Cessation Programme (MSCP) targeted elderly smokers (aged 60 or above) and provided service in a place that was convenient to the elderly. Trained counsellors provided individual counselling and 4 week's free supply of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). Follow up was arranged at 1 month by face-to-face and at 3 and 6 months by telephone plus urinary cotinine validation. A structured record sheet was used for data collection. The service was evaluated in terms of process, outcome and cost. Results: 102 governmental and non-governmental social service units and private residential homes for the elderly participated in the MSCP. We held 90 health talks with 3266 elderly (1140 smokers and 2126 non-smokers) attended. Of the 1140 smokers, 365 (32%) received intensive smoking cessation service. By intention-to-treat, the validated 7 day point prevalence quit rate was 20.3% (95% confidence interval: 16.2%-24.8%). Smoking less than 11 cigarettes per day and being adherent to NRT for 4 weeks or more were significant predictors of quitting. The average cost per contact was US$54 (smokers only); per smoker with counselling: US$168; per self-reported quitter: US$594; and per cotinine validated quitter: US$827. Conclusion: This mobile smoking cessation programme was acceptable to elderly Chinese smokers, with quit rate comparable to other comprehensive programmes in the West. A mobile clinic is a promising model to reach the elderly and probably other hard to reach smokers.

Philip Morris' New Look for Virginia Slims Cigarettes

admin — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:20:25 +0000

Deadly in Pink: Philip Morris' New Look for Virginia Slims Cigarettes Shows Contempt for Women's Health

WASHINGTON, Oct 30, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Statement by: American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American Medical Association and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Demonstrating again that it is not the changed, responsible company it claims to be, Philip Morris is launching an aggressive new campaign to market cigarettes that appeal to women and girls. The campaign is built around a new look for its Virginia Slims brand - a sleek pink "purse pack" that is compact and rectangular, with square ends, and holds "super slim" cigarettes that are very small in diameter. According to a recent story in Brandweek, Philip Morris plans to launch the repackaged Virginia Slims with a major marketing campaign by the first quarter of 2009, and it includes "Super Slims Lights" and "Super Slims Ultra Lights" varieties. The new "purse packs" are already on sale in some markets. Philip Morris shows contempt for women and their health by putting a pink gloss on a product that causes lung cancer and heart disease, two of the leading killers of women. It is the height of cynicism that Philip Morris timed its announcement of the new pink Virginia Slims for October - National Breast Cancer Awareness Month - when pink is usually associated with protecting women's health, not harming it. It doesn't seem to bother the nation's largest tobacco company that lung cancer from smoking is, by far, the number one cancer killer of women. The new pink Virginia Slims continues the tobacco industry's long history of marketing cigarettes to women and girls. The pink "purse packs" imply that smoking cigarettes is feminine and fashionable. Names like "super slims" imply a link between cigarettes and weight loss for girls and women concerned about body image. And the use of terms such as "light" and "ultra light" imply that these cigarettes are less harmful than regular cigarettes, despite the fact that Philip Morris and other tobacco companies have long known from their own research that this is not the case. Tobacco companies have targeted the marketing of "light" and "low-tar" cigarettes to women, who are more likely to be concerned about the health risks of smoking. This latest attempt to market cigarettes to women and girls demonstrates the need for Congress to pass pending legislation giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco products. Among other things, this legislation would ban misleading terms such as "light" and "ultra light," give the FDA authority to strictly regulate all health claims about tobacco products and crack down on tobacco marketing to kids, including restricting tobacco advertising in stores and in youth-oriented magazines to black-and-white text only. The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved this legislation, and it is pending in the Senate, where it has 60 sponsors. The tobacco industry has a long and harmful history of targeting women and girls. This strategy intensified in the 1968 when Philip Morris introduced Virginia Slims with its seductive "You've Come a Long Way Baby" slogan. Six years after the introduction of Virginia Slims, the rate of smoking initiation for 12-year-old girls had increased 110 percent. In a more recent example, R.J. Reynolds last year introduced Camel No. 9 cigarettes, which come in a shiny black box with flowery hot pink or teal borders, have a name reminiscent of a famous perfume, carry the slogan "light and luscious," and have been heavily marketed in magazines popular with women and girls, such as Glamour, Cosmopolitan and Vogue. The consequences of these marketing campaigns have been devastating for women's health. The latest public health data show lung cancer death rates for some women are still rising at a time when death rates for other kinds of cancer in women are declining. The risk of coronary heart disease - the overall leading cause of death among women - doubles for women who smoke. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, has become the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. and now kills more women than men. In addition, smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke by pregnant women are a major cause of spontaneous abortions, stillbirths and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and increase health and developmental problems of children born to these women. Research also shows that women have a much harder time quitting than men. The Virginia Slims pink purse pack is yet another tobacco industry slap in the face to women. Far from making a fashion statement, the pink purse pack will encourage smoking by women and girls and expose them to its lethal effects. Philip Morris should terminate this cynical marketing ploy immediately, and Congress should quickly enact the bill giving the FDA authority over tobacco products. There is nothing pretty, fashionable or healthy about a product that kills more than 178,000 women in the United States and many more around the world each year. SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

Total Deaths From Tobacco Use Will Rise Sharply

webmaster — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 16:00:30 +0000

Three quarters of deaths in developing world will be caused by heart and lung diseases by 2030 BMJ - November 3, 2008 - John Zarocostas Deaths from heart disease and lung disease in developing countries are set to rise considerably in the next 25 years as populations age and deaths from infectious diseases decline, says a report from the World Health Organization. The Global Burden of Disease: 2004 Update says that the leading causes of death globally in 2030 are projected to be "ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease (stroke), chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and lower respiratory infections (mainly pneumonia)." Non-communicable conditions will account for 75% of all deaths by 2030, up from 60% in 2004, said Colin Mathers, coordinator for epidemiology and burden of disease at WHO, and lead author of the study. In 2004 an estimated 58.8 million people died worldwide. Of the deaths more than half were among people aged 60 or over. However, one in five deaths were among children under the age of 5, and in the African region 46% of all deaths occurred in children under 15 years old. The study draws on national health data, epidemiological studies, and household surveys from 193 member countries. It found that nine out of every 10 child deaths from malaria and nine out of every 10 child deaths from HIV/AIDS occur in Africa. Half of the world’s deaths from diarrhoea and pneumonia also occur on the continent. In 2004 the leading five causes of death in poor countries were pneumonia, heart disease, diarrhoea, HIV/AIDS, and stroke. In rich nations heart disease caused most deaths, followed by stroke, lung cancer, pneumonia, and asthma and bronchitis. Experts estimate that deaths from cancer will increase to 11.8 million by 2030, up from 7.4 million in 2004. Global cardiovascular deaths are expected to reach 23.4 million in 2030, up from 17.1 million in 2004. WHO estimates that total deaths from tobacco use will rise sharply reaching 8.3 million in 2030, up from 5.4 million in 2004. It also forecasts a 28% increase in deaths from injury, largely a result of road deaths, which are expected to reach 2.4 million in 2030, up from 1.3 million in 2004. However, the report anticipates large declines in mortality by 2030 for all the noteworthy communicable, maternal, perinatal, and nutritional causes, including tuberculosis and malaria. Although the report estimates that deaths caused by HIV/AIDS will initially rise from 2.2 million in 2008 to 2.4 million in 2012 they too will decline to 1.2 million in 2030. The report also found that depression is the leading cause of years lost as a result of disability in rich and poor countries. Alcohol dependence and problem use are among the 10 leading causes of disability worldwide.

Professor's Efforts To Help Smokers Quit

webmaster — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:53:24 +0000

US academy honours professor for efforts to help smokers quit Colleen Lee - Updated on Nov 10, 2008 - SCMP Sophia Chan Siu-chee noticed in the early 1990s that while doctors were advising patients to quit smoking, there were no medical workers helping them to do so. So she decided to train nurses to help smokers kick the habit - and yesterday, her efforts won her international recognition. Professor Chan, head of the University of Hong Kong's Department of Nursing Studies, became the first Hongkonger to be named an international fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. "I feel very honoured and happy," said Professor Chan, one of three international fellows chosen this year. She said that in the early 1990s, no medical staff were dedicated to helping smokers quit. "When a doctor saw a patient smoking, he might just advise him not to smoke. And that was it ... no one would do any follow-up." From 1993 to 1999, she studied part-time for her doctorate in public health at the University of Hong Kong, devoting herself to studying the use of counselling to stop smoking. Once she graduated, she decided to help promote that idea in the community. She said that since 2000, she had helped the Hospital Authority train about 200 nurses in such skills. These nurses later played a key role in the authority's Smoking Counselling and Cessation Centres, founded in 2002. The centres now number 16. Professor Chan said she hoped her fellowship would encourage nurses in Hong Kong, adding that their morale had recently been affected by a staff shortage. "Many nurses here work very hard ... I hope more and more local nurses will be awarded fellowships by the academy," she said. Professor Chan said she next planned to study women's smoking rates globally to find out the possible reasons for differences in various places. She said, for example, that Hong Kong and Japan were both metropolitan, but smoking was less prevalent among local women than those in Japan. Professor Chan and the other two international fellows named this year were inducted along with 89 Americans as fellows at a ceremony in Scottsdale, Arizona. The academy, set up in 1973, aims to anticipate American and international trends in health care and to address relevant issues. The fellowship recognises individuals' contributions to nursing and health care.

Smoking Ban Tied To A Gain In Lives

webmaster — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:12:01 +0000

Fatal heart attacks drop in Massachusetts By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff | November 12, 2008 Nearly 600 fewer Massachusetts residents have died from heart attacks each year since legislators banned smoking in virtually all restaurants, bars, and other workplaces four years ago, according to a report to be released today that provides some of the strongest evidence yet that such laws save lives. The study, conducted by the state Department of Public Health and the Harvard School of Public Health, shows that a steep decline in heart attack deaths started as Boston and most of its neighbors adopted bans. Enforcement of the statewide law beginning in mid-2004 coincided with a further reduction, the study found. From 2003 to 2006, heart attack deaths in Massachusetts plummeted 30 percent, significantly accelerating what had been a more modest long-term decline. The report, obtained in advance by the Globe, found that the number of heart attacks began dropping in communities with strong antismoking laws years before the 2004 statewide law and that similar reductions were achieved in other cities and towns only after the state ban. By the end of 2006, the rate of decline in all cities and towns had nearly converged. The authors said this pattern showed that advances in treatment of heart attacks were not responsible for the smaller number of deaths. "This is the strongest study yet done of the effect of smoking bans on heart attacks," said Dr. Michael Siegel, a Boston University School of Public Health specialist in tobacco control who has been a critic of some antismoking laws and of previous research conducted by the state and Harvard. "You can no longer argue that these declines would have occurred simply due to medical treatment." The health benefits of smoking bans have long stirred controversy between advocates and opponents of workplace tobacco laws. While health officials including the US surgeon general have concluded that secondhand smoke is responsible for thousands of deaths annually from heart disease and lung cancer, the tobacco industry and some in the hospitality industry have suggested that the dangers of secondhand smoke are overstated and that there is little evidence that bans prevent deaths. The study, scheduled to be presented this morning to the state Public Health Council, appears destined to bolster the case of Boston health authorities who have already given preliminary approval to a sweeping strengthening of their tobacco control laws. The toughened Boston regulations would quickly eliminate cigarette sales at drug stores and on college campuses and would shutter swank cigar salons and hookah bars within five years. The Boston Public Health Commission was supposed to consider final approval of the measures tomorrow, but that vote has been postponed until December, because the board wants to review hundreds of comments that have flowed in, said Barbara Ferrer, executive director of the commission. The state's report should prove to critics that her agency is not acting capriciously, Ferrer said. "The Board of Health isn't just acting because it likes to regulate. It's acting because there's so much evidence about the importance of reducing tobacco smoke." Brandon Salomon, an owner of the Back Bay stogie bar Cigar Masters, said he was unpersuaded by the state's research, describing it as skewed science. "The decrease in heart attacks could be the fact that people have stopped eating carbs so much and are exercising more," Salomon said. Much of the evidence about the damage wrought by smoking has focused on lung tumors, the leading cause of cancer deaths in the nation. But cancer takes years to develop, so smoking bans would not be expected to diminish cancer rates for a long time. An expanding body of scientific evidence shows, however, that even fleeting encounters with cigarette smoke can damage the cardiovascular system of nonsmokers. In one California study published earlier this year, young adults who did not smoke were exposed to secondhand smoke for 30 minutes in amounts meant to mimic what happens in a restaurant or bar. The researchers discovered that even that amount of exposure damaged the lining of blood vessels and disarmed the body's natural ability to repair such damage. Cigarette smoke can also cause clots to form or spark a cascade of biological events that causes chunks of fat lining artery walls to shear off, which can result in a heart attack. "You know all the press that this new study on statins got the other day?" said tobacco researcher Stanton Glantz of the University of California at San Francisco, referring to Boston researchers' finding that anticholesterol drugs substantially reduce heart attacks and strokes even in patients with normal cholesterol levels. "This is a much bigger deal. And it's free." A spokesman for the nation's largest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA, said the company's website points out that public health officials have shown that secondhand smoke causes heart disease in nonsmokers. "We agree that people should be able to avoid being around secondhand smoke, particularly in places where they must go," said company spokesman Bill Phelps. Led by Tom Land, director of surveillance and evaluation for the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program, the researchers hunted for signs the reduction might be due to a factor other than tobacco laws. They considered, for instance, whether there had been an improvement in how heart attack victims were transported to hospitals. They could find nothing that swayed them from their conclusion that there was an indisputable relationship between the smoking ban and fewer heart attack deaths. That belief was strengthened when they looked at what happened in communities that had either no job-site smoking law before the state ban or a weak law. Heart attack deaths dropped nearly 20 percent in those cities and towns during the first 17 months of the law. In municipalities that had longstanding regulations - and, thus, had seen a steadier decline - the reduction was more modest. By comparing communities that adopted early smoking bans with those that did not, the researchers were able to estimate that an average of 577 fewer people have died annually from heart attacks because of the law. "People have assumed that the only benefit we will be able to measure of a smoking ban is long-term benefits," said John Auerbach, the state public health commissioner. "This study demonstrates a real connection between smoking bans and short-term improvement in health outcomes."

Crisis No Reason To Delay Smoking Ban

webmaster — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:25:40 +0000

Nov 24, 2008 - Leader Bars were against the smoking ban when times were good. Unsurprisingly, now that the city is facing a steep economic downturn, they are calling for an extension of their smoking-ban exemption, which will end in the summer. For them, there is never a good time to impose the ban because they are simply against it. They have been given more than two years to prepare for the ban; they have no more excuses not to abide by it when their exemption expires. The authorities should not listen to them this time. Our city deserves a universal ban on smoking in public areas. Bar operators may appear to have a good argument in these troubled times; it may even sound persuasive to some officials. It is, rightly, the government's stance to help small and medium-sized businesses wherever possible in this economic climate. The bars are right in saying that many will face tough economic times; some will go under. It is not clear, though, that allowing bars to extend their exemption will help them maintain or improve business. Many restaurateurs were in the same position as bar owners are now when the ban was imposed. Many initially complained about a drop in business from smoking customers. However, they soon saw business return to normal as their establishments attracted non-smoking customers who had previously avoided them. Since there are far more non-smokers than smokers in Hong Kong, bars will attract new patrons even as they lose some old ones. And there are public health concerns. Doctors now believe there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke. Authoritative studies, conducted locally and overseas, have shown sharp drops in heart attacks in places where a smoking ban has been imposed. By now, everyone knows the high costs of treating chronic diseases associated with long-term smoking. Endangering lives for the sake of business is not a sound argument, especially when the business value of allowing customers to smoke is questionable. The city's smoking ban has undoubtedly saved many lives. But it has only achieved a partial victory in public health because of the exemption. It is time to complete the ban.

Delay In Smoke Ban?

webmaster — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:43:38 +0000

Delay in smoke ban would help us beat crisis, bars say Dan Kadison - Nov 24, 2008 - SCMP Bar owners say a delay in the next phase of a smoking ban would help business as they struggle to cope with the economic downturn, which they expect to start to bite early next year. Smoking has been banned in most indoor places since last year. Bars and nightclubs, exempted from the ban, are expected to fall in line by July 1 next year. But Chris Lenz, founder of Igor's Group, a chain of restaurants and bars including The Cavern and Stormy Weather, is hoping the ban will come into effect a year later. "It's better for our business," he said. "The fiscal crisis isn't helping things. Certainly, next year is going to be a challenge, there's no question about it. Anything that can be thrown into the pot that can help would be appreciated." Bar owners said sales could start decreasing by January. "Half-a-dozen to a dozen regulars of mine have lost their jobs in the past two or weeks. They're not going to be partying next year," said a Wan Chai bar owner who asked to remain anonymous. Agreeing something needs to be done, legislator Tommy Cheung Yu-yan sees an alternative to the ban - smoking rooms. "I think some bars might not even last until next year," he said, adding that those that ride out the downturn will have to deal with the ban, and that could "wipe them out". "If the government doesn't want to see a lot of closures in bars, entertainment [venues], massage parlours, mahjong parlours...and nightclubs, it should think about allowing smoking rooms," he said. Mr Cheung, chairman of the Hong Kong Catering Industry Association, believed last year's smoking ban was implemented too quickly, but he had no plan to call for the law's suspension. "I'm going to see what's happening with the smoking room," he said. "I feel strongly that if there was a smoking room, it would be OK." Meanwhile, PolyU Technology and Consultancy has found in a survey that 41 per cent of restaurants and businesses suffered a drop in sales in the first half of last year, compared with the same period in 2006. The three-part, 18-month study was commissioned by the Catering Industry Association. Local environmental group Clear the Air last week called on PolyU Technology to issue another report using government data that shows restaurant receipts had mostly risen in the quarters before, during and after the ban. For instance, receipts increased 11.6 per cent in the second quarter of last year, compared with the same period in 2006, according to data from the Census and Statistics Department. "The usual tactic of the tobacco industry is to spread doom and gloom," James Middleton, of Clear the Air, said. "These figures [from the government] prove conclusively that the anti-smoking legislation in restaurants, which have been proven to work elsewhere in the world, in many countries, also work in Hong Kong," he said. Responding to the call by Clear the Air, Mr Cheung said: "I don't want to be here arguing about what is right and what is wrong. Clearly, everybody by now knows that 2007 was a very good year - with or without the smoking ban. The question you need to ask [is] if we did not have a smoking ban ... could [it] even be better?"

Smoking Rooms Being Considered

webmaster — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:47:42 +0000

Dan Kadison - Nov 24, 2008 - SCMP With the second phase of a smoking ban coming into effect next summer, government-commissioned consultants are studying the feasibility of having smoking rooms in Hong Kong - and they have even built an experimental enclosure for testing. "When the Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill 2006 was passed, the administration undertook to commission consultants with relevant expertise to study the technical feasibility of a smoking room," a spokesman for the Food and Health Bureau said. The study started last August, and experts were trying to determine whether a smoking room could provide "effective separation" and protect the health of non-smokers, the spokesman said. As of now, "the administration has not reached any conclusions regarding smoking rooms, neither on its feasibility nor applicability", the spokesman said. Findings of the feasibility study are expected to be announced during the first quarter of next year. The smoking room being considered is different from another opposed proposal, one where people could stay, smoke and enjoy themselves in a partitioned, ventilated area. James Middleton, chairman of the anti-tobacco committee of Clear The Air, a Hong Kong environmental group, called the new smoking room study "a waste of taxpayers' money". "It's already been proven that it doesn't work - that in any contiguous area, where the smoking room, with an opening door, is connected to a non-smoking area, the smoke will go through. Every time the door opens, smoke will pass to the other area. There are worldwide expert studies on it." Legislator Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, a proponent of smoking rooms, said he had spoken to Secretary for Food and Health York Chow Yat-ngok about them. The secretary for health was "still studying it", Mr Cheung said. "He's built a smoking room and is looking at the feasibility of it." Under the next phase of the smoking ban, people will no longer be able to smoke in places once given a grace period, such as bars, nightclubs, and mahjong parlours. The first stage of the ban began last January.

Judith Mackay's Tireless Crusade Against Smoking

webmaster — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:50:51 +0000

No ifs or butts Judith Mackay's tireless crusade against smoking has won her global accolades - and plenty of enemies - but her work is far from done Ella Lee - Nov 26, 2008 - SCMP It was 1960. A young medical student at the University of Edinburgh took out her first cigarette, lit up and puffed smoke into the cool Scottish air. Her throat was a bit dry but, at that moment, the 16- year-old finally felt like an adult, a very "cool" adult. Almost half a century later, when 65-year-old Judith Mackay recalls that episode at her tranquil countryside house in Sai Kung, she laughs it off, but her tone turns serious as she explains why it helped her understand a young person's urge to smoke. Such knowledge is particularly important to Yorkshire-born Dr Mackay, the world's leading anti-tobacco lobbyist and advocate, and one of Hong Kong's few public health experts to become a global name. "I was away from home for the first time and I was very young," she says of her first smoking episode. "I thought smoking was sophisticated and was a doorway to becoming an adult." She was "fortunate", she says, that she quit after only three months because her asthmatic roommate couldn't stand the smoke. "I really understand how young people feel. They smoke to be an adult, to be rebellious, to look cool. This is why school programmes don't work. They tell children if they smoke, they will get cancers or lung diseases at the age of 60 or 70; it is completely meaningless to them," she says. For the past 25 years, Dr Mackay has been pushing for changes in countries where smoking is regarded as a lifestyle choice rather than a health hazard. And in recognition of those efforts, she will be made an OBE by Queen Elizabeth in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace today. In her official capacity, she is the senior policy adviser to the World Health Organisation and senior adviser to the World Lung Foundation (WLF). The latter is responsible for taking care of the multimillion-dollar grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, a fund set up by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to encourage tobacco control in poor countries. In short, she is one of the three "most dangerous" people as far as the tobacco industry is concerned (the others are American campaigner Mike Pertschuk and Canadian Garfield Mahood). Dr Mackay came to Hong Kong in 1967 after finishing her medical studies and has lived here ever since. Her anti-tobacco efforts began in 1984, when she quit her job at United Christian Hospital after seeing too many patients dying from smoking-related diseases. She decided she could save more lives by helping cut tobacco use. Her battle began in earnest when she joined the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health as its first executive director from 1987 to 1989. She then set up what she calls the "one-woman-band" Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control in 1989 and started reaching out to help other Asian countries. Since 1984, she has advised the WHO on lobbying governments to introduce tobacco control measures such as taxes and advertising bans. Her impact has been felt all over East and Southeast Asia. In 2006, her role became even more prominent when she was hired as the WLF's project co-ordinator. There are always two sets of curriculum vitae for Dr Mackay. One is a 70-page document listing her public health appointments, awards and published papers. The second, a two-page file, contains the names and terms of abuse levelled at her by smokers' rights groups and the tobacco industry. She has been called "psychotic human garbage", a "gibbering satan" and "an insane psychotic like Hitler" among other things. In 1993, a smokers' rights group in the United States threatened to "utterly destroy" her. At one time, in the 1990s, Dr Mackay was offered protection by the government because of concerns for her welfare. She also packed her two children off to high school in Edinburgh for their safety. But none of these insults or threats have diverted her from her goal. Indeed, they have only made her more determined. At times, she has had to keep her work itinerary secret to avoid interference, such as when she went to Mongolia in 1990 as a WHO consultant to design a national tobacco plan for the country. She was heartened to see Mongolia introduce one of the best tobacco control laws in Asia in 1994 Dr Mackay says her most rewarding achievement is the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a milestone in the field and only achieved after she lobbied then WHO director general Gro Harlem Brundtland to make it a priority. A total of 168 countries have signed the convention, which came into force in February 2005 and commits them to reduce tobacco use through legislation, taxation and public education. So far, 160 have ratified it. Dr Mackay gives the government an "A-minus" for its tobacco control performance. "In the 1980s and 90s, Hong Kong passed some important legislation on smoke-free areas and advertising bans [and] it was also one of the 20 countries and cities that introduced pictorial health warnings on cigarette packs," she says. "But, in the past eight years, Hong Kong has been lagging behind others in terms of taxation. We have not raised the tobacco tax to a significant level." She intends to lobby for a "plain packaging" law for cigarettes, meaning that the pack can only carry the brand name and a health warning. Dr Mackay says her success is due to three elements, being "determined, optimistic and realistic". "I understand politics, that sometimes governments have to compromise," she says. "For example, when the Hong Kong government tried to push through the smoking bill in Legco two years ago, some bars asked for various kinds of exemptions. In that political atmosphere, the government could not have passed the bill without making some exemptions. "I can't say I accept this compromise but I understand it. It is what I mean by being realistic." Building trust is also a key to successful lobbying. "I think governments trust me because I never shame or embarrass them. I encourage them and support them." Aside from professional satisfaction, her efforts have won her local and international recognition. Dr Mackay is also the proud recipient of the WHO Commemorative Medal, Hong Kong's Silver Bauhinia Star award, the MBE, the US Surgeon General's Medallion award and an award from the King of Thailand. In 2006, Time magazine selected her as one of the 60 Asian heroes from the previous 60 years. In 2007, the same magazine named her one of the world's 100 most influential people. With all these accomplishments, she was at professional crossroads two years ago and considering taking a backseat. "I thought I had done my best and it was time for a new wave of advocate to take up my job," she says. But a telephone call changed everything. A representative for Mr Bloomberg called her and offered her the position as senior adviser for the WLF. The initial, two-year US$125 million donation from Mr Bloomberg had not been made public at the time. She was given 24 hours to decide. "My elder son, who is a doctor, said that if I take the job there will be many times I will regret it because there will be many people asking for money or jobs from me. But he also said, if I don't take it, I will always regret it." She accepted and since then has been working "close to burnout" to lay down the infrastructure for the project. In July, Mr Bloomberg and Microsoft founder Bill Gates committed a combined US$500 million to tobacco control. The targets are low- to middle-income countries where between 10 and 25 per cent of all male deaths over 35 are tobacco-related. The WLF, which gets the biggest slice of the funding, works with other partners including the WHO, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr Mackay says the Bloomberg initiative is the "first big funding for non-communicable diseases that makes something happen". "Many governments have been talking about [tobacco control] but there is no money to support it." Dr Mackay says the Bloomberg initiative has a clear target - to reduce smoking prevalence in countries with big smoking populations. "A small change in a big population means a lot. If you get 1 per cent of smokers to stop smoking in China, it is far more than stopping 99 per cent of smokers in Mongolia." She said tobacco control should be top of the agenda for Beijing because mainland smokers consumed one in three of the world's cigarettes. Dr Mackay said another impact of the Bloomberg initiative is that it created a profession and a paid career path for tobacco control personnel. Her position with the WLF is her first paid job since she left the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health. She claims only expenses from organisations that she helps. "My husband is a private doctor, he had been supporting me, but now he has retired, it is my turn to support him." A hectic life means Dr Mackay usually spends a quarter of each year overseas attending about 20 conferences. During a trip to a conference in South Korea two months ago, she fell and broke her ankle and leg. She was in a wheelchair for two months. "I have prepared a nice cane to use at the OBE award ceremony," she says. "I will wear a Chinese-style jacket to show my link with Hong Kong." As for her future plans, there is no stopping her yet. "I am always a working person. I enjoy every day."

Should The Ban On Smoking In Bars Be Delayed?

webmaster — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:04:15 +0000

Nov 27th 2008 - SCMP To protect the health of all citizens, there should be no delay on the ban on smoking in bars. As bar staff inhale passive smoke, they have a higher chance of suffering respiratory diseases. Bar staff are there to earn a living - this should not mean that they have to risk their health. The government has already banned smoking in public places. It is therefore high time this ban was extended to bars, in the interests of the staff. Some operators may argue it will affect business but protecting the health of bar staff should be a top priority. If a bar is popular and has a good reputation, then customers will frequent it, even if smoking is banned. Tsui Mang-ting, Tsuen Wan

Should The Ban On Smoking In Bars Be Delayed?

webmaster — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:06:34 +0000

Nov 28 2008 - SCMP Besides bars, readers should not forget the three types of adult entertainment premises that were also given a 30-month deferment before the smoking ban takes effect in July next year. The government's intention behind granting such a deferment was to allow for sufficient time to study other solutions to a complete smoking ban in these outlets. Two years have elapsed and finally the government tells us its feasibility study is ongoing and the results will not be ready until the first quarter of next year ("Smoking rooms being considered", November 24). This will leave businesses virtually no time to turn around and adapt to the new legislation before the law takes effect in July. In some countries, entertainment outlets enjoy exemptions from a smoking ban because of their unique business model and adult-only clientele. We see no reason for the Hong Kong government to implement such a harsh regulation particularly at a time of economic turmoil and when firms will be hardest hit by the credit crunch in the coming 18 months. The government must seriously consider possible solutions to a total ban, including exemptions and a further delay of the ban until 2012, or at least allow smoking rooms. Lilian Chan, Entertainment Business Rights Concern Group

Should The Ban On Smoking In Bars Be Delayed?

webmaster — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:08:43 +0000

Nov 29 2008 - SCMP Bars and pubs represent one of Hong Kong's major entertainment industries, creating numerous job opportunities and making a significant contribution to local economic viability. However, the Hong Kong government has shown a disregard for the industry's welfare. Indeed, it has often implemented policies that create difficulties for the industry and threaten the survival of some establishments. Looking ahead to next year, the industry expects to suffer as a result of the economic downturn. In fact, in the past few months, we have seen a reduction in profits. Completely banning smoking in bars next year will be an additional blow for such businesses and lead to more unemployment. By implementing a blanket smoking ban the government would be neglecting the diversity of the bar culture in the city. Many bars are upstairs in commercial buildings. A total smoking ban will put them at a disadvantage, so in terms of competition, there will no longer be a level playing field. Also, given the insufficient manpower in the Tobacco Control Office, I do not think enforcement of the ban will be effective. It is clear that extending the smoking ban to bars will disrupt the operation of businesses and exacerbate the problems connected with outdoor smoking. As a bar owner and chairman of an industry association, I strongly urge the government to review the necessity of banning smoking in bars. I urge officials to consider alternative smoking arrangements for adult-only entertainment venues. The administration should delay the ban to help the industry get through this difficult economic period. It should also consider practical long-term solutions, for example, allowing people to light up in ventilated smoking rooms set up in bars. This policy has been adopted in many places, including Singapore, Taiwan, France, Germany and Italy. Alternatively, the government can allow smoking after a certain time of the day, for example, Taiwan allows smoking in adult-only venues after 9pm. Jeffrey Tam Chun-kit, chairman of Hong Kong Bars and Karaoke Rights Advocacy

Should The Ban On Smoking In Bars Be Delayed?

webmaster — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:11:22 +0000

Dec 01 2008 - SCMP I object strenuously to proposals to grant further or longer exemptions for smoking in bars and restaurants. I also hope the vast majority of Hong Kong residents who do not smoke will make their views known loudly to the government. Since the partial smoking limitations were enacted, we have seen proprietors in many eating and drinking places trying to cope with the current patchwork arrangement by adopting half-measures. I find it increasingly difficult to avoid smoke when I dine out in Hong Kong, whether it is drifting in from the adjoining smoking area on the terrace, or from the "separately licensed" bar that is in fact a part of the restaurant (and whose air is certainly interconnected). This is to say nothing of the appallingly filthy air in exempted bars with poor ventilation. Further extensions of the exemption will only encourage continuing degradation of the situation. Bar owners are not to be blamed. They need an unambiguous and level playing field. The government needs to recognise the huge costs that its ambivalence and vacillation is imposing on Hong Kong citizens, workers and taxpayers (paying for medical care for people whose health is severely damaged by second-hand smoke), and on the international reputation of our city. When even the developing countries of Southeast Asia are implementing smoking bans, it makes international visitors gasp (literally) when they see the situation in what quickly becomes "Asia's world joke". John Medeiros, North Point

Should The Ban On Smoking In Bars Be Delayed?

webmaster — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:15:07 +0000

Dec 01 2008 - SCMP Some bar owners have asked that the ban on smoking in their premises should not be implemented on July 1, but should be delayed. They think the time is not right given the problems Hong Kong is going through. However, I disagree. I do not think the ban should be postponed. Bar owners fear they could lose customers who smoke, but what about the non-smoking patrons? They want to be able to enjoy drinking in a bar that has a better, smoke-free environment. Hopefully it will also make smokers think about their habit. If they are in bars and cannot smoke, it may encourage them to think about giving up cigarettes. I have read some newspaper reports where people have actually said that after the restrictions were introduced, it would hopefully make them more determined to give up cigarettes. I think a total ban in bars will be another step forward for the anti-smoking movement. We also have to look at the issue of human rights. Non-smokers should not have to breathe in second-hand smoke. A smoker has to realise that he is affecting those people who are around him. Only a total ban can protect non-smokers in bars. The government should not delay the total ban. We must try to move closer to the goal of a smoke-free city. Bonnie Lam Hiu-wai, Tseung Kwan O

Should The Ban On Smoking In Bars Be Delayed?

webmaster — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:16:50 +0000

Dec 02 2008 - SCMP On November 24 the government stated sensibly on the RTHK website that it would not consider extending the qualified establishment smoking exemption status of licensed premises from July 1, next year. The letter from Lillian Chan of the Entertainment Business Rights Concern Group, however (Talkback, November 28), asks the government to delay the exemptions further, until 2012. Anti-smoking legislation is intended to protect the lives of the staff working in those premises, which this so-called rights group chooses to ignore in the quest for profits. The government data shows restaurant takings after the smoking ban increased by 31 per cent in the third quarter of this year versus the third quarter of pre-ban 2006. The concern group should realise the ban is good for its business and that it already has a legal obligation under the occupational safety laws to keep its workplaces safe and free from dangers to the health of its workers. This flagrant attempt to abuse workers' rights is typical and akin to the Liberal Party's disregard for the health of workers in the catering industry when it demanded the smoking exemption in the first place in return for allowing the diluted law to pass (after delaying it for six years). World experts state that no known ventilation system can remove the toxins of cigarette smoke from the air in a room, and internal documents show that the tobacco companies know this fact. The government has already stated that it will not allow smoking rooms in hospitality premises. It commissioned a study on smoking rooms last year supposedly to find places other than the street for people to smoke; in so doing and at taxpayers' expense, it is in effect working on behalf of the tobacco industry to find ventilation solutions that do not exist. James Middleton, chairman, anti-tobacco committee, Clear the Air

Smoking Clampdown Ignores Tobacco Sales To Minors: NGO

webmaster — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:19:42 +0000

Tiffany Lam - Dec 02, 2008 - SCMP Rampant selling of cigarettes to minors had gone largely unnoticed by the government, an anti-smoking group said yesterday. The Committee on Youth Smoking Prevention found that more than 60 per cent of cigarette retailers in a study in Tseung Kwan O had sold cigarettes to under-age customers this year. The stores did not check for identity cards and displayed signs warning against sales to minors in places where they could not easily be seen, the non-governmental organisation said. There had been six convictions of retailers across the city for breaching the law in the first 10 months of the year, according to the government, with penalties of between HK$500 and $1,500 imposed following 1,200 inspections of cigarette retailers. But the NGO said the maximum penalty for selling to minors is HK$25,000, and court fines were as low as HK$400 last year. Committee chairman Tik Chi-yuen said: "With such light fines and no one catching offenders, it is little wonder that more young people are slipping up." Mr Tik, who is a vice-chairman of the Democratic Party, said that since statutory no-smoking areas were expanded to cover indoor restaurants and workplaces last year, the office had overlooked tobacco sales to minors. The government should spend more on educating retailers and the public on the perils of under-age smoking, he said. The three-month pilot prevention project conducted in Tseung Kwan O this year had been a success and should be extended to all 18 districts with government funding, the committee said. Tobacco sales to minors dropped by 30 per cent after volunteers distributed leaflets and handed out Smoking Ordinance-approved warning signs to 85 tobacco outlets from May to August. More shopkeepers asked for the age of under-age customers two months into the campaign, said committee research officer Kan Ming-yue. The group also called for the government to issue licences for tobacco retailers. "Retailers won't jeopardise their licences by selling to minors, as licences are crucial for business," said Mr Tik. However, University of Hong Kong professor of public health Lam Tai-hing questioned the effectiveness of prohibiting cigarette sales to young people. "It is most ineffectual when pitted against other measures such as prohibiting advertisements and increasing the tobacco tax," he said. The environmental group Clear the Air's anti-tobacco head, James Middleton, said the most effective way of preventing smoking by youngsters was to double tobacco tax to HK$33 a pack. He said it had been shown worldwide that a 10 per cent increase in tobacco tax would lead to a decline of between 4 and 7 per cent in smoking among young people. He also warned young people against tobacco advertising, saying that the 10-19 years age group was increasingly targeted by tobacco companies "to replace their core product users who are dying off at [the rate of] 7,000 a year in Hong Kong". Ms Chan, a street vendor in Quarry Bay, said she seldom checked for identity cards when selling cigarettes, but tried not to sell to customers who looked under age. "People won't show you their ID cards anyway, it's not like I'm the police," she said. Convenience chain 7-Eleven declined to comment.

