CONTENTS:

Tobacco News

Beijing bars exempted from pre-Olympics smoking ban
Russian parliament ratifies FCTC

Industry Watch 

Covert markings on packs to deter smuggling
BAT acquires Scandinavian tobacco business

Recent Research

Effect of tobacco advertising ban on youth smoking
Influence of smoking on weight, body fat & insulin resistance
Migration and subsequent health behaviour during pregnancy

Events and Publications

See List of Events at the end of this bulletin

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Tobacco News

Beijing bars exempted from pre-Olympics smoking ban

Restaurants, bars and Internet cafes in Beijing have been exempted from a proposed public smoking ban in response to concerns expressed by business owners. The venues will only be asked to separate smoking and non-smoking areas from May 1 as part of the new regulations, the China Daily said.

"Owners of Chinese restaurants -- both big and small -- worried the plan would hurt their business," the newspaper said, quoting a Beijing official.

Beijing had planned to ban or restrict smoking in most public places as part of its pledge to hold a smoke-free Olympics.

The amended rules mean only government offices, schools, museums, hospitals and sports venues will be designated smoke-free areas.

Beijing banned smoking in taxis in October and launched an awareness drive targeting businesses and residents last year. But resistance to the campaign has been fierce.

The Guardian, 14 April 2008
http://sport.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-7459977,00.html

Russian parliament ratifies FCTC

Russia's lower house of parliament has ratified the global convention against smoking, which the World Health Organization says kills 5 million people across the world annually.

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is designed to make it easier for national governments to implement tobacco controls, including a ban on tobacco advertising and sponsorship. Such steps could prevent millions of people from picking up the smoking habit.

"By 2030, tobacco smoking will become one of the strongest factors leading to early deaths," Deputy Health Minister Yury Voronin said speaking at a State Duma session before the ratification.

Voronin urged measures to curb smoking and cited WHO forecasts that by 2020, 10 million people a year could die of smoking-related diseases.

The head of the State Duma healthcare committee said the ratio of smokers and non-smokers in Russia is twice as high as that in Western Europe, and 400-500,000 people die of smoking-related diseases in the country every year.

Olga Borzova earlier said Russia could pass a national strategy against smoking, which would comply with the WHO convention requirements, this year.

Under the convention, tobacco advertising should be banned completely within five years from its ratification, and heath warnings should occupy at least 30% of cigarette packaging within three years.

Under the FCTC, countries are also encouraged to raise taxes on tobacco producers, eliminate the illicit trade in tobacco products, ban tobacco sales to and by minors, and promote agricultural diversification and alternative livelihoods for tobacco producers.

In recent years, tobacco producers have shifted their focus on the developing world, where about 70% of tobacco is now consumed.

A total of 172 countries are signatories to the FCTC, which was adopted in 2003. Russia's government approved a draft law to join the global treaty this January.

In a report on global tobacco control efforts in February, the WHO urged greater commitment from countries in implementing key tobacco control measures, saying among other things that national governments collect 500 times more money in tobacco taxes each year than they spend on anti-tobacco efforts.

RIA Novosti, April 14, 2008
Related news item – Chicago Tribune:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-041108-out-there-russia-smoking-apr12,1,1808711.story?track=rsso 

Industry Watch

Covert markings on packs to deter smuggling

Since 1 October 2007 all cigarettes sold in the UK now bear a security feature that is designed to thwart smuggling and counterfeiting. It will also be included on hand-rolled tobacco from October 2008.

The exact nature of the device has not been revealed in order to further deter counterfeiters. The security feature can be scanned and read using a hand-held device which allows custom officers to do on the spot checks. Previously suspect products had to be sent to a laboratory for testing.

A spokesman for the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association said that while the deadline for implementing the security feature was last October, customs officers would not begin the checks until some time in 2008 so that old stock could move through the supply chain.

According to TMA estimates, in 2006 UK cigarette consumption was 67.5 billion, consisting of 49bn UK duty paid and 18.5bn non-UK duty paid. Around 3% (2 billion cigarettes) of the total was estimated to be counterfeit.

Tobacco Reporter, Nov. 2007

BAT acquires Scandinavian tobacco business

British American Tobacco has announced that it is to acquire 100% of the cigarette business of Skandinavisk Tobakskompagni A/S (ST) as well as certain snus and hand-rolled tobacco interests. ST accounts for more than 60% of cigarette sales in Scandinavia.

