December 25, 2010 - Some 50% of the country’s cafés and discotheques allow smoking, despite the ban for all except small, one-man operated bars, according to new figures from the food and safety inspectorate.
Since the government overturned the ban in small bars, more and more large cafes are allowing their customers to smoke.(Netherlands - smoking ban lifted in small cafes with no staff..) In June, inspectors found smoking in 28% of the bars they visited. That has now increased to 51%.
According to the Volkskrant (a national daily Dutch morning newspaper), the new government says around half of the country’s bars are smaller than 70 m2, meaning they are exempt from the ban, provided they do not employ staff. However, the Dutch catering association says the figure is closer to 25%.
Not only is there confusion about the size of bars, but bigger cafe owners say they are faced with unfair competition.
‘Since the government said it would soften the ban, the whole sector has been discussing it,’ Ben Francooy, chairman of catering workers’ union FNV Horecabond told the paper. ‘If you are going to make [the ban] more flexible, you open the door to fiddling the figures.’ In some places, cafe owners have an alarm light to alert each other if inspectors are spotted, Francooy said.
Reference: Smoking ban widely ignored, ashtrays are back in half the bars, DutchNews.nl, 12/24/2010.
Netherlands - related news briefs:
Netherlands - smoking ban lifted in small cafes with no staff..;
Netherlands - small pubs (bars) - one-man businesses smoking allowed..;
Netherlands - legislation to abolish smoking ban for small cafes/bars with no staff.. ;
Netherlands - bars defy two-year old smoking ban..;
Netherlands - small bars can continue to ignore smoking ban..;
Dutch government will change law to keep bars smoke free..;
Netherlands - lifted smoking ban for bars with no employees..;
Holland - smoking ban temporarily halted for smaller cafes run by their owners alone..;
Netherlands - spot checks on smoking in small cafes suspended temporarily..;
Dutch bar owners without staff when victory against smoking ban..;
Netherlands - Marijuana /Tobacco Cigarettes - Confusion..;
Netherlands - small bars/cafes with no staff could be exempt from smoking ban..;
Court spares small Dutch cafe over smoking ban..;
Netherlands - 1st court case for flouting smoking ban..;
Netherlands - ban on smoking in bars and restaurants NOT enforced..; Netherlands - ban on smoking in bars and restaurants NOT enforced..; Netherlands the smoking ban must be enforced - Ab Klink, Health Minister...;
Congratulations are in order: Netherlands, Romania & Alberta...
(Holland, Dutch)
Read more...
Netherlands - smoking ban widely ignored - govt not sure how many bars have no employees..
Ocean City, Maryland - council rejects outdoor smoking ban, seeks designated areas..
December 24, 2010 - OCEAN CITY, Md. - Ocean City’s neighboring resort town, Bethany Beach, Del. is a prime example of the proposed ban. Bethany Beach passed a smoking ban on its beaches and Boardwalk in 2008. The ban lasts from May 15 to Sept. 15 every year. During that time frame, smokers are provided with designated smoking areas on Bethany’s beaches. Last summer Bethany Beach Mayor Tony McClenny had said that the smoking ban enforced during the busy season has proven to be popular, and the town has experienced little resistance and few complaints as well as enforcement actions. In April 2008, town officials banned smoking year-round at town parks, playgrounds and the bandstand area of the boardwalk. They also prohibited smoking on most of the boardwalk and the beach between May 15 and Sept. 15. (Council Rejects Outdoor Smoking Ban, Seeks Designated Areas, written By: Joanne Shriner, Staff Writer, mdcoastdispatch.com, 12/24/2010; Bethany Considers Extending Beach Smoking Ban, WBOC.com, 11/18/2010))
On Monday night, December 20th the Ocean City, MD city council decided to reject a proposed smoking ban. Instead, they unanimously approved a new motion to restrict smoking at public parks, following the rules that already existed there. The motion also included an initiative to create plans for voluntary smoking areas at the boardwalk and beach, rather than a complete ban. The vote came after a public hearing, in which residents of Ocean City and visitors from all over Maryland and Delaware voiced their opinions. Councillors of Ocean City, Delmarva, Maryland, on Wednesday, December 23rd voted unanimously not to ban smoking through instead to create voluntary smoking areas on the beach and Boardwalk.