What Do You Think of The Smoking Ban?

admin — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:35:12 +0000

SCMP - Updated on Dec 05, 2008 It is unbelievable and embarrassing to read legislator Tommy Cheung Yu-yan's claim that it is a human "need" to keep smoking, and that no law should ignore that need. (Talkback, May 14). His letter shows that he is still out of touch with reality, and is simply trying to hold on as long as possible to the support of the threatened tobacco lobby. His main constituency is the catering industry, and part of the reason for his claim that the recent smoking ban is painful to some of his members is because the government has yet again failed to live up to its moral obligations. Smoke is a pollutant, and it also happens to be cancer-causing, not only to those who smoke but also to bystanders who inhale the exhaust from those who disregard themselves and others in their surroundings. In every city in the world that has - out of moral civic duty - installed a smoking ban, the catering industry has actually benefited. The majority of the world is non-smoking, yet smokers end up ruining it for the rest of us, and we therefore do not patronise the venues which allow smoking. The catering industry should therefore benefit by catering to the majority. This is not rocket science. The government's weak stance to allow exemptions to the smoking ban has caused Mr Cheung's constituents to lose out because there is not a level playing field. If the government had done what was right for its citizens, and protected them from pollution and significant health risks, as the smoking ban was meant to do, then every catering establishment would have been equal. In an equal world, they can compete based on the quality of their food and service, which is what their main business is meant to be in the first place. Customers will not stop eating just because the venues which allow them to carry out their "need" to smoke have been changed. Instead, the majority of the population, which the government seems to keep forgetting, can come out to eat because they can breathe. An economic analysis of these benefits is something Mr Cheung needs to carry out. K. Lim, Wan Chai

Should The Ban On Smoking In Bars Be Delayed?

webmaster — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 15:49:37 +0000

Dec 06, 2008 - SCMP James Middleton, chairman of the anti-tobacco committee of Clear the Air (Talkback, December 2), takes issue with the Entertainment Business Rights Concern Group (Talkback, November 28) and accuses it of wanting to profiteer by failing to protect catering workers from harmful cigarette smoke in bars and entertainment facilities which still permit smoking. I, too, am a member of Clear the Air but have long argued that its remit should be cleaning up Hong Kong's polluted atmosphere and the air pollution on our streets. Smoking indoors is mainly a personal health issue, not a major pollution issue. Clear the Air uses emotive language to try to convince the world that only it is right about indoor smoking in bars, to wit, "This flagrant attempt to abuse workers' rights is typical and akin to the Liberal Party's disregard for the health of workers in the catering industry". What Clear the Air ignores is that these workers and customers should also have the right to smoke if they so wish, provided they are in "smoking" premises. I have a very small residual interest in an English pub and I can state truthfully that over 23 years, 95 per cent of the staff were smokers and wanted to smoke while on duty. During this time not one of our customers was ever forced to come into our premises and inhale second-hand cigarette smoke. They had a choice - not to come in. This never, incidentally, stopped the eminent Clear the Air tobacco group chairman, Mr Middleton, from visiting our premises. The answer to this problem is not "separated smoking areas", as now being considered by the government (this would not work), but "smoking" bars and entertainment facilities and "non-smoking" premises, depending on a business owner's choice. P. A. Crush, Sha Tin

Should The Ban On Smoking In Bars Be Delayed?

webmaster — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 15:54:09 +0000

Dec 08, 2008 - SCMP It is of the utmost importance that Hong Kong sticks to its guns and enforces the ban on smoking next year for the well-being of workers in the food and beverage industry. As it is in Macau, people can smoke in all locations without any restraint, and people are free to light up in bars, restaurants and nightclubs. Let us see, with the full implementation of the ban next year in Hong Kong, what action Macau will take. Stephen Anderson, Macau

Tobacco Hike What Doc Orders

admin — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:44:49 +0000

Adele Wong, The Standard - Tuesday, December 09, 2008 An anti-smoking activist has called on the government to drastically increase tax on cigarettes since they cost less in real terms today than seven years ago when the tax was last raised. Professor Judith Mackay, director of the Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control and senior policy adviser to World Health Organization, said a higher tobacco tax will help cut the number of smokers. "Taxation is the single most effective measure to reduce smoking," Mackay said, citing overseas experience showing a relationship between higher tax and a decrease in sales. "The Hong Kong government thinks education is the key," Mackay said, adding that she disagreed. "If taxes are raised to at least 75 percent of the retail value as opposed to the current 50-plus percent, it will have a big impact," Mackay said. "The last tax increase in Hong Kong was in 2001, when it was raised by only 5 percent. Thus cigarettes are becoming cheaper in real terms, year by year. It is no surprise that consumption is rising in Hong Kong, in spite of all our other actions." Mackay credited Hong Kong for being one of only about 20 places to insist on pictorial warnings on cigarette packets. But it is now time to go further and push for plain packaging carrying nothing but the name of the product and a warning, stripping it of any advertising appeal. "Several countries are actively considering this," Mackay said. "[We should push for] Hong Kong to be the first." Mackay said Hong Kong should also be meticulous and careful when deciding on smoking regulations. In the past some lawmakers pushed for extensions and exemptions to the smoking ban implemented in restaurants in 2007, resulting in an uneven playing field and chaos. Mackay was recently given approval by the Clinton Global Initiative for a Hong Kong- based project aimed at providing corporate incentive programs to migrant workers in China who demonstrate good health habits. Related Materials: 1. Tobacco control by taxation in Australia and UK (In the UK taxation amounts to 77% of the sale price of tobacco products and is in excess of HK$50 per packet. In Australia taxation amounts to 62.5% of the retail price) 2. WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) 3. A 70% increase in the price of tobacco could prevent up to a quarter of all smoking-related deaths worldwide (shown on WHO mPower report)

16,000 At Risk From Smoking Clientele: Study

admin — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:50:37 +0000

Hong Kong Standard - 9 December 2008 As many as 16,000 service sector employees in Hong Kong face serious health hazards as they work in bars that have been exempted from adhering to a territory-wide smoking ban, according to the latest study by University of Hong Kong researchers. The study also warned that staff who are exposed to cigarette smoke over several years are in danger of losing between 10 percent to 30 percent of their lung function. Anthony Hedley, chair professor of community medicine at the university, said the city should impose a complete smoking ban. Allowing smoking in specific rooms and terraces of restaurants and bars were not practical as they harmed workers health, Hedley said.

Display Ban 'Reduces Child Smokers'

admin — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:09:39 +0000

The open display of tobacco in shops is to be banned in England and Wales, the government has announced. But plans for an outright ban on tobacco vending machines and branding on cigarette packets have been scrapped - at least for now. Ministers hope the display ban, which is also under consideration in Scotland, will reduce smoking. Northern Ireland is yet to decide a policy. Critics say the moves do not go far enough to stop young people smoking. A government consultation on how to deter young people from smoking launched six months ago found the "overwhelming majority" of 100,000 responses backed the display ban. Health Secretary for England Alan Johnson said he had been impressed with evidence from other countries, suggesting the move would have an impact on smoking rates. Ministers say where other countries - such as Iceland and Canada - have removed displays, smoking prevalence among young people has fallen by up to 10%. Alan Johnson said: "They see the point of sale display and as a result of seeing it, it encourages them to take up smoking. This is the key evidence as to why we have 200,000 11 to 15-year-olds smoking." He said people who start smoking in their youth - aged 11 to 15 - are three times more likely to die a premature death than someone who takes up smoking at the age of 20. They are also more likely to be hooked for life. Deborah Arnott, director of the anti-smoking group ASH, backed the ban and said the prohibition of the display of tobacco products at point of sale would be "a proportionate response to the death and disease caused by tobacco". England's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, called the move "another step on the road to victory on tobacco-related illness." Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary Norman Lamb said it was "the nanny state going too far." Simon Clark, director of the smokers' lobby group Forest, said a display ban would inconvenience millions of consumers. "It's gesture politics, designed to denormalise adults who wish to purchase and consume a perfectly legal product." The Tobacco Manufacturers' Association also opposes the cigarette display ban and says it could have serious unintended consequences, such as driving the sale of illicit tobacco. It could also damage the income of smaller shops that rely heavily on tobacco sales, said the TMA's chief executive Mr Chris Ogden. Mr Johnson said the big supermarkets would be asked first to remove their displays - in 2011 - followed by corner shops - in 2013. Restricting access He said other plans had been scrapped as a result of the consultation - such as getting rid of 10-pack cigarettes. Only selling cigarettes in packs of 20 might drive people who are trying to quit to smoke more, he said. But Mr Johnson said they would clamp down on underage sales from cigarette sales vending machines - people wanting to buy these cigarettes will have to show proof of age to obtain a token to work the machine. If this doesn't work, Mr Johnson said they had the power to ban vending machines altogether. The British Heart Foundation says a total ban on vending machines is the only way to prevent children accessing cigarettes. Vending machines are the source of cigarettes for nearly one in five young smokers aged 11 to 15 - some 46,000 children. A British Heart Foundation spokeswoman said: "When the government announces further steps on tobacco control we expect nothing less than a robust tobacco control plan which includes a total ban on cigarette vending machines. "We are concerned about the large number of children being able to access cigarettes without a face to face transaction." The British Lung Foundation agreed, saying: "Nearly three quarters of people with lung disease tell us that they believe there should be a total ban on cigarette vending machines as they are the main source of cigarettes to young smokers." Dr Vivienne Nathanson of the British Medical Association said: "We hope the proposals to make vending machines 'child-proof' will be rigidly enforced and that if they do not work then this issue will be revisited by ministers." The government had also considered banning all promotional material from tobacco packaging. But ministers say until there is enough evidence such a move would actually stop young people taking up smoking it will not introduce a ban. See related news items: Cigarette sales forced 'under the counter' http://www.independent.co.uk/... Smoking ban lessons from abroad http://news.bbc.co.uk/... Cigarette display ban will cost us £252m, say shops http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/... Q&A: Anti-smoking measures http://www.guardian.co.uk/... Source: BBC News

HKU Study Shows High Health Risks for Catering Workers (and Bar Patrons) in Venues Exempted from the Smoking Ban

admin — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:55:12 +0000

Department of Community Medicine, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong - December 9, 2008 Secondhand smoke Secondhand smoke (SHS) is a dangerous poison. Major studies in Hong Kong have shown how breathing SHS causes a serious injury to the heart, other blood vessels and lungs. SHS kills over 1,300 people a year in Hong Kong. However, in 2006, the Government and legislators supported exemptions from the Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Ordinance for “qualified premises” selling alcohol and food, until June 2009. The Study A new survey conducted by a team from the Department of Community Medicine, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong; a biophysicist from Repace Associates, a secondhand smoke consultancy in Maryland USA, and Professor Neil Benowitz’s laboratory in the University of California, has examined the exposure to tobacco smoke and the health of catering workers in both smoke-free and exempted premises. 157 non-smoking workers in smoke-free Chinese restaurants and Char Charn Ting (Hong Kong style café) and 47 non-smokers who worked in exempted bar/restaurants were examined by interviews, lung function tests and analysis of urine samples for tobacco chemicals. Results of the study

1. Air pollution level

The level of fine particulate pollution (PM2.5) in exempted venues was four times as high as (300% higher than) the level in the smoke-free premises.
The indoor pollution was

o slightly lower than outdoor pollution for smoke-free venues o over 100% higher than outdoor pollution for exempted venues

2. Toxic substances in urine of workers

Cotinine is a breakdown product of nicotine which can be measured in urine. It is a marker in the human body for other toxic substances from tobacco smoke which cause heart disease, stroke, cancers and other health problems.
The research team found that cotinine in the urine of workers was

o highest in those working in exempted hospitality venues o also raised in workers serving smokers on patios and terraces o raised in many non-smoking workers who we found were exposed to tobacco smoke at work from their co-workers during break periods
Catering workers who served smokers had higher levels of tobacco chemicals in their urine than those in other jobs.

3. Lung function in catering workers

The level of indoor air pollution, as measured by fine particulates, was strongly associated with reduced lung function in catering workers:

In the group of workers in exempted venues who successfully completed a lung function test, the average level of PM2.5 was 261 microgrammes per cubic metre (μg/m3), and in smoke-free venues was 61 μg/m3. All workers show declining lung function with increasing PM2.5 levels. The research team estimates that the average difference in lung function between workers in exempted and smoke-free venues on the day of the survey is 6.3% for ages 18-65 years; for older workers (aged 30-65) the estimated average difference is much higher at 10.9%. At the average level of PM2.5 in exempted venues the estimated overall reduction in lung function is 14% for ages 18-65 and up to 22% for ages 30-65.
We regard these reductions in lung function as very important indicators of harm to current and future health. Other scientific studies have shown that damage to the lungs carries a serious risk of both acute and chronic disease including bronchitis, pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Reduced lung function is a strong predictor of reduced life expectancy.

4. Health risks:

More workers in exempted venues than in smoke-free venues perceived that the poor indoor air quality increased their health risks:

Workers who said they were always bothered by smokers near them had lower urine cotinine levels than those who were seldom bothered. This apparent reduction in exposure, from action to protect themselves from smoke, was much greater in workers in non-smoking venues compared with those in exempted venues.

In 2001, we estimated the average increased risk of fatal heart disease and lung cancer in Hong Kong catering workers was 1 in 33 (3%) and up to 1 in 10 (10%) for the highest (top 10%) exposures. For those workers in catering venues which were exempted under the 2006 Amended Ordinance, this increased risk will remain unchanged for 2.5 years (from 1.1.2007 to 30.6.2009). The result of this unchanged risk will cause serious life-long harm to the health of many of them.
This study clearly shows that indoor air quality in Hong Kong is generally extremely poor and very much worse when smoking is permitted.

o In non-smoking venues the average levels of fine particulates (PM2.5) in our spot tests (61 μg/m3) were 240% above the World Health Organization (WHO) 24 hour guideline of 25 μg/m3 and 610% above the annual WHO guideline of 10 μg/m3. o In exempted catering premises, the extremely high levels of particulates and other tobacco chemicals we measured will cause serious harm to the health of workers, both smokers and non-smokers.

Recommendations:

All exemptions of premises from the smoke-free workplace policy creates a serious health risk for workers and should be rescinded as a matter of urgency. While the HKSAR government used the research evidence on the serious harm caused by SHS to promote public acceptance of smoke-free policies it should not have introduced legislation which perpetuates and increases catering workers exposure to SHS.
The introduction of “smoking-rooms” currently being argued for by the catering and tobacco industries should not be permitted for the following reasons:

o Smokers suffer additional health problems when subjected to intensive exposures to SHS. o We have previously shown in Hong Kong that smokers who inhale SHS from other smokers experience higher risks of lung disease. o Smoking rooms in catering and licensed facilities will create an intense source of pollution which will contaminate surrounding air. Existing smoking rooms in Hong Kong, such as those in the Airport Authority, are poorly managed and create health risks for those who use them or have to clean them.

These facts on the harm caused by SHS should not be ignored by the Hong Kong health authorities (the Food and Health Bureau and the Department of Health) in formulating future policy.
The government should focus on improving its compliance with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control rather than spending public money on smoking rooms.

Professor Sarah McGhee, a leading member of the research team said, “The study shows that the occupational health impacts of smoking in catering facilities must outweigh any other argument for the continuation of exemptions or the introduction of smoking rooms. There was no evidence anywhere in the world that the food and licenced trade had suffered any economic downturn on top of existing background trends from smoke-free policies.” Dr Chit Ming Wong, a researcher leading several environmental health projects of the Department of Community Medicine, The University of Hong Kong emphasized, “The evidence of impaired lung function in catering workers had serious implications for their current and future health. All exemptions should end, including smoking patios and terraces, which are a health risk for waiters and others in such places.” Professor Tai Hing Lam, director of the Public Health Research Centre, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong said, “All sectors of the community must now be involved in tobacco control and particularly the elimination of involuntary exposures to tobacco smoke. Tobacco tax should be increased to support smoking cessation in Hong Kong to reduce illness and premature deaths from smoking and secondhand smoke.” Professor Anthony Hedley said “We thank the government for supporting the study. We hope that government leaders would take careful note of the study results and adopt a more pro-active and consistent approach to the incorporation into policy and legislation of the overwhelming scientific evidence on health risks of SHS. The new study is an important demonstration of the need for accountability in all public health and environmental regulations.” For media enquiries, please contact Ms Winnie Lam (Tel: 2809 5102 / 9107 1676) or Mr Terence Poon (Tel: 2819 9305 / 9316 6267) of The University of Hong Kong Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine. References:

Visit the website at http://web3.hku.hk/facmed/hkumed/news_list.php for press photos and supplementary information.
The press release in pdf format could be downloaded HERE
Powerpoint (English & Chinese version) and script for presentation on "Risks from Passive Smoking by Workers in the Catering Industry", 9 Dec 2008 by AJ Hedley, CM Wong, SM McGhee and TH Lam, Department of Community Medicine, School of Public HealthUniversity of Hong Kong and RepaceAssociates, Maryland, USA

Should The Ban on Smoking in Bars be Delayed?

admin — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:42:46 +0000

SCMP - Updated on Dec 09, 2008 Jeffrey Tam Chun-kit, chairman of the Hong Kong Bars and Karaoke Rights Advocacy (Talkback, November 29), argued that if the ban was imposed, the businesses of the bars and other entertainment venues would be hurt. I disagree. If a ban were imposed, would smokers stop going to bars and just stay at home? I do not think so. I have been living for a while in Britain and I find that I enjoy myself more in bars and nightclubs now because smoking is banned in all indoor areas. I do not have to inhale second-hand smoke any longer. Have those bar owners wanting the ban delayed ever considered the possibility that a ban would attract more non-smoking customers? It is important for the government to make the Tobacco Control Office more effective. If the office cannot perform its role properly, there will not be a level playing field for bars. Smokers will simply move to bars that are located upstairs, because they are seldom checked. I do not see any advantage in delaying the ban. Karina Ng, Durham

Stick By Full Smoke Ban, Urge Academics

admin — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:33:49 +0000

Loretta Fong and Nick Gentle, SCMP - Dec 10, 2008 Academics urged the government yesterday not to extend the grace period for full imposition of the smoking ban and not to allow bars to get around it with smoking rooms. Their call came after a survey showed the lung function of non-smokers working in places where smoking is still allowed had deteriorated compared to those in venues where the ban is already in force. Anti-smoking campaigner Anthony Hedley described the findings as "very important indicators of harm to current and future health". Places such as nightclubs, bars and mahjong parlours, which admit only people over 18, were exempted from the initial phase of the ban that took effect in January in most indoor public venues as well as parks and beaches. The grace period is due to end in the middle of next year. Bar owners have claimed the ban would be "catastrophic" for their businesses in the shrinking economy and have called for the grace period to be extended or separate smoking rooms to be allowed - a proposal that the government is studying. In the survey, results of which were released yesterday, University of Hong Kong researchers interviewed 157 non-smoking workers in smoke-free Chinese restaurants and cafes between February and June and compared them to 47 non-smokers who had worked in exempted bars and restaurants for an average of seven years. Interviewees took lung function tests and urine tests for tobacco chemicals. Of those aged 18 to 65, the estimated reduction in their lung function was 14 per cent, while for those aged 30 to 65 it was 22 per cent. The difference in lung functions for the 18-65 group between exempted and smoke-free venues was 6.3 per cent and for those aged 30 to 65, 10.9 per cent. Dr Hedley, professor of community medicine at the University of Hong Kong, said other scientific studies had shown that damage to the lungs posed "a serious risk for both acute and chronic disease". He said reduced lung function was also a strong predictor of reduced life expectancy. Even if workers did not have to serve food and drinks in smoking rooms, he said they still had to clean them and would suffer "additional hits" from "the off-gas from the furniture". Professor of public health Lam Tai-hin said people might show no symptoms of early lung problems, but in serious cases would develop breathing difficulties and other ills. A bar owner said the industry was facing tough times and a complete smoking ban could be catastrophic. "The recession is starting to hit and bars are already beginning to close," the owner said. A government spokesman said a report on the feasibility of smoking rooms would be put to the Legislative Council later.

Thousands Risk Lung Damage in Smoke-filled Restaurants

admin — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:49:50 +0000

Paul Mozur, Hong Kong Standard - Wednesday, December 10, 2008 As many as 16,000 employees in 966 locations exempted from the smoking ban are at serious risk of lung and artery damage. University of Hong Kong chair professor in community medicine Anthony Hedley said yesterday a new study shows the concentration of small particulates at restaurants where smoking is permitted is 300 percent higher than a in a non- smoking restaurant and about 30 times the World Health Organization limits for small particulates. Employees exposed to this air for periods longer than two-and-a-half years could lose as much as 16 percent of lung function, he said. "This is very serious. The lungs are being injured and the smoke does damage to arteries, increasing the likelihood of heart disease," he said. "If nothing changes, people will die because of the conditions in these places." The study of 204 non-smoking restaurant staff, completed by Hedley and a team from the HKU School of Public Health, also showed that ventilation at smoking rooms and terraces is not effective. "Many of the waiters who serviced smoking terraces still had twice the cotinine [an indication of amount of smoke inhaled] of those in restaurants without smoking. It would take a tornado to blow the smoke away from some of these places," he said. Sarah McGhee, of the HKU Department of Community Medicine, also stressed reports that revenue would be lost from a complete smoking ban have little supporting evidence. Hedley expressed regret that legislation left many of the employees affected with few alternatives. He looks forward to June 2009 when exemptions are due to expire. Most unnerving, he added, was a recent argument from catering and tobacco industries in support of smoking rooms. "This is a red light and would be a disaster. These rooms are incredibly damaging to people who use them and clean them, and [the rooms] affect the air quality in the vicinity," he said. "Hong Kong is dragging its feet. It is time the government stopped trading workers' health for vested interests."

Improve Enforcement of Laws, Says Group

admin — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:47:39 +0000

Loretta Fong, SCMP - Updated on Dec 10, 2008 An anti-smoking group has called for the enforcement of tobacco laws to be stepped up after a survey found 73 per cent of outlets sold cigarettes to underage customers. Restaurants, grocery stores, petrol stations and newspaper stands were identified as the outlets most likely to violate the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance, according to the survey by the Committee on Youth Smoking Prevention. The ordinance bans the sale of tobacco to anyone under 18. The organisation sent out 1,300 underage customers to try to buy cigarettes at 1,349 outlets. Some 73 per cent were willing to sell cigarettes without asking the customers' ages.

Should Smoking In Outside Public Spaces Be Banned? Yes

admin — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:35:13 +0000

BMJ - Published 11 December 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a2806 George Thomson, senior research fellow¹, Nick Wilson, senior lecturer¹, Richard Edwards, associate professor¹, Alistair Woodward, professor² ¹ University of Otago, Wellington, Box 7343, Wellington, New Zealand, ² University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand - Correspondence to: G Thompson george.thomson@otago.ac.nz After success in stopping smoking in public buildings, campaignsare turning outdoors. George Thomson and colleagues argue thata ban will help to stop children becoming smokers but SimonChapman (doi:10.1136/bmj.a2804) believes that it infringes personalfreedomLegislation to ban smoking indoors in public places is now commonplace,driven mainly by the need to protect non-smokers from exposureto secondhand smoke. A new domain for tobacco control policyis outdoor settings, where secondhand smoke is usually lessof a problem. However, the ethical justification for outdoorsmoking bans is compelling and is supported by internationallaw. The central argument is that outdoor bans will reduce smokingbeing modelled to children as normal behaviour and thus cutthe uptake of smoking. Outdoor smoke-free policies may in somecircumstances (such as crowded locations like sports stadiums)reduce the health effects of secondhand smoke¹; will reducefires and litter²; and are likely to help smokers’ attemptsat quitting.

Need to reduce modelling

There is no simple answer to the question of what causes childrento take up smoking.³ ⁴ We know, however, that children tendto copy what they observe and are influenced by the normalityand extent of smoking around them.⁵ ⁶ ⁷ Many smokers recognisethat their smoking affects children’s behaviour.⁸The primary strategy for tobacco control is reducing the prevalenceof smoking, and such reduction will in itself mean that smokingis less visible in society. But the modelling of smoking canalso be reduced by policies to restrict smoking in the presenceof children. The entrenched nature of tobacco use in most societies,and its highly addictive qualities, require that such policiesare far reaching. Smoking bans in many outdoor public areasare therefore an important additional approach to tobacco control.The need for outdoor smoking restrictions is increasingly recognised.Finland, five Canadian provinces, two US states, and New Zealanduse law to require smoke-free school grounds. Other jurisdictions(such as Australian states) use administrative policies. Californiahas banned smoking within 25 feet (7.6 metres) of outdoor playgrounds.United Kingdom, Scottish, Australian, and New Zealand authoritieshave been explicit about the need to reduce the modelling ofsmoking to children as a justification for this type of outdoorsmoking restrictions.⁹ ¹⁰ ¹¹ ¹² Policies encouraging or requiringother outdoor smoke-free areas have been introduced in the past10 years in North America, Australasia, Hong Kong, Singapore,and elsewhere.¹³ Reducing the modelling of smoking to childrenhas often been given as a justification for introducing theserestrictions.

Are outdoor smoke-free policies practical?

How best to reduce the visibility of smoking? Media campaignscan promote not smoking in the presence of children as a socialnorm.¹⁴ Legislation and other uses of law can expand smoke-freepolicies to ensure the inclusion of all public areas where childrenpredominate. These areas include schools, parks and playgrounds,swimming pool complexes, sports grounds, and parts of beaches.The success of outdoor bans depends on the size of the areascovered, the ways the policy is communicated (for example, signage),and the extent of public support.¹⁵Reports from Britain, New Zealand, and parts of Australia andthe United States indicate majority support for restrictingor banning smoking in outdoor areas where there are children.¹⁵¹⁶ ¹⁷ ¹⁸ ¹⁹ ²⁰ We are aware of no evidence that outdoor smoke-freepolicies have resulted in a public backlash against other advancesin tobacco control.

Ethical and international treaty considerations

Children are a highly vulnerable population, susceptible tothe influences of adult behaviours. Protection from addictioncan be considered to enhance overall freedom, given that mostsmokers regret ever starting.²¹We may not yet be certain that outdoor smoke-free areas reducesmoking uptake; the necessary studies have not been carriedout. However, where there is uncertainty in policy making, anyassessment of the balance of benefit and harm should put theprotection of children first.²² This is because of the extentand severity of the hazard that taking up smoking poses to childrenand the theoretical and empirical evidence for a role modellingeffect on smoking uptake. The principle of giving primacy tothe protection of children is also underpinned by internationaltreaty obligations. The United Nations Convention on the Rightsof the Child requires that in making policy, children’srights must be put first, and governments "shall undertake allappropriate legislative, administrative, and other measuresfor the implementation of the rights."²³Adverse effects from outdoor smoke-free areas are largely restrictedto the possible loss of amenities for some smokers.We argue that society has an ethical duty to minimise the riskof children becoming nicotine dependent smokers. A reasonablestep is banning smoking in selected outdoor areas frequentedby children. Children need smoke-free outdoor places now, tohelp normalise a smoke-free society.Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a2806

Competing interests: All authors have done contract work forhealth non-governmental organisations, the New Zealand Ministryof Health, or WHO on tobacco control research.

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Mackay J, Erikson M, Shafet O. The tobacco atlas. Atlanta: American Cancer Society, 2006.
Milton B, Cook PA, Dugdill L, Porcellato L, Springett J, Woods SE. Why do primary school children smoke? A longitudinal analysis of predictors of smoking uptake during pre-adolescence. Public Health 2004;118:247-55.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline]
Stewart-Knox BJ, Sittlington J, Rugkasa J, Harrisson S, Treacy M, Abaunza PS. Smoking and peer groups: results from a longitudinal qualitative study of young people in Northern Ireland. Br J Soc Psychol 2005;44:397-414.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline]
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McCaul KD, Hockemeyer JR, Johnson RJ, Zetocha K, Quinlan K, Glasgow RE. Motivation to quit using cigarettes: a review. Addict Behav 2006;31:42-56.[Medline]
Department for Education. Drug prevention and schools: annex 8—sample smoking policies in schools. London: Department for Children, Schools and Families, 1995.
Griffiths J. Smoke-free Scotland: guidance on smoking policies for the NHS, local authorities and care service providers. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive and Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, 2005.
National Childcare Accreditation Council. Smoke free environment policy. Sydney: NCAC, 2006.
Smoke-free environments amendment act. Wellington: New Zealand Government, 2003.
Wilson N, Thomson G, Edwards R. Lessons from Hong Kong and other countries for outdoor smokefree areas in New Zealand? N Z Med J 2007;120:U2624.[Medline]
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Tougher Laws On Way for Smokers, Says Health Chief

admin — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:55:54 +0000

Anita Lam, SCMP - Dec 11, 2008 The smoking ban will be expanded in the second half of next year to include covered public transport interchanges, along with a fixed penalty system for smokers who flout rules. Open-air interchanges would be the next target, the health minister said yesterday. But bus drivers said there was nothing they could do to enforce the rules apart from advising passengers, who are often seen smoking in enclosed interchanges, where smoking is already banned. Speaking in the Legislative Council, health minister York Chow Yat-ngok said his ultimate goal was to establish a smoke-free city, and he would also consider raising the import tax on tobacco. He said government statistics showed that the number of smokers aged between 15 and 19 had fallen from 3.5 per cent in 2005 to 2.4 per cent recently. At the same time, however, the number of cigarettes sold that incurred duty jumped 9.1 per cent, from 3.44 billion cigarettes between October 2006 and September last year to 3.76 billion a year later. Dr Chow said this could be due to an earlier change in policy that cut the number of cigarettes that incoming visitors could bring from six packs to three. "Another reason may be that the hard work of the Customs Department in tackling smuggled cigarettes is working so people need to make the purchase via normal channels." A fixed penalty of HK$1,500 for a smoking offence is expected to come into effect in the latter half of next year, as the Department of Health is taking the final steps in formulating an administrative and information system to implement the law. "We hope the new penalty system can come out at the same time when public transport interchanges are designated no-smoking areas," Dr Chow said. Kowloon Motor Bus said it would advise drivers to warn commuters if they received complaints, but a spokeswoman did not say if it would encourage drivers to report cases to the Tobacco Control Office. A Post employee saw a woman smoking openly inside the Lam Tin bus interchange - which is already classified a smoke-free area as it is largely indoors - without being challenged. Chung Chung-fai, staff union chairman at New World First Bus, said giving warnings was probably the best option as few drivers wanted trouble. Even if they informed the Tobacco Control office, "by the time they get through, the commuters will have long gone".

Should The Full Smoking Ban be Delayed?

admin — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:51:17 +0000

SCMP - Updated on Dec 11, 2008 There has been much debate about whether or not the current exemptions that permit smoking in many bars should be extended. The fact is, however, that many of these establishments are really restaurants, which also serve drinks. They have somehow managed to get around the laws banning smoking in restaurants - the sooner that anomaly stops, the better. There is little point in prohibiting smoking in restaurants if this simply results in groups of smokers lighting up on the street immediately by the open frontage of a restaurant. Their noxious fumes permeate the restaurant even though they may be technically outside. Regulations need to be introduced here, as they have been in other jurisdictions, banning smoking in the close vicinity of bars and restaurants. Passers-by on the street are now subject to the smoke emitted by groups of smokers loitering outside almost every restaurant in town. As you approach offices these days, those shirking work for a cigarette pollute the entrances and, incidentally, give an unfortunate first impression of the company that employs them. Perhaps a way needs to be found for those determined to hurt themselves by smoking to be able to do so without subjecting passers-by to the known health dangers of passive smoking. It is surely an absurdity for cigarettes to be sold tax-free at our frontier checkpoints, which not only deprives the government of that lost tax income but can be seen as offering encouragement to smokers who travel. The government loses twice over, because smokers are likely to cost the health services a lot when the deadly effects of their habit hit home in later years. Let us be clear about the matter. Other dangerous drugs (Ice, heroin) are banned. That's because taking them kills people. But for historical reasons, taking the almost equally dangerous tobacco products is still regarded by many as acceptable. But smoking also kills people, thousands a day worldwide. While one person may choose to risk his health by smoking, he does not have the right to risk the health of others - passive smokers, that is - whose comfort and health he selfishly ignores. It is high time more stringent measures were introduced to help limit the number of Hong Kong people who will die from smoking-induced illnesses. Paul Surtees, Mid-Levels

Should The Full Smoking Ban be Delayed?

webmaster — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:55:55 +0000

11 Dec 2008 - SCMP It beggars belief that anyone who claims to be concerned about air quality (P. A. Crush) should campaign for clean outdoor air while actively dismissing the impact of tobacco smoking on indoor air pollution (Talkback, December 6). Both aspects of air pollution were highlighted and debated throughout the recent Clinton Global Initiative in Hong Kong and participants agreed that both were important and required attention in this region. Dr Judith Mackay, director, Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control

Those Smokers Spoil a Good Meal

admin — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:09:18 +0000

Stacey Niermann - Published on ShanghaiDaily.com I am an American who has lived in Asia for 11 years, but in Shanghai only four months. The few times I have managed to get off my "compound" in Pudong and made it out to dinner, or even recently to a hair salon, I have been absolutely assaulted by the smokers. ("How dare they light up under no-smoking signs" ? Shanghai Daily December 8 ) Honestly, it makes dining out not worth it for me because I have real difficulty enjoying my meal (or even breathing for that matter!). I love your suggestion to help enforce smoking bans and I thank you sincerely for your efforts to help protect the non-smokers, our children, our air quality, and employees who should not be forced to breathe such air in order to earn a living. I lived many years in Hong Kong and as Hong Kong moved towards enforcement of this ban, there was, of course, resistance, but once the tide started to turn and it was obvious that non-smoking areas was the wave of the future, the whole issue just sort of "went away" and the smokers stopped fighting it. To my knowledge, no restaurant suffered an extended loss of business. And there are people such as myself who now limit their dining out or bar visiting because of the smoke, so this is an economic factor also.

