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May, 2009:

2,000 March in Hong Kong Protest Against Smoking Ban in Bars

www.earthtimes.org – 24 May 2009

Hong Kong – Around 2,000 people took part in a protest march in Hong Kong Sunday calling for a blanket ban on smoking in bars and restaurants to be postponed. The protesters, mostly bar owners and employees, said they wanted the ban to be delayed for two years to allow the entertainment industry to cope with the effects of the economic crisis.

From July, smoking will be banned in all bars, nightclubs, karaoke lounges and sauna parlours and operators claim the ban may force half the city’s entertainment premises out of business.

A smoking ban first came into effect for bars and restaurants in Hong Kong on January 1, 2007, but hundreds of bars along with nightclubs and karaoke lounges were exempted until July 2009.

The city’s powerful entertainment industry lobby now wants a further delay, saying the timing of the ban will be devastating combined with the economic crisis and the current swine flu scare.

Anti-smoking campaigners have accused the city’s government of paying too much attention to the industry lobby and putting its interests ahead of concern over public health.

Less than one in five adults smoke in Hong Kong, a wealthy city of 7 million which has a low smoking rate compared to other countries and territories in the region.

World No Tobacco Day — May 31, 2009

Source: www.cdc.gov/mmwr – May 22, 2009

Tobacco use is one of the major preventable causes of premature death and disease in the world (1). The World Health Organization (WHO) attributes approximately 5.4 million deaths per year to tobacco use (or one in 10 deaths among adults worldwide), a number expected to exceed 8 million per year by 2030 (2).

Evidence-based tobacco control programs that are comprehensive, sustained, and support nonsmoking behaviors have been shown to prevent and reduce tobacco use (3). Such programs combine educational, clinical, regulatory, economic, and social strategies to establish smoke-free policies and social norms, to promote and assist tobacco users to quit, and to prevent initiation of tobacco use. Strategies include 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.

As part of a comprehensive tobacco control program, prominent tobacco health warnings that appear on packs of cigarettes have been proven to motivate users to quit and to reduce the appeal of tobacco for those who are not yet addicted (4). WHO’s theme for World No Tobacco Day, which will take place on May 31, 2009, is Tobacco Health Warnings. Additional information on World No Tobacco Day 2009 is available at http://www.who.int/tobacco/wntd/2009.

References

  1. Jha P, Chaloupka FJ. Tobacco control in developing countries. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press; 2000.
  2. World Health Organization. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2008–the MPower package. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2008. Available athttp://www.who.int/tobacco/mpower/mpower_report_full_2008.pdf.
  3. CDC. Best practices for comprehensive tobacco control programs—2007. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Humans Services, CDC; 2007. Available athttp://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/tobacco_control_programs/stateandcommunity/best_practices.
  4. World Health Organization. WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2005. Available athttp://www.who.int/tobacco/framework/WHO_FCTC_english.pdf.
  5. http://www.who.int/tobacco/wntd/2008/en/

History of Tobacco

Copyright 1993-2007 Gene Borio

http://www.tobacco.org/History/Tobacco_History.html

From 2011, Smoking Will Be Banned Completely in the Medical and Healthcare System

By James Middleton, Clear The Air – 23 May 09

The Chinese Ministry of Health yesterday released its much awaited “Decision” requiring all medical administration offices and medical facilities to go completely smoke-free by 2011. The date on the document is May 20.

All health administration offices (i.e. health bureaus, CDCs, etc.) and half of medical and health institutions (i.e. hospitals and clinics) are required to go smoke-free by 2010. The other half of hospitals and clinics are required to be completely smoke-free by 2011.

The document is issued jointly by the Ministry of Health, the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Health Department of the General Logistics Department of People’s Liberation Army, and the Logistics Department of the Armed Police Forces. It thus covers most health facilities in China, including military hospitals, armed police hospitals, traditional Chinese medicine hospitals, and hospitals in the Ministry of Health system. It would seem not to include hospitals run by the railways.

The head of the leading small group for the initiative is Minister of Health Chen Zhu. The initiative’s office is headed by Yang Qing, Director General of the Department of Maternal and Child Health and Community Health at MOH.

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http://news.workercn.cn/contentfile/2009/05/22/13390758461983.html
http://www.moh.gov.cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/mohfybjysqwss/s3590/200905/40809.htm

Website of Ministry of Health, May 22, 2009

(This English Version was translated by James Middleton, CTA)

On May 20, the Ministry of Health, the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Health Department of the General Logistics Department of People’s Liberation Army, and the Logistics Department of the Armed Police Forces jointly issued the “Decision on banning smoking completely in the medical and health system from 2011”. The “Decision” provides that by the year 2010, all health administration offices, both military and non-military, and at least 50% of all medical and health institutions should become smoke-free units, so that the goal of a total smoking ban in all health administration offices and medical and health institutions can be fulfilled by 2011.

The “Decision” requests that all localities and units should set up multi-agency FCTC Implementation Leading Small Groups, responsible for developing specific work plans for banning smoking completely in health administration offices and health institutions under their jurisdiction; strengthen the building of professional teams; and by 2010 gradually establish and improve the tobacco control network from provincial level to county level, from military region level to regiment level. All localities and all units should adopt the creation of smoke-free medical institutions into their merit rating systems and their spiritual civilization construction activities; the realization of a total smoking ban in health administration offices and health institutions should be included in the annual work plan with financial support provided. Health administration offices (both military and civil) at all levels should enhance tobacco control publicity and legal system construction, in combination with the creation of Healthy Cities (Townships), Civilized Cities, and Civilized Military Camps. Indicators such as medical staff quitting smoking, no smoking in public places and workplaces, publicizing knowledge on hazards of tobacco, dissuading people from smoking, and providing smoking cessation services should be adopted into the “Guidelines on Hospital Management Evaluation,” “Basic Functions of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at All Levels,” and other regulations on management of health institutions. All kinds of medical institutions (both military and civil) at all levels should establish a system of inquiring about patients’ smoking history, integrate it into standard medical evaluation, and provide smoking cessation guidance to smoking patients. All kinds of health administration offices and medical and health institutions at all levels (both military and civil) are not allowed to entertain guests with cigarettes, and should provide smoking cessation assistance to smoking staff.

Meanwhile, military and civil health administration offices at all levels should make the most of important events such as World No Tobacco Day to actively promote the importance of implementing a total smoking ban in health administration offices and medical and health institutions; mobilize and guide the media to actively publicize the idea of a total smoking ban in military and civil health administration offices and medical and health institutions, and through such mass media publicity activities, get other sectors involved in the tobacco control initiative and consciously stay away from tobacco. Strengthen multi-agency cooperation to promote the total smoking ban in health administration offices and medical and health institutions.

Decision on banning smoking completely in medical and health system from 2011
Health Maternal and Child Health and Community Health (2009) No. 48
To
Health bureaus / departments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government;
State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine;
Health Bureau of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps;
Relevant Units Directly Under the Ministry of Health;
Units Directly Under the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine;
Hospitals Directly Under or Managed by the Ministry of Health;
Hospitals Directly Under or Managed by the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine;
Combined Logistics Departments of all Military Regions;
Health Departments of Logistics Departments of all Categories of Troops;
Logistics Department of the Third Department of the General Staff Headquarters;
Management and Logistics Department of the General Staff Headquarters;
Direct Subordinate Workforce of the General Political Department;
Health Bureau of the Logistics Department of the General Armaments Department; Health Departments (Divisions) of the PLA University of National Defense;
National University of Defense Technology;
Academy of Military Sciences;
Health Departments Directly Under the General Logistics Department;
Logistics Departments of all Corps;
Mobile divisions, Commands, and Academies Directly under the Armed Police:
The World Health Organization’s “Framework Convention on Tobacco Control” (hereinafter referred to as the “Convention”) is the first legally binding multilateral treaty in the field of medicine and public health. On January 9, 2006, the “Convention” came into effect in China.
Article 8 of the “Convention” requires Parties to take effective measures to guard against public exposure to tobacco smoke. In July 2007, the Second Conference of the Parties to the Convention adopted the “Guidelines on Protection from Exposure to Tobacco Smoke” (hereinafter referred to as “Guidelines”). In accordance with the requirements of the “Guidelines,” starting from January 2011, China should ban smoking completely in all indoor public places, indoor workplaces, public transport vehicles and other possible outdoor public places.

Banning smoking in public places and workplaces has become the trend of the times. In December 2005, the World Health Organization announced that it would no longer employ smokers and would provide smoking cessation assistance to smoking staff. According to World Health Organization statistics on 194 countries, by the end of 2007, 84 countries and regions had passed laws and regulations to ban smoking in public places and workplaces, of which 16 countries and regions had enforced total smoking bans in all institutions, and 68 countries and regions had implemented total smoking bans in more than two categories of institutions including medical and health institutions. In January 2007, China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region implemented its “Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance”, requesting to meet the target of “Smoke-free Hong Kong” before June 30, 2009. By that time, all indoor public places and workplaces in Hong Kong should have banned smoking completely.

In 1998, the World Health Organization classified tobacco dependence as a chronic disease and listed it in the International Classification of Diseases as No. F17.2, confirming that tobacco is the greatest threat to the health of mankind. China now has more than 300 million smokers and 540 million people exposed to secondhand smoke, including 180 million children under the age of 15. Each year about 1 million people die from smoking-related diseases.

Controlling smoking and fulfilling the requirements of the FCTC are the responsibility of everyone. Military and civil health administration offices and medical and health institutions, in particular, should play a leading role. To take the lead in implementation of FCTC, in line with the spirit of the “Convention” and the “guidelines” and combined with the reality of our country, it is decided that from 2011, all health administration offices at all levels and medical and health institutions all around the country shall implement a total smoking ban. And the following requirements are made.

1. Strengthen leadership; make sure health administration offices and medical institutions meet their responsibilities in implementing the FCTC.

A total ban on smoking in all military and civil health administration offices at all levels and medical and health institutions is an important aspect of FCTC implementation. All localities and units should fully understand the importance, necessity and urgency of this work, set up a multi-agency FCTC implementation leading small group, with the chief responsible official as group leader, and the officials in charge as deputy leaders, thus effectively strengthening organization and leadership.
In combination with the current deepening reform of the medical and health system, the job functions of competent responsible departments should be clarified. Study and formulate FCTC implementation work plan, formulate detailed work plan on implementation of the total smoking ban in local health administration offices. Strengthen the construction of professional teams, by 2010 gradually establish and improve the tobacco control network from provincial level to county level, from Military Region level to regiment level.

2. Strengthen tobacco control measures; strengthen tobacco control efforts in a comprehensive way

All localities and all units should follow the requirements of the “Standards for Smoke-free Medical and Health Institutions (trial version)” jointly issued by the Ministry of Health and National Patriotic Health Campaign Committee, actively implement a total smoking ban in health administration offices and medical and health institutions, and adopt the creation of smoke-free medical institutions into the merit rating system and spiritual civilization construction system in both military and civil units;

The establishment of a total smoking ban in health administration offices and health institutions should be adopted into the annual work plan with financial support provided. Combine with the “Central Government subsidizing local governments” program and various smoke-free public places creation programs, earnestly implement the total smoking ban in health administration offices and medical and health institutions, actively create smoke-free medical and health institutions, and conduct smoke-free environmental monitoring in health administration offices and medical and health institutions.

Both military and civil health administration offices at all levels should enhance tobacco control publicity and legal system construction, in combination with the creation of Healthy Cities (Townships), Civilized Cities, and Civilized Military Camps. Indicators such as medical staff quitting smoking, no smoking in public places and workplaces, publicizing knowledge of the hazards of tobacco, dissuading people from smoking, and providing smoking cessation services should be adopted into the “Guidelines on Hospital Management Evaluation,” “Basic Functions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at All Levels,” and other regulations on management of health institutions, so as to comprehensively promote the creation of smoke-free health institutions of all categories at all levels and realize the goal of a total smoking ban in all indoor public places and workplaces. All kinds of medical institutions (both military and civil) at all levels should establish a system of inquiring about patients’ smoking history, integrate it into standard medical evaluation, and provide smoking cessation guidance to smoking patients. All kinds of health administration offices and medical and health institutions at all levels (both military and civil) are not allowed to entertain guests with cigarettes, and should provide smoking cessation assistance to smoking staff.

3. Conduct extensive mobilization; actively create an atmosphere favorable for tobacco control

While carrying out daily tobacco control work, military and civil health administration offices at all levels should make the most of important events such as World No Tobacco Day to actively promote the importance of implementing a total smoking ban in health administration offices and medical and health institutions. They should mobilize and guide the media to actively publicize the idea of a total smoking ban in military and civil health administration offices and medical and health institutions, and through such mass media publicity activities, get other sectors involved in the tobacco control initiative and consciously stay away from tobacco. Meanwhile, make use of public opinion supervision to push health administration offices and medical and health institutions to implement a total ban on smoking.

Strengthen multi-agency cooperation, mobilize the whole society, bring into full play the strength of tobacco control associations all over the country and other organizations, and promote a total smoking ban in health administration offices and medical and health institutions.

4. Conduct supervision and inspection; strive to fulfill the goal of a total smoking ban in the whole health system nationwide

By 2010, all military and civil health administration offices and at least 50% of medical and health institutions should become smoke-free units, so that the goal of total smoking ban in all health administration offices and medical and health institutions can be achieved by 2011.

Health administration offices at provincial level and top military level should organize regular supervision and inspection based on the actual situation. The Ministry of Health, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Health Department of the General Logistics Department, and Logistics Department of the Armed Police Forces shall, at appropriate times, jointly organize supervision and appraisal on the creation of smoke-free health administration offices and medical and health institutions, circulate the results of the supervision and appraisal, and cite the units with outstanding achievements.

Health administration departments at the top military level and provincial level and the Health Department of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine are requested to report the implementation plans of this Decision to the Ministry of Health, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Health Department of the General Logistics Department, and Logistics Department of the Armed Police Forces. The relevant health offices should summarize and circulate it in due course.

_____________________________________________________

Ministry of Health
State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine Health Department of the General Logistics Department,
Logistics Department of the Armed Police Forces
May 20, 2009

Addendum: Name list of the National Medical and Health System FCTC Implementation Leading Small Group

Leader: Chen Zhu, Minister of Health

Deputy Leaders:
o Huang Jiefu, Vice Minister, Ministry of Health
o Liu Qian, Vice Minister, Ministry of Health
o Li Ning, Deputy Chief of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine
o Wang Yumin, Deputy Director General of Health Department of the General Logistics Department
o Shi Liqiang, Director General of Health Department of the Armed Police Forces
Members:
o Yang Qing, Director General, Department of Maternal and Child Health and Community Health, Ministry of Health
o Ren Minghui, Director General, Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Health
o Sun Jiahai, Deputy Director General, General Office, Ministry of Health
o He Jinguo, Deputy Director General, Department of Planning and Finance, Ministry of Health
o Liu Xinming, Director General, Department of Health Policy and Regulation, Ministry of Health
o Qi Xiaoqiu, Director General, Disease Prevention and Control Bureau (National Patriotic Health Campaign Committee Office), Ministry of Health
o Wang Yu, Director General, Department of Medical Administration, Ministry of Health
o Zhang Zongjiu, Director General, Department of Medical Services Supervision and Management, Ministry of Health
o Wang Xuening, Deputy Director General, Health Supervision Department, Ministry of Health
o Yu Xiucheng, Deputy Inspector, Department of Science, Technology and Education, Ministry of Health
o Li Liming, Party Secretary of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences
o Yang Gonghuan, Deputy Director General, Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
o Zha Dezhong, Deputy Director General, Department of Medical Affairs, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine
o Wang Xiaopin, Deputy Director General, Department of International Affairs, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine
o Zhu Hao, Director General, Health and Epidemic Prevention Bureau, Health Department of General Logistics Department
o Li Qingjie, Director General of Medical Management Bureau, Health Department of the General Logistics Department
o Xu Tianhao, Deputy Director of Comprehensive Planning Division, Military Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

o Hou Donghong, Deputy Director of Health Department, Logistics Department of the Armed Police Forces
An office has been set up under the leading small group and is headed by Yang Qing, Director General, Department of Maternal and Child Health and Community Health,

Cigarette Makers Lose US Appeal

BBC News – 22 May 09

A US appeals court has largely upheld a landmark ruling that cigarette makers lied about the health risks of smoking.

Washington’s Court of Appeals rejected an appeal by tobacco firms against a 2006 decision that banned labels such as “low tar” and “light”.

Companies including Philip Morris USA were found guilty of racketeering and fraud over the issue.

Judges upheld the previous ruling, but excluded one firm and two trade groups from their judgement.

They ruled that the trade bodies – Council for Tobacco Research-USA and Tobacco Institute – had not made or sold products, so could be excluded.

And the firm Liggett was excused because it had co-operated with the authorities and acknowledged health risks.

But the judges rejected an argument from the other tobacco firms that they had never claimed that “light” cigarettes were less harmful.

“Defendants knew of their falsity at the time and made the statements with the intent to deceive,” Friday’s ruling said.

Denials

The 2006 ruling said firms had set up a “gentlemen’s agreement” not to compete over whose cigarettes were the least damaging to health.

Lawyers for the tobacco companies denied that they had conspired to avoid public discussion of health risks.

The original ruling also required firms to issue “corrective statements” about health effects and addiction.

It has not been applied while the case has been under appeal.

Murray Garnick, lawyer for tobacco firm Altria – the parent company of Philip Morris – said the court’s ruling was “not supported by the law or the evidence presented at trial”.

“We believe the exceptional importance of these issues justifies further review,” he said.

Other companies that were contesting the 2006 ruling included British American Tobacco, Lorillard Tobacco, RJ Reynolds Tobacco, and Brown & Williamson Tobacco.

The companies are now likely to take their appeal before the US Supreme Court, although commentators say that their chances of success are slim.

In a decision last December on an unrelated case, the Supreme Court ruled that smokers can sue tobacco firms over the misleading marketing of “light” or “low tar” cigarettes.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/8064296.stm

U.S. Sen. Kohl: Sponsors Bill to Prevent Black Market Cigarette Smuggling

Source: WisPolitics, 2009-05-22

U.S. Senator Herb Kohl today reintroduced the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act of 2009 to provide law enforcement with the tools they need to crack down on black market tobacco selling. Cigarette trafficking has developed into a popular, and highly profitable, means of generating revenue for criminal and terrorist organizations. Hezbollah, al Qaeda and Hamas have all generated significant revenue from the sale of counterfeit cigarettes. That money is often raised in the United States, and it is then funneled back to these international terrorist groups. Cigarette smuggling is a multibillion dollar a year phenomenon and it is getting worse. In 1998, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) had six active tobacco smuggling investigations. In 2005, that number swelled to 452. Today there are more than 400 open cases. Cigarette trafficking, including the illegal sale of tobacco products over the internet, costs states billions of dollars in lost tax revenue each year. It is estimated that states lose $5 billion in revenues due to illegal tobacco sales.

Please visit http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=159529 for more information

Should the Smoking Ban be Delayed Again?

SCMP – May 20, 2009

Legislator Albert Chan Wai-yip, supposedly representing the rights and welfare of blue-collar workers, has been unable to delay the smoking ban legislation (“Attempt to delay smoking ban fails”, May 12). Mr Chan wanted the imposition of the ban in nightclubs, bars and mahjong schools to be put off for a further two years. He sought to continue polices which had been followed by the Liberal Party and that had delayed the implementation of anti-smoking laws for six years. Mr Chan painted a picture of doom and gloom for the catering industry. The Liberal Party served the interests of tobacco companies and callously ignored the lethal consequences of passive smoking in the workplace.