After hearing from supporters and opponents of a proposed smoking ban, the council agreed with Councilman Joe Hall's suggestion to set up voluntary smoking areas on the beach and Boardwalk, and more forcefully ban smoking in the resort's parks. According to town staff, there already is a rule against smoking in parks but it had not yet been addressed by ordinance. Hall said he thought placing cans on the beach, labeled with a request that people smoke near them, would work.
Reference: OC council declines beach smoking ban
Voluntary smoking areas along Ocean City coastline, Boardwalk agreed upon by Charlene Sharpe Staff Writer, delmarvanow.com, 12/22/2010.
Read more...
Finland - cigarettes go under the counter in 2012..
December 24, 2010 - A ban on displaying cigarettes in shop windows and shelves comes into effect in Finland in 2012. Consumers interested in purchasing cigarettes will be handed simple catalogues illustrating cigarette packages and price information.
Tobacco products will be listed in catalogues by name, package size and retail price. Product images may also be included. The rudimentary nature of the catalogue is intended to prohibit it from being used as a marketing tool.
Finland's anti-smoking laws are considered among the toughest in the world. Since coming into force in October, the law seeks to make Finland smoking-free not by an outright ban on smoking, but by methods such as limiting the visibility and availability of tobacco products. (Finland - president approves new tobacco act, not as strong as people hoped..)
More hotel rooms in Finland will also be smoke-free by 2012, as no more than one in ten hotel rooms may be designated for smoking guests.
Cigarette vending machines will meanwhile be a thing of the past staring in 2015.
Since October, supplying tobacco to minors has been a punishable offence leading to a fine or even jail time. Smoking bans were also extended to school yards, festivals and football stadiums. (Finland - enforcement of tobacco act begins - 1st - forbid the selling of cigarettes to children..)
Finland - ban on smoking on terraces of private apartments overturned...
Finland - govt can not prevent people from smoking in cars when kids are present...
Finland - proposal for plain cigarette packaging surfaces again...
Finland - parliament will soon vote on anti-smoking bill...
Reference: Cigarettes Go under the Counter in 2012, YLE.fi, 12/24/2010.
Finland - some related news briefs:
Finland - enforcement of tobacco act begins - 1st - forbid the selling of cigarettes to children..;
Finland - ban on smoking on terraces of private apartments overturned..;
Finland - president approves new tobacco act, not as strong as people hoped..;
Finland - Philip Morris destroys 20 million cigarettes - not self-extinguishing..;
Finland - govt can not prevent people from smoking in cars when kids are present..;
Finland - proposal for plain cigarette packaging surfaces again..;
Finland - parliament will soon vote on anti-smoking bill..;
Finland - anti-smoking bill will end smoking altogether..;
Finland - to end the consumption of tobacco products by 2040..;
Finland - extends anti-tobacco law, restricting smoking in cars and ban on cigarette displays..;
Finland - health officials devising more restrictions to fight tobacco use..;
Finland - government proposing ban on smoking when kids present and other tobacco control measures..;
Finland may ban smoking in cars carrying children..;
Finland - Court of Appeals Hears Cigarette Liability Case, Decision Spring 2010..;
Finland banning shops from displaying cigarettes..;
Finland - proposal to ban tobacco display, total ban on SNUS..;
European Health Commissioner reprimands Astrid Thors for snus liberation campaign..;
Aland Islands Dispute Over Sale of SNUS On Board Ships Threatens Finland's Ratification of the EU's Treaty of Lisbon (The Reform Treaty)..;
Finnish Ferry Goes Swedish Over Snus Ban..;
EU Takes Finland to Court Again For NOT Banning the Use of Oral Tobacco..
Read more...
India - cigarette/bidis companies resume tobacco production..