HKU SHS of cartering Press-Release-Eng

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HKU SHS of cartering -ppt-8dec08-chi

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Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed? - Letter From Christian, Chairman, CTA

admin — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:31:52 +0000

SCMP - Dec 12, 2008 I refer to the letter by P. A. Crush (Talkback, December 6), where he represents himself as a member of the non-governmental organisation and charity Clear the Air and makes uninformed statements regarding smoking. Clear the Air agrees with the state of California that tobacco smoke is a toxic air contaminant and pollutant akin to diesel fumes and thereby contributes significantly to air pollution, damage to public health and poor air quality. It welcomes members and donor sponsors to join our (tax-deductible) charity who have a common interest in furthering all the society's objectives to protect Hong Kong's air quality and public health. The organisation dissociates itself from Mr Crush's opinions, made in his capacity as a bar owner ["I have a very small residual interest in an English pub"]. He resigned from Clear the Air two years ago. Mr Crush said that [over 23 years in his pub] "95 per cent of the staff were smokers and wanted to smoke while on duty". It should be pointed out that only 11.6 per cent of Hong Kong people are regular smokers. The executive committee of Clear the Air fully supports the statements of James Middleton, chairman of its tobacco control committee (Talkback, December 2), since it is our society's objective to reduce air pollution from all sources, indoor and outdoor, to improve public health. Christian Masset, chairman, Clear the Air We all know that smoking harms our health. It affects not only smokers but people near them through secondary smoke. Smokers are always claiming that they have the right to light up, but non-smokers also have the right to breathe fresh air. I think the ban on smoking in bars should not be delayed. The authorities must show their determination to the public. If the smoking ban is delayed this time, I fear there is a strong possibility that there will be a second and even a third delay. The authorities should not allow any delay, because the sooner the total ban on smoking is implemented, the better it will be for the health of Hong Kong residents. Bar owners should bear in mind that the ban will only adversely affect their businesses in the short term. This is because non-smoking customers will be attracted to smoke-free bars. Smokers will still come, because they want to meet their friends. It's hoped that over time, they will get used to this and they will eventually give up their habit. Kathleen Ng Pik-yue, Diamond Hill

lifting-the-smokescreen

admin — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 13:39:41 +0000

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Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

admin — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:19:36 +0000

SCMP - Updated on Dec 13, 2008 To justify some of the smoking exposure study's findings ("Stick by full smoke ban, urge academics", December 10), the methodology needed to include examination of detailed medical records of all participants from childhood, against a control population. This has not been done, nor has the study accounted for any other significant variables as other possible causes of loss of lung function. To counter stock arguments, there has been significant attrition in pubs, and a demonstrable decline in their revenue in Britain since implementation of its smoking ban. The possibility that their health may not be affected must be a real comfort to the thousands of people who no longer have employment as a result. A Scottish study showed that most pub employees experienced no health improvement one year after the ban. There is no evidence that California's decade-old indoor ban reduced alleged smoking-related health problems, as would have been expected. The anti-smoking lobby also wanted to ban smoking in the home and already has set its sights on obesity. Will the line be drawn at obesity? What is next? I am a smoker, accept that it is not pleasant and have always accepted that diners in restaurants should not have to endure my smoke. There needs to be, however, a balance between competing interests as in any reasonable, civilised society. The anti-smoking lobby appears to have very personal prejudices about smoking, and health concerns are a convenient vehicle for those prejudices, but that does not justify prohibiting balance. There are now thousands of facilities for non-smokers to dine in, drink in and attend (indoors and outdoors), but only very few locales that allow smokers to light up. Non-smokers have massive choice available to them, yet anti-smokers wish to deny any choice to smokers. Anyone involved in risk management knows that one should eliminate the largest problem first, as this will bring the most benefits. In Hong Kong's case, this is clearly ambient air pollution, which needs the most urgent attention in relation to its effect on health, besides which smoking pales into insignificance. Additionally, some risks may be considered to be acceptable by some people provided that they are advised of any possible risks inherent in employment. Lam Kwok-tung, Central

ctaletterpanelhsbudget

admin — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:00:55 +0000

China Tax Call To Cut Smoking Toll

webmaster — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:00:35 +0000

Financial Times - By Andrew Jack in London - Published: December 15 2008 02:00 | Last updated: December 15 2008 02:00 Doubling taxes on cigarettes would help sharply cut China’s rising annual toll of more than 1m deaths from smoking while boosting government revenues, according to a study to be presented in Beijing today. Increasing tobacco taxes from as little as 32 per cent currently towards the international average of 70 per cent would save significant medical costs while having a minimal impact on employment, it concludes. The work will be launched at a conference attended by senior Chinese finance and public health officials, as internal and international pressure grows for the country to follow others in taking more aggressive measures to tackle smoking, the leading cause of death in China. It comes at a time of continuing rapid growth in smoking in China, where 300m smokers now consume an estimated two trillion cigarettes a year, or a third of the global total, creating long-term health problems for themselves and passive inhalers. The analysis argues that cigarettes further impoverish China’s rural poor, absorbing 10 per cent of total smoking households’ annual expenditure as well as imposing heavy medical burdens. A sharp drop in the real price of cigarettes over the past decade has turned many more Chinese into regular smokers. The research was commissioned with funding from the $500m pledged last summer from the philanthropic activities of Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, and Bill Gates, the joint founder of Microsoft, who joined forces in redoubled efforts to help low and middle income countries tackle disease by strengthening tobacco control. It calls for China to increase cigarette taxes to 65 per cent – from current rates of 32-45 per cent – which it estimates would generate $15bn a year in revenues and help limit tobacco-related health costs which it forecasts will otherwise reach 10 per cent of healthcare costs within a few years. Mr Bloomberg, founder of the financial news agency, launched the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use in 2005, which has supported work including efforts to assess countries’ compliance with the World Health Organisation’s recommended policies to tackle smoking, including higher taxes, a ban on advertising and health warnings. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has until now focused its health activities on fighting infectious diseases, but this year unveiled a $125m, five-year anti-smoking programme, including an initial $24m two-year grant to the Bloomberg Initiative, in recognition of other important health problems in the developing world.

Anti-smoking Legislation To Come Into Effect - Taiwan

admin — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:16:21 +0000

15 Dec 2008. A smoking ban in indoor and public areas will come into effect from 11 January 2009. The new Tobacco Hazard Prevention Act will also ban smoking in indoor working areas with over three people. Smokers who smoke on stairs, kitchens, or restrooms will be fined. A smoking room with separate air conditioning can be installed by hotels, restaurants and malls. Smoking will also be prohibited in outdoor areas of gyms, college campuses, as well as cultural and social organisations. Violators can be fined TWD 2,000 (EUR 45) to TWD 10,000. Chao Kun-yu, deputy director-general of the bureau of health promotion of the ministry of health, said that the bureau would place promotional leaflets on the smoking ban in four major convenience store chains beginning 1 December. Chao said that the definition of outdoor areas would be left to local governing authorities. He also reminded that a non-smoking sign should be put up at the entrance of every smoke free place and ashtrays should not be provided. Owners who do not put up signs will be fined. (pi)

China Tax Call To Cut Smoking Toll

admin — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 13:50:02 +0000

Andrew Jack in London - Financial Times - December 15 2008 Doubling taxes on cigarettes would help sharply cut China’s rising annual toll of more than 1m deaths from smoking while boosting government revenues, according to a study to be presented in Beijing today. Increasing tobacco taxes from as little as 32 per cent currently towards the international average of 70 per cent would save significant medical costs while having a minimal impact on employment, it concludes. The work will be launched at a conference attended by senior Chinese finance and public health officials, as internal and international pressure grows for the country to follow others in taking more aggressive measures to tackle smoking, the leading cause of death in China. It comes at a time of continuing rapid growth in smoking in China, where 300m smokers now consume an estimated two trillion cigarettes a year, or a third of the global total, creating long-term health problems for themselves and passive inhalers. The analysis argues that cigarettes further impoverish China’s rural poor, absorbing 10 per cent of total smoking households’ annual expenditure as well as imposing heavy medical burdens. A sharp drop in the real price of cigarettes over the past decade has turned many more Chinese into regular smokers. The research was commissioned with funding from the $500m pledged last summer from the philanthropic activities of Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, and Bill Gates, the joint founder of Microsoft, who joined forces in redoubled efforts to help low and middle income countries tackle disease by strengthening tobacco control. It calls for China to increase cigarette taxes to 65 per cent – from current rates of 32-45 per cent – which it estimates would generate $15bn a year in revenues and help limit tobacco-related health costs which it forecasts will otherwise reach 10 per cent of healthcare costs within a few years. Mr Bloomberg, founder of the financial news agency, launched the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use in 2005, which has supported work including efforts to assess countries’ compliance with the World Health Organisation’s recommended policies to tackle smoking, including higher taxes, a ban on advertising and health warnings. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has until now focused its health activities on fighting infectious diseases, but this year unveiled a $125m, five-year anti-smoking programme, including an initial $24m two-year grant to the Bloomberg Initiative, in recognition of other important health problems in the developing world.

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:03:39 +0000

Dec 16, 2008 - SCMP I am aware bar owners have said they want the full implementation of the smoking ban (with all exemptions ended) to be delayed. They have cited problems they are experiencing because of the economic downturn. They either want the grace period they have enjoyed to be extended or to be allowed to put in smoking rooms. I am not convinced that extending the grace period will necessarily be good for business. If the economy is in bad shape and people are suffering financially, then they will avoid unnecessary expenditure such as drinking in bars and nightclubs, whether or not there is a smoking ban. The full smoking ban must be implemented. It is not just that smoking is bad for the health of people lighting up. It is also bad for people who are exposed to second-hand smoke in these premises. Workers in these bars are also exposed to this smoke, and this cannot be good for their health. We can longer ignore the side effects of smoking in bars and nightclubs. If bars want to get more customers through their doors during the present financial crisis, then they should think about introducing discounts, such as buy three glasses of beer, get one free. I admit we are facing tough times, but that is no reason to put people's health at risk. Delaying full implementation of the smoking ban is not going to solve our economic problems. Ng Sze-Nga, Kwai Chung

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:07:15 +0000

16 Dec 2008 - SCMP It is quite common to see people smoking in Hong Kong. When the government implemented the ban for indoor public places, smokers complained that they had nowhere to go now to smoke, except outside or in their own homes. Even if they went somewhere for lunch, in many places they were not allowed to light up. There have been differing opinions about whether or not the ban should be implemented. However, I do not think the ban should be delayed and it should cover all premises. The overriding reason is the health aspect. Some smokers say they light up because they are under a lot of pressure at work and it helps relieve some of the stress. However, they must be aware that they are harming themselves physically. They should also appreciate they are being selfish when they light up in public and being inconsiderate to non-smokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke. They should realise that non-smokers are also at risk from the effects of second-hand smoke. Research has shown that people can contract cancer from second-hand smoke. Non-smokers in a family where a family member smokes also face health problems. It could lead to domestic disputes. If smokers contract health problems, the family will face a financial burden. Smoking also affects the international image of Hong Kong. Tourism is crucial to the city's economy. However, our air-pollution problems are getting worse. I believe that smoking is a factor in this, especially with the number of people who smoke outdoors on our streets. The smoking and the pollution can give many tourists a very bad impression of Hong Kong and they may decide not to return. I think a full smoking ban should be implemented as soon as possible. Li Chi, Tsuen Wan

Raise Tobacco Tax, Save Lives: Report

webmaster — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:08:45 +0000

China Daily Raising the tax on cigarettes by 1 yuan per pack could help save thousands of lives and generate almost 65 billion yuan ($9.5 billion) in revenue for the government, a study released on Monday in Beijing said. Hu Teh-wei, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley in the United States who led the research team, said: "The low cost of tobacco products in China contributes to very high levels of cigarette smoking, especially among males. "The most effective way to reduce tobacco use is to raise retail prices through tax increases." The study, released by the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control (CATC), said that after taking into account inflation and buying power, cigarettes are now twice as affordable as they were in 1990. It is much cheaper to smoke in China than it is in regional neighbor countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, it said. At present, taxes on cigarettes in China account for about 40 percent of the total retail price, far below the global average of 65 to 70 percent. The report proposed an initial increase in the excise tax of 1 yuan per pack, with a gradual increase to 4 yuan per pack. Over time, taxes on cigarettes should rise to more than 60 percent of the total retail price, it said. Also, a single tax should be introduced to replace the current two-tier system, which would stop manufacturers lowering retail prices to offset the tax burden, it said. Smoking is a major contributor to early deaths, high healthcare costs and lost productivity, it said. One million Chinese die each year from tobacco-related diseases, with the figure forecast to rise to 2 million a year by 2020, it said. Smoking also costs China 186 billion yuan a year, almost 2 percent of GDP, with direct medical costs accounting for 14 billion yuan, or about 3 percent of the country's total healthcare spending, the CATC said. Mao Zhengzhong, a professor at Sichuan University's school of public health, said buying cigarettes also has an impoverishing effect. "Families with smokers spend less on food, education, clothing and housing than those that have no smokers," he said.

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:10:03 +0000

Dec 17 2008 - SCMP I continue to be perplexed by claims of those such as Lam Kwok-tung (Talkback, December 13) that there is a "right" to smoke in Hong Kong. Nicotine is a listed poison and deliberately applying poison to another person with the intent to harm is against the law. Smokers know that second-hand smoke causes harm because in Hong Kong we usually blow the exhaled smoke as far away from our faces - and our friends' faces - as possible. It is also considered polite to hold a lit cigarette far away from friends' faces - and direct it instead towards strangers. Lam Kwok-tung is mistaken in believing that deliberately poisoning people is part of a civilised society. It is a contravention of Chapter 212, which has the charming title of Offences Against the Person Ordinance. His best choice, in order to stay within the law and reduce air pollution, is to quit. Annelise Connell, Stanley

Setback For Cigarette Firms

admin — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:22:59 +0000

SCMP - 17 December 2008 WASHINGTON - The US Supreme Court has handed a surprising defeat to tobacco companies, ruling that smokers may use state consumer protection laws to sue cigarette makers for the way they promote "low tar" brands. The decision was at odds with recent anti-consumer rulings that limited state regulation. AP

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

admin — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:05:27 +0000

SCMP - Updated on Dec 17, 2008 Judith Mackay (Talkback, December 11) has a serious problem in her quest to eliminate cigarette smoking but there is absolutely no justification to target a small group of businesses that provide a service for those who wish to smoke. Licensed bars and entertainment places are private premises to which customers are invited at a manager's discretion and are not public places with right of access. Smoky bars are, therefore, not places with "indoor air pollution" to which the public or even "catering workers" are forced to venture. Nobody disputes that nicotine is an addictive drug and smoking kills, but like it or not, hundreds of millions of people worldwide still choose to smoke. Governments are sensible enough not to attempt to outlaw tobacco because quite apart from not wanting to lose billions of tax dollars, the memory of the attempted alcohol ban in the US in the 1920s - Prohibition - is still too fresh. No-smoking regulations already applied to shopping centres are weakly enforced, so what hope have you of enforcing even stricter regulations for private premises? The chairman of the Clear the Air (Talkback, December 12) group, Christian Masset, should check his facts. I am still a life member of the group. I submitted a resignation some years ago, which was never acknowledged and the group has continued to send me members' notices. I have also asked him as Clear the Air chairman to have a members' general debate on the smoking issue, which was ignored. The anti-tobacco lobby in Hong Kong and elsewhere has not been doing too well in recent years. Its weary message of doom for smokers is as stale as the lingering smell of smoke in an empty bar. Clear the Air has unfortunately permitted itself to be hijacked by anti-smoking campaigners, seeking to reinforce their flagging message. Most supporters believe in a far more noble cause than penalising smokers. We believe the priority is to clean the filthy and unhealthy outside air we are compelled to breathe without choice. This is what air pollution is really all about. If Dr Mackay and Clear the Air get their way, they will drive smoking dens underground. Or worse still, we will have larger groups of people hanging around on the pavements, blowing smoke into the faces of passers-by. Leave the bars and entertainment spots alone. P. A. Crush, Sha Tin Reference: Response on Mr. Crush from James Middleton, Chairman, Anti-tobacco committee, Clear the Air

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:19:32 +0000

Dec 18 2008 - SCMP There has been a great deal of discussion about the issue of the smoking ban in Hong Kong. I think we have no option but to bring in the full smoking ban, not just because it is bad for your health, but because of the effect it has on the environment. Just look at the survey which showed that the lung function of non-smoking workers in smoke-free restaurants was much more efficient than those in exempted bars ("Stick by full smoking ban, urge academics", December 10). It makes no sense that people continue to light up, knowing the effect on their lungs. The full ban is opposed by nightclubs, bars and mahjong parlours which have enjoyed an exemption. They say the ban would be catastrophic, especially given the state of the economy. However, given that their workers' health is at risk, their objections are not reasonable. These bar owners have a responsibility to help the environment and ensure their staff are not put at risk. Jason Chu Hung-shing, Lai Chi Kok

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

admin — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:26:37 +0000

Updated on Dec 18, 2008 Lam Kwok-tung's claim (Talkback, December 13) that the University of Hong Kong's study of second-hand smoke lacks validity is classic tobacco-industry-style misinformation. Our full report, to be published in a peer-reviewed international scientific journal, does demonstrate clear evidence for a causal relationship between workplace air quality and respiratory health ("Stick by full smoke ban, urge academics", December 10). Higher levels of particulates, wherever they occurred, were associated with greater reductions in lung function. Your correspondent's implausible explanation for this is that the most vulnerable workers, with previous respiratory problems, somehow selectively occupied jobs in the most polluted workplaces during the two years since the smoking ban legislation. His shroud waving is baseless. For example, why does he claim that "thousands are no longer employed" given that government statistics since 2006 show the catering business has increased by 30 per cent and bars were exempted from the ban? The only "competing interest" in this issue is the tobacco industry and a small section of the hospitality trade which says it cannot make a profit in Hong Kong without serving food and drink in filthy air. Independent economic analyses in other jurisdictions show no negative impact of smoke-free policies, except on tobacco sales. Despite Mr Lam's denial, your readers can be sure that smoke-free legislation has led to dramatic improvements in the health of bar workers and the general population, measured as inflammation, respiratory symptoms, lung function or hospital admissions for heart disease. That includes the Scottish workers study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, and reports from New York, Montana, Ohio, Colorado, and two from Italy. Mr Lam accuses us of prejudice, but our only bias is the identification of serious occupational health risks. He admits that Hong Kong's outdoor pollution is a major problem, but wants to create workplace contamination four times this level. This cynical trade-off does not "pale into insignificance", and the increased risks of heart attack, stroke and cancer will be unacceptable to anyone who is properly informed. The suggestion that our catering industry is either willing or able to advise on these hazards is ludicrous. Anthony J. Hedley, school of public health, University of Hong Kong

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:22:33 +0000

Dec 19, 2008 - SCMP We would not need this ban if smoking did not create problems for people. Smoking does not just affect someone's health, it also has some effect on the interaction between people. For example, if I see someone smoking on the street, I always try to walk away from them. I do not want to be exposed to second-hand smoke. Some people say they smoke because it helps them to relieve stress. However, there are other ways to reduce stress, other than resorting to an addictive substance. I am also concerned about the effect smoking has in places like restaurants. I was in a restaurant one Sunday afternoon in Wan Chai and I noticed a man at the table next to me puffing away on a cigarette while he waited for his meal to arrive. Fortunately, I was able to move, but I found it hard to believe he seemed oblivious to the cloud of toxins he was exhaling. I think most people have the same negative feelings towards smokers. It is up to smokers to make healthy choices instead of lighting up. They could join friends in sports activities or go walking. Alicia Chan, Wan Chai

Should The Smoking Ban Be Extended Further?

admin — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 11:23:29 +0000

SCMP - Dec 20, 2008 Although the law prohibiting smoking in indoor public places, including restaurants, is in force, non-smokers are still affected by people lighting up. You can still smell stale smoke when you are walking around Hong Kong. People are still allowed to smoke outside on the city's streets. As a pedestrian, you often have to walk past groups of smokers. Given that problems still exist, it is clear that the smoking ban must be extended, because this problem is still adversely affecting the majority of Hong Kong citizens who do not smoke. I think it would be reasonable to extend a smoking ban to all public areas. Kaza Chu, Lai Chi Kok

Total Smoking Ban Is The Only Answer

admin — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 12:13:44 +0000

SCMP - Updated on Dec 21, 2008 As I am one of the many people who have to put up with second-hand smoke every day, I think it is time for the government to impose tougher laws for smokers. However, I must question the efficacy of Hong Kong's current and proposed regulations. Smokers can still be seen lighting up in no-smoking areas. While smoking is banned in certain places, many smokers can still be seen in these areas. To solve this problem, the government plans a fixed penalty of HK$1,500 for a smoking offence. We have a similar penalty for littering and yet people litter every day and do not get caught. The creation of smoking areas has a downside. They are outside and so you see a lot of smokers gathered in public outdoor places such as patios, the street, outside restaurants, and parks. The air reeks of smoke, and people near them have to inhale second-hand smoke. Only by completely banning smoking in Hong Kong will the problem be solved. Until then, no law can stop smokers from polluting the air and damaging the health of others. Kimberly Kwan, Quarry Bay

Government Tipped To Ban Tobacco Displays In Shops

admin — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:37:40 +0000

The Age, Nick Miller - December 22, 2008 THE State Government is expected to ban cigarette retail displays in its Tobacco Control Strategy, due for release today. A discussion paper released in August revealed the Government was wondering whether to completely ban tobacco retail displays, or restrict them to one square metre. Under a total ban, no cigarette packets would be allowed to be visible inside or from outside a shop. They would have to be covered or moved under the counter, though retailers would be allowed to display a price board.

Tobacco signage may go. Photo: Jon Reid

Health insiders yesterday predicted the Government would choose this option, following a similar law enacted last month in NSW. However, a Government spokesman declined to comment yesterday. Cigarettes are sold at about 11,000 retail outlets in Victoria, which would be given time to redesign their point-of-sale displays before the law came into force. In NSW, big outlets were to be allowed six months, and smaller shops a year. Specialist tobacconists were likely to be exempt from the rules. The strategy also includes extra money for programs to tackle Victoria's alarmingly high indigenous smoking rates, as reported by The Age two weeks ago. It is expected to ban smoking in government school grounds and in cars carrying children, and may extend the ban to smoking in a car containing anyone under the age of 18. Temporary tobacco stands at major events such as the Big Day Out will also be outlawed. The strategy is part of the Government's Cancer Action Plan, released last week. The plan said the tobacco strategy would include "anti-smoking social marketing and new smoking cessation services", including support for pregnant smokers who wanted to quit.

Should The Full Ban On Smoking Be Postponed?

admin — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:17:15 +0000

SCMP - Updated on Dec 22, 2008 According to the report "Tougher laws on way for smokers, says health chief" (December 11), our health minister, York Chow Yat-ngok, says he wants to establish a smoke-free city with tougher laws for smokers. He wants to ban smoking anywhere in Hong Kong except our own homes, as well as increase import taxes on cigarettes. Why not then just stop the selling of cigarettes in Hong Kong? The government wants to profit from the huge revenue from taxes on cigarette imports as long as smokers kill themselves in private. Cigarette imports are up by 9.1 per cent this year but Dr Chow says this is not because more people are smoking. How would he know if he does not smoke himself? I think people are smoking more because of all these restrictions because now, instead of smoking in a controlled environment like their office, a bar or a restaurant, they have to make an effort to go outside so end up smoking twice as much to make up for the inconvenience of having to go out: "Oh, might as well have one more for the road before we go back in." There are many other air-pollutant factors in Hong Kong - such as vehicles parked with running engines or restaurant exhaust systems blowing out hot air to the streets - that I don't see anything being done about. Has Dr Chow walked past Wellington Street recently? Or maybe it does not bother him while sitting in his chauffeur-driven BMW. The smoking rooms at Hong Kong airport are a violation of human rights if you ask me. You want to sell cigarettes all over Hong Kong, but yet you want to put all smokers in a "gas chamber" environment that is probably accelerating the chances of them getting cancer. With all the space at the airport, the smoking rooms could have been much larger, decorated better and have better ventilation. Is this the government's idea of a silent "death sentence"? Smoking is bad for you, but smokers also have the right to have places where they can smoke other than their homes or glass cages. Leave that choice to us or the owners of bars and restaurants. Next we will start seeing smoking rooms like you have at the airport all over the city, where it will be the only place you can smoke and slowly be the death of all us smokers. Thank you, Dr Chow. Deepak Nagrani, Pok Fu Lam Just take a look at some of the latest developments in other countries and cities. On October 27, Atlantic City council, in New Jersey, voted to overturn a smoking ban that took effect in the city's 11 casinos and revert to a previous arrangement allowing smoking on up to 25 per cent of the casino floor for at least the next year. The revised measure took effect last month. On October 3, the Swiss parliament adopted a new federal law on "protection from passive smoking", allowing the setting up of physically separated, clearly marked and well-ventilated rooms called fumoirs for smokers at pubs, restaurants and cafes. Singapore pubs and bars are allowed to have smoking rooms of not more than 10 per cent of the total floor area since a total smoking ban came into effect in July 2007. Starting from next year in Taiwan, hotels, restaurants, shopping centres and other entertainment outlets will be allowed to set up smoking rooms of not more than 20 per cent of the total floor area. In Malaysia, smoking is prohibited in air-conditioned cafes or restaurants, except in a segregated smoking area, consisting of no more than one-third of the total area, with adequate ventilation facilities. This restriction does not extend to pubs, discos and nightclubs. In France, cafes, restaurants, clubs and bars are allowed to build smoking rooms of not more than 20 per cent of the total floor space. Italy is the fourth country in the world to enact a nationwide smoking ban. But independently ventilated smoking rooms are allowed. These places all have tough tobacco-control measures. Yet they remain flexible in implementation. To promote social harmony and avoid unnecessary confrontation, the Hong Kong government should also be more flexible and open in considering delaying the smoking ban in bars and pubs as well as other alternative measures to reconcile the preferences of smokers and non-smokers. Anita To, Wan Chai

Smoking Room Study In Final Phase

admin — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:22:12 +0000

SCMP, Dan Kadison - Updated on Dec 22, 2008 Little more than six months before the smoking ban is to be enforced in bars and other now-exempted venues, the government is entering the final phase of a study of smoking rooms that may offer bar owners a way around the curbs. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department has almost finished building a trial smoking room, along lines recommended by consultants this year, and tests by the Food and Health Bureau will begin next month, according to a source close to the project. Bar owners see such rooms as a lifeline, enabling them to retain smoking customers, who according to some account for up to 85 per cent of their patronage. At least one pub has built its own smoking room with financial help from tobacco giant Philip Morris. Progress on the trial was outlined in a government paper, obtained by the South China Morning Post. The Food and Health Bureau, in a September brief written for the food business taskforce of the Business Facilitation Advisory Committee, said its advisers had run computer simulations on the best way to clean the air in a smoking room. They had decided the test room should be built with a ventilation system that brought fresh air in through the floor and took smoke out through the ceiling. A source familiar with the plan said the department had almost finished the room. "Experiments will start next month," the source added. "Quite a number of people should be able to smoke there ... it's a pretty big room." Health minister York Chow Yat-ngok announced in 2006 that government-commissioned consultants would consider the viability of smoking rooms. The study began in August last year - months after the first stage of the smoking ban took effect. The source said computer modelling had shown that a well-designed smoking room would allow hardly any smoke to escape and next year's report could support them. "A smoking room can definitely be built," the source said. "It's not an impossible mission. It's how you design it." Anti-smoking-campaign leader Anthony Hedley said that the introduction of smoking rooms "would be nothing short of a scandal". "To actually start creating these intensive sources of tobacco chemicals inside buildings, inside catering facilities, is madness," said Professor Hedley, chairman of the department of community medicine at the University of Hong Kong. Last month, the commissioned consultants joined a group of government and trade representatives for a tour of two smoking rooms: a HK$300,000 British American Tobacco ventilation showcase in Chai Wan; and a smoking room inside 2020 By SK, a Causeway Bay bar. The bureau is expected to report its findings to the Legislative Council in the first quarter of next year.

Bar Owner's Last-gasp Effort To Avoid The Ban

admin — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:29:04 +0000

Dan Kadison, SCMP - Updated on Dec 22, 2008 Standing in a cold, dimly lit and airy room, I did something that could be illegal by the middle of next year - lit up a cigarette in a bar. Fresh air descended from above into the negatively pressurised enclosure while the fumes twirled out through a ceiling vent and a horizontal vent built into a wall-mounted countertop. No smoke could be seen drifting out of the room into the main bar area, even with the double doors open. I was in a smoking room built by a Causeway Bay bar owner and his business partner in an effort to show that such a ventilated enclosure can work. Eric Wong, owner of 2020 By SK, and Anita To regard it as a last-ditch effort before the extension of the smoking ban to exempted bars on July 1. They have converted a VIP karaoke room at a cost of HK$300,000, with financial help from the Philip Morris tobacco company. "If [we] don't try it, [we] die anyway," said Mr Wong, whose small, stylish bar has been open on the 20th floor of the Bartlock Centre on Yiu Wa Street for five years. The 100 sq ft room can hold more than 10 people and its double doors would never both be open at the same time, as they were when I took my puff. Mr Wong, who runs nine bars and restaurants in Yiu Wa Street, said he was already feeling the financial squeeze caused by the smoking ban. He is planning to close two upper-floor restaurants in the Bartlock Centre after the Lunar New Year. Business in both spots had dropped 70 per cent since the first stage of the ban, affecting restaurants and other premises that admit people under 18, went into effect early last year. A smoking ban for bars would end 2020 By SK's run, said Mr Wong and Ms To, officers of the Hong Kong Bars and Karaoke Rights Advocacy group. "Over 85 per cent of our customers are smokers," said Ms To. A group of 20 people, including government and trade representatives, looked at the smoking room last month and stood outside as someone puffed away inside the enclosure. "The overall system is very effective," said one. "We were standing outside, with both doors open, and we could still barely smell anything from that smoking room." Lewis Cheng, project manager for Advance Technology Air Condition Engineering, the company that built the room, said: "We won't let the client open both doors - just one by one. There's a buffering area [between the double doors], and an exhaust vent too." Before being pumped outside, the dirty air was cleaned by an ionising device, he said.

Smoking Rooms Not Right For HK, Expert Says

admin — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 15:08:03 +0000

Dan Kadison, SCMP - Updated on Dec 22, 2008 A number of Asian and European countries have placed restrictions on smoking but still permit smoking rooms to operate. But University of Hong Kong public health expert Anthony Hedley said this did not mean they would work in Hong Kong. Deanna Cheung, British American Tobacco's head of corporate and regulatory affairs for Hong Kong and Macau, said: "Smoking rooms are used in a lot of different countries. There must be some merit in it. "A smoking room is a way to contain the smoke, and that can create a more comfortable environment for non-smokers to continue to enjoy themselves, whereas smokers can [still] enjoy themselves. "So that's accommodating both the interests of the smokers and the non-smokers. To us, that's a more practical way of doing it instead of a blanket smoking ban." Countries where smoking rooms are allowed under certain circumstances include Singapore, Malaysia, France, Germany and Italy. Taiwan also permits them. "Around the globe, a small number of countries have adopted extreme measures, banning indoor smoking in all work and public places, including age-restricted venues," BAT said. "We believe such an approach goes too far and the Hong Kong government should not follow suit. In fact, many other countries allow a certain degree of flexibility in their legislation." But Professor Hedley said smoking rooms would not protect smokers or stop gases and particulates escaping into outer areas. "Yes, there are smoking rooms in other countries. That doesn't mean they're right," he said. "We're not talking about other countries. We're talking about Hong Kong. And I think there are many, many reasons we don't need them here and [why] they won't work." He said users would be exposed to dangerous "ambient fine particulates" even with a ventilation system. Inside the room, "it would be several hundred micrograms per cubic metre above the roadside levels in Central, which we know are extremely poisonous and damaging to health", he said. "The street-level pollution pales into insignificance compared with the levels that would be created in a smoking room." And non-smokers were at risk as smoke leaked from smoking rooms. "It's predictable and it can be demonstrated that they [smoking rooms] actually contaminate the surrounding air," he said.

