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ASH News and Events Bulletin - 16-31 October 2011

HEADLINES

EVENTS

  • Wales to ban cigarette vending machines from February 2012

    A ban on the sale of cigarettes from vending machines will come into force on 1 February 2012 in Wales. A similar ban was introduced in England this month.

    The Welsh Government said the ban would cut off a source of tobacco for teenagers.

    Health Minister Lesley Griffiths said: “A voluntary code has not been effective in sufficiently restricting young people’s access to tobacco from vending machines.”

    Carole Morgan-Jones, chief executive of ASH Wales, said: “These regulations will protect children from having easy and illegal access to cigarettes. It’s an an integral part of a comprehensive strategy to tackle the harm that tobacco causes to Welsh communities.”

    Source: Wales Online, 21 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/uiaABC

  • Australia: Big tobacco 'abusing' FOI process: govt

    The federal health department is considering taking action against big tobacco for lodging "vexatious" Freedom of Information (FOI) claims as part of the industry's fight against Labor's plain-packaging push.

    Health department secretary Jane Halton says the department is being "swamped" with FOI requests as part of a deliberate campaign by cigarette manufacturers.

    "This is a very specific and deliberate attempt to divert resources," Ms Halton told a Senate estimates hearing. There will come a point where we will have to consider what to do about that."

    Ms Halton said there was a provision in the FOI legislation relating to vexatious applicants.

    The health department has received 63 FOI requests, of which 52 were from big tobacco. Some 35 are still being dealt with.

    BATA has lodged 15 FOI requests with the health department in the past 18 months and is currently waiting on six to be finalised.

    Greens health spokesman Richard Di Natale says big tobacco is using every tactic possible to derail plain packaging.

    Under Australia's FOI laws an applicant can be declared "vexatious" by the information commissioner.

    Source: Sydney Morning Herald, 19 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/ulmgre

  • Qatar to move ahead with bid to curb smoking

    Qatar is considering a move to increase tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products in a bid to curb their use.

    The move also includes raising penalties on smoking in places where it is legally banned in a bid to discourage smokers from continuing with the habit and reduce the number of tobacco addicts in the country in line with the target set within goals of the National Development Plan 2011-2016.

    Smoking has been banned since in 2002 in public places, including schools and restaurants.

    At least one billion cigarettes are smoked in Qatar each year and on an average, an individual smokes 12,000 cigarettes annually, according to a study conducted by the Weil Cornell Medical College in Qatar.

    Source: Gulf News, 24 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/w0gXyo

  • Canada: Alberta dumps millions in big tobacco shares

    Alberta is being lauded by anti-smoking and social investment groups for being the first province to dump its investments in the tobacco industry.

    The Alberta Investment Management Corp. has sold $17.5 million in directly managed stock held by public sector pension funds and the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund.

    Leo de Bever, CEO of the Crown Corporation, said the province is making the move as it prepares to file a lawsuit against big tobacco to recover health-care costs for smoking-related illnesses.

    Groups such as the Social Investment Organization and Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada said Alberta's move to divest itself of tobacco shares is a first for a Canadian government.

    Most provinces have tobacco industry investments, but only a few release detailed information about them, said Cynthia Callard, executive director of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada.

    Source: CBC News, 20 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/uyi0sx

  • USA: Program urges smokers switch to smokeless tobacco

    In the smoker-heavy state of Kentucky, a cancer center is suggesting something that most health experts won't and the tobacco industry can't: If you really want to quit, switch to smoke-free tobacco.

    The James Graham Brown Cancer Center and the University of Louisville are aiming their "Switch and Quit" campaign at the city of Owensboro. It uses print, radio, billboard and other advertising to urge smokers to swap their cigarettes for smokeless tobacco and other products that do not deliver nicotine by smoke.

    Supporters say smokers who switch are more likely to give up cigarettes than those who use other methods such as nicotine patches, and that smokeless tobacco carries less risk of disease than cigarettes do.

