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| Issue 80 | 5 December 2007 |
Having trouble viewing this newsletter? Try the online version. FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK
There will be some new information on the website in the very near future. The first addition will be documents from the tax study. This has taken a long time to get to completion, and can be highly technical, but there are some very good results. Essentially, the study tells us what we suspected, with a few variations on the theme. Tax works. It increases the price of smoking, encouraging some to try quitting, and it acts as a deterrent to others starting . The section on tied taxes provides the ethical solution for the disparity issues from the fact that the largest group of smokers are on low incomes, and/or are Māori or Pacifica. It makes a strong case for the tax revenue to be invested in tobacco control with a high emphasis on cessation support. Don't hold your breath, though. Next year is an election year, and that says everything about the chance of a tax increase on tobacco any time soon. Then there is the road to a 'Countdown to a smokefree Aotearoa/New Zealand'. Some of you might be wondering what happened at the June meeting where the Gravitas report's findings were discussed and consensus was sought on the way forward for New Zealand tobacco control. From that meeting came a vision document and PowerPoint presentation to encourage 'buy in' to this phased campaign to rid Aotearoa/New Zealand of tobacco. This presentation has been given to both the Smokefree South and the Smokefree North networks and will be progressively road-showed over the next few months. Both the document and the slide show are now on the website. Feel free to request a presentation by contacting me if you have not had a chance to attend one so far. The 'Countdown' will kick off with the launching of a 'Countdown Clock' at an appropriate time next year. This is all about putting the tobacco industry on notice. To them I say that their 'legitimacy through an accident of history' is coming to an end. Keep an eye out for this event, and have a good fortnight. Mark Peck Director IN THIS ISSUE:
INVITATION TO DISCUSS SMOKEFREE COALITION STRATEGIC PLANAt the last Smokefree Coalition Board meeting it was decided that a meeting of members and stakeholders would be held to discuss the development of the new Smokefree Coalition strategic plan. This meeting will allow you and/or your organisation an opportunity to tell us what you feel our strategic plan should look like as we work towards the ten year countdown to New Zealand being smokefree. This meeting will be held at 9am on Wednesday 27 February 2008 at a venue yet to be decided (depending on numbers). The most likely venue will be the HSC board room on Level 6 Fulbright House, 129 Featherston Street, CBD, Wellington. Included below is a link to a short report (Smokefree Coalition Strategic Planning Report) which was presented to the Board listing some of the issues that might inform the next strategic plan. Please also feel free to read through the Gravitas report which raises some of the structural issues and the policy responses which could be undertaken to address them. Finally, I would appreciate a response as to your attendance for venue and catering purposes. Please RSVP to me at director@sfc.org.nz no later than Wednesday 20 February 2008. Mark Peck Documents: CONSULTATION DOCUMENTS ON THE FUTURE OF TOBACCO DISPLAYSThe consultation documents on the future of tobacco displays have now gone online. The Cancer Society and ASH will circulate a recommended response by Monday 10 December to support people making submissions. However, you may wish to review it in the interim. You can also find information at www.bancigarettedisplays.org.nz/. Review of Tobacco Displays in New Zealand: Consultation Document The Ministry of Health is reviewing the display of tobacco products in retail settings, such as dairies, convenience stores, supermarkets and service stations. Submissions close on 15 February 2008. See: http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/review-tobacco-displays-nz-consultation?Open. Tobacco Displays: Tell us what you think (Youth-friendly Consultation Document) The Ministry of Health is reviewing the display of tobacco products in retail settings, such as dairies, convenience stores, supermarkets and service stations. Submissions close on 15 February 2008. See: http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/tobacco-dsiaplays-tell-us-what-you-think. Belinda Hughes CHILD HEALTH REPORT LOOKS AT EFFECTS OF SMOKING
The report used existing data, including Census data and the Year 10 Survey. It stated, "Exposure to second hand cigarette smoke is responsible for a large number of general practice visits and hospital admissions during childhood. In addition, exposure in utero has been associated with intrauterine growth restriction, sudden infant death syndrome, impaired cognitive development and childhood behavioural problems. Parental smoking is also thought to increase the likelihood that children will take up smoking during adolescence, which if continued, increases the risk of adverse health outcomes in later life." More broadly, the report, from Paediatric Epidemiology Service and Paediatric Society, showed that Māori and Pacific children and young people, and those living in most deprived areas, have far worse health than children and young people in other groups. The full report