HEADLINES

• Hull City Council crackdown on illicit tobacco sales
• Smuggled cigarettes aimed at children
• Among statin users, smoking cessation deserves emphasis
• Australia: Push for an end to duty-free tobacco
• Pakistan: Tobacco use the biggest cause of cancer
• Czech lawmakers pass higher tobacco taxes to boost state income

• Hull City Council crackdown on illicit tobacco sales

  A campaign has been launched by Hull City Council to highlight the damage to local small retail shops from the trade in counterfeit cigarettes and hand-rolled tobacco.

  The council will send out posters to schools, community centres, area teams, health centres and other public buildings.

  Chris Wilson, acting city trading standards officer, said: “Sales at small retail shops can be heavily affected by unregulated sellers operating from houses and other premises in their area. We welcome the opportunity to work with retailers to try and stop this unlawful trade.”

  Source: Talking Retail, 07 February 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/hkZGeZ

• Smuggled cigarettes aimed at children

  Trading standards officials in the North East are urging the public for help in stopping illegal tobacco after more than 600,000 packets of smuggled cigarettes were seized in the region.

  An appeal last year led to a surge in public tipoff’s about illegal cigarettes.

  Richard Ferry, of the North-East Trading Standards Association, described the response as excellent and urged people to continue providing vital information.

  Ailsa Rutter, director of anti-smoking organisation Fresh, said: “The sellers have no morals. They will even sell single cigarettes called ‘lucies’ to children.”

  Source: The Northern Echo, 04 February 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/eciVU3

• Among statin users, smoking cessation deserves emphasis

  Among patients taking statins for coronary heart disease, smokers are more likely to suffer a major cardiovascular event when compared with nonsmokers, according to a study published in The American Journal of Cardiology.
  
  The researchers found that despite statin therapy, current smokers were 1.68 and 1.57 times more likely to experience a major cardiovascular event than never-smokers and ex-smokers, respectively.

  Source: Doctors Lounge, 03 February 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/icCRvm

• Australia: Push for an end to duty-free tobacco

  The National Heart Foundation and National Stroke Foundation are calling on the federal government to ban the sale of duty-free tobacco.

  In a submission outlining their requests for the upcoming federal budget, they say the move could reap the government and estimated AUD$200 million a year.

  They also suggest that nearly half the windfall should be directed to combating heart disease, which is still Australia's biggest killer, accounting for 48,000 or 34 per cent of all deaths in 2008.

  Source: The Australian, 07 February 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/gGiSuM

• Pakistan: Tobacco use the biggest cause of cancer

  Tobacco use is the biggest cause of cancer in the country, according to health experts.

  Speaking at a seminar, oncologists and urologists said quitting tobacco use, which includes both smoking and tobacco-chewing, could result in an increase in the average lifespan.
  
  Dr Mutahir Tunio, associated with the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT), said tobacco caused 60 to 70 percent of heart and cancer related deaths and advised tobacco users to quit smoking.

  Source: The News International, 05 February 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/gHFvm0

• Czech lawmakers pass higher tobacco taxes to boost state income

  Government proposals to raise taxes on cigarettes and tobacco products as of January 2012 has been approved by Czech lawmakers.
  
  The Finance Ministry, which drafted the law, estimates that the higher taxes will bring in an additional 2.4 billion Koruna (USD$136 million) to state revenue in 2012.

  Source: Bloomberg, 04 February 2011
  Link: http://bloom.bg/gGgNJN