December 24, 2010 - Leading cigarette manufacturers Godfrey Phillips India (GPI)and ITC have resumed production after getting directions from the government on what kind of pictorial warnings should be displayed on the packets. When contacted, GPI Vice-President Marketing Neeta Kapur confirmed that the company has resumed production since Monday. Similarly, an ITC official also confirmed the same saying the company has "even resumed dispatches".Background:
The existing pictorial warnings -- a scorpion on bidi packs and a cancer-affected lung on cigarette packs -- were to be replaced by a cancer-affected mouth, from December 1 after a notification by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in May this year. (India - revised pictorial warnings on tobacco products will be implemented from December 1, 2010..)
December 7, 2010 - Faced with major tobacco firms halting production over implementation of pictorial warnings (India - revised pictorial warnings on tobacco products will be implemented from December 1, 2010..), the Union (India's) Cabinet on Tuesday, December 7th decided that the current pictures will remain in place for another year. (India - cigarettes and bidis manufacturers halt production seek clarification on pictorial health warnings..)
December 4, 2010 - India's largest cigarette firm ITC, maker of India Kings, Gold Flake and Navy Cut, has stopped production at all its manufacturing units in view of uncertainty over pictorial warnings to be carried on tobacco products starting this month. The company said there was no clarity on types of warnings to be carried on the packages. ITC has stopped production at all five units located across India since yesterday. Confirming the development an ITC spokesperson said, "Units (for making cigarettes) are shut because of the ambiguity in pictorial warnings to be carried from December 1 onwards." According to industry sources, even Godfrey Phillips India (GPI), the country's second largest cigarette maker after ITC that owns brands like Four Square, Red and White and Cavanders, has stopped production. (India - cigarettes and bidis manufacturers halt production seek clarification on pictorial health warnings..)
Reference: Godfrey Phillips, ITC resume cigarette production, The Economic Times, 12/23/2010.
India - some related news briefs:
*India - will delay for a year the use of scarier pictorial warnings on cigarette and bidi packs..;
*India - cigarettes and bidis manufacturers halt production seek clarification on pictorial health warnings..;
*India - Tobacco Board warns farmers against planting unauthorized crop..;
*India - revised pictorial warnings on tobacco products will be implemented from December 1, 2010..;
*India - captions with pictorial warnings should use local languages..:
*India - pictorial warning will appear on every tobacco pack sold from June 1, 2010..;
*India - government set to ban foreign direct investment in tobacco..;
*India - despite tobacco control measure in place - tobacco sales increase..;
*India - still confusion pictorial warnings on cigarette packs..;
*Mumbai, India - NGO activists want closure of hookah bars..;
*India - gutkha and bidi companies NOT pictorial warnings..;
*India - cigarette packs with pictorial warnings are here..; *ndia - NO graphic pictorial warnings yet..;
*India - Still no pictorial warnings on cigarette packs..;
*India - pictorial warning on cigarettes and tobacco products effective May 31, 2009..;
*India - pictorial warning on cigarettes and tobacco products will be implemented from May 31 - no doubts about it..;
*India - will pictorial or graphic health warnings be implemented from May 30, 2009..;
*India - placing pictorial warnings on tobacco products delayed again...
Read more...
Russia - accepting funds from PMI to improve technical colleges..
College students, click to enlarge..
December 23, 2010 - Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) and the Russian nonprofit Centre for Non-Governmental Organizations’ Development (see below) announced today the continuation of an agreement initiated in 2009 for the funding of a charitable program to improve two technical colleges in St. Petersburg and five technical colleges in the Leningrad region, where Philip Morris’ Izhora factory is located.
Russia - 73 percent of boys and 65 percent of girls smoke... A country with a bright future..
from Guidelines for implementation of Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC):PMI’s grant will be used to transform these technical schools into centers of manufacturing excellence by upgrading and modernizing classroom facilities and purchasing modern equipment to replace out-dated machinery. In addition, Philip Morris Izhora will provide promising students with a factory internship program and offer available full-time entry-level positions to the best graduates of the colleges in 2011. Philip Morris Izhora employees will also volunteer their time to provide technical training to teachers and students at the schools.
