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ASH News and Events Bulletin - 01-15 May 2011

HEADLINES

EVENTS

  • Sark to make smoking ban law for public places

    Smoking in Sark's pubs and restaurants will be made illegal in future, the island's government has decided.

    Chief Pleas voted 19-5 in favour of plans to stop people lighting up in enclosed public places.

    Many island establishments already operate a voluntary ban on smoking, but the ban will now be enshrined in law.

    Chief Pleas also decided to introduce laws to licence the retail sale of tobacco and ban its sale to those under 16 years old.

    Currently Sark (one of the Channel Islands) has no legislation that governs the sale of tobacco and tobacco products.

    Source: BBC News - 4 May 2011
    Link: http://bbc.in/iR28M1

  • Campaigners lambast packs of 14 cigarettes

    The introduction of cigarette packs containing 14 cigarettes instead of the usual 20, which are being heavily marketed to the “price conscious” smoker, has been lambasted by ASH as a “cynical ploy” to ensure that less well off smokers don’t give up smoking.

    Five brands introduced packs of 14 onto the market in the United Kingdom in October, including Benson & Hedges, Silk Cut, and Mayfair. Their recommended retail price was as low as £3.82.
     
    The anti- smoking lobby group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) has criticised tobacco companies for introducing the new “14s” as a “cynical ploy to keep poorer smokers hooked and to dissuade them from quitting.”
     
    ASH research manager, Amanda Sandford, told the BMJ that although cigarettes sold in packs of 14 give smokers the “impression of a value product,” it was a “marketing con.”
     
    “In fact they cost more per cigarette than those sold in conventional packs of 20,” she said. “This is the latest in a long history of underhand industry tactics and demonstrates the need for plain, standardised packaging to stop these marketing con tricks,” she added.
    Source: BMJ - 09 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/irTNBa

  • Philip Morris Int. CEO: Cigs not that hard to quit

    The head of cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc. told a cancer nurse that while cigarettes are harmful and addictive, it is not that hard to quit.

    CEO Louis C. Camilleri's statement was in response to comments at its annual shareholder meeting in New York. Executives from the seller of Marlboro and other brands overseas spent most of the gathering sparring with members of anti-tobacco and other corporate accountability groups.

    The nurse, later identified as Elisabeth Gundersen from the University of California-San Francisco, cited statistics that tobacco use kills more than 400,000 Americans and 5 million people worldwide each year. She also said a patient told her last week that of all the addictions he's beaten — crack, cocaine, meth — cigarettes have been the most difficult.

    In response, the often-unapologetic Camilleri said: "We take our responsibility very seriously, and I don't think we get enough recognition for the efforts we make to ensure that there is effective worldwide regulation of a product that is harmful and that is addictive. Nevertheless, whilst it is addictive, it is not that hard to quit. ... There are more previous smokers in America today than current smokers."
    Camilleri is a longtime smoker.

    Following Wednesday's meeting, the company reiterated its position that "tobacco products are addictive and harmful."

    Source: Yahoo! News/AP - 11 May 2011
    Link: http://yhoo.it/kSsfGR

  • A woman with passion, commitment to fight tobacco

    Surrounded by anti-smoking banners and photocopies of newspaper articles denouncing smoking and tobacco cultivation, Ms Lutgard Kokulinda Kagaruki has long deviated from her professional line of duty as a veterinary researcher to embark on a tough crusade against tobacco cultivation, trade and use. 

    In her tiny room in a modest house at the junction of Sam Nujoma and Sinza Makaburini roads in Dar es Salaam, M Kagaruki, however, is not happy by the prevailing trend. 

    “I don’t think we are doing enough as a country to stop tobacco cultivation and cigarettes smoking even after we ratified the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC) several years ago,” she said bitterly while standing up to fish out a file with information on the subject to provide further details. 

    Source: Daily News - 11 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/isqlE9

  • Parliamentary question: Funding for smokefree promotion

    Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 6 April (WA 408) concerning second-hand tobacco smoke, what funding they propose to use in this financial year to promote smoke-free homes and cars.

    The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): In mid-2011, the department will publish a new marketing strategy for tobacco control, which will set out further plans to encourage people to recognise the risks of second-hand smoke and to make their homes and private cars smoke-free. While the detail of these plans is not yet available, the work will be funded through the department's public health communications budgets.

