Australia
Have your say on smoke-free places
WE’RE urging Queenslanders to speak out and have their say about smoke-free places across the state to help shape the future of tobacco control in Queensland.
https://www.qt.com.au/news/have-your-say-on-smoke-free-places/3232462/
Cancer Council Queensland, Heart Foundation and Asthma Foundation have launched a statewide survey on smoking, giving Queenslanders the opportunity to share their opinion about current and future smoke-free places.
The survey will gauge support on current tobacco laws and identify additional areas the community would like to see smoke-free, including outdoor public areas and multi-unit housing.
Tobacco is having a detrimental effect on the health of our state. Those who smoke or are exposed to second-hand smoke are at a much greater risk of developing chronic diseases, including heart disease and cancers.
Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in Australia. In Queensland alone around 3700 people die from a tobacco-related disease each year.
This survey will give the public a voice to help advocate for stronger tobacco legislation reforms through the extension of statewide smoke-free places in Queensland.
Will you share your views? Have your say to help clear the air for thousands of Queenslanders impacted by second-hand smoke.
If you’re a Queenslander aged 18 and over, please complete our Smoke-free Places Survey at smokefreeplacessurvey by October 16.
All responses are anonymous and confidential.
Ms Chris McMillan
CEO, Cancer Council Queensland
Global tobacco giant Philip Morris commits to a ‘smoke-free’ future in Australia
TOBACCO giant Philip Morris will on Thursday commit to a “smoke-free” Australia in a push to legalise reduced-risk alternatives to replace cigarettes.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/global-tobacco-giant-philip-morris-commits-to-a-smokefree-future-in-australia/news-story/110c8a659e56980e5b6aa16c9c9fe19c
The company will tell a federal parliamentary inquiry on electronic cigarettes that technology has rapidly transformed its business away from cigarettes in favour of smoke-free alternatives.
E-cigarettes containing nicotine are not regulated as therapeutic goods in Australia and cannot be legally imported for personal use.
Australian medicines regulator the Therapeutic Goods Administration does not support the use of electronic cigarettes.
Philip Morris scientific affairs fellow Maurice Smith said every level of the global company was committed to “transitioning away” from cigarettes “as soon as possible” — a process it has already begun in 30 countries.
Mr Smith will tell the hearing in Melbourne that more than three million smokers worldwide — and more than 8000 smokers a day — had switched to Philip Morris’s IQOS, which heats tobacco rather than burning it.
He said the rapid consumer acceptance had made it possible for cigarette smoking to become obsolete.
The product has already captured 10 per cent of its worldwide market.
“Ironically, although many share our vision of a smoke-free Australia, the law in Australia, unique in the world, requires that all tobacco products must be smoked,” Mr Smith said.
While the Council of Australia has conceded e-cigarettes are “probably less harmful to health” than traditional cigarettes, it says and the short- and long-term health effects are not yet known.
It says claims e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking are “unsubstantiated” and unfair to consumers.
Chairman of the parliamentary Standing Committee for Health, Aged Care and Sport Trent Zimmerman, said it was important for politicians to query the implications of the growing body of research on the health impacts of e-cigarettes.
Phillip Morris has pledged $US80 million a year until 2030 to develop alternative measures to reduce the harm caused by smoking.
The research is headed by former World Health Organisation cabinet director, Dr Derek Yach.
rob.harris@news.com.au
Andrew Forrest calls for smoking age to be raised to 21
Australians would be prohibited from buying cigarettes until age 21 under a new cancer-fighting plan developed by billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest.
http://www.begadistrictnews.com.au/story/4959522/andrew-forrest-calls-for-smoking-age-to-be-raised-to-21/?cs=7
Mr Forrest and his wife Nicola are spearheading a major lobbying campaign to convince federal and state governments to raise the legal tobacco purchase age from 18 to 21 – a move they say would stop young people getting hooked, save lives and save government coffers up to $3.1 billion a year.
Mr Forrest and other members of the Eliminate Cancer Initiative – which the Forrests fund through their philanthropic Minderoo Foundation – have already presented the plan to federal Health Minister Greg Hunt and his state counterparts as part of an all-out assault on big tobacco.
The effort comes after Mr Forrest confirmed last week he is considering suing big tobacco companies for the cost of smoking-related illnesses. The plan is based on a landmark Canadian lawsuit in which three companies were ordered to pay more than $15.6 billion in damages.
