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| Issue 77 | 24 October 2007 |
Having trouble viewing this newsletter? Try the online version. FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK
In their statement the Guardians say:
I agree with the assessment made by the Guardians of Superannuation. There is nothing good about the tobacco industry. It has lied about the harm its product causes to smokers, lied about the addictiveness of tobacco products, and lied about the harm caused by second-hand smoke. Because of these lies, millions of people have died. The decision to divest tobacco investments is long overdue, and there is now no excuse for other Crown entities not to follow suit. It is morally untenable for even one dollar of taxpayers' money to go to a 'death industry'. Click here for the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation media release. Finally, today the Petition of Dalton Leo Kelly (CEO, Cancer Society of New Zealand) and 20,000 others, will be heard by the Health Select Committee, which is considering evidence for banning displays of tobacco products at point of sale. There is no doubt that removal of displays at dairies and convenience stores would be a significant reform in product regulation. For promotion purposes, the tobacco industry relies almost entirely on the "pride of place" tobacco enjoys in retail outlets. Out of sight, out of mind must lead in time to less people starting smoking – which has to be a good thing. The industry will hate this. It would be one more dent in their very tainted respectability. No longer will their product be seen as just another consumer product. Rather it will be clear that cigarettes are dangerous things which kill. Good luck to the Cancer Society today. Let us hope that the Health Select Committee make a strong report back to the House. Have a good fortnight. Mark Peck Director IN THIS ISSUE:
NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – 2007The Annual General Meeting of the Smokefree Coalition will be held on Wednesday 14 November 2007 at 4.00pm in the HSC Board Room, Level 6, Fulbright House, 120 Featherston St, Wellington. Business:
RSVP to Mark Peck PRO-SMOKING ARGUMENTS RUNNING OUT OF PUFFOne day, in a more enlightened time, the sale of tobacco will be banned, writes Richard West in the Otago Daily Times. Almost everything about smoking is dreadfully wrong.
Well, bless their little socks. What her fellow gaspers have done is normalised and legitimised an abhorrent and cynical trade. Their decades of unquestioning consumption of this toxic weed has meant it is still available for purchase and ends up in the hands of the next generation of puffers. Some people assert prohibition doesn't work and they bleat about the consequences of forcing it underground. I would argue that once it is no longer normalised and sanctioned then consumption will drop dramatically, as few people would want to appear to be so desperate as to want to break the law to indulge. Mrs Galer concedes that most of those who do indulge wish they had never started. Then let's give them a helping hand by banning it from the shops. Have a grow-your-own policy, a small boon for garden centres and those who sell UV lights. Nelson might experience more pressure on its housing stock as some last gaspers migrate to start a crop. But most smokers will finally realise there's more to life and they won't develop a green thumb so they can have brown fingers. They will finally convince themselves that it is a good time to stop. The trump card smokers often play is "what about alcohol then?" But alcoholic beverages consumed sensibly do not do any harm. Casinos frequented sensibly do not cause any harm. Cigarettes don't cause any harm so long as you don't light them and inhale the fumes. When used as directed, the damage starts from the very first puff. If puffing continues, addiction sets in and the element of free choice is lost. For the dozens of New Zealanders who die of passive smoking each year, free choice never entered the equation. Alcohol consumption, casino visits and eating junk flood are all things that can be done in moderation. This is not true of smoking. Smokers cling to the notion of liberty and being free from government interference. Consider this comparison: a dairy imports chocolate covered thumbtacks and wants to sell them to children. The government says no and we all applaud their decision. There's no difference. None. We get up in arms about formaldehyde being in imported children's clothing and yet cigarettes have free passage. One day, people will find this quite bizarre. The age of innocence regarding smoking is long past. Eventually, it will be banned, so why not now? Yes, we can reminisce about the pleasure it gave us, but we also used to get pleasure from bear baiting and watching executions – and we gave those up. Richard West is a Dunedin writer, on-call postie and relieving teacher. THE 2007 SOCIAL REPORT'S OVERVIEW OF NEW ZEALAND SMOKING BEHAVIOUR
