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ASH Daily News
25 November 2002

HEADLINES

One in five schoolchildren is a smoker
More children using cannabis
Falling counts prompt government investigation
Smokers go wrinkly at just 20
Folic acid found to cut heart disease
Tobacco stocks downgraded
Saints and sinners
Belgian Grand Prix in the pits



FULL TEXT


One in five schoolchildren is a smoker

One-third of children who try smoking start in primary school, a study
shows. One in five schoolchildren under 16 is a regular smoker, the survey
also found, double the previous Department of Health estimates.

The report will alarm health campaigners who interviewed 6,500
schoolchildren aged 16 and under. The research showed the earlier children
begin smoking, the more damaging the potential consequences in later life.

The study, in the latest edition of the British Medical Association's
journal on tobacco misuse, will increase concerns about the long-term health
risks of cancer and heart and lung disease faced by smokers who start at an
early age. The report also indicates that children are more likely to
experiment with cigarettes if they are placed in a class with a high
proportion of young people who smoke.

"Children should have the best start in life by not becoming passive smokers
and not learning to smoke from their parents," a spokeswoman for ASH, the
anti-smoking pressure group, said. "It's worrying that so many children are
trying cigarettes, although this does not mean they will become regular
smokers."

She added: "Despite reforms on cigarette advertising, children are still
vulnerable when they buy sweets in corner shops."

Full article: <http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=355266>
Source: The Independent on Sunday, 24 November 2002


More children using cannabis

Several papers report that increasing numbers of children are smoking
cannabis, according to a survey. The proportion of boys aged 14 and 15 who
said they had tried the drug jumped from 19% in 1999 to 29% in 2001, the
Schools Health Education Unit said. The number of girls of the same age who
smoked cannabis rose from 18% to 25%.

Recent research showed that use of cannabis before the age of 15 can lead to
serious mental health problems.

Source: Sunday Times, Mail on Sunday, 24 November 2002, The Independent,
Daily Mail 25 November 2002



Falling counts prompt government investigation

A decline in male fertility has prompted the government to investigate
whether exposure to household chemicals, alcohol consumption or stress has
played a role.

Studies around the world have shown that average sperm counts have dropped
by more than half in the past 50 years and are continuing to fall by 2
percent every year.

Experts at Imperial College, London are studying the effect of “occupational
and household” chemicals and on the health of sperm. The effects of smoking,
drinking and the birth order of men on fertility will also assessed under
the study.

Source: The Independent, 23 November 2002


Smokers go wrinkly at just 20

Dermatologists have found wrinkles on the faces of smokers as young as 20 .
What’s more is that they are twice as pronounced and twice as rough as lines
on the faces of non-smokers the same age.

The research, published in the International Journal of Dermatology, shows
that smokers are three times as likely to form moderate or severe wrinkles.

It is thought that toxins in cigarettes alter the elasticity of skin.

Source: Mail on Sunday, 24 November 2002



Folic acid found to cut heart disease

Folic acid, normally taken as a supplement by pregnant women, dramatically
reduces the risk of heart disease, strokes and deep vein thrombosis.

Doctors have found that by simply taking 0.8mg of folic acid each day, the
risk of heart disease is reduced by 16 percent, strokes by 24 percent and
DVT by 25 percent. The research, which pooled more than 100 studies
involving 35,000 people, focused on homocysteine, an amino acid in the body.

Source: The Scotsman, 22 November 2002



Tobacco stocks downgraded

The weekend papers report on Goldman Sachs decision to downgrade Imperial
and Gallaher, and their stocks beat a hasty retreat.

The main argument from Goldman analyst Mark Lynch was that a slowdown
consumer spending would soon push smokers away from premium bands and
towards the lower margin products.

This was combined with word from the US fag giant Philip Morris, which said
that its “light” brands, which include Marlboro Light, was no safer than any
other cigarette.

Source: The Independent on Sunday, The Times, Daily Telegraph, 23 November
2002, The Wall Street Journal, Europe 25 November 2002

However, Imperial tobacco’s profits are expected to jump from £509m to £620m
for the year to September 30 reflecting the initial contribution from the
£3.6bn acquisition of Reemstma in March. In September the group said it had
cut 800 jobs and was planning to shed another 800 from its 18,0000 strong
global workforce.

Source: Financial Times, 25 November 2002



Saints and sinners

Nick Mathiason compiled an index of British industry’s top saints and
sinners for the Observer over the weekend.

First on the list for the sinners, was British American Tobacco. BAT owns a
factory in Burma, which is ruled by a brutal military dictatorship. Ken
Clarke MP, BAT’s deputy chairman appeared to agree that this was not
satisfactory in a letter he wrote to a constituent, which recently came to
light. He has since clarified his stance. BAT has no plans of stopping
manufacturing there. BAT stands accused of lobbying governments to water
down the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco
Control. It is in the midst of multi-billion dollar US litigation over
health warning issues associated with smoking.

Top of the saints pile was Kingfisher, with it DIY subsidiary B&Q. It is
phasing peat out because of environmental concerns and has led the way on
sustainably managed timber.

Source: The Observer, 24 November 2002



Belgian Grand Prix in the pits

The Belgian Government’s decision to rescind its ban on tobacco advertising
is too late to salvage Spa-Francorchamps’ place on the 2003 Formula One
calendar, according to motor-sport boss Max Mosely.

Last week the Belgian senate’s Social Affairs Commission voted eight to
seven in favour of abandoning plans to ban tobacco logos from August 1 next
year, one month before next years Belgian Grand Prix was due to be held.

But the decision last month by F1 teams to eject an event where they would
not be able to display their cigarette brands, Mosely says the senate’s move
is too late.

Source: Autosport, 21 November 2002




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Naj Dehlavi
Action on Smoking and Health
102 Clifton Street
London EC2A 4HW
http://www.ash.org.uk