 |
|
| Issue 112 | 1 April 2009 | |
Having trouble viewing this newsletter? Try the online version. FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK
In a shock announcement, the tobacco industry has said it is ordering the immediate recall of all tobacco products. An industry spokesperson said that tobacco products killed fifty percent of continuing smokers. "Therefore, in the interests of public safety, we are withdrawing all our products from sale. We acknowledge that nicotine is addictive, and that in the course of feeding their addiction, people are inhaling hundreds of poisonous chemicals. "These chemicals include arsenic, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia and formaldehyde." The spokesperson said the worldwide product recall would immediately solve the problem of children being exposed to big walls of tobacco products. "Because our marketing has been progressively restricted over the years, we have had to resort to using the tobacco pack itself as an advertisement. This has resulted in the display of large 'power walls' of tobacco in shops. Tobacco displays are an effective way to reach children – our replacement smokers – because they're at eye level and being sold alongside ordinary products like bread and milk. "Now we are recalling our products, these advertisements will no longer be needed. And we won't need to worry about coming up with another way to describe 'light' and 'mild' cigarettes either." The spokesperson said the tobacco industry would like to apologise for the millions of deaths it had caused over the past 70 years. "We should have withdrawn this lethal product in the 1930s, when medical professionals first began to notice the increase in lung cancer in people who smoked. "Instead, we put profits before people, and for this we are sincerely sorry. The tobacco industry's final act will be to give all our accumulated profits to the World Health Organization, to be shared between countries to pay for the health costs associated with tobacco use. "Oh yes, and second-hand smoke does kill." Have a good 1 April. Mark Peck Director
IN THIS ISSUE:
Smokers want government action
In a poster displayed at the 14th World Conference on Tobacco or Health, held in Mumbai 8-12 March 2009, New Zealand university researchers showed that a majority of smokers surveyed expressed support for a range of measures to increase the control of tobacco. These included banning retail tobacco displays (60 percent support); extending smokefree laws to outdoor eating areas (78 percent) and council playgrounds (68 percent); and increasing tobacco tax (59 percent) as long as the extra revenue was used to promote healthy lifestyles, including helping smokers who want to quit. One of the poster's authors, Dr Nick Wilson, a senior lecturer at Otago University, Wellington, said smokers' views on where they wanted smoking bans imposed were "nuanced". While almost all supported outlawing smoking in cars with preschoolers, nearly 90 percent opposed banning it in the outdoor seating areas of pubs. And despite more than half supporting increasing taxes if they went into health promotion and quit-smoking schemes, a majority had said existing taxes on tobacco were too high. The poster said the possible adverse effects of additional tax increases on the poor had been a political obstacle to their adoption. But the findings of the Health Ministry-commissioned survey of 1376 smokers made a dedicated tax for quit-support and health promotion "more achievable". "Higher support for dedicated tax revenue by the more deprived smokers indicates that smokers' desire for quitting support outweighs short-term financial self-interest." At present the excise tax on tobacco is around $6 for a $10 pack of 20 cigarettes. It is increased annually in line with the consumer price index. But anti-smoking groups, including Dr Murray Laugesen's Smokeless NZ, want additional excise tax increases – and an even greater increase for roll-your-own tobacco, because its harm per cigarette is as great as that of factory-rolled cigarettes, despite being thinner and consequently incurring less excise tax. Read the full New Zealand Herald article, 20 March 2009. A copy of the poster (PDF, 3Mb) will be available from the Smokefree Coalition website for a limited time. Click here for the the ITC Project – New Zealand Arm website. TOBACCO CONTROL UPDATE SURVEYOnce again we're asking readers to tell us what they think of the Tobacco Control Update. We're keen to make sure the Update continues to be a relevant source of information for those interested in tobacco control, so reader feedback is important. Do you think we could do the Update better or a little differently? Are you finding it still meets your needs as someone with an interest in tobacco control? We'd be delighted to hear from you, whether you have praise or criticism. Using Survey Monkey, we've supplied an online feedback form which we hope you'll find the time to fill out. It's mostly tick boxes and multiple choice, so it shouldn't take too long, but there's also plenty of room for any comments you may have. As an incentive, all who fill out the form and include their contact details will go into a draw to win a $100 Whitcoulls voucher. If you don't want to go into the draw, we're also happy for you to fill out the form anonymously. The Survey Monkey form will be available for the next two weeks. We'll weigh up the comments that come in and give you the results once they are collated. The survey form is available at www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=WAC3oVu2VvS3Z42BeG4Log_3d_3d, or you can follow the link from our homepage. Face the Facts spells out harsh realities of smoking