Payments, gifts and services, monetary or in-kind, and research funding offered by the tobacco industry to government institutions, officials or employees can create conflicts of interest. Conflicting interests are created even if a promise of favourable consideration is not given in exchange, as the potential exists for personal
Principle 1: There is a fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between the tobacco
industry’s interests and public health policy interests. 13. The tobacco industry produces and promotes a product that has been proven scientifically to be addictive, to cause disease and death and to give rise to a variety of social ills, including increased poverty. Therefore, Parties should protect the formulation and
implementation of public health policies for tobacco control from the tobacco industry to the greatest extent possible.
This support program for technical schools in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region was initiated by PMI in 2009 with an initial grant to purchase new machinery for 6 technical schools in the area along with scholarships and teaching grants for students and teachers at the selected schools. More than 1000 students per year benefit from the program.
About Centre for Non-Governmental Organizations’ Development: established in 1994 to promote corporate responsibility and charity in Russia, and to provide assistance and support to NGOs. This organization administers charitable projects aimed at assisting socially vulnerable groups with support from leading local and international companies. From PMI reference below.
Reference: Philip Morris International Provides Grants to Improve Seven Technical Colleges in the Leningrad region and St. Petersburg, Source: Philip Morris International, 121/22/2010
Russia related news briefs:
Russia - govt talks the talk but can't walk the walk..;
Russia - KT&G Corp. completes construction of plant..;
Russia - launches anti-smoking program, maybe they're serious this time..;
Russia - electronic cigarettes to be banned..;
Russia - strong plans to reduce the burden of tobacco use - will it come true??;
Russia - finance minister urges citizens to smoke and drink more to lift tax revenues..;
Russia - BATR has an alternative instead of banning cigarette sales from kiosks or by street vendors..;
Russia - health warnings on cigarette packs..;
Russsia - 73 percent of boys and 65 percent of girls smoke..;
Russia - Finance Ministry skeptical about raising taxes on tobacco..;
Russia - tax on tobacco may be quadrupled..;
Russia - tobacco epidemic with no solution in site..;
Russia - public health official discusses tobacco control..;
Russia - making it more difficult for servicemen to smoke..;
Russia - draft tobacco law being considered by Duma..;
Russia among top-10 smoking nations..;
Russian lawmakers discuss smoking ban for restaurants and bars..;
Russia passes new restrictions on tobacco..;
British American Tobacco (BAT) Misleading Russian Consumers..;
Russian State Duma (Parliament) ratified the framework convention of the World Health Organization (WHO) on tobacco control...
Read more...
ASH Wales - chief executive, get on with it - stop large displays of cigarettes behind shop counters..
Tanya Buchanan, chief executive of Ash Wales, has expressed concern at Government “dithering” (a state of indecision) over proposals to stop large displays of cigarettes behind shop counters which are said to influence young people. And she says evidence from a shop displays ban in Ireland proves it can work to reduce smoking.
The Vision of ASH Wales is: "ASH Wales is committed to achieving a life free from tobacco for all people in Wales."
The tobacco lobby has fiercely opposed the proposed ban, saying it will lead to a surge in smuggling and prove costly for small shopkeepers.
The previous Labour Government pledged to introduce the display ban.
But the public health minister, Anne Milton, has admitted that it is under review, telling the Commons last month: “The Government, in discussions across Whitehall (Parliament), is developing options around the display of tobacco in shops that seek to ensure an appropriate balance between public health priorities and burdens on business.”
Ms Buchanan said: “New research of the health and economic effects of the behind the counter ban of tobacco in Ireland, which has been in place since July 2009, was recently released. “The findings totally discredit the tobacco industry’s claims of the devastation the ban would have on small retailers. “In fact the findings show the reverse is true – that Ireland’s tobacco display ban has not decreased retailers’ sales of cigarettes, nor has it led to any increase in illicit tobacco sales.
“Not surprisingly, the tobacco industry has had little to say on this new evidence.”