    "We need something that works better than what we have," said Dr. Donald Miller, an oncologist and director of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center, which supports the effort along with the University of Louisville. "This is as reasonable a scientific hypothesis as anybody has come up with and it needs to be tried."

    The campaign runs counter to the prevailing opinion of the public health community, which holds that there is no safe way to use tobacco.

    The National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health says on its website that the use of all tobacco products "should be strongly discouraged," and that there is "no scientific evidence that using smokeless tobacco can help a person quit smoking." But this year it approved funding for a study that might provide some of that very evidence.

    "Switch and Quit" is directed by Brad Rodu, a professor of medicine at the University of Louisville. He analyzed the 2000 National Health Interview Survey and found that male smokers who switched to smokeless tobacco were more likely to quit smoking than those who used nicotine patches or gum.

    The program is funded through Rodu's research money, which includes grants from the tobacco industry. Grants through the University of Louisville are unrestricted, which the program says "ensures the scientific independence and integrity of research projects and activities."

    Source: USA Today, 29 October 2011
    Link: http://usat.ly/uIiODU

  • Cigarettes are enlisted to test ways of quitting

    When a truck recently delivered 45,000 cartons of cigarettes to a research company in North Carolina, it was a turning point in the government’s war on smoking.

    These were no ordinary cigarettes, but experimental ones, made of genetically altered tobacco to lower the nicotine content by 97 percent while preserving all the other tastes and smells and rituals for smokers of conventional cigarettes.

    Researchers had been seeking a new and bigger supply because shortages had limited previous studies to just dozens of people. The experimental cigarettes are produced by a Massachusetts company, the 22nd Century Group, which holds 98 patents for genetic manipulation of tobacco plants to reduce or increase the amount of nicotine in cigarettes.

    The National Institutes of Health bought nine million of these cigarettes, marked “for research purposes only,” from the 22nd Century Group as part of a broadening scientific effort to find ways to regulate cigarettes so that they are non-addictive. The Spectrum brand test cigarettes have eight different levels of nicotine for research, from a nicotine content of 3 percent to 100 percent of the nicotine in the best-selling Marlboro Gold, though a 97 percent reduction is the most common level.

    Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the N.I.H., which oversees the work, called the delivery crucial for the new federal research projects. These include last month’s award of $2.5 million for the first year of a planned five-year series of studies into threshold levels of nicotine addiction and the possible impact of a sharp reduction in nicotine on smoking and public health.

    One study of the test cigarettes will follow about 500 smokers over six months to determine whether they are more likely to quit if they switch to those cigarettes quickly or gradually. The research, led by Dorothy K. Hatsukami, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Minnesota, and Eric C. Donny, associate professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, will use about 1.5 million of the recently acquired cigarettes.

    For researchers, the availability of a new supply of test cigarettes is “a game changer,” said Mitch Zeller, co-chairman of the Tobacco Harm Reduction Network at the National Cancer Institute and a consultant on nicotine replacement products. “It’s still all about the nicotine. Only now we have the power to do something about it.”

    At the same time, officials in the $80 billion tobacco industry have warned of unexpected side effects from addiction withdrawal and black market products, complex issues the Food and Drug Administration will have to study in considering regulation.

    Source: New York Times, 28 October 2011
    Link: http://nyti.ms/v9Spg1

  • Parliamentary Question: Cigarette Smuggling

    Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, Labour): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department

    (1) what steps her Department is taking to stop the sale of counterfeit cigarettes from tab houses;
    (2) what steps her Department has taken to prevent the sale of counterfeit cigarettes from tab houses.

    James Brokenshire (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Home Office; Old Bexley and Sidcup, Conservative):

    The sale and distribution of counterfeit items is a threat that the Government take seriously. The distribution of counterfeit tobacco carries serious health risks and the Government are working to tackle this threat, with the police and other enforcement agencies.

