 |
| Issue 91 | 28 May 2008 |
Having trouble viewing this newsletter? Try the online version. FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK
Unfortunately a couple of the parties have not responded (one a major party) so a presentation of responses would lack balance. We will hold on in the hope that the tardy ones will reply in time for us to publish their thoughts. In the meantime, let's focus on World Smokefree Day, which is this Saturday 31 May. See www.worldsmokefreeday.org.nz. This year's national focus for World Smokefree Day is on creating a smokefree/auahi kore future for the young people of Aotearoa/New Zealand. Around the country, coalitions have spent the month of May focusing on local tobacco control priorities, such as:
World Smokefree Day and the weeks surrounding it have now become a feature on the calendar, with many communities tailor-making activities which are strongly supported by their local leaders, identities and clubs. It's great to see your efforts appearing in the press clippings. Keep up the good work. I am sure something will be going on somewhere near you, so get involved! Anything which helps show smoking is not a normal activity deserves our support. Finally, I'd like to congratulate the team responsible for putting together the information and resources that are being used around the country. Have a good fortnight. Mark Peck Director IN THIS ISSUE:
NEW SMOKEFREE DIRECTORY AND ONLINE CONTACTS MAP
If you are in the Directory you will receive an email from the Online Smokefree Contacts Data Map asking you to sign up. This data map will become an important information tool, not only for those of us who work in tobacco control, but also for the public who are seeking our services. And the great thing about it is that it shows services by regions and major population centres. I would encourage you all to sign up online. In future this will become the database from which the hardcopy of the Directory is printed. If you already have signed up with the Online Smokefree Contacts Data Map, then please ignore the message when it arrives. Click the map to the right to access the site. RETAILER'S PENALTY FOR SELLING TO MINORS A 'SLAP ON THE WRIST'The Smokefree Coalition says the penalty received by a Carterton retailer convicted twice for selling tobacco to kids is a 'slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket' and stronger action is needed! The comments come after last week's prosecution of a dairy owner for selling tobacco to someone under 18 years of age. It was his second conviction in less than a year. He was barred from selling cigarettes for a month and fined $750 with an additional $130 court costs. The Ministry of Health asked the court, under the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990, to stop all sales of tobacco from the shop for three months, but the judge deemed a one-month ban sufficient. Smokefree Coalition Director Mark Peck says more must be done to prevent shop owners from flouting the law. "A one-month ban is not enough – it's a real shame the full three-month ban was not imposed. These retailers are selling a drug to our kids that is both addictive and deadly. "This Carterton retailer will be rubbing his hands with glee. After one month it's back to business as usual. Nothing has changed. What chance is there he will change his behaviour and stop selling to kids? Stronger action from the courts is needed." Mr Peck says the minimal penalties given out by courts for the sale of cigarettes to under-18s provide little incentive for retailers to comply with the law. "Courts need to impose harsher penalties to show that it is never OK to sell drugs to children. We're not dealing with lollies here – tobacco kills one out of two people who continue to use it." As well as wanting compliance checks increased, Mr Peck is calling for Government to introduce a licensing requirement for retailers, before they are allowed to sell cigarettes. "There are two benefits to licensing. The first is that retailers will pay the cost for a team of enforcers sufficiently large enough to police the law, and the second is that a retailer who sells cigarettes to someone underage can have their license removed. Cigarettes are a big money earner for retailers, and the threat of losing the licence to sell cigarettes, even if for a short period of time, would be a deterrent to illegal sales," he says. "We need to make it clear to business-owners across New Zealand that our society will not tolerate people who expose our children to cigarettes." Smokefree Coalition media release, 25 May 2008 RUGBY LEAGUE FANS RECEIVE QUIT SMOKING HELP