Documents Offer Look At Big Tobacco's Asia Tactics

admin — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:07:34 +0000

Associated Press By MICHAEL CASEY – Dec 23, 2008 BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Two of the world's largest tobacco companies, seeking to expand sales into Asia, worked to undermine anti-smoking policies in Thailand and China by infiltrating one research institute and funding another, researchers said Tuesday. The allegations — highlighted in two separate studies — come as tobacco companies are aggressively marketing cigarettes in the developing world as lawsuits and anti-smoking laws hit revenues in the West. "As the high income countries put more and more obstacles in the path of the cigarette companies, they have to look for new markets," said Edouard Tursan d'Espaignet, epidemiologist with the WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative. Critics said tobacco companies are trying to drum up sales by minimizing the dangers of smoking. In Thailand, Philip Morris, the world largest cigarette maker, planted a scientist in Chulabhorn Research Institute in Bangkok in a bid to get researchers to shift their attention away from secondhand smoking and toward other forms of air pollution, according to one study. Public health researchers from the University of Sydney and the University of Edinburgh produced the study by analyzing internal industry documents made public following litigation in the United States. A separate study alleges that British American Tobacco, the world's second-largest firm, provided funding in China for the Beijing Liver Foundation in a campaign to shift focus away from links between smoking and ailments such as liver disease. Both companies denied the charges presented online in the Public Library of Science Medicine journal. The two studies were partly funded by the National Cancer Institute in the U.S. However, longtime anti-smoking advocate Stanton Glanz said the tactics are "part of long-running and continuing tactics by the tobacco industry all over the world," and he called on the two Asian institutions to end their ties with the industry. Anti-smoking groups say big tobacco for years has sought to covertly influence western government's smoking policies and squash scientific findings highlighting hazards of smoking. Now, some charge, the tobacco countries are taking these time-tested tactics to the Asia, Africa and Latin America where the WHO estimates 80 percent of the 8 million tobacco-related deaths will occur by 2030. The University of Sydney's Ross MacKenzie, who co-authored the Thai study, said that in Asia, tobacco companies have fought successfully to prevent the publication of ingredients used in their products in Thailand and worked in Cambodia to undermine advertising bans. "They have shown they are willing to take advantage of economic situations and lax legislation in many Southeast Asian countries to aggressively market their products," MacKenzie said, citing previously released company documents. In the Thai study, MacKenzie and University of Edinburgh's Jeff Collin allege that Philip Morris scientist Roger Walk lectured and organized conferences at the government-funded Chulabhorn from the early 1990s through 2006. The researchers say this allowed Philip Morris to develop relationships with key officials and scientists in efforts to discount the threat of secondhand smoke. Spokeswoman Marija Sepic of Switzerland-based Philip Morris International — which was spun off by the Altria Group in the United States earlier this year — dismissed the documents as outdated and said the company never hid its affiliation with Walk. Walk, who now works for Altria's Philip Morris USA unit, could not be reached for comment. Chulabhorn Associate Vice President Jutamaad Satayavivad said the institute was not aware Walk worked for Philip Morris until about a decade into his tenure. After seeing the study, institute officials plan to bar him because he was "not straightforward in sharing with us," she said. The other study alleges that London-based British American Tobacco used the Beijing Liver Foundation to lobby China's Health Ministry in a campaign to forestall smoke-free legislation. The company also provided training for industry, public officials and the media to spread its message that secondhand smoke was an insignificant source of pollution, it said. "Despite the tobacco industry's public efforts to appear socially responsible ... there is a fundamental conflict between the interests of tobacco companies and public health," said the Mayo Clinic's Monique E. Muggli, who conducted the study with four other researchers. China's Health Ministry did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment. British American Tobacco spokeswoman Catherine Armstrong said it was illogical to suggest that any link the company has to a medical charity "was an attempt to divert attention away from smoking related disease." However, Glanz, a University of California San Fransico professor who has led research into secondhand smoke, said he's not surprised to hear the studies' results. Asia is particularly attractive to tobacco companies because "understanding of the effects of smoking and passive smoking is low," Glanz said

Philip Morris, BAT Sought to Influence Smoking Policy (Update1)

admin — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:16:45 +0000

Bloomberg By Simeon Bennett - Dec. 23 Two of the world’s biggest tobacco companies tried to undermine anti-smoking efforts in Asia by seeking to influence health policy in China and scientific research in Thailand, according to two new studies. British American Tobacco Plc, Europe’s largest cigarette maker, helped form the Beijing Liver Foundation “to reprioritize the agenda of the Ministry of Public Health,” one study said, citing company documents. A senior scientist at Philip Morris International Inc., the world’s biggest cigarette maker, gained a “disturbing” and “inappropriate” influence over teaching at a Bangkok research institute, the second study said. Smoking could kill 1 billion people this century, 10 times more than in the past 100 years, and is “the single most preventable cause of death,” according to the World Health Organization. The two reports, funded by the U.S. National Cancer Institute, show how cigarette makers seek to counter anti-smoking measures by forging ties with policymakers and scientists. “Such links are of great concern to the public health community, which is working hard to reduce deaths and disease due to tobacco,” said the editors of the journal that published the studies, PLoS Medicine, part of the Public Library of Science. The studies examined the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, a collection of almost 10 million documents produced by tobacco companies in response to litigation in the 1990s. Companies Respond “British American Tobacco welcomes sensible regulation and we always seek, wherever possible, to engage with regulators to work towards balanced legal frameworks,” Catherine Armstrong, a London-based BAT spokeswoman, said in an e-mail. “Far from undermining laws, we believe our input can mean the laws are workable and realistic and can be implemented effectively.” The research is being published now because the full collection of documents became available online only this year, Kelley Lee, who participated in the BAT study, said in an e-mail. “Focusing on decades old documents does nothing to progress the objective of achieving effective and comprehensive regulation of tobacco today,” Marija Sepic, a spokeswoman for Philip Morris in Lausanne, Switzerland, said in an e-mail. “The use of these documents is disingenuous as they do not reflect Philip Morris International’s views today.” In the first study, Monique Muggli and colleagues from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, studied reports from London- based BAT, the maker of Dunhill and Lucky Strike brand cigarettes. The company helped form the Beijing Liver Foundation to “reprioritize the agenda of the Ministry of Public Health,” and “to divert the public attention from smoking and health issues to liver diseases” in China, the study says, citing internal reports obtained from BAT. ‘Take Heat Away’ “To focus on liver diseases will take the heat away from anti-smoking and smoking-related issues,” according to a BAT document entitled “Beijing Liver Foundation Report 1999.” The foundation gave British American Tobacco “a channel to reach our customers” by posting “company positions on smoking and health issues, and balanced views on lung cancer diseases” on its Web site, the study in PLoS Medicine said, citing the same report. Sixty percent of China’s men smoke, representing one-third of the world’s smokers, a report in the Lancet medical journal said in October. The second study, led by Ross MacKenzie of the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney, said Roger Walk, who became director of worldwide scientific affairs at Philip Morris in the 1990s, “influenced the study and teaching of environmental toxicology” at the Bangkok-based Chulabhorn Research Institute, or CRI, which became a partner of the Geneva- based WHO in 2005. Toxicology Research Company documents show Walk formed a working relationship in the 1990s with Mathuros Ruchirawat, the institute’s vice president for research, the study said. Walk was offered a teaching position on a postgraduate course about inhalation toxicology in November 1994, and invited to help develop the curriculum for a United Nations-funded toxicology training program in 1996. “The active and ongoing involvement of industry consultants in curriculum development and the training of future researchers and regulators is particularly disturbing and, in our view, wholly inappropriate,” MacKenzie and colleagues wrote. Mathuros knew of Walk’s association with Philip Morris, though other CRI scientists probably didn’t, the study said, citing a 1993 fax from Walk to the company’s lawyers. The study is “full of innuendos and unsupported facts,” Mathuros said in an e-mailed response to questions from Bloomberg News. “Walk has never been involved in CRI research and has no influence on CRI research and educational programs. His part- involvement is teaching six hours per year and a very small part of a course. This involvement ceased in 2006.” Altria Group Inc. spun off Philip Morris International in March, and Walk now works for Altria’s Philip Morris USA unit. Greg Mathe, a spokesman for Altria, had no comment on the study when contacted by Bloomberg News. To contact the reporter on this story: Simeon Bennett in Singapore at sbennett9@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: December 22, 2008 21:11 EST

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

admin — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:25:55 +0000

SCMP - Updated on Dec 23, 2008 Peter Crush (Talkback, December 17) continues to make unsubstantiated statements on smoking which need correction. He says: "Licensed bars and entertainment places are private premises to which customers are invited at a manager's discretion and are not public places with right of access." Bars are only licensed if they possess a general, marine or light refreshment licence and are premises to which the public has access whether paid or by right. No smoking is allowed in any licensed restaurant unless the premises obtained (farcical) qualified-establishment status. Mr Crush says: "Nobody disputes that nicotine is an addictive drug and smoking kills, but like it or not, hundreds of millions of people worldwide still choose to smoke." This is correct. It is unfortunate he does not realise people smoke because they are addicted to nicotine (see reference), which acts on the brain's dopamine receptors in the exact same way as heroin and cocaine and hence "choice" is not the main reason. Under occupational health laws, employers must, so far as reasonably practicable, ensure safety and health. A failure to maintain the workplace in a condition that is safe and without risks to health is an offence. By his own admission smoking (and passive smoking) kills and these bars are unhealthy when smoke is present. Mr Crush says that governments do not outlaw tobacco, because they do not want to lose tax dollars. However, in 2007 the government received HK$2.8 billion in tobacco taxes. The actual annual cost of tobacco to Hong Kong's economy at 1998 rates was HK$5.3 billion in health care and loss of productivity. The cost, when value of life is included, is annually HK$73.32 billion, of which 23 per cent is attributable to passive smoking. Mr Crush claims that the anti-tobacco lobby is not doing too well. In 1982 there were 23.3 per cent daily smokers here whereas by 2007 it had dropped to 11.8 per cent of the population. Sadly, due to smoking exemptions, smokers consume 36.5 million more cigarettes per month than in pre-ban 2005-06. James Middleton, chairman, anti-tobacco committee, Clear the Air Reference:

Tobacco Firm Used Scientist To Subvert Critics In Asia

admin — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 09:59:41 +0000

The Scotsman By MICHAEL CASEY - Published Date: 24 December 2008 AN EDINBURGH University study released yesterday has revealed the tactics used by tobacco companies to "infiltrate" scientific institutes and undermine anti-smoking policies in Asia. On the website of the Public Library of Science Medicine journal, researcher Jeff Colin at Edinburgh University, along with Ross MacKenzie, another researcher from Sydney University, has alleged that Philip Morris, an American tobacco firm, "planted" a scientist, Roger Walk, to lecture, and organise conferences at the Chulabhorn Institute in Bangkok to play down the effects of passive smoking. The public health researchers produced their findings by analysing internal industry documents which were made public following legal proceedings in the United States. The report was partly funded by the National Cancer Institute in the US. Mr MacKenzie said: "They (the tobacco companies] have shown they are willing to take advantage of economic situations and lax legislation in many south-east Asian countries to aggressively market their products." However, Marija Sepic, a spokeswoman for Philip Morris International, dismissed the documents as outdated and said the company never hid its affiliation with Mr Walk

Chinese Man Detained For 3 Days For Smoking On Train

admin — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 14:38:00 +0000

ABC News, Posted Thu Dec 25, 2008 A man has been given three days in detention for breaking a non-smoking rule on a new high-speed rail line, Chinese state media say, an unusually severe punishment in a country where smoking bans are routinely ignored. He was caught smoking in the toilet just after the train had left Tianjin for Beijing, triggering an alarm and causing the train to stop, the official Xinhua news agency said on its website. The high-tech line connects the capital with neighbouring Tianjin. It opened in time for this year's Beijing Olympics and features carriages more luxurious than usual in China, including swivel chairs and spacious, plush interiors. No-smoking signs and rules are generally given short shrift in China and about half of all Chinese men smoke. "It is strictly forbidden to smoke on the Beijing-Tianjin Express, and they hope everyone respects the rules, travels in a civilised manner and ensures the train's safety and punctuality," Xinhua said. - Reuters

Up In Smoke

admin — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 11:36:09 +0000

HK-magazine.com - December 26th, 2008

In six months, the government will lay down the final piece in its smoking-ban puzzle. The staggered anti-smoking legislation—first all indoor workplaces and eateries in January 2007, all bars and nightclubs in July 2009—has caused nothing but confusion and chaos since its passing in 2006. And now comes another problem: do we change tack in light of the financial crisis? Persistent rumors have been saying that the government is going to delay the complete ban, or create other loopholes such as “smoking rooms.” What with our shrinking economy, many bar owners have said that the complete ban would be disastrous to their business (though they declined to speak to us on record), and several of them have put forward suggestions for either delaying the remainder of the ban or providing the option of smoking rooms. The government’s response was clear: “The concerned industries have been given almost three years for making the transition. [We have] no plans to amend the concerned provisions in the ordinance,” said Li Wan-in, assistant secretary for the Food and Health Bureau. “[We have] not reached any conclusion on the feasibility of smoking rooms,” adding that they expect to complete that study in the first quarter of 2009. Still, many bar owners insist that they will be disproportionately hurt when the complete ban comes into effect July 1, 2009. But experts believe they are just trying to take advantage of a chaotic situation. “The ban is long overdue,” says Dr. Judith Mackay, director of the Asian consultancy on tobacco control. “A full ban should’ve been introduced from the beginning to create a level playing field. The exemptions have just created confusion, and now some bar owners are taking advantage of that.” What’s there to take advantage of? It’s hard to tell what kind of logic the bar owners are using: both local and international statistics have proven that they wouldn’t lose out financially. For one thing, a ban would mean immediate savings on fire insurance, property damage and time off for sick workers. And if the exemption has given us one thing, it’s valid receipts: restaurant revenues for the first quarter of 2008 were 30 percent higher than that of the same period in a pre-ban 2006. Others disagree. The Legco representative for the catering industry, Tommy Cheung, feels that the numbers don’t give an accurate picture. The economy was at a high point in the beginning of 2008, and he says we should look at numbers from the dire last two quarters of this year instead. Because of that fact, he feels strongly that not only should there be an exemption, but that the full ban should be permanently delayed until the crisis is over. “Right now is not the time to do anything drastic or create any hardship for the public,” says Cheung. Of course, many don’t feel Cheung’s thoughts are in keeping with public opinion, and that his viewpoint has been clouded by financial concerns and missing the real point: public health. When asked how he suggests restaurant and bar workers deal with the unwanted effects of secondhand smoke, he replies simply: “Workers have a choice.” Obviously not everyone agrees. “How can anyone charged with representing the catering industry press for bar staff to work in a toxic atmosphere?” asks James Middleton, chairman of the anti-tobacco committee of Clear the Air. “Health must always come before business interests.” Facts illustrating the debilitating effects of secondhand smoke are everywhere, but even those in the industry believe the situation is out of hand. “There’s no reason anyone should be subjected to losing their lung capacity because they were working in a bar,” says Mark Joyce, manager of the Pickled Pelican bar on Wyndham Street. “They’re not the highest paid people, so why should they put up with additional health problems?” And there’s also the law. Hong Kong’s Occupational Health Law specifically states that “every employer must...ensure the safety and health at work of all their employees.” Mackay puts things in an interesting perspective: “If a factory in Kwun Tong had chemical poison in the air, under the government’s laws, there’s a responsibility to shut it down. This is no different.” So what other option is left for desperate pro-smoking bar owners but a smoking room? Despite the fact that these rooms seem scantly beneficial in terms of health (experiments have proven that it would take tornado-speed winds to remove the carcinogens in one of these rooms), and that they don’t make sense in the current economic crisis (since they will be extremely expensive to install), the government has agreed to conduct a feasibility study on installing the rooms, which is scheduled to be finished sometime in the first quarter of 2009. Even if that study were to suggest the provision of smoking rooms, it’s a hugely expensive option. “You practically have to strip down a building to install a fully ventilated smoking room,” says Mackay. So expect the ban to kick in fully in 2009. But there is one more problem. Few figures show that smoking has actually declined in the city since the partial ban took effect earlier this year. In fact, the Customs and Excise Department recorded a total of 3.756 billion sticks of duty-paid cigarettes between October 2007 and September 2008, which is an increase of 9.1 percent when compared to the same time period between 2006 and 2007. Many health experts feel that this only points to one thing: follow the lead of the US and UK and raise cigarette taxes. As part of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, Hong Kong is mandated to increase taxes on a regular basis, says Middleton. It hasn’t increased from its current 50 percent of the retail price for eight years. “In the UK, the average tax per pack is £4.33, or 77 percent of the retail price. They also instituted a complete ban in bars and restaurants, and in its first year, 400,000 people quit smoking and sales reduced remarkably.” As for that option, a feasibility study on raising tobacco taxes has not even begun. Let’s hope the government sees sense and helps us kick the habit once and for all. by Pavan Shamdasani.

Should Smoking Rooms Be Allowed?

admin — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 11:53:54 +0000

SCMP - Updated on Dec 27, 2008 I do not support the idea of setting up smoking rooms. For those who think we should be slightly lenient to smokers in Hong Kong, please take a look at our "new" eating environment. It is now so common to see people eat and hold cigarettes outside cha chaan tengs [tea cafes] which prohibit indoor smoking. When we walk past, it is difficult to breathe. Smoking rooms will only lead to a deterioration of the already bad air quality. Without a proper ventilation system, things will only get worse and it is the non-smokers who are made to suffer. Even if the ventilation system is so well designed that no smoke can escape, these rooms would be very tempting to ex-smokers or to those who are trying to quit this vice. It is likely that the number of smokers would rise again as a result of this hasty decision by the government. Though many countries, including Germany and Italy, allow smoking rooms, Hong Kong, with seriously suffocating air from vehicles and [the smoke from] Chinese restaurants, should not follow blindly. We have to consider our own situation wisely. We must not be lured into granting something when it has already been decided that we should get rid of it. Leung Yuen-lung, Sham Shui Po

Should The Full Ban On Smoking Be Delayed?

admin — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 11:58:29 +0000

SCMP - Updated on Dec 27, 2008 I refer to the letter by Deepak Nagrani (Talkback, December 22). He claims that people are smoking more because of all the restrictions imposed by the government. Judging by official statistics and from my own observations, I would have to disagree. In fact, I know many people who are smoking less because it is not convenient for them to light up when and where they like. These smokers actually welcome the restrictions because they know that they are doing themselves less harm. Mr Nagrani's opinions are selfish and he has not made a single practical alternative to the restrictions put forward by the government. He describes an office, a bar and a restaurant as more controlled environments. For whom is it more controlled? Does he think it is more restrictive for restaurant and bar staff and the public to be at the mercy of smokers? On the other hand, while introducing tobacco controls, the government has, at the same time, openly offered support to help smokers quit. He wonders if the smoking rooms at the airport are the government's idea of a silent death sentence. Well, those who choose to contribute to the "gas chamber" environment in the first place have to deal with it. Moreover, just to put things into perspective, I would like to ask how long Mr Nagrani actually spends in the smoking rooms at the airport, even if he travels a lot. It would be considerably less than the time a non-smoker has to endure during a meal at locations where smoking is still allowed. I would like to remind Mr Nagrani that smoking itself is a slow "death sentence" so why take along the non-smokers? Where cigarettes are for sale, it is up to consumers to use them responsibly. Laws are put in place to protect the "positive" beneficial interests of the public, be they the majority or minority. H. Harania, Mid-Levels

Start Full Smoking Ban

admin — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 12:04:53 +0000

SCMP - Dec 28, 2008 I am against any delays to the full smoking ban, because the partial ban has not been effective. I do not believe bar owners will suffer from the ban. Where food is served, the smoke-free environment will attract more diners and even smokers will be willing to refrain from lighting up. Therefore, business will not be adversely affected. In an environment where people can light up, non-smokers are also exposed to passive smoking. Therefore, it is essential that the government implement a full ban and I think that it is inevitable. Legislation will also help smokers kick the habit. Nicole Chan, Tsuen Wan

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admin — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 11:40:54 +0000

Tobacco Company Downplayed Risks in China, Report Says

admin — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:10:59 +0000

RONI CARYN RABIN, The New York Times - December 29, 2008

An international tobacco company vying for the huge Chinese cigarette market took steps to stall public smoking bans in that country by sowing doubt about the known risks of second-hand smoke and diverting attention to other public health issues, a new report claims.

Beginning in the mid ’90s through at least 2002, British American Tobacco downplayed smoking-related disease in China by suggesting air pollution was a greater public health threat than smoking and arguing that the focus should be on what it characterized as China’s top killer, liver disease, the paper said.

The paper’s researchers based their report on an analysis of internal documents obtained from the London-based company in response to litigation. The paper, published in the December issue of the online journal PLoS Medicine, is sprinkled liberally with damning statements drawn from those documents. In an e-mail, British American Tobacco officials denied they worked to undermine any laws and issued a statement saying that the company “welcomes sensible regulation” and consistently seeks “to engage with regulators to work towards balanced legal frameworks.” “British American Tobacco is very clear about the risks to health associated with smoking,” the statement said. But researchers said the company’s own documents revealed a complex strategy that used several approaches to make sure smoking-related health issues were put on the back burner of China’s public health agenda. “Everyone and their mother wants a piece of the Chinese market,” said Monique E. Muggli, the first author of the paper and a nicotine researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. “What was unique about China was BAT’s efforts to train the local industry in China on their playbook, causing controversy and doubt around second-hand smoke where none really existed, and targeting the local tobacco industry, which is government owned.” As recently as 2006, despite two decades of research into the harms of second-hand smoke, China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Association was issuing statements that more research was needed to determine the effects of smoke exposure, she noted. One of British American Tobacco’s initiatives was to fund the Beijing Liver Foundation, which operated under the auspices of an established charitable organization that BAT considered had an “anti”-smoking agenda. BAT used the liver foundation “to reprioritize the agenda of the Ministry of Public Health” and to “divert the public attention from smoking and health issues to liver diseases,” according to company documents. The foundation was also used as a platform to promote BAT’s message that liver disease, rampant in China, “is the number one killer” there. In 2000 and 2001, BAT used the liver foundation’s Web site to disseminate the message that second-hand smoke is not harmful, the documents indicate. The foundation funded research on second-hand smoke that dismissed the risks of environmental smoke exposure and convened expert panels to report the findings to the media. Awareness of the risks of smoking to nonsmokers is particularly low in China, with only about one-third of Chinese citizens aware of the health risks of second-hand smoke, according to Chinese Ministry of Health estimates. Even though the consensus among most public health experts is that there is no safe level of second-hand smoke exposure, Ms. Muggli said, BAT promoted the use of air filtration and ventilation systems in restaurants, hotels and other public spaces as a “route to avoid smoking bans,” the paper said. The company also pushed for “resocialisation” of smoking, industry code for accommodating smoking and avoiding public smoking bans, according to the report. Although many cities in China have public smoking bans on the books, the restrictions are not usually enforced, the paper said. In other presentations to the media, BAT sought to “present the message that tobacco smoke is just one of the sources of air pollution and a very insignificant one compared with other pollutants,” the paper said, quoting from company documents. The company held “smoking and health seminars” for representatives of China’s state tobacco monopoly, in which it trained them how to convey the message that there is insufficient data to prove that second-hand smoke is harmful to children or other adults, and hence no need for government regulations. The Chinese cigarette market is dominated by the state tobacco monopoly, but foreign cigarette companies will have more access to China’s 350 million smokers when the country eliminates tariffs on foreign cigarettes and opens up the market in accordance with international trade agreements, according to Teh-wei Hu, a professor at the school of public health at the University of California, Berkeley and an expert on China’s tobacco policy. About 540 million Chinese are exposed to second-hand smoke each year, resulting in more than 100,000 deaths, experts say.

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

admin — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:29:18 +0000

SCMP - Dec 29, 2008 As a non-smoker, I am getting fed up with Anthony Hedley, Judith Mackay, Annelise Connell and the Clear The Air lobby. I have worked in the bar and restaurant business for 25 years, I am not an owner and my lungs and chest are clear. I am not saying that this is the same for everyone, as everybody's genes are different, but this is now more like a witch-hunt against smokers. Yes, smoking can be bad for your health, but why can there not be smoking and non-smoking bars? What has happened to people's freedoms? Many countries are now looking at ways to help smokers have their own space to smoke in, as they should have. My mother is 80 and still smokes. Professor Hedley says he is protecting the health of the staff. Does he not realise that most staff in bars smoke and will he find them new employment when some of these bars close down, as has happened since the smoking ban hit Britain? Forget about statistics, I have many friends in the industry who have lost their businesses, so let's work together and find a solution for smokers and non-smokers. K. Stanton, Pok Fu Lam To the anti-smoking lobby, I say: "Enough, already." Either campaign for an outright ban on smoking - make it illegal - or else stop this increasing harassment of an activity which gives pleasure to many. I am not a smoker, but I do enjoy the very occasional cigar and I don't deny my guests the pleasure of an after-dinner smoke. After years of bombardment with anti-smoking propaganda, everyone is aware of the risks of smoking. Despite this, many people still exercise their free choice to light up and engage in a perfectly legal activity. As for bars and restaurants, let people decide, not the nanny state. Non-smoking bars and restaurants will gain non-smoking customers. Smoking bars and restaurants will continue to get business from those - smokers or non-smokers - who don't care. As for staff, they also have a choice. If smoke bothers them, they can work somewhere else. Anti-smoking campaigners don't seem to trust people to make up their minds. Seeing people still making a choice to smoke, they react like petulant autocrats. Markus Shaw, Central

Should Smoking Rooms Be Allowed?

admin — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:32:46 +0000

SCMP - Dec 29, 2008 Everyone knows smoking is bad for our health, but smokers talk about their rights and argue they should be free to smoke. However, the health of non-smokers should not be put at risk for smokers' convenience. One of the reasons for the ban is to reduce people's exposure to second-hand smoke and so save lives as well as discouraging smoking. In order to achieve these aims, smoking rooms should not be allowed and a full ban should be imposed. Smoking rooms will be connected to no-smoking areas and smoke will escape when the door is open. Therefore, non-smokers will still risk exposure to second-hand smoke. Smoking rooms would have to have good ventilation. At certain venues surely the government would have to foot the bill for these changes. Would this meet with the approval of non-smoking taxpayers? In a city like Hong Kong, I just do not think that smoking rooms are feasible. Smokers should make the necessary changes and adapt to the ban. They should attempt to quit this deadly habit. Lam Kwan-ling, Kowloon Bay

WHO | MPOWER: Six Policies To Reverse The Tobacco Epidemic

admin — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:03:37 +0000

World Health Organization The tobacco epidemic is preventable. Hundreds of millions of people do not have to die this century from tobacco-related illness – but only if the leaders of governments and civil society take urgent action now. WHO has introduced the MPOWER package of six proven policies:

Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies,
Protect people from tobacco smoke,
Offer help to quit tobacco use,
Warn about the dangers of tobacco,
Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and
Raise taxes on tobacco.

The MPOWER policy package can reverse the tobacco epidemic and prevent millions of tobacco-related deaths. For details, please visit the website of WHO: http://www.who.int/tobacco/mpower/en/ You may also contact us (tobacco@cleartheair.org.hk) for more information.

Should The Smoking Ban Be Extended Further?

webmaster — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:37:21 +0000

Dec 30, 2008 - SCMP The current law must be extended to work vehicles. Buses and taxis are already smoke-free, as are government vehicles. Work vehicles are mobile workplaces, and the enclosed cabins create an intense toxic atmosphere with tobacco smoke. Smoking in private cars with children under 18 present should be outlawed immediately. Some countries already have such a law. There is no right to smoke in the Basic Law. In many locations it is an offence to smoke within 10 metres of a building; bar and restaurant entrances and exits in Hong Kong should be made to follow suit. Smoking should be banned in all outdoor areas, or patios of bars and restaurants, or other food premises. The government should follow recommendations made in other countries and demand tobacco products be sold only by licensed retailers under the counter and not displayed, and that the packaging should be plain and bland-coloured to prevent flashy styling attracting young smokers. In the next budget, the tobacco tax must be at least doubled from its current HK$16 a pack. This is the best way to prevent youths from taking up smoking and to stop current smokers continuing their addiction. Imposing increased taxation is also mandatory under the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control treaty, ratified by China in October 2005. Less than 12 per cent of Hongkongers are daily smokers, and smokers should not be permitted to inconvenience and harm the majority that does not smoke. James Middleton, chairman, Clear the Air anti-tobacco committee

No Plan To Beef Up Tobacco Control Staff

webmaster — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:42:42 +0000

Peter So - Dec 30, 2008 - SCMP The Tobacco Control Office has no plan to expand its team of inspectors, even though their workload is expected to increase in July when a fixed-penalty fine is launched to punish people who break smoking laws. Office head Ronald Lam Man-kin even admitted that not all posts had been filled - there are 60-odd officers in a team meant to have 80. "Whether we can expand the team will depend on how much budget we will be granted in the upcoming financial year," Dr Lam said. The budget for the office was increased by HK$2 million to HK$25 million this financial year. The workload of officers is likely to increase next year when tighter anti-smoking measures come into effect, such as the fixed-penalty fine. Also, exemptions to an indoor smoking ban will expire for more than 1,000 bars, clubs, bathhouses and mahjong parlours, and nearly 100 public transport interchanges will become no-smoking areas. Inspectors will be authorised to issue fixed penalties while carrying out their current duties, such as handling complaints and promoting the no-smoking law. Dr Lam acknowledged the inspectors would be allowed to enforce the law in more places, but he insisted the "work model" of inspectors remained unchanged - meaning they would mainly enforce the law after receiving complaints. He rejected fears that the workload would be too heavy. He said officers of the Leisure and Cultural Services, Housing, and Food and Environmental Hygiene departments would also issue tickets. However, legislator Andrew Cheng Kar-foo said the team should be expanded to about 120 and their pay increased. Inspectors are paid HK$10,000 to HK$21,000 a month.

‘‘Efforts to Reprioritise the Agenda’’ in China: British American Tobacco’s Efforts to Influence Public Policy on Secondhand Smoke in China

admin — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:56:02 +0000

PLoS MEDICINE A B S T R A C T Background Each year, 540 million Chinese are exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS), resulting in more than 100,000 deaths. Smoke-free policies have been demonstrated to decrease overall cigarette consumption, encourage smokers to quit, and protect the health of nonsmokers. However, restrictions on smoking in China remain limited and ineffective. Internal tobacco industry documents show that transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) have pursued a multifaceted strategy for undermining the adoption of restrictions on smoking in many countries. Methods and Findings To understand company activities in China related to SHS, we analyzed British American Tobacco’s (BAT’s) internal corporate documents produced in response to litigation against the major cigarette manufacturers to understand company activities in China related to SHS. BAT has carried out an extensive strategy to undermine the health policy agenda on SHS in China by attempting to divert public attention from SHS issues towards liver disease prevention, pushing the so-called ‘‘resocialisation of smoking’’ accommodation principles, and providing ‘‘training’’ for industry, public officials, and the media based on BAT’s corporate agenda that SHS is an insignificant contributor to the larger issue of air pollution. Conclusions The public health community in China should be aware of the tactics previously used by TTCs, including efforts by the tobacco industry to co-opt prominent Chinese benevolent organizations, when seeking to enact stronger restrictions on smoking in public places. Reference For complete document please visit: http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0050251&ct=1 or Contact Us

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:45:48 +0000

Dec 31, 2008 - SCMP K. Stanton and Markus Shaw (Talkback, December 29) fail to raise any new justification for the government to abandon essential public health measures in its tobacco control policy, let alone to create a workplace that damages employees' health. While it is a relief that Mr Stanton's chest is "clear", we don't base public health legislation on samples of one and his good fortune does not change the probability of throat and lung cancers, heart attacks and stroke in catering workers. Given the health evidence and workers' need for jobs, they should not be denied clean air in their workplace, whether they are smokers or non-smokers. The present "non-smoking" and "smoking" venues form an unsustainable recipe for both health risks and unfair competition which the majority in the hospitality industry does not want. Mr Shaw's best rationalisation of this situation is to claim that there are large numbers of people "who don't care". There is absolutely no community-wide evidence for that and a truly representative vote "to let the people decide" would refute the arguments about a "nanny state". I am not an "autocrat", simply a public health physician, paid from the public purse to teach, research, advocate and take action on the prevention of cancers and cardio-respiratory disease. On the other hand, Mr Shaw's stunning declaration in favour of cigarette smoke pollution in buildings is a surprising stance from a self-styled environmentalist. I would not want to make a crass distinction between the protection of outdoor and indoor environments in Hong Kong. Anthony Hedley, school of public health, University of Hong Kong

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:48:24 +0000

Dec 31, 2008 - SCMP I am 84 and Annelise Connell is my daughter. Her advocacy of Clear The Air's views on smoking in bars was reviled by K. Stanton (Talkback, December 29), whose own mother is 80 and still smokes. When I was young, I promised my father that I would not smoke until I was 21. He died of Parkinson's disease when I was 12 and the day I turned 21, I began smoking a pack of cigarettes every couple of days. I would like to explain to your correspondent that nicotine is an addictive drug and people do not "choose" to smoke once addicted. I know, because I smoked for more than 20 years. I have a photo of me, when we lived in Hong Kong in the late 1960s, smiling while I held a lighted cigarette near my youngest daughter's face while she opened a present on Christmas morning. At the time, being addicted, yet ignorant of the fact, I thought nothing of it. It was only when my older children became teenagers that I realised the poor example I was setting them and quit. But the craving did not go away for a long time. It was years later before I learned that nicotine was addictive. If K. Stanton's 80-year-old mother has no health problems from her smoking, such as a chronic cough or trouble breathing, then I ask them both to remember those who are now dead because they did not understand that nicotine is an addictive drug, not a "choice". I wish when I was 12 my father had known that nicotine was addictive and had advised me never to smoke. Mae Pedersen, Carmichael, California

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:50:45 +0000

Dec 31 2008 - SCMP All of us know that smoking is harmful and there is nothing more important than our health. Therefore, why would the government wish to delay implementation of the full smoking ban? Smokers may complain that if the full ban is introduced, they will have nowhere to smoke and that cigarettes help them relax. However, they should not have to rely on tobacco to help relieve their stress. Smokers should look on the full smoking ban as an opportunity. It offers them a chance to kick a bad habit. It is not only good for the smokers. Non-smokers will also benefit as they no longer have to breathe in second-hand smoke. As the number of smokers decreases, so Hong Kong's air quality will improve. We will have a better chance of seeing our beautiful blue skies again and this can give a boost to our tourist industry. This is very important given that we need tourism to help our economy to recover. For these reasons, the full smoking ban should be implemented as soon as possible. Tong Pui-ying, Yau Tong

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admin — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:38:14 +0000

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:24:23 +0000

Jan 01, 2009 - SCMP I fully agree with the letters from K. Stanton and Markus Shaw (Talkback, December 29) regarding their views on the smoking ban and, in particular, K. Stanton's views on Anthony Hedley (Talkback, December 18), Judith Mackay (Talkback, December 11), Annelise Connell (Talkback, December 17) and the Clear the Air lobby. What has happened to the rights of people and their personal choice? There is nothing wrong with a bar or a restaurant allowing people to smoke inside. It is the choice of the customer whether or not to patronise that bar. Forget smoking rooms; a restaurant should either permit smoking or not. It is then the choice of the employee whether or not to work in that bar or restaurant and the choice of the customer to go where he pleases. What is wrong with a free market economy? The many studies issued or quoted by the aforementioned people do not categorically prove many of their claims. The tax from tobacco is still a major revenue earner for the Hong Kong government and I believe more than covers the cost to the government of smoking-related illnesses. If these people, with their own personal agendas, wish to pursue their desire to save money and to stop people dying, then I suggest that they start a new zealous pursuit of banning alcohol. Alcohol causes far more problems to citizens than smoking - for example, drink-driving and alcoholism. The cost to society and, ultimately, the taxpayer is far more than smoking. These correspondents should get off their high horses and either stop their complaints about smoking, or start now to call for a complete ban on alcohol in Hong Kong. If they can successfully ban the sale of alcohol in the city, I will stop smoking. Andy Boulton, Aberdeen

