ASH, 102 Clifton Street, London EC2A 4HW Tel: 0207 739 5902
Fax: 0207 613 0531

ASH Daily News
23-27 December 2000

Headlines
Sensitivity Urged Towards Smokers with Lung Cancer
'No benefit from reducing smoking'
'Many Teens Support Anti-Smoking Campaigns'
'Philip Morris, the Dow's Best, Expected to Rise More'
'Tobacco factory closure costs 300 jobs'
'Anti-smoke signal'
'I quit smoking but I'm still an addict'

Full Text

'Sensitivity Urged Towards Smokers with Lung Cancer'

Reuters reports that, 'Most Britons believe that smokers who develop lung
cancer have as much right to treatment as other cancer victims, even though
they may have brought the disease on themselves, poll findings show. The
MORI survey -commissioned by the Cancer Research Campaign-found that 7 out
of 10 of the 2,000 people questioned believe that smokers who develop lung
cancer have brought the disease on themselves.However, 84% felt that lung
cancer sufferers were as deserving of National Health Service treatment as
other cancer patients and 75% felt that smokers who developed lung cancer
had as much right to a hospital bed as those who develop other forms of
cancer.'

The charity is seeking to raise the profile of lung cancer, which claims the
lives of around 33,400 Britons each year. In comparison, large bowel cancer
kills 16,260, breast cancer kills 12,680 and prostate cancer kills 9,270
annually. The Campaign points out that survival rates in England and Wales
for all the most common cancers have gone up--except for lung cancer, which
is caused by smoking in 90% of cases.
"It may as well be invisible for all the public attention it gets," said Dr.
Richard Sullivan, the Campaign's head of clinical programmes. "This poll
shows most people feel that, for smokers, it's a self-inflicted disease
which, we believe, helps explain its lack of profile."

Director General Prof. Gordon McVie added, "If you think it's your own fault
that you have got lung cancer, you're more likely to 'put up and shut up'.
We want people to start demanding better treatment and better resources for
the disease--particularly as the overwhelming majority of people do not want
lung cancer patients to be discriminated against."

Source: Reuters, 22 December 2000
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/health/health-cancer.html

'No benefit from reducing smoking'

BBC News Online reports, 'Heavy cigarette smokers who cut back their
smoking - rather than quit - might not see any health benefits, according to
researchers. A team from the US Mayo Clinic studied 23 volunteers who
smoked more than 40 cigarettes a day. Over the course of nine weeks, they
tried to gradually cut back to 10 cigarettes a day. The volunteers were
given information and counselling on strategies to help deal with stress,
hunger and other typical signs of nicotine withdrawal. They were also
permitted to use a nicotine inhaler to help reduce their desire for
cigarettes. At the end of 12 weeks, researchers tested the volunteers for
signs of harm from cigarettes. Lead researcher Dr Richard Hurt said: "Many
people - smokers and medical professionals alike - assume that if smokers
can simply cut back, there will be some health benefits. Our results didn't
show that."

The article further reports, 'The volunteers found it difficult to achieve
the targets they had been set for reducing their cigarette consumption. On
average, they were only able to cut their smoking rate in half by the 12th
week - well short of the target of 10 cigarettes a day. Only two
participants were able to cut back to 10 cigarettes a day, and after 24
weeks they had increased their daily smoking rate. Dr Hurt said: "The study
found that cutting back on cigarettes isn't easy, even with help, and the
health benefits are unclear."

The study, published in the Journal of Nicotine and Tobacco Research, for
smokers motivated to improve their health, research shows that abstinence is
the best approach.

Clive Bates, director of Action on Smoking and Health is quoted in the
article as sayng: "Cutting down is really a cul-de-sac on the road to
quitting altogether, and it is much better to avoid ineffective diversions
and make the necessary preparations for a full scale quit attempt."

Source: BBC News Online, 22 December 2000
Links: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1081000/1081221.stm
http://www.mayo.edu/comm/mcr/news/news_1434.html

'Many Teens Support Anti-Smoking Campaigns '

Reuters reports that, 'Contrary to the image of the cigarette-smoking
rebellious teenager, many adolescents are supportive of anti-tobacco
policies, new study findings show. And, researchers suggest, the increasing
number of anti-smoking ads may influence their opinions.

"I think there is a lot of public health activity that is out there now and
a lot of these efforts are focused on de-glamorizing cigarette smoking,'
study author Dr. Seth Emont, of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in
Princeton, New Jersey, told Reuters Health.
"Kids don't react to the medical horror stories, but they really do react to
the idea that cigarettes will not make them more glamorous and that
cigarette companies are not on their side,' co-author Emily Snell, RWJF
research assistant, added in an interview.

The article also reports, 'In fact, nearly 75% of youth "(support) the
funding of an anti-smoking campaign by tobacco firms,' according to a
national survey of 14- to 19-year-olds. Many of the adolescents also support
policies that restrict access to cigarettes. More than three-quarters
(76.2%) believe that individuals should be required to show proof of age
when purchasing cigarettes, and roughly 70% believe that vending machine
sales should end, the findings indicate. Similarly, the majority of
teenagers surveyed (71%) agree that tobacco ads should be restricted in teen
magazines and nearly 69% support keeping ads away from schools. The study
findings were presented recently during the annual meeting of the American
Public Health Association held in Boston, Massachusetts.'

Source: Reuters, 25 December 2000
Link: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001225/hl/teens_2.html


'Philip Morris, the Dow's Best, Expected to Rise More'

Bloomberg News reports, 'Philip Morris Cos. shares have jumped 86 percent
this year, the biggest annual rise for the world's largest tobacco company,
and the top performance among the 30 stocks in the Dow. That's a far cry
from last year, when tobacco-related lawsuits pulled the maker of
top-selling Marlboro cigarettes down by more than half. The gains may
continue next year, analysts said, as legal threats diminish.
President-elect George W. Bush has indicated he will drop the federal
government's suit against the tobacco industry once he's in office.
Cigarette makers have won 14 of the past 18 smoking trials, and more courts
have refused to certify class-action suits against the industry.'

The article adds, "There haven't been any major surprises recently and
people are more willing to invest in the name," said analyst Keith Patriquin
at Loomis Sayles & Co., which held about 1.1 million shares of New
York-based Philip Morris in September. A slowdown in the U.S. economy also
may help prop up the stocks of consumer-goods companies whose sales don't
hinge on how much cash Americans have. Macaroni and cheese, beer and
cigarettes will stay on grocery lists even if consumers find themselves with
less money, analysts said.

Source: Bloomberg News, 22 December 2000
Link:
http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?s=AOkOepxUNUGhpbGlw&T=marketsquote99_ne
ws.ht

'Tobacco factory closure costs 300 jobs'

The Independent reports that, 'More than 300 workers at a tobacco factory in
Manchester are to lose their jobs after Japan Tobacco confirmed yesterday
that it was closing the facility. JT said it had finalised details after
consultation with the unit's 302 employees. The decision was announced in
April. The plant will close at the end of this month and Manchester Tobacco,
bought by JT in 1992, will be liquidated in 2001 or 2002.'

Source: The Independent, 26 December 2000

'Anti-smoke signal'

The Times reports that, 'The website company, MyAlert.com is offering free
mobile phones text messaging service to encourage people to give up smoking
in the first three months of 2001.'

Source: The Times, 27 December 2000

'I quit smoking but I'm still an addict'

Jonathan Cainer, the astrologer for the Daily Express, provides an article
on the challenges of giving up smoking. He explains that nicotine gum has
helped him to give up smoking twenty cigarettes a day but that he still
feels addicted to nicotine. Of nicotine gum, Mr Cainer writes, 'This is
wonderful stuff. It delivers exactly the same buzz that a cigarette does. I'
ve got one in my mouth right now as I write these words. It's helping me to
concentrate. And it's not creating a messy ashtray - or leaving a deposit of
tar in my lungs.'

Source: Daily Express, 26 December 2000

Karl Brookes
Action on Smoking and Health
102 Clifton Street
London
EC2A 4HW
Tel: +44 (0)20 7739 5902
Fax: + 44 (0)20 7613 0531
http://www.ash.org.uk