can be downloaded from the website of the Paediatric Society of New Zealand. PUBLIC HEALTH SUMMER SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPSThe 12th Public Health Summer School will be held 19 January - 29 February 2008 at the University of Otago, Wellington. This Summer School provides an environment in which participants can learn for the first time about basic principles of public health, or where those with public health experience can further develop their knowledge and skills. Courses are ideally suited to health sector staff working in primary care organisations and district health boards, as independent health practitioners, as staff of government departments and in non-government organisations. The Summer School programme also provides a good introduction to public health for people considering postgraduate studies in this field. The modular design enables interest-specific enrolment in a range of courses over the three weeks. For further details about the 2008 Summer School programme see: www.wnmeds.ac.nz/academic/dhp. The Wellington Branch of the Public Health Association is offering sponsorship for three people to attend the Summer School. Each sponsorship offers 12 months membership of the PHA and registration in one or more Summer School courses to a maximum value of $500. Because of the themes in the 2008 Summer School, the Wellington PHA is giving priority to Wellington-based public health students (e.g. health promotion, Masters in Public Health), and workers in primary health organisations, NGOs engaged in public health work, health protection, public health nursing, and local government who are new to the sector (in the role for less than 12 months). See the PHA website for the application process. Applications close 14 December. SAFETY OF PATIENTS IN NEW ZEALAND HOSPITALS: A PROGRESS REPORTUpdate readers may be interested in a recent report by Dr Mary Seddon about patient safety in New Zealand hospitals. Dr Seddon describes the case of Mr A, who was admitted to Wellington Hospital in September 2004. His unfortunate death raises important concerns regarding mental health and the management of nicotine addiction in hospitals.
The Commissioner was concerned by the system failures that contributed to the death of Mr A, and each DHB was requested to review the case and report to him on the safeguards they have in place to prevent a similar case from occurring. Ten common areas for improvement were identified. In her report, Dr Seddon analyses the responses and makes a number of interesting observations. The report is available online at http://www.hdc.org.nz/files/hdc/publications/seddon-review.pdf. THROUGH THE SMOKE
Mr Charlton, who owns the Clifton Hotel on Portland, developed the idea alongside hotel manager Mark Pollard. The mobile shelter – available to guests and staff – is an umbrella large and light enough for people to wear to cover their heads and shoulders. Pictured are Claire Logan and Becky Harvey with their smoking shelter hats outside the Clifton Hotel on Portland. The full story is available here. SMOKEFREE SHORTS
New ZealandCell phones, texts and pxts new tools to stub out smoking
The 18-year-old used to smoke up to 18 cigarettes a day but stopped six months ago when she joined the Auckland University pilot study that sends pxt video clips to those wanting to stop smoking. Sunday Star Times, 25 November 2007 Smokers needed Keen to kick smoking? Smokers aged 18 years and older are needed for an Auckland University study which aims to help people quit. Contact Hayden McRobbie, phone 09 373 7599 ext 84726. AK.City Harbour News, 30 November 2007 Cloud of influence Kiwi kids are British American Tobacco (BAT) kids, an ASH survey of 27,000 year 10 students has found. Of the top 10 brands favoured by the 6,500 students who smoked, eight were manufactured by BAT, accounting for nearly 90 percent of the youth market. ASH director Ben Youdan said children were making "informed brand decisions". Dominion Post, 3 December 2007 Cigarettes may go under cover in shops Cigarettes could be hidden from sight in dairies and supermarkets in the latest bid to stub out smoking. A complete ban on tobacco product displays is one option in a consultation document the Government will soon make public. The Ministry of Health has voiced its support for the ban. The Dominion Post, 29 November 2007 Minister welcomes public feedback on tobacco The government is seeking public feedback on a consultation document on the future of tobacco displays in New Zealand, Associate Health Minister Damien O'Connor has announced. The document seeks feedback on three options for the future of tobacco displays: current requirements with enhanced education and enforcement, further restrictions on tobacco displays or a total ban on displays altogether. Scoop, 28 November 2007 InternationalCigarette displays lure smokers back
