HEADLINES

• Study: Lifetime heart risks are higher than thought
• 'Sell tobacco shares' Nottinghamshire County Council urged
• Man charged with tobacco smuggling at Southampton docks
• Smoking cessation in ethnic minorities
• USA: Judge won't delay decision in 12-year-old tobacco case

• Study: Lifetime heart risks are higher than thought

  According to a new US study a person’s lifetime risk of getting heart disease may be much higher than previously thought.

  A single risk factor of having high blood pressure, diabetes, and/or a smoking habit can significantly boost their likelihood of having a heart attack or stroke.

  People with multiple risk factors had higher lifetime risks for heart disease -- as much as 10 times the rates of those without risk factors.

  Source: AFP, 26 January 2012
  Link: http://bit.ly/yjVf2m

• 'Sell tobacco shares' Nottinghamshire County Council urged

  Nottinghamshire County Council's £36m investment in tobacco firms as part of its pension scheme has been criticised by a doctor.

  Dr Greg Place, chairman of the Nottinghamshire Local Medical Committee which represents GPs in the county, said the authority should "publicly disinvest".

  He said supporting the industry and promoting health were incompatible.

  In 2013 formal promotion of public health in England and Wales will be transferred to local authorities from the NHS. One of the health targets of local councils will be to reduce the nation's smoking rates.

  Source: BBC News, 27 January 2012
  Link: http://bbc.in/xDOAj9

• Man charged with tobacco smuggling at Southampton docks

  A man has been charged with attempting to smuggle 1.1 tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco into Southampton docks, evading about £160,000 in duty.
  
  He was released on bail until 7 February to appear at Worthing Magistrates' Court.

  Source: BBC News, 26 January 2012
  Link: http://bbc.in/z8OPds

• Smoking cessation in ethnic minorities

  According to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute telephone counselling services (also known as quit lines) are an effective intervention for Chinese-, Korean-, and Vietnamese-speaking smokers living in the U.S., and should be incorporated into current smoking cessation services.

  Study participants were randomly assigned to receive either telephone counselling and self-help materials or self-help materials alone. The researchers compared 6-month abstinence rates and found that telephone counselling doubled the odds of quitting compared to self-help materials.

  Source: Medical News Today, 26 January 2012
  Link: http://bit.ly/A6nPRD

• USA: Judge won't delay decision in 12-year-old tobacco case

  A federal judge said she won't delay an order in a 12-year-old lawsuit against the tobacco industry while other courts decide newer cases.

  U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler in Washington issued the decision in a case in which America's largest cigarette makers —including Philip Morris USA, maker of top-selling Marlboro cigarettes —were found to have concealed the dangers of smoking for decades.

  Kessler has said she wants the industry to pay for ads, in broadcast and print. She has not said what corrective statements should be included in those ads, where they must be placed or for how long. That's the decision Kessler was considering delaying.

  Source: USA Today, 26 January 2012
  Link: http://usat.ly/zS3De7