    The North of England Tackling Illicit Tobacco for Better Health programme is a multi-agency partnership covering three Department of Health regions (North West, North East, and Yorkshire and Humber) where smoking rates are some of the highest in the country, and there are a number of major hot spots for illicit tobacco. The programme was launched in 2009 following a period of extensive research. Programme funding of £1 million over three years has been provided by the Department of Health and subsequent funding from Department of Health and primary care trusts from tobacco control budgets has allowed the programme to extend into other activities such as evaluation support.

    The programme brings together regional public health, trading standards, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), local authorities and the police—all committed to reducing the supply and demand for illicit tobacco. The programme plan sets out the following eight key objectives:

    Developing partnerships
    Engaging health and community workers
    Generating and sharing intelligence
    Identifying informal markets and preventative action
    Delivering enforcement
    Marketing and communication
    Working with business
    Assessing progress

    The North of England programme has enabled the HMRC to influence outside enforcement activity and improved joint working with Trading Standards in tackling illicit tobacco at the local level. The HMRC/Trading Standards Join Working Protocol has been updated to clarify responsibilities, develop data sharing practices and improve flows of intelligence for joint planning purposes to target illicit tobacco.

    In addition the Intellectual Property Office Intelligence Hub manages the national Intellectual Property Crime Intelligence Database. The hub receives intellectual property crime intelligence from a number of sources, including industry anti-piracy and brand protection units, trading standards, police forces, HMRC, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). This intelligence is fed into the Intellectual Property intelligence database, to help co-ordinate the response to the national threat of counterfeit products.

    Source: Hansard source (Citation: HC Deb, 11 October 2011, c331W)
    Link: http://bit.ly/tTGpq7

  • Parliamentary Question: Cigarette Vending Machines

    Jason McCartney (Colne Valley, Conservative): To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received from operators of cigarette vending machines on the implementation of the ban on such machines from 1 October 2011.

    Anne Milton (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Public Health), Health; Guildford, Conservative): We have received a number of items of correspondence from tobacco vending machine operators since July when litigation challenging the vending machine legislation was concluded. On 28 July 2011 the Supreme Court refused the application to appeal by Sinclair Collis (a vending machine operator wholly owned by Imperial Tobacco), following decisions in the High Court and Appeal Court finding the legislation to be lawful.

    Since July, the Department's officials have also worked in liaison with the National Association of Cigarette Machines Operators on the implementation of the legislation, including the development of guidance for those with cigarette vending machines on their premises.

    Source: Hansard source (Citation: HC Deb, 18 October 2011, c846W)
    Link: http://bit.ly/vCdjkf

  • Parliamentary Question: Passive smoking and cost to the NHS

    Stephen McPartland (Stevenage, Conservative): To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of treating children with passive smoking related illnesses, including the cost of primary care visits and hospital admissions in the last year for which figures are available.

    Anne Milton (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Public Health), Health; Guildford, Conservative): The Department has not made an assessment of the cost to the NHS associated with the treatment of illnesses in children caused by exposure to second-hand smoke.

    The Royal College of Physicians (RCP), in its 2010 report “Passive Smoking in Children”, provided estimates of the approximate number of cases of disease and the consequent morbidity in children caused by exposure to second-hand smoke in the United Kingdom. This report also estimated the cost to the NHS of treating diseases caused by exposure to second-hand smoke among children in the United Kingdom. The RCP’s report is available at: http://bookshop.rcplondon.ac.uk/contents/pub305-e37e88a5-4643-4402-9298-6936de103266.pdf

    Source: Hansard source (Citation: HC Deb, 10 October 2011, c313W)
    Link: http://bit.ly/udXps9

  • Parliamentary Question: Smoking in cars carry children

    Diane Abbott (Hackney North and Stoke Newington, Labour): To ask the Secretary of State for Health

    (1) what progress has been made on changing the behaviour of people smoking in cars carrying children since March 2011; and if he will make a statement;

    (2) what arrangements his Department has made to measure its progress in achieving a reduction in the number of people smoking in cars with children as set out in the Tobacco Control Plan; and if he will make a statement;

    (3) what progress he has made on exploring new roles for marketing communications in encouraging people to make their family cars smoke free; and if he will make a statement.