Mr Forrest said tobacco companies – which he described as “more cunning than a gold-toothed rat” – must be held accountable for the suffering they have caused Australians. And they cannot be allowed to continue “preying on our vulnerable youth”, he said.
“Nearly 90 per cent of adult smokers start as children. By the time they reach 21, they are hooked and become lifelong customers of big tobacco,” Mr Forrest said.
“When tobacco causes many times more cost to the nation that it ever brings in revenue, and creates extreme suffering before palliative care and death, there is something seriously wrong with any government in the world, particularly ours, tolerating it.”
Dr Ronald DePinho, former president of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in the United States and now an executive director of the ECI, said Australia had an opportunity to inspire the world with “Tobacco 21″ legislation.
“Tobacco 21 is a child health issue that must be addressed with urgency, as hundreds of Australian children experiment with tobacco products every day,” he said.
Smoking kills an estimated 15,000 Australians every year, and costs taxpayers an estimated $31.5 billion in health and economic costs. These costs dwarf the revenue the Commonwealth reaps in tax revenues from cigarette sales: just over $10 billion in 2016-17.
The “Tobacco 21″ plan would save the government $3.1 billion in health and associated economic costs every year, Minderoo modelling has found. Accounting for $1.3 billion in lost tax revenue from cigarette, there would still be a $1.8 billion benefit to Australian taxpayers.
The campaign has the strong backing of the Cancer Council of Australia and the Australian Medical Association.
A March 2015 report by the US-based Institute of Medicine concluded raising the tobacco sale age to 21 would have a substantial positive impact on public health. The change would significantly reduce the number of adolescents and young adults who start smoking and ultimately reduce smoking-related deaths.
The report predicted the change would eventually reduce the smoking rate by about 12 per cent and smoking-related deaths by 10 per cent. In the US, Hawaii and California have recently become the first states to implement Tobacco 21 laws.
The Forrest’s helped set up the ECI earlier this year with an initial $75 million in philanthropic funding – part of their record-breaking $400 million donation. It aims to bring the fragmented cancer research community together, accelerate research breakthroughs and improve prevention, detection and treatment, including access to life-saving clinical trials.
Mining billionaire Andrew Forrest plotting ‘assault’ on the tobacco industry
Suing big tobacco for the costs of smoking-related illnesses is on the radar of an organisation set up by billionaire iron ore magnate and philanthropist Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-30/andrew-forrest-cancer-centre-to-take-on-tobacco-industry/9004204
The $75-million Eliminate Cancer Initiative (ECI), funded by Mr Forrest and wife Nicola, is seeking legal advice on the potential to mount a case seeking billions of dollars in compensation from tobacco companies.
ECI said the potential litigation would likely be based on a landmark Canadian lawsuit where three tobacco companies were ordered to pay more than $15.6 billion in damages to smokers in Quebec.
“What we do need to keep in mind is the impact and cost associated with those smokers who are now coming through the healthcare system,” ECI chief operating officer Bruce Mansfield said.
“We do need to recognise that there is a cost associated with tobacco and therefore an approach that needs to be considered very sensibly is for those industries to actually take some of the burden away from the community and of course the government.”
Mr Forrest said to tackle cancer, smoking must also be tackled because it was the single-greatest cause of preventable death.
“Cancer is the greatest cause of disease burden in Australia and, personally, it has caused the misery of every single generation of Forrests since the premature death of Lord John Forrest in 1918,” Mr Forrest said.
“One hundred million lives will be lost in the next decade — one in six deaths and with a rising incidence by 70 per cent in the next two decades.
“We must erupt change and bring this devastating disease to its knees.”
The potential litigation would be part of a multi-pronged “assault” on the tobacco industry that is also seeking to have major financial institutions cut tobacco companies from their investment portfolios, Mr Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation said.
The Australian Council on Smoking and Health has welcomed the move to put the burden of health costs back on the tobacco industry.
“The biggest impact of a successful legal action would be to hasten the demise of the tobacco industry in Australia,” president Maurice Swanson said.
“We all know that tobacco is expensive in Australia and that’s because we have relatively high taxes and they have been successful at reducing the number of smokers in Australia but those taxes are paid by individual smokers.
“The most compelling reason we’re calling for this sort of action is that taxpayers are the group that picks up the tab for the treatment of smoking caused diseases.
“The tobacco industry itself, the most lethal industry in the world, contributes nothing to compensate governments for the healthcare costs that are incurred by the consumption of their lethal product.”