On completion, the transaction will give BAT’s subsidiaries annual sales of approximately 30bn cigarettes, principally through: market leadership in Denmark and Norway; approximately one third of the Swedish market; and a leap from fourth to second place in Poland with approximately one third of the market. The hand-rolled tobacco business has sales equivalent to around 2 billion cigarettes a year.

World Tobacco, March 2008

Recent Research

Effect of tobacco advertising ban on youth smoking

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act (TAPA) was implemented in the United Kingdom in 2003. This study is the first to assess its impact on young people, examining smoking susceptibility (intention to smoke among never smokers) and perceived prevalence across three British cross-sectional samples (aged 11-16) before and after the introduction of the ban.

METHODS: Three in-home surveys (n = 1078, 1121 and 1121) were conducted before (1999 and 2002) and after (2004) the implementation of the TAPA. RESULTS: Significant declines in awareness of tobacco marketing and perceived prevalence occurred across the three waves. Higher levels of awareness and perceived prevalence were associated with increased susceptibility, but direct measures of susceptibility remained stable.

CONCLUSIONS: The TAPA is protecting young people in United Kingdom from tobacco marketing and reducing perceived prevalence, both of which are linked to susceptibility. The stability of susceptibility across the three waves is probably best explained by both the partial implementation of TAPA at the final survey point and the time such effects take to emerge. The evidence from this and previous studies is, however, that, ultimately, they will appear.

Moodie C, Mackintosh AM, Brown A, Hastings G. Tobacco marketing awareness on youth smoking susceptibility and perceived prevalence before and after an advertising ban. Eur J Public Health. 2008 Mar 24 [Epub ahead of print]

http://eurpub.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/ckn016v1

Influence of smoking on weight, body fat & insulin resistance

Abstract

Our aim was to critically evaluate the relations among smoking, body weight, body fat distribution, and insulin resistance as reported in the literature. In the short term, nicotine increases energy expenditure and could reduce appetite, which may explain why smokers tend to have lower body weight than do nonsmokers and why smoking cessation is frequently followed by weight gain. In contrast, heavy smokers tend to have greater body weight than do light smokers or nonsmokers, which likely reflects a clustering of risky behaviors (eg, low degree of physical activity, poor diet, and smoking) that is conducive to weight gain. Other factors, such as weight cycling, could also be involved. In addition, smoking increases insulin resistance and is associated with central fat accumulation. As a result, smoking increases the risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes, and these factors increase risk of cardiovascular disease. In the context of the worldwide obesity epidemic and a high prevalence of smoking, the greater risk of (central) obesity and insulin resistance among smokers is a matter of major concern.

Chiolero, A et al. Consequences of smoking for body weight, body fat distribution, and insulin resistance. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 87, No. 4, 801-809, April 2008

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/87/4/801

Migration and subsequent health behaviour during pregnancy

A study was undertaken to compare health behaviours during pregnancy (smoking and alcohol consumption) and after birth (initiation and duration of breast feeding) between British/Irish white mothers and mothers from ethnic minority groups; and, in mothers from ethnic minority groups, to examine whether indicators of acculturation (generational status, language spoken at home, length of residency in the United Kingdom) were associated with these health behaviours.

Participants were 6478 British/Irish white mothers and 2110 mothers from ethnic minority groups.

Compared with British/Irish white mothers, mothers from ethnic minority groups were less likely to smoke (15% v 37%) or consume alcohol (14% v 37%) during pregnancy but more likely to initiate breast feeding (86% v 69%) and breast feed for at least four months (40% v 27%). Among mothers from ethnic minority groups, first and second generation mothers were more likely to smoke during pregnancy (odds ratio 3.85, 95% confidence interval 2.50 to 5.93, and 4.70, 2.49 to 8.90, respectively), less likely to initiate breast feeding (0.92, 0.88 to 0.97, and 0.86, 0.75 to 0.99), and less likely to breast feed for at least four months (0.72, 0.62 to 0.83, and 0.52, 0.30 to 0.89) than immigrants, after adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics. There were no consistent differences in alcohol consumption. Among immigrants, for every additional five years spent in the UK the likelihood of mothers smoking during pregnancy increased by 31% (4% to 66%) and they were 5% (0% to 10%) less likely to breast feed for at least four months.

The authors conclude that after immigration, maternal health behaviours worsen with length of residency in the UK. Health professionals should not underestimate women’s likelihood of engaging in risky health behaviours because of their ethnicity.

