HEADLINES

• Plain packets would cut number of women smokers, says report
• Lords: 'Ban smoking in cars with children'
• Mums' fury over cigarette sales from ice-cream van
• Swansea mother died in blaze caused by cigarette
• USA: One in four look down on smokers - study
• Cuba releases world's first lung cancer vaccine

• Plain packets would cut number of women smokers, says report

  Researchers found a marked reduction in tobacco consumption among a group of 48 smokers who were given plain packs of cigarettes to use over a two-week period rather than branded packets.

  Scientists at Stirling University's Institute for Social Marketing carried out the tests of plain cigarette packaging on a sample of young smokers from Glasgow, aged between 18 and 35, who completed detailed questionnaires about their attitude towards the plain packs they were given to hold.

  The plain packets were rated more negatively than branded packets, cigarettes were taken out less often, handed out less frequently and the packs were hidden more often, said Crawford Moodie, the study's lead author.

  Gerard Hastings, director of the Stirling Institute, said that although the pilot study was too small to produce statistical significance, it was indicative of being effective in cutting down tobacco use. "Plain packaging is off-putting. It makes smokers behave in a negative way towards their habit, it reinforces that negative attitude and it's more pronounced in women than in men," he said.

  Source: The Independent - 09 September 2011
  Link: http://ind.pn/qp8ssQ

• Lords: 'Ban smoking in cars with children'

  Tory peer Lord Ribeiro, a former president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said the evidence of damage to children from passive smoking is well documented.

  At question time in the House of Lords, he asked health minister Earl Howe: "Are you prepared to follow the example of the Welsh Assembly to introduce legislation if efforts to change behaviour fails?", urging the Government to consider banning adults from smoking in cars in which children are travelling.

  Lord Howe said the Government wants to encourage people to "create family environments free from second-hand smoke" but believes they could be achieved more quickly by voluntary measures than legislation.

  He added: "Children are particularly vulnerable to the harms from second-hand smoke. Over 300,000 children in the UK present passive smoking-related illnesses to their GP every year. We have to take this matter seriously and we are."

  Source: Yahoo!/Press Association - 08 September 2011
  Link: http://yhoo.it/of3xIt

• Mums' fury over cigarette sales from ice-cream van

  A popular ice cream van man has defended himself against criticism from mums and an anti-smoking charity for selling cigarettes from his vehicle.

  Grandad-of-two Brian Hughes, who runs Brian's Ice Cream Van in Barnstaple, said he was not doing anything wrong by selling tobacco out of his van and even had a licence to do it.

  Hughes, who has been running his van for 30 years, said he had been selling cigarettes from it for 20 years, and had not had any complaints before.

  He also said he was not doing anything differently from newsagents and supermarkets, who also sell sweets, ice cream and tobacco.

  But mum and town councillor Christine Brennan told the Journal she and other mums felt selling cigarettes from an ice cream van was morally wrong, and encouraged young people to smoke.

  A spokesperson from Smokefree South West said: "Selling cigarettes from an ice-cream van is a shocking example of how we are exposing children to a lifelong habit that will have debilitating effects on their health. To have packets of cigarettes next to ice lollies is something that these concerned mums are quite right to complain about.

  Hughes said he doesn't sell to kids or encourage them to smoke, adding that he doesn't agree with smoking but that he came up with the idea to attract people who want cigarettes to the van with the possibility that they may buy something else.

  Source: This is Devon - 08 September 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/r4FWL3

• Swansea mother died in blaze caused by cigarette

  A mother who had been sleeping on her lounge sofa died in a fire started by a dropped cigarette.

  The body of Merle Boyle, 65, was discovered by firefighters at her home in Dyfed Avenue, Townhill, early on February 11 this year.

  A post mortem concluded she had died from severe burns, but also discovered she had very high levels of the drugs paracetamol, diazepam and anti- depressant citalopram in her system.

  Gary Williams, assistant county commander for Swansea with Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service at the time, told the inquest he believed the fire had been caused by a cigarette.

  The settee she had been sleeping on was fire resistant, but he said it was likely the blankets and cushions had helped to encourage the fire when she stood up.

  He said: "I believe the cigarette ignited one of the items and smouldered without a flame, and most probably the blanket and settee covering were disturbed by the victim becoming aware and standing up.''

  He said there was evidence of cigarettes previously being burned out into the carpet next to the settee.

  Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner Philip Rogers said: "Precisely what happened is not easy to determine in this case, but I am satisfied it was a cigarette discarded by Mrs Bevan on to the sofa on which she was sleeping which was the cause of the fire."

  Source: This is South Wales - 08 September 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/qzRZDl

• USA: One in four look down on smokers - study

  One in four Americans say they respect a person less when he or she smokes, according to a recent Gallup poll, vs. 14% in the 1990s. Former smokers aren't more empathetic; even among current smokers, 5% have less respect for tobacco users.

  Despite this social marginalization — layered atop a barrage of anti-smoking ads, restrictive legislation, soaring per-pack prices, heightened pressure from employers, doctors and insurers, and the ban of smoking on 500 college campuses — 19.3% of the U.S. population still smokes.

  The good news: A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week says that, among daily smokers, the percentage who smoke 30 or more cigarettes a day dropped to 8% in 2010 (down from 13% in 2005). And today there are more tools, free advice and greater understanding of how tough it is to quit.

  Although within the ranks of smokers there are some who are outspoken, even aggressive about their right to smoke — the internet is filled with smokers' rights groups and blogs, and simmering emotion regularly erupts when smokers and nonsmokers share public turf like parks and sidewalks —, Patrick Reynolds, who in 1989 started the non-profit Foundation for a Smokefree America, believes proud rigidity among smokers has diminished. "Most people who still smoke feel shame more than anything," he says.

  Source: USA Today - 08 September 2011
  Link: http://usat.ly/qio6BY

• Cuba releases world's first lung cancer vaccine

  A vaccine, called CimaVax-EGF, is intended for patients with lung cancer in stages three and four who have shown no positive response to other kinds of treatment, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Although the vaccine doesn’t cure the disease, it can minimize the cancer’s growth due to its antibodies that combat the proteins that allow uncontrolled cell growth.

  Researchers have performed clinical studies and trials in more than 1,000 lung cancer patients in Cuba, where the vaccine is now distributed free of charge.

  The lung cancer vaccine is the result of 25 years of research by CIM scientists into diseases related to tobacco smoking. In the future, the researchers plan to apply the same principles of the CimaVAX-EGF to treat other cancerous tumors, such as those in prostate, uterus, and breast cancers.

  Source: Medicalxpress - 08 September 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/nxFZqL