‘We must hold them to account’
Cancer Council chief executive Sanchia Aranda also applauded the move and explained most governments do not have the finances to go head to head with big tobacco.
“Most countries haven’t gone down this way because the tobacco industry has very deep pockets,” Professor Aranda said.
“The tobacco industry has known for over 50 years that its product kills and yet they continue to manufacture and promote this product and market it to unsuspecting young people worldwide.”
Legal action poised to be announced within days
More than 15,000 Australians are diagnosed with preventable cancers caused by tobacco each year and 12.2 per cent of the population currently smoke.
Professor Aranda has commended the Federal Government for policy measures taken to decrease smoking rates, including tobacco taxes and the introduction of graphic warnings on packaging, but said they do not work for everybody.
“There’s certainly the belief that since graphic warnings and plain packaging that Australians should be well aware of the dangers of smoking but the problem is that tobacco smoke or the nicotine within that is highly addictive and it takes a very short time to become addicted to cigarettes,” Professor Aranda said.
“Even people who’ve given up some years ago in the older generations are facing tobacco-related illnesses — not only cancers but respiratory disease, vascular disease, heart disease — so we see this as the biggest burden of healthcare costs in Australia for the foreseeable future,” she said.
ECI said this concern was why part of their efforts would also look at lobbying for further policy changes such as raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco.
The organisation is expected to make an announcement regarding the potential challenge to the tobacco industry in the coming days.
Cigarettes to increase by AUD $2.70 a pack
SORRY, smokers.
http://www.news.com.au/finance/money/costs/cigarettes-to-increase-by-270-a-pack/news-story/cc94b9d54eb6d81f94df34808ed8243b
It’s the 1st of September, which means the government is jacking up the price of tobacco to feed its filthy spending habit.
From today, tobacco excise on cigarettes will rise by 13 per cent, from AUD 62 cents to AUD 70 cents per stick, while excise on other tobacco products will rise 17 per cent from AUD $771.60 to AUD $901.39 per kilogram.
That means a 30-pack of Winfield Blues, currently retailing for AUD $32.50, will rise to AUD $35.20 (HKD 219). “That’s a AUD $2.70 (HKD17) price hike that will make poor, addicted smokers worse off,” said Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm, describing it as a “huge, cruel” tax rise.
The 13 per cent increase reflects the last six months of wages growth plus the twice-yearly 12.5 per cent tax increase, while the increase in excise on roll-your own includes these factors plus an additional 3 per cent to bring its taxation into line with cigarettes.
The roll-your own changes were announced in the May budget and will be phased in over four annual changes each September. The new measure is expected to claw back additional AUD $360 million in tax over four years, $35 million of which will be paid to the states and territories.
In 2016-17, the government raked in AUD $10.69 billion in tobacco excise.
“In addition, GST is imposed on both the cost of tobacco and the tobacco excise — a tax on a tax,” Senator Leyonhjelm said. “Tax will rise from 66 per cent of the price of cigarettes to 69 per cent. Tax paid by smokers is at least 17 times the cost that smokers impose on other taxpayers via the health system.
“The government bans the sale of e cigarettes that contain nicotine, even though these are 95 per cent less harmful than cigarettes. The extortionate taxation of tobacco, combined with the ban on e-cigarettes and plain packaging rules, have generated a booming black market in untaxed, unregulated tobacco run by organised crime. This supports the pushing of drugs and illegal guns.”
In 2014, the Liberal Democrats confirmed the party had received “tens of thousands” of dollars from tobacco giant Philip Morris in the lead-up to the 2013 election, but Senator Leyonhjelm denied the donation influenced his vocal opposition to plain packaging.
“The Liberal Democrats have been around for about 20 years, and freedom of smokers’ rights was the first issue, and the party only got its first donation [from Philip Morris] last year,” he told The Guardian. “So it’s not like anyone’s mind was changed or anything.”
According to the Cancer Council, tobacco smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death in the country, claiming the lives of 15,500 Australians every year.
Smokers usually pay 45-50 per cent more on their monthly life insurance premiums, according to analysis by comparison website Finder.com.au. A 35-year-old male smoker will pay $80 per month for an $800,000 life insurance policy, compared to a non-smoker who will only pay $40 for the same policy.
“A smoker’s dirty habit can really add up over the course of the year, and it’s just become even more expensive so now would be a great time to quit and potentially save yourself over $10,000 a year,” Finder.com.au spokeswoman Bessie Hassan said.
