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| Issue 188 | 25 January 2012 |
Having trouble viewing this newsletter? Try the online version. From the Director
As if that's helpful, or even tells us something we don't know: that if you've been a smoker in the past, you're vulnerable for life, no matter how many times you've quit or how. This highlights the huge risk to well-funded research units of conducting meaningless research for the sake of showing off one's ability to collect data. It behoves the strong network of old and new tobacco control research units of New Zealand, who have recently received funding to establish both ASPIRE 2025 and the Turanga Project, to be vigilantly wary of falling into this trap. It appears, however, that both teams have productive research agendas, different, but complimentary to our goals. While it appears to me that ASPIRE 2025 will focus on building evidence bases for enabling support for our immediate next steps in policy and legislation changes, the Turanga research has a view to modelling and developing the necessary innovative programmes and measures of the mid-term that will accelerate reducing our rates of consumption and demand down close to zero. Meanwhile, Harvard tobacco control researchers have played into the hands of the tobacco industry by undermining the Ministers of Health around the world, and the public health community's efforts to foster more demand for coaching with NRT. Relapse research contributes nothing to our sound evidence base in cessation research that tells us this kind of support wrapped around a smoker doubles, maybe triples their chance of successfully quitting. What would prevent relapse and uptake? Removal of tobacco from retail displays, forced plain packaging and well-developed routinely updated health warnings on packs. NRT is not for the smokefree, it's for the smoker: if someone wants to quit smoking, patches and gum do help. Take care, Prudence Stone, Director, IN THIS ISSUE:
Turning Point – quarterly magazine for smoking cessation workers
The first issue is now available and has been posted on the HIIRC website. Please let any colleagues in your organisation or network know who might benefit from this. If you or they wish to be added to the circulation list email carl_billington@moh.govt.nz. You can also email any feedback and suggestions you might have. The magazine looks forward to profiling some of the great work being done in future issues. Professor Hunt: The Health Promotion Forum
Professor Hunt, a New Zealander based at Essex University, UK, is one of the world's leading experts. He spent six years as the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health. The Health Promotion Forum of New Zealand and the Centre for Development Studies of the University of Auckland are hosting the Auckland workshop. As spaces are limited, we recommend you register online as soon as possible so as not be disappointed. For further enquiries, please contact Avril Scott. Click here for more information and a timetable of the workshops. Call for Recommendations for 15th WCTOH Declaration
The 15th World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH) organising committee have invited us to submit suggested recommendations to be incorporated into the 15th WCTOH Declaration. Under the leadership of ASH, Heart Foundation and Pacific Heartbeat, New Zealand is developing a national set of recommendations. Your involvement is welcome. Please consider the following:
Other recommendations which are not related to the above points but which you feel are critical to tobacco control are also welcome. Each recommendation should be specific, measurable and attainable. There should also be a specific timeframe within which it is to be achieved. It should be stated in one sentence and in no more than 40 words per recommendation. For each recommendation, please also state why it should be included in the declaration and how it can be measured. Example: Recommendation: At least 20 countries to have introduced plain packaging by 2015. Why: Research by Cancer Council Australia has shown that the introduction of plain packaging can reduce youth uptake rates for smoking. Furthermore, the adoption of plain packaging by other countries will support Australia in the upholding of this legislation which is facing massive opposition from the tobacco industry. How: The number of countries which have introduced plain packaging by 2015. Please send your suggested recommendations to Ben Youdan by 1 February 2012. For your information, Dr Prudence Stone from the Smokefree Coalition and Skye Kimura from the Cancer Society will be representing New Zealand at the conference. The Declaration Committee reserves the right to amend, refuse or use the recommendation in its entirety. We would like to thank you in advance for your contribution and look forward to seeing you in Singapore! Public Health Series Seminar
