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ASH Daily news for 16 March 2011

HEADLINES

  • Row in Sikh community over cigarette display ban

    A row has broken out within Huddersfield’s Sikh community over a Government ban on cigarette displays in shops.

    Newsagent and Sikh community leader Inderpal Randhawa has criticised a Government law which will outlaw tobacco displays from all shops by 2015.

    But Mr Randhawa’s comments have caused anger among members of Fartown Sikh Temple, who have backed the Government ban.
     
    Sikh scripture prohibits drinking and smoking although some Sikhs will drink and smoke when not in the temple.
     
    Manjit Singh, spokesman for Fartown Sikh Temple, said: “We think Mr Randhawa has misused his name in the community. Cigarettes and alcohol are totally prohibited in our religion.As a senior member in the Sikh temple he should not say this or highlight these issues."
    Source: Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 15 March 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/gCto59

  • Rise in Age-related macular degeneration predicted

    Research published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology predicts cases of Age-related macular degeneration in the UK will rise by a quarter by 2020.

    Age-related macular degeneration is an eye condition that affects a small part of the retina at the back of your eye, called the macula. It can make your central vision distorted or blurry and may cause a blank patch over time. The exact cause is unknown but smoking, diet and old age are all risk factors.

    A poll of more than 4,000 people for the College of Optometrists found that only 36 per cent of smokers knew of the link with eye disease and only half of all people were aware that a healthy diet can help cut the risk of AMD.

    Dr Susan Blakeney, optometric adviser to the college, said: 'While AMD is a condition associated with older age, there are steps you can take earlier in life to minimise your risk.

    'Smoking ... doubles your chances of developing the condition so quitting can also reduce your risk."

    Source: Daily Mail, 15 March 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/hmTrkz

  • Peter Hitchens: I was wrong on cigarettes but believe me, I’m right on cannabis

    In an opinion piece in the Daily Mail, Peter Hitchens outlines why he has changed his mind on the smoking ban, but retains forthright views on canabis.

    "I used to fall for the old arguments about smoking and freedom – that people were entitled to do this stupid thing if they wanted to... I even campaigned, in an office I worked in, against a planned smoking ban, though I have never smoked myself. I was quite wrong.

    " Smoking: I really can't work out why we put up with it for so long. Something so self-evidently ugly and dirty obviously wasn't good for us. It is perfectly sensible and justifiable to use the law to try to stop people from harming themselves, unless there are very good reasons for the risk. Because when you harm yourself, you harm plenty of other people too.

    " I have no doubt at all that the bans on smoking, in trains, cinemas, buses, pubs, restaurants and hotels are helping many people give up a habit that is actually much harder to quit than heroin.

    "The ban on displaying cigarettes in shops will cause fewer people to smoke, as all the other measures have since the first health warning appeared on the first packet.
     
    "And in time this strange, self-destructive habit, which is actually very new and only really invaded the civilised world during two disastrous wars, will be banished to the margins of life."
    Source: Daily Mail, 14 March 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/eRCH7Z

  • USA: Heavy smoking plummets

    Smoking plummeted from 1965 to 2007 among the heaviest users in the United States, especially in California, according to a new study led by UC San Diego smoking researcher John Pierce.

    The drop in "high-intensity" smoking, defined as 20 or more cigarettes a day, helps explain declines in lung-cancer deaths, according to the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
     
    In California, the percentage of high-intensity smokers fell from 23.2 percent to 2.6 percent during  the1965-2007 study period . In the rest of the United States, the percentage dropped from 22.9 percent to 7.2 percent during that period.
     
    California had a lung cancer rate of 77.1 per 100,000 people in 2007, compared with a rate of 101.7 per 100,000 in the rest of the United States,a 24 percent lower lung cancer rate than the rest of the nation.
     
    However, Pierce said, the state's tobacco control program is in trouble. Because the program is funded through tobacco taxes and smoking is down, less money is coming into the program.  The state has not raised its cigarette tax of 87 cents a pack since 1999, according to the California Department of Public Health.
    Source: North County Times, 15 March 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/eozakk

  • Philippines: Tighter regulation of cigarette manufacturing approved

    The Department of Health in Manila is tightening its grip on tobacco through implementing new rules and regulations of a law that gave more teeth to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

    FDA director Dr. Suzette Lazo announced the approval of the IRR of the Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009, which gave the agency the power to regulate tobacco products in the country, among other supplementary mandates.
     
    With the new mandate, the FDA could examine the nicotine levels or any substance in cigarettes that pushed "people to smoke more," Dr Lazo said,

    The agency will also strictly implement an administrative order requiring graphic health warnings on all cigarette packs distributed in the country once it has overcome legal battles it is currently facing.
     
    The use of graphic warning signs has been provided for under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), to which the Philippines is a signatory.
     
    Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer, 16 March 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/hHKZg7

  • China: Support grows for strong action on smoking

    For the second year in a row, legislator Wang Longde, has put forward a proposal during the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) urging the central government to take substantial action on control of smoking and tobacco.

    Wang's proposal includes a further rise in cigarette tax in a bid to deter smokers and a nationwide law that will ban smoking at indoor public venues. 540 legislators have signed on to support Wang's proposal.

    "Without effective intervention, China would have at least 3.5 million people dying of smoking-related diseases each year on the mainland," Wang warned. The figure now is about 1.2 million.
     
     Opponents feared that tobacco control will harm the nation's economy and employment, given that the industry employs at least 10 million people and contributes more than 7.5 percent of total government revenues.
     
    But "actually the smoking industry is a money-losing business in the country", said Wang, highlighting that in 2010, the tobacco industry cost the nation 61.8 billion yuan ($9.3 billion) for treatment of people for smoking-related illnesses and for dealing with tobacco-related issues such as pollution. This was more than it generated in profits and jobs created.
    Source: English People Daily, 14 March 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/eCBnL4

  • USA: Menthol cigarette use on the rise

    Teen smokers are increasingly choosing menthol cigarettes over ordinary brands - and 80 per cent of black adolescent smokers buy minty versions.

    A draft report by the Food and Drug Administration in Washington found more than half of Hispanic teenage smokers use menthols, and there is a 'significant increase' in white youths smoking them.
     
    The draft chapter,is a blow to cigarette manufacturers who are fighting FDA proposals to ban or limit the sale and manufacture of menthol cigarettes.
     
    Anti-smoking campaigners argue they are dangerous because the mint flavouring hides the harsh taste of tobacco, making them more appealing to young smokers.

    The finished report is scheduled to go before the FDA by March 23.
    Source: Daily Mail, 14 March 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/fRFpFL

  • Smoking’s for clowns, pupils told

    Joking about smoking might seem an unusual way of dealing with a serious health issue,
    but it is an approach being tried out in North Tyneside to warn youngsters of the dangers of smoking.

    To mark No Smoking Day last week, Year 5 pupils at Marden Bridge Middle School in Whitley Bay came face to face with clowns from Durham’s Tin Arts.

    The clowns use drama and comedy to illustrate the dangers of cigarettes and help the children resist peer pressure to smoke.
     
    Councillor David Lilly, North Tyneside Council’s cabinet member for children, young people and learning, said:

    “The health and wellbeing of our children and young people is a high priority, and we’re committed to providing the support and information they need to make the right and healthy choices, at the earliest possible age.  This programme does that in a fun, interactive way.”
    Source: News Guardian, 16 March 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/hKwTHp