“It’s not just the price of a packet of cigarettes but also more expensive insurance premiums, and the cost to your health over time that all add up. It’s important to note that insurers usually require you to have given up smoking for at least 12 months before they classify you as a non-smoker, so start today.”
British American Tobacco’s lab has been used by Australian Border Force to test evidence in black market cases
Australian Border Force (ABF) and Commonwealth prosecutors have been relying on evidence provided by Australia’s biggest tobacco company to charge black market traders.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-31/tobacco-giants-testing-evidence-for-border-force-cases/8856834
ABF has handed seized tobacco to British American Tobacco (BAT) to be tested in its laboratory, an ABC investigation has revealed.
BAT has analysed the product and then provided documentary or expert evidence which has then been produced in court.
It raises questions about independence and integrity and potentially breaches a major global agreement.
The World Health Organisation treaty limits tobacco companies’ involvement with law enforcement to only what is strictly necessary.
Tobacco companies argue they are being good corporate citizens by helping in the fight against the black market trade, but anti-smoking advocates say they are just protecting their bottom line.
Earlier this week, the ABC revealed big tobacco companies were propping up law enforcement by providing high-level intelligence and paying for surveillance technology.
There is a government agency called the National Measurement Institute that provides analysis for law enforcement.
A spokesperson for ABF said it used the agency “where possible”, but conceded there were times it had relied on the tobacco companies.
“There are instances in which tobacco companies have provided assistance in identifying counterfeit or illicit tobacco and have supplied statements for court proceedings,” the spokesperson said.
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions represents the agency in most court matters and, in a statement, said it “relies on evidence obtained from investigative agencies”.
“The identification of suitable experts is normally a matter for the relevant investigative agency … [and] is fully disclosed during the course of any prosecution.”
BAT confirms laboratory services loaned to ABF and others
When contacted by the ABC, BAT confirmed it had loaned its facilities to more than one law enforcement agency.
“That was about establishing whether the products were tobacco products, which is important to know before they can proceed with prosecution,” BAT spokesman Josh Fett said.
“We were pretty happy to help out, because the tobacco black market is huge.”
He said BAT approached law enforcement with the offer, and did not charge them for the service.
“I certainly don’t think there’s any conflict … it’s up to law enforcement agencies whose service they use and in these cases it was us,” he said.
“We have a clear interest in combating and assisting anyone that’s willing to fight criminals selling illicit tobacco in Australia, we don’t have any issue with helping anyone we can.”
Tobacco company ‘drafts warrant request’
The ABC has obtained more documents showing the level of the tobacco giants’ involvement in police operations.
An Imperial Tobacco PowerPoint presentation boasted its company and Philip Morris “assisted NSW Police to conduct raids” at six locations in Sydney in 2015.
PHOTO: The raids purportedly seized $60,000 worth of black market tobacco. (ABC News)
“Our role … provide a brief of evidence to police,” it read.
“Draft warrant request.
“Store seized product.”
PHOTO: Imperial Tobacco analysed the product for police. (ABC News)
Imperial Tobacco emailed the presentation to New South Wales Labor MP Paul Lynch in October 2015.
“I was astonished I must say, I had no idea that the cooperation between a large tobacco company and the police was as intense as it is,” he said.
“This is a relationship that’s way too close.”
He said NSW police needed to own up about the level of cooperation they had with the tobacco companies.
“The police have to be entirely transparent about what exactly they’re doing and upfront about the reality that tobacco companies are making profit out of their activities,” he said.
“Police need to behave as the police and conduct their own investigations, prepare their own briefs and execute their own warrants.
“That’s not a function of the state that should be farmed out to private corporations.”
Police, Imperial Tobacco decline to answer questions
New South Wales police declined to answer the ABC’s questions about the cooperation and declined to specifically comment on the tobacco industry.
They sent a statement saying they regularly worked with many industries.
“Their involvement is non-operational,” the said.
“Just as a member of the community may provide information to law enforcement about crime impacting the community, so too will industry.”
Imperial Tobacco Australia also declined to answer the ABC’s specific questions.
It also sent a statement, in which it says [the industry] will continue to provide intelligence on the black market.
“Imperial Tobacco Australia makes available to relevant enforcement and prosecuting authorities our personnel who hold expert knowledge in respect of tobacco products.
“It is our view that the cooperation of our industry with enforcement and prosecuting personnel is vital to combatting serious and organised crime that is responsible for much of the trade in illicit tobacco.
“The documents you refer to were designed to give transparency and shine a light on this alarming issue.”