    Source: Hansard - 10 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/kpSrj0

  • Parliamentary question: determinants of smoking initiation

    Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the predominant determinants of smoking initiation.

    Anne Milton: There is a growing body of published, peer reviewed research evidence on the determinants of smoking initiation. The Department monitors all relevant evidence in this area because of the crucial need to reduce the take up of smoking by children.

    The recently published Tobacco Control Plan for England includes references to some of this evidence such as Gervais, A. et al. (2006). "Milestones in the natural course of cigarette use among adolescents" in Canadian Medical Association Journal 175(3).

    Source: Hansard - 16 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/mxChGg

  • BAT denies allegations that it funded anti-tobacco ban lobby

    British American Tobacco is under pressure to disclose whether it was involved in covertly lobbying MPs to persuade the government not to ban cigarettes from being displayed for sale in shops.

    It is under pressure to disclose whether it secretly funded a campaign against the plan instigated by the National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN). The plan, which led to tensions in the coalition, involved efforts over many months by the London public affairs firm Hume Brophy to influence MPs and the media.

    Parminder Singh, the president of the NFRN, which represents 16,500 small shopkeepers, recently wrote in its magazine that: "There is no way that the NFRN could afford the resources and expertise to mount such a high profile campaign to fight on its members' behalf to oppose the tobacco ban without some help towards funding. We are grateful, therefore, to have some help from the tobacco manufacturers to do this.”

    Deborah Arnott, the chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said, "For any major company to seek to covertly lobby MPs through the back door is disgraceful, but particularly when it comes to tobacco. The Government has legal obligations to protect public health policy from the vested interests of the tobacco industry and it can only do this if the tobacco industry is transparent about its lobbying activities. Lobbying by the NFRN was effective in significantly delaying the implementation of the legislation in small shops and it has already admitted that it received support from tobacco manufacturers for this campaign. The question is which tobacco manufacturers. If BAT was involved it needs to come clean."

    BAT, which stresses its commitment to "high standards of behaviour and integrity wherever our businesses operate", denied it had paid for the NFRN's campaign. "To accuse us of underhand tactics and the funding of an independent retailer organisation (the NFRN), via a PR agency that we use solely for work related to the European wide problem of tobacco smuggling, is untrue," said a spokeswoman."

    Source: The Guardian - 27 April 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/kFZuKB

  • BAT admits bankrolling newsagents' tobacco campaign

    British American Tobacco has admitted bankrolling an organisation of small shopkeepers that led the fight against the coalition government's plans to force cigarettes to be sold only from under shop counters. Speaking at BAT's annual meeting in London on Thursday 28th April, company chairman Richard Burrows confirmed that the tobacco group had funded the National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN) and attended meetings with the group and its lobbyists Hume Brophy to discuss the campaign against the point-of-sale move.

    Their relationship raises questions about Hume Brophy's tactics when it was lobbying MPs against the plan, as it said it was representing the NFRN and did not disclose BAT's role.

    Activists, among them the Labour MP Kevin Barron and Action on Smoking and Health, have voiced fears over "covert lobbying" of MPs by big tobacco companies. The day before BAT told the Guardian that claims that it was involved in "underhand tactics and the funding of an independent retailer organisation, via a PR agency" were "untrue".

    Source: The Guardian - 28 April 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/jw8O4f

  • BAT eyes Sudan as cigarette sales in Kenya stagnate

    British American Tobacco Kenya (BAT) is set to venture into Southern Sudan to expand its export business as the local market comes under increasing regulatory pressures.

    BAT said it is engaged in final talks with the Southern Sudan government  to begin supplying that market by the end of the year.

    Gary Fagan, the BAT Kenya managing director said, “Consumption in Kenya has been flat for about six years now. “We want to increase our production efficiencies to meet the growing demand from the export market.”

    BAT Kenya supplies 16 markets in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) region and plans to increase exports to protect its sales from unpredictable tax regimes and increased regulation by health agencies in Kenya.

    Mr Fagan said that since August last year, the firm has exported 1,000 tonnes of semi-processed tobacco products to Egypt, with plans to increase volumes to the country by up to 8,000 tonnes by the end of the year.

    Source: Business Daily - 05 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/jXafvJ

  • Japan Tobacco to close Austria plant with loss of 320 jobs

    Japan Tobacco has announced that it plans to close its Austrian factory by early 2012 and cut related administrative staff, shedding 320 jobs.

