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November 29th, 2016:

Ireland’s investment body could be stopped investing in tobacco – but doesn’t invest very much in tobacco

The NTMA’s investments in the companies are made through fund managers.

http://www.thejournal.ie/tobacco-investment-ban-proposal-3107307-Nov2016/

A LAW HAS been proposed that would see Ireland’s Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) banned from investing in tobacco companies.

The proposal was floated by Fianna Fáil Seanad Spokesperson on Health and Mental Health, Dr Keith Swanick.

Under questioning by the Seanad in October, Minister of State Eoghan Murphy confirmed that the taxpayer, through the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) and ISIF has equity holdings in three separate tobacco companies.

Swanick says that situation cannot be allowed to continue.

His Public Health (Prohibition of Tobacco Investments) Bill 2016 would make it illegal for the continuation of investments such as these and would ensure that no further investment in tobacco companies can take place with taxpayer’s money.

“This is a shocking situation and it is not tenable for the Government to turn a blind eye to these investments in tobacco companies. It is incredible to believe that the state holds investment in tobacco companies and it makes a complete mockery of the stated objectives of a tobacco free Ireland by 2025, the cornerstone of ‘Tobacco Free Ireland’.”

However, just 0.02% of ISIF’s total assets are invested in tobacco firms and, a spokesperson told TheJournal.ie, they may not continue investing in them anyway.

“Historically, exclusion has not been part of ISIF’s Responsible Investment strategy – with the only exclusions from the Fund being mandated by legislation. To date, the Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Act (2008) is the only relevant legislation and the ISIF operates a prohibited securities list of 19 companies on this basis.

ISIF management and the NTMA Board’s Investment Committee are currently reviewing the Sustainability and Responsible Investment Policy to examine the potential of adding to the list of excluded investment categories. This process is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2017.

In relation to investment in tobacco companies, on the basis of preliminary and unaudited figures for end Quarter 3 2016 i.e. as at 30 September 2016 ISIF had equity holdings in three tobacco companies with a value of €1.5 million or 0.02% of its total assets.

The state also has small equity investments in international companies involved in the development of armaments, such as Canadian group Bombardier, French firms Thales and Boeing, and the US’s Airbus Group and United Technologies.

The NTMA’s investments in the companies are made through fund managers, rather than the organisation actively selecting the firms or industries.

Tobacco exposure ups behavioural issues and dropout rates in children

Exposure to tobacco smoke is immensely toxic to the developing brain.

http://www.thehealthsite.com/news/tobacco-exposure-ups-behavioural-issues-and-dropout-rates-in-children-ag1116/

Children exposed to tobacco smoke in early childhood adopt anti-social behaviour, engage in proactive and reactive aggression, and face conduct problems at school, even drop out at age 12, a research has showed. Exposure to tobacco smoke is toxic to the developing brain at a time when it is most vulnerable to environment input, the researchers said. ‘Young children have little control over their exposure to household tobacco smoke, which is considered toxic to the brain at a time when its development is exponential,’ said lead author and Professor Linda Pagani from the University of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. Parents who smoke near their children often inadvertently expose them to second- and third-hand smoke. Abnormal brain development can result from chronic or transient exposure to toxic chemicals and gases in second-hand tobacco smoke. These compounds eventually solidify and create third-hand smoke. In the study, the researchers found compelling evidence that suggests other dangers to developing brain systems that govern behavioural decisions, social and emotional life as well as cognitive functioning.

Anti-social behaviour is characterised by proactive intent to harm others, lack prosocial feelings, and violate social norms. Such behaviours include aggression, criminal offences, theft, refusal to comply with authority, destruction of property and is also associated with academic problems in later childhood. ‘These long-term associations should encourage policy-makers and public health professionals to raise awareness among parents about the developmental risks of second-hand smoke exposure,’ Pagani said. For the study, published in the journal Indoor Air, the team examined 1,035 boys and girls born in 1997 and 1998. Their parents reported whether anyone smoked at home when their children were aged 1.5 to 7.5 years. At age 12, their children self-reported their anti-social behaviour and academic characteristics. (Read: Children exposed to cigarette smoke may develop early heart disease)

Smoking parents linked to severe asthma

A third of children who have potentially fatal asthma attacks are being exposed to tobacco smoke, a new report has found.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/33355337/smoking-parents-linked-to-severe-asthma/#page1

Children’s doctors have become “complacent” in the need to advise parents about the hazards of smoke exposure among children with asthma, according to a new audit from the British Thoracic Society (BTS).