An accompanying editorial notes that a number of explanations for the change in health behaviour among immigrants have been offered. Firstly, increasing socioeconomic wellbeing can make alcohol and tobacco more affordable for immigrants. Secondly, minority populations in the US and elsewhere tend to live in urban areas where advertisers and retail outlets that promote alcohol and tobacco are concentrated. Thus, they and their children may be increasingly exposed to messages that encourage the use of these substances. Thirdly, over time, immigrants and their children may move out of immigrant minority communities with close ties to their homelands and strong, informal community supports for traditional health beliefs and practices, including norms that discourage smoking and alcohol consumption. Fourthly, increasing use of alcohol and tobacco by first and second generation immigrant men may increase their use in women. Support for reducing smoking and alcohol consumption during pregnancy, especially from a cohabitating partner, can be essential. If her partner smokes or drinks, a woman is continually inundated with social and psychological queues that can trigger the desire to use these substances.

Sherburne Hawkins S et al. Influence of moving to the UK on maternal health behaviours: prospective cohort study. BMJ, doi:10.1136/bmj.39532.688877.25 (published 10 April 2008)
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/bmj.39532.688877.25

Perreira KM. Editorial
Research, doi: 10.1136/bmj.39532.688877.25

Events and Publications

Events

BUPA Foundation Awards 2008 - Call for entries.
The annual BUPA Foundation Awards are made to healthcare and medical professionals in recognition of excellence in healthcare. Current award categories, which each will receive a prize of £15,000, are:
• Care Award – for excellence in the development of care for older people;
• Research Award – for the best emerging medical researcher in the UK;
• Epidemiology Award – for excellence in the epidemiological study of human disease;
• Clinical Excellence Award – for work that demonstrates an improved clinical outcome for patients;
• Health at Work Award - for excellence in occupational medicine;
• Communication Award – for effective communication between health care professionals and patients;
• Patient Safety Award – for outstanding contribution to patient safety.
Applications are open to healthcare professionals who are resident and working in the UK. Closing date for entry is 1 July 2008
For full details visit: www.bupafoundation.co.uk
For an application form please call: 020 7656 2246 or E-mail: iona.chessells@btinternet.com

28-29 April - A Call To Action: Successful Tobacco Control for the Future.
Conference organised by ASH Wales. http://www.smoking-conference-wales.org.uk/

7-8 June – 5th World Conference on Non-Smokers’ Rights
Venue: Washington DC
For more information see: http://nosmokingcontest.org/5thconf
or email info@nosmokingcontest.org

16-18 June – SCTRP three-day course, Central London
This Course is the development of the traditional 'Maudsley Training'. It focuses on treatment methods validated by research. It also covers aspects of the smoking cessation field useful for policy-makers and public health practitioners.
Contact Janice Rossabi, SCTRP Course Secretary at sctrp@yahoo.co.uk

30 June – 1 July– UK National Smoking Cessation Conference (UKNSCC)
Venue: Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel
The world’s largest gathering of smoking cessation practitioners, researchers and policy makers.
Abstract deadline: 14 April 2008. See www.uknscc.org for more information.

23-26 September – 10TH European SRNT Conference
Venue: Rome
The abstract online submission system is open: www.srnt2008rome.com/abstracts.php 
and it will close on 15th June 2008.
The preliminary programme will be made available at the official
website: www.srnt2008rome.com
Further information from: info@anteprimadue.it

4-8 October – European Respiratory Society Annual Congress
Details: info@ersnet.org

27-29 October - SCTRP three-day course, Central London
Contact Janice Rossabi, SCTRP Course Secretary at sctrp@yahoo.co.uk

2- 7 November - ICAA Conference on Dependencies
International Council on Alcohol and Addictions.
Venue: Cyprus The theme of the conference is "Empowerment for Practitioners" which will particularly focus on capacity building and target all those who work in prevention, treatment, research and policy development.
Details: www.icaa2008.org

5 December - SCTRP Annual Update and Supervision Day
The annual Update and Supervision Day is the opportunity for graduates of the SCTRP Courses to ‘calibrate’ their clinical practice and share information in this fast-developing field. The programme consists of talks on new developments in treatment theory and practice, practical sessions on treatment details, and discussions of participants’ experience. As well as supervision and troubleshooting sessions, the Update provides an opportunity for networking among 100 clinicians and service co-ordinators.
For further details please contact Janice Rossabi, SCTRP Course Secretary at sctrp@yahoo.co.uk

8-12 March 2009 - 14th World Conference on Tobacco or Health
Venue: Mumbai, India. Early registration discount until 15 Sept. 2008
Last date for abstract submission: 23 May 2008
Details: www.wctoh.org