Here are a few key facts:
NEW NRT OPTION FOR PEOPLE WANTING TO QUITSmokers wanting to quit can now order low-cost nicotine patches and/or gum through the Quit website. The new initiative is part of the move to increase access to NRT and to offer more choice to people wanting to quit. Executive Director Helen Glasgow says many people want support and advice from Quitline Advisors, but some smokers want NRT without support. People accessing NRT online fill out a form, which includes details about how much they smoke and when they smoke their first cigarette of the day. An experienced Quitline Advisor assesses the information and decides the dosage and type of NRT that will best suit the individual. The Quitline then sends out Quit Cards for eight-weeks of NRT which is redeemed at a pharmacy at a cost of $5.00 per card (some people may receive up to four cards). Higher risk individuals, such as pregnant women or people who have had a heart attack/stroke in the past fortnight, will need to ring the Quitline for NRT. The Quitline will also call young people under the age of 18 before sending out Quit Cards. Online advertising promoting the new service will kick off in November. For more information contact Penny St John: penny.stjohn@quit.org.nz. THE QUIT GROUP UPDATE – SEPTEMBER 2007A total of 3,016 callers were registered with the Quitline in September. About 26 percent of registered callers were Māori (797), 70 percent were New Zealand European (2,117) and 5.1 percent (155) of the callers identified themselves as Pacific peoples. The highest proportion of callers was in the 20-24 age bracket, followed by the 30-34 age group. The Video Diaries campaign featuring Stu Sutherland continued to run in September at low media weights.
SMOKEFREE SHORTS
New ZealandMicrosoft stomps on smokers
Smokers will be able to sign up to receive personalised text messages throughout the day encouraging them to quit, or text a number to get back instant advice on beating cravings. The service, called Stomp, will be launched early next year and will be one of the first interactive applications that will be made available to people who register their details with Microsoft's HealthVault website. Healthphone will retain all the revenues. Stuff, 15 October 2007 Whangarei smokers prepare to quit on No Smoking Day Want to quit smoking, but can't do it alone? Join the hundreds of smokers in Whangarei who are gearing up to kick their addiction on "No Smoking Day Whangarei" on 9 November. Smokefree groups across the city are preparing to help as smokers in Whangarei prepare to take action. The day aims to help people who want out of smoking by creating a supportive environment for them and by highlighting the different ways they can give up their addiction. ASH press release, 3 October 2007 Tobacco displays make it harder to quit "Make no mistake, cigarette displays are determined, planned and strategic marketing tools. And our latest research proves this!" Belinda Hughes, Tobacco Control Advisor for the Cancer Society of New Zealand, has empathy for those 46 percent of New Zealand smokers who have tried to quit in the last year. "We need to create a supportive environment to help them quit successfully. Getting cigarettes out of sight is an obvious way to do that," she said. Cancer Society Press Release, 11 October 2007 Nearly half of smokers want ban on advertising Almost half of New Zealand's smokers believe point-of-sale cigarette displays should be banned, a Cancer Society survey has found. However, Dunedin Green MP Metiria Turei believes there is little chance the displays will be outlawed, as the two major political parties are unlikely to back such a proposal. Otago Daily Times, 15 October 2007 Dairy refuses to stock cigarettes The new owners of Dunedin's Dainty Dairy are refusing to sell cigarettes and have taken tobacco products off the shelf. Dairy owner Moreen Hall only recently took over and revamped the dairy, on the corner of Stuart and Smith Streets. She says many of her customers are school-age and do not need to be exposed to such products. Channel 9, (Dunedin), 15 October 2007 InternationalMajor study reveals levels of carbon monoxide pollution across Europe
