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ASH Daily News for 04 December 2007

Australia: Victoria considers new proposals to reduce youth smoking

Under a new Victorian proposal to reduce youth smoking, underage smoking will be outlawed and parents banned from lighting up in cars with children.

Nationals MP Damian Drum signalled in state parliament that he would introduce a private member's bill to reduce the number of young smokers.

The bill, to be tabled early next year, would make smoking illegal for under 18s and introduce penalties for minors caught smoking.

Under existing laws, it is illegal to sell cigarettes to anyone under 18 but minors are not penalised for smoking.

Mr Drum said a hardline stance was needed to protect children, who were currently fed mixed messages from law-makers about smoking.

"We say that smoking is bad for you and we ban them at places like schools, but then we turn a blind eye if they want to have a smoke down the street. It's not good enough and we need to do better," he said.

Mr Drum said, "While many people would regard banning smoking in cars with children as common sense, this needed to be reflected in the law."

"We have an obligation to our young people to protect them from the harmful side effects of passive smoking and there is widespread community support for such a ban."

Mr Drum said smoking among adults had virtually halved in the past 20 years but Victorian teenagers aged 16 to 17 were not giving up  fast enough.

"Cigarette smoking is the biggest cause of preventable deaths in Australia and we owe it to our children to do everything we can to stop them from taking up the habit," he said.

Source: The Age, 04 December 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/2w45oz

Stop smoking services are reducing the UK's health gap 

According to a new study, people in less affluent areas of the UK are quitting smoking in larger numbers than their better off neighbours.

Of the 1.5 million smokers supported by NHS stop smoking services between 2003 and 2006, researchers found that smokers from poorer areas were using these services and successfully quitting more often than those from more affluent communities.

This shows that the NHS stop smoking services is helping to reduce inequalities in health caused by smoking, say researchers from the University of Bath's Tobacco Control Research Group and the University of Edinburgh.

"Dr Linda Bauld, from the University of Bath said, "Smoking accounts for more than half of the excess risk of premature death between the highest and lowest socio-economic groups in the UK.

"Our study shows that the NHS stop smoking services are helping to reduce the health gap between rich and poor, which is good news for the overall health of the nation."

She added, "However, the contribution of stop smoking services to achieving ambitious government targets to reduce inequalities in health is likely to be modest. It is important that wider tobacco control measures, in particular successful implementation of the recent ban on smoking in public places, and rises in tobacco taxes, are pursued if more significant reductions in smoking-related inequalities are to be achieved."

The study, published this week in the journal Tobacco Control, used data from 1.5 million smokers who were treated by NHS stop smoking services in the three year period between April 2003 and March 2006.

It compared data from smokers who accessed services in officially designated disadvantaged areas (called Spearhead areas) compared with other parts of England.

The study found that although quit rates were slightly lower for smokers from Spearhead areas (52.6 per cent at four weeks compared with 57.9 per cent elsewhere) services were treating them in larger numbers than their more affluent neighbours (16.7 per cent of smokers in Spearhead areas were treated, compared with 13.4 per cent elsewhere).

The overall effect was that a higher proportion of smokers in the more disadvantaged areas were successful in quitting (8.8 per cent) than those in more affluent areas (7.8 per cent).

Source: News-Medicine.Net, 03 December 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/39c9g4

Cancer reform strategy announced

In a bid to prevent children taking up smoking officials are considering new rules on how tobacco is sold .

Cigarettes could be placed under the counter instead of on display and vending machines selling cigarettes could be more tightly regulated or even banned.

Proposals are under consideration to put prohibition orders on shopkeepers who sell cigarettes to children, with those who repeatedly flout the law being banned from selling tobacco.

People who fear they have symptoms of cancer will be encouraged to see their GP early and family doctors will be encouraged to refer suspected cases to specialists earlier.

Late diagnosis is the main reason for the poor survival rates in England compared to other European countries.

Research will also be carried out on the feasibility of CT scanning for lung cancer.

Primary Care Trusts which run the screening programmes could be paid per person instead of in blocks to encourage more tests to be done and reduce variability of uptake across the country.

There is significant concern that few people know the six main causes of cancer: smoking, obesity, diet, sedentary lifestyle, alcohol and excessive sunbathing.

A major campaign will be launched on how to measure units of alcohol so drinkers can stay within recommended limits and a consultation will be launched on whether there needs to be legislation to enforce warning labels on alcohol bottles and cans.

There will also be a pilot study using the Football Foundation, the largest sports charity, to increase awareness of the signs of common cancers.

Source: The Telegraph, 04 December 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/2jb9ft

Mozambique: New tobacco regulations take effect

A new set of regulations for the marketing and consumption of tobacco products took effect in Mozambique over the weekend.

From Saturday it was illegal to smoke in any public place, including all state institutions, restaurants, schools, libraries, hospitals, airports, train stations and all forms of public transport.

Restaurants, bars, and other places of entertainment can, if they choose, provide a space for smokers. But such a space must occupy no more than 25 per cent of their total area, clearly marked as a smoking area, and separated by walls from the non-smoking areas.

The new regulations also effectively outlaw all advertising for tobacco, not only on radio and television but also on the covers of publications, billboards and posters, and on the walls of any public places.

All cigarette packets must now carry ample, clear, visible and legible health warnings, occupying at least 30 per cent of the front of the packet and 25 per cent of the back and must be printed in Mozambique's official language, Portuguese.

The sale of tobacco products to people under 18 is banned, and any establishment with cigarette vending machines must ensure that they are not operated by minors. All places that sell cigarettes must display a prominent sign that under-18s may not buy them. In case of doubt, the shop owner or assistant must demand proof that the buyer is over 18.

The spokesperson for the Health Ministry, Martinho Djedje, regarded the new regulations as a first step to defend the public from the effects of tobacco. He said the Ministry has also submitted to the Cabinet a proposal to ratify the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention for Tobacco Control.

Source: All Africa, 03 December 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/39xlrp