HEADLINES

• Australia unveils tough new cigarette pack rules
• Study links smoking, breast cancer in older women
• Wales: Pupils get animated over smoking menace
• India: Smokeless tobacco has 28 carcinogens
• New Zealand: Smoking ban at Auckland regional parks

• Australia unveils tough new cigarette pack rules

  In a move which aims to reduce smoking rates, the Australian government has announced proposed legislation which will require cigarette packets to be plastered with graphic health warnings and a bland olive-green colour.

  The Health Minister, Nicola Roxon said, "Olive-green was picked after research showed it was the least attractive colour for smokers, in a bid to prevent tobacco companies trying to market their products by making them look luxurious or cool."

  The move has infuriated tobacco companies, with Imperial Tobacco Australia saying it planned to challenge plain packaging on the grounds that it would impact profits.

  British American Tobacco Australia, meanwhile, said that the proposed legislation, which still needs to be approved by parliament, would infringe international trademark and intellectual property laws.

  Roxon said the government was not scared by legal threats. She said, "The government knows that big tobacco companies are going to fight this. But when you still have 15,000 Australians dying every year because of tobacco-related illnesses caused from smoking, this is a fight it's worth us having.

  She added, "We believe we are on very strong legal grounds. We're not going to have 'big tobacco' scaring us with legal action. We want to make sure that the glamour that might have been attached to smoking in the past is dead and gone."

  ASH Australia link to pictures, Ministers press release and draft legislation:  http://bit.ly/ek1ILe

  Source: AFP, 07 April 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/fjagGL

• Study links smoking, breast cancer in older women

  Researchers report that there is a significant risk between smoking and breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women.

  According to the study breast cancer risk was higher than normal among female smokers who were not obese, but this strong association was not evident in obese female smokers.

  Non-obese smokers with a body-mass index (BMI) of less than 30 had a significantly increased risk of cancer compared to non-smokers. Those who smoked for 10 to 29 years had a 16 percent higher risk, those who smoked for 30 to 49 years had a 25 percent increased risk, and those who smoked for 50 years or more had a 62 percent greater risk.

  The study is to be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting, in Orlando, Fla.

  Source: Health Day, 03 April 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/gt3alk

• Wales: Pupils get animated over smoking menace

  Primary School pupils in Wales are leading the fight to create smokefree places in Cardiff.
  
  As part of a Save The Children project the pupils created an animation to highlight the health dangers of smoking and secondhand tobacco smoke.
  
  Tyra Ebony, aged nine, said: “We made the animation for smoke-free spaces because smoking can harm you and others.”

  Source: Wales Online, 07 April 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/ezOeph

• India: Smokeless tobacco has 28 carcinogens

  Smokeless tobacco products being marketed in India contain 3095 chemical components with 28 of these being proven carcinogens.

  The latest studies demonstrate the presence of heavy metals, including lead, cadmium, chromium, arsenic and nickel in these products, with one recent study reporting that 30 per cent of gutkha brand samples freely available in tea-stalls, bus stops, railway stations and several public places in the country, exceed the permissible levels of lead and copper when compared to the provisional tolerable intake limits determined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

  The revelations were made by Health Ministry officials who led the debate with stakeholders on the need to regulate the availability and use of smokeless tobacco in India. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2010 estimates that 34.6 percent of people use tobacco in India; of these, 25.9 percent use smokeless tobacco.

  Source: The Tribune, 04 April 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/huQBE2

• New Zealand: Smoking ban at Auckland regional parks

  Auckland Council announced a new smokefree policy which is set to ban smokers from lighting up in any of the city's 24 regional parks.

  Sandra Coney, Parks, Recreation and Heritage Forum chair said, "Smoking raised the risk of fire and decreased the natural beauty of the regional parks. Promoting smokefree parks sets a positive example to our younger park visitors. The last thing you need when enjoying the clean air and natural beauty of our parks is the waft of someone else's smoking."

  The regional parks join a growing number of facilities, including Auckland Zoo, Mt Smart Stadium and Eden Park, going smokefree in Auckland.

  Source: nzherald, 07 April 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/g6rzQ9