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| Issue 114 | 29 April 2009 |
Having trouble viewing this newsletter? Try the online version. FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK
There's not a lot to report this week. I have a few matters to bring to your attention, however. The first is that this is your last chance to reply to the evaluation of the Tobacco Control Update. Click here to complete the form and go in the draw for the $100 Whitcoulls voucher. I am pleased to report that a large number of replies have been received and I want to thank those of you who have already taken the time to complete the form. Next, the collecting of data for the hard copy Aotearoa/New Zealand Tupeka Kore/Tobacco free Directory is drawing to a close. If you have not been contacted by now you can submit your details online by clicking here. The Directory is New Zealand tobacco control's Yellow Pages, and anyone who is anyone will be listed in it. So, don' t miss out. Next, the Oceania Tobacco Control Conference will be be held in Darwin in October this year. Early details of the conference can be found here. If you wish to attend you should be making plans soon to do so. The Oceania Conference website highlights some interesting themes for this event. Finally, in this issue we feature the second of three reports from Carleine Receveur who attended the World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Mumbai recently. I know that I found her last report interesting reading and this fortnight's offering looks to be no exception. Thank you Carleine. Have a good fortnight. Mark Peck Director IN THIS ISSUE:
Whirlwind tour of positive global tobacco control actionThis is the second article in a three part series by Carleine Receveur, Project Manager for the totally smokefree Hawke's Bay District Health Board, on her experiences and the knowledge she gained by attending the 14th World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH) in Mumbai. We have a big problem on our hands. As mentioned last issue, tobacco will kill 7 million people annually by 2020 and more than 8 million people annually by 2030 if current trends continue. The WCTOH brought international attention to the problem of tobacco, but it also came up with some answers and provided the opportunity to appreciate the huge span and depth of positive tobacco control action that is happening around the globe. Tobacco control is like a puzzle and there are many pieces needed. Some are easier to place, but if you don' t have all the pieces it never really works as well as it could. Tobacco control is a 500 piece set, but I am giving you the child' s seven-piece version. So let's whirlwind through them... World Health Organization Framework on Tobacco Control
The FCTC is one of the most significant initiatives on the world stage. It was developed in response to the globalisation of the tobacco epidemic. The treaty has 168 signatories including the European Community, which makes it one of the most widely embraced treaties in UN history. The WHO FCTC has two main areas of focus: demand reduction strategies and supply issues. A couple of examples of demand reduction strategies include tax increases and the regulation of tobacco advertising. Examples of core supply reduction provisions include illicit trade in tobacco products and sales to and by minors. Putting the jigsaw togetherPiece One: Research Piece Two: Capacity building Piece Three: Smokefree areas Piece Four: Marketing bans Piece Five: Product labelling A number of countries have graphic warnings. It is more important that the warning is on the front rather than the back and pictures are known to be more effective than text. Canada was the first country to implement strong, rotational, picture-based health warnings on tobacco packs in December 2000, and has also banned the use of terms such as 'light' and 'mild' and other forms of misleading labelling. Piece Six: Public health campaigns In many countries where health education is under-funded and under-resourced the tobacco industry funds youth smoking prevention programmes which are (surprise, surprise) largely ineffective. A key message was not to position smoking and tobacco use as a 'grown-up' activity, but rather as something that affects all ages. What is likely to be effective is if activities are framed within a comprehensive tobacco control programme. Piece Seven: Smoking cessation A range of health professionals are required to assist in making a difference by increasing the numbers of quit attempts by those who use tobacco and they must use evidence-based practice to do so. Another key message was to treat tobacco like a chronic disease. It needs long-term management and as much attention as hypertension. Michael Fiore (Chairperson of Subcommittee on Cessation – US Department of Health and Human Services Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health) said: "[Ten years ago] all we had to offer was going cold turkey or nicotine gum ... The good news is... people now have a choice. There's never been a better time to quit." Next issue: New Zealand on stage at the WCTOH Time for a tax hike?This is a summary of an article that first appeared in the 24 April edition of The New Zealand Medical Journal, and has been reproduced with permission. A PDF version of the full article, which includes footnotes, will be available via the Smokefree Coalition website for a limited time. What's new in tobacco tax research for New Zealand and is it time for a tax hike now?