The world-first study, led by Australian researchers, found more than a third of smokers who were trying to quit or cut down were tempted to buy cigarettes as a direct result of seeing them on display. And 60 percent of these gave in to the urge, forking out at least once even though they had never intended to buy any. The research, to be published in the international journal Addiction, also proves that recent quitters are lured back into their addiction by the large glossy pack displays. Australian Associated Press, 22 November 2007 Challenge to reduce preventable deaths International health experts have unveiled a master plan they say could avert at least 36 million premature deaths worldwide from "lifestyle" diseases by 2015. Without concerted efforts, they say, 388 million people around the globe, 80 percent of them in poorer nations, will die over the next decade from non-communicable diseases, including smoking, that are now reaching epidemic proportions. NZ Herald, 23 November 2007 Snuffed Out – Probing the myth that 'light' cigarettes are better for you Ever thought you were doing yourself less harm when smoking a Marlboro Light? Well, you can safely bury that illusion now. Information released during a recent Senate committee hearing bolstered the case that 'light' or 'ultra light' cigarettes are just as harmful to your health as regular ones – if not worse. Newsweek, 20 November 2007 What's next? Ultra ironics? Put anything Mellow in your mouth lately? Or do you prefer a taste of Prestige? Canada's new cigarette rules prohibiting the adjectives 'mild' and 'light' have finally filtered down to the smoking public, and to gauge by the new descriptors, the filthy addiction has rather come up in the world as a result. Players Light and Mild are now 'Rich' and 'Smooth'. Instead of Extra Mild and Ultra Mild, Matinee now offers 'Mellow' and 'Subtle'. The Star.com (Canada), 25 November 2007 Different smell, same... Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada is calling on Minister of Health Tony Clement and his department to move swiftly to investigate and prosecute Japan Tobacco for promoting a new cigarette brand in ways likely to harm non-smokers. According to patent papers filed by Japan Tobacco, these cigarettes are made by adding a "tobacco sidestream smoke smell-improving agent" to the glue on cigarette wrapping paper. Market Wire, 3 December 2007 Electronic cigarettes encourage smoking
The electronic cigarette, which is the same size as a real cigarette, displaying identical physical characteristics, has been put on the market and become an issue of debate. Many celebrities are sporting electronic cigarettes and the Chairman of the Turkish Exporters' Association Oguz Satıcı declared that he was able to quit smoking with the help of this product. However, the Chairman of the Fight Against Cancer Department Professor Murat Tuncer described the electronic cigarette as being an encouragement for the real thing. Sabah, 26 November 2007 Cheap cigarillos now more popular with Quebec youth than cigarettes A new Quebec government survey shows that cigarillos have become more popular than cigarettes among Quebec teenagers and are undermining progress against smoking among youth. The Quebec report found that although cigarette use among high school students had fallen to 15 percent by 2006, cigar and cigarillo use had jumped to 22 percent. Physicians for a smoke-free Canada media release, 22 November 2007 New York State to end smoking in all addiction programs For decades, addiction-treatment programs have focused on drug and alcohol abuse and shrugged at patients' near-universal use of tobacco. But faced with growing awareness of the power of nicotine addiction and that smoking kills more people than all other addictive drugs combined, New York officials have decided the state can no longer afford to ignore smoking. Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (US),19 November 2007 The real cost of cigarettes to smokers: $222 a pack 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. Vanderbilt University website,26 November 2007 The bald facts: smokers risk hair loss
But none of this counts for much with the average red-blooded male – at least not as much as maintaining a healthy head of hair. Unlike grey hair and wrinkled skin, baldness is harder to treat and harder to disguise. NZ Herald, 27 November 2007 Smokefree workplace law reduces heart attacks 59 percent A new study released by Indiana University researchers shows that strong smokefree workplace laws result in immediate and significant improvements in heart health, particularly in non-smokers. The study found a 59 percent net decrease in hospital admissions for heart attacks in non-smokers with no prior cardiac history versus the control group during the 22 month study period prior to and following the implementation of a smokefree law. Forbes, 20 November 2007 New anti-smoking campaign in Chile targets children The Ministry of Health in Chile has launched a new, two month anti-smoking campaign which aims to prevent minors from becoming smokers. The campaign will use TV and radio spots that urge adults to refrain from smoking in front of their children. One of the spots contains the following message: "Children can't choose, but you can. Don't smoke or let others smoke in front of your children." The Santiago Times, 21 November 2007 Quit rates double with counselling and free nicotine patches Increasing the level of Quitline smoking cessation services and offering free nicotine patches are a successful and cost-effective way to reduce smoking rates, according to two new studies in the December issue of Tobacco Control, a peer-reviewed publication of the British Medical Journal. Both studies were conducted by researchers at Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research in Portland, the Oregon Health Department, and Free and Clear in Seattle, a phone-based tobacco treatment program. Eurekalert, 29 November 2007 Quit smoking pill being investigated