    Anne Milton (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Public Health), Health; Guildford, Conservative): As set out in the Tobacco Control Plan for England, the Department will launch a marketing campaign to remind smokers of the harms of secondhand smoke and to encourage smokers to make their homes and cars smokefree. This campaign is in the early stages of development and is expected to launch in March 2012. The tobacco marketing strategy, to be published later this year, will set out further details of how we will support efforts by local areas to encourage smokefree homes and cars ahead of the smokefree campaign.

    At the request of the Department, the Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England, included in 2010, for the first time, a question on whether the 11 to 15-year-olds surveyed were often near another person smoking in specific places. The results indicated that children are more likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke in their home or other people's homes, than in vehicles. However, 19% of children reported that they are still often exposed to secondhand smoke in cars (compared to 26% at home and 32% in other people's homes).

    A copy of this survey has been placed in the Library.

    Everyone needs to take responsibility for protecting children's health, especially parents. We already know that secondhand smoke exposure in children in England has reduced over time. For example, between 1996 and 2007, exposure declined by nearly 70% (1)

    The Tobacco Control Plan states that local areas should use behavioural insights in order to develop incentives, such as positive recognition for smokers that take voluntary action to make their homes and family cars smokefree. Rather than extending smokefree legislation, we want people to recognise the risks of secondhand smoke and decide voluntarily to make their homes and family cars smokefree. We will encourage local areas to create networks of local smokefree ambassadors at a community level to encourage people to make their homes and family cars smokefree.

    (1) Bauld, “Impact of smokefree legislation: evidence review” March 2011—copy already placed in the Library.

     

    Source: Hansard source (Citation: HC Deb, 11 October 2011, c328W)
    Link: http://bit.ly/vlO40r

  • Parliamentary Question: Smoking prevalence

    Lord Laird (Crossbench): To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 30 June (WA 481) concerning the decrease in adult smoking, what is their target for the level of smoking.

    Earl Howe (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Quality), Health; Conservative): The Government published their Tobacco Control Plan, Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A Tobacco Control Plan for England, in March this year. The plan sets out how tobacco control will be delivered over the next five years, within the context of the new public health system. The plan sets out a national ambition to reduce smoking rates in adults from 21 per cent to 18 per cent or less by the end of 2015.

    A copy of the plan has already been placed in the Library.

    Source: Hansard source (Citation: HL Deb, 17 October 2011, c35W)
    Link: http://bit.ly/w2GaSF

  • Altria, Reynolds American begin trial of 600 smoking claims

    A West Virginia jury has begun hearing a case intended to resolve more than 600 smoking-related personal- injury cases against the biggest U.S. cigarette makers, including Altria Group Inc.’s Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

    “This case is about the corporations’ responsibility,” Kenneth McClain, a lawyer for the smokers, said in court. “They were actively keeping from the public the information that they had.”

    The jurors will be asked to determine questions related to the companies’ liability, including whether they marketed a defective product. If jurors find for the plaintiffs, they will also determine whether any of the defendants engaged in conduct that can support an award of punitive damages.

    Recht told jurors they will be asked to determine whether cigarettes are defective products, whether the companies failed to warn about the dangers of smoking, broke express warranties and fraudently concealed information from smokers.

    Jurors will also be asked to decide whether the cigarette makers “acted in a willful, wanton and reckless manner,” permitting the award of punitive damages.

    The case is In Re Tobacco Litigation (Individual Personal Injury Cases), 00-C-5000, West Virginia Circuit Court, Ohio County (Wheeling).

    Source: Bloomberg Business Week, 26 October 2011
    Link: http://buswk.co/umUXVT

  • Interview with Reynolds American CEO Daniel Delen

    With tax hikes, smoking bans, health concerns and social stigma still cutting into cigarette sales, Reynolds American Inc. and other tobacco companies are looking to cigarette alternatives like smokeless tobacco and little cigars for sales growth.

    Some, including Reynolds American, also have introduced snus - small pouches like tea bags that users stick between the cheek and gum - and dissolvable tobacco - finely milled tobacco shaped into orbs, sticks and strips.

