The Benefits of giving up
Nasty Financial Habits
As the next few days of overindulgence start to
take their toll, thoughts will inevitably turn
towards new year resolutions. Whether it be the
raging hangover, the smoker's cough or the
unpleasant sensation of finding your jeans not
quite so comfortable as they were a few weeks ago,
the physical fallout from Christmas gets to most
of us in the end.
There are strong financial reasons to crack down
on vice too. The pack-a-day smoker can save £1,752
a year by giving up, while cutting back on your
alcohol consumption by one pint of beer per day
could save you about £1,000 a year.
But research from Lloyds TSB shows that most of us
are not prepared to give up our nasty habits
purely in order to save money. Its Savings in
Britain survey found that just one in ten smokers
would be prepared to quit in order to boost their
savings, while just five per cent of drinkers
would be willing to cut back.
Source: ASH Daily News, 24th December
2003 from The Times, 24th December 2003 |
Vitamin may Help Lung
Disease
Vitamin A could be used to treat the as yet
incurable lung disease emphysema. Scientists from
the Medical Research Centre for Developmental
Neurobiology at King's college, London, discovered
that retinioc acid, a derivative from vitamin A,
can reverse damage caused to the lungs of mice.
Organs that had developed the defects that cause
emphysema were restored to normal by retinoic
acid, which is used to treat chronic acne. Trials
are now being carried out to see if the same
striking effects can be achieved in humans.
Source: ASH Daily News, 23rd December
2003 from Western Mail, 22nd December
2003 |
Revealed: Callous way the
Tobacco Industry Ensnares our Youngsters
The secret and 'sleazy' world of tobacco
advertising was exposed yesterday by documents
revealing the tactics used to ensnare the young
and manipulate adults.
In a unique initiative, the Cancer Research UK
centre for tobacco control at Strathclyde
University Glasgow, has created the first internet
database of "evidence". It reveals how the tobacco
industry "cynically" promotes products that kill
13,000 Scots each year.
The launch of
tobaccopapers.com provoked a scathing attack
on the advertising agencies, condemning them for
"their weasel words".
Documents reveal strategies to "grab them
young"...
David Hinchcliffe MP, the chairman of the Commons
health select committee, said "These papers
show what the industry thinks of its customers in
its own words. It's damning ..."
The 14,000 documents - briefings, brainstorming
session memos and outlines - were written by staff
promoting brands such as Benson and Hedges, Hamlet
Cigars, Silk Cut and low-tar cigarettes.
Professor Gerard Hastings, the director of the
centre for tobacco control research at Glasgow,
said "The tobacco industry maximise commercial
success at any cost."
The documents can be viewed at:
www.tobaccopapers.com
Source: ASH Daily News, 17th December
2003 from The Scotsman, 17th December
2003 |
Smoking 'Falling out of
Favour'
Three quarters of people believe smoking is less
socially acceptable than a year ago, a poll
suggests. The survey by the NHS Smoking Help line
also found over half of smokers are thinking about
giving up the habit in the next twelve months.
The findings follow calls by doctors for smoking
to be banned in public places - and a call from a
medical journal for it to be banned completely. A
help line spokeswoman said: "Attitudes towards
smoking seem to have shifted." More and more
are now aware that passive smoking is bad for
their health. Last year saw bans on tobacco
advertising and light and mild cigarette branding,
new warnings on cigarette packets and TV adverts
on the dangers of second-hand smoke.
The heads of eighteen medical royal colleges
recently called for smoking to be banned in public
places, such as pubs and restaurants. And an
editorial in the Lancet medical journal called for
a complete ban on the habit because of its effects
on peoples health. But the government said while
smoke-free places were ideal, the public appeared
to have mixed feelings about the idea and a
complete ban would be "extreme".
Over 1,300 adults were questioned in the survey
for the NHS smoking help line. Four out of every
five women questioned said they believed smoking
was less socially acceptable than it was at the
start of 2003. Forty three percent said the
warnings and advertising campaigns over the last
year has made them more likely to quit. Many said
they had made smoking less attractive, appealing
or socially acceptable.
Debbie Findlay, an advisor with the NHS Smoking
Help line, said: "General attitudes to smoking
seem to have shifted, and a lot of people are
contemplating giving up for 2004. It was good to
find in our survey that most smokers are aware
there is free help available on the NHS to help
them give up. But nearly a quarter of men intend
to go 'cold turkey' when quitting, which almost
certainly dooms their attempt to failure. We found
many men will refuse help for fear of appearing
weak. They may think they should be strong enough
to quit with will power alone, but probably don't
realise nicotine is as addictive as heroin."
Ian Willmore, from the campaign group Action on
Smoking and Health (ASH), told BBC News Online:
"People used to know it was bad for individuals,
but more and more are now aware of passive smoking
is bad for their health." He added the perception
of smoking was a significant factor in promoting
people to quit - or deterring them from starting
smoking in the first place. "Warnings are
important, advertising is important, but in
addition, what is and isn't socially acceptable is
very important too."
Source: ASH Daily News 16th December
2003 from BBC News Online
here |
Smoking may Kill your
Career
Tobacco addicts may be letting their careers go up
in smoke, according to new ICM poll of recruitment
consultants. A third of UK businesses would employ
a non-smoker in preference to a smoker, and 76% of
employers thought that smoking has a more negative
impact on an employee's career than it did 20
years ago.
Job seekers themselves are also concerned;
recruitment consultants notice that candidates are
often reluctant to admit that they smoke.
Source: ASH Daily News, 13th-15th
December 2003 from The Guardian, 13th
December 2003 |
Second-hand
Smoke and the Onset of Asthma
People regularly exposed to second-hand
tobacco smoke are more likely to develop asthma,
according to Finnish research published in the
American Journal of Public Health. Those living
with smokers were 4.8 times more likely to
experience the problem. Many people are
susceptible to asthma but develop it only when the
appropriate trigger is present.
Source: ASH Daily News, 12th December
2003 from The Times, 12th December 2003 |
UEFA introduce Touchline
Smoking Ban
Following yesterday's announcement by UEFA that it
was to introduce a ban on smoking on the
touchline, several regional papers cover the
story. UEFA's own press release says it put the
ban in place to improve football's image, branding
smoking an unhealthy practice.
