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ASH Daily News – Saturday 10 – Monday 12 November 2001

HEADLINES

Japan Tobacco to profit from cancer genes
Mouth cancer awareness week
Reemtsma up for sale
Real IRA behind tobacco smuggling plot
California Court appeal by Philip Morris fails
WHO critical of tobacco industry self-regulation



FULL TEXT

Japan Tobacco to profit from cancer genes

The Guardian reports that Japan Tobacco aims to make billions of pounds from the diseases caused by smoking through deals with biotech companies for the exclusive rights to market future lung cancer vaccines. The strategy has been criticised by public health groups. “Giving a tobacco company exclusive rights to lung cancer vaccine is like putting Dracula in charge of a blood bank,” said Dr. Helen Wallace, deputy director of GeneWatch UK, which uncovered the deals.

Derek Yach, director of non-communicable diseases cluster at the World Health Organization, said: “We tackle lung cancer by breaking the addictive grip of the tobacco industry and taking action to help people quit smoking or never start. The last company that should control the rights to along cancer vaccine is one that makes huge profits from products that cause the disease.”

Japan Tobacco has paid the Seattle-based company Corixa Corp for an exclusive licence to develop and sell vaccine and antibody based products aimed at the prevention and/or treatment of lung cancer. Japan Tobacco also has contracts with two other biotech companies. The companies defend their contracts with Japan Tobacco, saying they are dealing with the pharmaceutical arm of the company and that their main concern is to save lives. However, Clive Bates Director of ASH, said: “What we have got is a company that wants to block the things that would prevent the diseases in the first place and profit from mopping up the mess that their products have created.” It [is] a new low.”

Source: The Guardian, 12/11/01


Mouth cancer awareness week

A two-minute visit to the dentist could save hundreds of lives a year by detecting and treating the early stages of mouth cancer. The disease is a bigger killer than cervical cancer, claiming a life every five hours in Britain. Less than half of those diagnosed with the disease survive beyond five years. Over 90% of people with mouth cancer smoke or chew tobacco.

To mark Mouth Cancer Awareness Week, ASH and the British Dental Association have produced a leaflet for dentists to give to patients which explains the risk factors of the disease plus tips on quitting smoking. Gordon Watkins of the British Dental Association said: “Most people know that smoking is bad for their lungs and heart and that heavy drinking is tough on the liver. But do they know the damage they could be causing their mouths?” Amanda Sandford of ASH commented: “Tobacco is the dominant cause of mouth cancer but the good news is that stopping smoking dramatically reduces the risk of this disfiguring and potentially fatal disease.”

Source: Daily Express, 12/11/01


Reemtsma up for sale

Reemtsma, the world’s fourth largest cigarette company, is being auctioned by Merrill Lynch for up to 6bn Euro (£3.7bn). Potential bidders for the group are thought to include Imperial Tobacco, as well as Altadis, the Franco-Spanish cigarette manufacturer, and Japan Tobacco. BAT is unlikely to bid for the company because of competition reasons. Reemstma has an estimated 23 per cent of the German market for factory-made cigarettes.

Source: The Sunday Telegraph, 11/11/01


Real IRA behind tobacco smuggling plot

The Real IRA has been accused of masterminding a major tobacco smuggling campaign in the UK. The terrorist group planned the illegal importation of tens of millions of cigarettes, which were seized by customs officers at ports on both sides of the Irish border. Security forces believe the Real IRA was attempting to fund its campaign of terror by flooding the market in Britain, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic with the cigarettes.

Source: Financial Times, Daily Star 10/11/01


California Court appeal by Philip Morris fails

A state appeals court in California has upheld a $26.5 million jury award to a Los Angeles women with lung cancer. It was California’s first jury award of damages for a smoking-related illness. Philip Morris challenged the award, arguing that a 1998 state law allowing smokers to sue doesn’t apply retrospectively. A 3-judge panel disagreed, and added that the company should be punished for what it termed “reprehensible” conduct.

However, the decision is not final as the California Supreme Court is considering the tobacco company’s retrospective argument in several different smoker’s cases. Patricia Henley’s lawsuit was the first to be tried in California since the repeal of a 1988 law that protected tobacco companies against suits by individual smokers.

Source: Wall Street Journal Europe, 9/11/01



WHO critical of tobacco industry self-regulation

The Lancet reports on WHO’s dismissal of tobacco industry plans for voluntary advertising restrictions. “We see no evidence that tobacco companies are capable of self-regulation,” said WHO Director-General Gro Harlem Bruntland. “We need to be alert to new attempts to persuade us that this new effort will succeed.”

The article also refers to independent research published by Credit Suisse First Boston which reached the same conclusion. “By proactively setting new international marketing standards, the multinational tobacco companies could be trying to counter a number of proposals that WHO has been working on to curb the amount of cigarettes that are consumed on an international level,” said the CSFB analysis for investors published on 25 September. CSFB said the elimination of certain marketing activities was unlikely to decreases overall advertising spending.

Source: The Lancet, 10/11/01 p1615









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