George Tsai, chairman of the Bar and Club Association, and Lillian Chan Yun-lin, convenor of the Entertainment Business Rights Concern Group, have also promoted a doom-and-gloom scenario (“Rally to seek two-year delay in bar smoke ban”, May 18). They are trying to hoodwink bar staff into believing they will be out of a job in a clean-air workplace. However, the fact is staff will be healthier and more productive and more non-smokers will visit bars when the air in these establishments is free of smoke.

The government, under pressure from the Liberal Party, foolishly allowed a 30-month exemption period for bars and nightclubs. It therefore abandoned the right to a safe workplace for bar workers. Contrary to the doom-and-gloom approach, Hong Kong restaurant receipts are higher than they were before the smoking ban was introduced, despite the global downturn.

Meanwhile on July 1 when the total ban comes into force, 3,485 people will have died here due to passive smoking during the 30-month exemption period.

Catering staff should realise that these people supposedly representing their interests have a different, hypocritical and misinformed agenda.

James Middleton, chairman, anti-tobacco committee, Clear the Air

Tobacco Staff Quitting Posts

Celine Sun, SCMP – May 19, 2009

Plagued by a high resignation rate among tobacco control inspectors, the government is considering bringing them into the civil service as a way of retaining them.

Nearly a quarter of the inspectors hired by the Tobacco Control Office quit their jobs in 2007-08, compared to 16 per cent the previous year.

Most quit to take new jobs, the government said in a document submitted to the Legislative Council for discussion.

The office employs 124 people, including 85 tobacco control inspectors who are authorised to initiate prosecution for such offences as smoking and the displaying or publishing of tobacco advertisements in areas where smoking is banned.

Legislators called last year for more inspectors to be employed and police to be more actively involved in smoking enforcement after several assaults on inspectors and people who complained about smoking.

But the government said later it had no plans to hire more inspectors, even though their workload will increase when the ban on smoking in public venues is fully enforced in July.

In the document, the government said it was studying the possibility of “absorbing tobacco control inspector positions into existing civil service grades as far as practicable”.

It is also considering creating a new civil service grade especially for the inspectors if no appropriate grade can be found in the system.

The subcommittee of the Legislative Council on the fixed penalty system for smoking offences will today discuss implementation of the Fixed Penalty (Smoking Offences) Bill, which is due to come into effect in the first half of this year. Under the bill, anyone who smokes in a no-smoking area or on public transport is liable to a fixed penalty of HK$1,500.

As well as tobacco control inspectors and police, the ordinance empowers officers of the leisure and cultural services, housing, and food and environmental hygiene departments to issue fixed penalty notices.

Under such arrangements, about 900 hygiene staff – including health inspectors, hawker control officers, and market assistants in public markets and hawker bazaars – will be entitled to issue fixed penalty notices.

Meanwhile, 2,000 housing officers, managers and assistant managers of the Housing Department and about 2,000 leisure officers will be authorised to enforce the smoking ban.

The Tobacco Control Office has started organised training for the officers involved.

Tobacco Control Must Be Elevated As A Public Health Priority

Medical News Today, May 18, 2009

An Essay published this week in the open access journal PLoS Medicine calls for the President Obama to “make a strong public commitment” to tobacco control by mobilizing US Government departments and agencies to achieve a coherent policy after eight years of neglect.

In their paper, Thomas Novotny and Joshua Yang, researchers in tobacco control and public health from San Diego State University and University of California San Francisco respectively, emphasize the huge potential for the US Government to reduce tobacco mortality and morbidity if action is co-ordinated across agencies. Presently tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States – responsible for at least 443,000 deaths between 2002 and 2004 – and exacerbates health disparities in the country, with African Americans, Native Americans, people in poverty and those with lower educational attainment suffering from a higher burden of the diseases and disabilities that result from smoking.

