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ASH Daily News for 08 November 2007

Smoking ban helps reduce passive smoking

Every year, hundreds of people in the UK die from lung cancer believed to have been caused from exposure to secondhand smoke.

One reason why secondhand smoke is dangerous is that it contains cancer causing chemicals in higher concentrations than are inhaled by the smoker.

Studies have found that living with a smoker can increase your risk of getting lung cancer by 20 to 30 per cent. And one study estimates that passive smoking may kill more than 11,000 people every year in the UK.

These people do not just die from cancer, but from other illnesses such as heart disease and strokes.

Because of this, many people have welcomed the ban on smoking in enclosed public places in England which came into force in July.

Richard Raczynski- Floyd, who manages Coolings bar in Gandy Street, Exeter, said: "The smoking ban has definitely made working easier and better. I have had no complaints from my customers either but we have had lots of nice positive comments."

"Customers say they can actually taste the food and wine. Before, we used to get complaints about smoke in the food."

Will Williams, the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital's specialist no-smoking adviser, who helps patients to quit, said passive smoking is more dangerous than people realise.

"The dangers of passive smoking are that you get secondhand smoke rather than mainstream smoke," he said.

"And what comes off the end of the cigarette is unfiltered. The chemical risk of inhaling toxic fumes is underestimated."

"People who worked in bars also had a high level of cotinine, which is a by product created when your body metabolises certain chemicals from cigarettes.

"Their levels were the same as people who smoked 40 a day. Afterwards, they dropped substantially."

Will said that another good reason for the ban was that smoking in public had a bad influence on people trying to give up.

"It is almost like a visual impact. If people are trying to quit and see other people smoking near them it has an effect."

He added that it was important to raise awareness of the issue through initiatives such as Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

"Not everyone is aware of the risks of smoking but it is one of the massive contributing factors to do with lung cancer," he said.

Source: Express and Echo, Exeter, 07 November 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/yq3my4

Nicotine vaccine helps some quit smoking

US researchers said that a vaccine aimed at helping people quit smoking by blunting the effects of nicotine doubled the number who could kick the habit, but overall success remained small.  

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals said 16 per cent of volunteers vaccinated with the highest dose were able to quit smoking for 12 months, compared with six per cent of those who got a placebo shot.

Fourteen per cent who got a lower dose stopped smoking for at least a year, compared with six per cent on the placebo, said Dr Stephen Rennard of the University of Nebraska Medical Centre.

Those who were unable to quit, smoked fewer cigarettes, Rennard found.

"I believe data from this trial is very encouraging for smokers who are trying to quit as well as for the field of smoking cessation vaccines," Rennard said in a statement.

The vaccine is designed to make the body produce immune system chemicals called antibodies, that stop nicotine from getting to the brain and producing its pleasurable effects.

Rennard said patients who produced the most anti-nicotine antibodies were also the ones most likely to stop smoking for longer. And if they did not quit, they smoked less - 10 cigarettes on average a day, compared with 20 before they got the vaccine.

Rennard, who presented his findings at a meeting of the American Heart Association said, "This development is important for the field of smoking cessation research and could have a significant impact on how we treat patients with nicotine addiction."

Source: Sydney Morning Herald, 8 November 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/292uzs

Customs raid finds 16m cigarettes

Customs officers seized nearly 16 million cigarettes and half a tonne of tobacco after cracking a smuggling scam at a Coventry freight depot.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said the goods found during a two-week operation filled five 40ft trailers.

A HMRC spokesman said proceeds from counterfeit goods often funded serious and organised crime.

Neil Goodban, anti-smuggling manager for HMRC, said: "This high impact campaign is part of our continuing efforts to stamp out the illegal trade in counterfeit goods."

"The proceeds from the illegal manufacture of counterfeit tobacco products and goods are often used to fund serious and organised crime such as drug smuggling."

The revenue loss on the cigarettes and tobacco was more than £4.4 million.

The tobacco products, found during the crackdown at the parcel distribution centre on Siskin industrial estate, would be recycled to provide power to the national grid.

Source: BBC News 24, 07 November 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/28wymo

Nigeria sues over child smokers

Nigeria's government says it has begun legal action against three leading international cigarette companies, including British American Tobacco (BAT) and Philip Morris International Tobacco Ltd, and the government are demanding more than 40 billion US dollars in compensation over their alleged role in promoting underage smoking. 

A BAT spokesperson in London said children are not and never will be their audience and it believes the action is flawed and lacks merit.

The Nigerian government is also seeking an injunction compelling the companies to stop the marketing of cigarettes to minors.

It says that products sold by the companies are addictive and hazardous to public health.

Cigarette smoking is widespread in Nigeria and BAT recently set up a factory in the West African country.

Correspondents say that over the past 20 years, tobacco companies have aggressively marketed their products in Africa and other developing regions to compensate for the loss of sales in developed countries that have imposed smoking restrictions.

The BBC's Fidelis Mbah in Lagos says the Nigerian government has in the past few years stepped up its campaign against smoking with the health warning "smokers are liable to die young" on cigarette packets and after radio and TV adverts.

Cigarette adverts have also been restricted, only allowed on radio and TV after 10pm, and billboards have been scrapped.

The World Health Organization estimates that 18% of young Nigerians smoke.

Source: BBC News, 07 November 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/2chm9r