Associate Health Minister Damien O'Connor (pictured right) joined health workers in an innovative World Smokefree Day promotion at last Sunday's Vodafone Warriors NRL match. In what is thought to have been a world first, free nicotine lozenges were dispensed to game-going smokers to help them beat their cravings during the match. Quit coaches were also on standby to offer support to fans wanting to go one step further and quit altogether. The promotion was part of an ongoing smokefree commitment on the part of the Warriors, who adopted a smokefree policy and made their grandstands smokefree last season. Warriors players, including Ruben Wiki, appeared on the big screen throughout the game thanking patrons for respecting their policy and helping future generations of Warriors fans stay smokefree. Captain Steve Price said on TV3 News, "Your lungs are pretty important in our game. It's an endurance type sport. If you're depreciating the amount of oxygen and volume going through your lungs, it's obviously going to depreciate your performance." Ben Youdan, Director of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said, "Smokers are more likely to abstain if there is qualified cessation support and assistance on hand and the opportunity to manage their addiction." The promotion was a collaborative exercise between the Auckland Division of the Cancer Society, ASH, HSC, Ngati Whatua O Orakei, and Auckland Regional Public Health. SMOKING NOT OUR FUTURE – CAMPAIGN UPDATE
The Smoking Not Our Future campaign, backed by the Health Sponsorship Council, communicates de-normalisation, social disapproval, and supportive cessation messages to young people aged 12 to 24 years, via high profile music and media personalities with whom this target audience identify. Additional messages promoted through the campaign include role modelling and being anti-tobacco industry. Featured celebrities Media mix and promotion Current TV ads
Current radio ads Posters Txt2Quit
Evaluation If you have any feedback on the campaign please email heidi@hsc.org.nz. TOP AWARD FOR ANTI-TOBACCO CAMPAIGNER
Professor Chapman has a 30-year history in tobacco control research and advocacy, and has been awarded several international prizes for his work. This latest award, worth $50,000, was presented at a recent ceremony at Darling Harbour. He has published five books on tobacco control and over 350 papers. At the end of 2008, he is stepping down from a 16-year stint editing the British Medical Journal's international journal, Tobacco Control. Next year he will be spending more time in China after being awarded, with others, a $3m grant by Ovations/US National Institutes of Health. There he hopes to "export" many of the lessons from Australia's track record to reduce the world's largest challenge in tobacco control: 350 million Chinese smokers. See the University of Sydney website for more information about Professor Chapman and the award. SMOKING IN THE USA
There are now 27 states with a 100 percent smokefree provision covering non-hospitality workplaces, restaurants, and/or bars, and another five that have been enacted but are not yet or are only partially in effect. 'Smokefree' is defined as not allowing smoking at any time, anywhere in the establishment, and without exemptions for small businesses or ventilated spaces. It is important to note the impressive progress made at the local level as well. During the same time period noted in the CDC study (31 December 2004 – 31 December 2007), the total number of local smokefree laws in non-hospitality workplaces, restaurants, and/or bars nearly doubled, increasing from 358 to 685. Clearly, the US is well on its way to becoming entirely smokefree. Smokefree air is good for health and good for business, and everyone has the right to breathe smokefree air. We at ANR intend to do our very best to close the gaps in smokefree protections by working with our members and friends on the ground to pass more smokefree laws, continue to expose tobacco industry interference, and continue to mobilize the next generation of nonsmokers. For more information on second-hand smoke, model legislation, or smokefree lists and maps, contact us at anr@no-smoke.org. From... letter to stakeholders, Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, 23 May 2008 OPPORTUNITIES TO TRAIN IN CESSATION PRACTICE
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. 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 Cards providers and access subsidised Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) for clients who smoke and want to quit. To be held: 30 July - 1 August, Kenepuru Hospital Education Centre, Seminar Room 2 Each workshop runs 9am-4pm. Morning and afternoon tea is provided. For more information contact Anthony Leaupepe, Training Facilitator, 04 472 2780 ext 2, or e-mail: anthonyl@nhf.org.nz. THROUGH THE SMOKEFrom the days when tobacco advertising didn't have to be quite so subtle...