Source: ASH Daily News, 12th December
2003. UEFA statement on touchline ban
here |
New Zealand Workplaces to
be Smoke-free by December 2004
New Zealand has become the latest country to pass
a law that will ban smoking in all pubs, clubs and
casino's by December 2004. The initial Smoke-free
Environments Amendment Bill first introduced in
July 1999 would have allowed smoking in ventilated
areas but was toughened when the Government was
persuaded to back a complete ban and extend it to
all workplaces. The Act provides for very limited
exemptions such as prison cells and some
residential care institutions.
Source: ASH Daily News, Morning Advertiser, 11th
December 2003 |
Brown signals Care Shake
Up
The chancellor, Gordon Brown, yesterday signalled
big plans to shake up Britain's preventative
healthcare system when he published a report from
his specialist adviser Derek Wanless identifying
poor working class lifestyle as a root cause of
health inequalities.
In his interim report, Mr Wanless said he would
bring forward proposals early next year setting
out the government
action required to defeat the big shift in the
burden of disease from the infectious diseases of
the 19th century to the
chronic diseases of the 20th century.
Source: ASH Daily News, 10th December
2003 from the Guardian, 10th December
2003 |
Wanless Report calls for
Preventative NHS
Unhealthy lifestyles, poverty and an ageing
population will pose the greatest burdens on the
NHS over the next 20 years,
according to Derek Wanless, the former banker who
advises the government on health service spending.
Source: ASH Daily News, 10th December
2003 from Society Guardian, 9th
December 2003.
Full Article |
Teenagers facing a Health
Time Bomb
The binge drinking, drug taking, sexually careless
behaviour of today's adolescents is setting them
up to become the most obese and infertile
generation of adults ever, warns a report from
Britain's doctors.
Adolescents - still shedding their childhood but
desperate to be adults - are falling through the
gap between services provided for those who are
younger or older than they are, says the British
Medical Association in a report out yesterday.
Source: ASH Daily News, 9th December
2003 from The Guardian, The Times, Daily
Telegraph, The Sun, 9th December 2003 |
Baby
Bib Campaign warns about Second Hand Smoke
Efforts to protect children against second hand
smoke were stepped up today with the launch of a
baby bib campaign. Chief Medical Officer for
England Sir Liam Donaldson said that a bib warning
of the dangers of smoking near children had been
produced for every baby born in December.
It follows a hard-hitting television campaign
showing children breathing out smoke to
demonstrate the risks of smoking near youngsters
and babies.
Source: ASH Daily News, 4th December
2003 from The Scotsman, 3rd December
2003.
Full Article |
Tackling Tobacco Head on
at School
School children are to be given a lesson in the
dangers of smoking by a cancer charity. The Ulster
Cancer Foundation launched the anti-smoking
initiative yesterday in a bid to educate children
about the dangers of the habit.
Primary schools will receive activity packs that
teachers will use with P6 and P7 pupils.
The Smokebusters packs, which will be distributed
this week in the Western Health and Social
Services Board area, includes detailed lesson
plans and worksheets that will help get the
message across to the 9 - 11 year olds.
UCF staff will give free training to teachers and
school nurses in presenting the information.
Source: ASH Daily News, 4th December
2003 from Belfast Newsletter, 3rd
December 2003 |
27% of Pregnant Scots
Smoke
More than a quarter of Scottish mothers are
putting the lives of their unborn babies at risk
by smoking during pregnancy. Figures released
yesterday show that 27.4 per cent of women smoked
at the start of their pregnancy, with this
increasing to 37.8 per cent in the most deprived
areas.
The smoking rates for pregnant women are among the
worst in Europe, increasing the risk of premature
births or smaller babies. Babies with a low birth
weight are more at risk of death and disease in
infancy and early childhood.
The rates for smoking during pregnancy fall short
of the Scottish Executives target to reduce the
number of pregnant
women who smoke to 23 per cent by 2005 and to 20
per cent by 2010. The figures were contained in a
report gauging the state of the nation's health,
which also looked at obesity and breastfeeding.
Not only did Scotland have one of the lowest rates
of breastfeeding in Europe, but more than a fifth
of three-and-a-half year olds were overweight, 8.8
per cent were obese and 4.5 per cent were severely
obese.
Dr Mac Armstrong, the chief medical officer, said
yesterday that the report was not so-much a
wake-up call but more of an "alarm bell which
every single one of us should heed."
Source: ASH Daily News 3rd December
2003 from The Scotsman, 3rd December
2003 |
GP's 'overestimating' Heart Risks
Gp's overestimate the risk of heart disease in men
by about half because they are expected to use
outdated methods to calculate the risks, according
to a study.
This might mean that patients are put on
treatments that cause unnecessary side-effects and
anxiety, affect their insurance premiums, waste
doctors time supervising patients, and drain NHS
drug budgets.
The methods used are based on data collected
between 1968 and 1974 from Framing ham, a town in
Massachusetts.
They identify risk factors including age, blood
pressure, cholesterol, smoking and diabetes, but
their relevance to a British population is
seriously questioned by the team, led by Peter
Brindle, a Bristol University lecturer and GP.
Source: ASH Daily News, 28th November
2003 from The Guardian, The Times, Financial Times
28th November 2003.
Full Article |
So you Think you're a
Non-Smoker eh? Not Quite.
Reacting to the Royal College's letter to the
Times, the Mirror newspaper ran a special report -
sending out one of it's reporters to smoke filled
bars armed with a carbon monoxide monitor to
measure second-hand smoke exposure to non smokers.
He constantly analysed the amount of the gas in
the air and used a breathalyser machine to test
the concentration of carbon monoxide in his blood
before and after spending time in the pub. The
results were frightening. After just one hour, the
air quality was as bad as standing in a
traffic-filled city street. By closing time the
pub's atmosphere contained 10 TIMES more carbon
monoxide than outside.
Over the night, our reporter's carbon monoxide
level had increased from one part per million to
more than ten. That's the same as a regular smoker
puffing on one cigarette - and it was on a quiet
mid-week evening.
Professor Martin Jarvis, a specialist in tobacco
research for Cancer Research UK, says: "The
hazards of smoking are so great that even inhaling
other people's smoke can be very dangerous. People
who are regularly exposed to smoky atmospheres
certainly have a higher risk of developing lung
cancer or heart disease. Studies have shown that
passive smoking over a number of years due to
working in a smoke-filled environment or living
with a smoker increase the chances of getting lung
cancer by about 25% ."
Anti-smoking group ASH (Action on Smoking and
Health) spokesman Ian Wilmore said: "The
Mirror's shocking findings show it's time for a
new law to ban smoking in workplaces and bars.
There's no evidence to suggest that banning
smoking affects businesses, and the statistics
show that fewer people are actually going to pubs
because they are sick of the smoky atmospheres."
Source: ASH Daily News 26th November 2003 from
Article |
Passive Smoking: claims
from Employees could mean Costs for Employers
The leisure industry has been warned to gear up
for a wave of lawsuits if they do not address the
issue of staff and
customers smoking in the workplace. This warning
comes following the recently reported 50,000 out
of court
settlement which Michael Dunn, a casino worker in
central London, reached with his employer
following his claim that
he had developed asthma due to passive smoking at
work.
Considering the fact that compensation for unfair
dismissal awards could reach 50,000 in the
employment tribunal,
employers, even in workplaces where employees are
traditionally exposed to smoke (like pubs and
clubs), are well
advised to enter into an active consultation with
their employees to discuss measures which could be
implemented to accommodate non-smoking employees.
Source: ASH Daily News, 21st November
2003.
Full Article |
Smoking during Pregnancy
linked with ADHD
Women who smoke during pregnancy appear to have a
greater risk of having a child with symptoms of
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),
according to UK researchers.
Dr Anita Thapar, of the University of Wales
College of Medicine, and colleagues used
questionnaires to assess children's ADHD symptoms,
maternal smoking during pregnancy, conduct
disorder symptoms, and family adversity, in sample
population of 1452 pairs of twins.
Genetic factors accounted for most of the cases of
ADHD, the investigators report in the November
issue of the
American Journal of Psychiatry. However, they also
noted a significant association between smoking
during pregnancy
and the development of ADHD symptoms in the
children.
Source: ASH Daily News, 21st November
2003 from Reuters Health , 20th
November 2003.
Full Article |
Robbie Williams to give up Smoking
Robbie Williams has announced his plans to give up
smoking. The singer, 29, is expected to move out
of the public eye as a hectic world tour winds
down in December after almost six months on the
road.
Williams revealed his resolution as he rounded off
his recording of a BBC Radio 2 concert in front of
300 fans.
Source: ASH Daily News, 21st November
2003 from PA News, 20th November 2003.
Full Article |
China to ban Tobacco
Advertising
China is preparing legislation to ban tobacco
advertising after it signed on to a United Nations
anti-smoking treaty. The
decision is likely to hit the nations tobacco
producers hard.
The measures would follow approval of the United
Nations Framework Convention on Tobacco Control by
the National
People's Congress, China's legislature, at its
annual session early next year.
"I believe it will be approved as lots of
representatives of the National People's Congress
have a positive attitude
toward tobacco control," said Yang Gonghuan,
the Chinese representative on the United Nation's
Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control. The global treaty
aims to cut an annual 4.9 million smoking-related
deaths worldwide
by imposing curbs on the advertising, marketing
and sale of cigarettes and tobacco products, of
which China makes a
significant portion.
According to official statistics, China see's more
than 2000 tobacco related deaths a day with the
number of fatalities
forecast to reach 8000 per day by 2050. In a
nation of 350 million smokers, or one-quarter of
the worlds population,
Chinese tobacco companies are likely to fight hard
to keep a comprehensive ban on advertising off the
legislative
books.
"Some tobacco manufacturers may adopt a
negative attitude as it will have an impact on
their businesses," said Yang.
The tobacco industry brings handsome profits to
state coffers, generating nearly $20 billion in
annual revenues and tax, said an official with the
China Tobacco Society.
The new legislation, which if passed in March
would take effect 90 days later, would also impact
on major tobacco-sponsored events such as the
Formula 1 Grand Prix which will be held in
Shanghai next year. Shanghai Formula
1 organisers have said they are working towards a
solution. "No exceptions should be made for
Formula 1 even though
there are many disputes about it," said Yang.
"To do so would hurt China's international
image."
Source: ASH Daily News, 19th November
2003 from AFP, 18th November 2003 |
Rizla Advert ban over
Drug Use
An advert for Rizla cigarette papers has been
banned because it could be seen as condoning the
use of cannabis. The advert had the words "Twist
and" above the packet of Rizla with a turn at one
end and" burn" on one side.
The Advertising Standards Authority backed a
complaint from rival manufacturer, which claimed
the promotion
"condoned the product's use for the consumption of
illegal drugs." "Twist" is a slang term for a
cannabis cigarette and
"burn" could be referred to smoking one. Imperial
Tobacco, makers of Rizla, denied the reference was
intentional.
Source: ASH Daily News, 19th November
2003 |
Boycott Bush Backers
The Daily Mirror reports that anti-Bush
campaigners are urging Britons to avoid products
made by companies which
back his leadership with massive donations.
Among high street brands named because of their
financial links to Bush's party are ASDA, Walkers
Crisps, Marlboro
cigarettes, Kenco coffee, Philadelphia cheese,
Esso fuel and Aquafresh toothpaste.
Source: ASH Daily News, 19th November
2003 from Daily Mirror, 19th November
2003 |
Scanner Shortage hits Lung Cancer
Treatment
At least 5,000 patients with lung cancer are
having futile surgery or being denied life-saving
operations each year
because of a shortage of scanners that can show
how far the cancer has spread.
Specialists say that about 10,000 patients - a
quarter of the 38,000 diagnosed each year - could
benefit from the hi-tech
machines, known as Positron Emission Tomography
(PET) scanners. But the NHS has only five in use -
all in London, and serving about 5,000 patients.
A group of cancer charities launched a campaign
yesterday to treble the number of PET scanners and
place them in 15
locations within 5 years. The £4m machines cost
£1m a year to run and provide a 3D image of the
tumour to assist the
surgeon and can reveal whether the cancer has
spread too far to make surgery worthwhile.
Source: ASH Daily News, 18th November
2003 from The Independent, 18th
November 2003.
Full Article |
Women
and COPD
The Daily
Express reports that chronic bronchitis and lung
cancer, usually associated with the elderly, are
on the
increase and commonly found in people in their
forties and fifties.
Lung cancer
kills 28,000 people in the UK every year, and is
now the biggest cancer killer in the world,
beating breast,
prostate and colon cancer combined.
Chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), also known
as chronic bronchitis, killed more than 25,000
Britons last
year. More than three million of us are thought to
suffer from it. COPD causes acute attacks of
breathlessness which
can be triggered by walking or climbing stairs.
The British Lung Foundation says its prevalence
has peaked in men but
women now account for 45.9 cases - a trend that
continues to rise.
Professor
Stephen Spiro, of the British Lung Foundation,
says: "The image of the chronic bronchitic, an
elderly chap in cloth cap, is fast fading. Now the
typical sufferer is a middle aged woman." He
says that lung cancer and COPD are both major
health issues for women. "Although lung cancer
is still more prevalent in men, if you add it
together with other lung diseases such as
bronchitis and emphysema, women are beginning to
take over." he said.
Source: ASH
Daily News 18th November 2003 from
Daily Express, 18th November 2003 |
Smoke
Alarm: Skin Ages Faster When You Smoke
Smoking is the worst
thing you can do with your mouth. The 12m smokers
in the UK know this. But that doesn't stop a
quarter of the female population from lighting up
in the belief that smoking keeps them from eating,
calms the nerves
and raises the body's ability to burn calories.
But it seems that smokers, especially as they age,
must follow the spicy
French beauty adage that translates, almost
literally, thus: "After a certain age, a woman has
to choose between her
face and her ass."
The damage smoking
does to facial skin is startling. According to Dr
Nicholas Lowe, a dermatologist at London's
Cranley Clinic, smoking reduces the skins blood
supply and damages its ability to produce elastin
and collagen, which
keeps the skin smooth and firm.
Source: ASH Daily News
18th November 2003, from The Times, 16th
November 2003.
Full Article |
Department of Health:
Statistical Bulletin: Statistics on smoking:
England, 2003
The Department of Health yesterday released its
latest Statistical Bulletin on Smoking in England.
The main findings of the bulletin :
- In 2001, 27% of adults aged 16 and over smoked
cigarettes in England; 28 % of men and 25% of
women.
- The prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults
has dropped substantially since 1980 (from 39%)
although it levelled off in the 1990's.
- In 2001, the prevalence of cigarette smoking
continued to be higher for people in manual than
non-manual socio-economic groups (32% compared
with 21%).
- In 2001, 66% of smokers in England wanted to
give up smoking.
- In 2002, 10% of children aged 11-15 smoked
cigarettes regularly; 9% of boys and 11% of girls.
- More than 120,000 deaths were caused by smoking
in the UK in 1995; that is, one in five of all
deaths.
Source: ASH Daily News 13th November
2003.
Full DoH Statistical Bulletin is available
here |
NHS to get free
stop-smoking aids
Quitting products are to be given free to the NHS
in a move which could help 10,000 more smokers
kick the habit. The deal with manufacturers will
include products such as nicotine patches and gum
prescribed by doctors. Secretary of State for
Health said: "It will help the NHS to reach our
target of 800,000 quitters by 2006."
Source: ASH Daily News 14th November
2003 from Metro (London) 13th November
2003 |
Tobacco Tax may Rise
Gordon Browne’s move to switch the Bank of
England’s inflation target this year could open
the way for him to impose steep increases in “sin
taxes” on cigarettes, alcohol and petrol,
according to today’s Times.
Leading city analysts gave warning last night that
the technical move under which the bank will adopt
a new EU inflation target, could give the
chancellor leeway to raise an extra £4.5bn in tax
duties. The move could mean 5p on a litre of
petrol, 11p on a bottle of wine, 3p on a pint of
beer, 55p on a bottle of spirits and 30p on a
packet of 20 cigarettes.
Source: ASH Daily News 10th November
2003 from The Times 10th November 2003.
Full Article |
Smoking and Binge Drinking Blamed for the Rise in
Oral Cancers
Binge drinking combined with smoking is causing
oral cancer in men and women as young as 20,
according to a new study. The rise in heavy
drinking and smoking among young people-
particularly women – has led to the surge in the
incidence of mouth cancer for people in their 20’s
and 30’s, according to researchers from Kings
College London.
Scientists believe that tobacco smoke mixed with
alcohol produces dangerous levels of
cancer-causing chemicals that attack the lining of
the mouth. Oral cancer cases have risen by 17
percent over the past four years - a faster rate
than for any other major cancer.
Source: ASH Daily News 10th November
2003 from Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail 9th
November 2003.
Full Article |
ASA examines Rizla Ads
after Rival’s Allegations
Imperial Tobacco’s Rizla advertising is being
scrutinised by the Advertising Standards Authority
(ASA), after rival Zig-Zag
complained it condones the use of drugs.
The complaint swiftly follows the introduction of
guidelines by the Committee of Advertising
Practice (CAP), warning against using drug
references in the marketing of rolling papers and
filters. The CAP guidance, drawn up in
consultation with the rolling-paper industry and
the Department of Health, also stipulates that
tobacco paper advertising should not depict
smoking or suggest smoking is glamorous,
rebellious or aspirational.
The new rules could help Zig-Zag’s case against
Imperial Tobacco. This is the fourth time the
company has complained of drug references in the
“twist and burn” Rizla advertising, which shows a
packet of Rizla papers in situations such as being
roasted on a spit.
Zig-Zag is confident that its complaint will be
upheld, after the CAP sent out draft
recommendations, which will be put before the ASA,
that state the advertising “could be seen to
condone the use of drugs”.
Imperial Tobacco marketing manager for tobacco
products Terry Rogers says he is surprised the
recommendations may
rule against the Rizla advertising: “We have
had no consumer complaints since we launched the
campaign.”
Source: ASH Daily News November 6th
2003 from Marketing Week November 6th
2003 |
Reid quits Smoking
The health secretary, John Reid, was offered
congratulations for having gone without a
cigarette for 11 months. Labour
former minister George Foulkes hailed him for
“now having given up smoking for 11 months.”
Junior health minister
Melanie Johnson said she was happy to congratulate
Dr Reid on his period of “abstinence from
tobacco.”
Source: ASH Daily News November 6th
2003 from The Guardian November 5th
2003 |
Britons are Winning War
on Smoking
The number of smokers in England and Wales has hit
a record low, with levels now plummeting by
170,000 people each year, according to Cancer
Research UK.
A huge drop over the past few years puts the
current levels of those who smoke at one out of
four people, outstripping government targets for
2005 of 26 percent. This means that half a million
fewer people are indulging in the habit than in
2000. The study, which looks at data from the
General Household Survey (GHS) and the Omnibus
survey, shows the lowest percentage of people
smoking since figures using the GHS began in the
early seventies.
The new figures have delighted anti-smoking
groups, who feared that the situation in the
nineties – where the rate stopped declining and
there was a persistently high level of smoking –
was irreversible.
Martin Jarvis, the author of the study from the
Charity’s Health Behaviour Unit, said: “There
have been actions on a lot of fronts, and when
Labour came in they gave a high priority to this.
The study shows a clear decline, and this sort of
change in smoking is what drives a decline in
cancer.”
ASH, the anti-smoking group, welcomed the news.
Its Chief Executive, Donal Reid, said: “In 1997
the Government pretty well promised all the things
we asked for and most have been put into place –
we are very pleased. We …. will continue to push
for a ban on smoking in all workplaces. That
includes bars and restaurants.”
The Cancer Research UK figures will come as a
relief to the Government, which considers smoking
to be ‘the greatest single cause of preventable
illness and premature death in the UK’.
Source: ASH Daily News 3rd November 2003 from The
Observer, 2nd November 2003 |
Ex-smoker up for an Award
A council boss who beat a 31 year cigarette
addiction is in line for a top award. Douglas
Munro, 50, of Anniesland, Glasgow, will head to
London on November 26 for the Quitter of the Year
Awards 2003.
Mr Munro, who works with Glasgow City Council’s
development and re-generation services, is one of
eight ex-smokers from across the UK in line for
the award run by the charity QUIT, which helps
people stop smoking.
He said: “I don’t really care if I win the
award because as far as I’m concerned I have won
already by beating my nicotine addiction. I gave
up in March last year and although I have what I
call my ‘cigarette moments’ after meals or a
coffee, I have never smoked since.” Mr Munro
will be accompanied to the ceremony by his wife
Enid, who gave up her cigarette habit shortly
after her husband quit.
Source: ASH Daily News 30th October
2003 from Evening Times Online, 29th
October 2003.
Full Article |
Smokeless Tobacco
Sarah Howden writing for the Edinburgh Evening
News reports on the possible rise of smokeless
tobacco as an alternative to cigarettes. She says
that with more and more countries banning smoking
in public places, high profile lawsuits putting
billion-dollar dents in their profits and the now
unmissable health warnings which must adorn
cigarette packets, tobacco companies have been
facing an uphill battle in recent years.
And while few non-smokers will be shedding tears
over the industry’s struggles, tobacco giants have
been donning their thinking caps to devise
ingenious ways of reaching their market. Although
it hardly enjoys the most glamorous image, the
answer they have come up with is snuff. Tobacco
giant, the US Smokeless Tobacco Company (USSTC) is
busy trying to attract young professionals to its
newly packaged product.
Already smoking in restaurants, bars, hotels and
other public places is banned in various countries
including parts of the US and Australia, and is
set to be outlawed in Ireland from January 1. And
it looks as though it’s only a matter of time
before those who fail to kick the increasingly
taboo habit in the UK will be forced to smoke in
the privacy of their own home. Indeed, the smell,
taste and health implications associated with
passive smoking are slowly sending smokers into
social exile. So as public smoking bans get
tougher worldwide, an alternative form of tobacco
is the obvious answer. And tobacco companies seem
confident that they will be successful in seducing
smokers with smokeless snuff rebranded as a
glamorous, more healthy alternative to the
cigarette.
Source: ASH Daily News 30th October
2003 from Edinburgh Evening News, 29th
October 2003.
Full Article |
Smoking Ban for City
Health bosses hope to ban smoking across Plymouth
within five years. Smoking could be banned in all
restaurants, bars, shops, offices and
entertainment venues according to Plymouth Primary
Care Trust’s Public Health Director Debra
Lapthorne.
A new policy being developed by Ms Lapthorne and
the Smoking Advice Service aims to put a stop to
smoking in all workplaces, which they say will
include all indoor public places in the city.
In the first annual report by the director of
public health, which was presented to bosses at
the Primary Care Trust last week, Ms Lapthorne
said treating illnesses and diseases caused by
smoking is estimated to cost the NHS in Plymouth
£8 million, and causes more than 560 deaths per
year.
Each year in Plymouth, more than 70 admissions to
hospital of under-five year olds are due to their
parents smoking. Bosses at the PCT, which funds
all NHS services in the city, have backed the
move.
Source:
ASH Daily News 30th October 2003 |
Smokers can Stubb out their
Habit for Free
Smokers can now kick the habit at work thanks to a
new scheme which holds quitting roadshows at the
office. The free Stop Smoking Service, backed by
Bracknell Forest Primary Care Trust, wants
companies in the town interested in hosting the
roadshows to get in touch.
It already runs nine specialist clinics throughout
east Berkshire, including two at the Skimped Hill
health complex in Bracknell, and has just helped
55 Masterfoods employees in Slough quit smoking
after a successful roadshow.
Source:
ASH Daily News 29th October 2003 |
Smoking can Double the
Risk of MS
Smokers are 1.81 times more likely to develop
multiple sclerosis than non smokers according to
Dr Trond Riise from the University of Bergen,
Norway, whose findings were reported in the
scientific journal of the American Academy of
Neurology.
Scientists found that smokers in their forties
were almost twice as likely as non-smokers to
develop MS in later life, with male smokers having
2.7 times the risk.
The study examined 87 MS patients in a sample of
22,312 people between the ages of 40 and 47 in the
Norwegian country of Hordaland, in order to
identify the environmental factors that increase
the chances of developing the disease. Professor
Riise said: “This is the first time that smoking
has been established as a risk factor … hopefully
these results will help us learn more about what
causes MS by looking at how smoking affects the
onset of the disease.”
Source: ASH Daily News 28th October
2003 from The Guardian, The Independent, Daily
Telegraph, Daily Mirror 28th October
2003 |
London Survey on Smoking
Bans
Londoners are being asked to say what they think
about smoking in public places. A referendum
launched yesterday seeks views on bans on smoking
in places such as pubs, shops and restaurants. The
results could be used to shape a smoke-free
initiative along the same lines as the New York
ban and San Francisco, where smoking is banned in
bars and restaurants.
Other cities including Sheffield, Birmingham and
Brighton are already considering increasing
restrictions. Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of
London, said he looked forward to hearing the
views on the issue and working with businesses and
groups to increase access to smoke-free venues.