It aims to increase people's knowledge about the harm tobacco causes to smokers and to the wider community. A secondary aim is to prompt cessation attempts. Face the Facts is a series of 15-second television advertisements that will be supported by radio, magazine, outdoor and web advertising, beginning in early April. Messages are aimed at a range of audiences including smokers, support networks of smokers, those in vulnerable population groups, and the New Zealand public in general. HSC's Manager Smokefree, Marija Vidovich, says research shows that some people still have limited knowledge of the harms of smoking. "For example, one-third of New Zealanders believe that the dangers of smoking have been exaggerated – with smokers more likely to think this. As well, smokers underestimate their own personal level of risk of developing smoking-related disease. "Those who underestimate the health risks of smoking are less likely to think that quitting will reduce their changes of developing cancer. It is believed that these self-exempting beliefs allow smokers to rationalise their smoking behaviour. Marija says Face the Facts aims to dispel some of the myths that prevent people from quitting smoking. "We also hope to provide a platform from which front line health professionals can raise smoking with their clients – and support their quit attempts." The first two messages to be promoted are:
A Face the Facts information pack has been sent to smokefree workers. For further information, contact Marija on 04 472 5777, 0274 734 222, marija@hsc.org.nz. The Quit Group launches new advertisingThe Quit Group's latest advertising campaign kicks off on Sunday night during the TV2 evening movie. The campaign, which supports the Ministry of Health's graphic health warnings programme, features Keith Tanirau of Upper Hutt who is a severe emphysema sufferer. The campaign will run over four two-week flights, each separated by a week off-air. The full suite of advertisements is available on The Quit Group website. THROUGH THE SMOKEThe academic ban on tobacco scientists
Gaca and her team of 20 biologists are studying cell cultures that have suffered damage and can't heal themselves. Take, for example, a culture of bronchial cells with which Gaca is working. It represents the lining of the human respiratory tract, and she's measuring the effect on the cells' genetic make-up and biochemistry of exposure to tobacco smoke. It turns out that when smoke-exposed bronchial cells meet the wound-maker, they struggle to recover. "Healthy cells will close the wound, but cigarette smoke impairs their ability to do so," Gaca observes. Her work might look, at first glance, like commercial suicide for her employer: the company behind these pristine labs is British American Tobacco. Gaca is employed to understand how and why BAT's products cause lethal diseases in the people who use them – and recently, she's been asked to share this information with the world. In fact, the research is a key part of BAT's business plan. Unlike some other tobacco companies, the century-old group has decided to remain focused on tobacco products (its brands, including Dunhill and Lucky Strike, are sold in more than 180 countries) rather than diversify into other consumer products. After all, despite smoking bans across the western world, 35 percent of men and 22 percent of women in developed countries smoke. In the developing world 50 percent of men and 9 percent of women smoke, and the number of smokers is rising. Cigarettes may kill people but manufacturing them is not the dying business we might imagine. Read the full article, Financial Times, 12 March 2009. SMOKEFREE SHORTS
New ZealandIt's time to snuff out capitalism's worst offender
Years from now, our descendants will marvel how our society believed in free enterprise to the point they legally permitted international corporations to hook young kids on to a product everyone knew killed half of them. We legally allowed these corporations to add a drug to deliberately make addicts of their customers. Their cravings enable these faceless profiteers to rake in umpteen thousands of dollars off each victim until they died. NZ Herald, 22 March 2009 Mental health facility going smokefree One of the country's largest mental health facilities is going smokefree – two years ahead of schedule. The Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre at Waikato Hospital was to be smokefree by January 2011. Staff and consumers were key drivers behind the decision to go smokefree ahead of the deadline. Waikato District Health Board Media Release, 27 March 2009 Manukau parks now smokefree Public parks in Manukau are now smokefree. Manukau City Council launched its smokefree policy at the ASB Polyfest on 18 March. The policy was adopted in September last year and targets park areas where children and young people gather, such as playgrounds and sports fields. Eastern Courier, 20 March 2009 Group calls for smokefree parks, sports grounds A new Wairarapa smokefree group has made a bid to Masterton District Council to stub out smoking in nine parks and sports grounds in the town. The Wairarapa Smokefree Network, formed in August, wants the council to erect signs in its spaces identified as "smokefree outdoor public places". Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 March 2009 Test for lung cancer risk
A study by the University of Auckland and Auckland Hospital has found smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, known as smoker's lung) were six times more likely to get lung cancer than smokers without the disease. The researchers believed smokers should be routinely screened for COPD through spirometry, a simple breathing test. Stuff, 23 March 2009 Child caught selling cigarettes to minors A 10-year-old child who sold cigarettes to minors could land a Hawke's Bay shopkeeper in court. The child was caught selling cigarettes to two underage volunteers after an undercover operation by the Hawke's Bay District Health Board (DHB). The board's public health unit smokefree officer Theresa te Whaitai said the retailer's details had been forwarded to the Ministry of Health for a decision on whether to prosecute. Stuff, 25 March 2009 Research sets new quit time Pregnant smokers have been given a new deadline to quit. Ground-breaking Auckland University research published in the British Medical Journal on 27 March reveals pregnant women who smoke up to 15 weeks face no more risk of having a pre-term and small baby than if they had not smoked at all. But if they continue to smoke beyond that period they are three times more likely to have a baby born pre-term, and twice as likely to have an underweight baby. NZ Herald, 29 March 2009 InternationalTobacco plans "will close shops"
