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| Issue 86 | 19 March 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Having trouble viewing this newsletter? Try the online version. FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK
John, for his sins, is the editor of the Ashburton Guardian. I have never met him and probably I am not destined to meet him. But I think he is a man of insight and courage who calls it like it is. In his editorial of 4 March "If you are not scared now, wait 20 years" he clearly articulates the case for health warnings. He does so with logic and the use of facts and he demonstrates an understanding of addiction. He does not judge smokers! But he does laud the health warnings campaign as a way to confront smokers with the gory details of the consequences of smoking. He also encourages us to confront smokers, in his words, to "help our smoking friends and colleagues to kick their addiction for their own good". And he has an understanding of the toll a person's smoking has on all of us. So there is an understanding that the smoker affects more people than just themselves. Well done that man. No truck here for the libertarian argument around freedom of choice. With addiction there is no choice. Studies show that at least 80 percent of daily smokers are addicted and recent studies show that young people are often addicted from their first cigarette. "Why is this so important?" he asks. Then answers his own question: "Try saving 5000 lives lost annually by smoking-related deaths". Contrast that with the National Business Review which on 14 March 2008 contends the mortality figures from smoking are still "highly debatable". I sometimes wonder where apologists such as these get their information from. Sure they were having a flick at ASH over the "twin towers matter" (see below) - which by the way was not an ASH promotion - but there is nothing debatable about the death burden from smoking. Maybe the editorial staff at the NBR should take a course in "tobacco 101". Have a good fortnight. Mark Peck Director IN THIS ISSUE:
PREGNANT WOMEN NEED MORE HELP TO QUIT SMOKING
A survey by the Auckland Tobacco Control Research Centre (ATCRC) at The University of Auckland showed that only 11 percent of midwives and 71 percent of GPs suggest women abstain completely from smoking during pregnancy. The results of the survey are published in the latest New Zealand Medical Journal. Around 150 GPs and 200 midwives from across New Zealand took part in the Ministry of Health-funded survey. The results showed that GPs were the primary step in confirming pregnancy and 84.5 percent routinely recorded smoking status, with 71 percent advising complete abstinence from smoking during pregnancy. Of midwives, 98 percent routinely asked about smoking status, although only 11 percent recommended smoking abstinence, instead recommending a reduction in smoking. Whilst both groups provide cessation counselling, half were likely to recommend nicotine patches as a replacement therapy rather than intermittent delivery methods recommended for pregnant women, including nicotine gum, inhalers and lozenges. "GPs and midwives are in a pivotal position to offer smoking advice to pregnant women, when motivation to quit is at its highest," says Dr Marewa Glover, Director of the ATCRC. "However, the message that smoking abstinence is vital for the health of the developing child does not seem to be consistently delivered, particularly by midwives. More needs to be done to ensure that pregnant women are given the help they need to quit smoking, including promotion of nicotine replacement mechanisms, such as gum, inhalers and lozenges, as a means to quit." The Auckland Tobacco Control Research Centre, based at The University of Auckland, is a network of University researchers and external organisations, including ASH, National Heart Foundation, public health services and independent researchers, looking at methods to decrease smoking and associated health problems in New Zealand. University of Auckland media release, 14 March 2008 PLEA FROM A NON SMOKER FOR BAN ON OUTDOOR SMOKING"I look forward to the day when I can walk down a street, play outdoor bowls, sit at an outside table at a cafe; and drive my car with my window down without having to inhale/smell second-hand smoke. "What people do in their own homes is their business. But why should I as a non-smoker have to endure someone else's addiction out in public? "It is good to see that work is being done to eventually get New Zealand to this level - I applaud you. One suggestion, perhaps the next census/election could allow voting New Zealanders to have a say about public smoking and whether to pass legislation to ban it in open public places - rather than having to suffer and wait for 10 years. "Well it doesn't hurt to wish." Email to Smokefree Coalition ASH ACCUSED OF MISUSING ATROCITYAction on Smoking and Health (ASH) has been accused of exploiting the World Trade Centre deaths on September 11, 2001. ASH posted an advertisement on the internet showing two white columns with smoke pouring out. The ad was picked up by the lobby's American counterpart which placed it on its own website with the caption "Terrorism-related deaths since 2001: 11,337. Tobacco-related deaths since 2001: 30,000,000." The Metro newspaper in New York quoted Jim Riches, whose firefighter son died in the terrorist attack, as saying the lobby should not have exploited the event, in which thousands of people died brutal deaths as the buildings burned and collapsed. Claire McKay, of the advertising firm Doyle Dane Bernbach in Auckland, said the ad wasn't meant to "denigrate the victims of terrorism". Ben Youdan, Director of ASH in New Zealand, said: "This poster is a confidential draft, is not published and is not in the public domain". NZ Herald, 7 March 2008 2008 SMOKEFREE PREGNANCY BLITZ
A team of 12 midwives has been prepared, as part of the Partners in Change programme, to deliver 120 two-hour workshops to colleagues in their region. These will prepare midwives to:
Contact details for workshops are:
MINISTRY OF HEALTH UPDATES TOBACCO CONTROL WEBSITEThe Ministry of Health has just completed a revamp of the tobacco control section of its website. The website features up-to-date information on tobacco control in New Zealand, the new graphic pictorial health warnings and comprehensive information about the health effects of smoking.