A spokesman for the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association said: “A ban on the display of products will blur the distinction between the legal and illegal market by virtue of it all being ‘under the counter’, which will benefit the illicit trade in tobacco smuggling and hit the Government’s tax revenues.”
Legislation to block British shopkeepers from openly displaying cigarettes for sale, due to come into force early next year, is to be weakened after Conservative/Liberal Democrat ministers accepted that it could harm small businesses and encourage black-market sales of cigarettes. The changes to the implementation of the Health Act could require House of Commons approval with one ministerial source saying that there ‘will be a compromise’. (Cigarette display ban could be watered down, Tobacco Journal International, 11/9/2010; United Kingdom - Disappointment - cigarette point-of-sale display ban will be weakened..)
Just as good.. United Kingdom - govt wants cigarette packaging in plain brown wrappers..
Reference: Government accused of ‘dithering’ over proposed tobacco display ban Robin Turner, Western Mail, 12/111/2010.
Some Wales related new briefs:
Wales set to ban the display of tobacco products..;
Wales - One in five women in Wales smoke while pregnant..;
Wales - Smoking 'costs NHS £1m (1.6m USD) each day'..;
Wales council imposes blanket ban on smokers adopting or fostering children..;
England, Wales to ban tobacco displays in shops..;
Wales - still easy for youngsters to buy cigarettes..;
Read more...
Bulgaria - cigarette excise revenue down this year..
December 23, 2010 - Bulgaria’s cigarette excise revenue this year, at BGN1.686 billion, was BGN100 million down on that of 2009, according to a Novinite story quoting the country’s Customs Agency. [1 USD = 1.49094 BGN]
Reduced output at Bulgartabac’s plants at Sofia and Blagoevgrad was said to have meant that the state enterprise’s excise contribution dropped by BGN280 million, or 32 per cent.
The Customs Agency press service says that the agency’s efforts are concentrated on fighting contraband and the evasion of excise duties. It says that since the start of this year, customs officers have seized a total of 242.2 million contraband cigarettes, a figure that is many times higher than the number of contraband cigarettes seized in previous years. From 2007 to 2009 ‘only’ 53.6 million contraband cigarettes were seized by officers. (Bulgaria - Director of the Customs Agency announced Bulgaria ranks 1st in Europe in seizure of contraband cigarettes..) Bulgarian Customs Officer Dies during Search for Smuggled Cigarettes.., Novinite.com, 12/6/2010.
At the end of March, Bulgaria’s former Interior Minister, Rumen Petkov, severely criticised the government over its policy of excise duty increases. Petkov said there had been a 15 percent fall in revenue since the increase in cigarette excise duty earlier in the year. He said the cigarette markets in Pleven and Nikopol in North Bulgaria were rife with contraband stock.
In January, Bulgartabac warned that illicit cigarettes would take 40 percent of the country’s total cigarette trade this year as a result of the increase in excise duty.
At the beginning of this year, the specific element of the excise duty was raised from BGN41 to BGN101 per 1,000 cigarettes, while the ad valorem element was reduced from 40.5 percent to 23.0 percent. The new duties increased the retail price of a pack of cigarettes by between BGN1.10 (0.74 USD) and BGN1.60 (1.07 USD), and the price of the best-selling Victory brand rose from BGN3.40 (2.28 USD) to BGN5.00 (3.35 USD).
Within weeks of the excise increase, the Bulgarian Customs Agency was forced to announce that, with immediate effect, new limits had been imposed on personal imports of tobacco products by travelers entering Bulgaria by road, sea or river crossings from outside the European Union (EU).
Reference: Bulgarian Customs Boast Decent Revenues in 2010, Novinite.com, 12/22/2010.
