Australia: Victorian anti-smoking groups score another hit with new bans

New smoking bans to be introduced in the state of Victoria, Australia will be a blow to many smokers as it will be illegal to smoke in cars carrying children and on public school grounds. The advertising of cigarettes and smoking cigarette at 'point-of-sale', will also be banned by the Victorian Government and cigarettes will in future be stored in a cupboard or under the counter and advertised only by a plain sign with prices.

Kylie Lindorff policy manager of Quit Victoria says it is hoped the new advertising restrictions will lead to fewer children taking up smoking. Ms Lindorff says currently cigarettes are advertised as a normal product, often in close proximity to lollies, milk and bread, which can encourage the idea that smoking is normal and they should try it. Ms Lindorff says this can also tempt those trying to quit into impulse buying.

Next on the anti-smoking lobby's agenda is for cigarettes to be sold in plain packets and there are already plans afoot to lobby the Federal Government next year to legislate for plain cigarette packaging, only displaying a large, graphic health warning and the name of the brand. Victoria Health chief executive Todd Harper says it is on the packet where appealing images and attributes appear, meant to entice both new and existing smokers.

The tobacco industry will also be up against a record $22 million anti-smoking advertising strategy which will subject Victorians to least four anti-smoking ads every month, aimed at reducing adult smoking rates by 20% by 2013 and targeting in particular high-risk groups such as pregnant women to quit - $1.5 million will come from the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation.

However critics say retailers have been given a reprieve of more than two-years before the cigarette display ban will be enforced - when New South Wales introduced similar laws last month, retailers were only given six months to a year to comply. Victorian retailers will also not face penalties until 2011 and smoking bans on motorists with children will not come into force until 2010.

Source: News-Medical.Net, 22 December 2008
Link: http://tiny.cc/XjYAs

China: Tobacco firm undermined secondhand smoke policy

A leading tobacco firm carried out an extensive strategy aimed at undermining the health police agenda on secondhand smoke (SHS) in China, research claims. A report published in the journal PLoS Medicine today claims that British American Tobacco (BAT) attempted to divert attention away from SHS issues toward liver disease prevention.

Researchers claim BAT promoted a so-called "resocialisation of smoking" drive using "accommodation efforts", referring to the strategy of lobbying for separate seating for smokers and nonsmokers and promoting ineffective ventilation and air filtration technology for hospitality venues.

Last year the Chinese ministry of health estimated some 540 million Chinese people were exposed to SHS, resulting in 100,000 deaths each year. And experts claim the only way to reduce tobacco smoke exposure indoors is the implementation of smoke-free environments.

Today's report claims one method BAT used to divert attention away from SHS issues was the funding of the Beijing Liver Foundation (BLF) from 1997 to 2002. The authors claim the tobacco company sought to present the message that smoke is an insignificant source of air pollution compared with other pollutants.

They recommend that policymakers in China should be aware of how BAT and other tobacco companies have repeatedly sought to influence health policy in China by focusing attention on the adoption of ineffective air filtration and ventilation systems in hospitality venues rather than the implementation of 100 per cent smoke-free environments.

"Chinese policymakers and the media, need to be better informed of BAT's decade-long initiative to communicate misleading messages on the health effects of SHS," they claim.

Another study published in the journal today claims a scientists from the tobacco company Philip Morris was able to gain access to a World Health Organisation (WHO) collaborating centre in Thailand. The Chulabhorn Research Institute (CRI) is an internationally renowned teaching institution for a variety of scientific disciplines, including environmental toxicology - the study of how chemicals in the environment, such as tobacco smoke, can affect human health.

The report claims the Philip Morris scientist was able to use the links with the institute to influence the study and teaching of environmental toxicology in the institute. This helped him develop relations with key officials and local scientists so as to advance the interests of the tobacco company within Thailand and across Asia, it adds. The authors managed to establish such details after company details were made publicly available online following litigation in the US.

The CRI is headed by Professor Dr Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn, the daughter of the King of Thailand, making criticism a tricky option. "While sensitivities surrounding royal patronage of the CRI make public criticism extremely difficult indications of ongoing involvement by tobacco industry consultants suggest the need for detailed scrutiny of such relationships," the authors claim.

Researchers claim the link between Philip Morris and the CRI found in their study raises the possibility that the tobacco industry is managing to influence medical research and teaching at an academic institution allied with the WHO. The WHO has stated that a "firewall" is in place between itself and the tobacco industry. But the authors of today's study argue that said "firewall" was not impenetrable.

Source: inthenews.co.uk, 23 December 2008
Link: http://tiny.cc/0y0w6

Health group brings touch of Hollywood to spread anti-smoking message

Budding young scriptwriters are being offered the chance to have their work immortalised as part of an exciting anti-smoking project. Thousands of pupils at secondary schools across south west Essex are being asked to write a 45-second anti-smoking film script as part of the project called Act on Smoking. The winners will have their production screened at an extravagant Hollywood-style premier event in March 2009. The exciting project is being coordinated and by NHS South West Essex’s Vitality, Health and Wellbeing team, based at the Purfleet Care Centre.