    Along with the plant closure, some of the Vienna-based administrative functions are also anticipated to be rationalised.

    The move is "for the purpose of developing the manufacturing structure with greater efficiency in the company's international tobacco business," the company said.

    Production in the Hainburg factory, which makes Benson&Hedges and Memphis brands among others, is planned to cease between the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012.

    Some of the manufacturing capability will be transferred to other factories in the European Union, such as to the Gostkow factory in Poland and to the Bucharest factory in Romania, the firm said.

    The Hainburg closure will bring the number of factories in JT's international tobacco business to 28.

    Source: AFP - 6 May 2011
    Link: http://yhoo.it/mDBL40

  • Imperial's profits grow despite consumer pressures

    Half year results from Imperial Tobacco show cash-strapped smokers are making their own cigarettes rather than buying them in packs.

    The company behind cigarette brands such as Davidoff and Gauloises and Golden Virginia tobacco, posted earnings growth ahead of expectations in the half year to 31 March as growth in emerging markets drove sales higher.

    Earnings per share were up by 7% from the same period a year ago to 88.4p, against analysts’ estimates of a rise of about 5.5%. Total revenues rose to £13.7bn from £13.37bn.

    “Spain remains difficult but we made gains elsewhere in the EU and our growth in emerging markets outside the EU was excellent,” said chief executive Alison Cooper.

    In the UK, where stick volumes were down by 2% to 54.8bn, economy cigarette and rolling tobacco sales have been strong as smokers seek value. Customers in German, where stick volumes have been stable at 116.7bn, are also economising. Spain, whose economy is struggling severely, saw stick volumes declining by 16% to 65.1bn, with the cigarette market falling 18% and the tobacco market climbing 18%.

    In the rest of the EU, stick volumes were down by 4% to 380.7bn, with cigarettes down 6% and tobacco up 6%.

    Emerging markets growth was strong, with profits up by more than 30% in Eastern Europe, by 20% in Asia Pacific and by just under 10% in Africa.

    Source: Sharecast - 10 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/lldTOT

  • Australia: Tobacco industry uses FOI requests in plain packs campaign

    Taxpayers are footing the bill for a multi-million-dollar campaign by tobacco companies to extract Health Department information for a looming court challenge to plain packaging on cigarette packets.

    Philip Morris and British American Tobacco Australia are using Freedom of Information (FOI) laws to obtain tens of thousands of documents, while avoiding the more expensive legal discovery process.
     
    It is understood that at least 26 large-scale FOI requests have been lodged by the tobacco companies. The Department of Health has had to assign nine legally trained staff to work full-time on the tobacco requests, including six new employees. The bill for one request alone came in at more than $367,000.

    The Health Minister said the government was prepared for a long legal fight. "This is the beginning of a large and co-ordinated campaign by Big Tobacco," she said. "We are not going to back away from this fight."
     
    Slater & Gordon lawyer James Higgins said the information-gathering exercise was ironic, given the tobacco companies destroyed their own internal documents to avoid liability for the effects of their products. He said the companies would stop at nothing to prevent plain packaging in Australia, fearing an international precedent that would affect global profits. "They will use every tactic that is available to them," he said.
    Source: The Australian - 29 April 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/kNzOQE

  • Philip Morris Int. alternative annual report

    As Philip Morris International (PMI) executives heralded the corporation’s $27 billion revenues in 2010 at its annual shareholders’ meeting, another not-so-welcome account of the corporation’s activities was distributed to shareholders. Corporate Accountability International has released a report called “Philip Morris International Exposed: Alternative Annual Report, ”documenting the human toll of PMI’s profits and the range of tactics employed to grease the wheels for such earnings – tactics ranging from hiding behind front groups to litigation and intimidation of national governments.

    “There may be 89 pages in PMI’s annual report from which shareholders can judge this corporation’s performance,” said Gigi Kellett, Challenging Big Tobacco campaign director for Corporate Accountability International. “But to truly understand PMI’s impact, you have to look at the enormous human costs it leaves off the ledger.” 

    Source: Corporate Accountability International - 11 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/mzoL0L

  • Ukraine: Running out of options, tobacco companies employ dark marketing

    Tobacco companies are using covert marketing tactics to target Ukrainian youths.

    Using social media like Facebook and involving international artists and DJs, Camel organizes musical events to draw public interest towards its brand indirectly in order to engage with existing or future smokers.

    The parties are organised by Urban Wave, Camel Cigarette’s promotion company, which is licensed to Japan Tobacco International.

    “The sole purpose of Urban Wave is to distribute cigarettes to their demographic inside the venue of these parties,” said Andriy Skipalsky, chairman of LIFE, a coalition of anti-tobacco non-profit organizations.

    Skipalsky said this concept of “dark marketing,” although legal, is how tobacco companies increasingly engage with target market groups, namely youth.

    “Its covert because it’s below the radar and once consumers are engaged with a pseudo-brand, the true brand – Camel – can engage with them,” he said. “It appears like any other form of human communication but it’s somewhat subversive because it intends to promote the cigarette brand’s interests.”

    Increasingly, tobacco marketers are using covert marketing concepts since they are staring imminent regulation in the face.

    Ukraine has already banned tobacco advertising in television, radio and the press as well as “external advertisement” such as billboards

    Kostiantyn Krasovsky, head of the tobacco unit for the Ukrainian Institute of Strategic Research under the Health Ministry, said tobacco companies employ people to stand near tobacco kiosks, or points of sale, where they promote cigarettes, gather personal information to build databases from which direct mailing and other marketing techniques are used to reach out to consumers.

    But a current bill in parliament could end all this.

    A bill is registered that would ban all types of tobacco advertisements, including event sponsorships. More than 300 of the legislature’s 450 lawmakers voted for the bill in its first reading in 2010.

    Source: Kyiv Post - 13 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/kPyhUK

  • Smokefree law impact on children in England

    Abstract
    Objective To examine the impact of the ban on smoking in enclosed public places implemented in England in July 2007 on children's exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke.

    Design Repeated cross-sectional surveys of the general population in England.

    Setting The Health Survey for England.

    Participants Confirmed non-smoking children aged 4–15 with measured saliva cotinine participating in surveys from 1998 to 2008, a total of 10 825 children across years.

    Main outcome measures The proportion of children living in homes reported to be smoke-free; the proportion of children with undetectable concentrations of cotinine; geometric mean cotinine as an objective indicator of overall exposure.

    Results Significantly more children with smoking parents lived in smoke-free homes in 2008 (48.1%, 95% CI 43.0% to 53.1%) than in either 2006 (35.5%, 95% CI 29.7% to 41.7%) or the first 6 months of 2007, immediately before the ban came into effect (30.5%, 95% CI 19.7% to 43.9%). A total of 41.1% (95% CI 38.9% to 43.4%) of children had undetectable cotinine in 2008, up from 34.0% (95% CI 30.8% to 37.3%) in 2006. Geometric mean cotinine in all children combined was 0.21 ng/ml (95% CI 0.20 to 0.23) in 2008, slightly lower than in 2006, 0.24 ng/ml (95% CI 0.21 to 0.26).

    Conclusions Predictions that the 2007 legislative ban on smoking in enclosed public places would adversely affect children's exposure to tobacco smoke were not confirmed. While overall exposure in children has not been greatly affected by the ban, the trend towards the adoption of smoke-free homes by parents who themselves smoke has received fresh impetus.

     Jarvis, M. et al.,  Impact of smoke-free legislation on children's exposure to secondhand smoke: cotinine data from the Health Survey for England, Tobacco Control 2011; Published Online First: 27 April 2011 

    Source: BMJ - 27 April 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/ksdU9s

  • Smokefree law impact on children in Wales

    Abstract
    Introduction: Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure is higher among children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) households. Legislation banning smoking in public places has been linked with reduced SHS exposure in children. However, socioeconomic patterning in responses to legislation has been little explored.

    Methods: A total of 3,083 children aged 10–11 years, within 75 Welsh primary schools, completed questionnaires either before legislation or 1 year later. Saliva samples were provided by 2,787 of these children for cotinine assay. Regression analyses assessed socioeconomic differences in SHS exposure, and associations of legislation with exposure among children from low, medium, and high SES households. Changes in parental smoking in the home, car-based exposure, and perceived norms were assessed.

