ASH Daily News for 30/09/2003
HEADLINES
ASH, 102 Clifton Street, LONDON, EC2A 4HW.
Tel 020 7739 5902 Fax 020 7613 0531
ASH Daily News
30 September 2003
HEADLINES
Smoke interferes with asthma drug
Cancer 'link to free cigarettes'
Smokers wooed with citrus flavour
French court rejects smoking reparations
Heaviest smokers in Europe urged to quit
FT’s CSR Special Report
US court reduces award to smoker
FULL TEXT
Smoke interferes with asthma drug
British scientists have found more evidence to show that people with asthma should not smoke. Researchers at the University of Glasgow say smoking can interfere with asthmatics' medication.
Speaking at a European Respiratory Society conference in Vienna, they said it can increase the risks of breathing problems or an asthma attack. The researchers said the findings highlight the need to encourage asthmatics who smoke to quit.
Figures suggest that 40% of people with asthma aged between 16 and 44 smoke. This is much higher than the general population, where 32% of people in this age group smoke.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3149032.stm
Source: BBC Online, 30 September 2003
Cancer 'link to free cigarettes'
Bristol has the highest number of lung cancer deaths in the south west attributable to smoking, according to a new report.
Figures issued by South West Public Health reveal the area has the highest figure in the region for premature deaths in men aged 35-69, from lung cancer which is likely to be linked to smoking.
Some 91% of lung cancer deaths in men are blamed on smoking, while for women the figure is 80%.
One doctor said the high figure might be a direct result of Imperial Tobacco's decision to offer 40 free cigarettes a week to its employees in the city until production ended in the 1980s.
Dr Julia Verne of South West Public Health said: "A proportion of these lung cancer deaths may well be attributable to that.
"But we also see high rates of death due to lung cancer in all inner city areas and we need a comprehensive programme to try and help people give up smoking."
A spokesman for Imperial Tobacco said the company would not comment on what it took to be speculation.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/3140142.stm
Source: BBC Online, 25 September 2003
Smokers wooed with citrus flavour
Japan Tobacco, the world's third-largest international tobacco company, is attempting to combat the bad smell hanging round its products by producing an odour-free cigarette.
The company's new brand is called Lucia Citrus Fresh Menthol, and it has already been test-marketed in Tokyo with some success. The company said the Lucia cigarette "gained market share almost twice as fast as other new brands launched in the last five years".
The new cigarette has a citrus flavour that is supposed to mask unpleasant odours "effectively and selectively", a spokesman said. The Lucia cigarette is also claimed to have less smoke.
The spokesman said: "This is totally new technology. BAT and Imperial don't have anything like this. It's the result of lots of market research into what people do and don't like in cigarettes."
The new cigarettes also use a double thickness of wrapping paper to stop smoke coming out of the sides of the stick.
The spokesman said while the company had no immediate plans to roll out the cigarette in Europe, this would be a logical next step. Japan Tobacco's other brands, which include Camel, Winston, Mild Seven and Salem, are widely available on the Continent.
The company is a former state monopoly in which the Japanese government still holds a large proportion of the shares. Since privatisation in 1985, it has diversified into sectors that include pharmaceuticals, where its portfolio has anti-cancer drugs.
Source: Daily Telegraph, 30 September 2003
French court rejects smoking reparations
A French court on Monday rejected a court case brought by a regional health fund which was seeking reparations from international cigarette manufacturers for the cost of treating cancer patients.
In the first case of its kind in France, the state insurance fund CPAM was demanding ˆ18.6m or $21.2m, from BAT, Rothmans, Philip Morris, JTI, Reynolds, and Altadis.
The CPAM also wanted the companies to provide clearer labelling about the health risks and offer free treatment for smokers trying to quit.
Source: International Herald Tribune, 30 September 2003
Heaviest smokers in Europe urged to quit
Albania, home to the heaviest smokers in Europe is undertaking efforts to reduce smoking, particularly among teenagers, will include anti-smoking ads in the media, to be partly financed by hefty increases in cigarette prices.
Source: The Independent, 30 September 2003
FT’s CSR Special Report
Yesterdays Financial Times ran special reports on big business, CSR and investor relations:
Overview: No hiding place for the irresponsible business
http://search.ft.com/search/article.html?id=030926004494
Investors: Social concerns edge into the mainstream
http://search.ft.com/search/article.html?id=030926004487
(Subscribers only)
Source: Financial Times, 30 September 2003
US court reduces award to smoker
A Californian appeals court sliced punitive damages by nearly two thirds to $9m for a smoker who sues Philip Morris, although the case could head back to the courts.
In its ruling, the appeals court said that, in light of an April US Supreme Court ruling, the $25m punitive damages to Patricia Henley, who developed inoperable lung cancer, “cannot be sustained”
Ms Henley was initially awarded $50m in punitive damages, later lowered to $25m.