The pro-smoking group Forest labelled the
initiative a “crude publicity stunt”.
The poll will run until the end of the year.
Londoners can log onto
www.bigsmokedebate.com or fill in the
questionnaire in the Mayors newsletter ‘The
Londoner’ delivered to households.
Source: ASH Daily News 28th October
2003 from The Times 28th October 2003 |
Gallaher to re-use
‘happiness’ Slogan
Hamlet aims to bring joy to smokers with the
launch of a special edition Happiness pack this
Christmas, according to the Morning Advertiser.
The new look design is based on the brand’s
advertising slogan “Happiness is a cigar
called Hamlet.” Gallaher will release
Happiness in five-pack formats: Hamlet 5’s, Hamlet
10’s, Hamlet Miniatures 10’s tin.
Jerry Blackburn, trade communications manager at
Gallaher said “It’s about using our heritage in a
different format. “Many smokers can recall the
strap-line, which is now a powerful element of the
Hamlet brand.”
Gallaher will release the new packs on the 3rd of
November accompanied by a cash and carry road show
[?] until the end of the year.
Source: ASH Daily News 24th October
2003 from Morning Advertiser 23rd
October 2003 |
Don’t
hide but Heed the Warnings!
Anti-smoking campaigners have condemned the sale
of customised cases designed to cover up stark
health warnings on cigarette packets.
Packraps are PVC sleeves which slide over the
out-side of the boxes, enabling people to indulge
their love of nicotine, while allowing them to
ignore messages spelling out the dangers of
smoking. The new accessory has caused outrage at
the Liverpool-based Roy Castle Lung Cancer
Foundation.
Charity Founder Ray Donnelly said: “All these
products do is help people stay in denial about
the very serious harm they can cause themselves by
smoking cigarettes.” A spokesperson for
anti-smoking group ASH said: “It’s a sign that
these warnings are working. The warnings are
really stark, and make people feel uncomfortable.
That’s why the people who make these products
think there is a market. The real message is that
smoking kills half of long-term smokers, half of
whom are in their middle age.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health said:
“These warnings were introduced for a reason, and
we don’t believe they should be covered up.”
Source: ASH Daily News 23rd October
2003 from Cheshire Chronicle 22nd
October 2003
Full Article |
Medical Student Smoking
Falls
Nursing students are more likely to smoke
cigarettes and to be nicotine dependent than
medical students, says a study published in CHEST
(2003; 124: 1415 – 20). A survey of more than 500
students in Philadelphia, showed that four times
as many nursing students smoked cigarettes as
medical students, and twice as many students were
former smokers. The rate of smoking among medical
students had fallen in the past decade, and those
who did smoke were less nicotine dependent than
their nursing counterparts.
Source: ASH Daily News 23rd October
2003 from The Lancet, 18th October 2003 |
|
122 year old Smoker Dies
A man who claimed smoking contributed to a long
life has died at 122.
Tiger hunter Sek Yi believed tobacco and praying
kept him going. His wife, who is now 103, agreed
(though it is not clear whether she is a smoker
too). His identity papers were destroyed by the
Khmer Rouge but researchers believe Mr Yi was born
in 1881. That was the year when Lillie Langtry,
the Prince of Wales mistress made her debut as an
actress at the Haymarket theatre in London, while
in New York Thomas Edison turned on the first
electric lights.
When he was 21, the British forces were winning
the Boer War, while a London to Folkestone trial
was organised to show that cars could one day be a
reliable means of transport. As WWII broke out, Mr
Yi was fast heading to retirement age, at 58. In
later years, he was revered throughout Cambodia
for his age.
The oldest fully authenticated age for any human
being is the 122 years and 164 days of Frenchwoman
Jeanne-Louise Calment, who died in 1997.
Source: ASH Daily News 22nd October
2003 from The Mirror, Daily Mail, 21st
October 2003 |
Grandmothers’ Smoking and
Birth Weight
A study in the British Medical Journal takes a
look at the effects of grandmothers’ smoking in
pregnancy on birth weight. The link between
smoking during pregnancy and birth weight is
established, but this study examines whether
smoking during pregnancy has intergenerational
manifestations.
Conclusion: Deficits in mothers’ birth weight
attributable to their mother smoking was not
evident in the grandchildren.
Source: ASH Daily News 22nd October
2003 from British Medical Journal, 18th
October 2003.
Full BMJ Study |
Bath University tackles
Smoking
The Sunday Express reports from Bath University
where plans are developing to ban smoking in the
student union bar and other union areas. Midge
Mistry of the student’s union said: “There are
those who hope this is going to be a deterrent.
Many young people start smoking at university, but
if cigarettes were less evident, then it is
possible that they won’t become smokers in the
first place.”
Bath is not alone in expressing concern about
smoking. Oxford, Manchester, Leeds, Southampton,
Bradford and Plymouth universities have all
tackled the issue.
An ASH spokesperson said: "Tobacco companies
target students and young people in the hope of
making them addicts for life. Student unions have
a duty to resist pressure and to discourage
smoking."
Source: ASH Daily News 20th October
2003 from Sunday Express 19th October
2003 |
BBC Journalist to be
Issued Guidelines for Health Reporting
Following a recent report by the King’s Fund,
Health in the News, that found Britain’s main
killers – smoking, alcohol abuse, and mental
illness – are ‘statistically under-reported’, the
Guardian’s media section reports that the BBC is
preparing guidelines for reporters.
These guidelines are intended for journalists
reporting on stories involving risk to help
editors ensure that scare stories are kept in
perspective. The informal checklist will advise on
interpreting complex statistical data and help
editors decide the right time to pull out of a
scare story – after the news has been aired but
before it spins too far out of proportion.
Source: ASH Daily News 20th October
2003 from The Guardian 20th October
2003.
Full Article |
NRT for 12 year olds in a
bid to Cut Youth Smoking
GP’s are prescribing NRT to children as young as
12 in a country-wide move to cut youth smoking,
according to publication Doctor. Gloucestershire
LMC chairman and GPS member Dr Peter Fellows said
many doctors in the country were taking advantage
of the ability to prescribe nicotine replacement
therapy to target children and teenagers.
“Smoking among young people is certainly a
problem. I was very disappointed to see many young
people smoking outside the cinema in
Gloucestershire at the weekend,” Dr Fellows
said.