Bulgaria - related news briefs:
Bulgaria - smoking restriction checks begin after January 3, 2011..;
Bulgaria - PMI to introduce their own Marlboro 10-pack cigarettes..;
Bulgaria - health minister will work for implementing full smoking ban in public places..;
Bulgaria - tobacco growers seeking more subsidies..;
Greece/Bulgaria - governments opposed to WHO's attempt to ban blended tobacco..;
Bulgaria - tobacco companies back effort to reduce illicit cigarette trade.;
Bulgaria - Mayor of Town of Kyustendil - non-smokers should pay less for health insurance..;
Bulgaria - smoking ban beginning January 1, 2011 - do they know which smoking ban applies??;
Bulgaria - Director of the Customs Agency announced Bulgaria ranks 1st in Europe in seizure of contraband cigarettes..;
Bulgaria - smoking rate down, knowledge of dangers of tobacco use gaining..;
Bulgaria - another tobacco tax increase in the draft 2011 budget..;
Bulgaria - confusion over which public smoking ban is in force..;
Bulgaria - WHO upset with Bulgaria's weakened smoking ban..;
Bulgaria - weakened smoking ban, just added minors can't be in disco clubs after 10pm..;
Bulgaria - final vote delayed on weakened smoking ban..;
Bulgaria - weakened smoking ban, second reading..;
Bulgaria - commission tightens smoking ban a little..;
Bulgaria - Bulgartabac buyer may be chosen by end of year..;
Bulgaria - prime minister not happy with giving tobacco growers subsidies..;
Bulgaria - to loosen smoking ban to start June 1, 2010..;
Bulgaria - finance minister comments may be good news for tobacco farmers..;
Bulgaria - parliament debates proposal to water down smoking ban..;
Bulgaria - majority of all Bulgarians - 78% are against the smoking ban delay..;
Bulgaria - every increase in excise duty on cigarettes consumption goes down..;
Bulgaria - grace period over, increase in tobacco tax starts Thursday, April 1, 2010..;
Bulgaria - Italian authorities arrest 2-Bulgarians smuggling cigarettes..;
Bulgaria - tractor trailer loaded with contraband cigarettes seized in Ancona, Italy..;
Bulgaria - cigarette consumption down, cigarette tax collection up, seeking funds for technology to intercept contraband goods..;
Bulgaria - justifying why smoking ban won't go into effect on June 1, 2010..;
Bulgaria - Citigroup chosen as consultant for sale of Bulgartabac..;
Bulgaria - ruling party may delay smoking ban until 2011..;
Bulgaria - Finance Minister Djankov, "Less Smoking Is Good for Economy..";
Bulgaria - govt to weaken full smoking ban to be effective June 1, 2010..;
Bulgaria - do producers support contraband cigarettes??;
Bulgaria - sale of Bulgartabac coming - selection of a consultant..;
Greek Farmers Renew Bulgaria Border Blockade..;
Bulgaria - leadership of tobacco fund to be replaced..;
Bulgaria - illegal trade in cigarettes will reach 40% of total trade in 2010..;
Bulgaria - limits on personal imports of tobacco products from outside the EU..;
Bulgaria - European Commission authorizes payment to tobacco producers for 2009 crop..;
Bulgaria -two cigarette smuggling attempts busted on Serbian border..;
Bulgaria - price of cigarettes increases..;
Bulgaria - Bulgartabac stays in the economy ministry, sold by middle of 2010, starting price 100,000,000 euro..;
Bulgaria - tobacco producers propose Bulgartabac transfer..;
Bulgaria - government, tobacco growers reach subsidy agreement..;
Bulgaria - start of steps leading to the privatization of the state-owned cigarette monopoly Bulgartabac..;
Bulgaria - police hold smoking protest over lack of bonuses..;
Bulgaria - police busts major cigarette contraband ring..;
Bulgaria - Bulgartabac Holding” will be privatized in 2010..;
Bulgaria - MPs Impose Hefty Fines on Cigarette Sales Violators..;
Bulgartabac Chief - cigarette tax increase as of January 1, 2010..;
Bulgaria Bulgartabac Holding Sells 23% of Shares to Mutual Funds..;
Bulgaria - more than 70% of smokers want to quit..;
Bulgaria - cigarette taxes going up each year except 2011..;
Bulgaria - chair of the economic committee in parliament disapproves of planned raise in excise duties on cigarettes..;
Bulgaria and others - smoking ban, increased cigarette taxes, smuggling..;
