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ASH Daily news for 17 November 2011

HEADLINES

  • Cigarette safety standards tightened across EU

    New cigarette safety standards have come into force in an attempt to cut the number of people killed in house fires.

    They mean that every cigarette sold in the EU must meet a reduced ignition propensity (RIP) requirement.

    Cigarette paper must have special bands at intervals down its length so that, once lit, a cigarette will go out if it is not actively smoked.

    According to the latest figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government, around 2,800 fires in the UK were caused by smoking materials in 2008 -101 people died and 932 were injured.

    ASH believes the new cigarettes could dramatically reduce the number of house fires.

    ASH's director of policy and research, Martin Dockrell, said "Cigarettes are without doubt the most dangerous consumer product on earth - they kill 50% of people who use them.”

    "Finland has already introduced RIP cigarettes - last year the number of smoking-related fire deaths there fell 40%.”

    "You have to ask yourself why the tobacco companies resisted this change for so long. This simple change will dramatically reduce the number of household fires," he said.

    The chairman of London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority's Community Safety Committee, Councillor Susan Hall, said the introduction of the law is a "watershed moment" for UK fire safety.

    Source: BBC News, 17 November 2011
    Link: http://bbc.in/vYyxiQ

  • Stub it out: It's the price we pay for a selfish, individualistic attitude which harms the most vulnerable

    Below is an extract from a commentary peice by Julia Manning in the Daily Mail.

    Libertarians are going to be hopping mad. The British Medical Association (BMA) declared in favour of the proposal to ban smoking in cars. There are actually two good reasons for this.

    Like mobile phones, the first is that cigarettes distract from the primary task of driving and are a safety hazard. The second reason is the toxicity of the smoke, and the doctor's concern is particularly for children's health and the risks of being exposed to the fumes.

    But we shouldn't be interfering in people’s private lives, should we?

    What people do in private is not a concern of the State many say, unless (they usually add the caveat) this private behaviour is harming others.

    And this is precisely the problem. Others ARE being harmed.

    I remember as a teenager getting a lift to school each morning in a friend's dad's car. And every morning I would have an acute coughing fit, often with tears running down my cheeks and sometimes gasping for breath. I was far too embarrassed by the coughing to realise that the trigger was smoke. It wasn't that he smoked when we were in the car, but the residue from when he did smoke in the car was enough to cause me respiratory problems.

    Source: Daily Mail, 16 November 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/vBtE4u

  • Australia: New laws needed to fight tobacco: lawyer

    According to a leading lawyer, Australia should introduce far-reaching corruption and racketeering laws to fight the "dirty tactics" of tobacco firms.

    Slater and Gordon senior partner Peter Gordon told an audience in Perth that the federal government needed to get tough on the industry that "killed 15,000 Australians a year" and had proven to be deceptive.

    He said Canberra should also hold firm on its plain-packaging legislation, passed last week, believing it would defeat any High Court action brought against it by the tobacco industry.

    Addressing an Australian Council on Smoking and Health forum at the University of Western Australia, Mr Gordon said the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations (RICO) Act had been used by the US government to win a US$13 billion judgment against US tobacco firms in 2006, and Australia should do the same.

    Source: The Age, 17 November 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/t8Xk73

  • USA: Obama scolds tobacco firms for fighting new labels

    President Barack Obama —pronounced tobacco-free in his latest medical checkup —has tough words for cigarette makers.

    In a new White House video he says that some tobacco companies are fighting new cigarette warning labels because "they don't want to be honest about the consequences."

    The video, provided to The Associated Press in advance of its release, observes Thursday's 36th "Great American Smokeout" by the American Cancer Society.

    Obama says the country has made progress in reducing the number of Americans who smoke but notes that 46 million are still addicted.

    "The fact is, quitting smoking is hard," he says. "Believe me, I know."

    Companies led by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Lorillard Tobacco Co. sued the FDA in August to block the labels, arguing the labels cross the line from fact-based warnings to anti-smoking advocacy. Altria Group Inc., parent company of Marlboro maker Philip Morris USA, is not in the lawsuit.

    Obama says, "Today, some big tobacco companies are trying to block these labels because they don't want to be honest about the consequences of using their products. Unfortunately, this isn't surprising."

    Source: The Associated Press, 17 November 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/rVavhL

  • Major rise forecasted for world mouth cancer cases

    The International Agency for Research on Cancer predicts that more than 790,000 people will be diagnosed with mouth cancer by 2030 — an increase of over 63% compared to 2008.

    Mortality rates for mouth cancer are predicted to be even higher with more than 460,000 deaths forecast by 2030 — more than two-thirds higher than 2008 rates (67.6%).

    Many of the risks for mouth cancer are lifestyle-related. Tobacco use is by far the biggest cause of mouth cancer. Alcohol abuse is also a major cause and drinking to excess can increase the risk of mouth cancer by up to four times. People who smoke and drink are up to 30 times more likely to develop mouth cancer.

    Chief Executive of the International Dental Health Foundation, Dr, Nigel Carter said: “Although cancer is not wholly preventable, mouth cancer is very closely related to lifestyle choices. Making more people aware of the risks and symptoms for mouth cancer will undoubtedly save lives"

    Source: DentistryiQ, 16 November 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/tqyIAm

  • Study: Apartments pose high secondhand smoke hazard

    The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced that multi-unit housing can expose hazardous secondhand smoke to non-smokers living adjacent to those who do smoke.

    Research shows that residents could be exposed to dangerous levels of smoke through cracks in fixtures, electrical outlets, pipes, vents and baseboards, as well as shared ventilation systems and windows.

    The study shows that 30 to 50 percent of air came from other units and all buildings, regardless of when they were built.

    "More than 41 percent in our country are in multi-unit buildings and just as you can get smells and noises from one unit to another, the same goes for tobacco smoke," said Dr. Johnathan E. Fielding from the Department of Public Health.

    Source: Annenberg TV News,17 November 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/rQ0jQw