We updated a previous review that covered the use and effects of tobacco tax in New Zealand up to June 2007 with further Medline and Google Scholar searches to cover the period up to the end of February 2009. Five studies with new data and one review article that were published since mid-2007 were identified. The findings of these are summarised below:
This new work adds to the context around tobacco tax issues. The findings of the major report are in line with previous arguments that increasing tobacco tax (and dedicating tax revenue to improved tobacco control) is highly desirable from a public health perspective. Furthermore, increased tobacco tax (if dedicated) is what a majority of New Zealand smokers themselves appear to want, which helps makes this approach politically feasible. Increases in tobacco tax should be presented as a public health measure to help prevent smoking uptake by children and encourage existing smokers to quit. The increase should be implemented in combination with other measures to maximise its impact such as smoking cessation campaigns and promotion of smoking cessation services and the Quitline. Smoking in New Zealand is increasingly concentrated among socio-economically disadvantaged communities and is much commoner among Māori. Smokers who don' t quit or cut down after a tobacco tax increase may suffer increased financial stress, but this is likely to cause much less harm to their health than continuing to smoke. This concern, and the possibility that some poorer smokers may respond to higher tobacco prices by smoking more intensively (e.g. closer to the butt), can be partly addressed by further targeting of the provision and marketing of smoking cessation services and quit-smoking campaigns. The international evidence increasingly favours tobacco tax being a pro-equity strategy. Subsequent published work also indicates that higher tobacco prices are "egalitarian" in their impact in the US and reduce social disparities in Australia. Other parts of the international context are the high levels of support for dedicated tobacco taxes in various US states. The new US president also recently put up Federal tobacco tax with the funds to go towards increasing health insurance coverage for children. Given that an alternative to quitting in response to tax rises is for smokers to shift to making their own thinner roll-your-own cigarettes, measures to prevent this are desirable. That is, a differentially higher tax on roll-your-own tobacco might be appropriate as has been recommended elsewhere. In conclusion, the New Zealand evidence and recommendations suggests that the government should act to raise tobacco tax beyond inflation and to dedicate some of the revenue to funding smoking cessation and health services. This would be good for public health, for young people at risk of becoming smokers, and for government funding of those health services that obtain the extra funds. Nick Wilson, George Thomson, Richard Edwards
John Key interviewed on Government's views on tobacco displaysA couple of months ago the Government rejected a Health Select Committee recommendation that cigarettes and tobacco be kept out of sight in shops to help make them less inviting. On TV3's Sunrise on 21 April, John Key was asked to explain this decision. You can view the interview courtesy of YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSRD55ze8Cc.
TOBACCO CONTROL UPDATE SURVEYThanks to all those who have taken part in our Tobacco Control Update reader survey to date. We have now had an excellent number of responses. The survey will stay open for one more day (closing at 5pm on Thursday 30 April). All who fill out the form and include their contact details will go into a draw to win a $100 Whitcoulls voucher so get in quick if you want to be in the running. We'll announce the winner next issue. The survey form is available at www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=WAC3oVu2VvS3Z42BeG4Log_3d_3d, or you can follow the link from our homepage. Pacific smokefree promotion modulesTwo Modules over two Days: FREE for Public Heath and Community Health Workers About one in three Pacific people over 15 years old in New Zealand smoke (second only to Māori smoking rates). Five thousand people die in New Zealand each year from many smoking related illnesses. Pacific people in New Zealand spend $72 million each year on tobacco products causing many health and social problems. Objectives of Pacific Smokefree training modules:
Module topics include:
2009 Course Dates: Tuesday-Wednesday, 19-20 May 2009: 9.30am-4.00pm For more information contact:
International Union Against Cancer fellowshipsThe UICC would like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to its fellowships, and invite you to www.uicc.org to see our exciting schemes. Select the fellowship that most suits you and download and print the complete details and application material! Application closing date: 1 September. Please feel free to forward this information on to other colleagues and friends who may be interested! Should you have any questions, please contact us at fellows@uicc.org. THROUGH THE SMOKEElectronic Smokers Magazine "The first electronic cigarette magazine for the evolved smoker"