It also features links to stop smoking initiatives, non-government organisations and smoking cessation providers in New Zealand. You can view the newly updated website at www.moh.govt.nz/tobacco. While you're at it, check out the new factsheets around the 14 graphic pictorial websites, under 'Graphic Warnings'. OPPORTUNITIES TO TRAIN IN CESSATION PRACTICEFree training for health professionals by the Pacific Islands Heartbeat Smoking Cessation Service - three modules over three days. This training is designed for nurses and community health workers to enhance their knowledge and skills in providing brief advice and cessation support to patients/smokers in the cessation process. The course has a strong emphasis on what is culturally relevant and appropriate for Pacific people. Participants and providers who complete the training can get registered with the Quit Group as Quit Card providers to access subsidised Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) for clients who smoke and wanting to quit. To be held:
Each workshop runs 9am-4pm, morning and afternoon tea provided.
For more information please contact THROUGH THE SMOKEAn evil weed
The deaths of more than 400,000 Americans each year, 160,000 of them from lung cancer, make a strong case for the prohibition of tobacco, and particularly of cigarettes. The case, backed by solid evidence, has been made in every public arena since the early 1950s, when the first convincing link between smoking and cancer was established in clinical and epidemiological studies - yet 50 million Americans still go on smoking. The Economist, 15 March 2008 SMOKEFREE SHORTS
MilestonesLook who's had a birthday recently! Willow McKay, Dawn Acker, Belinda Hughes and Sharon Ponniah. New ZealandPaying lip service to no smoking issue We've been campaigning to dash cigarette smoking for a long time now but clearly more than lip service is needed. Smoking in many minds should have been nipped in the butt many years ago. Rotorua Review, 7 March 2008 Pat's painful reality of a lifetime of smoking Long-time smoker Pat Christmas is living proof that if smoking doesn't kill it can cause irreversible damage. Ms Christmas had her voice box removed after contracting throat cancer at the age of 60. She is hoping that by sharing her experience with mid-Canterbury smokers they will become less lax about the gruesome images that have begun appearing on all cigarette packets. A street survey conducted by the Ashburton Guardian suggests the gruesome sight of amputation, gangrenous limbs and rotted teeth will not be enough to stop people smoking. Ms Christmas, who was once a singer, now talks using a valve. She can't sing, whistle or blow out the candles on her birthday cake. Ashburton Guardian, 7 March 2008 Puffs in park up in smoke All Tararua District parks and reserves were declared smokefree at a launch at the Dannevirke Domain. Dannevirke Evening News, 6 March 2008 Smokers barred from playgrounds and forest The days of puffing on a cigarette while watching your kids play sport or having fun in playgrounds in Rotorua will soon be over. Rotorua is to follow in the bold footsteps of Opotiki by banning smoking in public places looked after by local authorities. Rotorua District Council said a ban on smoking at Rotorua sports grounds, playgrounds and in the popular walking tracks of The Redwoods was likely to come into force this year. Rotorua Daily Post, 6 March 2008 InternationalPregnant mums who quit have calmer kids Babies born to women who quit smoking in pregnancy are better behaved than the children of heavy smokers and non-smokers, a new British study has found. The study, which involved 19,000 babies born between 2000 and 2002 found that at nine months, babies whose mothers had stopped smoking while pregnant scored higher for positive moods, the ability to cope with change and had more regular sleeping and feeding patterns. The Dominion Post, 14 March 2008 Moves to ban tobacco displays in Australian capital Australian Capital Territory Health Minister Katy Gallagher has introduced a bill in the Legislative Assembly which will give Canberra the toughest restrictions on tobacco sales in the country. The Tobacco Amendment Bill requires retailers to keep cigarette products below the counter or in drawers where they cannot be seen. The bill also bans the sale of flavoured cigarettes and split packs ABC, 6 March 2008 A good reason for quitting
The concept of lung age - measured by comparing a smoker's lungs to the age of a healthy person whose lungs function the same - has helped patients better understand how smoking damages health, researchers had already found. But that information is also effective in convincing smokers to quit, said Gary Parkes, a family physician in Hertfordshire outside London, who led the study published in the British Medical Journal. "Telling smokers their lung age significantly improves the likelihood of them quitting smoking," Parkes and his colleagues wrote. NZ Herald, 10 March 2008 Depression tied to unhealthy habits Depression and anxiety are associated with obesity and poor health behaviours such as smoking, drinking and inactivity, new research indicates. "Depression and anxiety are serious mental health conditions and without treatment may assume a chronic course," said Dr Tara Strine, from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, who led the study. NZ Herald, 10 March 2008 Smoking and blood pressure danger Smoking and high blood pressure are a deadly combination that dramatically increases the risk of a blood vessel bursting inside the brain, Sydney research shows. A study by the George Institute for International Health found that smokers with high blood pressure are significantly more likely to suffer a haemorrhagic stroke than non-smokers with blood pressure problems. NZ Herald, 13 March 2008 Days of surrogate liquor and cigarette advertisements numbered in India Indian information and broadcasting minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi has assured the Union health minister A Ramadoss that all surrogate ads would soon be barred from appearing in any form of media, and stricter measures of surveillance to identify such ads would be put in place. Ramadoss even named the brands involved in running surrogate ads for sodas, cassettes, CDs, golf accessories and mineral water with some products bearing exactly the same brand name and logo, which were earlier seen in liquor advertisements. Times of India, 8 March 2008 Doctors aim to ban tobacco in Vatican
