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| Issue 94 | 9 July 2008 |
Having trouble viewing this newsletter? Try the online version. FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK
As a result of these 'candid' remarks the media went digging. ONE News obtained the incentive criteria of one tobacco company. It talks about rebates for volume sold and money for compliance with rules including British American Tobacco's share of visible space, and it gives a fictitious example where 'Jimmy's Dairy' gets volume rebates and payments totalling $12,000 for the year. Nice money if you can get it! No wonder there is resistance to a ban on displays. Follow the money! It was also revealed by the NZACS that several tobacco companies, including British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco, are amongst its membership. While trying to answer criticism for having tobacco companies as members, NZACS Chairman Bryce Taylor said, "There is no secret to this as we proudly list our members on our website." But our intrepid ASH Director Ben Youdan checked and found that a website page for the upcoming NZACS awards dinner, acknowledging Imperial Tobacco as a sponsor, has now vanished! Youdan correctly pointed out that the page's disappearance was not an indication that the sponsorship had also vanished. This is standard behaviour for the tobacco industry. Use someone else to do your dirty work and let them take the heat. This industry has cheated and lied for decades to keep people hooked on its poison, knowing full well the damage smoking does. It blithely hides behind the "it's a legal product" mantra for respectability. The badge of respectability can only be maintained at the pleasure of our decision makers. The displeasure of parliament towards the tobacco industry has been expressed often through tough legislation. But the public is now demanding even tougher regulation. Our decision makers need to have the courage to continue the war against the industry. One good thing from all the recent revelations is that the Ministry of Health is going to have a look into all of this. It seems to me, with my bush lawyers' hat on, that to offer incentives to retailers to sell cigarettes/tobacco is a clear breach of the law and prosecutions should follow. More power to the Ministry's elbow. Have a good fortnight. Mark Peck Director IN THIS ISSUE:
ASTHMA FOUNDATION WORRIED BY TOBACCO LOBBY REVELATIONS
The New Zealand Association of Convenience Stores (NZACS) has previously claimed it is simply the voice of retailers who it says stand to lose out if retail tobacco displays are banned. However, when questioned by Parliament's Health Select Committee on Wednesday, the NZACS admitted its membership includes several tobacco companies. Other admissions NZACS made to the Select Committee about rebates provided to retailers by tobacco companies are now being investigated by the Ministry of Health, in light of accusations they flout the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990. NZACS chairman Bryce Taylor has made out that it's no surprise that suppliers including tobacco companies are represented by NZACS as well as store owners. However many Kiwis will not be aware of the central role tobacco companies play in this organisation. Several major league players including British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco are behind the NZACS. The Select Committee was hearing oral submissions in relation to a petition to ban retail displays of tobacco products. A petition by the Cancer Society and others sparked a Ministry of Health public consultation on tobacco displays canvassing three options: retaining the status quo, further restrictions and an outright ban. Recently-released figures show that more than 80 percent of respondents favoured a ban. Retail tobacco displays are banned in most Canadian provinces, Iceland and Thailand. Tasmania is also phasing them out. They are under review in the UK and New South Wales. The Foundation and its SFC partners stress that there is extremely strong public support for a ban, including from smokers, and increasing evidence that links retail tobacco displays with smoking uptake among children. The vast majority of the estimated 200 000 New Zealanders with chronic respiratory problems smoke tobacco or used to. The Foundation is working hard with other health organisations to try to prevent another generation of Kiwis having their lives cut short through emphysema and lung cancer. "Retail tobacco displays are one of the last large-scale advertising mechanisms available to get tobacco in the faces of our children and we need to get rid of them. While recent statistics showing that fewer Kiwis are smoking are pleasing, it is so important to remember that smoking is a highly controlling addiction that causes grief for so many people," says Foundation Executive Director, Jane Patterson. "NZACS is acting to protect tobacco industry interests at the expense of the community." Asthma and Respiratory Foundation media release, 4 July 2008
For more on the Ministry of Health's investigation into the rebates tobacco companies pay retailers see "Tobacco giants' cash incentives under fire" in The New Zealand Herald, 4 July 2008. TOBACCO DISPLAYS INCREASE RISK OF TEENS SMOKING