The US Food and Drug Administration is reviewing adverse event reports submitted by the manufacturer Pfizer about Chantix, a prescription drug to be marketed in Australia under the name Champix from January. The drug is the first of its kind to reduce the intensity of nicotine cravings while also making smoking less pleasant. The Age, 21 November 2007 Smoking quit rates stall as anti-tobacco funding declines The number of Americans giving up cigarettes may have hit a plateau. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis of 2006 data found that approximately 20.8 percent of US adults – about 45 million – are cigarette smokers. This prevalence, which has held steady since 2004, suggests a stall in the previous seven-year decline. During that period, the proportion of smokers shrank from 24.7 percent to 20.9 percent. Amednews.Com, 3 December 2007 Cigarette smoke, alcohol damage hearts worse as combo Tobacco smoke-filled air is bad for cardiovascular health, and drinking alcohol at the same time only makes it worse, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, US. Testing the theory that moderate alcohol consumption provides some heart-protection benefits, the university team said it wanted to take the idea further and look at the effects of smoking and breathing second-hand smoke along with drinking. ScienceDaily, 22 November 2007 Cancer society report finds that tobacco industry uses dangerous additives 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 the Cancer Society. The Copenhagen Post, 26 November 2007 Activist calls Rolling Stone insert "one great big cigarette ad"
Opening the foldout discloses a four-page article, titled "Indie Rock Universe," with lists of bands and representations of planets and animals. The insert was among several in the November 15 issue, celebrating the magazine's 40th anniversary. All the inserts were what the industry calls butterfly gates – ad pages on the outside, which unfold to reveal pages of articles inside. The New York Times, 26 November 2007 Sucked in... A new study reveals that teenagers start smoking out of curiosity rather than because they think it's cool. And they are more likely to pick up the addiction from their parents than their peers. According to a new study by the Roy Castle Foundation, 82 percent of smokers start before the age of 18. The Liverpool Longitudinal Smoking Study, due to be published next year, reveals that while some teenagers take up smoking to send a nicotine-stained two-fingered salute to adult authority or in the belief that it will win them friends, others start through boredom or stress. The Guardian, 29 November 2007 QUOTABLE QUOTES"There is hope that one day cigarette smoking will be remembered as a historic curse our society had to endure..." Roland Meyer, Clinical Director, Respiratory Services, Christchurch Hospital "Can you imagine being locked in a mobile toxic gas chamber? This is what you are doing to your kids when they are stuck in a car with a person who is smoking." Letter to the Editor, Times Leader (PA, USA), 22 November 2007 "It's encouraging to see store owners being concerned about the welfare of their customers. We would like to challenge other ...stores to think about removing cigarettes and tobacco from their shelves." Helen Glasgow, Executive Director, The Quit Group |
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Thank you to all who have given us feedback on the website. We are now in the process of working through the responses and a winner in our competition will be announced in the last update for 2007 on 19 December. There is still time if you are quick to
A child health report released last week – Monitoring the Health of Children and Young People: Indicator Handbook – highlighted the effect of smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke on the health of children and young people.
It's quite rare for non-smokers to give a second thought to the needs of
those who consume the evil weed. But non-smoking UK hotelier Chaz Charlton has
done just that – by inventing the mobile smoking shelter.
Where
possible, links are provided below the stories. Please click these to read the
story in full.
Sarah Leatitagaloa reckons she's kicked her smoking addiction thanks to the help of a video texting buddy. She is one of a small group of Aucklanders who have benefited from a project, believed to be a world first, which sends video messages and animated skits to smokers' cell phones as they try to give up their addiction.
Displays of cigarette packs behind shop counters do tempt would-be quitters back to smoking, according to new research that claims to blow the lid off a tobacco industry myth.
The Chairman of the Fight Against Cancer Department, Professor Murat Tuncer, sent a warning to the
[Turkish] Ministry of Commerce and Industry, for licensing the product, and to the stores which distribute them.
A study of Asian men, renowned for hanging on to their hair compared with follically-challenged Europeans and Americans, found puffing on cigarettes can hasten male hair loss. Smoking is known to accelerate ageing and is associated with facial wrinkles and grey hair. It is also causes a dozen different kinds of cancer and heart disease and damages circulation. 
A new anti-smoking pill soon to be released in Australia is under investigation by US authorities for possible links to suicidal thoughts and erratic behaviour.
An insert in
Rolling Stone magazine sponsored by Camel cigarettes is under fire from antismoking activists because, they say, it blurs the line between advertising and editorial content – and worse yet, features cartoons.