You've just got to love the Internet. There's a blog or e-zine dedicated to just about any topic. The Electronic Smokers Magazine is dedicated to providing objective reviews and information on electronic cigarettes, nicotine cartridges and related e-smoking products. It does this by collecting information from all sorts of public sources and organising them into specific sections such as e-cigarette reviews, videos, tips and tricks, news, opinion, law, and more. Those wanting to know more about this increasingly popular and controversial way to ingest nicotine will find this site of great interest. SMOKEFREE SHORTS
New ZealandMental patient hit by bus after being told to smoke outside
Since the new smokefree policy took effect at the beginning of April, mentally-ill patients at Waikato Hospital have been lighting up by the road. On 15 April, a curb-side smoking session cost a 50-year-old patient a trip to the emergency department after being hit by the bus. "She did receive injuries and she was dealt with through our A & E department," says Jeff Bennett from the Waikato Hospital Mental Health Unit. 3 News, 16 April 2009 Watchdog calls for 'tobacco licence' An anti-smoking lobby group wants tobacco vendors licensed, furthering its attempts to stop people smoking. Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said it wanted retailers required to hold a ''tobacco licence'', which could be revoked if they were caught selling to under-age people. The group's call comes after the operator of a Dunedin dairy was fined $300 for selling tobacco to a 15-year-old girl during a controlled purchase operation last year. Stuff, 22 April 2009 Shop owners rubbish claims
Earlier this year the Government rejected a Health Select Committee recommendation to ban cigarette displays in stores. Many supermarkets already put cigarettes out of sight and Cancer Society Marlborough's new Health Promotions Co-ordinator, Corinne Payne, is urging other store owners to do the same. "These carefully designed displays are powerful ways of raising brand awareness to our children, who are very aware of the displays and can often identify new cigarette pack designs and special offers after visiting the shops." Marlborough Express, 20 April 2009 InternationalBahrain clamps down on tobacco use and advertising People caught smoking in their cars in front of children will face fines, according to a tough new anti-smoking law that bans tobacco advertising and heavily limits smoking areas. Gulfnews.com, 14 April 2009 Tax on alcohol and cigarettes rises (UK) Chancellor Alistair Darling has raised the duty on alcohol and tobacco prompting the pub industry to say he had signed the "death warrant" for thousands of bars. "Alcohol duties will go up by 2 percent from midnight tonight and there will be an increase in tobacco duty of two percent from 6pm this evening," Darling said in his second budget. Yahoo, 22 April 2009 Smoking triggers more stress: survey
Drawing on data from 2250 adults, Pew Research – a non-partisan American think-tank – found half of all smokers claim to experience frequent stress in their lives, compared with just 35 percent of ex-smokers and 31 percent of non-smokers. Many smokers perceive smoking as a way to calm stress, when, in fact, what they're doing is satisfying nicotine cravings and withdrawal," says Rob Cunningham, Senior Policy Analyst for the Canadian Cancer Society. "In many respects, smoking – or the delay in having a cigarette – is the cause of stress." Canada.com, 21 April 2009 Is second-hand smoke killing your cat? You probably wouldn't encourage a toddler to smoke, but if you subject your pet to second-hand smoke, you might as well be offering kitty a cigarette. "The correlation is similar to what is seen in children: smaller lungs have less reserve and are more likely to be affected," says Laura Sullivan of Cascade Hospital for Animals in Grand Rapids, Michigan. WDAM TV, 26 April 2009 Too skint to light up: roll-ups make a comeback
Now that recession is gripping the country, they are increasingly turning to cheaper hand-rolling tobacco to get their nicotine fix. According to Imperial Tobacco, Britain' s biggest cigarette company and the owner of Golden Virginia and Drum, the volume of hand-rolling tobacco sold by the group in the UK rose by 7 percent to 3750 tonnes last year and the company believes it is on course for another significant increase in 2009. Imperial, which also owns Rizla cigarette papers, has attributed the continued surge in roll-your-own cigarettes to both the economic down-turn and the fact that more women and younger smokers are turning to the likes of Golden Virginia. Once the territory of Andy Capp-types, younger women are increasingly becoming partial to roll-ups. Times Online, 13 April 2009 Ten minutes of passive smoke affects the heart Exposure to small doses of second-hand smoke for as little as 10 minutes affects people's cardiovascular function, a new study has indicated. Second-hand tobacco smoke, smoke from cooking oil, and wood smoke were all found to affect the heart in both men and women, leading researchers to believe that damage to public health caused by smoking may have been underestimated. Irish Health, 17 April 2009 Smokers 'need anger help to quit' Smokers should be given anger management lessons to help them give up smoking, a study suggests. University of California tests on 20 people found nicotine helped calm aggression, but it was more likely from people not wearing nicotine patches. BBC News, 23 April 2009 Smokers may boost cancer chances by eating fruit and veggies