Source: Financial Times, 27 September 2003
----------------------------------
Unsubscribe:
Public subscribers: http://www.ash.org.uk/?unsubscribe
Globalink members: http://member.globalink.org/nbuk
----------------------------------
Tel 020 7739 5902 Fax 020 7613 0531
ASH Daily News
30 September 2003
HEADLINES
Smoke interferes with asthma drug
Cancer 'link to free cigarettes'
Smokers wooed with citrus flavour
French court rejects smoking reparations
Heaviest smokers in Europe urged to quit
FT’s CSR Special Report
US court reduces award to smoker
FULL TEXT
Smoke interferes with asthma drug
British scientists have found more evidence to show that people with asthma should not smoke. Researchers at the University of Glasgow say smoking can interfere with asthmatics' medication.
Speaking at a European Respiratory Society conference in Vienna, they said it can increase the risks of breathing problems or an asthma attack. The researchers said the findings highlight the need to encourage asthmatics who smoke to quit.
Figures suggest that 40% of people with asthma aged between 16 and 44 smoke. This is much higher than the general population, where 32% of people in this age group smoke.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3149032.stm
Source: BBC Online, 30 September 2003
Cancer 'link to free cigarettes'
Bristol has the highest number of lung cancer deaths in the south west attributable to smoking, according to a new report.
Figures issued by South West Public Health reveal the area has the highest figure in the region for premature deaths in men aged 35-69, from lung cancer which is likely to be linked to smoking.
Some 91% of lung cancer deaths in men are blamed on smoking, while for women the figure is 80%.
One doctor said the high figure might be a direct result of Imperial Tobacco's decision to offer 40 free cigarettes a week to its employees in the city until production ended in the 1980s.
Dr Julia Verne of South West Public Health said: "A proportion of these lung cancer deaths may well be attributable to that.
"But we also see high rates of death due to lung cancer in all inner city areas and we need a comprehensive programme to try and help people give up smoking."
A spokesman for Imperial Tobacco said the company would not comment on what it took to be speculation.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/3140142.stm
Source: BBC Online, 25 September 2003
Smokers wooed with citrus flavour
Japan Tobacco, the world's third-largest international tobacco company, is attempting to combat the bad smell hanging round its products by producing an odour-free cigarette.
The company's new brand is called Lucia Citrus Fresh Menthol, and it has already been test-marketed in Tokyo with some success. The company said the Lucia cigarette "gained market share almost twice as fast as other new brands launched in the last five years".
The new cigarette has a citrus flavour that is supposed to mask unpleasant odours "effectively and selectively", a spokesman said. The Lucia cigarette is also claimed to have less smoke.
The spokesman said: "This is totally new technology. BAT and Imperial don't have anything like this. It's the result of lots of market research into what people do and don't like in cigarettes."
The new cigarettes also use a double thickness of wrapping paper to stop smoke coming out of the sides of the stick.
The spokesman said while the company had no immediate plans to roll out the cigarette in Europe, this would be a logical next step. Japan Tobacco's other brands, which include Camel, Winston, Mild Seven and Salem, are widely available on the Continent.
The company is a former state monopoly in which the Japanese government still holds a large proportion of the shares. Since privatisation in 1985, it has diversified into sectors that include pharmaceuticals, where its portfolio has anti-cancer drugs.
Source: Daily Telegraph, 30 September 2003
French court rejects smoking reparations
A French court on Monday rejected a court case brought by a regional health fund which was seeking reparations from international cigarette manufacturers for the cost of treating cancer patients.
In the first case of its kind in France, the state insurance fund CPAM was demanding ˆ18.6m or $21.2m, from BAT, Rothmans, Philip Morris, JTI, Reynolds, and Altadis.
The CPAM also wanted the companies to provide clearer labelling about the health risks and offer free treatment for smokers trying to quit.
Source: International Herald Tribune, 30 September 2003
Heaviest smokers in Europe urged to quit
Albania, home to the heaviest smokers in Europe is undertaking efforts to reduce smoking, particularly among teenagers, will include anti-smoking ads in the media, to be partly financed by hefty increases in cigarette prices.
Source: The Independent, 30 September 2003
FT’s CSR Special Report
Yesterdays Financial Times ran special reports on big business, CSR and investor relations:
Overview: No hiding place for the irresponsible business
http://search.ft.com/search/article.html?id=030926004494
Investors: Social concerns edge into the mainstream
http://search.ft.com/search/article.html?id=030926004487
(Subscribers only)
Source: Financial Times, 30 September 2003
US court reduces award to smoker
A Californian appeals court sliced punitive damages by nearly two thirds to $9m for a smoker who sues Philip Morris, although the case could head back to the courts.
In its ruling, the appeals court said that, in light of an April US Supreme Court ruling, the $25m punitive damages to Patricia Henley, who developed inoperable lung cancer, “cannot be sustained”
Ms Henley was initially awarded $50m in punitive damages, later lowered to $25m.
Source: Financial Times, 27 September 2003
----------------------------------
Unsubscribe:
Public subscribers: http://www.ash.org.uk/?unsubscribe
Globalink members: http://member.globalink.org/nbuk
----------------------------------