Researchers found that the more times teens visit retail outlets which display tobacco products or report noticing tobacco displays in shops, the more likely they are to be susceptible to smoking, have experimented with smoking or be a regular smoker. That's the conclusion of four researchers with Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) after they examined the results of a survey conducted among 27,000 Year 10 (4th form) students from 238 schools last year. One of the researchers, Dr Janine Paynter, told the recent Public Health Association conference that the ASH survey of 14 and 15 year olds found a clear link between the number of times children visited dairies, supermarket or service stations and the likelihood they are susceptible to smoking or had experimented with smoking. Dr Paynter told the public health workers in Waitangi that while the research found smoking amongst students this age has decreased since 2003 and experimentation – the occasional puff – has also decreased, there was a definite association between trips to retailers with tobacco displays or self reported exposure to retail tobacco displays and the risk of smoking. "First, we assessed susceptibility to smoking by asking the questions 'if your best friend offered you a cigarette would you smoke it?' and 'At any time in the next 12 months do you think you will smoke a cigarette?'" Dr Paynter said. "There were four possible answers to those questions and anyone other than those who answered 'definitely not' we noted as being at risk of starting to smoke. Past international research has validated that assumption. Secondly we asked students if they had ever smoked, even just a puff. Finally we asked students if they were currently smoking. "Then we screened out other factors like friends and family members who smoked. We were then able to look purely at the relationship between visits to the tobacco retailer and the teens' self-reported inclination to start smoking or experiment with smoking." The research found that a teen who visited a store two to three times a week had double the odds of being susceptible or trying smoking compared to someone who visited stores less than weekly. Students who visited stores daily had even higher odds (almost triple) of experimenting with smoking compared to students who visited stores less than weekly. "Our conclusion is that there is a significant association between retail displays of tobacco products and the risk of 14 and 15 year olds smoking. Our recommendation is that tobacco displays are removed. It is not going to stop all teens smoking but we believe it will stop a proportion of them doing so," Dr Paynter said. "Anything that can be done to protect children from an addictive and deadly habit like smoking is worthwhile. It is important that teens get the message that tobacco products are not everyday, normal products like the bread and milk alongside which they are sold." Public Health Association media release, 3 July 2008 MĀORI WOMEN CONTINUE TO SMOKE DURING PREGNANCY
"Even though rates are declining, 50 percent of Māori women still smoke. What's more alarming is that around 80 percent of this group continue to smoke during pregnancy. "Even when pregnant Māori women quit smoking while they are carrying, their whānau may continue to smoke exposing unborn children and their mothers to the dangers of second-hand smoke. "Given all of these factors it's hardly surprising then that Māori have the second highest rate of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in the world." Smoking during pregnancy also accounts for higher rates of asthma, burns and fire deaths, childhood cancer, pneumonia, and developmental delay. Te Hotu Manawa Māori has invested in television advertising to reach Māori with this important message. Irene says that the reach of these communications needs to be extended, and that other solutions can be found in more traditional Māori practices. "One of the things we are doing is revitalising traditional Māori birthing. This ritual is preceded by months of support for the mother, and this is the time when we can deal with issues like smoking. "The ritual itself is far less traumatic for mother and child and involves whānau members. This means that we are placing the interests of the child at the centre of the extended family from the point of birth." Public Health Association media release, 4 July 2008 SMOKING BANS AROUND THE WORLD: FACTBOXThe Netherlands introduced a tobacco smoking ban in bars and restaurants on 2 July but weed lovers carried on lighting up pure cannabis joints, pipes and vaporisers in the country's coffee shops. Ireland imposed a nationwide ban on smoking in the workplace in 2004. U.S. states, including Florida and California, have had similar bans since 2003. In November 2004, Bhutan became the first country to ban tobacco sales entirely. Here are some facts on other countries that have banned smoking in some form in the past 16 months. February 2007
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Reuters, 2 July 2008 AUCKLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SMOKING CESSATION PAPER
The smoking cessation paper is being offered over five days beginning the week 8-12 September. Taught by Dr Hayden McRobbie the paper will help students identify bio-psychosocial factors which contribute to nicotine addiction and help them develop treatment intervention skills which will assist people to quit smoking. Hayden McRobbie has international experience in smoking cessation research and treatment. He has contributed to numerous expert bodies, committees, and conferences. Recently he led a literature review of treatments for smoking cessation and was a lead author in the revision of the New Zealand Smoking Cessation Guidelines. The content will focus on the individual and whanau and include:
Interventions and resources:
For further information please contact: Course Information Centre, 0800 AUT UNI (0800 288 864), Email: courseinfo@aut.ac.nz. CESSATION PRACTITIONER TRAINING
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: 28-29 August, Christchurch Hospital, Professional Development Unit, Christchurch. 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 SMOKEIn pictures: Goodbye tobacco ads
Click here for the slide show.
