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ASH Daily news for 10 November 2011

HEADLINES

  • New Australia smoking law bans brand labels

    Tough anti-smoking laws banning brand labels passed their last major legislative hurdle in Australia today and immediately faced the threat of court action from tobacco companies worried the move could spread and hurt sales elsewhere.

    The upper house of parliament agreed on new laws that from December next year will force cigarettes to be sold in plain olive packets, with no mention of the brand. They would continue to show graphic images of the harm smoking can cause.

    Health Minister Nicola Roxon told reporters "Big tobacco has been fuming since day one that this is a law that they don't want introduced. They want to keep selling their deadly products, and we want to reduce their market. So we are destined to disagree."

    "But we are not going to be bullied into not taking this action, just because tobacco companies say they might fight it in the courts. We are ready for that if they take legal action."

    The Senate vote is the last major hurdle for the new rules, although they must now be rubber stamped by parliament's lower house in two weeks.

    The laws are being closely watched by governments considering similar moves in Europe, Canada and New Zealand, and have angered tobacco companies which plan to challenge the decision. Some countries are threatening to take Australia to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

    British American Tobacco called the new laws unconstitutional and planned to go to Australia's High Court to seek compensation for loss of branding and trademark rights.

    Further coverage:

    ABC News Melbourne: Cigarette Packaging legislation passes Senate

    Bloomberg: BAT vows court battle with Australia over ‘unconstitutional’ cigarette law


    Herald Sun: No funding for tobacco laws court case

    Source: Reuters News, 10 November 2011
    Link: http://reut.rs/vw4md0

  • Study: Older adults may smoke and drink more when financially stressed

    A new study found that older adults, especially men and people with less education, are more likely to drink and smoke when experiencing financial woes.

    Researchers at the State University of New York at Albany studied more than 2,300 adults over the age of 65. They found that 16 percent of study participants reported increasing financial problems over the 14-year study period, between 1992 and 2006.

    Three percent of the study population reported increases in heavy alcohol consumption and one percent said they upped their smoking habits. But those numbers increased significantly among men who experienced financial difficulties.

    Benjamin Shaw, lead author of the study and associate professor and chair of health policy, management and behavior in the School of Public Health at University at Albany said with an increase in the number of adults facing financial difficulties in the wake of the current financial downturn, "we can probably expect to see more and more older adults misusing alcohol and smoking."

    Source: ABC News, 09 November 2011
    Link: http://abcn.ws/venmQg

  • Study: Smoking compromises assisted reproduction birth outcomes

    According to research presented at the American Public Health Association 139th Annual Meeting, women who smoke in the months before undergoing fertility treatments are at a greater risk of delivering low-birth-weight and even very-low-birth-weight infants than nonsmokers, .

    The risks of smoking during pregnancy have been well documented. However little has been reported on the effect of smoking on assisted reproduction.

    Researchers from the Center for Maternal and Child Health, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, in Baltimore, evaluated data from a stratified random sample of 14,194 mothers who delivered live infants from 2001 to 2009 and completed the Maryland Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System survey.

    Lead author Lee Hurt, MS, MPH, and colleagues identified women who became pregnant using fertility drugs, insemination techniques, assisted reproductive technology, or other methods. They also obtained data on smoking status during the 3 months prior to pregnancy.

    When the researchers adjusted for maternal age, race/ethnicity, plurality, and smoking during pregnancy, women who smoked during pregnancy were 3 times more likely to have a low-birth-weight infant than nonsmokers (OR, 2.92; P = .003), and were 4 times more likely to deliver a very-low-birth-weight infant (<1500 g; OR, 4.27; P = .002).

    Ms. Hurt noted that, considering the unique level of planning typically involved in assisted reproduction, the smoking rates were unexpected.

    Source: Medscape, 07 November 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/vcLEyV

  • USA: North Carolina heart attacks fall after restaurant smoking ban

    Emergency room visits because of heart attacks appear to have dropped sharply across the state after the beginning of 2010, and health officials think one reason is the ban on smoking in bars and restaurants that took effect then.

    According to a report released by the N.C. Division of Public Health, such visits fell 21 percent after the law went into effect.

    The statistical modeling used to generate that number couldn't take into account everything that cut heart attack rates, but the ban almost certainly played a big part, said Dr. Jeffrey Engel, the state health director.

    Many people understand that tobacco smoke can cause lung cancer and other health problems such as emphysema. It's not as widely known, though, that even brief exposure to tobacco smoke can trigger a heart attack in those with heart disease or who are at risk for it, said Sally Herndon, head of the Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch of the state public health division.

    Source: News Observer, 10 November 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/vPTPJl

  • Philippine court rules on tighter tobacco control

    Anti-smoking advocates in the Philippines are celebrating a recent court decision that would give the Department of Health (DOH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) more regulatory control and supervision over tobacco products in the country.

    "Finally, a victory for health," said Ipat Luna of HealthJustice Philippines, a group of lawyers advocating for tobacco control.

    Luna was referring to the case filed by the Philippine Tobacco Institute (PTI) early this year seeking to stop the DOH and FDA from enforcing the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act No. 9711 or the FDA Act of 2009.

    But the Las Piñas City (Metro Manila) court hearing the case has denied PTI’s petition for "lack of merit."

    "We eagerly await the actions of the DOH and FDA on some violations of the tobacco industry, including the sale of cigarettes in packs without picture warnings," Luna said.

    The PTI petition had questioned the authority and jurisdiction of the FDA to regulate tobacco products. It stressed that the Inter-Agency Committee on Tobacco had exclusive authority to implement the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003.

    In its response, the two government agencies maintained that tobacco control was part of their mandates because cigarette use impacted on health.

    Source: Asia News Network, 08 November 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/sr4fAI

  • Comment on smoking in pregnancy scheme

    ASH understands that the item on financial incentives given to pregnant women to quit smoking published in Scotland on Sunday and reported in yesterday's ASH Daily News is inaccurate.  

    Contrary to the assertion in the article,there is no commitment to a national roll out of the scheme although the Scottish Government has announced a funding stream for innovative public health projects and the 'Give it Up for Baby' has been cited as an example of a project that the Scottish First Minister has previously said he would like to see expanded.

     

    Source: 10 November 2011
    Link: