Northern Ireland: Ulster cancer charity in call to ban tobacco displays

An Ulster charity has joined over 100 regional and national organisations in a lobby to end tobacco displays in shops.

The Ulster Cancer Foundation (UCF) has signed up to a full-page advertisement, which appeared in the Observer newspaper, urging members of the House of Lords to end tobacco displays in shops and ban sales of tobacco from vending machines.

The advertisement has the backing of 100 organisations, as well as medical and scientific experts.

The report stage of the Health Bill starts on Tuesday, and UCF wants the Lords to vote in favour of putting tobacco out of sight in a bid to protect children from the 'eye-catching displays' which are often close to the sweet counters in many shops.

Gerry McElwee, head of cancer prevention at UCF, said: "Two thirds of smokers take up the habit before they reach adulthood. Smoking is, therefore, an addiction of childhood, not an adult choice. We must not allow 'Big Tobacco' a free rein in its sophisticated campaign to recruit children as future customers.

"The tobacco industry has tried to scare retailers into believing it will cost thousands of pounds to refit their shops, but evidence from Canada shows the cost could be under £200.

"These measures are not just supported by the health community. Opinion polls show they are also popular with the public, who want more to be done to protect children from the harm caused by smoking.

"These measures are an essential part of a comprehensive strategy to drive down smoking, particularly amongst young people."

But independent shopkeepers from across the UK have launched an appeal to members of the House of Lords on the eve of their debate.

Members of the Tobacco Retailers' Alliance are concerned that a display ban would place a massive financial and operational burden on their businesses – forcing many to close – and that a ban would not cut youth smoking as the Government has suggested. A group of shopkeepers has produced a short film to send to Lords and MPs to convey these concerns, claiming that shopkeepers have so far not been sufficiently included in the debate.

The film is being sent to all members of the House of Lords as well as MPs, urging them to support retailers.

Source: Newsletter, 27 April 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/cvnjj3

Shops use film to fight cigarette display ban

Shopkeepers have launched a video appeal to MSPs to throw out plans for a ban on cigarette displays.

The Tobacco Retailers Alliance claims forcing shops to hide cigarettes from public view will not cut youth smoking and could drive some shopkeepers out of business.

And today the alliance e-mailed a three-minute film to politicians, putting its case against the ban.

It features Edinburgh shopkeeper Abdul Qadar arguing the government's proposals are "the biggest threat to small independent shops since supermarkets".

And Fiona Barrett, Scottish spokeswoman for the alliance, tells MSPs the display ban is "not feasible". "Other countries have tried it and failed. The legislation could force us to close.

The retailers say that out of around 100 submissions received by the Scottish Parliament's health committee on the legislation, 56 opposed some aspect of the proposed tobacco regulations and 41 supported them.

Ms Barrett said: "We made this film as a way of speaking to politicians, because so far we do not feel the Government has listened to us. We are on the front line of selling cigarettes. We know what measures will work, what will be ineffective and what will force small shops out of business

Source: The Scotsman, 27 April 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/cej5xp

Denmark to add picture warnings

The Danish Health Ministry plans to add pictures of the effects of smoking to cigarette packs, including images of smoke-blackened lungs and bodies in morgues.

Health Minister Jakob Axel Neilsen said he expects the photographic warnings to be added as part of a national health plan based on prevention by next autumn.

The proposal has the backing of the government and the major opposition party. The Prevention Commission recommended using pictures, based on a Canadian study that showed they are more effective than written warnings.

Source: UPI.com, 24 April 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/c6nhrm

Radio 4 investigatory programme on Champix

Matthew Hill investigates the drug Champix, available on prescription in the UK to smokers who want to kick the habit.

Since approving the drug in 2006, the US Food and Drug Administration has issued a safety warning about prescribing Champix to people with a history of psychiatric illness.

To explore fears that the drug is linked to depression and even suicidal tendencies, Hill travels to the United States.

He meets critics of Champix, asks why the clinical trials did not include people with a history of mental illness and questions the manufacturer Pfizer about the drug's safety.
 

Source: BBC Radio 4, 27 April 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/cr5ntb

North teens back bid to ban cigarette machines

Child smokers are pleading for cigarette vending machines to be banned from pubs to help them kick the habit.

The youngsters have joined a high profile health adviser in calling on the Government to push through the Health Bill.

At present, youngsters claim they can walk into pubs virtually unchallenged and plough money into the vending machines, which are largely unused by adults due to their excessive prices.

The machines are often situated near pub entrances or in passages, giving children relatively easy access to them.

Teenagers Jamie Caffery and Lewis Mann told how they have been hooked on the deadly habit since they were just 11 years old, having bought their first cigarette for just 20p.

But what started out as a few puffs out of curiosity turned into a dangerous addiction for the 14-year-olds.

The Washington Comprehensive pupils want the law changed to stop shops displaying rows of cigarettes.

Jamie, of Lanercost, Washington, said: “I saw other people smoking so I wanted to try it. My first cigarette cost me 20p from a friend. I smoke 10 a day now and buy them with my pocket money.

Jamie added, I can’t play football because I get out of breath really quickly, I can’t run, i’ve got a bad chest and I cough in the mornings."

Lewis added: “I saw an eight-year-old smoking the other day. All the kids are. I can’t run very far as I get out of breath and I’ve got a cough. I really want to give up. I’ve tried but it’s hard because all my friends smoke.”

Ailsa Rutter, director of Fresh – the campaign for a smokefree North East – believes the Health Bill is vital.

She said: “This is all about protecting children. Research shows 80 per cent of smokers start before they are 18."

“It’s the number one killer in the North East, claiming 5500 lives a year and there are 10,000 11-to-15 year olds smoking in the region."

“Tobacco displays in shops are huge and make smoking look glamorous."

“And vending machines are not needed. Test purchase operations show in 90pc of cases, youngsters can walk into a pub and buy cigarettes unchallenged from machines, yet only one in 20 adult smokers use them.”

Source: Sunday Sun, 26 April 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/dfc5cz

USA: Anti-smoking programs for women should include body image therapy

One in five women between the ages of 18 and 24 are smokers, and most say they keep smoking for fear of gaining weight. But researchers at Temple University have found that when it comes to quitting, dialogue and support can be more effective than an exercise plan in helping women not only keep off the weight, but also stay smokefree.

"A lot of college age women report smoking to keep their weight down and for body image reasons, and we think that by providing them with the tools to make them feel better about themselves, it alleviates some of those stressors," said Melissa Napolitano, a clinical psychologist at Temple's Center for Obesity Research and Education.

In a two-phased study, Napolitano and a team of researchers looked at the smoking habits and weight gain of women aged 18-24. The first phase collected data from focus groups who stated that stress, peer pressure and weight management were the main reasons why they smoked. Participants also felt that group-based programs that provide ongoing social support would be instrumental in helping them quit.

Those results laid the groundwork for the project's next phase, dubbed Fit to Quit, a small pilot study of 24 women who were randomly assigned to either a supervised group exercise program or body image group counseling sessions. All women were provided with a nicotine patch as well.

After eight weeks, the body image counseling group showed a rate of smoking cessation that was more than double that of the exercise group (18 percent vs. 8 percent). In addition, the body image group lost more than three times the weight of their exercise counterparts (3.3 pounds vs. less than a pound). These findings were presented this week at the Society for Behavioral Medicine's annual meeting.

"Smoking has psychological and psychosocial implications, especially for young women," said Napolitano, an associate professor of kinesiology and public health in the College of Health Professions. "We wanted to design a program that would not only address the physical addiction by providing a nicotine patch, but would also address those social and behavioral aspects as well."

Another aspect of the program relied on technology to reach their population of smokers. Text message and email were used to stay in contact with participants, more so than phone calls, because those were the preferred methods of communication among the young women in the study.
"A lot of times, we would try to call participants to remind them of different sessions, and they would respond back via text or e-mail, so we took that message and used avenues like text messaging and the Internet not just as a means of getting information out, but for support as well."

Napolitano says that the results derived from this study have laid the groundwork for larger future studies at Temple and nationwide that focus on smoking cessation in college age women. The hope is to see if the results continue to hold true in studies with larger numbers of participants.

Source: Science Daily, 25 April 2009 
Link: http://tinyurl.com/dcaurn