Should Smoking Rooms Be Allowed?

webmaster — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:52:06 +0000

Jan 01, 2009 - SCMP With the second phase of the smoking ban due to be implemented this summer, many bar owners have called for smoking rooms to be installed. They believe a total smoking ban will lead to more restaurants, bars and nightclubs closing. The proprietors argue that with the smoking rooms they would be able to retain customers who smoke. A number of restaurants have closed in Hong Kong, but this is due to the economic tsunami, not the smoking ban. There have been a number of surveys showing that a smoking ban does not lead to the closure of restaurants. On the contrary, it leads to increased profits. Advocates of smoking rooms say they enable a business to strike the right balance for smokers and non-smokers. Nevertheless, smoke will still escape from smoking rooms to other areas of the premises and non-smokers will still be exposed to passive smoking. Also, have supporters of smoking rooms forgotten the right of staff in pubs, nightclubs and restaurants to work in a smoke-free environment? It seems that to some people, making a profit is much more important than the welfare of staff. They must learn to be more considerate. Lui Na-chun, Wong Tai Sin

Breaking The Habit

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 15:42:03 +0000

Mark O'Neill, SCMP - Updated on Jan 01, 2009

Beijing has committed itself to the WHO convention on tobacco control, but the powerful influence of the industry means efforts to enforce it are half-hearted

From today, cigarette packets on the mainland are supposed to change radically - with a warning of a specific disease and a picture that leaves the smoker in no doubt about the possible consequence of his choice. The change is a result of Beijing having signed up to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which came into force on January 1, 2006 and mandated that packaging regulations be implemented after three years. Mainland China is the world's largest tobacco producer consumer, with 350 million smokers, one-third of the global total. One million people die each year from smoking-related diseases, while 540 million suffer the effects of others' smoking, with 100,000 dying annually from illnesses caused by passive smoking, according to Ministry of Health figures. Article 11 of the FCTC sets out the rules for the packaging of cigarettes. It provides that packaging must ensure that "the truth of the effects of tobacco use be properly reflected in the packaging and labelling of tobacco products, including the use of picture warnings that even the least literate members of society can readily understand". It prescribes that 30 per cent to 50 per cent of the main display area be covered with a warning, including a picture. But, when mainland smokers buy their cigarettes today, they will find no disturbing picture or image and just this anodyne wording, in Chinese and English: "Smoking damages health and to quit smoking can reduce the risk to health." There is no reference to lung cancer or any specific disease. The packaging was designed by the State Tobacco Monopoly (STM), the official government regulator which also happens to be the world's biggest producer of cigarettes. Mainland public health campaigners say the new packaging contravenes the FCTC regulations and should be changed. "It is absurd to put the STM in charge of the packaging," said Yang Gonghuan, deputy director of the Chinese Disease Prevention Centre at the Ministry of Health. "This should be decided by the Ministry of Health, as it is in other countries. The warning should specify which disease the smoker may contract. "It is like asking the arsonists to put out a fire." Dr Yang pointed out that packets of cigarettes for export carried the requisite photograph and specific warning. "There is a different rule for Chinese and foreigners," she said. "The STM cares for the lives of foreigners but not those of Chinese." The row over the packaging is the latest battle in a long-running war between supporters and opponents of the tobacco industry within the central government and the wider society. On one side is the STM, the mainland's single biggest taxpayer - in 2007, it contributed 388 billion yuan (HK$441 billion) to state coffers, 9 per cent of national revenue - and the 10 million farmers, processors, workers and distributors who work for the industry. China is one of only two countries - the other is North Korea - to have a monopoly producer of tobacco that is also the industry regulator. Production is increasing. Output in 2007 was 2.14 trillion cigarettes, an increase of 14 per cent from three years earlier. And the prestige enjoyed by the STM is far higher than that of cigarette producers in any other major country, where it is often a case of overcoming serious image problems. Last month, the Ministry of Civil Affairs awarded the STM the "China Charity Award" for being the country's most generous firm. Four other cigarette producers were among the 140 domestic and foreign firms cited. The award gave the tobacco firms some welcome exposure at a time when they are banned from direct advertising. Fighting the influence of the STM are doctors, health workers and civic groups who argue that the tax revenue it provides is less than the cost of treating those with smoking-related illnesses and their lost productivity, not to mention the distress caused to their families. It was only after years of lobbying that the central government ratified the FCTC in 2005. Dr Yang's office has just eight full-time staff and an annual budget of less than 10 million yuan. Studies show that a majority of mainlanders have a limited understanding of the health risks associated with smoking, because the STM has been successful in limiting discussion in the mass media. These stark contradictions were in public view at an international conference on smoking held in Durban, South Africa, at the end of November. The Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control was attended by 600 delegates from more than 100 countries. The convention has 168 signatory countries in total, a record for a UN treaty. Beijing sent a delegation of 17, including two from the STM, as well as officials of the foreign, finance and health ministries. The STM delegates expressed their opposition to clauses of the treaty, saying that it was unsuitable to conditions on the mainland. They, along with the Japanese delegation, opposed Article 11, the provision dealing with health warnings on packets. The delegates pointed out that Chinese packaging showed famous geographic and cultural sites and to put ugly pictures over them "would insult and be disrespectful to the public", in the words of one delegate. The STM response to domestic and international pressure is to argue that the anti-smoking movements of the west were inappropriate for the mainland. "We have 350 million smokers and the number is likely to increase over the next 30 years," said Zhu Zunquan, a member of the China Academy of Engineering, who is working with the STM. "A total ban is not suitable to conditions in China. While the government is implementing the FCTC, it is fully utilising the developments of science. "With the principle of man as the base, this is good for the nation and the people." He said that, while mainland gross domestic product had been rising rapidly each year, the percentage of tobacco tax as a share of national tax revenue remained about 9 per cent. "We must also take into account the 10 million workers and farmers who make their livelihood in the industry," Mr Zhu said. "To protect the health of the hundreds of millions of people who do not want to stop smoking and the national interest, the only option for the stable development of the tobacco industry is less-harmful cigarettes." Mr Zhu is involved in a research project, in which the STM is investing hundreds of millions of yuan, to produce a "China-style cigarette" that causes little or no harm to the smoker. He said that the tar content of a mainland cigarette had fallen from 40 milligrams in the 1960s to 30 in the 1970s and 13.2 now. It would drop to 12 by 2010, he added. The research is being carried out by scientists and laboratories, to which the government has awarded five patents. Two well-known brands have already produced 77,384 cases of these low-tar cigarettes, known to many as "the responsible cigarette", and they have been well received by the market. Another important provision of the FCTC that was discussed in Durban is Article 13, which mandates a ban on advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products nationally and across borders. In light of this clause, it was wrong of the central government to give STM a charity award, campaigners said. "While tobacco is not classified as a poison, smoking harms the health and life of those who use it and is very similar to a poison," Li Dun, a member of the China Academy of Social Sciences, wrote in China News Weekly. "Worse than that, it threatens the health and life of other people, the passive smokers. "The large profits and donations made by the tobacco companies come from this base. "What basis did the ministry use for its decision?" he asked. According to government figures, the STM ranked second in 2006 to Altria - the parent company of Philip Morris - in sales revenue among global cigarette producers, while its US$76.59 billion in assets is more than double that of Altria.

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:27:20 +0000

Jan 02, 2009 - SCMP I think we must be firm in refusing to allow an extension of the scheme that allows exemptions to the smoking ban in public places. As a non-smoker I have waited most of my life to see a full smoking ban implemented. This ban is long overdue. It was delayed thanks mainly to the action of a number of legislators who are fortunately no longer in Legco. Early in my working career I had to work in an office filled with chain-smoking colleagues. I needed the job, so I had no choice but to put up with it. My health certainly suffered as a result. The recent study [by University of Hong Kong researchers] showed just how dangerous passive smoking is. We must stand firm and implement the full ban on the scheduled date. It is a pity that smoking cannot be banned completely in Hong Kong. After all, it is really just another dangerous drug. W. Y. Li, Wan Chai

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:30:08 +0000

Jan 02, 2009 - SCMP You see a lot of Hong Kong people smoking on the street beside rubbish bins now that they can no longer smoke in indoor public places. I see this as a social problem that has to be solved. There should not be any delay in the implementation of the full smoking ban. Cigarettes are bad for smokers' health and the smoke creates pollutants that are harmful to all of us. Non-smokers are affected by second-hand smoke. I think the sight of so many people standing around a rubbish bin smoking creates a bad impression for tourists and they might tell friends about this when they return home, which would not be good for the tourism industry. I also feel that with these people congregating outside to smoke, it cannot help our poor air quality. This is an added pollutant we do not need. Sometimes you have to take a strong stand against something. I think, for example, about the upright Qing dynasty official Lin Zexu who destroyed large quantities of opium because it ruined people's lives. There is nothing good to say about smoking, and the full smoking ban should be implemented without delay. Fung Wing-tung, Tsuen Wan

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:32:18 +0000

Jan 02, 2009 - SCMP I do not think the implementation of the full smoking ban should be delayed. It is necessary to ban smoking in public areas, not just because it affects the health of people who are not smoking, but also because it is not good for the image of Hong Kong. It is inconsiderate of smokers to light up in public places. The best way to control this problem is to implement the full ban. Most of us hate the smell of tobacco and non-smokers are at risk if they are exposed to second-hand smoke. This problem will persist if the government delays the ban. The sooner the full ban is implemented, the sooner smokers will learn to adapt. I think the government should be willing to help those smokers who want to give up. Li Ka-kei, Tsuen Wan

Beijing - Supermarket Tobacco Ban

webmaster — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 08:56:20 +0000

Updated on Jan 02, 2009 - SCMP A new national regulation prohibits foreign-invested supermarkets, including Wal-Mart and Carrefour, from selling tobacco products on the mainland, the Beijing Youth Daily reports. The regulation, which took effect yesterday, also bans foreign-invested businesses and self-employed individuals from any involvement in the retail or wholesale tobacco industry.

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 12:34:20 +0000

Updated on Jan 03, 2009 - SCMP Anti-smoking activists have a problem. Despite advertising bans, high duties and ample health warnings, including warnings that cigarette smoking can become addictive, some people still choose to smoke. That is their right, as smoking is not illegal. Many pleasures in life carry associated risks. If people are warned about them and make an informed choice, that is their affair, provided that what they do remains legal. Similarly, people should be left to choose whether to frequent or work in bars and restaurants that permit smoking. Other bars and restaurants may ban smoking altogether and that is up to them. People will "vote" on the issue based on which bars and restaurants they choose to frequent. Nothing could be simpler or fairer. But faced with a situation in which people continue to make the "wrong" choice, anti-smoking activists react by advocating policies that encroach on a person's right to choose and which, incidentally, are causing bars and restaurants to lose business and close down. I have a choice whether to walk into a bar or restaurant and have a drink or a meal. I may not have a choice to walk through a shopping mall or other enclosed public space - therefore smoking is already banned in these areas and that is fine. Anthony Hedley (Talkback, December 31) states that "the majority in the hospitality industry" considers the present system of smoking and non-smoking areas to be unfair competition. First, I would like to see the evidence of "majority". Second, I would venture to suggest that the majority in the hospitality industry has views similar to my own. Third, it is more natural to equate competition with choice. On a final note, I must reject those (including Professor Hedley) who claim that smoking is an environmental issue. The issue of smoking does not belong in the same debate as air pollution or climate change. Markus Shaw, Central

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 12:37:27 +0000

Updated on Jan 03, 2009 - SCMP I totally object to any delay of the full smoking ban. Pollution in Hong Kong and globally has reached alarming levels, and smoking contributes to that pollution. This problem threatens the tourism industry and, more importantly, people's health. And of course, smoking itself can cause a number of illnesses and non-smokers are affected by second-hand smoking. Perhaps the ban could encourage some people to give up. The sooner they stop smoking, the sooner their lung function will improve. I appreciate that the high cigarette tax earns revenue for the government. However, the health of our citizens is more important. If we get more tourists because they feel the air is cleaner and they will not have to endure second-hand smoke, this will be good for the economy. The government could do more in the area of education, so that people are made fully aware of the dangers of smoking. Hui Hong-kiu, Tsuen Wan

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:33:33 +0000

Jan 05, 2009 - SCMP I write in support of Markus Shaw (Talkback December 29) and in response to Anthony Hedley (Talkback Dec 31), and James Middleton (Talkback December 30). I take exception to Professor Hedley's description of Mr Shaw as "a self-styled environmentalist". As the head of the WWF in Hong Kong, Mr Shaw has a long and distinguished, and indeed successful, record as a defender of our environment. The same cannot be said in my view of the Clear the Air lobby, which apparently includes Professor Hedley and Mr Middleton. These self-appointed guardians of clean air in Hong Kong have failed us. Hong Kong air is filthy and gets worse daily. No doubt the inevitable reply to this letter will be full of backslapping, self-congratulatory statistics, but just look out of the window. Perhaps it is time for new guardians? Instead, certain members of the Clear the Air lobby have concentrated their efforts on imposing their will upon people's lifestyle choices relating to smoking. I agree that those who do not want to eat, drink or travel with smokers should not be bound to do so. This has now been achieved. But I also agree with Mr Shaw when he says "enough already". It is time to move on to the issues that are really destroying our environment and to address the interests of those who do smoke. Mr Middleton says that "less than 12 per cent of Hongkongers are daily smokers". That is a very significant number of people. Their choices should be provided for, and allowing smoking bars has gone some small way to achieving this. Mr Middleton further says that "there is no right to smoke in the Basic Law". There are numerous legal activities for which no "right" is provided in the Basic Law - for example, the right to own and drive private motor vehicles, which quite apart from noise pollution and physical danger, overwhelmingly pollute the atmosphere far more than tobacco smoke. I would invite members of the Clear the Air lobby to assure the public, through these columns, that they no longer intend to drive or travel in these polluting private motor vehicles but will instead take public transport and thus by their example begin to eradicate vehicular pollution. However, I rather doubt that the lobby members would be prepared to do this. That would be to interfere with their freedom of choice. Robert Whitehead, Stanley

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:36:07 +0000

Jan 5 2009 - SCMP Hong Kong is still debating whether or not to extend the smoking ban. The medical evidence is overwhelming in proving the effects smoking has on people's health. It is a filthy habit and you see cigarette butts discarded everywhere - on streets, beaches, even when you go to the countryside. The problem is that in crowded public places where people are lighting up, non-smokers must endure second-hand smoke and this can adversely affect their health. I worked in an office in Sydney with two compulsive chain-smokers in the mid-1970s and still have a cough because of it. Chris H. H. Lim, Sydney, Australia

Schools Need Drastic Measure

webmaster — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 08:57:39 +0000

Updated on Jan 05, 2009 - SCMP I refer to the letter by Adam Liu ("Drug tests not the solution", December 29). I am a Form Six student and I have never doubted the importance of teenagers' privacy and other rights. However, I do feel that the proposed compulsory drugs tests in schools may be the best solution. Since I was a primary school student I have listened to innumerable talks and have been asked to join activities highlighting the dangers of taking drugs, but still some young people get involved with drugs. It is the same with smoking. We attended many talks on the dangers of tobacco, but some of my classmates have been smoking for two or three years. What schools, the government and other organisations can do to combat this problem, is limited. Most of my classmates who smoke are influenced by their families especially their parents. Perhaps drug tests are too stringent and controversial, but this is the most effective way to deal with a worsening situation. Ricky Wu Wing-kei, Sha Tin

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:15:03 +0000

Updated on Jan 07, 2009 - SCMP Andy Boulton (Talkback, January 1) exercises his personal choice to smoke and to make comments on anti-smoking campaigners. He misguidedly compares smoking to alcohol use, where moderate consumption of red wine is proven to prevent heart disease. Alcoholics harm themselves but do not force their drink down the noses and throats of others, as is the case with sidestream smoke, which kills people. He says: "The tax from tobacco is still a major revenue earner for the Hong Kong government and I believe more than covers the cost to the government of smoking-related illnesses." In 2007 the Hong Kong government received HK$2.8 billion in tobacco taxes. The government states that the annual cost of tobacco to Hong Kong's economy is HK$5.3 billion in health care and loss of productivity. The cost when value of life is included is HK$73.3 billion annually, of which 19 per cent, HK$13.93 billion, is attributable to passive smoking. Work it out. The government is massively subventing the costs of tobacco on Hong Kong society, and the money could be better used suing Big Tobacco to recover the treatment costs, which has happened elsewhere. The government mandates the use of seat belts in vehicles, crash helmets on motorcyclists and helmets and safety harnesses on construction sites. It has occupational safety laws for the workplace. Likewise anti-smoking laws are introduced to protect people in the workplace. Mr Boulton ridicules peer-reviewed studies from world experts on the dangers of passive smoking, which even the tobacco companies admit to on their websites. Smoking kills six times more people in Britain than road traffic accidents, other accidents, poisonings and overdoses, murder and manslaughter, alcoholism, suicide and HIV/Aids. In Hong Kong 7,000 people a year die from smoking-related illness and, of those, more than 1,300 deaths are from passive smoking. This "personal choice" nicotine addiction takes 14 years off a normal lifetime and kills others besides its addicts. The smoking exemption will end on June 30. People opposed to its cessation must live with it. James Middleton, chairman, anti-tobacco committee, Clear the Air

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:26:45 +0000

Updated on Jan 07, 2009 - SCMP I take issue with the twin assertions by Markus Shaw (Talkback, January 3) that "smoking is not an environmental issue" or that it does "not belong in the same debate as air pollution". Globally, smoking kills about 5 million people every year and no one has the right to dismiss this as inconsequential; to do so would be inhumane. Tobacco's environmental costs include fire damage due to careless smokers; increased cleaning costs; and widespread environmental harm from large-scale deforestation (trees are cut down to cure tobacco), pesticide and fertiliser contamination, and discarded litter. Tobacco's total economic cost reduces national wealth, gross domestic product, by as much as 3.6 per cent. Smoking causes over a million fires each year, burning down forests and urban property, leading to more than 17,000 deaths, many more injuries, at an estimated global cost of US$27 billion. In concrete terms, there are 1.4 billion smokers in the world, each discarding cartons, matches, ash and about 20 cigarette ends daily - amounting to more than 20 billion cigarette ends containing carcinogens every single day. About one third of all litter, where litter content has been evaluated, is cigarette litter. Both indoor and outdoor pollution are serious health, environmental and economic problems that require addressing urgently in Hong Kong. Dr Judith Mackay, director, Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:29:15 +0000

Updated on Jan 07, 2009 - SCMP I think that the full smoking ban should not be delayed. However, having a few smoking rooms should be allowed. Smoking is harmful to smokers and passive smokers. And people have been given a grace period to get used to the ban. However, I accept that given the financial crisis, the government should adopt certain measures to try to help bars and restaurants, some of which are struggling to survive. I think setting up smoking rooms would be a good idea as it could prevent customers being exposed to passive smoking and it would mean bars and restaurants would not lose customers who want to smoke. However, if such rooms are allowed, there must be strict monitoring of these facilities to ensure that no harmful substances affect customers outside the smoking rooms. In the long term, I think the government should provide more programmes to help smokers quit, and it should advertise these programmes. Jacky Chau Tsz-ki, Tsing Yi

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:30:56 +0000

Jan 08, 2009 - SCMP Markus Shaw (Talkback, January 3) asserts that tobacco is not an environmental problem, but he is badly informed and seriously out of his depth on this issue. A few minutes on the internet and perusal of previous issues of the South China Morning Post (SEHK: 0583, announcements, news) will reveal the massive consequences for the social, economic and physical environment caused by tobacco smoking, including poverty and harm to wildlife from smokers' litter. In Hong Kong alone, 850,000 smokers deposit more than 40 tonnes of highly poisonous chemicals annually into our indoor and outdoor air. He confuses "pleasure" with relief from craving and ignores the fact that the majority of adult smokers were recruited to nicotine addiction well before their 18th birthdays and the rest shortly after. This kills about 50 per cent of them, but the sustainability of tobacco shareholders' dividends is entirely dependent on recruiting fresh supplies of addicted young people. The World Health Organisation has made it very clear that the public health approach to this epidemic must be the destruction of brand value. In this regard Mr Shaw's assessment of "advertising bans", "high duties" and "health warnings" can also be shown to be seriously flawed, and Hong Kong still has a long way to go in tobacco control under the WHO's Framework Convention. Mr Shaw's argument that people who need jobs in the catering sector should have to "choose" between polluted and clean work environments, despite being harmed either financially or physically, paints a cynical Dickensian scenario. It is a formula for serious inequity in occupational health. There is nothing "simple" or "fair" for these workers about being exposed to high risks of cancers and heart disease, wittingly or otherwise, and it is now illegal in an increasing number of countries. What we need is legislation, not more comments about spurious life-threatening "choices". Anthony J. Hedley, school of public health, University of Hong Kong

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:12:42 +0000

Jan 09, 2009 - SCMP The Hong Kong Cancer Fund wishes to comment on the Talkback letters concerning a delay to the full smoking ban in Hong Kong. While we recognise personal choice and freedom of individuals, we believe a full smoking ban is in the best interests of the community. Tobacco is the single largest preventable cause of cancer in the world today. Here in Hong Kong, lung cancer remains the number one cause of cancer-related deaths in our community, with more than 3,600 people dying of this chronic illness every year. Having spent more than two decades caring for people affected by cancer, we believe it is important to help minimise the burden of cancer in our community. And the ways the government can do this with respect to cancers induced by tobacco use is to protect people from tobacco smoke, offer help to smokers to quit, warn people about the dangers of tobacco, raise taxes and enforce bans on tobacco advertising and sponsorship. As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you or someone you know is living with cancer and in need of help, please call CancerLink Central on 3667 3000 or visit www.cancer-fund.org to access free information and professional support. Sally Lo, chairman, Hong Kong Cancer Fund

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 11:12:36 +0000

Jan 10, 2009 - SCMP A. J. Hedley, Clear the Air and Dr Judith Mackay continue to mislead Hong Kong residents about the comparative dangers of second-hand smoke. Anti-tobacco crusaders, some of whom depend on promoting these views for their living, love dusting off long-forgotten files to extract meaningless statistics. Did you know for instance that someone once concluded that 67 per cent of all statistics are wrong? But coming back to Professor Hedley's "40 tonnes of highly poisonous chemicals" spewed out by Hong Kong's smokers (Talkback January 8), most of this smoke with its poison never reaches the outside air you and I have to breathe. It gets deposited in the lungs of smokers or clings to the walls as a yellow filth inside smoking premises. This is the legitimate choice of those who smoke, enter or permit smoking premises. Smokers are not "compelled" by their addiction to continue smoking as Clear the Air suggests. If this were the case, how is it that thousands of smokers successfully quit each year? Clear the Air has to accept people choose not to give up smoking and this is their right. I challenge every person who has condemned smokers in these columns to verify that they never travel in a private car in Hong Kong. Since your correspondents are so beholden to statistics, here are some for them. The University of Tennessee's Centre for Energy, Transportation and Environment, after years of research, concludes the "personal automobile is the single greatest polluter" and "driving a private car is a typical citizen's most polluting activity". The Calor Gas Company of Britain goes even further and states that by just walking about in the streets of Oxford, for instance, one of Britain's most traffic-congested and vehicle-emission-polluted cities, you will inhale in one day the equivalent of smoking 60 cigarettes. So let's get things into perspective. It is outside air quality that Clear the Air and company should be concerned with, not a few guys who wish to enjoy a cigarette at their own risk in a smoky bar. Clear the Air has in the past consistently rejected requests to add private cars to the list of polluters. Its committee prefers to attack smokers and "polluting" buses, which provide seating accommodation for 150 passengers. P. A. Crush, Sha Tin

Taipei Bans All Indoor Smoking

webmaster — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 06:38:26 +0000

Agence France Presse in Taipei - Updated on Jan 12, 2009 Taiwan yesterday banned smoking in all indoor public places in what campaigners say is a milestone in creating a smoke-free island. Smoking had previously been banned in hospitals, schools, theatres, libraries, offices and lifts. Under the new law, it is also banned in hotels, restaurants, karaoke bars and internet cafes. Those caught lighting up in smoke-free spots will face fines of up to NT$10,000 (HK$2,300). "The new law is a milestone in making Taiwan a smoke-free country," said Lin Ching-li, a spokeswoman for the John Tung Foundation, one of the lobby groups behind the campaign. Airports have closed their smoking rooms and local air carriers are barred from selling cigarettes during flights under the law. Health authorities estimate that half a million establishments could be affected by the law, which became effective after its 18-month grace period expired. The legislature passed the amended law in June 2007. The Taipei city government said its inspectors had found that five out of 2,740 public places had failed to post anti-smoking signs at their entrances, for which they could be fined up to NT$50,000. The law also doubled the "health tax" to NT$500 for every 1,000 cigarettes and 1kg of tobacco and cigars, to raise money for the island's cash-strapped national health insurance programme. Authorities hope higher cigarette prices will help curb smoking and reduce related diseases. Lung cancer has long been a leading cause of death in Taiwan. Each year, around 20,000 islanders die of the effects of smoking or second-hand smoke. By 2020, the number of victims could surge to 67,000 yearly, according to the National Health Research Institutes. There were about five million smokers on the island, it said.

Should The Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 06:41:15 +0000

Jan 12th 2009 - SCMP In my view it should not, and this seems to be the view of the majority of correspondents. But we should be looking well beyond July this year. The current trend will continue: smokers will find fewer and fewer places where they can smoke. In time, smoking will be banned not only in all public places, but also in private homes; whether smokers like it or not it will happen, eventually. Some radical thinking has to be done now in order to plan for that future; and the plan must accommodate two facts: first, there are a substantial number of smokers who will never give up; and second, many young people will start to smoke unless they are prevented from doing so. First, smokers must have somewhere to smoke legitimately; refusal to accept this simple fact is unrealistic. Smoking rooms in some bars have been suggested by some and rejected by the hardliners. I have experienced a few smoking rooms at airports (from the outside), some that are unpleasant to be near, others that appear to work reasonably well. If the demand is there they will be developed to meet the needs of those inside and those who prefer to stay outside. Second, and more radically, the only way to stop young people from starting to smoke is to make it illegal. Nothing else will work. Let Hong Kong lead the world by setting a date, maybe the last day of this year, after which it will be illegal to start smoking. It will be very difficult and probably futile to attempt to prosecute anyone who will be over 18 years of age at the time the legislation comes into force, but very simple to prosecute those under that age at the time. While many will claim that such a law is discriminatory, others might welcome the legislation as a good reason to resist pressure from their peers. Peter Robertson, Sai Kung

Should The Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 06:44:23 +0000

Jan 12th 2009 - SCMP As a non-smoker, I do not think the smoking ban should be delayed. As everyone knows, smoking harms our health, and in this regard it affects smokers and non-smokers. Smokers talk about their rights being infringed. But what about the right of non-smokers not to be exposed to second-hand smoke? I do not see smoking rooms as a solution to the problem, as some of the smoke is bound to escape. And what about the health of people who use them and are in smoke-filled rooms. Some people argue that it is up to individuals whether or not they wish to work or eat in a restaurant that allows smoking. However, some people may have no choice but to work in a restaurant or bar where people smoke, especially during the present economic downturn. Employees exposed to this kind of environment will put up with it if the alternative is not working and therefore receiving no income. Laws exist to protect the public. The government should implement the full smoking ban and then it is up to smokers to light up in the privacy of their own homes. Emily Lau Lai-fan, Ngau Tau Kok

Brain Scans Reveal Why Smokers Struggle To Quit

webmaster — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 08:51:03 +0000

January 12, 2009 - Tech Journal South DURHAM, NC Just seeing someone smoke can trigger smokers to abandon their nascent efforts to kick the habit, according to new research conducted at Duke University Medical Center. Brain scans taken during normal smoking activity and 24 hours after quitting show there is a marked increase in a particular kind of brain activity when quitters see photographs of people smoking. The study, which appears online in Psychopharmacology, sheds important light on why it's so hard for people to quit smoking, and why they relapse so quickly, explains Joseph McClernon, an associate professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University Medical Center. "Only five percent of unaided quit attempts result in successful abstinence," says McClernon. "Most smokers who try to quit return to smoking again. We are trying to understand how that process works in the brain, and this research brings us one step closer." The Duke researchers used a brain-imaging tool called functional MRI to visualize changes in brain activity that occurs when smokers quit. The smokers were scanned once before quitting and again 24 hours after they quit. Each time they were scanned while being shown photographs of people smoking. "Quitting smoking dramatically increased brain activity in response to seeing the smoking cues," says McClernon, "which seems to indicate that quitting smoking is actually sensitizing the brain to these smoking cues." Even more surprising, he adds, is the area of the brain that was activated by the cues. "We saw activation in the dorsal striatum, an area involved in learning habits or things we do by rote, like riding a bike or brushing our teeth. Our research shows us that when smokers encounter these cues after quitting, it activates the area of the brain responsible for automatic responses. "That means quitting smoking may not be a matter of conscious control. So, if we're really going to help people quit, this emphasizes the need to do more than tell people to resist temptation. We also have to help them break that habitual response." New treatment options at Duke are aiming to do just that. One area of research is focusing on the use of a nicotine patch prior to quitting smoking. In previously published research, Jed Rose, Director of the Duke Center for Nicotine and Smoking Cessation Research and co-author of this paper as well, showed that wearing the patch and smoking a cigarette with no nicotine proved successful at breaking the learned behavior. "The smoking behavior is not reinforced because the act of smoking is not leading them to get the nicotine," Rose said. "Doing this before people actually quit helps them break the habit so they start smoking less. We're seeing people quit longer this way."

Should The Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 06:38:21 +0000

Jan 14, 2009 - SCMP I refer to the letter by P.A. Crush (Talkback, January 10). Your correspondent said: "Smokers are not `compelled' by their addiction to continue smoking as Clear the Air suggests." Why is it then that so many people try to quit, but cannot. Throwing in a recent statistic, why is it that a smoker needs to try to give up smoking 10 times before managing to quit? Smoking is clearly an addiction, much like crack cocaine, which has in fact been said to be easier to give up than smoking. In terms of your correspondent's reference to polluting vehicles on the road, most private vehicles do not run on diesel fuel and therefore do not spew out particulate matter (PM-2.5), which can travel directly into our lungs when we breathe, much like tobacco smoke or the smoke that escapes from coal-fired power plants. This pollution from buses and goods trucks is therefore the most harmful to public health and should be targeted first, before private vehicles, especially given the high number of buses concentrated around the most (roadside) polluted areas. Besides that, Hong Kong has become the dumping ground for vehicles from Japan, South Korea and elsewhere due to the fact that the Hong Kong government has not enforced any emission standards on diesel vehicles, of which many have exceeded their normal operating lifespan. Rather than offering a subsidy to convert or replace the 49,161 pre-Euro and 25,206 Euro I diesel vehicles (which will create 74 per cent and 38 per cent less vehicle emissions of particulates and nitrogen oxides) to stricter emission standards, the government should set a deadline for these to be implemented and, if they are not, fines or emission taxes should be promptly put in place. Michael Pieper, Discovery Bay

Anti-Smoking Advocate Is Named to Health Post

webmaster — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:28:03 +0000

January 14, 2009 - By ROBERT PEAR - The New York Times WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama said Tuesday that he had chosen the head of a leading anti-tobacco organization to be the No. 2 official at the Department of Health and Human Services. The prospective nominee, William V. Corr, is executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a nonprofit group that seeks to reduce tobacco use among children and adults. As a member of the Obama transition team, Mr. Corr has led efforts to review and evaluate the work of the Department of Health and Human Services. Mr. Obama has selected Tom Daschle, a former Senate Democratic leader, to be secretary of health and human services. If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Corr would be the deputy secretary. From 1998 to 2000, Mr. Corr worked as chief counsel and policy director for Mr. Daschle, when Mr. Daschle was minority leader. The new Congress is expected to move aggressively against the tobacco industry, by increasing federal regulation of cigarettes, raising taxes on tobacco products and approving an international tobacco control treaty. As a senator, Mr. Obama, an intermittent smoker, was a co-sponsor of a bill that would have given the Food and Drug Administration broad authority to regulate “the manufacture, marketing, and distribution” of tobacco products, including cigarettes. On its Web site, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids says its goals are “to prevent kids from smoking, help smokers quit and protect everyone from secondhand smoke.” In reports filed with Congress, the campaign has listed Mr. Corr as a lobbyist and said it lobbied not only Congress, but also federal agencies like the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Trade Commission. The anti-tobacco group reported lobbying expenses that totaled $2.4 million from 2003 to 2008, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group that tracks the influence of money on politics and government policy. As a presidential candidate, Mr. Obama often criticized the influence of lobbyists in Washington. But some of his strongest allies here have worked as lobbyists for consumer groups, labor unions, environmental groups and civil rights organizations. In the Clinton administration, Mr. Corr was chief of staff at the Department of Health and Human Services, where he worked for Secretary Donna E. Shalala. Before joining Mr. Daschle’s staff, Mr. Corr worked for two liberal Democrats known as tenacious investigators and consumer advocates: Senator Howard M. Metzenbaum of Ohio, who was chairman of the antitrust subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, and Representative Henry A. Waxman of California, who was chairman of the health subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Mr. Waxman was the chief sponsor of a bill passed overwhelmingly by the House last year that would have empowered the F.D.A. to regulate tobacco products. The Senate did not act on the measure. As chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee in the new Congress, Mr. Waxman will play a major role in efforts to provide coverage to the 46 million people who have no health insurance. Before coming to Washington, Mr. Corr worked at several community-run primary health care centers in Appalachia. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Virginia and a law degree from Vanderbilt University. “Reforming our health care system will be a top priority of my administration and key to putting our economy back on track,” Mr. Obama said Tuesday. “Under the leadership of Tom Daschle and Bill Corr, I am confident that my Department of Health and Human Services will bring people together to reach consensus on how to move forward with health care reform.”

