Southeast Asia: Deadly tobacco products devastate developing world

As World No Tobacco Day is commemorated on May 31, 2009, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is calling for increased efforts to control the tobacco epidemic focusing on the developing world, where those least able to combat the deadly and debilitating effects of tobacco consumption are also the ones who are most at risk. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the world. More than 80 percent of the world's smokers live in the developing world. More than 5 million people die every year worldwide from tobacco use, of which 1.2 million are in the South-East Asia region, where nearly half of the world's poor live. Many spend more on tobacco consumption than on their most basic necessities, such as education, food, shelter, and health care.

WHO reports that in several countries, including Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mexico and Egypt, the poorest households spend between 10 and 15 percent of their incomes on tobacco consumption. Tobacco use can often drag a family deeper into poverty, since the poor are more likely to become ill and die from tobacco-related illnesses than their wealthier counterparts.

In the country of Laos, or the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR), ADRA has been working in partnership with the Laos Ministry of Health since 1998 to address tobacco issues at a national level, effectively breaking this cycle of poverty. In 2000, ADRA implemented the Tobacco Free Society project, where 95 community educators were trained, five public awareness campaigns were implemented by the Lao Ministry of Health's (MOH) Center for Information and Education for Health (CIEH) and project staff, and 15,562 youth participated in Tobacco Free Society activities in various schools and villages.

"Laos is one of the last countries in the world that does not have a tobacco control law," said Jay L. Till, media communications and public relations officer for ADRA Lao PDR. However, due to ADRA's Tobacco Control Program, a Tobacco Control Law, consisting of smoke-free public spaces, advertising bans, graphic warning labels, and a tax health fund, will be going to the National Assembly in December to be passed into law.

According to ADRA Lao PDR, some estimates suggest that at least 59 percent of Laotian men smoke, as well as 13 percent of women. By 2030, it is believed that smoking will cause eight million deaths a year, with more than 80 percent of those deaths occurring in developing countries.

Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation, 01 June 2009
Link: http://tiny.cc/RZJIo

Chelsea FC boss could be hit with smoking fine

Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink could be hit with a fine after lighting a cigar in the Wembley dressing room following his side's FA Cup win. Dutchman Hiddink was captured smoking on camera as he performed a bizarre victory dance with club owner Roman Abramovich.

But his antics breached the Government's strict ban on smoking in enclosed public and work places. Anyone caught lighting up illegally can be fined £50 - reduced to £30 if it is paid within 15 days. The FA, who own Wembley, could also be fined £2,500 for allowing Hiddink to spark the cigar.

Brent Council's health and safety team are expected to discuss whether to take any action against Hiddink and the FA.

Source: The Mirror, 01 June 2009
Link: http://tiny.cc/FuEfI

US: Tobacco Bill could snuff out RJR's smokeless strategy

Putting tobacco under the regulatory umbrella of the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) has divided the industry. For anyone considering putting a menthol cigarette in their mouth during a long conference call, Reynolds now offers the perfect product. Snus, which means snuff in Swedish, is a flavored mini-teabag of pasteurized tobacco, sold chilled in tins. After test runs in Columbus, Ohio, and Portland, Ore., three years ago, RJR now sells the import in 100,000 locations nationwide. A tin of 15 costs $4.50.

But this kind of innovation may be the last of its kind after this year’s big tobacco bill, sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy, turns into law. The bill, which would put tobacco under the regulatory umbrella of the FDA, is expected to easily pass through the Senate on Tuesday or Wednesday, after getting cleared by the House in April, and then quickly get a presidential signature. The bill has divided the industry. Altria, which makes market-leading Marlboro cigarettes, helped write the bill, which critics say will institutionalize its market share. The No. 2 tobacco maker, Reynolds American , which makes Camels, has been waging a lonely battle against it.

Kennedy’s bill would allow the FDA to play gatekeeper to tobacco products like Snus and newer smokeless tobacco lozenges and sticks. The legislation also contains language preventing tobacco companies from saying that smokeless tobacco is less hazardous than cigarettes. Supporters argue that the FDA will finally be able to study cigarette ingredients. And by toughening regulations, it could in the long run reduce smoking rates.

Reynolds won’t disclose sales, yet it did recently invest in a new Snus factory. Analysts say Camel Snus looks like a surprise hit in an innovation-challenged industry. Snus users tend to be quitters or banned-at-work smokers who need a fix, but don't like wearing patches or chewing GlaxoSmithKline's Nicorette. The spit-free Snus product is aimed at people on the coasts who wouldn't ever be caught dipping Copenhagen or Skoal.

“We do believe it's a viable product offering or we wouldn't have gone nationwide with it,” says Reynolds' David Howard. A new hit product would be a boon for Reynolds, which has seen its cigarette market share fall. Last year Camel sales dropped 4% to 23 billion cigarettes. Company revenue fell for the first time since 2003.

Source: Forbes.com, 01 June 2009
Link: http://tiny.cc/mBeCt

India: Health warnings on tobacco packs

All new tobacco products manufactured in India will have to carry pictorial warnings to discourage their use. Packets of cigarettes, bidis (small hand-rolled cigarettes common in India) and chewing tobacco will now have to display the scorpion and lung symbols. Authorities have also launched a multimedia campaign urging people to quit tobacco consumption.

Tobacco smoking kills 900,000 people a year in India. The figure is expected to rise to a million by 2010. A countrywide ban on smoking in public places came into effect last October. Correspondents say the ban is blatantly flouted and poorly enforced. But health officials say that ever since they began mounting surprise raids, many smokers are giving up smoking in public.

Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said tobacco products would have to clearly display the pictorial warnings and these must cover at least 40% of the packet's display area "It is evident that the consumption of tobacco products in the country is increasing in all age groups, making it a matter of serious public health concern. The increase is a great concern for all of us," Mr Azad was quoted by news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) as saying.

The minister said he hoped that the pictorial warnings would be "very visible" and would have "first-hand impact" on tobacco users. Pictures of diseased, corroded gums warning tobacco users about mouth cancer were put out in the weekend's newspapers. The government order on pictorial warnings had faced stiff resistance from tobacco manufacturers and the deadline for implementing it had been postponed a couple of times.

India is among the few countries to ban tobacco-related advertisements. The sale of tobacco products to minors is also an offence.

Source: BBC News, 01 June 2009
Link: http://tiny.cc/1x5IF