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ASH Daily news for 01 August 2011

HEADLINES

  • Japan Tobacco to buy out tobacco firms in North, South Sudan

    Japan Tobacco Inc. said it has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares in major tobacco companies in North and South Sudan, Haggar Cigarette & Tobacco Factory Ltd. (North Sudan) and Haggar Cigarette & Tobacco Factory Ltd. (South Sudan), mainly from their parent Haggar Holding Co.

    Japan Tobacco expects to pay $450 million for the deal, which is likely to be completed in November.

    The company said the acquisition of the two Haggar companies, which have Bringi and other cigarette brands, will enable Japan Tobacco to accelerate its market advances into emerging economies.

    Source: The Mainichi Daily News, 29 July 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/qm6GMA

  • Michael Douglas isn't the only cancer patient who can't quit

    Photographs that appear to show that actor Michael Douglas is still smoking, months after diagnosis and treatment for Stage IV throat cancer, don't surprise health experts who say many cancer-stricken smokers just can't quit.

    A recent study by Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center researcher Kathryn E. Weaver found that up to 18 percent of lung cancer patients and 12 percent of patients with colorectal cancer continued to smoke after a cancer diagnosis. The study also found that 25 percent of their family members continued to smoke, even after watching a loved one's struggles.

    "It just speaks to the incredible addictive power of nicotine," said Weaver, an assistant professor in the department of social sciences and health policy whose work was published this spring in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

    Some cancer patients continue to smoke because they think there's no point to stopping, but Weaver said that's just not true. Stopping smoking after a diagnosis has been associated with better response to treatment, reduced symptoms and even prolonged survival.

    Source: MSNBC, 29 July 2011
    Link: http://on.today.com/rnk9vb

  • Shopkeeper fined for counterfeit tobacco products

    A shopkeeper has been fined after counterfeit tobacco products and more than 300 incorrectly labelled packs of cigarettes were found under the counter in his shop.

    The majority of the packets of 20 cigarettes were not in English and none had the correct health warnings.

    Omar Mohammed Haso pleaded guilty to one offence of having counterfeit tobacco and 12 offences under the Tobacco Products Regulations and the Consumer Protection Act at Nottingham Magistrates' Court and was fined £150 and £315 costs.

    Councillor Alex Norris, of Nottingham City Council, said: "The city council will take action whenever we become aware of counterfeit tobacco being sold."

    Source: This is Nottingham, 30 July 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/qRMLq3

  • Canada: Canadian government not liable for tobacco health costs

    The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Canadian government does not share liability with tobacco companies for smoking-related health costs.

    The ruling concerned two cases where the high court was asked to intervene in order to determine whether the government should be held liable for costs related to smokers' health problems.

    "The facts as pleaded do not bring Canada's relationship with consumers and the tobacco companies within a settled category of negligent misrepresentation," the court decision read.

    In both cases, tobacco companies said the Canadian government had played a role because of its regulation of its industry, taxation and support for warning labels to be placed on packets of tobacco products.

    Imperial alleged that Canada "negligently represented the health attributes of low-tar cigarettes to consumers."

    The nine justices of the Supreme Court rejected the companies' demands, reversing 2009 rulings in their favour granted by the British Columbia Court of Appeal.

    Source: AFP, 30 July 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/qSuAKs

  • Zimbabwe: Stem child labour in tobacco farming

    This year alone, the country is projected to produce 170 million kilogrammes of tobacco worth an estimated USD$300 million making Zimbabwe one of the key producers of the 'golden leaf' in the world.

    Despite the resilience of the country's tobacco industry in the face of a decade-long economic crisis, the industry remains buffeted by a number of challenges and these came under the spotlight at the recently held Zimbabwe Tobacco Association Congress.

    These challenges largely focus on the need for heightened compliance in the sector, particularly to the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control which Zimbabwe has not yet ratified. There is an urgent need for the country to review its tobacco production architecture to ensure that it conforms to current international standards in the production and management of tobacco. One of these standards relates to the non-use of child labour in tobacco farming.

    The ZTA immediate past President Kevin Cooke was unequivocal on the issue.

    "As for child labour, we are very much in the spotlight in this area and need urgently to address, especially in the small scale sector, the use of child labour."

    While there are no readily available statistics on the magnitude of the problem, the fact that the ZTA has identified it as one of the key challenges requiring a resolution is indicative of a growing problem in the sector.

    Source: AllAfrica, 29 July 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/pOoRLe

  • New Zealand: Prescription-only cigarettes 'not the way'

    A proposal to make tobacco a prescription-only drug is causing fierce debate.

    Auckland councillor Arthur Anae, says the idea can work, given the Government's goal to make New Zealand smokefree by 2025.

    Anae, also chair of Counties Manukau DHB's Pacific Advisory Committee, says New Zealand needs to start thinking outside the box.

    He said, "We have to come up with ideas to try to reach that target. The only way is if we are serious and if we want to stop it, make smokers get a prescription, as they do for a drug."

    The former National MP said with a prescription, tobacco becomes needs based and the doctor has the ultimate say on whether the patient really needs it or not.

    But the Council for GPs and anti-smoking campaigners say shifting responsibility from the Government to the medical profession is not the way to make New Zealand smokefree.

    Ben Youden from ASH said, "Asking doctors to make that decision - to give them something that they know is likely to kill the patient - I think is a very tough thing to ask them to do."

    Source: TV NZ, 01 August 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/qrg0yS