The mean level of exhaled CO in the 49,392 smokers tested was 17.5 ppm (parts per million). This is twice the maximum level which is tolerated for air pollution in European cities. The mean level of exhaled CO amongst the 62,433 non smokers was 3.9 ppm. However, this level was higher in countries where more CO was produced by smokers. The good news from countries with advanced tobacco controls was that the mean level of exhaled CO in non-smokers in countries without a smoking ban was 5.2 ppm. CO levels were also reduced in countries with high tobacco prices. Response Source Press Release, 19 October 2007 Bar owners surprised by smoking ban-era business Many bar and restaurant owners are seeing an unexpected result of the smoking ban that went into effect on 1 October in Minnesota, US. Bierstube bar owner Jim Yanz says he had many sleepless nights in the months leading up to the state-wide smoking ban, but since the Bierstube went smoke-free, there has been a noticeable unexpected increase in business leaving Mr Yanz "pleasantly surprised." WCCO-Channel 4000, 12 October 2007 Unlocking the secrets of cot death Nine out of 10 mothers whose babies suffered cot death smoked during pregnancy, according to a new scientific study to be published this week. The study, thought to be one of the most authoritative to date on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, says women who smoke during pregnancy are four times more likely than non-smokers to see their child fall victim to cot death. The Independent (UK), 14 October 2007 High-tech packets to smoke out crooks Since 1 October, radio frequency (RFID) tags have been embedded in each packet of cigarettes produced for sale in Britain. The technology will allow HM Revenue & Customs officials to use hand-held electronic devices to determine whether an individual cigarette packet is bootleg or genuine and whether or not duty has been paid on it. Times Online, 8 October 2007 Poisonous in pink
The tagline for Camel No. 9 is "light and luscious"; how better to sell a cancer-causing cigarette than to make it sound like a tasty treat? Washingtonpost.com, 12 October 2007 Alberta takes aim at Marlboro Man In a stunning reversal, nearly two-thirds of surveyed Albertans favour their government suing tobacco companies for damages caused by their product, an anti-smoking group has said. The Calgary Sun, 17 October 2007 First teen arrested for smoking The police have made a historic arrest - outside a recent Wyoming Area High School football game. The arrest didn't take a hardened criminal off the streets, but was the first in what West Pittston Borough hopes will improve the health and welfare of its children and young adults for years to come. CitizensVoice.com (US), 10 October 2007 Court rules filling cigarette machines isn't drug dealing Two partially disabled Germans got their welfare benefits cut for turning down a job re-filling cigarette vending machines. A German court has denied their claim that the job was "drug-dealing" and affirmed that the insurer's act was lawful. The lawyer for the accused said his clients, 41 and 45, one of whom had been a long-time heavy smoker, had "no desire to become even a little cog in the machine of making someone addicted." Spiegel Online International, 9 October 2007 Island nation may quit smoking The tiny Pacific nation of Niue could become the first in the world to eliminate smoking under a plan to pay its smokers to quit. Two hundred of the country's 1500 people smoke. The Premier, Young Vivian, says that it would be cheaper to pay all smokers up to $1700 each to stop smoking than it was to continue to pay for their health-care costs. Australian Associated Press, 15 October 2007 Ex-tobacco scientist spills beans on Big Tobacco
DeNoble, a former tobacco scientist for Philip Morris, said he approached a 63-year-old hospital patient dying of lung cancer and asked him if he could have his brain after he died. He explained to the patient that he was conducting experiments on the effects of nicotine on the human brain. DeNoble was convinced that the effects of nicotine on the human brain lasted even after an individual quit smoking. After the man died, his wife gave DeNoble permission to use his brain for experimentation. DeNoble said his initial hypothesis was right: The man's brain cells showed nicotine-related alteration even though he hadn't smoked for years. Nevada Appeal, 8 October 2007 Aroma lights up the night When a friend and I went to Aroma (Washington cigar bar) we smelled the fragrant odour of burning tobacco. Ashtrays were scattered across the bar, a guy lit up a celebratory cigar and, later, one man wandered in while puffing away on a pipe. All the puffing away was completely legal, because Aroma is the first D.C. bar