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ASH Daily news for 06 October 2011

HEADLINES

  • Isle of Man: Prison has "lost control" of smoking ban according to chief prison inspector

    According to the chief inspector of prisons Nick Hardwick, the Isle of Man Prison has lost control of the no-smoking ban.

    Along with a team from the HM Inspectorate of Prisons he visited the prison in March and found that prisoners were flouting the smoking ban – often in full view of prison staff.

    The Isle of Man Prison is Europe's only completely non-smoking prison. The ban was introduced in 2008 following the prison's move from Douglas to the north of the Island.

    The report, which has been published today, found that the total ban had resulted in a "large number of negative outcomes".

    The report suggests initiating some changes to the smoking ban such as allowing smoking outside in the exercise areas. It also recommends that regular smoking advice and support clinics should be made available to all prisoners.

    Mark Kelly, the chief executive of the Department of Home Affairs which has responsibility for the prison, said: "The report has identified issues around the no-smoking policy which was introduced to protect non-smokers at the prison from the harmful effects of secondary smoke inhalation. In response to the inspector's comments the department instigated a review of current arrangements and decided to continue the ban with a renewed focus on robust enforcement and effective smoking cessation support."

    Source: Isleofman.com, 05 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/mTuxxr

  • Councils must embrace new community health initiatives

    NHS reforms may dominate the headlines but local government leaders should also be prepared for other changes including devolution in public health if they are to take the chance to improve community health, and potentially their authority's bank balances.

    The healthier a population, the less demand on costly interventions, and evidence is growing that this can be achieved by the public themselves being co-opted to design and deliver the public health services they need.

    Several councils have already adopted this "big society" or co-operative approach. Under this model local people are trained and in some cases paid, to assess the health and social needs of their ward before helping to design and deliver bespoke arrangements with council and NHS resources. In Hammersmith and Fulham, a community health champion programme developed initially for the Well London scheme, has improved the health, sense of community, employability and confidence of many in the deprived White City ward.

    It began with people from the area being asked at a public meeting, arranged in partnership with the tenants association and other local groups, what their needs were. Then, in conjunction with the Primary Care Trust and other agencies, 40 volunteers, most of them unemployed people from the estate, were trained to public health NVQ level two. The assessment they undertook resulted in smoking cessation sessions, healthy eating workshops and a range of other resident-led initiatives.

    This approach is backed by vice-president of the UK Faculty of Public Health and Sandwell public health director John Middleton, who has started similar projects in his area.

    "Not only does it deliver better care and save money but many of the people we have trained go on to work for pollsters Mori and the health service as well," Middleton told Public Leaders.

    The evidence suggests that if councils, facing bleak financial times, help the public design and deliver public health then there are opportunities to improve wellbeing and reduce demand on costly services in a truly virtuous circle.

    Source: The Guardian, 05 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/nd1Nh3

  • Women smokers face tougher odds than men after heart attack

    According to a new University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center study, women who smoke have heart attacks at younger ages and are more likely than men to suffer complications months after a cardiac event.

    Although fewer women than men smoke in the United States, the gender gap is decreasing and the findings suggest the toll of smoking is greater on women's health.

    "Smoking is not good for men or women but our analysis shows that women who smoke do worse six months after a heart attack than men," says senior study author Elizabeth Jackson, M.D., M.P.H., cardiologist at the U-M Cardiovascular Center. "We were not able to look at the basic biological mechanisms that would account for this, but other studies can give us some ideas.

    The gender differences study was published online ahead of print in the American Journal of Cardiology.

    Source: MediLexicon, 05 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/r4i4RQ

  • Australia seeks world backing on tobacco legal fight

    Australia is confident the world's toughest anti-tobacco laws will soon pass parliament, but the government warned  that the anti-smoking fight was not over and urged other nations to reject a possible WTO challenge backed by big tobacco.

    Health Minister Nicola Roxon said the minority government was bracing not only for a court challenge to its plan to force cigarettes to be sold in plain packaging from 2012, but also an intellectual property dispute at the World Trade Organization.

    "A tobacco company themselves can't bring a claim in the WTO. A state has to do that," Roxon told Reuters in an interview.

    "I won't be surprised if tobacco companies are out there looking for a country to claim on their behalf, and we urge countries not to do that."

    The new laws, expected to easily pass parliament next week with backing from the conservative opposition and Green crossbench senators, are being closely watched by New Zealand, Canada, the European Union and Britain, which are considering similar restrictions.

    Industry analysts say tobacco companies are worried that plain packaging could spread to emerging markets like Brazil, Russia and Indonesia, and threaten growth there.

    An Australia parliamentary committee looking into the legislation and possible grounds for a legal contest received submissions from as far afield as Europe and Kenya, and even cigarette retailers in Peru and Rio de Janeiro.

    Roxon said, "We don't know how much (tobacco firms) seek to influence other players, but we certainly become suspicious when you see comments made by people apparently completely disconnected to Australia., when the lines are exactly reflecting - almost parroting - tobacco companies."

    Source: Reuters News, 06 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/pFPNcT

  • Tobacco-free weddings: the new front in China's anti-smoking campaign

    Chinese health experts and tobacco control officers have initiated tobacco-free wedding campaigns in response to the country's indoor tobacco control policy, but have made little headway so far.

    It's estimated that 300 million adults in China smoke and 540 million people of all ages are affected by secondhand smoke.

    Tobacco is deeply rooted in the national culture. For example, leading brands of cigarettes and wines are a must at wedding banquets, where newlyweds visit each table and toast the guests to express their gratitude and the bride, in particular, lights a cigarette for each male guest.

    However, traditions like this were challenged in March, when the country's Ministry of Health included a ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces in a revised regulation on health management.

    Campaigns promoting tobacco-free weddings were thus carried out in Shanghai Municipality and several provinces including Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Shandong.

    "Prohibiting smoking in wedding receptions is an effective way of raising public awareness," said Lu Yajuan, the head of the tobacco control project for the city's disease control and prevention center.

    Source: Xinhaunet, 05 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/q7DVrg