Critically the authors argue that simple tobacco control measures – such as creating smoke-free environments, and engaging a mass media public education campaign – can come at little cost to the government. Programs that do require investment, such as providing comprehensive smoking cessation services and expanding regulation over tobacco products, marketing and promotion, could eventually yield economic return. Smoking is currently a huge fiscal burden, resulting in the loss of $96.8 billion in productivity losses and over $75 billion in annual US medical expenditures.

The paper outlines the agencies that can play an important part in a revitalized approach and stress three key tobacco control issues that should be prioritized to frame a national policy coherence plan.

Firstly, the ratification of the first ever global health treaty, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) – which was not sent to the Senate by President George W. Bush – could act as a framework for national policy.

The bill to grant the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory authority over tobacco products, recently passed by the US House of Representatives, should contain the strongest possible language without concessions to the tobacco industry.

And thirdly, the authors point towards settling the case that the Department of Justice brought against the tobacco industry, currently in appeal, which orders the industry to cease false and deceptive activities.

“We believe this change in direction is based on sound science, is acceptable to the almost 80% of non-smoking Americans and the 70% of smoking Americans who want to quit, and in the best fiscal and health interests of the United States”, say the authors. Furthermore, by implementing the FCTC the United States can demonstrate international commitment to tobacco control and spur other countries to implement the treaty.

Funding: Financial support for this project was provided by National Cancer Institute Fellowship Funding CA-113710-02 (JSY). The funder had no role in the preparation of the manuscript.

___________________________________________

Source:

Policy Coherence in US Tobacco Control: Beyond FDA Regulation

PLoS Med 6(5): e1000079. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000079

Yang JS, Novotny TE

http://www.plosmedicine.org/…

Editor’s note: The PDF of this article is not yet available. Please look out for an offer from Stan Shatenstein in a future edition of MJU.

Source: Medical News Today
Category: Legislation & Politics
Date: 18 May 2009

Rally to Seek Two-year Delay in Bar Smoke Ban

Ng Kang-chung, SCMP – May 18, 2009

Bar owners are calling on staff and patrons to join them next Sunday to protest against a ban on smoking in nightclubs, bars and mahjong schools set to come into force in July.

They claim the ban could force more than half the city’s 1,000 or so bars and clubs to close, because smokers are their major clients.

The owners want the government to postpone the ban for two years, saying their businesses have already been hit hard by the economic downturn. Next Sunday’s protest, with the theme “no smoking, no job”, is a fresh bid by the sector after a failed attempt last week by legislator Albert Chan Wai-yip to move a private member’s bill seeking to push back the implementation of the ban.

Legislative Council president Tsang Yok-sing ruled that Mr Chan’s attempt breached a ban on lawmakers introducing bills related to “government policy”.

The Hong Kong Bar and Club Association, which is organising the protest, expects a turnout of at least 2,000 people. Chairman George Tsai said: “We have been hit by the financial crisis and the swine flu. The July 1 smoking ban is set to be the last straw.

“Many bar owners have reported that business turnover has dropped by up to a third in recent months. We understand that more than half of the bars and pubs could be forced to close if the smoking ban is imposed.”

He also blamed the drink-driving measure introduced in February, under which police can carry out random checks on drivers to see if they have drunk alcohol.

A bar usually hired about 10 people, he said, meaning that if 500 closed, as many as 5,000 people could be thrown out of work.

Bartender Candy Wong, who works at a pub in Causeway Bay, said she was worried she could lose her job if the ban is introduced.

“Business is already bad. The boss just recently cut our pay by 20 per cent. I don’t want to lose my job,” Ms Wong said. “A friend of mine who got sacked idled away three months at home before she could get another job at another bar. And she is paid much less than before.”

Lillian Chan Yun-lin, convenor of the Entertainment Business Rights Concern Group, said: “We are not against anti-smoking measures. We also care about people’s health. We only want the government to give us more time to adapt.”