Bulgaria - Cigarette excise duties will be increased next year..;
Bulgaria - cigarette contraband, government loses BGN 920M yearly..;
Bulgaria - one third of the tobacco products sold are illicit..;
Bulgaria - new government to speed-up Bulgartabac sale..;
Bulgaria - Fake Victory Light cigarettes..;
Bulgaria's tobacco monopoly may be up for sale..;
Bulgarian lawmakers vote to ban smoking in all publc places from June 2010..; Bulgarian tobacco company Sofia-BT exports increase by 541 percent..;
Does Russia own Bulgaria's tobacco monopoly, Bulgartabac..;
EU percent of adults smokers -highest Greece 1 , Bulgaria 2.. - lowest Slovenia..;
Bulgaria - 1 in 3 youths smoke / half of pregnant women smoke..;
PMI training Bulgarian custom officers to stop cigarette smuggling..;
Philip Morris International (PMI) was truly happy they had been back in the Bulgarian cigarette market for a year and had already had 6.8% of market..;
WHO FCTC Protocol to Prevent Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products Won't Be Completed Until End of 2010..;
WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008..;
Bulgaria Enters 2009 with Cigarette Prices Hike...
Bulgaria is marking Tuesday, November 10, 2009, the 20th year since the internal coup at the Bulgaria;
Read more...
PAPER: Smoking adolescents' perceptions on smoking uptake and prevention..
December 23, 2010 -
PAPER: "Immortal but frightened" - smoking adolescents' perceptions on smoking uptake and prevention, Maria Nilsson (maria.nilsson@epiph.umu.se) and Maria Emmelin (maria.emmelin@epiph.umu.se), BMC Public Health 2010, 10:776doi:10.1186/1471-2458-10-776, published: 12/21/2010.
Abstract (provisional) below:
Background
To curb the tobacco epidemic a combination of comprehensive interventions are needed at different levels. Smoking uptake is a multi-factorial process that includes societal factors as well as social and individual characteristics. An understanding of the process is essential in order to model interventions. The aim of this study was to explore the role of smoking for young smokers by focusing on the mechanisms that facilitate young people starting to smoke as well as what could have prevented them from starting.
Methods
A qualitative research design using focus group discussions was chosen as the basis for a content analysis approach. Eight focus groups were conducted with five to six participants in each (four groups with boys, four with girls). The informants were purposively selected to represent smokers in the age range of 15-16 years within the county. The total number of group participants was 44; 21 were girls and 23 boys. The study was performed at 7-9th grade schools in Vasterbotten County in northern Sweden.
Results
Three themes related to different aspects of youth smoking behaviour emerged from the analysis. Theme 1) "gaining control" reflects what makes young people become smokers; theme 2) "becoming a part of the self" focuses on what facilitates youths to start smoking; theme 3) "concerned adults make a difference" indicates what may prevent them from starting.
Conclusion
Young smokers described starting to smoke as a means of gaining control of feelings and situations during early adolescence. Smoking adolescents expect adults to intervene against smoking. Close relations with concerned adults could be a reason for less frequent smoking or trying to quit smoking. Interventions aimed at normative changes, with consistent messages from both schools and parents about the negative aspects of tobacco seem to be a feasible approach for preventing youth from using tobacco.
Full Text: Smoking adolescents' perceptions on smoking uptake and prevention..
Related: Sure, Smoking Causes Cancer, But It Won't Happen to Me..;
State Estimates of Adolescent Cigarette Use and Perceptions of Risk from Smoking, National Survey on Drug Use and Health Report, June 2010.
Read more...
South Korea - BAT Korea launching Dunhill Nanocut 1 mg, next week..
Not exact image of Korean version..
December 23, 2010 - British American Tobacco (BAT) Korea, one of the foremost producers of cigarettes in Korea, said on Wednesday, December 22rd the launch of Dunhill Nanocut 1mg.