    The nation's second-biggest tobacco company and maker of Camel, Pall Mall and Natural American Spirit brand cigarettes said the number of cigarettes it sold fell 6.8 percent to 18.7 billion cigarettes in the third quarter.

    But the Winston-Salem, N.C., company sold 7 percent more of its smokeless tobacco including Grizzly and Kodiak and its U.S. market share of the segment grew 1.1 percentage points to 31.6 percent. Reynolds American also said its Camel snus products have more than a 70 percent market share of the small but growing category.

    In a conference call with analysts regarding Reynolds American's third-quarter results, CEO Daniel Delen discussed the company's growth opportunities.

    QUESTION: When you think about the total tobacco strategy that Reynolds has been pursuing for the last few years, is there anything missing in your portfolio?

    RESPONSE: The bulk of our business today as we sit here is still cigarettes and it will be for the foreseeable future. Of course we're present and growing in the growing category of moist snuff, we've organically launched into the snus category. We are testing dissolvables as we speak and certainly I think the concept there is very relevant. I believe that consumers will keep looking, potentially even beyond that for new ways to enjoy the tobacco experience. We're quite happy with our footprint  but continue to look and continue to think about where this might be going in the future and what new opportunities may present themselves.

    Source: Bloomberg Business Week, 25 October 2011
    Link: http://buswk.co/tOPwyr

  • Japan Tobacco net profit jumps 24%

    Japan Tobacco Inc. reported a 24% increase in its fiscal second-quarter net profit on lower tax expenses.

    The world's third-largest tobacco company by sales volume after Philip Morris International Inc. and British American Tobacco PLC also said it remains undecided about buying back its own shares to cushion the disruptive impact on the stock market unless full privatization is on the table. Currently, the Japanese government is the company's biggest shareholder with a 50% stake.

    The company, commonly known as JT, generated a group net profit of ¥73.1 billion ($964 million) for the three months ended Sept. 30.

    Source: Wall Street Journal, 31 October 2011
    Link: http://on.wsj.com/taAfFF

  • USA: Altria to reduce cigarette workforce

    Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc. said that it will cut the number of salaried workers at its cigarette business and related service subsidiaries by 15 percent as cigarette sales continue to decline industry wide.

    The owner of the largest U.S. cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA, announced plans to trim $400 million in annualized costs by the end of 2013 as it reported quarterly earnings, which would include about $300 million in employee separation costs and additional reductions in spending.

    Altria, based in Richmond, would not say how many people would be impacted by the layoffs. The company said employees who will lose their jobs will be informed by mid-December and most will leave the company by late February.

    Cigarette volumes have declined annually by about 3 percent in recent years and have fallen significantly since a 62-cents-per-pack federal tax increase in 2009. Additional state tax hikes, smoking bans, health concerns and social stigma have made the cigarette business tougher. Consumers also face economic challenges, and unemployment remains high.

    Source: R&D Mag, 27 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/tyIi8D

  • Neuronal mechanisms underlying development of nicotine dependence: Implications for novel smoking-cessation treatments

    Tobacco smoking causes high rates of mortality and morbidity throughout the world. Despite the availability of smoking-cessation medications, maintenance of long-term abstinence is difficult, and most individuals who attempt to quit smoking relapse. Although tobacco smoke contains many substances, researchers and policymakers agree that nicotine is a major cause of tobacco dependence. Understanding the neural substrates of nicotine dependence is essential for the development of more effective antismoking medications than those currently available.

    This article focuses on the neural substrates, especially nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, that mediate the reinforcing effects of nicotine and the development of nicotine dependence. Neuroadaptations in the function of the neurotransmitters dopamine, glutamate, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which have been shown to be critically involved in nicotine dependence, are also reviewed. Finally, the article discusses progress in the discovery and development of smoking-cessation medications.

    D’Souza M and Markou M. Neuronal mechanisms underlying development of nicotine dependence: Implications for novel smoking-cessation treatments. Addiction Science Clinical Practice 2011; Jul;6(1):4-16.