Clear The Air: Cost of Tobacco In Hong Kong

admin — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:09:35 +0000

Clear the Air says: There is a misconception in Hong Kong that the Government wants people to continue to smoke so they can receive billions in excise tax dollars on tobacco products. Nothing could be further from the truth. In 2007 Hong Kong Government collected 2.834 billion in tobacco tax. Meanwhile the cost to society for health care and lost productivity was HK$ 5.366 billion. Adding the cost of lives lost attributable to tobacco related diseases the annual cost to Hong Kong society is HK$ 73.32 billion of which HK$ 16.86 billion is attributable to the costs of passive smoking. To save lives and health care costs the Administration mandates selt belts in vehicles, crash helmts for motorcyles and scooters, safety boots , harnesses and helmets for construction sites and non smoking workplaces for our protection. Tobacco Excise duty : Year 2007 sales in ()

(a)	For each 1 000 cigarettes	HK$804 (3495.73 million)
(b)	Cigars	HK$1035/kg (20,254 kg)
(c)	Chinese prepared tobacco	HK$197/kg (4,014 kg)
(d)	All other manufactured tobacco except tobacco intended for the manufacture of cigarettes	HK$974 (1,818 kg)

Excise Tax received (HK$) a) 2,810,566,920 b) 20,962,890 c) 790,758 d) 1,770,732 Total excise duty received in 2007 by HK Government HK$ 2,834,091,300 Tobacco Control 2006;15:125-130; doi:10.1136/tc.2005.013292 Copyright © 2006 by the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.

RESEARCH PAPER

Cost of tobacco-related diseases, including passive smoking, in Hong Kong

http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/15/2/125 Actual cost of smoking to Hong Kong Society (at 1998 rates) versus excise tax collected In the Hong Kong population of 6.5 million in 1998, the annual value of direct medical costs, long term care and productivity loss was US$532 million (HK$ 4.1496 billion) for active smoking and US$156 million (HK$ 1.2168 billion) for passive smoking; passive smoking accounted for 23% of the total costs. (HK$ 5.3664 billion) Adding the value of attributable lives lost brought the annual cost to US$9.4 billion. (HK$ 73.32 billion) Cost of passive smoking including value (23%) of attributable lives per year HK$ 16.8636 billion.

Should The Ban On Smoking Be Delayed?

admin — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:39:47 +0000

SCMP - Updated on Jan 15, 2009 P. A. Crush (Talkback, January 10) is absolutely right to question the use of statistics churned out by the Anthony Hedley/Judith Mackay camp on passive smoking. A little park at the side of Hiram's Highway in Sai Kung has been designated a no-smoking zone. This banning of smoking outdoors is a further encroachment on the lives of the old and poor who gathered here to enjoy their hard-earned leisure time and to smoke if they so wished. It would be ridiculous to suggest that their cigarettes contributed more "poison" to the outdoor air quality than the endless stream of private cars that shuttle between Clear Water Bay and Sai Kung, both of which are linked by public transport. If they are forced to give up the habit of a lifetime for the public good, it is very little to ask of the zealous protectors of our air quality that they too make sacrifices by abandoning their private vehicles and cycling to their important public health meetings. I should like to be assured through these columns by Dr Mackay and Professor Hedley that they do not affect the quality of the air I breathe in Sai Kung parks by driving private cars past the very places they have been so vociferous in advocating as no-smoking areas. It would be unacceptable to be involved with clean air and public health and drive a private car without being deemed hypocritical. I use public transport and am a non-smoker. Cynthia Henderson, Sai Kung

Nicotine Properties

admin — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:40:39 +0000

Division of Periodontology, University of Minnesota Nicotine combines with a number of neurotransmitters in the brain and may contribute to the following effects:

*Dopamine:*	Pleasure, suppress appetite	*Norepinephrine:*	Arousal, suppress appetite
*Acetylcholine:*	Arousal, cognitive enhancement	*Vasopressin:*	Memory improvement
*Serotonin:*	Mood modulation, suppress appetite	*Beta-endorphin:*	Reduce anxiety / tension

Tobacco is as addictive as heroin (as a mood & behavior altering agent).

Nicotine is:
- 1000 X more potent than alcohol
- 10-100 X more potent than barbiturates
- 5-10 X more potent than cocaine or morphine

A 1-2 pack per day smoker takes 200-400 hits daily for years. This constant intake of a fast acting drug (which affects mood, concentration & performance).. eventually produces dependence.

Pressures to relapse are both behaviorally & pharmacologically triggered. Quitting involves a significantly serious psychological loss... a serious life style change. http://www1.umn.edu/perio/tobacco/nicaddct.html

Should The Ban On Smoking Be Delayed?

webmaster — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:36:01 +0000

Jan 16, 2009 - SCMP As a lifelong non-smoker I fall into the category of not minding some smoke, but dislike the "it's my right" attitude displayed by so many smokers and at times the physical assault by smoke that you have to endure. The ban seems to be a sledgehammer to crack a nut, but just as happens so often on the mainland, the rules may be there, however, they are rarely enforced and certainly not consistently. This leads to resentment on both sides of the fence, smokers and non-smokers, each believing the other is being unreasonable. Anyone caught by the smoking ban will feel aggrieved that so many others escape sanction, while the non-smokers will rightly state that their health and safety is being put at risk by smokers with little respect for decent behaviour or the law. Is the solution trial prosecutions of smokers who assault non-smokers with fumes under criminal rules relating to "assault with a deadly weapon" (the scientific evidence appears solid) or is that too extreme? Certainly bars have been vocal over the loss of trade due to the smoking issue, although perhaps the effect will be less noticeable if a full ban is imposed, but is it a real solution in a "free" society? Perhaps the problem is exacerbated by the pressures of big business and the more open layout of many bars, clubs and restaurants in recent years. Perhaps the solution is to split establishments, with the "active smoking areas" paying more to compensate for the additional ventilation, and the cost of clearing the air and cleaning the curtains. Clearly smokers have benefited from sharing these costs over the years and perhaps now is the time to redress the balance. Nick Bilcliffe, Lamma Island

Should The Full Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 13:33:21 +0000

Jan 17, 2009 - SCMP The answer is absolutely "No". The grace period that was allowed before implementation of the full smoking ban should not be prolonged. Why are people so selfish? Everybody knows that smoking adversely affects our health and damages our respiratory system. Non-smokers working in places where smoking is allowed are forced to inhale poisonous second-hand smoke. They are forced to sacrifice their health in order to feed their families. Smoking is a selfish form of behaviour that exploits the basic human rights of others. Winnie Fong, Lam Tin

Should The Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 06:47:22 +0000

Updated on Jan 20, 2009 - SCMP While it is understandable that some businesses in Hong Kong fear they may lose customers and thereby profits if wider smoking bans are introduced, let us not lose sight of the bigger issues. By providing places for people to smoke, smoking is encouraged. By it being made comparatively easy to find a public place to smoke, more cigarettes will be consumed. The consumption of cigarettes will lead to more smoking-induced illnesses, and about half of all smokers will die protracted and painful deaths as a result. Delaying the introduction of wider smoking bans might well add to the profits of some bars and restaurants as smokers would presumably prefer to go to them (though non-smokers might eschew them). But at what cost? The health costs to individuals, smokers and passive smokers who work in smoke-polluted rooms are known and are grave. The cost to the smoker's family, when illness debilitates him, is also grave. The sick smoker's medical and social security costs to the whole community are other factors to be weighed against the profits of the few. All in all, on health, economic and indeed on humanitarian grounds, to delay further restricting indoor smoking areas is indefensible. Paul Surtees, Mid-Levels

Should The Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 06:49:11 +0000

Updated on Jan 20, 2009 - SCMP I can understand why P. A. Crush (Talkback, January 10) and Cynthia Henderson (Talkback, January 15) want to try to dismiss my arguments for protection from tobacco smoke as churned statistics, because they would not want this issue to be encumbered with facts. With more space we could discuss the distribution of the more than 40 tonnes of exhaled and sidestream tobacco smoke in Hong Kong between lungs, furniture, fittings and outdoor air. In the meantime I am grateful to Mr Crush for his colourful description of one of the consequences of smoking indoors as "yellow filth" which "clings to the walls". I am confident that a large majority would not regard this as any longer legitimate or want the air space in their building to be threatened by the creation of such a toxic waste dump. Our parks should be smoke-free for several reasons and Ms Henderson underestimates the impact of tobacco smoke on air quality in the vicinity of smokers. For example, in Finland tobacco smoke particulates in outdoor cafes were 5 to 20 times higher than on pavements of busy streets. On cruise ships, exposure to cancer-causing tobacco chemicals tripled despite strong wind and unlimited space for dispersion. At the University of Maryland, outdoor tobacco smoke was measurable 7 metres from the source (www.repace.com) . Ms Henderson does make a strong point about vehicle emissions and we have consistently demonstrated the monetary and health benefits of cleaner air and building railways rather than roads in Hong Kong. While I certainly regard restriction of private car use as a public health benefit and use public transport whenever possible, Hong Kong's main traffic polluters are outdated diesels in commercial and public transport which (as Christine Loh Kung-wai points out in her column) the government refuses to regulate on a mandatory rather than voluntary basis ("Silence is not golden", January 15). Whether my current occasional use of a car amounts to "hypocrisy", others can decide. If Ms Henderson wants to campaign for traffic-free zones in Sai Kung or anywhere else I will support her, but she should not be willing to trade off one potent source of pollution for another. Anthony Hedley, school of public health, University of Hong Kong

Ex-Tobacco Chief Convicted of Bribery

webmaster — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 03:25:35 +0000

January 22, 2009 - News.gov.hk The former chairman of a tobacco manufacturer, charged by the ICAC, was today convicted at the District Court in his absence of bribery and fraud in relation to cigarette-smuggling activities. Lu Dayong - the 61-year-old former chairman of Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company - absconded and failed to turn up for the trial last June, and the court issued a warrant for his arrest. Lu, Hang Chun Trade Development's director Ko Kit, 40, and sales manager Chan Kai-san, 41, were found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud Nanyang Brothers. Lu and Ko were also convicted of conspiracy for accepting an advantage from cigarette trader Golden Leaf International Development (Hong Kong). Judge Joseph Yau adjourned the case until February 20 for sentence, pending background reports. Ko and Chan were remanded in the Correctional Services Department's custody. The court heard Lu, then Nanyang Brothers chairman, approved Hang Chun and Golden Leaf as overseas distributors for Nanyang Brothers' cigarettes. Between November 2003 and February 2004, Lu, Ko and Chan concealed from Nanyang Brothers that Lu had interests in Hang Chun, and caused Nanyang Brothers to supply "Double Happiness" cigarettes to Hang Chun, knowing the cigarettes would be sold in the Mainland, in violation of contracts between Nangyang Brothers and Hang Chun. Nanyang Brothers subsequently sold $48 million worth of cigarettes to Hang Chun. Lu and Ko received more than $7.5 million in illegal commissions from two directors and shareholders of Golden Leaf between April 2003 and February 2004 as a reward for causing Nanyang Brothers to sell "Double Happiness" cigarettes worth $42 million to Golden Leaf. The cigarettes sold to Hang Chun and Golden Leaf were prohibited from sale in the Mainland, but they had been smuggled there through other places including the Philippines and Vietnam.

Smoking Exacts a Heavier Toll Than Previously Expected

webmaster — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 03:39:31 +0000

By Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today - Published: January 22, 2009 - Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor - University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. DAVIS, Calif., Jan. 22 -- Exposure to tobacco smoke may be causing a much greater proportion of cancer deaths than previously estimated, researchers here said. Among Massachusetts men, selected as a representative sample, there was a close correlation in changes in mortality rates from lung cancer and other cancers, Bruce Leistikow, M.D., of the University of California Davis, and colleagues reported online in BMC Cancer. This suggested that the fraction of all cancer deaths attributable to smoking was 73%. A 2001 government estimate using data from the Cancer Prevention Study II, placed the fraction at 34%, according to Dr. Leistikow. "The full impacts of tobacco smoke, including secondhand smoke, have been overlooked in the rush to examine such potential cancer factors as diet and environmental contaminants," Dr. Leistikow said. "As it turns out, much of the answer was probably smoking all along." Action Points Explain to interested patients that this study suggested that exposure to tobacco smoke accounts for almost three-quarters of all cancer deaths, not just those from lung cancer. Point out that the study was performed using data from men living in Massachusetts and that the results may not be applicable to other states or females. Previous estimates of the impact of smoke exposure on cancer death have been made using methods that are not universally applicable across population subgroups and that rely almost exclusively on self-reported smoking measures, according to Dr. Leistikow and colleagues. The findings suggest "that increased attention should be paid to smoking prevention in healthcare reforms and health promotion campaigns," he said. Indeed, recent efforts to prevent smoking seem to be paying off. The rate of deaths from all causes that were attributed to smoking dropped from 288 to 263 deaths per 100,000 people from 1996-1999 to 2000-2004, according to a report in the Jan. 23 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Previous estimates of the impact of smoke exposure on cancer death have been made using methods that are not universally applicable across population subgroups, according to Dr. Leistikow and colleagues. So they used a simpler and more representative and less biased method for assessing the impact that involved examining the associations between mortality rates for lung and all other cancers. Lung cancer death rate was used as an indicator of cumulative smoke load. Using data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the researchers examined cancer mortality rates among men living in Massachusetts from 1979 to 2003. Rates peaked around 1992 and then declined steadily through 2003. A scatter plot of mortality rates for lung cancer and for other cancers showed a strong association between the two over the study period, which suggests "that tobacco smoke load is a potential cause of most prematurely fatal cancers in this population," the researchers said. The percentage of all cancer deaths attributable to tobacco smoke exposure was 73% for all men and 74% for men ages 30 to 74. In absolute terms, that works out to be 196 deaths per 100,000 men. The researchers said the study findings were strengthened because of the inclusion of all non-lung cancers, the use of sizeable, representative, and recent male populations, and the use of age-adjusted death rates. Previous estimates of the impact of tobacco smoke exposure on cancer mortality sometimes used outdated lists of which cancers were related to smoking, relied on smoking status as a measure of tobacco smoke exposure, and involved smaller and racially homogenous populations, they said. The researchers acknowledged some limitations of the current analysis, including the potential for extrapolation from population-level associations to individual risks to yield inaccurate estimates, the inability to apply the results to females, to residents of other states, or to longer-term trends, and the inability to distinguish between types of smoke exposure. Future research should focus on developing biochemical measures of individual exposure to tobacco smoke, studying cancer disparities among larger and more racially diverse populations, and examining why the association between mortality rates from lung and other cancers varies in different populations, they said. Research needs aside, they concluded, "the improved ability to assess the population effect of tobacco smoke damage can be used to better inform cancer control policy, including the regulation of tobacco products and smoking in public places."

Smuggling Of Cigarettes To The Mainland

webmaster — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:54:59 +0000

Three convicted over smuggling of cigarettes to the mainland Loretta Fong - Updated on Jan 23, 2009 - SCMP The former chairman of Hong Kong-based Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Co and two company officials were convicted in the District Court of pocketing commissions and smuggling cigarettes to the mainland. Lu Dayong, 60, who has fled the city, and his lover, Ko Kit, 40, a director of Hang Chun Trade Development, were found guilty of a joint charge of conspiracy to accept an advantage from a cigarette trader, Golden Leaf International Development. They received more than HK$7.5 million. The pair, with Chan Kai-san, 41, a Hang Chun sales manager, were also convicted of a count of conspiracy to defraud Nanyang Brothers. The trio were acquitted of a bribery charge. Nanyang Brothers, a subsidiary of publicly listed Shanghai Industrial Holdings, made the Double Happiness brand of cigarettes in Hong Kong. Double Happiness was the brand smuggled to the mainland. The marathon trial of the cigarette smuggling racket, which was delayed for months, finally began last June. Defence lawyers had contested the legality of the Independent Commission Against Corruption's investigation, arguing evidence collected by a bugging device was inadmissible because it violated the Basic Law. Judge Joseph Yau Chi-lap rejected the argument, and a request for a judicial review of that decision was also rejected. The prosecution said the three were caught during covert surveillance discussing the cigarette shipments or commission payments, and said anti-graft agents found Lu kept a diary on the commission payments and cigarette shipments. The offences happened between December 2002 and February 2004. The prosecutors said Lu approved Hang Chun and Golden Leaf as overseas distributors for Nanyang Brothers cigarettes. The cigarettes were smuggled to the mainland from Hong Kong via the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam, the court heard. Prosecutors said the commissions were paid through various parties from the mainland in the form of deposits, cash and company or casino cheques to bank accounts controlled by unknown conspirators and Ko. She held the funds on Lu's behalf in her bank accounts. Judge Yau said evidence showed Lu controlled Hang Chun, despite Ko being listed as its director. He said Lu concealed the fact that Double Happiness cigarettes were actually being sold to a company Lu controlled and said this was dishonest. Judge Yau said their dishonest act caused economic loss to Nanyang Brothers and put the company at economic risk. Sentencing for Ko and Chan was adjourned to February 20, pending background reports.

Should The Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:56:42 +0000

SCMP - 23rd Jan 2009 I refer to the letter by Winnie Fong (Talkback, January 17) with regard to the no-smoking laws, and take exception to smokers being defined as selfish. As a non-smoker, I can appreciate that some smokers are less than considerate, but as the new legislation has pushed them all onto our footpaths, it is hardly surprising that we are now more aware of smokers than before. First, whether you like smokers or not, the current legislation does not prevent people smoking. In fact, it has been reported that smoking among teenagers has increased year on year, not declined. What the legislation does is put smokers on the street. One can argue that smoking is an anti-social habit and impacts all those it comes into contact with, but I would argue that I would much prefer to allow (even through a licence, as one would do with alcohol for bars) certain establishments to apply for exemptions so that those who want to smoke can, and those who do not smoke do not have to go in. Surely this is better than the current situation, where the smoke is pushed outside so we get a good lungful every time we pass a group of stressed-out office workers puffing away. The chief executive must have considered the financial impact of the smoking ban in the current economic climate, and the possibility that its full implementation could be delayed or amended to help the catering and entertainment industry. This must especially be the case, considering that the British bar and restaurant sectors have been decimated since the country put similar laws into place. Create legislation by all means, but in their current form the smoking regulations need to be revisited. Hong Kong was established on the opium and tobacco trade, and although that was a long time ago, we should not go around picking on people for an addictive habit that governments were all too happy to propagate for tax-raising reasons until very recently. Callan Anderson, Quarry Bay

Should The Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 06:47:17 +0000

Updated on Jan 24, 2009 - SCMP Your correspondents Michael Pieper and Anthony Hedley (Talkback, January 14 and 20) and columnist Christine Loh Kung-wai ("Silence is not golden", January 15) are misinformed if they believe that only drivers of diesel-powered commercial vehicles and buses are the main culprits responsible for Hong Kong's atrocious roadside air pollution readings. I must take issue with their suggestion that petrol-powered cars (or even hybrids) do not emit poisonous gases and particulates in significant quantities. Fine particulates from petrol engine exhausts may not be as easily visible to the naked eye as the black sooty smoke churned out by old and poorly maintained diesel engines, but these particulates are even more likely to be inhaled and end up deeply embedded in our lungs. That petrol engines produce greater concentrations of poisonous gases (volatile organic compounds and carbon monoxide) than diesels is not even disputed by scientists. And have your correspondents never heard of a car driver's contribution to global warming? Our most traffic-congested areas are usually Central, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok, and it is no coincidence that these are the districts with the highest levels of roadside air pollution. These are also the very areas with the highest concentrations of private cars, exacerbating the congestion and slowing down other vehicles. Unless we wish to shut down all commerce, we have to accept that goods vehicles and buses are needed in these areas, but we do not need so many private cars on the streets there. The public transport system is adequate. If we removed most of the private cars from downtown areas and the cross-harbour tunnels, we could relieve a considerable part of traffic congestion - and this would lower the pollution from diesel trucks and buses that are forced to idle or crawl in slow-moving traffic. The "near empty" buses some of your correspondents complain about would carry more passengers and the increased fare revenue would then permit the bus companies to upgrade to buses with improved emission standards much earlier. Private car drivers are contributing more to outside air pollution than any smoker. Other contributors to these columns have used the word "hypocrisy" for car drivers who think otherwise. I can think of no better description myself. P. A. Crush, Sha Tin

Decreased Aortic Elasticity In Children Exposed To Tobacco Smoke

webmaster — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 05:43:48 +0000

Childhood exposure to tobacco smoke (verified with serum cotinine levels) decreases aortic elastic properties in healthy children... Title: Decreased aortic elasticity in healthy 11-year-old children exposed to tobacco smoke Authors: K Kallio, E Jokinen, M Hämäläinen, M Saarinen, et al. Reference: Pediatrics 2009; 123: e267-273, http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/123/2/e267 Reviewer: Joaquin Barnoya, MD, MPH, ProCor contributing editor, Director, Research and Education, Unidad de Cirugia Cardiovascular de Guatemala, Guatemala Purpose of study: To assess the association of exposure to tobacco smoke with elastic properties of the aorta and carotid artery in children. Location of study: Finland Study design: Healthy young (age 11 years) children were selected from a randomized, prospective, atherosclerosis prevention trial (Special Turuk Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project for Children [STRIP] trial). Smoking habits of all family members were assessed annually with a questionnaire. Aortic and carotid elasticities were determined by using M-mode ultrasound imaging based on measurements of blood pressure and arterial diameter changes during the cardiac cycle. The aortic stiffness index, Young's elastic modulus (YEM), and distensibility and the respective studies for the carotid artery were calculated. Exposure to tobacco smoke was measured using serum cotinine and classified as no-exposure (undetectable levels), low exposure (cotinine levels 0.2-1.6 ng/ml), and high exposure (levels >=1.7 ng/ml). Results: A total of 386 children were included in the analysis. A significant increase in aortic stiffness index, YEM and aortic disetensibility was observed across the cotinine levels. After adjustment for BMI and systolic blood pressure, cotinine levels remained a significant explanatory variable regarding all aortic elasticity indices. Carotid elasticity indices were not statistically significant across cotinine groups. Comment: This study adds to the mounting evidence of the cardiovascular effects of secondhand smoke, this time in healthy young children. One of the strengths of this study is that they used three indices to assess the mechanical properties of elastic arteries and all were found to be associated with cotinine levels. The fact that they did not find an effect of tobacco smoke on carotic stiffness might be a result of the aorta being affected before the carotid artery. This biological data on children add to the mounting evidence to fight for smoke-free environments worldwide.

Should The Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

webmaster — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:08:58 +0000

Updated on Jan 30, 2009 - SCMP Non-smoker Callan Anderson (Talkback, January 23) states that current laws are forcing smokers onto the footpaths. He argues (as would tobacco company spokesmen) for certain establishments to apply for exemptions "so that those who want to smoke can, and those who do not smoke do not have to go in". He avoids the point that anti-smoking laws are enacted to protect the workers in all workplace premises and they are legally entitled to a safe working environment. Because the government granted qualified establishment exemptions under political pressure, Hong Kong smokers now consume 38.2 million more duty-paid cigarettes per month than in pre-ban 2006 while the number of people smoking has actually gone down. Studies from Duke University [in the US] show that pictures of people smoking stimulate the cravings of people to smoke even when they are trying to quit. More than 1,300 people die from passive smoking in Hong Kong per year. Mr Anderson mentions the financial impact of the smoking ban and suggests "full implementation be delayed or amended to help the catering and entertainment industry". Again, these are words spouted worldwide by tobacco companies trying to maintain their business by forecasting doom and gloom. In fact Hong Kong restaurant trade takings were up 30.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2008 compared with the third quarter of pre-ban 2006. It is strange to read a stated non-smoker quoting Big Tobacco mantras. He states, relating to the history of opium and tobacco in Hong Kong, that "governments were all too happy to propagate [them] for tax-raising reasons until very recently". The treatment of smoking-related illnesses and loss of productivity costs Hong Kong HK$5.3 billion per year versus only HK$3.06 billion collected in tobacco taxation. When loss of life is included, the annual cost of smoking to Hong Kong is HK$73.32 billion. In the Legislative Council 18 months ago a motion was raised to ban smoking on the street within a set distance of building entrances and this was put on the shelf. It is time it was raised again along with tobacco taxation. James Middleton, chairman, anti-tobacco committee, Clear the Air

Cigarette Consumption Rises in Hong Kong

webmaster — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 03:05:06 +0000

Cigarette consumption rises in Hong Kong after smoking ban 31 Jan 2009, 0938 - Times of India HONG KONG: Cigarette consumption in Hong Kong is up almost 14 percent since a smoking ban was introduced in the city two years ago, a news report said on Saturday. Government figures quoted by the South China Morning Post show that 3.79 billion cigarettes were bought in 2008, compared to 3.33 billion the previous year. Anti-smoking campaigners quoted by the newspaper said they wanted taxes on cigarettes in the city of 6.9 million raised significantly in the government's annual budget in order to reverse the trend. A pack of cigarettes in Hong Kong costs an average of 30 Hong Kong dollars ($3.86), about half the price of a pack in Singapore and Australia. Smoking was banned in restaurants and bars in Hong Kong in 2006, but karaoke bars, nightclubs and thousands of bars that don't serve food were granted exemptions until July 2009.

Smoking Rise Draws Call To Put Up Duties

webmaster — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 03:13:46 +0000

Cigarette use up 13.8pc despite restaurant ban Mary Ann Benitez - Updated on Jan 31, 2009 - SCMP Anti-tobacco groups are calling on the financial secretary to raise tobacco duties after government figures show a 13.8 per cent rise in cigarette consumption since 2006 despite a smoking ban in restaurants. Low tobacco duties - which have not changed since April 1, 2001 - have made Hong Kong cigarettes among the cheapest available in developed economies. Customs and Excise Department figures show that 38.2 million more cigarettes per month were consumed last year than in 2006. The ban on smoking in indoor public places was introduced in July 2007, but some bars and karaoke clubs were given a two-year exemption. That exemption will end in July, but already there has been a movement to postpone the move. The pressure to raise the tobacco tax is greater this year due to the financial downturn, and anti- tobacco groups say it is high time the government increased tobacco duties to cut consumption, especially among young people. The Council on Smoking and Health (Cosh) has been using the internet to rally support for a policy that would increase duties by 5 percentage points above inflation. Cosh said it would submit the virtual signatures from its campaign and its proposal for a so-called health tax policy to Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah before he delivers the 2009-10 budget on February 25. Customs figures show that smokers lit up 3.79 billion cigarettes last year, compared with 3.33 billion in 2006, the year before the partial ban went into force. In 2007, 3.49 billion cigarettes were consumed. "The remaining smokers are consuming more. The price is as cheap as in 2001 and they can still go out to pubs and karaokes and nightclubs and smoke to their hearts' demise," said Clear the Air's smoking committee chairman James Middleton. "The figures in Hong Kong set an example to the world of how not to enact a smoking ban." The duty was last raised in the 2001-02 financial year - from 76 cents to 80 cents per cigarette. Anthony Hedley, professor of the University of Hong Kong's department of community medicine, said he was "very pessimistic" that Mr Tsang would choose public health over business. Philip Morris Asia cautioned against excessive increases in the tobacco duty, saying it would support "regular and moderate tax increases" but there should be no change in times of deflation. A spokeswoman said excessive tax would encourage smuggling, as was seen in the 1990s. Customs figures show a decline in smuggling attempts in recent years. The anti-tobacco lobby said census projections for restaurant receipts last year - the first full year the partial smoking ban had been in place - were HK$78.21 trillion, more than 27 per cent up on 2006 receipts. The figures were evidence, the campaigners said, that the smoking ban had not hurt the restaurant trade, as the industry had feared. Professor Hedley said top officials "need to take tobacco out of Hong Kong business, stop pretending this is like any other business". Chinese University department of community and family medicine professor Wong Tze-wai said the government should view tobacco in the same category as petrol. "We put tax on items that create some harm for other people, such as petrol," Professor Wong said. "Why do we want to tax petrol? [It is] because we want to discourage its consumption and excessive pollution." A spokesman for Mr Tsang said: "Public consultation [on the budget] is in progress now. We welcome all views and we have an open mind."

Should The Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

admin — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 11:57:22 +0000

Feb 02, 2009 A survey has shown that the lung functioning of non-smoking workers in smoke-free restaurants was much better than that of non-smoking workers in exempted bars ("Stick by full smoke ban, urge academics", December 10). Smokers continue to light up even though they know the dangers of smoking. Owners of nightclubs, bars and mahjong parlours argue that a full ban will be catastrophic for their businesses, especially given the economic crisis. However, it is unreasonable that they should be able to make a profit at the expense of the health of their members of staff. I believe there should be a prompt implementation of a full smoking ban in order to improve people's health. Also, once the ban has been agreed by the government, it must be enforced. JASON CHU HUNG-SHING, LAI CHI KOK

Should The Smoking Ban Be Delayed?

admin — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:18:14 +0000

SCMP - FEB 04, 2009 I do not wish to pour cold water or scorn on the views of others regarding the current smoking legislation, a debate I have probably been too vocal on already. However, having read Jason Chu Hung-shing's comments (Talkback, February 2), I feel that although his view that we should have an outright ban on smoking is laudable, such an option would be such an intrusion by government into the personal lives of its people that we would be on a slippery slope to banning other things that could be deemed bad for the people of Hong Kong. Let us start with cars that pollute, alcohol that intoxicates, sex that is not protected, pictures that corrupt the mind, religious groups that interfere, views that are subversive, drivers who drive badly, babies who cry and people who cut their nails on the MTR. Don't forget that we are in a terrible economic state and that, based on the number of our mainland brethren puffing away while saving Hong Kong from becoming nothing more than a Gibraltar of the Far East, we should also perhaps be more pragmatic and find a solution to help those who smoke and those who don't in equal measure. There are ways and we should not be blinkered to them. CALLAN ANDERSON, TAIKOO SHING

Impact on the Australian Quitline of new graphic cigarette pack warnings including the Quitline number

admin — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:30:03 +0000

BRIEF REPORTS

C L Miller^1,2, D J Hill³, P G Quester⁴ and J E Hiller²

¹ The Cancer Council South Australia, Eastwood, South Australia, Australia ² Discipline of Public Health, School of Population Health and Clinical Practice, University of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia ³ The Cancer Council Victoria, Victoria, Australia ⁴ Business School, University of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Correspondence to: C Miller, The Cancer Council South Australia, PO Box 929, UNLEY BC SA 5061, Australia;cmiller@cancersa.org.au

Background: In March 2006, Australia introduced graphic pictorial warningson cigarette packets. For the first time, packs include theQuitline number.

Objective: To measure the combined effect of graphic cigarette pack warningsand printing the Quitline number on packs on calls to the AustralianQuitline service.

Methods: Calls to the Australian Quitline were monitored over 4 years,2 years before and after the new packets were introduced.

Results: There were twice as many calls to the Quitline in 2006 (theyear of introduction), as there were in each of the preceding2 years. The observed increase in calls exceeds that explainedby the accompanying television advertising alone. While callvolume tapered back in 2007, it remained at a level higher thanbefore the introduction of new packets. No change was observedin the proportion of first time callers.

Conclusion: Introducing graphic cigarette packet warnings and the Quitlinenumber on cigarette packets boosts demand for Quitline services,with likely flow on effects to cessation

Youtube: Tar From Cigarettes

admin — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:46:30 +0000

Loss for Cigarette Maker in First Florida Tobacco Trial

admin — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:13:35 +0000

www.newsinferno.com - Friday, February 13th, 2009 In the opening phase of the first of 8,000 tobacco trials in Florida, big tobacco lost. According to Bloomberg News, a jury made up of three men and three women agreed that deceased smoker Stuart Hess’s nicotine addiction caused his 1997 lung cancer death. The move is seen as a significant setback for Altria, and its subsidary Philip Morris USA, said Reuters. A lawyer for Hess’s family and widow said he was pleased with the recent verdict and said the jury will be hearing much more about the damage tobacco has caused in the past few decades, reported Bloomberg News, which noted that, in this case, there are at least two more possible phases to the trial that could involve damage assessments against Altria Group Inc. Altria is the largest cigarette maker in the United States. Hess’s wife blamed an addiction to nicotine for her husband’s death; Stuart smoked for four decades and died at age 55. Altria argued that Hess had quit smoking from time-to-time, indicating—it felt—that Hess was really not addicted to nicotine, reported Bloomberg. Lawyers for the Hess family said that Stuart had tried, but was unable to quit smoking because of his nicotine addiction, said Reuters. In 1994, thousands of Florida smokers brought the class-action lawsuit against tobacco companies for the injuries they sustained from smoking. In 1999, the jury agreed that cigarette makers deceived smokers about the safety of their product, and awarded $145 billion in punitive damages to the plaintiffs; a Florida appeals court reversed the decision in 2003. In 2006, the Florida Supreme Court refused to reinstate the punitive damages and stripped the lawsuit of its class-action status; however, the Florida court allowed individuals who could have won judgments under the original verdict to use findings from the yearlong jury trial to bring new cases against the cigarette makers, which means that the smokers will not have to prove the issues in the follow-up cases. In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the tobacco companies’ appeal of the Florida court’s decision, which was mainly an attempt to prevent Florida smokers from using the 1999 jury findings in their lawsuits. Hess’s case is one of thousands filed following the class-action suit rejection by the Florida Supreme Court. In the second phase of the Hess trial, which begins today, the jury will be determining if Altria is at fault and if damages should be awarded; the third and final phase will be used to determine punitive damages, said Bloomberg.

HK Smoking Ban To Be Extended, Says Chow

admin — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:46:17 +0000

Regina Leung, SCMP - Updated on Feb 13, 2009 Most public indoor areas will be made smoke-free premises when Hong Kong's temporary smoking ban exemption ends on July 1, says Health Secretary York Chow Yat-ngok. He said the exemption would include bars, clubs, nightclubs, bathhouses and massage and mahjong parlours. Speaking at the International Symposium on Management of Tobacco Dependence, Dr Chow said late on Thursday smoking killed 6,900 people in Hong Kong annually. This made it one of the city's leading causes of death. “The world is in a tobacco epidemic. No nation is spared and no community exempt. We bear together the enormous health and social costs the epidemic has inflicted on us,” Dr Chow said.He said the ban was to reduce the medical costs incurred by smoking. “A recent a local study found the annual value of medical and productivity loss from smoking amounts to HK$5 billion â in which 80 per cent were from active and the rest from passive smoking,” he said. Dr Chow said a new fixed penalty system for smoking offences will also be launched in the coming months. This will impose a HK$1,500 fine within 21 days to all offenders who smoke illegally. The smoking ban will also be extended to public transport interchanges. The smoking ban has been in force in Hong Kong's indoor public places since 2007. This includes workplaces, schools, restaurants and some outdoor areas such as beaches and parks. According to the World Health Organisation, tobacco products kill more than five million people a year and will eventually kill 50 per cent of all regular smokers.

Nonsmokers Exposed To Tobacco Smoke Face Higher Risk Of Dementia, UK, US

admin — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 14:02:25 +0000

Judy Siegel-Itzkovich , THE JERUSALEM POST - Feb. 15, 2009

If you are a nonsmoker exposed to sidestream tobacco smoke, you're at a significantly higher risk of developing dementia and other forms of cognitive impairment, according to new research in the UK and the US.

