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| Issue 106 | 17 December 2008 |
Having trouble viewing this newsletter? Try the online version. FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK
Quite a lot has been happening to ensure that the momentum gained from the 21 April hui has been captured and built upon. I have posted two documents about the matter under What's New on the website. The first is the final Vision document that takes account of the feedback received from seven consultation hui (since the 21 April meeting) and also acknowledges the work Shane Bradbrook and Te Reo Marama are doing about a parallel process for Māori. The second document, Developing and Implementing the Vision, addresses how the Vision's goals will be implemented. The Steering Committee, set up at the April meeting, met to review progress on 10 December and to finalise how to pull together expert panels to process and complete supporting documents to underpin the Vision statement. While the two documents I've posted have included the names of some people who could join expert panels, the final make up of the groups is still to be determined. No one has yet been asked to serve on any particular group at this time. This work is a priority for the new year. As well as that, the consultation hui held since our initial steps have made a strong call for smokefree workers to be included in the expert panel process. Nominations will be sought for these positions very soon. The call for nominations will come through the Tobacco Control Update so keep your eyes out for it early in 2009. It is envisaged that the expert panels will be identified and engaged in their first meetings prior to Waitangi Day 2009. We have been grateful for the expert guidance of Professor Robert Beaglehole, who agreed to chair the steering group and who has been more than active at challenging the group as to progress and timelines. He has agreed to retain this work into the new year. Finally, the steering group wants to be in a position to present all this work to the National Tobacco Control Conference in August 2009 for final debate and sign off. In closing, may I take this opportunity to thank you all for your interest and activity this year as we saw further progress made towards a smokefree/tobacco free Aotearoa/New Zealand and also to wish you all the compliments of the season. Have a wonderful holiday and see you all in 2009. Mark Peck Director IN THIS ISSUE:
successful prosecutionOn Friday 12 December at the Kaikohe District Court, the Ministry of Health in conjunction with Northland District Health Board successfully prosecuted Rightside Properties, the licensee/proprietors of the Kaikohe Hotel under the Smoke-free Environments Act. The Kaikohe Hotel had been the subject of a number of complaints relating to smoking inside the hotel. National Director of Tobacco Control for the Ministry of Health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, said that it's now four years since the legislation came into effect, and the vast majority of premises comply with the law. "There's a huge level of support for the legislation from the public who appreciate the fact they can now go out to bars, restaurants and clubs and enjoy a smokefree environment. "It is very disappointing that despite warnings from Northland DHB's public and population health unit, the licensee of the Kaikohe Hotel did not meet their obligations under the Smoke-free Environments Act. "There were repeated incidents where the licensee continued to allow smoking inside the hotel. "Rightside Properties was fined $5800 plus $520 court costs and $450 solicitor's fees. "This is one of the largest penalties imposed in New Zealand under the Smoke-free Environments Act and reflects the level of disapproval from the community and the serious view taken of the offences by the judge. "This is the first smokefree prosecution in the Northland area and came about as a result of many complaints from the public and reflects public opinion that smoking in such enclosed public places is not acceptable. The Ministry of Health will continue to prosecute where there is blatant flouting of the law. "This prosecution sends a clear message to other licensees who are breaking the law," Dr Bloomfield said. "The licensees of all licensed premises are required to take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that no person smokes in an internal area on their premises." The Ministry of Health, in consultation with industry, has developed a number of practical steps to assist licensees. These steps include:
Further information is available on the Ministry of Health website. Joint media release: Ministry of Health and Northland District Health Board FCTC: Conference of the Parties – Brief reportShane Kawenata Bradbrook The third session of the Conference of the Parties (COP3) to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) finished on Saturday 22 November in Durban, South Africa. New Zealand was represented by the Government team of Ashley Bloomfield, Matthew Allen and Judith McCool. Shane Kawenata Bradbrook was with the Framework Convention Alliance (FCA) as a representative. Over 600 delegates from 130 Parties (of the 160 ratified Parties) to the Convention, together with representatives from States, non-Parties and non-government organisations, met for COP3. Among the highlights was the adoption in 2010 of a protocol to combat smuggling, counterfeiting and other facets of the illicit trade in tobacco products (FCTC Article 15). It also adopted comprehensive guidelines to help countries:
COP3 also set up a working group to explore and recommend policy options on economically sustainable alternatives to tobacco growing (Articles 17 and 18); and another working group was set up to elaborate guidelines on tobacco dependence and cessation (Article 14). New Zealand played a strong role in chairing the crucial Article 5.3 discussions. The guidelines, whilst non-binding on Parties, can be used to guide best practice by each country. For example the guidelines for Article 11 highlight generic packaging as the best practice. Article 5.3 guidelines also challenge the use of tobacco industry corporate social responsibility programmes, for example BATNZ funding local programmes such as 'Keep New Zealand Beautiful' and 'He Papa Pounamu'. The Conference decided that its next session would take place in Uruguay in late 2010. All COP3 documentation and details of the guidelines can be found at www.who.int/gb/fctc. RESEARCHERS CALL FOR SMOKEFREE OUTDOOR AREASMany outside public spaces should be smokefree to help stop children becoming smokers, say researchers in an article published in the British Medical Journal. George Thomson and colleagues (University of Otago) argue that outdoor bans in parks, car parks, beaches, and streets will reduce smoking being modelled to children as normal behaviour, and thus cut the uptake of smoking. The need for outdoor smoking restrictions is increasingly recognised, they write. For example, California has banned smoking within 25 feet of outdoor playgrounds, while several reports from around the world show majority support for restricting or banning smoking in outdoor areas where there are children. The authors acknowledge that we may not yet be certain that outdoor smokefree areas reduce smoking uptake. However, they believe society has an ethical duty to minimise the risk of children becoming nicotine dependent smokers. "Children need smokefree outdoor places now, to help normalise a smokefree society," they conclude. But Professor Simon Chapman from the University of Sydney argues that outdoor bans infringe personal freedom and that evidence for extending bans to outdoor settings is flimsy. He points out that there are few differences between the chemistry of tobacco smoke and that generated by campfires or barbecues. Zero tolerance of tobacco smoke in outdoor public settings is nakedly paternalistic, he writes. British Medical Journal media release, 12 December 2008 To follow the debate more closely see the following British Medical Journal 'Head to Head' articles:
Should smoking in outside public spaces be banned? Yes Should smoking in outside public spaces be banned? No THROUGH THE SMOKEBe a reel hero
Early this year The California Department of Public Health ran a "Be a reel hero" contest. Entrants had to produce a television commercial that would motivate people to quit smoking and/or not start smoking, illustrate the negative impacts of second-hand smoke and counter tobacco industry marketing, which promotes smoking as a glamorous and independent activity. Lots of entries were received. The winning entry, "Other Ways to use a Cigarette", was aired on
Californian television, including during the final of American Idol. SMOKEFREE SHORTSNew ZealandBritish smoking bans welcomed by Kiwi groups Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and the Cancer Society of New Zealand have welcomed the announcement tobacco displays are to be banned in England and Wales. The consultation by the British Government found 84 percent of more than 100,000 responses backed the display ban. ASH director, Ben Youdan, welcomed the ban and urged for a similar measure for New Zealand. ASH and Cancer Society media release, 10 December 2008 Auckland University plans to become smokefree Auckland University is to ban smoking ban on all land it owns or uses, including sporting grounds, from 2010. The only exception will be smoking for research or experimental purposes under conditions set by the university's ethics committee. Radio New Zealand, 9 December 2008 Smoking stigma turns teens off marijuana Changing attitudes to cigarette smoking are being linked to a reduction in the number of teenagers smoking cannabis, drug experts say. An Auckland University student health and wellbeing survey released this week found a considerable drop in the rates of cigarette and cannabis use, which the Drug Foundation believes is linked to anti-smoking campaigns. Stuff, 11 December 2008 InternationalGive the guy a butt!