    Source: Addiction Science Clinical Practice, July 2011
    Link: http://1.usa.gov/tbqn6Q

  • Predictors of long-term prognosis of depression

    Background: Many people with depression experience repeated episodes. Previous research into the predictors of chronic depression has focused primarily on the clinical features of the disease; however, little is known about the broader spectrum of sociodemographic and health factors inherent in its development. Our aim was to identify factors associated with a long-term negative prognosis of depression.

    Methods: We included 585 people aged 16 years and older who participated in the 2000/01 cycle of the National Population Health Survey and who reported experiencing a major depressive episode in 2000/01. The primary outcome was the course of depression until 2006/07. We grouped individuals into trajectories of depression using growth trajectory models. We included demographic, mental and physical health factors as predictors in the multivariable regression model to compare people with different trajectories.

    Results: Participants fell into two main depression trajectories: those whose depression resolved and did not recur (44.7%) and those who experienced repeated episodes (55.3%). In the multivariable model, daily smoking (OR 2.68, 95% CI 1.54–4.67), low mastery (i.e., feeling that life circumstances are beyond one's control) (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.03–1.18) and history of depression (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.95–6.27) were significant predictors (p < 0.05) of repeated episodes of depression.

    Interpretation: People with major depression who were current smokers or had low levels of mastery were at an increased risk of repeated episodes of depression. Future studies are needed to confirm the predictive value of these variables and to evaluate their accuracy for diagnosis and as a guide to treatment.

    Colman I et al. Predictors of long-term prognosis of depression. Canadian Medical Association Journal 2011 doi: 10.1503/cmaj.110676

    Source: Canadian Medical Association Journal, 24 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/uZWExN

  • Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the superior frontal gyrus modulates craving for cigarettes

    Background: Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have shown strong correlations between cue-elicited craving for cigarettes and activation of the superior frontal gyrus (SFG). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) offers a noninvasive means to reversibly affect brain cortical activity, which can be applied to testing hypotheses about the causal role of SFG in modulating craving.

    Methods: Fifteen volunteer smokers were recruited to investigate the effects of rTMS on subjective responses to smoking versus neutral cues and to controlled presentations of cigarette smoke. On different days, participants were exposed to three conditions: 1) high-frequency (10 Hz) rTMS directed at the SFG; 2) low-frequency (1 Hz) rTMS directed at the SFG; and 3) low-frequency (1 Hz) rTMS directed at the motor cortex (control condition).

    Results: Craving ratings in response to smoking versus neutral cues were differentially affected by the 10-Hz versus 1-Hz SFG condition. Craving after smoking cue presentations was elevated in the 10-Hz SFG condition, whereas craving after neutral cue presentations was reduced. Upon smoking in the 10-Hz SFG condition, ratings of immediate craving reduction as well as the intensity of interoceptive airway sensations were also attenuated.

    Conclusions: These results support the view that the SFG plays a role in modulating craving reactivity; moreover, the results suggest that the SFG plays a role in both excitatory and inhibitory influences on craving, consistent with prior research demonstrating the role of the prefrontal cortex in the elicitation as well as inhibition of drug-seeking behaviours.

    Rose J and McClernon et al. Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of the Superior Frontal Gyrus Modulates Craving for Cigarettes. Biological Psychiatry 2011;70(8):794-799

    Source: Biological Psychiatry, 17 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/s6wPRh

  • Support for removal of point-of-purchase tobacco advertising and displays: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Canada survey

    Abstract

    Background:Although most countries now have at least some restrictions on tobacco marketing, the tobacco industry meet these restrictions by re-allocating expenditure to unregulated channels, such as at point-of-purchase.

    Methods: Longitudinal data from 10 Canadian provinces in the International Tobacco Control Survey was analysed to examine adult smokers' support for a ban on tobacco advertising and displays in stores and whether this support is associated with noticing either advertising or displays in stores, and quit intentions, over time. In total, there were 4580 respondents in wave 5 (October 2006 to February 2007), wave 6 (September 2007 to February 2008) and wave 7 (October 2008 to June 2009). The surveys were conducted before, during and in some cases after the implementation of display bans in most Canadian provinces and territories.