Are the "Gotta-Cut-Downs" getting you? How to smoke all you want If you love to smoke, yet keep telling yourself "I gotta cut down"... then new Julep Cigarettes are perfect for you! Even if you chain-smoke Juleps all day long, see how the last puff finds your mouth and throat still free of that smoke-weary sensation, your breath still clean of tobacco-halitosis. The reason – choice tobaccos improved by miracle-mint essence. Switch to Juleps today and see if you don't get more smoking enjoyment without getting those "gotta-cut-down" symptoms of over-smoking. "Smoke-weary" mouth? The miracle mint in Juleps helps make every puff taste clean and "sparkling," helps keep your mouth refreshed to end of day. "Burned-out" throat? Miracle-mint helps make Juleps taste refreshing, helps keep throat free of that "burned-out" feeling even if you chain-smoke. "Tobacco-heavy" breath? Unpleasant tobacco-breath is a common form of halitosis. The hint of mint in Juleps helps keep breath pleasant, inviting. Switch to JULEPS and smoke all you want! Every leading American cigarette contains some flavoring – usually licorice, sugar, chocolate, rum, etc. But only Juleps contain a hint of miracle mint to improve Nature's finest tobaccos. Do not confuse new Juleps with menthol-tasting cigarettes. Penn Tobacco Co., Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Image retrieved from: http://tobaccodocuments.org/pollay_ads/. SMOKEFREE SHORTS
MilestonesLook who has had a birthday recently! Tony Reeder, Gevana Dean, Brian Millen, Rhonda Mikol and Michael Colhoun New ZealandDoctor proud of smokefree stand
"Once the department would be in a smoke-filled room but now we have smokefree workplaces," Dr Woodward says. Head of the population health school, the professor has been involved in air quality research for more than 15 years. An advocate of smokefree workplaces, he says the idea was once unthinkable and when in 1995 he was part of a group that recommended the Sydney Olympics be smokefree and called for a workplace smoking ban, the media had a field day. Eastern Courier, 17 May 2008 One-month ban on cigarette sales A dairy owner has been barred from selling cigarettes for a month after the Health Ministry's first prosecution of its kind. Ishmar Dahya, of Carterton, was convicted in Masterton District Court yesterday of selling tobacco to a minor. It was his second conviction in less than a year. The Dominion Post, 20 May 2008 Whangarei hikoi to mark World Smoke Free Day A hikoi round Whangarei's Kensington Park will be held to mark World Smoke Free Day (31 May). The hikoi, which will be attended by students from local high schools, will end with the handing over of a proposal to the Deputy Mayor, Kahu Sutherland, requesting that Kensington Park be made totally smokefree. InternationalCigarette machines to tell age by wrinkles
The legal age for smoking in Japan is 20 and, as the country's 570,000 tobacco vending machines prepare for a July regulation requiring them to ensure buyers are not underage, a company has developed a system to identify age by studying facial features. By having the customer look into a digital camera attached to the machine, the system will compare facial characteristics, such as wrinkles surrounding the eyes, bone structure and skin sags, to the facial data of over 100,000 people. Reuters, 13 May 2008 Smoking to rise despite ban, says Imperial Imperial Tobacco, which controls close to half of the UK market for cigarettes and roll-ups, expects tobacco consumption in Britain to increase this summer despite the imposition last July of a ban on smoking in public places in England. The Guardian (UK), 21 May 2008 Smoking 'triggers deadly changes' A key mechanism by which smoking triggers genetic changes that cause lung cancer has been unravelled. Researchers have shown exposure to cigarette smoke slows production of a protein called FANCD2 in lung cells. This protein plays a key role in repairing damage to DNA, and causing faulty cells to commit suicide before they go on to become cancerous. BBC News, 14 May 2008 Flavouring seen as a means of marketing to Blacks
Some scientists speculate that cultural and taste preferences provide a partial explanation. The Reverend Jesse Brown, an antismoking advocate in Philadelphia, calls it a "chicken and egg" conundrum. But tobacco industry marketing has played a role. The migration of African-Americans to urban manufacturing centres after World War II, coupled with the emergence of black-oriented newspapers and magazines, created various opportunities for niche marketing. In the case of cigarettes, with research showing a slight black preference for Kools, a menthol brand, the industry saw an opening to appeal to black smokers. The New York Times, 13 May 2008 Patients lose smoking ban appeal High Court judges have ruled psychiatric patients should not be allowed to smoke at a high security mental hospital. The patients should not endanger their own and others' health by smoking at Rampton hospital in Nottinghamshire, the judges ruled. Three patients had argued a ban on them smoking "in the privacy of their own home" violated their human rights. But the judges ruled any interference with their rights was justified. BBC, 20 May 2008 Age limit 'encourages children to smoke' Scrapping the legal age limit for buying cigarettes would reduce dramatically the number of children who smoke, a study has claimed. A survey of more than 92,000 teenagers in 27 countries has revealed that those living in nations where tobacco sales are not regulated are the least likely to take up smoking. The study also found that raising the price of tobacco failed to cut the number of child smokers. TimesOnline, 11 May 2008 'Sound science' is damaging