Reflecting the gravity and addictiveness of smoking, two dozen doctors and nurses from the Massachusetts area are appealing to a higher authority to curtail cigarette use. When Pope Benedict XVI visits the United States in April, they plan to come armed with a petition with thousands of names asking the Pope "to declare the Vatican the world's first country to ban tobacco in its entirety." The Herald News (Massachusetts), 6 March 2008 The Oktoberfest isn't going smokefree just yet Munich city and state officials have decided that Bavaria's newly-introduced smoking ban, the toughest in Germany, would not apply at this year's Oktoberfest event. The Bavarian legislation, which took effect on New Year's Day, banned smoking in bars, restaurants and nightclubs. Unlike other German states, it did not allow for special rooms to be set aside for smokers at restaurants - and did not exempt beer tents. Breitbart.com, 7 March 2008 Bulgaria acts on smoking Bulgaria will ban smoking and flammable items on trains, and upgrade emergency procedures after a fire swept two sleeper carriages last week, killing nine people. The fire was the worst railway incident in Bulgaria since 1992. Javno.com, 7 March 2008 Kids' health puffed away
Dr Steve Ryan said that of the 35,000 children the hospital treats each year, 2,000 are there because they have been exposed to their parents' smoke. Daily Mail, 8 March 2008
Beijing officials to stub out the social smoke In what could be its latest crackdown on bad habits, the Chinese Government looks set to stub out employees' smoking at functions. A Member of Parliament said government employees should be banned from offering or receiving cigarettes on social occasions, a move that would reverse an entrenched tradition and is unlikely to see the light of day. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao promised in 2004 that August's Beijing Games would be smokefree, but there has been no announcement of Olympic restrictions. NZ Herald, 11 March 2008 QUOTABLE QUOTES"People who throw their butts on the ground: Whatever gave you the idea that your nasty little fag end doesn't count as litter?" "Going Up and Going Down" Poll "The anti-tobacco lobby is getting sillier by the hour with a new call for the product to be restricted to those over 25 and for a total ban on cigarette displays in-store. It would put paid to the existence of a huge number of convenience stores who rely heavily on those products for base sales and add-ons while the customers are in-store." Peter Mitchell, "Small World" "Research indicates that many (of New Zealand's 10,000 retailers of tobacco products) are far from comfortable about selling tobacco and many would support a ban on the retail display of tobacco. In fact, we have seen many responsible retailers stop selling tobacco completely." Belinda Hughes, Cancer Society of New Zealand "He (Hone Harawira) then cited some sobering statistics on tobacco smoking: it kills more than 4600 New Zealanders every year; 30 percent of young smokers will eventually be killed by tobacco; and tobacco will kill more people in New Zealand than the combined deaths from alcohol, drugs, murder, suicide, road crashes, air crashes, poisoning, drowning, fires, falls, lightning and electrocution. He railed against the hypocrisy that would ban party pills but allow the continued liberal access to and consumption of tobacco and alcohol, suggesting that taxation profits might be part of the reason. One does not have to agree with him entirely to concede he has a point." Editorial |
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I reckon John Schalch will be mighty surprised to learn that he is the subject of my editorial this fortnight.
Midwives and doctors should do more to encourage pregnant women to give up smoking, research suggests.
Imagine every child smokefree from the start! Midwives across New Zealand are leading a "blitz" approach
to smokefree pregnancies in 2008.
Before July, 600 midwives are expected to be up to date with the new ABC best practice smokefree guidelines,
and confidently issuing quit cards for nicotine replacement products.
The single most shattering
statistic about life in America in the late 1990s was that tobacco killed more people than the combined total of those who died from AIDS,
car accidents, alcohol, murder, suicide, illegal drugs and fire.
Where
possible, links are provided below the stories. 
Smokers are more likely to kick their addiction if they are told how "old" their lungs are, a British study found.
Three doctors
are taking a world view of the smoking issue, as part of a group that will petition the Pope to make The Vatican the first tobacco-free
nation on Earth.
As many as a third of
children treated at a renowned British hospital for conditions that include chest infections and asthma are there because
their parents smoke in front of them, according to the medical director of Liverpool's Alder Hey Hospital.