    Results: Smokers in all provinces showed strong support for a ban on tobacco displays over the study period. Levels of support for an advertising and display ban were comparable between Canadian provinces over time, irrespective of whether they had been banned or not. Noticing tobacco displays and signs in-store was demonstrably less likely to predict support for displays (OR=0.73, p=0.005) and advertising (OR=0.78, p=0.02) ban, respectively. Smokers intending to quit were more likely to support advertising and display bans over time.

    ConclusionThis study serves as a timely reminder that the implementation of tobacco control measures, such as the removal of tobacco displays, appear to sustain support among smokers, those most likely to oppose such measures.

    Brown A and Boudreau C et al. Support for removal of point-of-purchase tobacco advertising and displays: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Canada survey. Tobacco Control 2011. Published Online First: 15 October 201.

     

    Source: British Medical Journal, 15 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/vql8Q2

  • The acceptability of nicotine containing products as alternatives to cigarettes: Findings from two pilot studies

    Background: This study aimed to explore issues that might impact on the acceptability and feasibility of offering smokers nicotine containing products either to quit nicotine use altogether by using as a short term means of quitting cigarettes or as a longer term substitute.

    Method: Two small pilot studies, one in the UK (n=34) involving face to face contact and direct provision of the product, the other in Australia (n=31) conducted remotely with products sent in the mail.

    Results: Nicotine lozenges were the most popular products, but significant minorities liked a smokeless product more. Use stimulated interest in quitting, and although many failed to use all the products provided, most were interested in future use, more often to help quit than as a planned long-term substitute.

    Conclusions: These studies indicate an untapped interest in the use of substitutes to reduce the harmfulness of smoking. Studies of this sort do not inhibit interest in quitting nicotine altogether, and may facilitate it. The greater the range of products on offer, the more smokers are likely to try a product to quit.

    Borland R and Lin L et al. The acceptability of nicotine containing products as alternatives to cigarettes: Findings from two pilot studies. Harm Reduction Journal 2011. Oct 12;8(1):27. [Epub ahead of print]
     

    Source: Harm Reduction Journal, 12 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/vNFq4K

  • Tobacco intervention practices of primary care physicians treating lower socioeconomic status patients

    Abstract: Tobacco use greatly contributes to overall socioeconomic health disparities, and physicians are a major source of information about effective methods for tobacco cessation. This study examined the tobacco intervention practices of primary care physicians in Arkansas who treat a high proportion of lower socioeconomic status patients. More than 70% of respondents' patients were covered by Medicaid and/or Medicare or paid for primary care services without health insurance. Although physicians were highly motivated and considered cessation to be very important, 74% had no training of any kind in the treatment of tobacco dependence and familiarity with the free treatment services in Arkansas was low.

    Younger and nonwhite physicians and physicians with any type of training in treating tobacco dependence reported more positive attitudes, more frequent intervention behaviours and more familiarity with treatment services. More frequently seeing the effects of tobacco use on the health of patients as well as increased knowledge, preparedness, and perceived effectiveness of treatments were related to a higher frequency of providing cessation assistance. More frequently seeing the effects of tobacco use on patients, as well as increased familiarity with treatment services were related to a higher frequency of referring patients to treatment services. These findings suggest that training experiences that increase physician awareness of the multiplicity of consequences of tobacco use as well as increase knowledge, preparedness, perceived effectiveness of treatments and familiarity with treatment services will increase the frequency with which physicians assist and refer this important patient population.

    Sheffer C and Anders M et al. Tobacco intervention practices of primary care physicians treating lower socioeconomic status patients. American Journal of the Medical Sciences 2011: doi: 10.1097/MAJ.0b013e3182302749

    Source: American Journal of the Medical Sciences, 17 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/vVtfUq

  • Young people’s perceptions of cigarette packaging and plain packaging: An online survey

    Introduction: In the United Kingdom, with most marketing channels prohibited, packaging is one of the few remaining ways that tobacco companies can promote their products.