On Friday, the British Medical Journal published the research conducted at the University of Cambridge, Peninsula Medical School and University of Michigan on 5,000 non-smoking adults over the age of 50. It is already known that an active smoker is at a significantly higher risk of dementia and that passive smoking can lead to poor cognitive performance in children and adolescents, as well as coronary heart disease, lung cancer, premature death, airway diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and impaired lung function in adults. But this new study, by Dr. David Llewellyn of the University of Cambridge and colleagues, is the first major one to conclude that second-hand smoke exposure could lead to irreversible dementia and other neurological problems. They used data from the Health Survey for England in 1998, 1999 and 2001 and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Saliva samples were tested for cotinine - a product of nicotine that can be found for about 25 hours after exposure to second-hand smoke. Cotinine levels are an objective, short-term biomarker of second-hand smoke. Participants also provided a detailed smoking history. The researchers used established neuropsychological tests to assess brain function and cognitive impairment - focusing on memory function, aptitude for numbers and verbal fluency (for example, naming as many animals as they could within a minute). The tests' results were added together to provide a global cognitive function score. Participants whose scores were in the lowest 10 percent were defined as suffering from some level of cognitive impairment. The link between second-hand smoke and cognitive impairment could be explained by the fact that heart disease increases the risk of developing dementia and second-hand smoke exposure is known to cause heart disease. Dr. Mark Eisner from the University of California writes in an accompanying editorial that while the serious negative health effects of second-hand smoke like cancer and premature death have been established beyond doubt, there is still a lot to learn about the scale of illness caused by second-hand smoke. "Emerging evidence suggests that parental smoking may impair childhood cognitive development. Later in life, second-hand smoke may cause cardiovascular disease and stroke, which are themselves linked to cognitive decline. Until now, however, the suspicion that passive smoking is bad for the adult brain had not been scientifically confirmed," he wrote. Eisner concludes by hoping that greater public awareness about the dangers of second-hand smoke, especially awareness about a much feared disease like Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, "would eventually translate into political action aimed at passing smoke-free legislation in regions of the world where public smoking is still permitted." Scientific proof of health damage from passive smoking has persuaded legislators to ban smoking in public places and workplaces around Israel, and to increase fines and other means of deterrence. Eisner noted in his editorial that "dementia has terrible consequences for quality of life, is greatly feared and is not easy to prevent. Consequently, publicizing the link between second-hand smoke and dementia may resonate powerfully with the public and increase awareness of the harms of passive smoking. "Greater public awareness would eventually translate into political action aimed at passing smoke-free legislation in regions of the world where public smoking is still permitted."

Tobacco Tax As Health Care

admin — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:24:05 +0000

SCMP - Updated on Feb 16, 2009 Last year, the government failed to raise tobacco taxes for the eighth year in a row. The budget speech is fast approaching and failure to raise taxes would be in direct contravention of World Health Organisation standards and guidelines on tobacco pricing. If this administration cares about public health, failure to increase taxes on an annual basis will be blatant disregard of its moral obligations as a government. There is a direct correlation with increased taxes and a decreased numbers of smokers. If the government tries to hide behind the "economic" situation as a reason for not raising taxes this year, it will undermine any credibility it has in regard to public health issues. Not raising taxes in a significant manner, to catch up with eight years of lost revenue to the health system of Hong Kong and increased health costs due to increased smoking, should be seen as a crime. If the claim is that it cannot be done due to the economy then that would mean the promotion of the myth that tobacco can help people "feel better" in tough economic times. Hong Kong will be laughed at on a global scale if this is the case. I look forward to a sharp increase in taxes that will bring us to comparable WHO world levels and will raise needed money for other increasing urgent air pollution-related health problems. Doug Woodring, Mid-Levels

Raise Tobacco Tax By 25pc

admin — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 14:20:00 +0000

SCMP - Feb 17, 2009 Smoking is clearly a serious problem in Hong Kong. Even with the smoking ban in force in indoor premises, some stubborn people continue to ignore it. This is evident at local public housing estates and malls run by THE LINK REIT. There have been calls on the government to raise taxes on cigarettes and extend smoking bans, yet the government has not come up with significant plans regarding smoking. In some parts of California bans on smoking outdoors are already in place. Why can't we do the same in Hong Kong? We do need to see further action being taken. And I really do hope that Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah will announce a 25 per cent tax increase on tobacco in his budget on February 25. SAMUEL CHAN, SHA TIN

Altria Must Pay $8 Million in Florida Smoker’s Death

webmaster — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 05:49:22 +0000

Altria Must Pay $8 Million in Florida Smoker’s Death (Update3) By Jef Feeley and Mort Lucoff Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Altria Group Inc., the biggest U.S. cigarette maker, must pay $8 million to the family of a smoker who died of lung cancer, a Florida jury ruled in the first of 8,000 individual cases to go to trial in the state. A state court jury in Fort Lauderdale ruled today Altria’s Philip Morris USA unit is liable for $3 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages over Stuart Hess’s 1997 death. The family’s lawyer told jurors during trial that Hess, 55, “choked his life away” smoking the company’s cigarettes from age 15. Altria makes Marlboro and Virginia Slims cigarettes. The verdict is the first in thousands of lawsuits filed after the Florida Supreme Court refused to reinstate a $145 billion punitive-damages verdict awarded by a Miami jury to a statewide class of smokers in 2006. Florida’s high court, which ruled the smokers can’t sue as a group, extended the time for individual smokers to sue and allowed them to rely in their individual cases on factual findings by the Miami jury, including that cigarettes are addictive and cause cancer. The decision comes nearly ten years after the first verdict in the overall case, where a Miami jury found in 1999 that cigarette makers were responsible for the death and health problems of hundreds of thousands of Florida smokers. That ruling set the stage for the record $145 billion damage award. “We’re going to file an appeal” of today’s award, said Kenneth Reilly, Altria’s attorney. “We’ll defend it vigorously like we have in all other cases.” Possible Reduction Altria fell 4 cents to $15.53 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading today. The company’s shares have risen 3.1 percent this year. Altria’s lawyers contend Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld is likely to reduce the award because jurors found that Hess didn’t rely on the company’s statements about the safety of cigarettes after May 1982. His family can’t claim damages for that period because he was fully aware of the risks associated with smoking, the lawyers said. Reilly said that the judge may throw out the punitive damage award and cut the compensatory award down to about $1.2 million, a reduction of 58 percent. That’s the number that jurors assigned to Hess for his share of responsibility for acquiring lung cancer from smoking. Alex Alvarez, one of the Hess family’s lawyers, countered that “the full $8 million verdict will stand” because jurors found the company intentionally acted in a way that harmed Hess. ‘Gave Us Justice’ “The jury spoke and gave us justice,” he added. Hess’s wife, Elaine, stood in a courthouse hallway wiping away tears after jurors handed down their decision. She said she hoped the verdict would send a message to tobacco companies. “I just hope that all the thousands of other suffering families will also obtain similar justice,” she said. During the two-week trial, Reilly told jurors the Hess family was seeking “an enormous amount” in the case and said he was relying on their “sound judgment” on the issue of whether the company should pay damages. The family’s lawyers urged the Broward County Circuit Court jury in closing arguments in the damages phase of the case yesterday to award Hess’s wife and son about $132 million in total damages over his death. “An award of only $5 million to $10 million would not mean that much to them,” Gary Paige, a lawyer for the family, told the panel. The 8,000 cases pending in the state are split up among cigarette makers including Altria, Reynolds American Inc. and Vector Group Ltd. The cases are slated to be tried in courthouses across the state in coming months and years. The manufacturers complain that the practice of allowing Florida smokers to rely on factual findings produced by the original 1999 case doesn’t pass constitutional muster. ‘Blame The Smoker’ “Today’s verdict was the result of an unconstitutional and profoundly flawed trial procedure,” Murray Garnick, an Altria spokesman, said in an e-mailed release. “Fundamental fairness requires the plaintiff to establish basic liability before a jury can award damages.” Anti-smoking activists hailed the verdict as a first step in winning adequate compensation for consumers injured by the companies’ products. “We’re delighted that the jury saw through Philip Morris’s attempts to blame the smoker” for his injuries, said Ed Sweda, a senior attorney for the Tobacco Products Liability Project at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston. “We’ll certainly be looking forward to the 8,000 other trials.” The next case is slated to begin tomorrow in state court in Ft. Lauderdale before Streitfeld. The case is Elaine Hess v. Philip Morris, CA 07-11513, Broward County Circuit Court (Fort Lauderdale). To contact the reporters on this story: Jef Feeley in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at jfeeley@bloomberg.net; Mort Lucoff in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at atmorsybil@bellsouth.net. Last Updated: February 18, 2009 17:57 EST

Time To Raise Tobacco Taxes - And Save Lives

admin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:43:29 +0000

SCMP - Feb 18, 2009 Stocks in companies offering products such as tobacco and alcohol are much loved by investors because they are believed to be recession-proof. Taxmen feel the same way. Tobacco tax is for all seasons; it is one of the few categories of public revenue that can reasonably be raised regardless of the economic cycle. In this downturn, the government is under pressure to bring relief to businesses in its budget next week as industries of all types clamour for tax breaks. The tobacco industry, still with deep pockets, might be the exception. To deter people from smoking, the government should increase tobacco duty. The Committee on Youth Smoking Prevention yesterday recommended doubling the tax. This is certainly feasible. There is a strong case for a significant increase. Duty on cigarettes has not been raised since 2002. As a result, our city has some of the cheapest cigarettes in the developed world. Because of the potentially deadly nature of the products it sells, the tobacco industry can expect little opposition from the public to a rise in the tax. Unlike many consumer industries, it finds it much easier to pass on costs to smokers because of their addiction. But high prices would discourage young people from taking up the habit. Smoking can cause addiction and all kinds of chronic diseases. It is imperative youngsters be deterred from taking up the habit. The ban on smoking in public, introduced at the start of 2007, has proved a success. Businesses, such as restaurants, which initially opposed it have come around. Many find that, though they have lost customers who smoke, non-smokers who previously avoided the establishments have taken their place. Many bars were exempted from complying with the ban until this summer. They are now lobbying for the exemption to continue because of the economic downturn. But they were against the ban even when times were good. The government must make the ban universal, as planned. We cannot completely stop smoking, but raising taxes and extending the smoking ban to all enclosed public spaces will deter enough people from smoking to save many more lives.

Call For Doubling Of Tobacco Tax To Stop Young Lighting Up

admin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:51:37 +0000

Daniel Sin, SCMP - Feb 18, 2009

The tax on tobacco should be doubled to curb youth smoking, a community group says.

A study by Chinese University's Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies released yesterday found that nine out of 10 parents thought urgent action was needed to curb youth Smoking, and almost 85 per cent of the parents said the problem was "serious" or "very serious". The Committee on Youth Smoking Prevention, a community group that commissioned the study, recommended the tobacco tax be increased by 100 per cent - from HK$804 per 1,000 sticks to HK$1,608. Part of the revenue from the tax should be used to finance NGOs, schools and parent groups so they can organise activities to prevent young people from smoking. Tik Chi-yuen, the committee's chairman and vice-chairman of the Democratic Party, said that more and more young people had been seen smoking in public places, even outside school premises. He said that doubling the tax on cigarettes had curbed youth smoking in many countries, and was recommended by the World Health Organisation and the World Bank. The Council on Smoking and Health, a statutory organisation, carries out public education on the adverse health effects of smoking, but Mr Tik said its resources were already stretched thin on its anti-smoking campaign. One per cent of the revenue from the increased tobacco tax could provide HK$30 million a year for mobilising the community to combat the problem, he said. Kenny Tsui Kar-keung, a board member of the Federation of Parent Teacher Associations in the Kwun Tong District, said it was too easy for young people to buy cigarettes. He said the penalty for selling cigarettes to young people should be raised. The survey was carried out in November, and feedback from 1,003 parents was collected. British American Tobacco was not available for comment.

Tougher Controls Sought On Smoking Activists Seek Graphic Images On Packets

admin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:05:09 +0000

Raymond Li, SCMP - Feb 18, 2009 Health activists have taken the anti-smoking fight to big tobacco companies with the launch of a campaign to force the firms to print graphic warnings on cigarette packets sold on the mainland. The Ministry of Health's National Tobacco Control Office launched an online campaign on Monday to solicit public support for tougher tobacco controls ahead of the annual gatherings of the nation's legislators and top political advisers. China signed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a World Health Organisation treaty, in 2003 but only began implementing it last month after a grace period. Under the treaty, tobacco manufacturers and importers must state clearly and prominently on cigarette packets sold on the mainland the damage caused by smoking. The text and preferably graphic warnings should take up at least 30 per cent of the pack. China was given an ash tray as an award at a WHO conference in South Africa last year, an apparent dressing down for the government's inability to enforce smoking restrictions. The mainland tobacco industry agreed to redesign packets from the beginning of this year under a new industry regulation introduced in April, but ignored WHO suggestions to include pictures in the warnings, an approach widely adopted by developed countries. Xinhua quoted tobacco office director Yang Gonghuan as saying that of the 8.4 million people who died on the mainland each year, 12 per cent, or 1 million, died of tobacco-related illnesses such as lung and throat cancer, heart disease and, among newborns, sudden infant death syndrome. "Smokers are becoming younger so this proportion will soar to one-third by 2050. That means about half of all male smokers will die of smoking-related diseases," Dr Yang said. Anti-smoking campaigners including Wu Yiqun, executive vice-director of the Research Centre for Health Development, said the shock value of graphic images - ranging from a skull and crossbones to a picture of yellowed teeth - made them an effective warning. Professor Wu accused tobacco companies of double standards because some used different packaging for overseas markets. Packs of Shanghai Tobacco's upmarket Zhonghua brand sold overseas carry a picture of a smoker's ulcerated foot, he said. Professor Wu said pushing the industry to minimise the harm of its products was like "demanding a tiger give up its pelt". She was dismayed by the lack of commitment by the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration. She was also concerned about its dual role as both regulator and representative of the powerful tobacco companies - firms that often contributed large chunks of revenues to regional governments. Writing in the Beijing-based Mirror newspaper, Capital University of Economics and Business associate professor Zhang Zhixin said the country had the incentive and financial capacity to cut the government's financial dependence on the tobacco industry, but added: "The public has good reason to question the sincerity of the government towards tobacco control because the results of such efforts are so poor."

NEW REPORT: Deadly in Pink - Big Tobacco Lures Women and Girls

admin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:07:35 +0000

Provided by Clarissa Driban, Home Front Communications, America

“Purse Packs” Depict Smoking as Feminine and Fashionable A new report sheds light on the most aggressive efforts by the tobacco industry to target women and girls in over a decade and reveals what Big Tobacco doesn’t want consumers to know. The tobacco industry has a long history of developing cigarette brands and marketing campaigns aimed at women and girls, with devastating consequences for women’s health. Recently, Philip Morris gave a makeover to its Virginia Slims brand with its new “purse packs” and R.J. Reynolds launched a new version of its Camel cigarette, called Camel No. 9—packaged in a shiny black box with hot pink and teal borders. These new marketing campaigns depict cigarette smoking as feminine and fashionable to lure a new generation of girls into a lifetime of smoking.

The new marketing campaigns and the long-term impact of smoking on women’s health are detailed in a new report “Deadly in Pink – Big Tobacco Lures Women and Girls”. The report was released today by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and some of the nation’s most prominent health advocates, including the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

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With more than 21.5 million women and girls smoking in the United States, tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death among women. Cigarette smoking kills more than 170,000 women in the U.S. each year, and while lung cancer death rates are decreasing for men, rates have yet to decline among women. Pending legislation before Congress has the potential, however, to protect women and girls by cracking down on tobacco marketing and sales to kids, prohibiting misleading cigarette descriptions such as “light, “low-tar” and “mild”, and requiring tobacco companies to disclose previously secret information about their products.

For more local (America) and national statistics please visit www.tobaccofreekids.org or for a copy of the report visit: www.tobaccofreekids.org/deadlyinpink

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For more information or to request the full Bites and B-roll, contact Home Front Communications by responding to this email or by calling 877-544-8400.

Smoking at Young Age May Raise MS Risk

webmaster — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 06:08:09 +0000

Study Shows Higher Risk of Multiple Sclerosis for Smokers Who Start Smoking Habit Early By Bill Hendrick - WebMD Health News - Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD Feb. 20, 2009 -- Youngsters who start smoking before age 17 may be putting themselves at increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis, a new study suggests. Researchers studied 87 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who were among more than 30,000 people who took part in the 2002 National Health Interview Survey. The people were divided into three groups: nonsmokers, early smokers who started before age 17, and late smokers who started at 17 or later. The people who started smoking before age 17 were 2.7 times more likely than nonsmokers to develop multiple sclerosis, the researchers say. People who started smoking at 17 or later did not show an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis compared to nonsmokers, according to the researchers. About 32% of the MS patients were early smokers, compared to 19% of the people who didn't develop the disease, the researchers say. "Studies show that environmental factors play a prominent role in multiple sclerosis," says study researcher Joseph Finkelstein, MD, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. "Early smoking is an environmental factor that can be avoided." The study findings took into account sex, race, age, marital status, education, income level, and region. The researchers say limited studies in the past also have suggested smoking as a risk factor for MS. Their findings are to be presented April 25-May 2 at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Seattle.

Higher Taxes And Horror Tactics Do Not Deter Student Smokers

admin — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:10:57 +0000

SCMP - Feb 20, 2009 If action groups and the government want to make a difference regarding smoking in Hong Kong then they need to address it at the grass-roots level. Most people start smoking in their teens, because it is seen as being rebellious and cool. The tradition in schools of showing biological "horror videos" simply does not work. This is because teenagers genuinely think they are invincible. It is the arrogance of youth - it will never happen to me. Instead, why doesn't the government work with some psychologists and biologists to get across the age-old principle of the need to look and smell good? Go into schools with heavy smokers' clothes or bottle a smoker's breath and let teenagers smell how disgusting that is and then imagine what it would be like to kiss it. Next is the "social crutch" factor of smokers in their 20s and 30s. People who go out a lot will not care about an increase in tobacco tax and whether they have to spend HK$30 or HK$40 on a packet of cigarettes. Why do they smoke? They feel naked without a cigarette in their hands. It is something to hold and smokers always congregate. As I said it is a social crutch. It would be worthwhile getting the message across to this group of people that their hangover feels a lot worse when they smoke. When you just have a hangover it can clear up pretty quickly. But if you smoke 40 cigarettes during an evening out your lungs and mouth have to deal with it for the whole of the next day. It definitely makes your hangover much worse. The last target group would be the long-time smokers. In the present economic climate with jobs being lost, many people in this category can no longer afford to smoke but continue to do so, because of the stress they feel. Some of them might be influenced by an increase in tax once they realise that they are spending around HK$11,000 a year on cigarettes. However, with this group of smokers the most important thing to do is help them give up and make them realise that there are better ways of fighting stress than smoking. Smoking action groups, university departments, and the government must work together to address the root causes of smoking, rather than raise taxes. K. Russell, Happy Valley

Rates Waivers, Tax Rebates To Be Unveiled, Modest Relief On Way, Says Source

admin — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 15:33:15 +0000

Gary Cheung, SCMP - Feb 21, 2009 Modest relief measures, such as rates waivers for two quarters and tax rebates of HK$5,000-plus, are expected to be announced in Wednesday's budget as the government opts to save cash for stormy times ahead. A source familiar with the drafting of the budget said the administration was preparing for the worst-case scenario of a bad economy this year and next and expected to have a deficit for the next three years. "Nobody can say whether the economy will recover next year and if we have to prepare for the worst," the source said. "That's why the government prefers keeping as much ammunition in its war chest as it can to cope with growing volatility in the next two years." The source said the government might grant fresh sweeteners to the needy after the summer if the economy continued to deteriorate. Given the administration's forecast of a gloomy economic outlook, the biggest sweetener to be announced by Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah on Wednesday would be tax rebates of between HK$5,000 and HK$10,000, the source said. Mr Tsang was also expected to waive rates for property owners for two quarters, according to the source. The amount of relief for taxpayers is expected to be substantially less than that handed out in last year's giveaway budget. In his maiden budget in February last year, Mr Tsang announced a rebate of 75 per cent of the tax payable for the 2007-08 financial year, capped at HK$25,000, and granted rates waivers for four quarters. Job creation will be the top priority for his second budget, which will spell out the details of a one-year scheme to subsidise companies hiring university graduates as interns. It is understood that 4,000 positions will be provided for students who complete university studies this summer and who did so last year, with the government paying a monthly HK$2,000 subsidy to local companies hiring graduates as interns to work in Hong Kong, and HK$3,000 for graduates hired to work on the mainland. The administration will not set a minimum salary for the graduates hired as interns. But one source said firms in the scheme would have to pledge that they would not sack staff after hiring a graduate through the government subsidy. Mr Tsang, who said this month that the government was likely to have a deficit of more than HK$7.5 billion for the next financial year, is expected to announce that it will face a deficit in the next three financial years, due to increased spending on infrastructure projects. Senior officials are considering the possibility of issuing bonds to fund long-term investments and increase cash flow for the administration, following growing calls from economists. The administration is also considering whether to raise tobacco duty to cut cigarette consumption, especially among young people. Its figures show a 13.8 per cent rise in cigarette consumption since 2006 despite a smoking ban in restaurants. Tobacco duties in Hong Kong have remained unchanged since April 1, 2001. Another source said Mr Tsang would not provide a further electricity charge subsidy, as many households were unlikely to use up the existing handout in the next financial year. In his previous budget he announced a HK$1,800 electricity subsidy for each household, with the administration crediting HK$300 to each domestic account for six months from September. In July, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen granted a further HK$1,800 electricity subsidy to each household.

Want To Quit Smoking? Study Shows Strength In Numbers

admin — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:38:33 +0000

Staff Reporter, SCMP - Feb 23, 2009 Smoking is contagious, and so is quitting, according to a doctor. Wilson Fung Yee-leung, a council member of the Hong Kong Medical Association, said a person stood a better chance of kicking the habit if he or she tried to do it with a spouse or friends. At an anti-smoking forum organised by the association yesterday in West Kowloon, Dr Fung also urged doctors at public hospitals to consider prescribing the anti-smoking medication Varenicline as a smoking-cessation treatment because overseas studies had found the drug more effective than other remedies. According to Department of Health statistics, the number of smokers has dropped from 14.4 per cent of Hongkongers in 2002-03 to 11.8 per cent in 2007-08. Dr Fung said: "One can easily develop a habit if one's friend has the habit. Smoking can be contagious. So is quitting smoking." Citing "The Collective Dynamics of Smoking in a Large Social Network" report in last May's issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, Dr Fung said one person stopping smoking seemed to have an effect on others. The closer their relationship, the more influential the impact. For example, 67 per cent of smokers said they would try quitting if their spouses did, while 36 per cent said they would if their friends did, Dr Fung said, citing the Harvard University study of 12,000 people. One smoker, surnamed Ip, who had been smoking for more than 20 years, said she had tried other means to quit, but failed. "I tried to quit with my boyfriend," she said. "And I also took Varenicline. I was able to stop smoking very quickly."

Higher Tobacco Taxes Urged To Curb Disease

admin — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:04:43 +0000

Ng Yuk-hang, SCMP - Feb 24, 2009 Governments around the world, including Hong Kong's, should consider raising tobacco taxes in an effort to curb smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer, according to a director of the World Health Organisation. "Tobacco tax is controversial," the WHO's chronic diseases and health promotion director, Fiona Adshead, said. "But there is good evidence to show that the best way to reduce smoking is to raise taxes, so the cost of smoking becomes so high that people have to quit." According to customs statistics, a tobacco tax of 80 cents per cigarette levied in Hong Kong, unchanged since 2001, makes Hong Kong cigarettes among the cheapest in the developed economies. Last year a total of 3.79 billion cigarettes were consumed, 8 per cent more than in 2007. Dr Adshead also said the government should provide more practical support in public hospitals for smokers who were trying to quit. But she said Hong Kong was a step ahead of many places trying to introduce smoking bans in public spaces. "Hong Kong is taking impressive steps when compared to the rest of the world," she said. "Processes in many countries are delayed because of differences in public opinion or for political reasons." She said the implementation of the final stage of Hong Kong's smoking ban in July, which will prohibit smoking in bars, nightclubs and mahjong parlours, would "definitely strengthen the effort". Dr Adshead was in town for an anti-tobacco symposium and was given a city tour by health officials. She visited a "healthy city" competition in Tuen Mun, a primary school which provides healthy lunches and dined at a restaurant which had joined the "EatSmart" campaign. She said the Department of Health had done a good job on health promotion, as reflected by its "social marketing" strategy - in which commercial principles were used to promote social issues so that health promotion became "fun and enjoyable". Dr Adshead said health promotion did not only yield health benefits but could also enhance child-parent relationships, as she had seen in the primary school she visited where parents joined their children for lunch.

High Tax Rise Will Not Work

webmaster — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 05:20:47 +0000

Updated on Feb 25, 2009 - SCMP I agree that increasing the tax on tobacco can curb youth smoking. This claim has been made by the World Health Organisation and the World Bank. However, I do wonder why the Committee on Youth Smoking Prevention has proposed exactly doubling the tax ("Call for doubling of tobacco tax to stop young lighting up", February 18). Of course, if the increase in tax is too small, it will not act as an effective deterrent. Likewise, if it was too high an increase, it might be counter-productive. High prices will undoubtedly discourage young people from buying cigarettes on which duty is paid. Instead, they might be tempted to buy cheaper, illegal cigarettes smuggled from the mainland. This will only help the triads, while poor cigarettes will only pose an ever greater health risk. More research is needed before deciding by how much to raise the tax. Wong Pui-lam, Kwun Tong

Prevent Officials Accepting Cigarette Bribes

webmaster — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 05:22:54 +0000

Lawmakers draft rules to prevent officials accepting cigarette 'bribes' Shi Jiangtao in Beijing - Updated on Feb 25, 2009 Mainland legislators are drafting bills to ban government officials from buying cigarettes using public funds or accepting them as gifts. The legislators said tobacco consumption had led to an increase in rampant corruption, state media reported. They were also likely to propose an increase in tobacco tax and a separation of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and large tobacco companies, Xinhua quoted mainland health activists as saying. Analysts said if the bills were passed, it would be the first time on the mainland that accepting cigarettes would amount to taking bribes. As part of the anti-smoking campaign which has gathered pace in recent months, the Ministry of Health's National Tobacco Control Office and several non-governmental organisations have worked with deputies to the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, who gather for their annual meetings next week. Although Beijing signed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a World Health Organisation treaty, in 2003, activists said it had made little effort to implement it or provide adequate support for tobacco controls. This is not the first time that health activists and legislators have joined forces in pushing for tougher tobacco controls. A similar bill was proposed by an NPC deputy in 2007 calling for government attention to the health hazards of smoking and for a ban on using public funds to refund cigarette costs. But Wu Yiqun, executive vice-director of the Research Centre for Health Development, said the bills proposed this year had made the most specific reference yet to the links between cigarette smoking and combating corruption. "We have to make repeated efforts to push forward the difficult campaign which very much depends on the government policy," Professor Wu said. "No one expects big breakthroughs through one single bill, but the bills this year have a better opportunity because of enormous public support for a healthy environment and anti-corruption attempts." The monopoly of the tobacco industry, and expensive cigarettes, were sources of huge waste and graft, the agency and campaigners said. Zhou Jiugeng, a district housing chief in Nanjing, was sacked and placed under investigation last year after being found wearing a watch worth about 100,000 yuan (HK$113,580) and smoking cigarettes selling for 1,500 yuan a carton. Anti-smoking activists say government funds for cigarettes in Jianli and Honghu counties in Hubei stand at as much as 10 million yuan a year. The proposed bills would cover all government agencies, state-owned enterprises and the military. Officials who accepted cigarettes as gifts would be charged with taking bribes, and subject to criminal punishment. Tobacco office director Yang Gonghuan told Xinhua there were over 300 million cigarette smokers in the country, with 1 million dying of tobacco-related illnesses such as lung and throat cancer and heart disease each year. "It's high time for NPC and CPPCC delegates to appeal to the government and the public to get involved in tobacco controls," Dr Yang said.

Three Jailed For Cigarette Smuggling

webmaster — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 05:44:37 +0000

Loretta Fong - Feb 25, 2009 - SCMP The former chairman of Hong Kong-based Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Co and two employees from another company were jailed yesterday for pocketing commissions and smuggling cigarettes to the mainland. Nanyang Brothers, a subsidiary of publicly listed Shanghai Industrial Holdings, made the Double Happiness brand of cigarettes, the brand smuggled to the mainland. In the District Court, Lu Dayong, 60, who has fled the city, was sentenced to 4-1/2 years in jail, and his lover, Ko Kit, 40, was jailed for 3-1/2 years. Ko was director of Hang Chun Trade Development. The pair was found guilty of a joint charge of conspiracy to accept an advantage from a cigarette trader, Golden Leaf International Development. They received more than HK$7.5 million. Chan Kai-san, 41, a Hang Chun sales manager, who was convicted of a count of conspiracy to defraud Nanyang Brothers, was jailed for two years. In sentencing, Judge Joseph Yau Chi-lap said "corruption struck at the heart of commercial and public life". He said Hong Kong had become one of the most corruption-free places in the world, and unscrupulous individuals would not be allowed to ruin the hard work of officials over the past 35 years by offering or accepting bribes. The court had heard that the offences happened between December 2002 and February 2004. The trio were caught on covert surveillance discussing the cigarette shipments or commission payments. Anti-graft agents found Lu kept a diary of the transactions. In sentencing Ko, Judge Yau rejected the claim of her defence counsel, Joseph Tse Wah-yuen, who argued she did not benefit from the payments. Judge Yau said that Lu, as the former chairman of Nanyang Brothers, seriously breached his fiduciary duty by defrauding the company. He said the amount of cigarettes smuggled was substantial because evidence showed there was a price war over cigarettes due to oversupply in Guangdong. Judge Yau said the scheme was well-planned and highly sophisticated, which added gravity to the offence.

Tobacco Duty In HK To Rise By 50pc

webmaster — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 05:52:09 +0000

BUDGET 2009 - Regina Leung - 1:52pm, Feb 25, 2009 - SCMP Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah on Wednesday announced an increase in Hong Kong tobacco duty by 50 per cent "with immediate effect" – saying it was needed for public health reasons. Mr Tsang was unveiling new fiscal measures in his second budget address in the Legislative Council. “The duty on cigarettes will increase from around HK$0.8 to about HK$1.2 per stick. We will also continue to step up our efforts on smoking cessation, as well as on publicity and enforcement in tobacco control,” he said. There had been calls from health experts for the government to consider raising tobacco taxes in an effort to curb smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer. According to customs statistics, a tobacco tax of 80 cents per cigarette levied in Hong Kong – unchanged since 2001 – makes Hong Kong cigarettes among the cheapest in the developed economies. It is estimated that over 6,000 people die in Hong Kong annually of smoking-related illnesses. Health experts are also concerned about the dangers posed by passive-smoking. Mr Tsang said although the government’s fiscal position this year was likely to be weak, spending on healthcare would be boosted. “The government will honour its pledge to increase healthcare expenditure to 17 per cent of recurrent expenditure by 2012,” he said. “When the financing arrangements are finalised after the consultation on its implementation, we will draw an amount of HK$50 billion from the fiscal reserves to implement the reform” he told the legislators. Mr Tsang said the government would increase Hospital Authority funding by about HK$870 million a year over the next three financial years. “The annual subvention for the Hospital Authority by 2011-12 will be approximately HK$2.6 billion higher than now. “I have also earmarked some HK$840 million for the next three financial years to implement various complementary measures to strengthen primary care services and the support to chronic patients, promote public-private partnership and develop a territory-wide electronic health record system,” he said. He said the government would provide additional funding of about HK$19 million to enhance the care for people with disabilities. Mr Tsang said that because of the growing ageing population, healthcare posed the greatest challenge to the public finances. He said the Food and Health Bureau would continue with the second stage of a public consultation on healthcare reform. Mr Tsang said more measures to support the development of food testing services were also planned. “This will help Hong Kong to develop into a food testing hub in the region,” he added.

