ASH Daily News for 09/10/2006
HEADLINES
ASH, 102 Clifton Street, LONDON, EC2A 4HW.
Tel 020 7739 5902 Fax 020 7613 0531
ASH Daily News
9 October 2006
[View html version: http://www.globalink.org/nbuk]
HEADLINES
Poverty and smoking strongly linked, new maps show clearly
Licensed retailers urge pubs to not be in denial about the ban
Secondhand smoke in cars
British American Tobacco fights malaria campaign
FULL TEXT
Poverty and smoking strongly linked, new maps show clearly
ASH has launched an interactive map that reveals the close match between smoking and poverty in England. The Maps are available here: http://www.ash.org.uk/html/mappingproject/mappingproject.html
Below is some of the media coverage generated by the project.
'The maps, published online by ASH show the estimate of smoking rates and the government index measuring deprivation, and indicate a strong correlation between smoking and poverty.
The districts with the highest percentage of smokers are Bransholme East, in Hull, and Windmill Hill, in Halton, Cheshire, where an estimated 54% of the population smoke, more than double the national average of 25%. The wards with the lowest number of smokers include Ponteland South, Northumberland, and Little Aston, in Birmingham, where only 9 per cent of residents smoke.
In the most deprived ward Princess, in Knowsley, Merseyside 52% of residents smoke, while the figure in the least deprived ward, Keyworth North in Rushcliffe, South Nottingham, is only 12%.
As many as one in five deaths in people over 35 are estimated to be the result of smoking. More than 1,600 people in England die each week because of the habit, with the greatest number of related deaths occurring in the most deprived areas, according to the Health Development Agency.
The maps use data from the Index of Multiple Deprivation produced in 2004 by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. This calculates the level of deprivation in each area by measuring factors including income, employment, health problems, education and crime rates.'
The Times 9 October 2006: http://tinyurl.com/ebylg
'ASH have produced maps that show how even relatively small areas of deprivation coincide with areas of heavy smoking.
Smoking 20 cigarettes a day costs between £1,600 and £1,800 a year, this means that poorer smokers spend proportionately more of their income on smoking than wealthier people do.
In 2003, the poorest 10% of households spent 2.43% of their income on cigarettes a week, while the richest 10% spent 0.52%. Among the most deprived groups, which include lone parents on state benefits, three out of four families smoke, says ASH. They spend a seventh of their disposable income on cigarettes.
The mapping project, says Deborah Arnott, director of ASH, "shows the iron chain that links smoking and deprivation. Smoking is the biggest killer in England, and it kills more people in poorer communities than in richer ones.
"This project shows once again why smoking must be top of the list of concerns for everyone who cares about tackling poverty and social exclusion."
The Guardian 9 October 2006: http://tinyurl.com/f77hh
Licensed retailers urge pubs to not be in denial about the ban
Nick Bish, chief executive of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR), told delegates at the association's conference in Bristol that it was time for more "commercial pragmatism" about the impending smoking ban in England.
He issued a sharp rebuttal to critics who think the trade should still be fighting the ban and urged them to "get out of denial".
"It will happen and it will work. Where a ban has already been introduced it has proven popular. Bar staff in Scotland and Ireland have welcomed smokefree conditions and the public do applaud the ban," he said.
"Critics say the ALMR should be seeking to overturn the ban. But I say we have got to get out of denial. Do something, come out of denial, get on with it, do it now!"
The theme was echoed by Les Murphy, trading director for Scottish & Newcastle UK, who pointed out that licensees in England and Wales had an advantage over their counterparts in Scotland, because more of them were already serving food, more of them already had no-smoking areas and, thanks to the bans north of the border and in Ireland, they had more knowledge about how it might affect them.
Source: The Publican 6 October 2006
Link to article: http://www.thepublican.com/story.asp?sectioncode=7&storycode=53043&c=1
Secondhand smoke in cars
New research from Harvard University has measured secondhand tobacco smoke in cars, finding high pollution levels.
