Taiwan doubles cigarette surcharge to discourage smoking

Taiwan has doubled the surcharge on cigarettes to discourage smoking, but anti-smoking campaigners said it was not enough to cut the number of smoking. The Department of Health raised the surcharge on each packet of cigarettes from 10 Taiwan dollars (30 US cents) to 20 Taiwan dollars (60 US cents). It said the revenue would be used for the medical treatment of low-income families. 

But the John Tung Foundation that leads Taiwan's anti-smoking campaign, said the surcharge hike was too small.

"Health surcharge and tax are two different things. Taiwan imposed a 11.8 Taiwan dollars cigarette tax in 1987 and has not raised it for more than 20 years," the foundation's Lin Ching-li said.

"We want the government to raise cigarette tax until the average price for a packet of cigarette is 100 Taiwan dollars (3 US dollars)," she said.

Lin said that compared with foreign countries with a high living standard, cigarette price in Taiwan is too low and research has shown that increasing cigarette prices is an effective way of  discouraging smoking.

After Hong Kong raised cigarette tax in 1983, the percentage of smokers in Hong Kong dropped from 23 per cent in 1982 to 14 per cent in 2005, the foundation said in a statement.

Source: Earthtimes, 01 June 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/lhh5j5

Cigarettes seized in Fylde raids

Hundreds of thousands of pounds of cigarettes have been seized in a series of dawn raids across the Fylde coast.
The massive haul was discovered as officers from Lancashire Police' Serious and Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) smashed down doors at addresses in Blackpool, St Annes, Warton and Wesham. 

Leading detectives said they believed the suspects arrested were involved in a complex network transporting cigarettes into the UK from Europe.

The operation - code named Bittern - also saw a house near Burnley raided.

A 38-year-old man from Blackpool and a 34-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman from Wesham have all been arrested on suspicion of tax evasion and money laundering.

The raids took place on Adelaide Street, Blackpool, Wimbourne Road, Blackpool, Catherine Street, Wesham, Bank Lane, Warton, Inner Promenade, St Annes and Stockbridge Road, Padiham.

Source: Blackpool gazette, 28 May 2009 
Link: http://tinyurl.com/ltyfvb

Malaysia: Government acts to put an end to ‘dirty tactics’ by tobacco companies

The war against smoking has been further intensified with a ban on tobacco companies and retailers from giving gifts when selling cigarettes and other tobacco products.

The measure takes effect immediately with the amendment of the Control of Tobacco Product Regulations by the Health Ministry.

There is also a proposal to expand non-smoking zones to cover hotel lobbies and air-conditioned workplaces.

Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said retailers were not allowed to sell tobacco products with any other items or sell items and give away tobacco products for free.

The regulations were also amended to ban anyone from offering tobacco products or items promoting a tobacco product as gifts, and as prizes in lotteries, raffles, lucky draws, games or competitions.

Offenders can be fined a maximum of RM10,000 or jailed for two years, or both, upon conviction.

Liow said at a World No Tobacco Day function, “They can still have promotions, in terms of giving price discounts of up to 5%. But they cannot give out any gifts."

Today is World No Tobacco Day.

Liow said the Government was working hard to discourage smoking, as the World Health Organisation had identified tobacco use as being responsible for killing one in 10 adults worldwide.

He said the regulations were amended to overcome “dirty tactics” used by tobacco companies to promote their products.

The National Health and Morbidity Survey 2006 showed that 21.5% or 2.73 million Malaysians were smokers and 33 million sticks were smoked daily.

On non-smoking zones, Liow said the Government would continue to expand them until “smokers realise there is no place left to smoke”.

He said those who lit up in non-smoking zones could be issued compound notices of between RM300 and RM5,000.

If charged, the court can impose a maximum fine of RM10,000 or two years imprisonment, or both.

Source: thestar, 31 May 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/kv2vow

Simpsons 'may prompt' smoking

Krusty the Clown might have a pacemaker, and Selma and Patty raspy voices, but that doesn't mean children will be repelled by the cigarettes hanging out of their mouths on The Simpsons.

A study of the US cartoon - rated one of the most popular TV shows in history - has raised concern that a high incidence of smoking among the characters might encourage young viewers to pick up the habit.

Researchers Dr Guy Eslick, an international fellow of the International Union Against Cancer, and Marielle Eslick, analysed 400 episodes of the first 18 seasons of the show.

They found a whopping 795 instances of smoking or references to smoking.

More than half involved male characters, a fifth female characters, and about 16 per cent non-gender characters such as animals.

Smoking was mostly portrayed in a neutral way, but in 35 per cent of cases it had negative connotations and 2 per cent of the time it was shown to be positive.

The research found that although Laramie cigarettes have been out of production in the US since the 1950s, the brand is widely used on cigarette packets in the series.

Laramie's corporate mascot, "Menthol Moose" - a parody of Joe Camel, the advertising mascot for Camel cigarettes - also sponsors a children's beauty pageant and appears in Springfield parades.

While the researchers acknowledged the move may have been intended as satirical, they said that even when smoking is portrayed in a negative way, it can still influence young people's behaviour.

"Previous studies have highlighted the influence of on-screen use of tobacco by movie stars on adolescents, and the increased likelihood of these adolescents taking up smoking," the researchers write in the Medical Journal of Australia.

"Moreover, other research has found that very young children (aged 3-6 years) see, understand and remember cigarette advertising, and the use of cartoon characters like Joe Camel by RJR Nabisco has been reported to be more effective in marketing cigarettes to children than to adults."

The researchers concluded that "just being exposed to The Simpsons characters smoking in so many episodes may prompt children to consider smoking at an early age".

The study was published as the Cancer Council Australia urged the Federal Government to increase the size of graphic warnings on tobacco products.

The call was made on World No Tobacco Day.

Source: The Age, 01 June 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/m9nz2a

WHO study - 1 in 3 Filipino teens smoke

Despite the law prohibiting cigarette advertisements, the number of young smokers has gone up, prompting the Department of Health (DOH) to warn that tobacco related deaths will continue to rise in the future.

The 2007 Global Tobacco Youth Survey (GYTS) conducted by the World Health Organization showed that one in every three Filipino teenagers aged 13 to 15 are already smokers, despite the existence of Republic Act 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003.

A new law is currently passing before Congress which would require cigarette makers to use graphic health warnings to discourage smokers and would-be smokers.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said he would appeal to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to certify the bill on cigarette graphic health warnings as urgent.

At a news briefing ahead of World No Tobacco day, Duque said, “If nothing is done, every other Filipino teenager would be smoking by 2011."

Duque said having prominent picture warnings on the front and back of cigarette packages would help discourage young people from buying cigarettes.

He said the government was spending an equivalent of $2.2 billion a year to treat patients with smoking-related illnesses, compared to the $26 million it was earning from cigarette taxes annually.

“That’s a lot of money that we’re spending just trying to reverse the progress of chronic illnesses like cancer, hypertension, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases,” he said.

Source: Inquirer, 29 May 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/lezwvw