The National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN), which represents 30,000 newsagents and convenience stores, said that the proposals could drive people away from small shops and into large supermarkets such as Tesco, where customers know that tobacco is stocked. "Why is the Government considering introducing something that lacks proven evidence and will only serve to harm our businesses?" said Colin Finch, Chairman of the NFRN Legal and Parliamentary Committee. The Telegraph, 16 March 2009 Big Tobacco lit the "Fairness Doctrine": opinion No one has seen a cigarette ad on TV since New Year's Day 1971, when a ban on such ads by Congress went into effect. Congress usually gets the credit for "defeating" the tobacco companies, yet the ban was actually sought by Big Tobacco because of the Federal Communications Commission's Fairness Doctrine – and the efforts of a young activist to invoke it. Cape Cod Times, 18 March 2009 New analysis: Light and intermittent smokers overlooked in traditional tobacco research To date, the majority of research conducted about tobacco use has been related to the impact of moderate to heavy smoking. The March 2009 issue of Nicotine and Tobacco Research is focused on examining light and intermittent smoking. Several of America's pre-eminent public health experts and researchers worked together to uncover trends related to light smokers, those who smoke less than 10-15 cigarettes per day and intermittent or occasional smokers, those who may not smoke every day. Medical News Today, 21 March 2009 Insight into the way nicotine works in the brain
By all rights, nicotine ought to paralyse or even kill us, explains Dennis Dougherty, the George Grant Hoag Professor of Chemistry at Caltech and one of the leaders of the research team. Science Daily, 23 March 2009 Report from Indiana University disputes smoking bans' ill effects Smoking bans don't hurt businesses but do reduce their health care costs, an Indiana University report has concluded. The report, compiled by the university's Center for Health Policy and released 24 March, reviewed conflicting studies and reports on the subject. It considered bans around the country and in Indiana, including in Fort Wayne. The Journal Gazette (US), 25 March 2009 Smokers don't care about labels The next attempt to turn Australians off smoking should involve forcing tobacco companies to reveal cigarette ingredients, a Federal Government report has recommended. But the report, obtained by The Australian using Freedom of Information laws, concedes that providing the information to consumers would not actually discourage them from smoking. The Australian, 26 March 2009 Health campaign educates young smokers The "startling statistic" that one in two people who start smoking as teenagers will eventually die from tobacco-related disease was used by South Australian Substance Abuse Minister, Jane Lomax-Smith, on National Youth Tobacco Free Day to highlight the dangers of becoming a lifetime smoker. Joining the minister's call for action, the tobacco free youth campaign is quizzing young people about smoking and has so far found most want tobacco products in plain packaging to end the lure of advertising. The West, 28 March 2009 Health Canada warns against 'e-cigarettes'
The agency says the products have not been fully evaluated for safety, quality and efficacy and could pose a health risk. E-cigarette manufacturers say their products deliver nicotine without the tobacco and chemical additives that are linked to cancer and other health problems. But Health Canada says they may do nothing to help a smoker quit the nicotine habit. CTV Canada, 27 March 2009 MILESTONESLook who has had a birthday recently... Helen Darling, Moana Tane, Penny St John, Kate Dallas and Janet Hoek! QUOTABLE QUOTES"Nicotine is deliberately loaded into tobacco with the sole purpose of acquiring an addict they can milk until the product finally kills them. Everybody in this trade knows it, and therefore is complicit in mass murder." Matt McCarten, "It's time to snuff out capitalism's worst offender", |
|
| Subscription info | |
|
The Tobacco Control
Update is produced by the Smokefree Coalition If you are
considering using any material from the Tobacco
Control Update, |
|
Most New Zealand smokers support more tobacco regulation, more smokefree policies and a dedicated tobacco tax according to national survey data. Health campaigners are
now urging MPs to extend smokefree laws. 
A new education initiative – Face the Facts – is about to hit the airwaves. Developed by HSC in conjunction with the Ministry of Health, Face the Facts presents six stark facts about smoking.
Every self-respecting research laboratory has its cabinet of wonders – state-of-the-art equipment, lethal chemicals, animal and human body parts unknown to ordinary people – but the collection at Marianna Gaca's lab outshines most. In suburban Southampton, England, Gaca has a set of kit at her disposal today that would be the envy of her former professors, as well as of scientists at most university biology labs or even biotech companies.
Where
possible, links are provided below the stories. Please click these to read the
story in full.
A mate of mine recently died from lung cancer. He was a heavy smoker. After taking up the tobacco drug as a teenager to be cool, he never stopped and the addiction killed him. We've heard the story many times.
A simple test found to help identify smokers at increased risk of developing lung cancer should be routinely available through general practitioners, researchers say.
Thousands of small shops could close due to the British Government's proposed ban on the display of tobacco products, newsagent representatives will tell the Government.
A tiny genetic mutation is the key to understanding why nicotine--which binds to brain receptors with such addictive potency – is virtually powerless in muscle cells that are studded with the same type of receptor. That's according to California Institute of Technology (Caltech) researchers, who report their findings in the journal Nature.
Health Canada is warning Canadians not to buy or use electronic smoking products, dubbed e-cigarettes.