A high intake of fruit and vegetables appeared to reduce the risk among non-smokers but seemed to have the reverse effect on smokers, findings by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) showed. People who eat 600 grams or more vegetables and fruit a day appear to have a 20-25 percent lower chance of developing colon cancer than people who eat 220 grams or less," said the researchers. For smokers, the consumption of vegetables and fruit appears, on the contrary, to increase the chances of colon cancer. Canada.com, 21 April 2009 Boy, 10, buys cigarettes after vending machine camera identifies him as an adult A 10-year-old boy in Kyoto was able to purchase cigarettes from a vending machine equipped with face identification technology, it has been found. The legal smoking age in Japan is 20 The Mainichi Daily News, 17 April 2009 Study confirms cot death link to smoking Australian researchers have discovered the first evidence that exposure to cigarette smoke induces abnormalities in babies' brains, putting them at increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome. By analysing the brain tissue of babies who had undergone an autopsy at Sydney's Glebe Morgue, researchers from the University of Sydney found exposure to any second-hand smoke could precipitate these brain cell changes, and not just exposure in utero by maternal smoking. The Age, 22 April 2009 Cancer risk of nicotine gum and lozenges higher than thought
Scientists have discovered a link between mouth cancer and exposure to nicotine, which may indicate that using oral nicotine replacement therapies for long periods could contribute to a raised risk of the disease. A study by the University of London has found that the effects of a genetic mutation that is common in mouth cancer can be worsened by nicotine in the levels that are typically found in smoking cessation products. Times Online, 22 April 2009 How to keep kids from smoking How can parents and society keep kids from smoking? One way is to make sure that merchants know they'll get in trouble if they sell cigarettes to minors. That can cut by 21 percent the odds that a 10th grader (15 or 16 years of age) will become a daily smoker. And that's good news, because the earlier a person starts smoking, the more likely he or she will be hooked for life. US News & World Report, 22 April 2009 Denmark to use pictures on cigarette packs The Danish Health Ministry plans to add pictures of the effects of smoking to cigarette packs, including images of smoke-blackened lungs and bodies in morgues. United Press International, 24 April 2009 MILESTONESLook who has had a birthday recently... Denise Barlow, Karen Evison, Janet Tomlinson and Kath Blair! QUOTABLE QUOTES"I recently walked past a kiosk in the Westfield Annapolis mall where e-cigarettes were being demonstrated and sold. I breathed in some of the vapour before I realised what was going on and had an immediate coughing spell. "I would hate to see these things being allowed in restaurants, workplaces and other public places where people sensitive to smoke – babies, the elderly and people with medical issues – might be present." Alice Johnson, "Your Views" "The biggest predictor of whether a kid will smoke is whether Mum and Dad do. If there was ever a good reason to quit, this is it." Nancy Shute, "How to keep kids from smoking" |
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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, |
If tobacco control is seen as a jigsaw, then the World Health Organization Framework on Tobacco Control (FCTC) would be the board – the foundation on
which you put the pieces.
Research is the key to our understanding and forms the basis of our action. It enables us to understand what has been
happening and what is happening. It explores the possibilities of the future. The WCTOH
was a forum to share research findings, to challenge thinking and to unite
scholars from around the world. For a summary of all the abstracts at the
conference, including those which are research-based, go to
Raising the price of cigarettes through increases in taxation and duties is the tobacco control intervention with the strongest evidence of effectiveness at reducing smoking
prevalence. Despite this evidence, the rate of tobacco taxation in New Zealand has not been raised beyond the rate of Consumer Price Index inflation since 2000. To inform
evidence-based decision-making, we aimed to briefly review new work on tobacco tax in New Zealand and to put this into context with selected recent international
developments.
Where
possible, links are provided below the stories. Please click these to read the
story in full.
A Hamilton mental patient has been hit by a bus after being told by Waikato Hospital that she would have to go outside if she wanted to smoke.
Marlborough's
Cancer Society has renewed calls to ban point-of-sale tobacco displays, but Blenheim dairy owners say there is no need to hide cigarettes at the counter.
With a survey showing a quarter of smokers worried about the recession are smoking more, and another 13 percent are delaying quitting for the same reason, experts say the new report reflects an urgent need to debunk the "mythic relaxation response" of cigarettes.
Even before the credit crisis took hold, smokers flinched at paying £5.22 ($NZ13.36) for a packet of 20
Lambert & Butler.
Smokers may increase their chances of contracting colon cancer by eating fruit and vegetables, according to a new Europe-wide scientific study.
Nicotine chewing gum, lozenges and inhalers designed to help people to give up smoking may have the potential to cause cancer, research has suggested.