A panel of judges will choose the 10 best scripts, which will be filmed by a professional crew and placed on a DVD to be used to raise awareness of the dangers of smoking. Tom High, the Vitality, Health and Wellbeing team’s Young Persons Coordinator for Tobacco Control said: “We have launched this competition to reach young people and to help teach them about the consequences of smoking. However, we do not want to preach to the children, we want them to have ownership of and spread their own messages as we feel young people will respond better that way. Statistics show that 80% of smokers start between the ages of 11 and 15, and is why we have aimed this competition at year 9 pupils as they are right in the middle of the age group where they are most likely to be tempted to smoke.”

In total 25 secondary schools have been invited to enter the competition. Once the ten winning entries have been filmed they will be screened at a premier red-carpet event at the Town Gate Theatre in Basildon. The overall winner and runner-up will receive a trophy and £500 worth of stop smoking learning aids for the school. Around 5,500 copies of the DVD will be made and it will be issued free of charge to every year 9 student in South West Essex, spreading the message of the dangers of smoking.

The Vitality, Health and Wellbeing team has already achieved significant success in reducing the number of local young people smoking. Earlier this year the team held a Stop Smoking Group at the Grays Media and Arts School where 50% of the participants managed to kick the habit. More than 90 members of staff at schools across south west Essex have been trained by the team in smoking prevention and another 30 are due to receive further training in the New Year.

Source: NHS South West Essex Press Release, 18 December 2008
 

Kings Of Leon star flouts smoking ban

Kings Of Leon are at the centre of a smoking row after guitarist Matthew Followill sparked up a cigarette during a gig in Wales. The star is said to have flouted the British smoking ban, which prohibits cigarettes from all public indoor areas, including music venues, while on stage at the International Arena in Cardiff, Wales last Wednesday (December 17).

The incident was reported to officials at Cardiff Council, who have launched an investigation, media reports claim. If Followill is found to have breached the smoking rules, he will be hit with a £50 charge and the venue could be handed a much higher fine.

Source: gigwise.com, 22 December 2008
Link: http://tiny.cc/OLGlM

US: $10 million in tobacco excise tax dodged, indictment says

An El Cajon distributor of tobacco products is accused in a federal grand jury indictment in Sacramento of stealing a whopping $10 million in excise taxes from California during the past four years. Licensed tobacco distributors are required to collect excise taxes on products sold within the state, but not on those exported to other states. They must submit to the Board of Equalization monthly reports of products exported or sold within the state, together with the tax due.

In a scheme involving multiple businesses in Arizona and California, bank accounts and records distinguishing products on which taxes were paid from those sold "off invoice," Pisces International Inc. billed the state from 2004 "through to the date of this indictment," it says.

Also charged are Pisces owner Salam Saliem Kalasho and Anil Kumar Malhi, "de facto owner" of LA Price King, a former Los Angeles wholesaler and one of Pisces' biggest customers. LA Price Kingceased operations in August. Pisces and Kalasho "evaded payment of excise tax by falsely reporting … that the overwhelming majority of their OTP (other tobacco products) was sold to customers outside … California," the indictment charges.

"At a time when California taxpayers could least afford it," the accused fleeced them, said Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Steven Lapham. "Kalasho used Arizona businesses to give the appearance that most of Pisces' OTP was being sold to Arizona," the indictment alleges.

California's excise tax for OTP is more than 45 percent of the wholesale price, according to Lapham. "A large profit margin exists for individuals or companies who are able to evade paying it," he said.

The indictment, which was returned Friday, charges one conspiracy count and 20 counts of mail fraud. Pisces, Kalasho and Malhi are all charged with conspiracy. Pisces and Kalasho are charged with mail fraud.

Source: The Sacramento Bee, 23 December 2008
Link: http://www.sacbee.com

Smoking at the wheel affects drivers

Motorists in Cambridgeshire who smoke at the wheel are aggressive and severely distracted, a new survey reveals. According to research by Autoglass, drivers in East Anglia are among the worst in the country for causing accidents while smoking.

Research shows three quarters of smokers say their driving is negatively affected by smoking at the wheel, with six out of 10 admitting they become distracted when flicking ash out of the window.

Two thirds take their eyes off the road when lighting-up while three out of 10 admit to not concentrating when trying to find their cigarettes. The Autoglass poll, which questioned 3,000 drivers, also reveals that seven out of 10 drivers think smoking at the wheel is dangerous and should be banned.

Amanda Sandford, of the campaign group Action on Smoking and Health said, "Smoking while driving is incredibly dangerous and by becoming distracted, smokers are putting themselves and other drivers at risk. There are also serious health implications for the smoker and passengers, so encouraging people not to smoke while driving is a positive move and will have the benefits of reducing passengers' exposure to toxic fumes."

Source: The Peterborough Evening Telegraph, 22 December 2008
Link: http://tiny.cc/DYHLz