The British National Formulary says NRT is not
‘recommended’ in people under the age of 18.
However, Dr Fellows said that he did not regard it
as too extreme for children and teenagers. He
said: “If children are smoking, then they are
already taking nicotine into their bodies. By
prescribing patches, all we are doing is
substituting the cigarettes for something which is
easier to wean them off.”
Source: ASH Daily News 17th October
2003 from Doctor 16th October
2003 |
‘Lights’
just as bad, says Marlboro Firm
The maker of Marlboro cigarettes has admitted
so-called ”light” cigarettes are no less harmful
than any others in a major newspaper advertising
campaign aimed at improving its image in the face
of the growing threat of lawsuits against the
tobacco industry.
Philip Morris this weekend took the unprecedented
step of placing ads in all major national
newspapers detailing the problems of youth smoking
and low-tar cigarettes. In one advert, the company
admitted there was no evidence that switching to
cigarettes with reduced levels of tar or nicotine
offered any “significant health benefits”.
“You should not assume that lower tar
cigarettes are less harmful or that smoking this
kind of cigarette will help you quit. No one wants
kids to smoke, including us. We know it might be
difficult to accept that a tobacco company holds
this view. After all, many people believe that if
kids don’t smoke, our business could eventually
disappear,” it said …..
Research carried out in the US, where Philip
Morris has run similar campaigns aimed at young
people, showed teenagers who had watched the ads
were actually more likely to believe the tobacco
industry should be allowed to stay in business.
Source: ASH Daily News 14th October
2003 from The Guardian, 13th October
2003.
Full Article |
How was your Weekend?
Quiet time with the kids? Reorganising the garden
shed? Well, in that case this one is not strictly
for you. But if you can’t recall most of it
because of bingeful behaviour then this Sunday
Times piece is worth a read. Anita Chauduri
examines what effects a weekend binge has on our
bodies – looking at alcohol and smoking, amongst
other substances.
Source: ASH Daily News 11-13th October
2003 from The Sunday Times, 12th
October 2003.
Full Article |
Nicotine
Patches for Kids
Doctors in Gloucestershire
are prescribing nicotine patches for children as
young as 12 to help them kick their smoking habit.
GP's across the county are dishing out patches and
gum to the youngsters in a desperate attempt to
cut the growing number of under-age smokers. As
The Citizen reported on Saturday, health bosses
are concerned about the increasing number of
teenage smokers in the county.
Dr Peter Fellows, of
Severnbank Surgery, Lydney, said: "Smoking
among young people is certainly a problem. I was
very disappointed, for example, to see so many
young people smoking outside the cinema in
Gloucester at the weekend, but it is very
difficult to stop this. All GP's in
Gloucestershire are emphasising the need for
smoking advice to teenagers, and we are
prescribing patches and gum as part of this
process."
Dr Fellow disagreed with the
suggestion the measure was too extreme for young
children. He said: "If children are already
smoking then they are already taking nicotine into
their bodies. By prescribing patches all we are
doing is substituting this for something easier to
wean them off. Children just shouldn't be smoking,
full stop."
Source: ASH Daily News, 7th
October 2003 from The Citizen (Gloucester), 7th
October 2003.
Full
Article |
Anti-smokers Fume about Craig David
Anti-smoking campaigners are furious the singer
Craig David is to perform in a concert in Malaysia
partly sponsored by a tobacco company. David, who
boasts a clean-living image, is to take part in
the concert in Penang on 11 October, backed by
Japan Tobacco International, which makes the Salem
brand of cigarettes.
Campaigners in Malaysia and Britain believe he
should withdraw in case young people will see his
involvement as an endorsement of smoking. Action
on Smoking and Health (ASH) has written to David's
management to ask whether the young performer
wanted to do the industry's "dirty work" in
Malaysia. "Is Craig David really willing to be
used by the tobacco industry to market cigarettes
to his young fans?" asked an ASH spokesman,
adding "Sponsorship of cultural and musical
events by tobacco companies have been banned by
the UK government because of the net effect of
marketing a deadly product to a largely young
audiences."
Tickets were being advertised as available to
people over the age of 18 but promotional material
for the concert was being widely distributed and
not limited to the venue. Deborah Arnott, ASH's
director, said: "There is a great deal of
evidence to show that when a role model is
involved with promoting something that has an
impact on young people and the amount of smoking
they do. That is why tobacco advertising has been
banned in this country."
But a spokesman for Craig David replied that the
event involved Salem Cool Planet, a chain of
record stores owned by JTI, rather than the
cigarette brand itself. "There is no advertising
of any kind that we have seen that includes both
Salem and Craig David. To this end, Craig David is
not promoting or condoning smoking or cigarettes."
Craig David was not the headline act for the
event, which had sponsorship from many other
commercial brands including Starbucks, Carlsberg
and Adidas, the spokesman added.
It is not known whether the singer was aware of
the issue - and the bad feeling it has stirred up
- before it was raised this week by ASH.
Source: ASH Daily News 6th October 2003
from The Independent, 4th October 2003 |
Passive Smoking Increases
Risk of CHD
The impact of smoking on the risk of developing
coronary heart disease (CHD) has been hugely
underestimated, a 20 year landmark study has
found. Researchers said that the risk was nearly
four fold higher in non-smokers with high exposure
to passive smoke, such as cigarette smoking by a
partner, compared with non-smokers with low
exposure.
Study lead Professor Peter Whincup, professor of
cardiovascular epidemiology at St Georges Hospital
Medical School, London, said the effect of passive
smoking by someone you live with was originally
thought to increase the risk of CHD by 20 percent.
The study followed 2,105 non-smoking men from the
British Regional Heart study and measured levels
of cotinine in their blood. Of these, 308 suffered
a major CHD event during follow up.
During the first five years of follow-up, patients
with the highest level of cotinine in the blood
had nearly 4 times the risk of having a cardiac
event compared with those who registered the
lowest levels of cotinine. Dr Mike Kirby, a GP and
member of the Primary Care Cardiovascular Society,
said GP's and practice nurses could use the
results to call passive smokers in for a cardiac
risk assessment. "The results are quite useful
because it gives us something definite to tell the
patients and in this evidence-based environment,
it could be used to focus our resources," he
added.
Source: ASH Daily News, 1st October
2003 from Pulse, 29th September 2003 |
Smokers
Wooed with Citrus Flavour
Japan Tobacco, the worlds third-largest tobacco
company, is attempting to combat the bad smell
hanging round its products by producing an
odour-free cigarette.