The review has prompted a call for health workers to do more to inform parents about the health risks of second-hand smoke to their children.

Experts reviewed data on 5,500 children admitted to 153 hospitals across the UK with severe asthma attacks in November 2015.

They found that 32 per cent had been exposed to environmental tobacco smoke.

The authors point out that passive smoking is “recognised as an important factor in asthma attacks in children that lead to hospitalisation”.

But two in five hospitals failed to record data on this issue, meaning doctors might need to pay greater attention to asking about exposure to tobacco smoke, they said.

The authors conclude: “Paediatricians may have become complacent about the need to record and advise parents about the hazards of smoke exposure in children with wheezing/asthma.”

Dr James Paton, reader in paediatric respiratory medicine at the University of Glasgow, who led the BTS audit, said: “It’s very worrying that a third of children were potentially exposed to tobacco smoke at home, although more data is needed here.

“When discharging children, health professionals should take the opportunity to talk about the issue with their parents or carers – and offer smoking cessation support as appropriate.”

Duterte urged to sign EO vs public smoking

http://interaksyon.com/article/134751/duterte-urged-to-sign-eo-vs-public-smoking

An anti-tobacco group is urging President Rodrigo Duterte to sign an executive order banning smoking in all public places across the country to fulfill a promise he made.

“We appeal to our dear president, who we know is an ardent anti-smoking advocate, to please sign the smoke-free Philippines EO now. Each day of delay would bring your people closer to becoming victims of the ills of smoking like me as well as those who are not even smoking,” New Vois Association of the Philippines president Emer Rojas, a former chain-smoker who lost his vocal cords due to cancer, said in a statement.

Rojas said the EO would, in particular, help protect non-smokers from second-hand smoke.

He also said it would help save Filipinos, especially the youth, from smoking-related illnesses. He cited the Tobacco Atlas of 2016, which shows 14.5% of Filipinos aged 13 to 15 and 23.8% of adults smoke regularly.

Records show an estimated 240 Filipinos die from tobacco-related diseases daily.

Aside from banning smoking in public places, Rojas said the EO would be the perfect complement to already existing tobacco control measures, specifically Republic Act No. 10351 (Sin Tax Law) and Republic Act No. 10643 (Graphic Health Warning Law).

Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial earlier said Duterte, who has buergers disease, is more than willing to sign the EO. Buerger’s disease is an ailment linked to heavy smoking.

The EO closely follows the smoking ban implemented in Davao City where Duterte was a long-time mayor.

Think tank: Big-time increase in cigarette taxes to force smokers to quit

http://business.inquirer.net/220377/think-tank-big-time-increase-cigarette-taxes-force-smokers-quit

Public health policy think-tank HealthJustice Philippines Monday pushed for a single-tier tax system for tobacco products, saying other proposed systems would not make smokers quit.

HealthJustice, which won the Bloomberg Award for Global Tobacco Control in 2012, said the industry-proposed two-tier tobacco tax system, which assigns lower tax rates to cheaper cigarettes or those on the “lower-tier,” would not be effective at curbing smoking.

“The two-tier tobacco tax system that the tobacco industry has been pushing for is ineffective and will not encourage smokers to quit or reduce consumption of tobacco products,” HealthJustice consultant Bianca Bacani said in a statement.

Based on government projections, the current multi-tier tax system would eventually shift to single tier by going through a two-tier stage first.

For example, a two-rate structure of P14 and P30 per pack of cigarettes would be implemented for a period of two years, moving on to a uniform rate of P30 per pack on the third year.

“If we don’t make tobacco products substantially more expensive, smokers will continue to shift to cheaper cigarettes instead of shift to a healthy lifestyle,” Bacani said.

She said smokers would sustain their habit and keep smoking. They would even reduce the number of cigarettes they consume.

“This is called downshifting, and it has taken place in many countries after they imposed the two-tier tax tobacco tax,” Bacani said.

HealthJustice also noticed that, as early as 2012, the Department of Finance reported that downshifting in alcohol and tobacco products caused the government to lose P32 billion in revenues.