    Results: SHS exposure was highest among children from lower SES households. The likelihood of providing a sample containing an undetectable level of cotinine increased significantly after legislation among children from high [relative risk ratio (RRR) = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.04–2.00] and medium SES households (RRR = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.20–2.30), while exposure among children from lower SES households remained unchanged. Parental smoking in the home, car-based SHS exposure, and perceived smoking prevalence were highest among children from low SES households. Parental smoking in the home and children’s estimates of adult smoking prevalence declined only among children from higher SES households.

    Conclusions: Post-legislation reductions in SHS exposure were limited to children from higher SES households. Children from lower SES households continue to have high levels of exposure, particularly in homes and cars, and to perceive that smoking is the norm among adults.

    Moore, G., et al., Patterning in Changes in Child Exposure to Secondhand Smoke After Implementation of Smoke-Free Legislation in Wales, Nicotine and Tobacco Research (2011) 
     

    Source: Oxford Journals - 12 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/kuLEpt

  • Smokefree law impact on cessation prescriptions

    Abstract

    Aims: To investigate whether there were changes in the rate of prescribing of smoking cessation medications in the months leading up to, and after, the introduction of smokefree legislation in England.

    Design: Interrupted time series analysis of prescribing rates using ARIMA models.

    Setting: 350 general practices in England who contribute data to The Health Improvement Network (THIN) database.

    Participants: Patients in THIN aged 16+ identified from their medical records as smokers.

    Measurements: Monthly rates of prescribing of NRT, bupropion and varenicline were calculated from THIN from 2001 to 2009 for all smokers and for subgroups defined by patient sex, age group, history of chronic disease and quintile of the Townsend Index of Deprivation. ARIMA models were built to assess whether there were changes in prescribing before or after the introduction of smokefree legislation over and above any long-term and seasonal trends.

    Findings: There was a 6.4% (0.7 to 12.1) increase in prescribing of all smoking cessation medications in the nine months before the introduction of smokefree legislation and a 6.4% (1.1 to 11.7) reduction in the nine month period afterwards. A 6.2% (1.4 to 11.0) increase in NRT prescribing and a 13.2% (4.3 to 22.2) increase in bupropion prescribing occurred in the six and three month periods respectively before smokefree legislation was introduced, and a 5.5% (2.3 to 8.7) decline in NRT prescribing and a 13.7% (4.6 to 22.8) decline in bupropion prescribing in the nine months post-legislation. The patterns of change in prescribing did not vary with patient demographics.

    Conclusions: Numbers of primary care prescriptions for smoking cessation medications increased prior to the introduction of smokefree legislation but decreased afterwards, suggesting a temporal displacement in prescribing activity rather than a change in the overall volume of prescribing. Effects observed were consistent across all population subgroups, suggesting that the changes in prescribing will neither widen nor reduce smoking-related health inequalities.

    Szatkowski, L., et al., The impact of the introduction of smokefree legislation on prescribing of stop-smoking medications in England, Addiction
     

    Source: Wiley Online Library - 11 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/lNDrbU

  • Effectiveness of graphic health warnings

    Abstract
    Background: In 2006, Australia introduced graphic cigarette packet warnings. The new warnings include one of 14 pictures, many depicting tobacco-related pathology. The warnings were introduced in two sets; Set A in March and Set B from November. This study explores their impact on smokers' beliefs about smoking related illnesses. This study also examines the varying impact of different warnings, to see whether warnings with visceral images have greater impact on smokers' beliefs than other images.

    Methods: Representative samples of South Australian smokers were interviewed in four independent cross-sectional omnibus surveys; in 2005 (n=504), 2006 (n=525), 2007 (n=414) and 2008 (n=464).

    Results: Unprompted recall of new graphic cigarette warnings was high in the months following their introduction, demonstrating that smokers had been exposed to them. Smokers also demonstrated an increase in awareness about smoking-related diseases specific to the warning messages. Warnings that conveyed new information and had emotive images demonstrated greater impact on recall and smokers' beliefs than more familiar information and less emotive images.

    Conclusions: Overall graphic pack warnings have had the intended impact on smokers. Some have greater impact than others. The implications for policy makers in countries introducing similar warnings are that fresh messaging and visceral images have the greatest impact.

    Miller, C.L., et al., Smokers' recall of Australian graphic cigarette packet warnings & awareness of associated health effects, 2005-2008, BMC Public Health. 2011 Apr 17;11(1):238. 

