ASH Daily News for 15 May 2009

Smoking gene link in pregnancy

A gene can explain why some women find it more difficult to stop smoking during pregnancy, say UK researchers. In a study of 2,500 women who smoked before falling pregnant, the "addictive gene" was associated with a lower chance of quitting once pregnant. Overall, 28% of pregnant smokers quit in the first three months compared with 21% of those with two copies of the gene and 31% without the gene. The findings appear in the journal Human Molecular Genetics.

The researchers from Peninsula Medical School say there is no reason why the finding would not also be true in other groups of smokers attempting to quit but they wanted to look at pregnant women because they have a particularly strong incentive to break the habit. They used data on a total of 7,845 women of European descent from the South West of England who took part in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

A specific genetic variant associated with the nicotine receptor was analysed because it had previously been found to be associated with how much people smoke once they start. By the final three months of pregnancy, 47% of women with two copies of the non-addictive gene said they had stopped smoking, compared with only 34% of women with two copies of the smoking addiction gene.

The researchers said pregnant women are under considerable social pressure to stop smoking but there are a number of factors which influence whether they quit, including age, education, and whether or not their partners smoke. "However, we were keen to investigate whether the genetic variant that influences increased cigarette consumption also had a role to play as an extra hurdle to quitting smoking during pregnancy, and our study suggests that it does," says researcher Dr Rachel Freathy.

Co-author Professor Tim Frayling, an expert in human genetics, said: "There are parallels with the obesity gene in that people think it's a matter of self control but it's more complicated than that. It's clear that some women with two copies of the addictive gene can give up, it just means it's more difficult for some people than others."

The team are now planning to investigate the same genetic variant in people with Chrohn's disease who are also strongly advised to stop smoking as it makes their condition worse. Dr Alex Bobak, a GP in Wandsworth, south London, has a special interest in smoking cessation. He said genes had been implicated in nicotine addiction but that there are many other factors which have an impact, including social circumstances. "The positive thing is we can look at this sub-group and see if they benefit more from certain kinds of treatment to help them stop smoking." He added that NHS support was available for pregnant women who are able to take all forms of nicotine replacement therapy.

Source: BBC News, 15 May 2009
Link: http://tiny.cc/bsjE5

US: Professor claims Tobacco Free Kids will help kill millions of smokers

A US Professor of Medicine alleges that Tobacco Free Kids will eventually be partially responsible for the deaths of millions of smokers.

Tobacco Free Kids, via their support for the Kennedy tobacco bill (S. 982) due to enter the Senate next Tuesday, will be partly responsible for the deaths of millions of smokers. That's the opinion of Brad Radu, proffessor of medicine and holder of an endowed chair in tobacco harm reduction research at the University of Louisville.

Experts in tobacco harm reduction such as Professor Radu maintain that the tobacco bill will cause irreparable harm to the cause of tobacco harm reduction by leading to a defacto ban on products which they say have one percent or less of the risk of smoking regular cigarettes. The professor, commenting on an open letter from E Cigarette Direct to Tobacco Free Kids, remarked:

"There is no public health justification for denying smokers information about and access to safer sources of tobacco and nicotine. But the war against tobacco, conducted by Tobacco Free Kids and their allies, is not about public health. It has become the latest in a long line of misguided American moral crusades."

Tobacco Free Kids has argued that the bill will help protect America's youth from cigarettes. It has been joined in its assertions by America's largest manufacturer of cigarettes, which has spent millions of dollars lobbying on behalf of the tobacco bill. Professor Radu, however, had a different perspective, arguing: "I am convinced that these anti-tobacco extremists will eventually be held partially responsible for the deaths of millions of uninformed smokers."

Source: OfficialWire, 14 May 2009
Link: http://tiny.cc/Pbf1S

Canada: Quebec keen to sue big tobacco for health care costs

The Quebec government has tabled new legislation that if passed would allow the province to seek damages from cigarette manufacturers for health care costs related to tobacco illnesses. The Tobacco Related Damages and Health Care Cost Recovery Act accuses cigarette manufacturers of failing to provide adequate warning of health risks associated with smoking.

It's too early to say what kind of damages would be sought if the legislation passes — whether it would be in the millions or billions - Health Minister Yves Bolduc told reporters in Quebec City. "We have to first give ourselves a bill to work with, and then we can establish the amount of money to recoup," he said in French.

It's possible Quebec will work in concert with other provinces interested in seeking similar damages, he said. "Damages have been paid in the past, and we believe we are capable of [making a case]," Bolduc said. "We have shouldered costs over several years." Ontario tabled similar legislation in March, and Alberta followed suit earlier this week. British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba already have similar tobacco laws on the books.

Source: CBC News, 14 May 2009
Link: http://tiny.cc/7jtM0

Russia: Japan Tobacco’s Winston sales increase

Japan Tobacco Inc., the world’s third-largest publicly traded cigarette maker, said Russian sales are rising as taxes force up the prices of budget competitors to its Winston and LD brands. Cigarette volumes in Russia climbed 1.5 percent from January to March, Executive Vice President Masakazu Shimizu said at a press conference in London yesterday. “People are starting to trade up from the value segment” as prices rise, he said. “When people who used to belong to higher pricing products are trading down, we have the expansive presence in the mid-pricing zone to catch them.”

Taxes on tobacco are being increased incrementally until 2011 in Russia, where 42 percent of the population smokes, according to Japan Tobacco. Tax currently accounts for around one-third of the retail price on filtered cigarettes in the country. Japan Tobacco includes Russia in its Rest of the World unit, which accounted for 17 percent of sales last fiscal year.

Japan Tobacco’s U.K. market share rose to 39.2 percent in April from 38 percent a year earlier, the company said. The effect of the U.K. government’s 2 percent increase on the tobacco levy is “very difficult” to predict, spokesman Guy Cote said, without elaborating further. The Stirling brand is “doing well” in the super-value segment in the U.K., Cote said. It competes with British American Tobacco Plc’s Pall Mall brand, and Imperial Tobacco Group Plc’s JPS cigarettes. In the north and central Europe division, which includes the U.K., Japan Tobacco increased volumes by 3 percent in the first three months of the year, he said, adding it expects to increase sales in Europe this year.

Shimizu said he doesn’t believe the Japanese government has any “concrete plans” to sell its 50 percent stake in the tobacco company. Japanese laws require Japan Tobacco to purchase all of its tobacco leaf from local farmers for domestic production. Japan Tobacco, which purchased Gallaher Group Plc for 7.5 billion pounds ($11.4 billion) in 2007, will not make another similar-sized acquisition in the next three years, Shimizu said. Opportunities exist for alliances with distributors and suppliers, especially in Asia, he said.

The maker of Camel and Mild Seven cigarettes forecast profit would fall by 19 percent in April this year, worse than analysts estimated, as demand falls in Japan, the strengthening yen weighs on overseas revenue, and costs rise from higher leaf tobacco prices.

Source: Bloomberg, 15 May 2009
Link: http://tiny.cc/tUIvA

Turkey: People who quit smoking to be displayed in Taksim Square

The website sigarayason.com (end smoking) has launched a campaign in which photos of people who have quit smoking will be shown in İstanbul's Taksim Square on May 31 in honor of the World Health Organization's (WHO) World No Tobacco Day. 

With the motto “Quit, Shoot, Send. Your face will also be shown in Taksim,” the campaign asks people who have quit smoking to submit their photos to the website birakcekgonder.com along with stories about how they quit smoking. The photos will be shown to millions on giant screens on May 31. The campaign is sponsored by the Turkish branch of drug maker Pfizer.

Speaking on behalf of sigarayason.com, Dr. Gündüz Tezmen, head of Doğan Yayın Holding's health group, said he believed the campaign would motivate people who are thinking about quitting but keep putting it off. Stating around 1.3 billion people smoke worldwide, Tezmen added: “It has been proved by scientific research that tobacco, one of the worst addictions of our age, causes damage to every organ in our body and is involved in many diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease and apoplexy.”

Associate Professor Oğuz Kılınç, an expert on chest disease at İzmir's Dokuz Eylül University, noted that according to the WHO, one person dies every eight seconds due to tobacco-related diseases worldwide and one person starts smoking in the same time period. He also stated that quitting smoking is one of the most crucial steps smokers can take to increase their quality of life and to extend their lifespan.

Source: Today's Zama, 15 May 2009
Link: http://tiny.cc/RX6yQ