SMOKEFREE SHORTS
MilestonesLook who has had a birthday recently! Jeanine Tamati-Elliffe, Cherie Flintoff and Prof Alistair Woodward. New ZealandSmoking ban 'saved 75,000 lives' Banning smoking in bars and restaurants has saved the lives of more than 75,000 Kiwis, the Health Ministry says. Since the introduction of the legislation in December 2004, there are now 150,000 fewer smokers – bringing the total smoking population down to less than 20 percent. The Dominion Post, 7 July 2008 Correction The Health Ministry credits a range of initiatives, not specifically banning smoking in bars and restaurants as reported yesterday, for saving an estimated 75,000 lives. The number of daily smokers decreased by 150,000 between 2002-2003 and 2006-2007. The smoking ban in bars and restaurants was introduced in December 2004. The Dominion Post, 8 July 2008 Support for ban on cigarette displays
A Health Ministry report on public consultation on tobacco displays shows 453 out of 557 submissions received – more than 80 percent – were in favour of a total ban. It is estimated that 10,000 dairies, supermarkets and petrol stations sell tobacco products. They are at present allowed to display 100 cigarette packets per cash register and must have a "Smoking kills" sign nearby. The Dominion Post, 28 June 2008 Smoking additives cause concern Smoking among teenagers in Northland is down compared to 10 years ago but smokefree campaigners are concerned tasty smoking additives are making the habit attractive again. "Products like Tasty Puff make tobacco more attractive to young people who are experimenting with smoking, as it masks the taste of the cigarette with exotic flavours like Mango Tango, Joosy Froot and Crumpy Chocolate," says Northland District Health Board's smokefree coordinator Bridget Rowse. Stuff, 1 July 2008 Niue could become world's first smokefree nation The Director of Niue's Department of Health, Dr Sitaleki Finau, says the department has been working through the practicalities of becoming smokefree for some time. Last year Tuapa became the first village in Niue – and possibly the world – to declare itself smokefree. Dr Finau says the department would like to see other villages and individual homes follow suit. Radio New Zealand International, 2 July 2008 InternationalTobacco giant 'breaks youth code'
An investigation for the BBC has found evidence in Nigeria, Malawi and Mauritius of rules being broken. In particular, BBC Two's This World found single cigarettes – which campaigners say are attractive to young people – were being promoted and sold. The company involved, British American Tobacco, says it does not encourage the sale of single "sticks". BBC News, 28 June 2008 History shows US smoking bans likely to be repealed Government-imposed smoking bans have been spreading across the United States and around the world in the past two decades. Cities, counties, states, provinces, and even whole countries have embraced the idea that the slight public health risk possibly caused by second-hand smoke justifies the use of police powers to enforce smoking bans on private property. The Heartland Institute (US), 1 July 2008 WHO urges countries to adopt smoking bans Smoking bans are an effective way of preventing heart disease, getting cigarette users to quit and protecting children from second-hand smoke, a World Health Organization (WHO) report says. The report by scientists at the WHO's International Agency for Cancer Research urged more countries to adopt smoking bans in public and at the workplace, saying there was enough evidence to prove they work, without hurting businesses such as restaurants and bars. Yahoo News, 30 June 2008 Gorilla kicks cigarette addiction, starts new life "If we refused to give her cigarettes, she would knock the door very hard, yelling and screaming, and sometimes she would go on a hunger strike," the zookeeper said. People's Daily Online (China), 30 June 2008 Smoking ban has saved 40,000 lives