Do you want Barack Obama, the guy who has his finger on our nuclear trigger, notorious nicotine addict, to be dying for a smoke? All irritable, his nerves and famously smooth temper on edge? No outlet for his intolerable frustration but... a butt. But no butts to be found. The White House, of course, has been a butt-free zone since the Clinton administration. The Spectator, 10 December 2008 Health cigarettes more harmful A new study has found harm-reduction cigarettes can be even more toxic than traditional cigarettes. Researchers from University of California – Riverside have found that smoke from the 'low-yield' harm-reduction cigarettes retains toxicity. A lead researcher has claimed that many chemicals found in harm-reduction cigarette smoke have not been tested. Albuquerque News, 9 December 2008 Cancer will be world's top killer by 2010 Cancer will overtake heart disease as the world's top killer by 2010, part of a trend that should more than double global cancer cases and deaths by 2030, international health experts say. Rising tobacco use in developing countries is believed to be a huge reason for the shift, particularly in China and India, where 40 percent of the world's smokers now live. Aiken Standard (Atlanta, US), 10 December 2008 Second-hand smoke boosts asthmatic boys' behaviour woes
The study, by a team at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Centre, included 220 boys and girls ages 6 to 12, with asthma. For each doubling of second-hand smoke exposure, boys showed a twofold increase in behavioural problems such as hyperactivity, aggression, and depression. The researchers found that second-hand smoke had no impact on girls, even though they were on average exposed to higher levels of tobacco smoke than boys. HealthDay, 10 December 2008 Health workers push smoking Health workers contribute to the high rates of smoking among people with mental illness by using it as a behavioural tool and justifying smoking as their "only comfort", a damning new report has found, as NSW Health considers whether to ban smoking in all psychiatric facilities next year. The report, Smoke And Mirrors, was commissioned by the Cancer Council NSW, and shows there is a "deep-rooted smoking culture" among mental health staff and patients, and little support for the mentally ill to quit their addiction. Sydney Morning Herald, 11 December 2008 Teen girls smoke now: pay later with larger waist lines as adults Remember the cool girls, huddled together in high school restrooms, puffing their cigarettes? Well, here's consolation for the nerds in the crowd: those teen smokers are more likely to experience obesity as adults, according to a new study from Finland. Girls who smoke 10 cigarettes per day or more are at greatest risk, particularly for abdominal obesity. Their waist sizes are 1.34 inches (3.4 centimetres) larger than non-smokers' waists are as young adults, according to the study in the February 2009 issue of the American Journal of Public Health. Health Behaviour News Service, 11 December 2008 One year after ban, French smoke just as much One year after a ban on smoking in cafes and restaurants, French people still smoke as much as ever, the agency charged with stopping them has complained. Annual tobacco sales have remained steady since 2004 – when the French smoked 54 billion cigarettes – despite measures to severely penalise anyone caught lighting up in bars and certain public spaces. AFP, 12 December 2008 Winfield, Benson & Hedges using Australian packaging
Cashing in on the hype of the Australia film, tourists entering Sydney airport duty free stores are greeted by stands of Horizon cigarette cartons emblazoned with a scenic photograph of a kangaroo and an Australian landscape. Anti-smoking groups are outraged by the cunning stunt and it has reignited their campaign for plain packaging. The Daily Telegraph, 11 December 2008 MPs fall foul of 'dirty' tricks by tobacco giants Britain's tobacco giants have been accused of 'dirty' tactics after it emerged they created a supposedly 'independent' campaign group for small retailers to lobby against government restrictions on the promotion of cigarettes in shops. The Guardian, 14 December 2008 Smokers can sue over 'light' cigarettes The US Supreme Court on Monday ruled that smokers can sue Altria and other tobacco companies for allegedly deceptive marketing of 'light' or 'low tar' cigarettes. AFP, 16 December 2008 Arteries at risk Smoking less than a pack of cigarettes a week may be enough to put smokers at risk of heart disease. A small study by University of Georgia researchers in the US found that even puffing on the occasional cigarette can make arteries less responsive to blood-flow changes, a warning sign of heart problems. The decrease in artery function can continue for at least a week, even if the smoker hasn't lit up since. The Listener, 19 December 2008 Smoking ban lessons from abroad
Iceland was the first in 2001, followed by a province of Canada a year later, and both countries have seen youth smoking rates fall. As a similar ban is announced for England and Wales, what are the lessons to be learnt from overseas? BBC News, 9 December 2008
MILESTONESLook who has had a birthday recently... Simon Chapman, Australia. QUOTABLE QUOTES"You get rid of smoking and they are all on anti-depressant pills. You think that's better; I don't." Artist David Hockney, speaking for the smokers' lobby group, Forest, tells the 2005 Labour Party Conference (UK) their proposals for smokefree public places go a step too far. "Those who say a president who smokes in the White House would be a bad role model are all wrong. In fact, consider the possibility that he'd be a better, perhaps more effective, negative role model. He'd teach the nation's youth how scary an addiction to smoking is. Even the most powerful man in the world is putty in its tobacco-stained hands." Ron Rosenbaum, "Give the guy a butt!"
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considering using any material from the Tobacco
Control Update, |
As we approach the holiday break I thought it would be a good time to update you all on the work
being done to define and move towards a Vision for tobacco control towards 2020.
Let me offer a somewhat hyperbolic hypothetical. It's the winter of 2009, and a crisis has erupted between the United States and the former Soviet Union. Putin (surprise!) is acting arrogantly and aggressively, trying to push the new American president around. 
Nicotine could alter youngsters' nervous systems,
and second-hand smoke in the home increases the risk of behavioural problems in boys with asthma, researchers report.
In
the latest marketing ploy by tobacco companies, cigarette packets are being re-branded, using images of beaches, kangaroos and Australian flora to entice smokers.
Encouraging people to quit smoking by banning the display of tobacco in shops is not a new idea, but examples from overseas suggest it may be an effective one.