Tuesday 7 February 2012 Seminar Room, Level 1 Due to limited seating please respond to Clare Scott by 1 February 2012 if you would like to attend. Invitation to the 2012 PHARMAC Forum
We invite you to attend the PHARMAC Forum where these and other issues will be discussed. Venue: Wellington Town Hall Register here early to secure your place as spaces are limited. Registrations close Monday 6 February 2012, registrations after this date are unable to be accepted. For further information, contact jessica@pharmac.govt.nz. Health Improvement and Innovation Resource Centre resources
Recent researchClick the links below each piece for more information. Tobacco branding, plain packaging, pictorial warnings, and symbolic consumptionThis study used brand association and symbolic consumption theory to explore how plain cigarette packaging would influence the identities young adults co-create with tobacco products. http://qhr.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/12/21/1049732311431070.abstract A prospective cohort study challenging the effectiveness of population-based medical intervention for smoking cessationThe purpose of this study was to examine the population effectiveness of nicotine replacement therapies, either with or without professional counselling, and provide evidence needed to better inform healthcare coverage decisions. Second-hand smoke in cars: assessing children's potential exposure during typical journey conditionsThis study measured levels of fine particulate matter in the rear passenger area of cars where smoking does and does not take place during typical real-life car journeys. It concluded legislating against smoking in cars may be an appropriate measure to prevent the exposure of children to high levels of second-hand smoke. http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2012/01/04/tobaccocontrol-2011-050197.abstract "Below the Line": The tobacco industry and youth smokingThis paper provides a comprehensive account of how the tobacco industry, over time, has promoted its products to young people. It is clear from the documents reviewed that the industry values the youth market and, through a number of measures, continues to promote its products to young people. www.amj.net.au/index.php?journal=AMJ&page=article&op=view&path%5b%5d=1018 Return on investment of a Medicaid tobacco cessation programme in MassachusettsThis study estimates the costs of tobacco cessation benefit and the short-term Medicaid savings attributable to the aversion of inpatient hospitalisation for cardiovascular conditions. www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0029665?mid=5727314 Cigarette smoking and alcohol use among adolescents and young adults with asthmaAsthma is one of the most common, serious chronic diseases in paediatric and young adult populations. Health-risk behaviours, including cigarette smoking and alcohol use, may exacerbate chronic diseases and complicate their management. The aim of this study was to longitudinally analyse rates of cigarette smoking and alcohol use in adolescents and young adults who have asthma and those who do not have asthma. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3246743/pdf/NRP2011-503201.pdf Role of general dental practitioners in smoking cessationTobacco use is a dental as well as a medical problem. Its use is the root cause of many oral health problems including periodontal disease and tooth loss. In the past few years, there has been an increasing awareness of the role of tobacco use in the prevalence and severity of periodontal disease. http://eprints.manipal.edu/2028/1/462-1518-1-PB.pdf Smokefree shorts
New ZealandSmoking ban proposed for Auckland
The proposed ban would include the city centre, parks, playgrounds, sports grounds, stadiums, parts of beaches, council-controlled land such as around the Auckland Museum and art gallery, and events supported by the council, such as Pasifika. New Zealand Herald, 19 January 2012 Patient smokers get help from hospital North Shore Hospital patients who smoke are getting more help to quit, according to latest government health targets. It shows a 10 percent jump in the amount of patients helped compared to the last quarter report. North Harbour News, January 2012 Smoking rates among New Zealand role models high – study A new study published by researchers from University of Otago, Wellington has found that smoking rates have declined rapidly amongst many occupational groups over the last 25 years. However, among some key 'role model' occupations smoking rates remain high. Voxy.co.nz, 18 January 2012 Study calls for smoking teachers to be targeted Researchers in a smoking study say teachers – particularly early childhood Māori language teachers – should be targeted to quit smoking. The Otago University study shows 45 percent of pre-school Māori language teachers are smokers, almost double the national rate, and three times higher than the average for workers in so-called "role model" occupations. TVNZ, 19 January 2012 Association of Community Retailers. Again.
by Keith Ng In May 2010, Rory McKinnon and I broke the story that Glenn Inwood, a lobbyist for Japanese whaling, was running an astro-turfing campaign for Imperial Tobacco in New Zealand. Inwood operated a group called the Association of Community Retailers, which claimed to represent small retailers, but was in fact bankrolled by big tobacco to fight tobacco regulation and taxes (among, ominously, other things). Imperial Tobacco admitted to a Select Committee that they paid Inwood to do this, and this fact was widely reported. We were mightily pleased with ourselves. Public Address, 10 January 2012 Hit booze in smoking battle: experts The government should consider alcohol law changes as part of the battle against smoking after studies show New Zealand smokers are two-and-a-half times more likely to be binge drinkers, the researchers say. Yahoo! News, 20 January 2012 InternationalAustralian government plan aims to butt out smoking in 15 years
Smokeless nicotine, a rising age limit and mandatory limits similar to that proposed for problem gamblers on pokies are detailed in a plan before the Federal Government and health authorities. Big tobacco warns the looming multimillion-dollar legal fight in the High Court against drab olive-brown packaging of cigarette packets is just one battlefront in a bid to extinguish smoking in Australia. Smokefree lobbyists have submitted a 10-point plan to the Federal Health Department in an audacious bid to stub out smokinhg within 15 years. Perth Now, 21 January 2012 Tobacco saves lives too, Philip Morris says As governments across the world consider forcing tobacco companies to feature the dangerous effects of their products on cigarette packages, Philip Morris International is attempting to change public opinion on tobacco by investing in Canadian biotech company Medicago to help develop influenza vaccines that use tobacco leaves. Third Age, 13 January 2012 Help smokers quit whether they ask or not General guidelines for doctors in the UK currently say they should ask smokers about their willingness to quit. Then if the patient seems motivated, the doctor should offer help. But in a new research review, UK investigators found that offering quit help to all smokers seems more effective. Reuters, 11 January 2012 Young smokers light more cigarettes while seeing someone else smoke
Also, young smokers who communicate with a peer online and see this person smoking will smoke more themselves. Unfortunately, anti-smoking campaigns neglect this effect, says Utrecht University Social Scientist Zeena Harakeh. Psych Central, 8 January 2012 New report indicates more kids are tobacco-free A new report released by the WV Department of Health and Human Resources Statistics Center which analysed the use of tobacco, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, cigars and pipes for middle school and high school students indicates that more kids are choosing to be tobacco-free. Wboy.com, 18 January 2012 A right to be free from smokers It is an instinctive reaction to feel that limitations on personal choices violate our rights, but smoking seems to confuse this issue. It can be argued that smokers have their right to smoke, and non-smokers have a right to be free from smokers. The Crimson White, 17 January 2012 Northern Ireland cigarette vending machine ban due in March Cigarettes will no longer be sold in vending machines in Northern Ireland from 1 March 2012. The move was agreed to drive down the number of children and young people who smoke by limiting their unsupervised access to the machines. BBC News, 17 January 2012 Kangaroo cigarettes blow smoke at plain pack laws
The blow is all the harder because the brand is marketed by British American Tobacco, at present at war with the government over the introduction of plain packaging banning the use of company logos and imposing graphic images of death and disease New Zealand Herald, 14 January 2012 Norway may ban smoking during work Employers in Norway are likely to ban smoking for employees during work hours. Also, the sale of 10-packs of cigarettes is likely to be banned and the government is also considering legislation that would ban students from smoking during school hours and make all entrances of public buildings smokefree. UPI.com, 16 January 2012 QUOTABLE QUOTES"I guess what we are saying is that people are sometimes ready to take action without having thought about it prior to that. Make them a good offer and they'll act." Dr Paul Aveyard, Professor of Behavioural Medicine at the University of Birmingham, on doctors discussing quit-smoking techniques with their patients prior to their patients expressing a desire to quit. Reuters, 11 January 2012 |
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A
Harvard study about smoking relapse hit the news this week, but instead of illuminating some measurable factor in lifestyle that might help us prevent it, it
counted and compared relapse rates between cold turkey quitters and those who had used
nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). 
The Ministry of Health has been working to develop a quarterly magazine for New Zealand smoking cessation workers – with the aim of supporting consistency in approach in relation to the Tier One service specifications, as well as sharing success stories and best practice examples together, and highlighting emerging research to increase the information and support available to cessation workers across New Zealand.
The Health Promotion Forum of New Zealand (HPF), University of Otago Wellington Public Health Summer School and the Centre for Development Studies of the University of Auckland are working together to have Professor Paul Hunt, world expert on the right to health, teach two workshops in New Zealand in February 2012. 
This is a joint presentation by Professor Nancy Krieger (Harvard University) and Professor Don Matheson (Centre for Public Health Research, Massey University), reporting back on the World Health Organization World Conference on Social Determinants of Health (19-21 October, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil): critical reflections and next steps.
What are the challenges and opportunities in New Zealand's pharmaceutical scene? Where are we going with hospital medicines and medical devices? Is waste an ethical issue?
The following resource
is available via the Health Improvement and Innovation Resource Centre website:
Where possible, links to full articles are provided below each story.
Health bosses want the Auckland Council to ban smoking in all public outdoor areas in the city in a bid to stop children picking up the habit. 
Young people, aged 16 to 24, who smoke daily, light up more cigarettes in the company of a smoking peer. 
Australian officials are fuming impotently over the use of the iconic kangaroo and the slogan "an Australian favourite" to sell
Winfield cigarettes in Europe.