Guernsey: ‘Don’t rely on cigarettes to make a profit, sell something else instead’

If cigarettes are keeping shopkeepers in business then they should change what they sell, according to Health and Social Services minister Hunter Adam.

He made the comment after being presented with a 1,200-strong petition against a ban on the display of tobacco products and a law on proxy sales. The signatures were collected by Paperbox and Candy Shop proprietor Phillip Morgan and the Channel Island Tobacco Importers and Manufacturers’ Association. Mr Morgan claimed that a ban on displays would force retailers out of business because of the costs associated with fitting a tobacco display below the counter.

‘If profits from cigarette sales are the main thing keeping them [shopkeepers] in business then I’d find it difficult to justify that because they pose a danger to people’s health,’ said Deputy Adam.

He added that the tobacco industry could help cover the cost of fitting the displays and there was already a law in place to prevent proxy sales ‘But I do accept that [the law] is difficult to enforce,’ he said.

Source: This is Guernsey, 27th June 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/m2pjjv

Developing world faces black market cigarette plague

A growing global trade in black market cigarettes is killing tens of thousands of people a year, causing massive health problems and costing governments billions of pounds, a hard-hitting report warns today. 

A staggering 657 billion cigarettes a year are sold illicitly by organised crime gangs, half of all tobacco sold in some countries is contraband, and £24.6bn in taxes are never paid, it says.

The report makes plain that, contrary to the tobacco industry's claims, cigarette smuggling is much more common and damaging in poorer countries. Inefficient law enforcement, lax border controls and corruption among police and government officials mean smugglers find it easier to move large consignments of stolen or counterfeit cigarettes into countries in the developing world.

More than five million people a year die worldwide from tobacco use, and about 80% of all smokers live in developing countries. The World Health Organisation classifies tobacco as the leading cause of preventable death.

In countries including Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mexico and Egypt, very poor households spend up to 15% of their incomes on tobacco products, according to the WHO. That exacerbates social and health inequalities and can push families even deeper into poverty, because they are more likely to develop smoking-related illnesses and die than wealthier compatriots.

About 1.2 million of the five million tobacco-related deaths annually are in south-east Asia, where almost half the world's poor live. Some of them spend more on tobacco than on food, shelter, healthcare and education.

The report comes as representatives of governments gather in Geneva to negotiate the first worldwide protocol on illicit trade in tobacco products. Heavily backed by many EU countries, the treaty is expected to lead to co-ordinated global action to try to tackle the problem. Some African administrations are sceptical because they believe it will cost them money to implement, but campaigners say that they will actually make money by ultimately being able to increase the tax on legally sold cigarettes once the black market has been tackled.

The study, part-funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has been written by Martin Raw of the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies at Nottingham University, David Merriman of Illinois University in Chicago, Hana Ross of the American Cancer Society and Luk Joossens of the Brussels-based Framework Convention Alliance pro-treaty organisation. It is called "How eliminating the global illict cigarette trade would increase tax revenue and save lives".

"The burden of illicit trade falls mainly on lower-income countries", the study found. While the black market accounts for 11.6% of all cigarettes consumed worldwide, its market share is 9.8% in well-off countries but 16.8% on average in poorer ones. In Georgia 50% of all cigarettes sold are contraband, while 40% of those in Uzbekistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Bolivia share that source. The figure stands at more than 20% in 15 other, mainly poor, countries. Buyers are tempted by low prices, which prompt them to buy more and smoke more often, leading to illness, says the study.

Eradication of the illicit trade could save 132,000 lives annually in middle-income and poor families, the authors estimate.

Anna Gilmore, an expert in the tobacco industry's global tactics at both Bath University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said China, India and Indonesia were the three countries cigarette firms were most keen to exploit. "They have big populations, are experiencing rapid population growth and contain a lot of women, whom tobacco transnationals see as an untapped market," she said.
 

Source: The Observer, 28th June 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/lnr4du

Millions of Smokers Stub Out Cigarettes From the Home

Millions of people are smoking their cigarettes outside of their home, according to a survey by leading home insurance provider, Swinton. Since smoking was banned from enclosed public spaces nearly two years ago, many people are turning their homes into smoke free zones too. The poll of 2,000 of Swinton's home insurance customers found that 81% had completely banned smoking inside their home.

Of those questioned who currently smoke, 63% said that they go outside for a cigarette rather than having one inside their home. The main reasons for this was the smell (54%) and to protect non-smokers from second hand fumes (23%).

Women were the most likely smoke outside (86%) over men (74%). The most popular place to smoke was at the back door (72%) followed by out of a window (18%) and a small unfortunate few were confined to the garden shed (2%). Each year smoking causes 3,500 household fires in the UK which result in 80 deaths and up to 1,400 injuries(i).
 

Source: Virtulization, 28th June 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/mt98e4

Ban on outdoor smoking

Smoking outside pubs and offices could be banned under plans to be announced by the European Union tomorrow.

Brussels bureaucrats want to outlaw it in areas like beer gardens and covered patios – and even extend it to concerts such as last weekend’s Glastonbury Festival.

The European Commission says the current ban in enclosed public places doesn’t go far enough and non-smokers are still in danger. But Forest, the pro-smoking organisation, says the scheme is “dubious, difficult to enforce and a potential death knell for businesses”. Director Simon Clark said: “If the EU wants smokers off the streets it would be more productive to use resources for smoking rooms.”
 

Source: The Daily Express, 29th June 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/nk2auy

Joint project launched to tackle smoking

Firefighters and health staff have joined forces to save lives in a pilot project that tackles smoking. Smokers will be offered advice on fire safety and quitting under the joint initiative in Darlington which could be extended across the region.

As part of their work in the community Darlington fire crews fit dozens of smoke alarms in people's homes. They have now been trained by Darlington's public health team to encourage residents to take up stop smoking services offered free by the NHS.

Smokers are being targeted because materials cause countless fires both in and outside the home. Earlier this year an elderly woman had to be rescued from her home after it was set ablaze by a cigarette.

Darlington fire crews attend hundreds of fires caused by cigarettes, lighters and matches. Smoking is also the biggest cause of avoidable ill-health and premature death with each cigarette containing 4,000 harmful chemicals.

Green Watch manager Gary Bankhead said: "Smokers are at much greater risk of having a home fire. The aim is to get cigarettes, lighters and matches out of the house and if we can help get people to quit then it really does reduce the risk of fires preventing harm to them and their families."

Stop smoking advisor Debbie Green said: "This is a fantastic opportunity to work with the fire service. In one stroke we can improve people's health and safety."

Source: The Northern Echo, 27th June 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/lwhu2g