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ASH Daily News

26 November 2004

HEADLINES

Dr Richard Peto replies to 'Smoke screen' article
COPD, 20 times more deadly than asthma
Smoke gets in your pies, BBPA claims a third of pubs to drop food
Imperial Tobacco chief 'disappointed' by ban
New smoking link to cancer

FULL TEXT

Dr Richard Peto replies to 'Smoke screen' article

Sir: Because so many smokers have given up, the number of UK deaths from
smoking is decreasing: it was 140,000 in 1990, and is now "only" about
100,000 a year. Still, the risks are so great that those who smoke
should really understand them (about half of all persistent cigarette
smokers are eventually killed by their habit, although half are not)
when choosing whether to continue. Journalists such as Tim Luckhurst
("Smoke screen", 16 November) do not help consolidate this understanding
when they misunderstand, and hence deny, the main evidence.
Our estimates are that smokers die, on average, 10 years earlier than
non-smokers, and that in 2000 smoking caused about 30,000 of the 34,000
UK lung cancer deaths; 13,000 of 117,000 other UK cancer deaths; 31,000
of 237,000 UK deaths from heart attack, stroke and other vascular
diseases; and another 40,000 deaths from other conditions: total 114,000
(18 per cent of all deaths in England and Wales plus 24 per cent of
those in Scotland).
Lung cancer is a "smoking-related" disease, and so are heart attack and
stroke, but we and others, including the health minister he quoted,
attribute only some of the deaths from these smoking-related diseases to
smoking, not all of them. More than 10 per cent of persistent cigarette
smokers die from lung cancer; Luckhurst quotes somebody saying that
under 1 per cent do, because he mixed up the risk per year with the
lifetime risk.
We and the Government claim that half of all smokers are killed by it,
not that "death is always the result", and we do not include among the
deaths from smoking "people who should have died when they did without
smoking a single cigarette".
Sir RICHARD PETO F.R.S.
Professor of Medical Statistics & Epidemiology
University of Oxford
Source: The Independent, 26 November 2004
Article link:
http://comment.independent.co.uk/letters/story.jsp?story=586794


'Hidden' respiratory disease kills 20 times more people than asthma

The British Thoracic Society warned there could be thousands of smokers
living with the early symptoms of COPD, a condition which includes
smoking related conditions such as bronchitis and emphysema and which is
responsible for 30,000 deaths a year in the UK. Asthma causes 1400
deaths annually.

The BTS said that although there are 600,000 diagnosed cases of COPD in
the UK, this could be the 'tip of the iceberg' because of a lack of
awareness about the symptoms. The Society conducted a survey in which
they found that one in five smokers aged 15-54 had a persistent smoker's
cough, but almost half (48%) did not realise this was an early warning
sign of a potentially serious lung disease.

Dr David Bellamy, a GP from Bournemouth, said: "COPD is the third
largest cause of respiratory death worldwide, and is expected to be the
third most common cause of overall deaths worldwide by 2020".

Source: The Glasgow Herald, 22 November 2004.


BBPA claims a third of pubs to become drinking dens

The British Beer and Pub Association estimates that 16,000 pubs 'could
ditch food in favour of becoming smoke filled drinking dens' whereas
Government estimates the number of pubs likely to stop serving food at
6000. Mark Hastings of the BBPA said the Government estimates were
based on analysis of turnover from food sales and not profit margins:
"Most profit in pubs still comes from drink sales."
Yates chief executive Mark Jones said his initial thoughts were that "we
would have to, with great reluctance, remove food from between 10% and
20% of our estate, as the loss in liquor sales would outweigh the growth
in food sales."
Head of marketing for St Austell brewery, Jeremy Mitchell, asked: "Do we
continue encouraging tenants to develop their food offer, or do they
focus on serving the important wet sales customers, many of whom still
want a cigarette with their drink?" and Laurel chief executive Ian Payne
added: "I expect high street pubs will stop serving food, which is
rather disingenuous of the government in regard to social responsibility
concerns."
Mark Hastings of the BBPA pointed out that: "We can seek to shape a
policy that better reflects the needs of the industry."
Source: Morning Advertiser, 25 November 2004

Imperial Tobacco chief 'disappointed' by ban

Gareth Davis, Chief Executive of Imperial Tobacco, said proposals to
curb all smoking in restaurants and bars which serve food were tougher
than the company expected. He said the company had expected voluntary
controls rather than the complete ban envisaged by the Government on
premises where food is served.

"On balance we were slightly disappointed," he said. Mr Davis said he
expected Imperial would probably see a "quite minor" drop in sales -
"very low single digits" and that he expected that "in a month or two we
would be back to where we were."

Mr Davis opined that "a bit of common courtesy, a bit of co-operation, a
bit of ventilation can accommodate most people's wishes" and that
"legislation is a precious thing and should be left for the massive
issues of the day if at all possible".

Source: Nottingham Evening Post, 23 November 2004
Article link: http://tinyurl.com/3vqj7


New smoking link to cancer

Cigarette smoke transforms healthy saliva into a deadly cocktail that
can accelerate mouth cancer, according to research in the British
Journal of Cancer.
New research shows that the chemicals in tobacco smoke combine with
saliva with devastating effect. They destroy the protective components
of saliva - leaving a corrosive mix that damages cells in the mouth and
can eventually turn them cancerous.
There are nearly 8,000 cases and 3,000 deaths from mouth cancer in the
UK every year - the main cause being smoking. Mouth cancer can develop
in any part of the mouth including the tongue, gums, lining of the mouth
and lips. The researchers in the study wanted to examine saliva's role
in the development of mouth cancer.
Around 90 per cent of lung cancer cases are caused by tobacco smoking
and other studies show that smoking can cause a range of other cancers
including cancer of the pancreas, stomach, liver and lower urinary
tract.
The study recreated the effects of cigarette smoke on cancerous cells of
the mouth. Half the cell samples were exposed to cigarette smoke and the
other half to the saliva and cigarette smoke mixture.
Cancerous cells were used in order to assess quickly whether the saliva
and smoke mixture would speed the cancer's development. The study
revealed that the longer the mouth cells were exposed to the
contaminated saliva, the more the cells were damaged.
Dr Rafi Nagler of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, who
co-led the study, says: "Most people will find it very shocking that the
mixture of saliva and smoke is actually more lethal to cells in the
mouth than cigarette smoke alone.
"Our study shows that once exposed to cigarette smoke, our saliva not
only loses its beneficial qualities but it turns traitor and actually
aids in destroying the cells of the mouth and oral cavity."
Saliva contains anti-oxidants. These are molecules that can help protect
the body against cancer. The researchers found that the cigarette smoke
destroyed them and turned saliva into a dangerous cocktail of chemicals
that could accelerate the development of mouth cancer.
Control for Cancer Research UK said "Once more we see the dreadful
impact smoking can have on health. This insight into how mouth cancer
can develop offers more reasons for smokers to try and quit. People know
of the link with lung cancer, and this research adds compelling evidence
about the damage smoking can do to the mouth."
Source: The Voice, 15 November 2004
Article link: http://www.voice-online.net/content.php?show=5480&type=7
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