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ASH Daily news for 05 September 2011

HEADLINES

  • Smoke and mirrors: how the tobacco industry hides behind lobbyists

    The tobacco industry is covertly using third-party companies to lobby against smoking restrictions and to gain access to health documents held by public organisations.

    Public relations companies and law firms are working on behalf of anonymous multinational tobacco companies without declaring who their clients are, according to an investigation by The Independent.

    The third parties have refused to confirm they are working on behalf of tobacco firms when they make freedom of information requests from universities and other public bodies, even though the third parties are demanding more openness from their targets.

    The public relations company Bell Pottinger and the London law firm Clifford Chance have both requested information from public organisations without making it clear they are working on behalf of tobacco firms.

    The Independent has established that Alex Deane, a former chief-of-staff to David Cameron, played a key role in attempts to use the freedom of information law against one public organisation involved in promoting awareness against the health dangers of roll-up tobacco. Mr Deane is a director of Bell Pottinger which earlier this year requested documents from a health-awareness organisation funded by the NHS, the Bristol-based Smoke Free South West, following a campaign it ran against roll-up tobacco, which is popular in that part of the country.

    Soon after this informal request, Smoke Free South West received a formal freedom of information request for the same documentation from Big Brother Watch, a right-of-centre libertarian group founded by Mr Deane.

    Neither Bell Pottinger nor Big Brother Watch declared to Smoke Free South West that they had held discussions with one another or with Bristol-based Imperial Tobacco, which is listed as one of Bell Pottinger's clients in the PR firm's website.

    Martin Dockrell of the campaign group Action on Smoking and Health said that the tobacco industry's use of "front" organisations was nothing new.

    He added, "Big Tobacco's dirty little secret is how they get others to do their dirty work.  Some front groups are pretty much wholly owned subsidiaries; some appear to be independent but tobacco companies pay the bills and pull the strings."


     

    Source: The Independent, 03 September 2011
    Link: http://ind.pn/n0ww98

  • It may be the end for promotional packaging

    The government is to launch an official consultation on removing all promotional packaging from cigarettes by the end of the year.

    In April Australia set out plans for new rules which would force tobacco companies to use plain packaging carrying graphic health warnings on all cigarette packages. The move, which is due to come into effect next July, is the most draconian measure yet to reduce tobacco sales.

    Ministers in Britain say they are keen to see how successful the measure is particularly in deterring young people from taking up smoking in the first place. If it is seen to have worked the measure could be adopted in this country.

    Sources in the Department of Health said there was unlikely to be any move soon but they were keen to look at all the benefits and potential problems with a packaging ban early so it could be implemented if it was seen to work in Australia.

    "The Tobacco Control Plan confirms a commitment to consult by the end of this year on options to reduce the promotional impact of tobacco packaging, including an option to require plain packaging," said a Department of Health spokesperson.

    "But we must get this right. Before we publish the consultation we must ensure that we have expert legal advice on the trade, competition, EU single market and intellectual property rights implications."

    Source: The Independent, 03 September 2011
    Link: http://ind.pn/nZVPLB

  • Smoking can devalue house prices, according to new research

    According to new research, smokers who light up in their front rooms could be reducing the value of their properties.

    The survey found that a quarter of buyers would expect a discount on a property if there was evidence a smoker lived there.

    The news is even worse for those who rent, with 60 per cent of landlords saying they would not even consider letting their properties to a smoker.

    Half of landlords said they would consider increasing the rent for a smoker and a third have held back deposits to cover cleaning and repair costs after damage from tobacco smoke.
     

    Source: The Metro, 04 September 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/pkSD4t

  • The shocking truth about cancer in the North East

    A shocking report has revealed a marked North-South divide in the number of people developing lung cancer, with the north east having one of the worst rates of the illness.

    Findings released by the British Lung Foundation highlight that people living in the most deprived areas of the UK are nearly three times more likely to get lung cancer than those living in the most affluent areas.

    The Lost Lives report, which maps the lung cancer epidemic across the UK, shows the highest rates of the disease are in the North East with the lowest rates in the South Central and South West Health Authority area.

    Newcastle Primary Care Trust (PCT) has the fifth highest number of lung cancer cases in the country, closely followed by South Tyneside PCT and Gateshead PCT which are eighth and ninth worst. The report says the variation in lung cancer incidence is due to the higher rates of smoking in lower socio-economic groups living in deprived areas.

    The rate of smoking for both men and women have both dropped since the 1960s, but smoking rates in people from deprived neighbourhoods are falling at a slower rate.

    Ailsa Rutter, director of the North East anti-smoking group Fresh, said: “There has been a real shift in the attitudes towards smoking in the North East within the last 10 years and we have seen the biggest drop in smoking rates of any region in England.

    “But as this report shows there is still a way to go. Smoking still remains the biggest killer in our region and we must continue with our efforts to tackle smoking rates so that by 2030 smoking is a thing of the past.”

    Dr Nonnie Crawford, director of public health for the NHS North of England Cancer Network, said: “Unfortunately, the North East does have higher incidence of cancers in general – and lung cancer is the most common cancer of all. We still have high numbers of men and women who’ve smoked for a long time."

    Source: Journal Live, 02 September 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/raAdUJ

  • Vogue editor regrets cigarette shots

    Carine Roitfeld, Vogue's former editor regrets using cigarettes in so many of her fashion shoots.

    After several years as the magazine's editor, Roitfeld left her post in January. Since then she's embarked on new projects, including penning a tome called Irreverent.

    Roitfeld says she wishes she had never shown models smoking in her pictures because she knows it probably had a profound effect on many young women.

    "The book is dedicated to my husband, who quit smoking seven months ago," she says.

    "When he decided to stop smoking, I said, "My God, it's too bad I didn't try to help him to stop before."

    "Now  I will never use a cigarette again in any shoot."

    Source: The West Australian, 02 September 2011
    Link: http://yhoo.it/oEaSwg

  • USA: Strokes rising among teens, young adults: CDC

    A new government reports shows that strokes are rising among teens and young people.

    Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the number of people aged 15 to 44 hospitalized for stroke jumped by more than third between 1995 and 2008.

    High blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol are all risk factors for stroke, the researchers noted.

    In the same 14-year period researchers noted a rise in stroke among youth, they discovered that diabetes, cholesterol and tobacco use "has also increased in adolescents and young adults experiencing stroke," said lead researcher Dr. Mary George, a medical officer in CDC's Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention.

    She said, "We really need to encourage people to lead healthy lifestyles from the time they are very young. Stroke is largely preventable and eating a healthy diet, getting regular physical activity, avoiding tobacco and alcohol abuse can go a long way to prevent stroke."

    The report was published in the Sept. 1 issue of the Annals of Neurology.

    Source: HealthDay, 01 September 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/qND0d8