ASH Daily News for 23/02/1999

ASH, 16 Fitzhardinge Street, London, W1H 9PL. Tel. 0171 224 0743 Fax. 0171
224 0471
ASH Daily News
Tuesday 23rd February 1999
 
Headlines
Producers to lobby WHO on tobacco.
Smokeless cigarette from Australia.
Ways to prevent premature ageing.
Cot death, the biggest cause of infant mortality.
Tobacco plant is used to fight diseases.
Redesigning of Gallaher’s Club cigarette packs.
Nicorette Inhalator.
Full Text
Producers to lobby WHO on tobacco.
The International Tobacco Growers’ Association (ITGA) is to meet World
Health Organization (WHO) officials next week in an effort to convince the UN
agency that its campaign against tobacco could destroy the livelihoods of
farmers in developing nations. "We believe the WHO does not fully
understand the effect the Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI) would have on tobacco
growers in poor regions," said Dr Antonio Abrunhosa, executive director of
the ITGA, whose member countries produce 80 percent of the world’s
tobacco. The WHO aims to dissuade farmers from producing tobacco and encourage
them to move into other crops. However, Dr Abrunhosa said: "Tobacco farmers
can’t simply switch to other crops like cocoa or sugar. Tobacco is often
grown in areas where other crops will not grow." Dr Abrunhosa said the ITGA
aimed to persuade WHO officials that there was no link between tobacco
production and consumption. "Putting producers out of business will not
stop people smoking," he said.
Source: Financial Times 23/02/99

Smokeless cigarette from Australia.
Australian scientists are to produce the world’s first smokeless
cigarette. It will allow smokers to inhale nicotine much like an ordinary
cigarette, but it will have no smoke. They claim that this would make it safer
and less polluting because unburnt nicotine is a relatively harmless substance,
which some studies suggests may even have beneficial effects on inhalers. Made
of plastic or ceramic, it is shaped like a cigarette and contains a reservoir of
nicotine. It also has a bubble-jet head, a battery, an airflow sensor,
indicators, and a logic circuit. When activated, it squirts tiny droplets of
nicotine solution into the airstream. Until now, there has not been a cigarette-
shaped device that requires the same hand to mouth motion as a cigarette but
which, without burning tobacco, provided the same nicotine surge and deep lung
delivery as a cigarette. The cigarette could be in the market within the next
three years, according to the inventor Robert Voges, managing director of
Vapotronics.
Source: Peter Spinks – Science Reporter, Evening Standard 22/02/99,
Daily Star, The Express 23/02/99
Ways to prevent premature ageing.
The Mirror has a feature about ways to prevent premature ageing. It reports
that the number one cause of premature ageing is smoking. It weakens the immune
system, leading to more infections and greater risk of cancer. The Mirror
advises that if you give up smoking now, you can reverse most of the harmful
effects, and the sooner you do it, the better you’ll look.
Source: The Mirror 23/02/99
Nicorette Inhalator.
Journalist, Serena Mackesy of The Independent reports on the benefits of
using the Nicorette inhalator.
Source: The Independent 23/02/99
Cot death, the biggest cause of infant mortality.
The Daily Telegraph reports on factors that could lead to cot deaths in
babies. One of the factors mentioned was smoking. The more mothers smoke during
pregnancy and after, the greater the risk; more than 20 cigarettes a day is
associated with an eightfold increase.
Source: Daily Telegraph 23/02/99
Tobacco plant is used to fight diseases.
The Independent reports that tobacco is now being cultivated for medical
research and is being used to make at least 12 compounds designed to fight
diseases. Ironically, researchers are looking to transgenic tobacco to provide
effective treatment for lung cancer.
Source: The Independent 23/02/99
Redesigning of Gallaher’s Club cigarette packs.
CTN magazine reports that Club King Size and Club Lights packs have been
redesigned for greater shelf impact. The new pack design aims to give the brand
a contemporary.
Source: CTN Magazine 18/02/99
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