     

    Source: BMC Public Health - 17 April 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/mmbVrN

  • Varenicline use in England

    Abstract
    Introduction: Varenicline has recently been added to the market as a new drug for smoking cessation. The aim of the current study was to assess whether varenicline substituted for, or added to, the use of other smoking cessation medications.

    Methods: We used data from 2,595 smokers taking part in monthly household surveys of representative samples of the English population. We analyzed the percentage of smokers attempting to quit in the past 3 months and using nicotine replacement therapy over the counter (NRT OTC), NRT on prescription (NRT Rx), bupropion, or varenicline from November 2006 to December 2009. This survey covered 3 periods: (a) after the launch of varenicline but before the publication of the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence guidance on varenicline in July 2007, (b) the first year following the guidance, and (c) more than 1 year after the guidance.

    Results: Varenicline usage was negligible in the first period, increased steadily during the second period, and increased less rapidly in the third period to 5.3% of those making a quit attempt (p < .001 for the trend). The percentage of quit attempters using any smoking cessation medication increased nonsignificantly by 2.8 percentage points from 41.7% to 44.5% (p = .268). The use of NRT OTC decreased significantly by 6.2 percentage points from 35.2% to 29.0% (p = .029), whereas the use of NRT Rx increased significantly by 3.7 percentage points from 6.8% to 10.5% (p = .025), and use of bupropion remained unchanged.

    Conclusions: Increased use of varenicline in England following guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence in 2007 did not appear to substitute for use of other prescription smoking cessation medication. An observed decline in NRT OTC is likely to have been due to other factors.

    Kotz, D., et al., Did the Introduction of Varenicline in England Substitute for or Add to the Use of Other Smoking Cessation Medications? Nicotine and Tobacco Research 2011 published 4 May 2011, 10.1093/ntr/ntr075 
     

    Source: Oxford Journals - 04 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/mSkU4P

Events

  • World No Tobacco Day

     World No Tobacco Day 2011 is designed to highlight the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC)'s overall importance, to stress Parties' obligations under the treaty and to promote the essential role of the Conference of the Parties and WHO in supporting countries' efforts to meet those obligations. The Conference of the Parties is the treaty's central organ and governing body.

    Date: 31 May 2011
    Contact: http://www.who.int/tobacco/wntd/2011/announcement/en/index.html

  • UK National Smoking Cessation Conference

    Presentations, workshops and debates cover all aspects of the policy and practice of helping smokers to stop. This two-day conference is the leading forum for discussion of evidence based service delivery and community innovations.

    All patient groups are covered, including pregnant smokers, young people, those with mental health problems, in secure environments, and hard to reach groups. Treatment modalities are also comprehensively addressed with presentations describing the state of the art on new medications, forthcoming treatments (like the nicotine vaccine), as well as researchers and practitioners presenting the latest on optimising existing treatments that are known to be effective, such as Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), with results of work looking at combining products and 'pre-loading' prior to quitting.

    Although smoking cessation is the main focus of the conference, tobacco control measures such as smoke free public places and harm reduction are also discussed, particularly in relation to how they impact on services helping people to stop smoking.

    www.uknscc.org

    Date: 13 June 2011
    Venue: Novotel London West, Hammersmith, London
    Contact: 01305 262244, or email updates@uknscc.org

  • Health and Wellbeing – the 21st Century Agenda

    The second international conference organised by the journal Public Health is taking as its theme health and wellbeing. The conference will explore the relationships between health, wellbeing and the factors which influence them in a global environment. 


    website

    Date: 08 September 2011
    Venue: Friends House, 173-177 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BJ
    Contact: crobins@rsph.org.uk

  • UN Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases

    The Summit will focus on the four most prominent non-communicable diseases, namely, cancers, cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. The aim of the summit is to agree on a global strategy to address NCDs.

    There will be a High-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on the prevention and control of Non-communicable Diseases (19-20 September 2011), while Non-communicable disease indicators are on the agenda for discussion during the Millennium Development Goals Review Session (20-22 September 2011).

    Date: 19 September 2011
    Venue: New York City, USA
    Contact: http://bit.ly/dOgoW4

  • 14th European Health Forum Gastein

    The EHFG has developed into a key annual event, bringing together, politicians, senior decision-makers, representatives of interest groups, and experts coming from government and administration, business and industry, civil society and science and academia.

    Date: 05 October 2011
    Venue: Salzburg, Austria
    Contact: http://www.ehfg.org/registration.html?&L=0

  • 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