During 45 driving trials, a pollution monitor was strapped into a child-safety seat and then a smoker-volunteer was asked to light a cigarette at different times along the hour-long route. The road tests were conducted under two different ventilation conditions: all car windows rolled down, then with just the driver's side window cracked about two inches.
Vaughan Rees, a research associate at the Harvard School of Public Health and lead study author said: "Before this study we had no idea what sorts of levels of secondhand smoke were generated. And we had no way to compare with other studies in bars and restaurants that have looked at secondhand smoke levels."
The study used PM 2.5, which is often the gauge used to test air quality. It is the amount of 'particulate matter' or particle pollution in the air that is 2.5 micrometers in diameter or smaller. The smaller the particles, the easier it is for pollution to pass through the nose and throat and penetrate into the lungs.
According to the U.S. Environmental Agency's Air Quality Index, 24-hour exposure to PM 2.5 greater than 40 micrograms per cubic meter is unhealthy for sensitive people (including children, older people and people with medical conditions). PM 2.5 levels above 250 micrograms are hazardous for everyone.
This study found an average secondhand smoke level of 272 micrograms, when the driver's side window was opened slightly. When the car windows were wide open, the average secondhand smoke level was 51 micrograms.
"At 40 miles an hour, on an open road, there's quite a lot of air movement inside the vehicle but that wasn't sufficient to completely remove the secondhand smoke," Rees said. "In other words, the smoke really hangs around."
The team observed lower levels of smoke pollution when the car windows were fully opened, but Rees cautions that this difference should not be interpreted as an effective way to clear secondhand smoke to harmless levels.
"There is an argument that even exposure for very short periods of time, perhaps even 10 seconds can precipitate asthmatic episodes in children," Rees said. He added that ventilation won't likely overcome secondhand smoke pollution that sticks to surfaces like child-safety seats.
Source: MedicalNews Today 9 October 2006
Link to article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=53452&nfid=mnf
This study will appear in the November issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
British American Tobacco fights malaria campaign
British American Tobacco (BAT) is leading a campaign to stop Uganda from joining one of Africa's best efforts to date to control malaria.
Uganda which has 12 million cases of malaria every year is about to follow the success of other African countries and spray the walls of homes with a weak solution of DDT to kill the disease-carrying anopheles mosquitoes.
BAT, in a coalition with other corporations, has warned that the use of DDT could threaten lucrative exports of tobacco, coffee and other agricultural products.
The group says exports worth more than $400m and 600,000 Ugandan jobs could be lost if DDT is found to contaminate the export crops.
The controversial DDT has recently been endorsed by the World Health Organisation as an effective and safe chemical to use against malaria.
Catherine Armstrong, spokesperson for BAT in London, said: "BAT does not oppose the use of DDT. A consortium of 52 companies in Uganda, including BAT, issued a statement which outlined the potential negative and economically damaging impact of the use of DDT. The group of companies asks that the government to put in place measures to make sure that crops do not get contaminated. Crops stored inside family huts could be contaminated. If agricultural exports are rejected from the EU, the US and Australia, this would be disastrous for the economy and jobs."
Anti-malaria activists are furious with BAT. They say many countries including Mozambique, Zambia, Madagascar and South Africa have used DDT for decades against malaria without the rejection of exports.
Richard Tren, director of Africa Fighting Malaria, called BAT 'hypocritical and callous' for its stand in Uganda. 'It is unbelievable that a company like BAT, which sells products known to cause cancer, would oppose DDT. Decades of evidence have proved it can save millions of lives.'
Tren said the company earned a profit of over £400m in Africa alone and called on BAT to use its resources to help save lives, instead of 'stalling the fight against malaria'.
Source: The Observer 8 October 2006
Link to article: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1890479,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12
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Sarah Ward
Information Manager
Action on Smoking & Health (ASH)
102 Clifton Street
London
EC2A 4HW
Tel: 020 7739 5902
Fax: 020 7613 0531
e-mail: sarah.ward@ash.org.uk
web: http://www.ash.org.uk
map: http://uk2.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?pc=EC2A4HW
Tel 020 7739 5902 Fax 020 7613 0531
ASH Daily News
9 October 2006
[View html version: http://www.globalink.org/nbuk]
HEADLINES
Poverty and smoking strongly linked, new maps show clearly
Licensed retailers urge pubs to not be in denial about the ban
Secondhand smoke in cars
British American Tobacco fights malaria campaign
FULL TEXT
Poverty and smoking strongly linked, new maps show clearly
ASH has launched an interactive map that reveals the close match between smoking and poverty in England. The Maps are available here: http://www.ash.org.uk/html/mappingproject/mappingproject.html
Below is some of the media coverage generated by the project.
'The maps, published online by ASH show the estimate of smoking rates and the government index measuring deprivation, and indicate a strong correlation between smoking and poverty.
The districts with the highest percentage of smokers are Bransholme East, in Hull, and Windmill Hill, in Halton, Cheshire, where an estimated 54% of the population smoke, more than double the national average of 25%. The wards with the lowest number of smokers include Ponteland South, Northumberland, and Little Aston, in Birmingham, where only 9 per cent of residents smoke.
In the most deprived ward Princess, in Knowsley, Merseyside 52% of residents smoke, while the figure in the least deprived ward, Keyworth North in Rushcliffe, South Nottingham, is only 12%.
As many as one in five deaths in people over 35 are estimated to be the result of smoking. More than 1,600 people in England die each week because of the habit, with the greatest number of related deaths occurring in the most deprived areas, according to the Health Development Agency.
The maps use data from the Index of Multiple Deprivation produced in 2004 by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. This calculates the level of deprivation in each area by measuring factors including income, employment, health problems, education and crime rates.'
The Times 9 October 2006: http://tinyurl.com/ebylg
'ASH have produced maps that show how even relatively small areas of deprivation coincide with areas of heavy smoking.
Smoking 20 cigarettes a day costs between £1,600 and £1,800 a year, this means that poorer smokers spend proportionately more of their income on smoking than wealthier people do.
In 2003, the poorest 10% of households spent 2.43% of their income on cigarettes a week, while the richest 10% spent 0.52%. Among the most deprived groups, which include lone parents on state benefits, three out of four families smoke, says ASH. They spend a seventh of their disposable income on cigarettes.
The mapping project, says Deborah Arnott, director of ASH, "shows the iron chain that links smoking and deprivation. Smoking is the biggest killer in England, and it kills more people in poorer communities than in richer ones.
"This project shows once again why smoking must be top of the list of concerns for everyone who cares about tackling poverty and social exclusion."
The Guardian 9 October 2006: http://tinyurl.com/f77hh
Licensed retailers urge pubs to not be in denial about the ban
Nick Bish, chief executive of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR), told delegates at the association's conference in Bristol that it was time for more "commercial pragmatism" about the impending smoking ban in England.
He issued a sharp rebuttal to critics who think the trade should still be fighting the ban and urged them to "get out of denial".
"It will happen and it will work. Where a ban has already been introduced it has proven popular. Bar staff in Scotland and Ireland have welcomed smokefree conditions and the public do applaud the ban," he said.
"Critics say the ALMR should be seeking to overturn the ban. But I say we have got to get out of denial. Do something, come out of denial, get on with it, do it now!"
The theme was echoed by Les Murphy, trading director for Scottish & Newcastle UK, who pointed out that licensees in England and Wales had an advantage over their counterparts in Scotland, because more of them were already serving food, more of them already had no-smoking areas and, thanks to the bans north of the border and in Ireland, they had more knowledge about how it might affect them.
Source: The Publican 6 October 2006
Link to article: http://www.thepublican.com/story.asp?sectioncode=7&storycode=53043&c=1
Secondhand smoke in cars
New research from Harvard University has measured secondhand tobacco smoke in cars, finding high pollution levels.
During 45 driving trials, a pollution monitor was strapped into a child-safety seat and then a smoker-volunteer was asked to light a cigarette at different times along the hour-long route. The road tests were conducted under two different ventilation conditions: all car windows rolled down, then with just the driver's side window cracked about two inches.