to receive a hardship exemption from the city's Department of Health. Washingtonpost.com, 16 October 2007 Japan's smoking rate falls Japan's smoking rate, one of the highest in the industrialised world, has fallen to a new low amid rising health awareness and tighter regulations, according to a recently released survey. The overall rate of smokers in Japan slid to 26 percent of the adult population this year from 26.3 percent a year ago and has steadily dropped since 1996, according to the annual survey by Japan Tobacco Inc., the country's largest tobacco maker. Forbes.com, 17 October 2007 Study says firms tried to suppress dangers of second-hand smoke Cigarette makers tried to undermine evidence that second-hand smoke causes cardiovascular disease, according to a review by a UC Davis physician of scores of once-secret tobacco industry documents. The report in the American Heart Association journal Circulation discredits research paid for by the tobacco industry as attempts to put corporate viability above public health and to downplay scientific findings on the role of second-hand smoke in heart disease. Sacbee.com (Sacramento, US), 16 October 2007 Smoking tops poll of annoying passenger habits
Smoking won a landslide victory in the YouGov poll to find the habit most likely to annoy fellow passengers. It was identified by nearly twice as many respondents as back-seat driving and three times as many as such anti-social practices as farting, burping and nose-picking. Easier Motoring (UK), 16 October 2007 Smokers admit cigarettes cause car accidents Nearly half of motorists who smoke have had an accident or near miss due to the habit, researchers have claimed. Puffing drivers can be charged if police decide they are "not in proper control of a car", according to the updated Highway Code. Daily Record.co.uk (Scotland), 15 October 2007 QUOTABLE QUOTES"It is not the nicotine that causes most of the harm but rather some of the other 4,000 constituents of cigarette smoke, of which 60 are known carcinogens. Drawing an analogy with illicit drug use, the cigarette is the equivalent of the 'dirty syringe'." Jamie Bridge, Seeing Past the Smoke, "I encourage all my fellow politicians in the audience to show leadership on tobacco control. Smoking causes utterly preventable death, disease, and disability. It cheats our people of the good health to which we all have a right. It is a scourge the world could do without." Prime Minister Helen Clark at the opening of the WHO Western Pacific Regional Committee Meeting "It makes perfect sense that [tobacco] displays encourage smokers to buy. Tobacco companies would not want to keep them if they didn't." Metiria Turei, Green Party MP |
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Well done to the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation who have decided to divest tobacco stocks from the
Fund's investments.
Lois Galer, (Otago Daily Times 5 October - unfortunately we are
unable to link to this article) obviously loves the old puff and asserts there is nothing so dreadfully wrong with smoking. She reassures us that none of her smoking friends, their lungs dripping with tar, actively promotes smoking to youngsters.
The 2007 Social Report providing information on the social health and wellbeing of New Zealand society has been released by the Ministry of Social Development. You can download the full report
Where
possible, links are provided below the stories. Please click these to read the
story in full.
The alliance between Auckland software firm Healthphone and Microsoft has borne its first fruit, with the two companies teaming up to create a text-message service that will encourage smokers in the United States to kick the habit.
A study of almost 112,000 smokers and non-smokers across the European Union has clearly demonstrated the link between smoking and high levels of carbon monoxide pollution in both smokers AND non-smokers.
There's a disturbing hot item being pushed by a number of leading women's fashion magazines. As a mother, grandmother and former school nurse, I'm sorry to say that this "must-have" is Camel No. 9 cigarettes, cynically brought to our girls and young women by the folks at R.J. Reynolds, the tobacco company that thought cartoon character Joe Camel was a responsible product spokesman.
Students of Pinon Hills Elementary School in Nevada, US, expressed both wonder and disgust when Victor DeNoble walked around showing them a piece of a human brain.
Smoking in the car is even more likely to annoy fellow passengers than back-seat driving, non-stop jabbering or wanting to listen to The Archers, according to a poll of 2,110 Britons.