The company's new brand is called Lucia Citrus
Fresh Menthol, and it has already been
test-marketed in Tokyo with some success. The
company said the Lucia cigarette "gained market
share almost twice as fast as other new brands
launched in the last five years." The new
cigarette has a citrus flavour that is supposed to
mask unpleasant odours "effectively and
selectively", a spokesman said. The Lucia
cigarette is also claimed to have less smoke.
The spokesman said: "This totally new
technology. BAT and Imperial don't have anything
like this. It's the result of lots of market
research into what people do and don't like in
cigarettes." The new cigarettes also use a
double thickness of wrapping paper to stop smoke
coming out of the sides of the stick.
The spokesman said while the company had no
immediate plans to roll out the cigarette in
Europe, this would be a logical next step. Japan
Tobacco's other brands, which include Camel,
Winston, Mild Seven and Salem, are widely
available on the Continent. The company is a
former state monopoly in which the Japanese
government still holds a large proportion of the
shares. Since privatisation in 1985, it has
diversified into sectors that include
pharmaceuticals, where its portfolio has
anti-cancer drugs.
Source: ASH Daily News 30th September
2003 from the Daily Telegraph, 30th
September 2003 |
Smoke interferes with
Asthma Drug
British scientists have found more evidence to
show that people with asthma should not smoke.
Researchers at the University Glasgow say smoking
can interfere with asthmatics' medication.
Speaking at a European Respiratory Society
conference in Vienna, they said it can increase
the risks of breathing problems or an asthma
attack. The researchers said the findings
highlight the need to encourage asthmatics who
smoke to quit. Figures suggest that 40% of people
with asthma aged between 16 and 44 smoke. This is
much higher than the general population, where 32%
of people in this age group smoke.
Source: ASH Daily News 30th September 2003 from BBC
Online, 30th September 2003.
Full
Article |
Britain is 'below EU
average' for Cancer Treatment
Britons diagnosed with cancer die sooner than
patients in most other European countries, a
survey has found. League tables of cancer survival
for 22 nations in Europe show England, Scotland
and Wales falling below the European average for
most cancers.
France and Austria top the table and Poland is at
the bottom. Only Eastern European countries do
worse than Britain.
Overall, the chances of surviving five years with
a diagnosis of any cancer in Britain are about a
fifth lower for men and a seventh lower for women
compared with the countries at the top of the
table. But on some cancers, Britain does better
than the average. On melanoma, the most dangerous
of skin cancer, Scotland is ranked the fourth in
the table for women with a five year survival rate
of more than 90%, attributed to early diagnosis
and aggressive treatment. Britain also performs
well on the treatment of testicular cancer and
Hodgkin's disease.
Source: ASH Daily News 26th September
2003 from The Independent, 26th
September 2003.
Full Article |
NHS Targets Smashed as
Smokers Kick the Habit
Nearly 124,00 people gave up smoking last year
after receiving help from the NHS, exceeding
government targets to reduce the number of
smokers, according to figures published today.
The figures, released by the Department of Health,
showed that, of the 234,400 smokers in England who
set a quit date to quit in the year up to March
2003, over half had successfully given up four
weeks later. This meant that about 123,900 smokers
successfully quit after receiving help from NHS
stop smoking services, compared with the target of
100,000.
The public health minister, Melanie Johnson
welcomed the success of the smoking cessation
programme set up as part of the government's
strategy to reduce smoking-related disease and
death. She said: "As these results show, the NHS
stop smoking services are giving smokers a head
start in giving up. In the last year over 234,000
smokers set a date to quit with the NHS services.
Nearly 124,000 were successful four weeks later,
far exceeding our target of 100,000".
Source: ASH Daily News 25th September
2003 from The Guardian 24th September
2003 |
Smoking link to Cleft
Palette Babies
A "significant" link has been found between
smoking and facial deformities in children,
according to research. The study found that
smoking in early pregnancy increased the risk of
babies developing a facial cleft by up to three
times.
The work was carried out by Professor Peter Mossey,
from Dundee University's Dental School, who is
leading a World Health Organisation project
looking at the causes of cleft palates and lips
across the globe. Professor Mossey said the
development of the palate takes place during a
critical 48-hour period during the early stages of
pregnancy at 6-8 weeks and can be disturbed by
smoking.
Source: ASH Daily News 22nd September
2003 from BBC Online, 22nd September
2003 |
Ads Target Smokers of
Mild Brands
The UK's biggest cancer charity is launching its
first ever anti-smoking advertising campaign on
Monday. The Cancer Research UK ads, which will run
for three years, are being funded by the
Department of Health. They are expected to urge
smokers not to be fooled into thinking 'low tar'
or 'mild' cigarette brands are less harmful.
The ads are expected to warn people that they are
still at risk of developing cancer if they smoke,
regardless of the type of cigarette. A survey
carried out two years ago suggested some smokers
suffer from misapprehensions about low tar brands
of cigarettes. The poll of 780 women in London,
who smoke low tar, light or mild cigarettes, found
almost 40% believed they were doing themselves
less damage than if they smoked regular
cigarettes.
Three years ago, the governments top doctor warned
that light or low tar cigarettes may be
responsible for a significant increase in a rare
form of lung cancer. Sir Liam Donaldson, chief
medical officer for England, said smokers of these
cigarettes were under the misapprehension that
those brands were not as bad for them.
Source: ASH Daily News 22nd September 2003 from
www.ash.org.uk/html/press/030922.html |
Cigarette blamed for £14m
Bike Museum Fire
A discarded cigarette has been blamed for a fire
which caused £14 million worth of damage to
Britain's National Motorcycle Museum. The fire,
which broke out yesterday afternoon, gutted the
building and destroyed half of the 800 exhibits.
Fire officials now believe it was caused by a
cigarette butt discarded by a member of staff
which ignited a small piece of cardboard boxes
outside the building. At its height, the blaze
could be seen 15 miles away and fire fighters were
still at the scene this morning putting out
secondary fires. A section of the M42 in Solihull,
near Birmingham, was closed yesterday evening as
fire fighters fought the blaze.
Source: ASH Daily News 18th September 2003 from The
Times, Daily Express, Daily Mirror, 18th September
2003.
Full Article |
School asks Parents to allow
Children to Smoke
A spe | |