Vaughan Rees, a research associate at the Harvard School of Public Health and lead study author said: "Before this study we had no idea what sorts of levels of secondhand smoke were generated. And we had no way to compare with other studies in bars and restaurants that have looked at secondhand smoke levels."
The study used PM 2.5, which is often the gauge used to test air quality. It is the amount of 'particulate matter' or particle pollution in the air that is 2.5 micrometers in diameter or smaller. The smaller the particles, the easier it is for pollution to pass through the nose and throat and penetrate into the lungs.
According to the U.S. Environmental Agency's Air Quality Index, 24-hour exposure to PM 2.5 greater than 40 micrograms per cubic meter is unhealthy for sensitive people (including children, older people and people with medical conditions). PM 2.5 levels above 250 micrograms are hazardous for everyone.
This study found an average secondhand smoke level of 272 micrograms, when the driver's side window was opened slightly. When the car windows were wide open, the average secondhand smoke level was 51 micrograms.
"At 40 miles an hour, on an open road, there's quite a lot of air movement inside the vehicle but that wasn't sufficient to completely remove the secondhand smoke," Rees said. "In other words, the smoke really hangs around."
The team observed lower levels of smoke pollution when the car windows were fully opened, but Rees cautions that this difference should not be interpreted as an effective way to clear secondhand smoke to harmless levels.
"There is an argument that even exposure for very short periods of time, perhaps even 10 seconds can precipitate asthmatic episodes in children," Rees said. He added that ventilation won't likely overcome secondhand smoke pollution that sticks to surfaces like child-safety seats.
Source: MedicalNews Today 9 October 2006
Link to article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=53452&nfid=mnf
This study will appear in the November issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
British American Tobacco fights malaria campaign
British American Tobacco (BAT) is leading a campaign to stop Uganda from joining one of Africa's best efforts to date to control malaria.
Uganda which has 12 million cases of malaria every year is about to follow the success of other African countries and spray the walls of homes with a weak solution of DDT to kill the disease-carrying anopheles mosquitoes.
BAT, in a coalition with other corporations, has warned that the use of DDT could threaten lucrative exports of tobacco, coffee and other agricultural products.
The group says exports worth more than $400m and 600,000 Ugandan jobs could be lost if DDT is found to contaminate the export crops.
The controversial DDT has recently been endorsed by the World Health Organisation as an effective and safe chemical to use against malaria.
Catherine Armstrong, spokesperson for BAT in London, said: "BAT does not oppose the use of DDT. A consortium of 52 companies in Uganda, including BAT, issued a statement which outlined the potential negative and economically damaging impact of the use of DDT. The group of companies asks that the government to put in place measures to make sure that crops do not get contaminated. Crops stored inside family huts could be contaminated. If agricultural exports are rejected from the EU, the US and Australia, this would be disastrous for the economy and jobs."
Anti-malaria activists are furious with BAT. They say many countries including Mozambique, Zambia, Madagascar and South Africa have used DDT for decades against malaria without the rejection of exports.
Richard Tren, director of Africa Fighting Malaria, called BAT 'hypocritical and callous' for its stand in Uganda. 'It is unbelievable that a company like BAT, which sells products known to cause cancer, would oppose DDT. Decades of evidence have proved it can save millions of lives.'
Tren said the company earned a profit of over £400m in Africa alone and called on BAT to use its resources to help save lives, instead of 'stalling the fight against malaria'.
Source: The Observer 8 October 2006
Link to article: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1890479,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12
----------------------------------
Unsubscribe:
Public subscribers: http://www.ash.org.uk/html/about/subscribe.php
Globalink members: http://member.globalink.org
----------------------------------
Sarah Ward
Information Manager
Action on Smoking & Health (ASH)
102 Clifton Street
London
EC2A 4HW
Tel: 020 7739 5902
Fax: 020 7613 0531
e-mail: sarah.ward@ash.org.uk
web: http://www.ash.org.uk
map: http://uk2.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?pc=EC2A4HW
