ASH Daily News for 15 September 2008

New call to get tough on tobacco

Campaigners on Wearside are urging the Government to impose greater controls on the sale of tobacco and help make smoking history for children.

Thousands of people across the region are backing the calls by Fresh Smoke Free North East, which has submitted a report asking ministers to agree to a national tobacco strategy.

They are hoping to give more protection to young people from tobacco marketing and greater support to the 70 per cent of smokers who say they want to quit.

In total, 6,521 people from across the North East filled in postcards supporting new restrictions on the display of cigarettes, which have been sent to the Department of Health with a DVD presenting the views of young people from the North East.

Alongside submissions from councils, primary care trusts, and major charities such as ASH, the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK, Fresh is supporting measures aimed at helping stop up to 450 children a day from starting smoking, including:
* Removing branding and logos from all cigarette packs, which some children have claimed attract the youngest smokers;
* Cigarettes to be moved out of sight and off display in shops;
* Tighter restrictions on the advertising of smoking paraphernalia, such as cigarette papers and  lighters;
* Effective stop smoking aids to be sold in exactly the same places as cigarettes;
* Removing cigarette vending machines, which are easier for children to access;
* Even more support to agencies such as Customs and the Borders Agency to tackle the flow of  counterfeit and smuggled tobacco.

Professor Stephen Singleton, regional director for public health, said: "The North East has the highest rate of smokers in the country, as well as the highest rate of people who make quit attempts every year."

"An average of 25 per cent of people smoke in this region, but this is as much as 50 per cent in some wards, where smoking is the norm among families."

"Smoking is the single greatest factor that causes health inequalities and premature death and disease in our region."

"That is why we are supporting a properly funded National Tobacco Strategy that brings all partners together to recognise the extent of this problem and to tackle it effectively."

Campaign group Fresh Smoke Free North East has also suggested a financial levy on the tobacco industry which would be calculated on the number of underage smokers and channelled back into youth prevention activities.

Fresh director Ailsa Rutter said: "Smoking directly causes around 5,500 deaths every year in the region."

"The best way to reduce the number of people who smoke is to help people to quit and also to prevent children from starting in the first place."

"Throughout this consultation we have spoken to smokers and non-smokers alike. It is clear the vast majority of people do not smoke and the vast majority of smokers want to quit. That is why new restrictions are necessary and in line with public opinion."

"We want to break this cycle of addiction within families and prevent primary school children from ending up as the next generation of smoking-related casualties in hospital wards."

Source: Sunderland Echo, 13 September 2008
Link: http://tinyurl.com/6x7h8r

Smoking ban in films bid gains support

Thousands of people are backing a Liverpool youth group’s campaign to ban smoking in youth rated films.

D-MYST, SmokeFree Liverpool’s youth organisation, wants the government to take action and rid cinema screens of unhealthy images.

They also want all cigarette adverts banned.

D-MYST has sent 10,770 postcards with signatures of support to the Department of Health, which led a consultation on tobacco control.

The postcards focus on the issue of smoking in youth-rated movies.

Only new films would be banned from displaying smoking images. Old films would be unaffected.

Gina Perigo from D-MYST said: “There was huge support for taking tobacco out of movies which can be seen by under-18s.

“The evidence is very clear – more than half the under-18s who take up smoking do so because of the influence of the movies – and we want action to prevent that.”

D-MYST has also approached the British Board of Film Classification to ask them to rate movies which show ‘tobacco images’ as suitable only for over-18s.

A city-wide SmokeFree Movies campaign is being launched next week.

Source: Liverpool Echo, 13 September 2008  
Link: http://tinyurl.com/5sxaxm

UAE is taking all steps to stub out smoking

The benefits of smokefree work place policies being implemented are to ensure that the UAE keeps up with the world's leading smokefree countries, say experts. With at least 38,000 non-smokers dying each year in the United States as a result of secondhand smoke, smokefree policies are clearly the most effective approach to prevent harm from passive smoke.

Dr Ahmed El Hakim, Director, External Affairs & Policy, Pfizer Middle East, said that the government policies were a positive step. "Local medical professionals are working with the local health authorities to implement these policies and make the workplace smokefree."

Dr El Hakim added, "Reducing costs incurred by the government in caring for people admitted to local hospitals for conditions caused by passive smoke exposure, and a reduction in costs of employer liability insurance, are also some of the benefits experienced by countries enforcing smokefree laws."

Experts say that the smokefree policies implemented by the authorities will reduce passive smoke levels in public areas, improving community health and reducing demands on our health care system.

"All government offices, schools, airports and hospitals are now smokefree zones as part of the policies," Dr El Hakim said.

Dr Emad Aly, Regional Medical Director, Pfizer Middle East, said the sponsorship advertisements of tobacco products had also been completely banned. "The best initiative taken by the UAE authorities is to introduce smoking cessation clinics. Other countries in the region have similar programmes but they do not provide drug treatment as only psycho-therapy or counselling is used."
 

Source: Zawya, 13 September 2008
Link: http://tinyurl.com/5bvwpp

Niger cabinet passes smoking ban

Niger's government has issued a decree enforcing a ban on smoking in public places and on communal transport. 

The law provides for fines ranging from 5,000 CFA (£6) to 1,000,000 CFA (£1,240).

Shops and services that breach the ban can also have their licenses removed.

The ban covers public transport and taxis, but not private vehicles.

The government is planning a media campaign to inform people about the new measure.

Niger's parliament passed the smoking ban in 2006, but the cabinet had not issued the decree to make it effective.

Source: BBC News, 12 September 2008
Link: http://tinyurl.com/6k7q6x