    Methods:     An online survey with young people aged 10–17 years (N = 658) was used to explore why youth choose cigarettes, perceptions of pack color, and perceptions of plain (nonbranded) cigarette packaging. Young people were also shown an image of 3 plain packs, which differed by shape and method of opening, and asked which they liked most and thought others their age would smoke.

    Results: Price and what significant others smoke were key factors for choosing cigarettes, with packaging also an important influence. More than a third of the sample associated lighter pack color with weak tasting and less harmful cigarettes. Plain packs were rated negatively as were perceptions of plain pack users. One in 3 showed a preference for either a narrow “perfume type” plain pack or a plain “slide” pack that opened from the side, and 1 in 3 also thought that young people would smoke these packs.

    Conclusions: Packaging appears to both attract young people and mislead them about product strength and relative harm. Innovative pack construction (novel pack shape and method of opening) and the use of color are instrumental in these effects. The findings therefore suggest that any move to plain packaging should not only consider the benefits of removing branding (including color) but also of standardizing pack construction in terms of shape and method of opening.

    Moodie C and Ford A et al. Nicotine and Tobacco Research 2011 doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntr136

    Source: Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 24 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/ueYQDY

Events

  • Tobacco science at ICAA 54th International Conference on Dependencies

    Plenary sessions with keynote speakers of international renown will address major themes, most of them having a general, non-substance-specific nature covering aspects relevant to matters regarding alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

    On Monday 14th November one plenary session will deal with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. (Presenters: Deborah Arnott, Director of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) UK,  Prof. Robert West, Professor of Health Psychology and Director of Tobacco Studies. University College London

    On Wednesday 16th November there will be Major sessions including four presentations with tobacco-specific content: 
    Harm reduction 
    Prof Ann McNeil, Professor in Health Policy and Promotion, Deputy Director of the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies. Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Nottingham. UK

    Pharmacological and non-pharmacological features of Substance Dependence : comparisons between alcohol/drugs/tobacco
    Karl Olov Fagerstrom PhD, Fagerstrom Consulting, Helsingborg, Sweden

    Scientific basis for tobacco product regulation
    Lars Ramström PhD, Institute for Tobacco Studies, Stockholm, Sweden

    Tobacco control policies
    Deborah Arnott, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), London, UK

    SESSIONS OF THE ICAA SECTION ON TOBACCO DEPENDENCE 
    All participants are encouraged to submit abstracts of contributed papers for oral presentation in the sessions of the ICAA Section on Tobacco Dependence. We welcome presentations dealing with any aspect of tobacco science and control (research, prevention, treatment, policy etc). 


     

    Date: 13 November 2011
    Venue: British Medical Association's Conference Centre, BMA House, London
    Contact: www.icaa.ch/london/

  • Stop Smoking Live!

    A combination of seminars, exhibition stands from key suppliers, organisations active in the field, and services keen to recruit and share their expertise will offer stop smoking practitioners and tobacco control advisers a way to update their knowledge and skills.

    There will be over 600 delegates drawn from primary health care, hospital settings and specialist smoking cessation services.

    Date: 02 December 2011
    Venue: Business Design Centre, Islington, London
    Contact: http://www.stopsmokinglive.org

  • Fiftieth anniversary of RCP report on smoking and health

    To mark the 50th anniversary of the publication of its first report on Smoking and Health in 1962, the Royal College of Physicians is organising a one-day conference.

    Date: 06 March 2012
    Venue: Royal College of Physicians
    Contact: http://events.rcplondon.ac.uk/details.aspx?e=2497

  • 15th World Conference on Tobacco or Health

    The premier, international conference on tobacco control attracts thousands of academics, practitioners, non-government organisations and public officials. 

    Date: 20 March 2012
    Venue: Singapore
    Contact: http://wctoh2012.org