50% Tobacco Tax Increase

webmaster — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:54:55 +0000

Media Release Clear the Air (CTA), together with the Department of Community Medicine, University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Dr Judith Mackay of the World Lung Foundation (WLF) have actively lobbied the Department of Health, the Panel on Health Services, the Food and Health Bureau, Legco members, the Financial Secretary and the local media to show that Hong Kong Government’s anti smoking measures were seriously lacking and in breach of the requirements of the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Treaty. There has been no tobacco tax increase in Hong Kong for 8 long years since early 2001. Recently the South China Morning Post published information on their front page provided by us demonstrating that the number of legal tobacco products consumed in 2008 was 13.8% more than consumed here in pre - smoking ban 2006. In the past week ATV World’s ‘Inside Story’ program aired a well timed documentary in which Clear the Air , HKU and WLF figured prominently; all the above strategies, combined with nonstop up to date worldwide anti-tobacco information provided to the Secretary of Health , the Food and Health Bureau and Legco members has now resulted in a significant step forward by the local SAR Administration which hopefully sets an example to Mainland China. In addition, the Secretary of Health Dr. York Chow and the Food and Health Bureau have demonstrated to the Administration the importance of increased taxation as an important healthcare measure and they have refused to compromise on this important matter. 50% Tobacco Tax Increase - 烟草税增加50％ The Financial Secretary today announced that the excise duty on tobacco products will be immediately increased by 50% to HK$ 24 per pack above the current levels of just over HK$ 16 per pack. Whilst we have sought a 100% tax increase, Clear the Air estimates that the new increased tax will hopefully: - Reduce current adult smoking significantly - Reduce current youth smoking by a significant amount and prevent our non smoking youth starting their addiction due to peer pressure The Hong Kong Administration must now capitalize on this tax increase and move towards making Hong Kong the world’s leading non smoking territory. 財政司司長今天宣佈立即增加烟草稅50％，即每包香烟的烟草稅由現時的16元調高至24元。爭氣行動一向要求政府增加烟草稅100％，雖然增幅未達我們的要求，我們預期新調高的稅率將會： - 令成年烟民的數目明顯減少 - 令青少年烟民的數目明顯減少，從而防止青少年因受朋輩壓力去開始吸烟香港政府應利用這次加稅的決定向前邁進令香港成為領導世界的無烟城市。 Further Government action is needed The tobacco taxation level must continue to increase year by year in line with FCTC requirements. Smoking bans must be extended at all restaurant and bar premises to include the Outside Seating Accommodation and patio areas. Smoking must be banned near airport and ferry entrance and exit doors, within 20 meters of restaurants, bars , building and office entrances , in vehicles carrying children and in all transport interchanges whether open air or enclosed. The Tobacco Control Office staff needs to be doubled in order to enforce the new fixed penalty smoking offence scheme efficiently. The Government must also legislate the excise taxation to be a percentage not less than 80% of final retail cost to prevent tobacco companies reducing prices to offset the increased taxation. This new excise taxation level is reasonably expected to earn approximately HK$ 4.6 billion duties in the coming financial year but this will still trail Government’s healthcare current spending on tobacco related illnesses and lack of productivity by HK$ 0.8 billion ; this is unacceptable since the health damage due to smoking is totally preventable by fiscal means, especially to prevent youth from starting smoking and health damage by passive smoking. The Government must now consider legal action against the tobacco companies as has happened successfully overseas, to recoup the immense costs incurred on the local healthcare system by these consumer products. Tobacco products are the only ‘legal’ consumer products which kill their users when operated as directed by the product manufacturers. Text of the Budget speech on Tobacco Tax: Medical and Health 108. Separately, for public health reasons, I propose to increase tobacco duty by 50 per cent with immediate effect. The duty on cigarettes will increase from around $0.8 to about $1.2 per stick. We will also continue to step up our efforts on smoking cessation, as well as on publicity and enforcement in tobacco control. Non competing Interests : None of the above bodies nor individuals (CTA, HKU, WLF) has any links whatsoever to the Tobacco Industry unlike statements which recently appeared in the press from the Committee on Youth Smoking Prevention. For those people who are not aware of the history or tobacco company funding of this organization please refer to the Council on Smoking and Health website: http://www.smokefree.hk/cosh/ccs/detail.xml?lang=en&fldrid=228 and http://cosh-hk.lemon-asia.com/content/55/8/1/seeing_bneath_d_surface_en.pdf Clear the Air is a registered charity based in Hong Kong with the aims of improving the overall air quality in the Territory. For further information on this press release please contact : Mr Michael Pieper, Communications Director Clear the Air Hong Kong www.cleartheair.org.hk webmaster@cleartheair.org.hk Professor Anthony Hedley , Department of Community Medicine University of Hong Kong hrmrajh@hkucc.hku.hk Professor Judith Mackay , World Lung Foundation jmackay@pacific.net.hk

烟草税增加50％

webmaster — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:48:02 +0000

新聞稿爭氣行動聯同香港大學社會醫學系及世界肺臟基金會的 Judith Mackay博士一直積極地游說衛生署，衛生事務委員會、食物及衛生局、立法會議員、財政司司長和本地傳媒，向他們強調香港政府的反吸烟措施嚴重不足並違反世界衛生組織烟草控制框架公約的要求。自2001年起香港八年來從沒增加過烟草稅。最近南華早報頭條報道在2008年合法的香烟銷售量比禁烟運動開始前（2006年）增加了13.8％。上星期亞洲電視國際台的 ‘Inside Story’ 節目亦提到了爭氣行動、香港大學及世界肺臟基金會的有關工作。上述的策略，加上源源不絕向衛生福利及食物局局長、食物及衛生局及立法會議員提供世界各地最新的禁烟資料推動了特區政府在其禁烟政策上向前邁進一大步。我們希望此政策對中國大陸起到示範作用。另外，衛生福利及食物局局長週一岳和食物及衛生局已向特區政府力陳增加烟草稅是重要的公共健康措施。他們拒絕在此重要事項上讓步。烟草稅增加50％財政司司長今天宣佈立即增加烟草稅50％，即每包香烟的烟草稅由現時的16元調高至24元。爭氣行動一向要求政府增加烟草稅100％，雖然增幅未達我們的要求，我們預期新調高的稅率將會： - 令成年烟民的數目明顯減少 - 令青少年烟民的數目明顯減少，從而防止青少年因受朋輩壓力去開始吸烟香港政府應利用這次加稅的決定向前邁進令香港成為領導世界的無烟城市。香港政府需要採取進一步行動烟草稅務必要跟隨國際烟草控制條約烟草控制框架公約的要求逐年增加。禁烟範圍一定要擴展至所有餐廳和酒吧，包括其室外坐位。禁烟範圍一定要擴展至機場和碼頭的出入口門外，餐廳、酒吧、建築物和寫字樓出入口20米範圍內。另外，所有載有孩童的車輛以及全部的交通工具轉乘處（不論室外或室內）都必須禁烟。為了有效執行新的吸烟定額罰款，衛生署控烟辦公室需要雙倍增加人手。政府亦必須立法規定烟草稅與香烟的零售價的比例不得少於80％以防止烟草商減價來抵消烟草稅的增幅。新的烟草稅預期能為政府在未來一個財政年度帶來46億港元收入。可是，這預期收入仍然比政府現時花在與吸烟有關的疾病的醫療開支低8億港元。有關現象是不能容忍的，因為吸烟帶來的對健康的禍害是完全可以透過財政的手段來避免。我們特別要避免青少年開始吸烟以及二手烟引致的健康損害。政府現在要考慮跟隨外國的做法，對烟草商採取法律行動，追討香烟產品引致的龐大醫療開支。香烟是唯一的殺害其消費者的‘合法’消費產品。財政預算案中有關烟草稅的原文: 醫療衞生 108. 另外，為了公眾健康，我建議即時把煙草稅稅率調高百分之五十。香煙的稅款會由每支約八角調整至約1元2角。我們亦會繼續加強推動戒煙及控煙的宣傳及執法工作。無利益衝突：與防止青少年吸烟委員會不一樣，爭氣行動、香港大學社會醫學系及世界肺臟基金會及其成員均與烟草業沒有任何關連。如想進一步瞭解烟草公司資助這委員會的詳情，請瀏覽香港吸烟與健康委員會網頁： http://www.smokefree.hk/cosh/ccs/detail.xml?lang=tw&fldrid=228 和 http://cosh-hk.lemon-asia.com/content/55/8/1/seeing_bneath_d_surface_en.pdf 爭氣行動是一個正式在香港註冊的志願組織, 致力改善香港的空氣質素。如需進一步的資料，請聯繫： Mr Michael Pieper, Communications Director Clear the Air Hong Kong www.cleartheair.org.hk webmaster@cleartheair.org.hk Professor Anthony Hedley , Department of Community Medicine University of Hong Kong hrmrajh@hkucc.hku.hk Professor Judith Mackay , World Lung Foundation jmackay@pacific.net.hk

Cigarette Stocks Gone in Puff of Smoke

webmaster — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:31:31 +0000

Timothy Chui and Grace Tsoi - Hong Kong Standard - Thursday, February 26, 2009 Smokers eager for a pre-budget- priced nicotine hit cleared convenience stores across the territory of cigarettes yesterday. News that the city's tobacco tax was being increased by 50 percent - effective immediately - just before noon left stores short or sold out of cigarettes by early evening. One store clerk said his shop was cleaned out of 2,700 packs, with buyers breaking brand loyalty to snap up all 40 or so brands on offer. Street vendors also tried to make a killing by upping the price of pre- budget cigarettes before the 50 percent hike in tobacco duties announced by John Tsang took effect. Tsang said tobacco duties would rise by HK$8 per pack, taking the total duty per pack to HK$24 from HK$16. Last night Shau Kei Wan street hawkers were charging HK$37 a pack. The duty hike will boost the goverment's take from HK$3 billion to HK$3.8 billion a year, said a government source who put the number of smokers in the SAR at about 600,000. He added that while progress had been made in making male smokers quit, younger female smokers were taking their place. Professor Judith Mackay, director of the Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control and senior policy adviser to the World Health Organization, called the budget's only tax hike a "much- needed, overdue and timely increase." She said cigarettes were getting cheaper in real terms because tobacco duties had remained the same over the past eight years. She added that every jurisdiction that increased tobacco duties saw declines in smoking rates, especially among the young. Mackay said there was a 4 percent decrease in smoking rates for every 10 percent increase in tax, while a government source pegged the figure at 6.3 percent per 10 percent. Anti-smoking group Clear The Air called for a doubling in manpower for the Tobacco Control Office, and said legislation should be passed to bind tobacco duties at no less than 80 percent of final retail costs to prevent tobacco companies from absorbing the hike. A Japan Tobacco International spokeswoman does not see the number of smokers dropping after the tax hike. She pointed out that the average daily consumption during the early 1990s was steady despite a 200 percent tax hike in March 1991. She warned higher taxes will lead to more cheap illegal cigarettes. A Philip Morris Asia spokeswoman echoed the smuggling concerns.

Going Up In Smoke

webmaster — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:40:23 +0000

Despite the perception that Hong Kong has made strides against smoking, activists and public health officials say the opposite is true SCMP - TOBACCO - Raymond Ma - Feb 26, 2009 How did it all come to this? That is the typical response of anti-tobacco campaigners, when asked about their crusade to rid Hong Kong of a highly addictive but legal product that has been linked time and again to everything from obesity and diabetes to stroke and cancer. Anthony Hedley, chair professor of community medicine at the University of Hong Kong, has been campaigning for tougher anti-smoking laws since he arrived here 21 years ago. He believes that "we are losing an enormous amount of ground". "From a public health point of view, it's very serious," he said. "Hong Kong is beginning to stand out among economically developed nations as a place which is losing progress in terms of the gains which it made in advocacy and legislation, and it will eventually lose ground in terms of health protection." Such concerns are not without foundation. Research by the university has estimated that 7,000 Hongkongers die from active or passive smoking each year. The total cost to the community, taking into account pain, suffering and lives lost, is put in excess of HK$70 billion per year. Smoking is considered one of the biggest health concerns in developed countries, right up there with high blood pressure, alcohol misuse and high cholesterol. However, despite the tireless efforts of people such as Professor Hedley and a strong community of tobacco-control activists and public health officials, there is a growing consensus that the city is losing its war against cigarette consumption. This may not be readily apparent to the average man or woman. According to figures from the Department of Health's Tobacco Control Office, the percentage of Hongkongers who smoked daily has fallen from 14.9 per cent in 1993 to 11.8 per cent in 2007-08. A cursory glance down a typical Hong Kong street may lead many to believe that fewer people are lighting up, compared with a decade ago. That is thanks, in part, to the smoking ban implemented in 2007 at all indoor public places that succeeded in ridding the city's restaurants of cigarette smoke. Hong Kong is also one of fewer than 20 countries or regions around the world where all cigarette packets feature graphic warning labels that convey on an emotive level the dangers of smoking. Finally, the passing of a sweeping set of legislative amendments to the city's smoking laws in 2006 generated substantial media interest. Yet, despite these measures, the anti-smoking lobby remains frustrated. Activists centre on how the city, once considered a trailblazer in the field of tobacco control, has been surpassed by more progressive jurisdictions. Consider that, in the late 1990s, Hong Kong was seen as a model of tobacco-control policies following the passage in 1997 of sweeping reforms that virtually eliminated all but the smallest forms of tobacco advertising in the city. At the time, such a ban was not even in place in Britain, of which Hong Kong was still a part. Fast forward a decade, and the situation is reversed. Four years after New York banned smoking from all enclosed workspaces, the so-called ban on smoking in "all" indoor public venues, implemented with much pomp and circumstance, was rife with extensions - for bars, bathhouses and mahjong parlours. Critics belittle the ban, and say it is continuing to fail in one of its chief aims: to protect catering and hospitality workers from second-hand smoke. Against this backdrop, the reality - despite what some may perceive - is that the consumption of tobacco has risen steadily over the years. Latest Customs and Excise Department figures show that 3.79 billion cigarettes were sold last year, compared with 3.33 billion in 2006. In 2007, 3.49 billion cigarettes were consumed. "Up until 1997, we were, arguably, the second best in Asia after Singapore, but after that, all the way up to 2007, we did almost absolutely nothing during that period," said Judith Mackay, a senior policy adviser to the World Health Organisation. "We did have legislation that went through and came into effect in 2007 which brought us a little bit more up to speed, but then we had all these ridiculous extensions," she added, referring to the grace periods given to some businesses and the delaying of a ban on point of sale cigarette advertising until later this year. "Both of those had extensions in the law and it made it less than perfect." But where Hong Kong really fell behind was in its failure to increase tobacco duty, despite the fact that it was widely considered to be the best measure to cut consumption, she said. Before yesterday's 50 per cent rise, the last time the government put up the duty was in 2001. In the 1990s, some of the highest tobacco tax increases were recorded. Year after year, anti-smoking lobbyists called on the government to raise the tobacco duty, only to have their pleas ignored. Most recently, the publicly funded Council on Smoking and Health (Cosh) sent a petition, with around 4,000 signatures from people around the world, to Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah urging him to raise the tobacco duty. Hong Kong is bound, under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control - a global anti-smoking treaty which has been signed by Beijing - to implement tax or price measures. Dr Mackay noted that even the mainland, the largest producer and consumer of cigarettes in the world, is considering using taxation to curb consumption. She said that Hong Kong had been "shockingly, critically and embarrassingly backwards" on raising the duty. "It's really shameful." Aside from the bold step of a tobacco duty increase, Dr Mackay said that it was also important that the extensions, which will expire in June, be ended without further delay. Furthermore, the government needed to hold out against putting smoking rooms in bars in Hong Kong, which had already spent HK$2.5 million of taxpayers' money to study, she said. While there has been some debate over the plan's merits, putting a ventilated smoking room in every bar in Hong Kong was simply too expensive, and it would still fail to protect the health of the people who work at these places, Dr Mackay said. "Somebody's got to clean it, work in it, so it's still not without risk." Finally, Hong Kong should consider plain packaging for cigarette packets, which would be a world first, and set prevalence targets, a measure not uncommon in other jurisdictions. Dr Mackay challenged the government to reduce smoking prevalence to 11 per cent for daily smokers by the end of 2010. A spokesman for the Food and Health Bureau said the government agreed that taxation was one of the many effective measures to reduce smoking. He said the financial secretary considered all factors before making a decision. And he was adamant that the administration would make no exemptions in its planned implementation of the amendments to anti-smoking laws passed in 2006, including its plans to end the grace periods for bars and other places under the indoor smoking ban, and to eliminate point of sale advertising for cigarettes. However, he said the government was still continuing its study on smoking rooms. No decision had yet been made, he said, and the government would report to the Legislative Council when it was ready. At a conference on managing tobacco dependence, held by the Tobacco Control Office in Hong Kong last week, Secretary for Food and Health York Chow Yat-ngok acknowledged that, while Hong Kong had made progress in fighting smoking, more needed to be done. He made the comments shortly after the government unveiled an extension to its community-based smoking cessation programme, to include after-office hours and weekends. Meanwhile, there have also been calls for the government to commit more resources to fighting smoking. James Middleton, the anti-tobacco committee chairman for lobby group Clear the Air, believes that the current resources allocated by the government to fight smoking are inadequate. In the 2008-09 fiscal year, the government budgeted HK$47 million for the Tobacco Control Office to carry out its duties. The office employs 124 people, including 85 tobacco-control inspectors, to carry out enforcement, seven police officers, and various medical and clerical professionals. Meanwhile, each year, Cosh receives a dwindling subvention that stood at HK$11.3 million in the previous budget, down from HK$14.8 million in 2005-2006. "The Tobacco Control Office has [85] inspectors to cover the whole of Hong Kong on two shifts. It's totally inadequate. How can you do that?" Mr Middleton said.

50pc Tobacco Duty Rise Brings Confusion

webmaster — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:44:45 +0000

BUDGET 2009 - Ella Lee and Danny Mok - Feb 26, 2009 - SCMP Confusion arose last night over cigarette retail prices, with two major tobacco agents taking the unusual step of not raising charges immediately after a 50 per cent increase in tobacco duty was announced in the budget. Some retailers immediately raised prices, while others imposed a limit on the number of packs each customer could buy. British American Tobacco Hong Kong and Hong Kong Tobacco did not raise charges yesterday, along with most 7-Eleven outlets and other vendors. But most 7-Eleven stores allowed each customer to buy only two packs a time. Smokers were seen rushing for cigarettes at outlets of Circle K, which did not raise charges. Most petrol stations did not increase their prices. However, some vendors raised prices by HK$8 a pack after the budget. The 50 per cent increase in duty was welcomed by anti-smoking activists. However, they were quick to warn that the measure should not lead to any "trade-off" with the tobacco industry. Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah announced that the duty would be increased from about 80 HK cents per cigarette to HK$1.20, with immediate effect. The duty for cigars was increased from HK$1,035 per kg to HK$1,553. Tobacco duty was last raised in the 2001-02 financial year - from 76 cents to 80 cents a cigarette. Executive secretary of the Tobacco Association of Hong Kong Raza Zulfiqar said the trade was disappointed with the "drastic increase" in tobacco duty, adding that it would only stimulate smuggling of cigarettes. He said individual tobacco companies would decide later on the new retail prices of their products. A senior government source said the increase was not aimed at increasing revenue for the administration but at reducing the smoking population. There are about 754,800 smokers in Hong Kong, or 13.2 per cent of the population aged over 15. Fears had been raised about the increasing number of young and female smokers in Hong Kong, the source said. Secretary for Food and Health York Chow Yat-ngok said the measure could deter more young people from smoking. Tobacco tax has been increased from HK$16 to HK$24 per pack of cigarettes, with retail prices of some popular brands expected to rise from about HK$29 to HK$37 a pack. The anti-smoking group Clear the Air said the government must legislate for the excise tax to be not less than 80 per cent of final retail cost, to prevent tobacco companies reducing prices to offset the tax rise. Anti-tobacco groups had been calling for the administration to increase tobacco duty after government figures showed a 13.8 per cent rise in cigarette consumption since 2006, despite a smoking ban in restaurants. Anthony Hedley, a professor in community medicine at the University of Hong Kong, welcomed the move and said it plugged a big hole in tobacco control. "Credits should go to the NGOs, the Department of Health and the Food and Health Bureau which have pushed for the increase," he said.

Tobacco Tax Rise Applauded

webmaster — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 05:28:09 +0000

Feb 27, 2009 - SCMP Hong Kong Cancer Fund applauds the government's decision, announced in Wednesday's budget, to increase the tobacco duty by 50 per cent. Significant steps forward like this, combined with public awareness and tobacco control measures, can serve to minimise the burden of chronic illnesses such as cancer in our community. As a charitable organisation providing free information and cancer support to more than 23,000 individuals diagnosed with cancer each year, we are pleased that Hong Kong's policymakers are setting new parameters that will help us to control cancer. Sally Lo, chairwoman, Hong Kong Cancer Fund

HK$10 Rise In Price Of A Packet Of Cigarettes

webmaster — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 05:31:43 +0000

Smokers left gasping at HK$10 rise in price of a packet of cigarettes BUDGET 2009 - SCMP - Bryony Taylor - Feb 27, 2009 Tobacco companies yesterday capitalised on the 50 per cent tax increase proposed in the budget by adding an extra HK$2 per pack onto the retail price. Almost all brands increased by HK$10, rather than the HK$8 tax increase announced on Wednesday. Retailers 7-Eleven and Circle K said they were told by the suppliers to make the larger increase. Philip Morris International estimated the increase in tax would mean an extra cost of HK$2,000 a year for a smoker who consumed 14 cigarettes a day. However, this estimate does not take into account the extra HK$2 per pack, which adds a further HK$555 a year on average. Despite this, lucky customers at Circle K stores continued to buy cigarettes at the old prices due to late publication of new price lists from suppliers. But some small vendors took advantage of the tax increase by putting up prices by HK$12 a pack. "We have informed our trade partners that the price of most products must increase due to the significant tax increase and anticipated drop in the sale of duty-paid tobacco," Philip Morris said. Many anti-smoking groups were worried that the increase would be absorbed by the manufacturers, but this has not been case. Philip Morris also expressed worries that the higher tax would provide business for illegal traders. Anti-smoking campaigners deny this, however, and stressed the strength of Hong Kong's customs department. Cigars have also been affected by the increase, but due to their more complex pricing structure, new price lists have yet to be released. "We are pleased that the tobacco companies are helping our cause by increasing the price further," said Anthony Hedley, of the University of Hong Kong's school of public health. Li Cheong-lung, from the Committee on Youth Smoking Prevention, said: "Price influence is one of the most important reasons of youth smoking. "Some youths have told me that they attempted smoking by purchasing lower-priced products, therefore the price increase could help stop newcomers." New prices Marlboro HK$39; Kent HK$39; Salem HK$39; Next HK$34; L&M HK$36; Dunhill HK$39; Davidoff HK$35; Winfield HK$34; Capri HK$41; Winston HK$35

Health Hotline Flooded Since Tobacco Duty Raised

webmaster — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 05:35:52 +0000

Hotline flooded since tobacco duty raised 50pc in budget Ng Kang-chung - SCMP - Feb 28, 2009 The decision to raise the tobacco duty in the budget to discourage people from smoking seems to have had an immediate effect - a hotline that helps people kick the habit has been flooded with inquiries. By 4pm yesterday there had been 403 inquiries to the Department of Health's hotline - 1833 183. It received 322 calls on Thursday, against a daily average of just 12 last year. The hotline is manned by nurses who provide counselling. After hours, a computerised call-handling system provides information on quitting smoking. Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah announced the 50 per cent increase in tobacco duty in his budget speech on Wednesday. With immediate effect, the duty on cigarettes increased from around 80 cents per cigarette to about HK$1.20. The increase pushed the retail price of a pack of 20 cigarettes to about HK$39, up from HK$29. Mr Tsang estimated that 10 per cent to 20 per cent of smokers would opt to quit after the duty increase. Meanwhile, the health minister disclosed yesterday that the idea of imposing an import ban on cigarettes was once considered as a move to force people to stop smoking. Secretary for Food and Health York Chow Yat-ngok also warned the government could one day reconsider such a move. Dr Chow made the comments during a radio phone-in programme in which he faced a torrent of criticism over the move to increase tobacco duty by 50 per cent. In yesterday's RTHK Talkabout programme, one smoker, a Mr Ching, asked why the government did not simply outlaw tobacco imports. Dr Chow said: "It was not that we had not thought of this idea. But society is changing and the habit [of smoking] can change by not [banning imports]. In the past 10 to 20 years, we have increased tobacco duty and strengthened education in the hope of encouraging people to quit smoking. "Many places in the world are using more or less the same means." Repeatedly challenged by Mr Ching over an import ban, Dr Chow said: "We have not ruled that out. One day, we might consider that or carry it out." But he was quick to add: "Hong Kong is a free society. We hope people can kick the habit willingly." According to figures from the Department of Health's Tobacco Control Office, the proportion of smokers dropped from 14 per cent of the population in 2005 to 11.8 per cent in 2007-08. The percentage of young smokers - aged between 15 and 19 - also fell, from 3.5 per cent of the youth population in 2005 to 2.4 per cent in 2007-08. But Dr Chow said he was still worried. "Young smokers now consume 11 sticks every day, as compared to nine sticks in 2005." On media reports about a surge in smuggling of cigarettes after the duty was increased, Dr Chow said: "Customs will have sufficient measures and resources to deal with this problem

Raising Taxes Just The First Step On Anti-Smoking Front

webmaster — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 05:39:53 +0000

Updated on Mar 01, 2009 - SCMP Stepped-up smuggling activities are to be expected after the government raised tobacco duty by 50 per cent. But the brazen manner in which some criminals hand out fliers in busy streets and drop them in residential mailboxes to promote the sale of illegal cigarettes is deeply troubling. Customs and police have anticipated such developments; they must make sure they have adequate resources and manpower to nip such criminal activities in the bud. It was right to raise the duty on cigarettes; we had not done so since 2002. As a result, our city had been selling some of the cheapest cigarettes in the developed world. Officials had cited the danger of encouraging tobacco smuggling as a reason to avoid raising taxes. Now they have bitten the bullet. By making smoking expensive, it will help deter people from starting the habit and encourage addicts to quit. The revised duty will not only help boost government coffers at a time of a rising deficit, but save many lives. It is especially important to discourage youngsters from taking up the deadly habit. However, law enforcement against smugglers and illegal sellers must be coupled with education and medical services to help smokers quit. And anti-smoking messages should be promoted. Unfortunately, with an illegal pack selling for as little as HK$6, more smokers may be tempted to buy illegal cigarettes in this downturn. Such people may need to be nudged in the right direction. Is it not more sensible to quit than to resort to dealing with criminals and waste money on illegal tobacco that will damage one's health? But to get this message across, more community resources and campaign drives are needed. The Department of Health and some non-government groups run free or highly subsidised smoking-cessation services. Schools should also be given more resources to educate young people, but with more effective and creative messages so they get the point. This summer will see the smoking ban extended to all enclosed public spaces. Many bars are lobbying to extend their exemption from the ban. Officials must stick to their guns, because our city is finally moving in the right direction on the anti-smoking front.

The Dial-A-Pack Cigarette Gangs

webmaster — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 05:42:46 +0000

Clifford Lo - Updated on Mar 01, 2009 - SCMP Illegal cigarettes are being sold for as little as HK$6 a pack to attract customers - part of a sophisticated trafficking operation designed to elude police and customs officers - say law enforcement sources. The gangs hand out fliers across the city listing brands, a price list and contact numbers - or post them in residents' letter boxes - and take orders by phone, the sources say. Customs chiefs are braced for a rise in tobacco smuggling following the 50 per cent rise in tobacco duties announced in last week's budget speech. The increase pushed the average price of a pack of 20 cigarettes up from HK$29 to HK$39. The government hopes the rise will persuade between one in five and one in 10 smokers to quit the habit. "After taking orders, illicit cigarettes are delivered to your home or pickups are arranged in parks or at MTR station exits," a government source said. "To avoid being caught in a sting, illegal traffickers will observe buyers and the location of the transaction before doing business. New buyers may be asked to leave money on a park bench before being told where to pick up the goods." Mainland visitors, housewives, drug addicts and Vietnamese residents had been recruited to distribute the goods and run the business, this source said. Counterfeits sell for HK$6 to HK$10 a pack; smuggled genuine cigarettes cost HK$15 to HK$17. Another source said most buyers of illegal cigarettes were from lowincome families and the illegal traders did most of their business in public housing estates. Customs officials said crackdowns on areas where the gangs operate had cut into their sales. However, authorities were concerned that the rise in tobacco duties would spur an increase in the trade. Cross Street in Wan Chai is one of the places where the illegal trade flourishes. The vendors hide the cigarettes in an alley or nearby building. "Now traffickers have resorted to a phone-order service to evade detection and arrest," one source said. "Some traffickers only take orders from regular customers or those who can say a password." The Customs and Excise Department dealt with 1,570 cases of illegal-cigarette smuggling, distribution, sales and storage last year, 14 per cent fewer than in 2007. Officers arrested 1,170 people and seized more than 73 million cigarettes. Most of the illegal cigarettes are smuggled from the mainland. Ben Leung Lun-cheung, head of the department's land boundary command, said: "We are determined to crack down on the import, storage and sale of illicit cigarettes."

More Studies Slam Secondhand Smoke

webmaster — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 05:52:09 +0000

Two new studies add even more weight to the existing evidence that secondhand smoke is a serious health threat. Writing in BMJ (Vol. 330; No. 7486:277-281 and 287-288), researchers from Europe report that kids exposed to secondhand smoke have a higher risk of lung cancer, while researchers in Hong Kong link secondhand smoke to a greater risk of death from any cause — including lung cancer. The European team, led by epidemiologist Paolo Vineis of Imperial College, London, studied more than 123,000 people who were either nonsmokers or had given up smoking at least 10 years earlier. All the participants provided information on their exposure to secondhand smoke, including where they were exposed and whether they had been exposed as children. People who had been exposed to secondhand smoke for many hours every day in childhood had more than triple the risk of developing lung cancer compared to people who were not exposed to secondhand smoke as children. Former smokers were more at risk of developing lung cancer than people who never smoked. The Hong Kong team, led by Sarah McGhee of the University of Hong Kong, analyzed the causes of death for more than 5,600 nonsmokers. Those who were exposed to secondhand smoke in the home were 24% more likely to die from any cause, including lung cancer, other lung diseases, other cancers, heart disease, and stroke if there was one smoker at home. If there were two smokers in the household, their chance of dying increased by 74%.

The Anatomy of Addiction

webmaster — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 05:12:05 +0000

(ABC 6 NEWS) - Cigarettes are highly addicting. But why is it that some people who try cigarettes can put them down and never get addicted while others get hooked right away? Doctors at Mayo Clinic say the answer lies in how your brain responds to nicotine. A few puffs is all it takes for some people to become addicted to cigarettes. And then there are people like Uncle Charlie. "Everyone knows an Uncle Charlie,” says Dr. Richard Hunt. “Uncle Charlie was basically not a very productive person. He couldn't hold a job, was married six times, smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for 25 years, and one day decided to stop smoking and he did. He didn't have withdrawal symptoms, didn't use any medications. So for the addicted smoker, they look at Uncle Charlie and say, if he could do that and I can't there must be something wrong with me. And the reality is, there's not something wrong with the person, it's that their brain has been altered because of smoking cigarettes." Dr. Hurt heads the center for tobacco free living. He says your chances of becoming addicted to cigarettes hinge on genetics, on how your brain responds to nicotine. It only takes about five heartbeats for nicotine to go from the cigarette to your brain. For many people it stimulates receptors that release dopamine and cause the pleasure response. Over time, the receptors increase in number and change the anatomy of the brain. So when you try to quit smoking you cut off the pleasure response because you are depriving the receptors of nicotine. "And they object to that with withdrawal symptoms,” says Dr. Hunt. Those symptoms include irritability, anxiety and the inability to concentrate. If you make it through withdrawal and quit smoking, the number of nicotine receptors reduces to normal. "But they don't forget what all that felt like. So a smoker may have stopped smoking for six months and then be in a situation where they normally would smoke again, and the receptors say, 'you know, it used to be when I was in that situation I’d have a cigarette, so I want a cigarette right this minute,” explains Dr. Hunt. Such urges can last for years after quitting. But Dr. Hurt says medications such as the nicotine patch or other non-nicotine prescription medications plus counseling can help smokers gain control over their addiction and move forward into a healthier, smoke-free life.

A Victory For Public Health

webmaster — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 05:22:43 +0000

Mar 02, 2009 - SCMP While much of the government's attention is understandably taken up with the complexities of the global financial crisis it is to be congratulated for not ignoring the public's health in Wednesday's budget. The increase of 50 per cent in tobacco tax is a very welcome and long overdue step. We know from international evidence that this tax increase will decrease the misery of smoking-related diseases not only among smokers, but also those exposed to their second-hand smoke, particularly children. Coupled with a commitment to strengthening support for those who wish to stop smoking, this is a major step forward for public health in Hong Kong. The additional resources to develop primary care, especially in poorly served geographical areas, and to implement programmes, such as pneumococcal vaccination for children, are also welcome as is the continued support for moving forward on e-health records. These initiatives provide the opportunity to focus more on prevention and community-based care, moving forward on the health-care-reform commitments to improve primary care. These must be steps in the right direction. Sian Griffiths, director, school of public health, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Punitive Tactics Just Put Smokers On The Defensive

webmaster — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 05:49:33 +0000

Mar 02, 2009 - SCMP The expected benefits of the 50 per cent rise in tobacco duty seem, at first sight, quite laudable - a reduction in cigarette smoking by young smokers unable to afford this debilitating habit. Given such a draconian tactic and one that will affect a significant percentage of the community, is it not time that we reviewed the success of the anti-smoking tactics? Just what has been the success of all the initiatives that the anti-smoking lobby has had implemented over the last two decades in Hong Kong? This lobby has been given everything it asked for. We have had advertising and promotion bans, smoking restrictions, community anti-smoking messages, on-premises smoking restrictions and cigarette pack warnings. But what have been the social benefits of all these policies? Unfortunately, there have been no benefits. The incidence of cigarette smoking in Hong Kong and many countries with similar restrictions continues to rise. The only rationale is that these strategies have never worked, nor were they ever going to, because they do not properly address smokers' motivations and the habit issue. Punitive approaches such as restrictions, bans and taxes clearly do not work. They just put smokers on the defensive. It can even make smoking attractive to some young people because it appears to be rebellious, and so they take up the habit. Introducing penalties in the form of taxation to force down habit-formed consumption never works, as anyone who has been in the alcohol and cigarette industry knows. It always leads to smuggling and tax avoidance. Criminal elements become involved, hell-bent on the monetary advantage untaxed cigarettes will offer. This is a lesson that was learned in the 1930s during Prohibition in the US. Have we not progressed since then? Those who would quote examples of declines in cigarette consumption following tax hikes, make the mistake of relying on and quoting official figures for cigarette imports and production. These are obviously grossly inaccurate because there is no way to collect accurate figures regarding the volume of smuggling. Smuggling activities will increase dramatically as a result. We need new and better policies to address this health issue in Hong Kong. We must have more enlightened public-health thinkers who can see beyond punitive measures. Is it not time to ask the anti-smoking lobby to set some performance goals and be accountable when policies fail, as will be the case with this most recent government tax initiative? Chris Robinson, Pok Fu Lam

Why Nicotine Prefers Brains Over Brawn

webmaster — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:21:24 +0000

By Haley Stephenson - ScienceNOW Daily News - 2 March 2009 If nicotine liked muscle receptors as much as it likes brain receptors, a single cigarette would kill. Scientists have finally figured out why the molecule is so picky--a finding that may shed light on the addictiveness of smoking. For nicotine--or any molecule--to interact with its receptor, the two must bind. Having opposite charges on the molecule and the receptor's binding site, referred to as the "box," helps. But the nicotine receptors in the brain and muscles are nearly identical--nicotine has a positive charge, and both receptors' boxes have a negative charge. So something else must explain why the brain loves nicotine whereas muscles shun it. [caption id="attachment_807" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Nicotine (center) nestled into brain receptor "box.""][/caption] After more than a decade of work, Dennis Dougherty, a chemist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, and his colleagues finally have the answer. It turns out that a single amino acid makes all the difference. Near the box region, the brain receptor has a lysine molecule, whereas the muscle receptor has a glycine molecule. What the lysine does, Dougherty and colleagues report online this week in Nature, is change the shape of the brain receptor's box, effectively making its negative charge more accessible to nicotine--a situation known as a cation-pi interaction. "The box reshapes so nicotine can cozy up," Dougherty says. For its part, the box in the muscle receptor is ideally configured for a molecule known as acetylcholine, which helps muscles contract. When Dougherty's team switched out the muscle receptor's glycine for a lysine, the muscle embraced nicotine as if it were acetylcholine. It's a good thing that doesn't happen in the body, says Mark Levandoski, a chemist at Grinnell College in Iowa, who was not part of the study. Smoking would immediately trigger abnormal contractions that would paralyze muscles, like those involved in breathing. "If nicotine were lighting up our muscles the way acetylcholine does, we'd be in big trouble," Levandoski says. Scientists can only speculate about why the brain and muscle receptors differ so much. For now, Dougherty and his lab want to determine whether the binding between other nicotine-family receptors and pharmaceutical drugs also involves cation-pi interactions. Studying the binding interactions within the nicotine receptor family might lead not only to new ways of helping people stop smoking, he says, but also to new treatments for illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease, autism, Parkinson's disease, and schizophrenia.