More than two billion fewer cigarettes were smoked and 400,000 people quit their addiction since the ban was introduced a year ago, which researchers say will prevent 40,000 deaths over the next 10 years. Smoking was outlawed in all enclosed public spaces in England, including pubs and restaurants, on 1 July 2007 after a prolonged political battle that split the Government and inflamed critics of Britain as a nanny state. The Independent, 30 June 2008 UK smoking ban effect on pubs "worse than expected" The drop in trade following the smoking ban has been worse than expected and one in three pubs may close as a result, a survey has found. On the first anniversary of the smoking ban, research on behalf of the pub trade magazine Morning Advertiser shows more than one in three (35 percent) of pub landlords think their pub might close in the foreseeable future. More than three quarters (77 percent) of licensees blame the ban for a decline in their business. The credit crunch and prices of drinks rising faster than inflation are also being blamed. In the news, 30 June 2008 Pregnant teens smoking shock Almost half of all pregnant teenagers in Queensland continue to smoke during their pregnancy, new statistics reveal. The Cancer Council is horrified. And across all age groups in the state, more than 20 percent of pregnant women continue to smoke throughout pregnancy – higher than the national average. Courier Mail, 29 June 2008 Marijuana is in, tobacco is out under Netherlands' smoking ban Since 1 July, marijuana has become the only leaf that can be smoked in public places in the Netherlands. Cannabis devotees aren't celebrating. Local pot smokers, who usually cut joints with tobacco, and owners of the 'coffee shops' where they are allowed to light up will have to change their habits when the nation implements the indoor tobacco ban. DutchAmsterdam.nl, 20 June 2008 On becoming an ex-smoker
A. Of course, my hope would be absolutely not. I hope within 5 to 10 years that the F.D.A. would have approved the reduction of nicotine content in tobacco; therefore, it wouldn't even be an interesting thing to try, because there would be so little reward value in the small amount of nicotine left. I also hope that because so many fewer parents smoke, that kids would grow up smokefree. The third thing is, there may well be a more significant vaccine. The real hope is that we could give pre-adolescent kids a vaccine, just like we do for childhood diseases. New York Times, 3 July 2008 Kids in cigarette sale shame Sales of cigarettes to underage children have shot up by 50 percent in a year, an investigation has found. Trading standards officers across England got more than 2,300 16-year-olds to try to buy smokes from supermarket chains, off licences, petrol stations and newsagents. Youngsters were rarely challenged when using a cigarette vending machine in a pub or club. The Mirror (UK), 30 June 2008 Fatwa forbids smoking in public A new fatwa warning people to obey recent anti-tobacco laws declares that smoking in public places is forbidden under Islam because it harms others. The General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Endowments (GEA), which issued the ruling, condemned smokers who put the health of others at risk. "It is no longer a mystery to anyone that it has ill-effects on the smoker's health, money, children and those that surround him," said the fatwa, posted on the GEA's website. The National (Abu Dhabi), 25 June 2008 The smoking ban: what a drag it is having a smoke
The hand-rolled ciggie, once the preserve of the builder and the bum, has now become fashionable thanks to the legislation, introduced in England a year ago banning smoking in public places. It has turned the "rolley" into a recherche accessory. The Telegraph (UK), 1 July 2008 Cigarette use among high school students: United States 1991-2007 Cigarette use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. A national health objective for 2010 is to reduce the prevalence of current cigarette use among high school students to 16 percent or less. To examine changes in cigarette use among high school students in the United States during 1991--2007, Centres for Disease Control analysed data from the national Youth Risk Behaviour Survey. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention website, 27 June 2008 I went to view tobacco history, but all I saw was a smokescreen Why did my recent visit to the Duke Homestead leave me feeling like I'd just walked through a mock exhibit on tobacco where the joys of nicotine are still cherished? Or that I'd possibly entered some vortex, or some Simpsons-esque museum where everything is irreverent and, well, opposite of what it should be. Durham News (US), 5 July 2008 Licensing smokers a healthy option Provided you are over 18 you can buy as many cigarettes as you like – no questions asked. Why not license smokers? After all, doctors issue tens of thousands of temporary licences every day in the form of prescriptions to allow us to access drugs that can save lives and improve health. News.Com.Au, 4 July 2008 QUOTABLE QUOTES"The one sad reality is that as cigarette companies are squeezed out of western markets they will target their efforts on poorer, less regulated places such as Africa and there is great evidence that this is happening more and more... but then that's what 'drug pushers' do – find markets!" Scott Barton, "Barton on the smoking ban" "I am quite excited about... the talk with the F.D.A. about systematically reducing nicotine in tobacco over a 5- or a 10-year period. If they did reduce it significantly, there's a lot of research suggesting that we could, in effect, wean the whole population off their nicotine addiction and get to the point where, gradually, smokers would be less and less addicted and may find it easier to quit. I think as a public health solution, that's a very good one. I'm hoping that kind of legislation will be taken seriously." David B Abrams, "On Becoming an Ex-Smoker" |
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The Tobacco Control
Update is produced by the Smokefree Coalition If you are
considering using any material from the Tobacco
Control Update, |
A recent revelation by the New Zealand
Association of Convenience Stores (NZACS) about the incentives paid for cigarettes to enjoy pride of place in shops confirms what we all knew. Industry lobbyists must have been pulling their hair out at such stupidity. Word has it that the
NZACS was completely out of its depth appearing before the Health Select Committee.
The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation, a member of the Smokefree Coalition (SFC), is seriously concerned about reports that a pro-tobacco lobby group has misled New Zealanders regarding its backers and what its intentions are.
New research from New Zealand confirms international evidence that tobacco displays encourage children to start smoking.
The rates of Māori women smoking during pregnancy must come down. That's the
message from Irene Walker, Auahi Kore Manager for Te Hotu Manawa Māori, who
spoke at the Public Health Association's annual conference in Waitangi on 4 July.
"Māori women continue to smoke more than anyone else in the country," Irene
said.
The Graduate Diploma in Addictions, new for 2008, equips students with
the knowledge and skills required to work effectively in the addictions
field. Areas of specialisation include problem gambling; tobacco
control; drug, alcohol and substance abuse; health promotion; and early
intervention and treatment. 
Free training for health professionals – Introduction to Smoking Cessation (two modules over two days)
This
interesting little slide show from the BBC traces the history of tobacco
advertising bans in ten slides. Along the way it presents a number of facts
about what the tobacco companies did to counter and cope with the increasing
restrictions being placed upon them. A number of other facts of note about
smoking are also provided.
Where
possible, links are provided below the stories. Please click these to read the
story in full.
Cigarettes could soon be kept under shop counters, with huge support having been expressed for a ban on tobacco displays.
A British tobacco giant is breaking its own marketing code covering the sale of cigarettes to young people in Africa.
The nationwide smoking ban has triggered the biggest fall in smoking ever seen in England, a new report says. 
Q. Do you think today's young children will take up smoking the way their parents' generation did? 
When Mick Jagger's granddaughter, the privately educated 15-year-old Assisi, was caught smoking a cigarette it was not so much the act of smoking that marked her out as a chip off the old Stone block, rather that the stogie was a roll-up.