It is raising and lowering the bar of scientific proof according to the desired outcome. When it comes to science these days, one man's junk is another man's proof; one man's logic, another man's ruse. The Roanoke Times (US), 19 May 2008 Dive in poker machine turnover put down to smoking ban Despite a legendary love of the punt, a new survey shows Australians are gambling less than they were six years ago. Recent South Australian figures showed poker-machine takings had plunged by up to 35 percent but this was put down to the impact of smoking bans in hotels. The ban on smoking inside pubs, clubs and the Adelaide Casino was introduced in November. Before the ban, poker-machine revenue had been increasing steadily and even a cut of 2200 machines failed to curb the rise. The Advertiser (Adelaide), 19 May 2008 Urge to quit smoking is contagious, research shows
What is more, smokers tend to quit in groups and those who don't stop puffing increasingly find themselves pushed to the edge of their social circles, the researchers found. "Your smoking behaviour depends upon not just the smoking behaviour of the people you know, but also the people who they know" and so on, said Dr Nicholas Christakis, a medical sociologist at Harvard Medical School and lead author of the new report. TV3 News, 23 May 2008 Smokers have to punch in and out Employers are tightening the reins on their smoking employees by enforcing a new rule requring them to punch in and out every time they leave their desks for a cigarette break, reports Nyhedsavisen newspaper. 3F, one of the country's largest labour unions, is one of the companies who wants a harder line, despite the cries of protest by smoking workers. 'This is about equality between those who stay at their desks and carry on working and those who go outside for a cigarette break,' said Per Christensen, a 3F spokesperson. Anette Bertram Sorensen, a representative for HK, the union for office workers, said it was 'grotesque' that management was singling out smokers only. Copenhagen Post (Dk), 22 May 2008 QUOTABLE QUOTES"As a doctor I am constantly seeing the effects of smoking on the health of people in the Kaipara community. Mr Green (of the Stay Displays Coalition) is concerned about the viability of the corner dairy and convenience stores. I notice that the tobacco display in a Dargaville dairy has a roll down door so the tobacco products are out of sight, yet they still seem to be a busy local dairy. "As a parent I can do only so much to protect my children. We must provide a supportive environment for our young people so that they see not smoking as the norm. It is simply no longer acceptable for cigarettes to be promoted in any other way." Dr Tama Herman, Letter to the Editor, "Well, I'm always for tightening the noose on tobacco companies because their product deprives a lot of people of a right to live their life to the full potential so I am sure the law will be continually tightened." Prime Minister Helen Clark, |
| Subscription info |
|
The Tobacco Control
Update is produced by the Smokefree Coalition If you are
considering using any material from the Tobacco
Control Update, |
This issue was to have been dedicated to
answers from political parties represented in Parliament on the question; "What action will your party take to progress
tobacco control?"
Viral
game 'Kiss Off'
The University of Sydney's Professor Simon Chapman has
been given the 2008 Premier's Award for Outstanding Cancer Researcher of the
Year (Australia).
According to a Center for Disease Control (CDC) study, published in the last issue of the CDC journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), the number of US states with strong smokefree laws (in effect) tripled between 2005 and 2007. During the study period, 18 states strengthened smokefree protections in private sector worksites, 18 states strengthened protections in restaurants, and 12 states strengthened protections in bars. No state weakened smokefree protections.
Free training for health professionals – Cessation Practitioner Training (three modules over three days)
The fun fine-print from this World War Two advertisement reads:
Where
possible, links are provided below the stories. Please click these to read the
story in full.
Clean air expert Alistair Woodward doesn't smoke yet keeps an ashtray on his desk to remind himself that things change.
The heavy glass ashtray is like those once seen in bars everywhere but has Auckland School of Medicine on it in red letters.
Cigarette vending machines in Japan may soon start counting wrinkles, crow's feet and skin sags to see if the customer is old enough to smoke.
No one really knows how the African-American preference for menthol cigarettes developed in the first place.
What is "sound science?" It is bogus data from industry funded studies. It
is lobbyists using whatever means necessary to kill legislation. It is Big
Tobacco executives swearing on a Bible in front of Congress that cigarettes are not harmful. 
The urge to smoke is contagious, but quitting apparently is too. A team of researchers who showed that obesity can spread person-to-person has found a similar pattern with smoking cessation: A smoker is more likely to kick the habit if a spouse, friend, co-worker or sibling did.