Dunhill Nanocut is a super slim cigarette that BAT Korea released earlier this year in 4mg to positive feedback. The brand has consistently won the hearts and minds of adult smokers and BAT Korea looks to broaden the variety of cigarettes with the 1mg version.
The company said that the debut of 1mg offer would provide consumers with an opportunity to experience the premium super slim cigarette in a milder form with a smooth taste.
The new product will be available starting next week at 2,500 won (2.17 USD) a pack.
According to research firm AC Nielsen, BAT Korea carved out 18 percent of the market during the third quarter of 2009. (Korea - BAT - winning the hearts and minds of customers based on tactics tailored to local tastes..)
Reference: BAT unveils Dunhill Nanocut 1mg, The Korea Times, 12/22/2010.
South Korea - some related news briefs:
South Korean tobacco company KT&G signs deal to sell cigarettes in the Middle East and Russia..;
South Korea - BAT releases Dunhill Orient as a limited edition..;
http://snus-news.blogspot.com/2010/11/south-korea-end-of-next-year-teenagers.html;
South Korea - stop people from smoking go ahead and triple the price of cigarettes..;
South Korea - Smoking Manner Campaign - promoting cigarette butt-free streets..;
South Korea - in 2007, world's 12th largest cigarette exporter..;
South Korea - study finds higher prices most effective method to discourage smoking..;
South Korea - a new Raison line extension..;
next month enforcement of ban on smoking by taxi drivers..;
South Korea - fines collected for dumping cigarette butts are down.. ;
South Korea - BAT launches new cigarette seems similar to Camel Crush..;
South Korea - rate of male smokers probably higher than any other OECD country..;
South Korea - BAT to further invest in Sacheon factory..;
South Korea - a look at KT&G Corporation with 63% of the market..;
South Korea - streets and parks of Seoul City could be designated as non-smoking areas..;
PMI - slide presentation South Korean Cigarette Market..;
South Korea - KT&G forms alliance with Imperial Tobacco Group..;
South Korea - more smokers in 2009 than in 2008..;
South Korea - remote island going smoke-free, car-free and night lights-free..;
South Korea - Stressed-out Koreans smoking more..;
South Korea - to ban smoking in public places from 2011..;
Korea - BAT - winning the hearts and minds of customers based on tactics tailored to local tastes..;
Korea - sets target to reduce smoking 10% in 5-years..;
Korea - stricter regulation of the tobacco industry coming..;
South Korea - tobacco imports surge 396-fold over 10-years..;
Korea - slight increase in men smoking.. ;
South Korea - anti-tobacco campaign - body painting..;
Korea - smoking ban just about everywhere by end of 2009..;
Tobacco marketing in South Korea has been deliberately aimed at girls and young women..;
Korea - smoking rates fall for men and women...
Read more...
OHIO Supreme Court in an unanimous decision - governor could legally snatch funds originally intended for anti-tobacco programs..
December 23, 2010 - The Ohio Supreme Court's decision Wednesday, December 22nd said Gov. Ted Strickland and state lawmakers could legally snatch $258 million originally intended for anti-tobacco programs. The justices ruled that the Ohio General Assembly, which had scooped up the money to help balance the state budget last year, did have the constitutional authority to decide how the money would be spent.
Background:The $258 million was slated to go for human services programs such as an expansion of Medicaid coverage for children, adult and child protective services and some optional Medicaid services. But while $129 million of the tobacco funding has already been committed for optional Medicaid services for adults, it wasn't clear on Wednesday how the other half of the $258 million pot would be spent.
March 11, 2010 - The Ohio Supreme Court makes decision to hear the appeal in Legacy's case seeking to preserve tobacco funds and the life-saving tobacco control programs they support in Ohio. (OHIO - Supreme Court to hear the appeal in its case seeking to preserve tobacco funds ..)
January 21, 2010 - the Legacy(SM) -- a national public health foundation devoted to tobacco cessation and prevention -- asked the Ohio Supreme Court to hear the appeal in its case seeking to preserve tobacco funds and the life-saving tobacco control programs they support in Ohio. (OHIO - Legacy Foundation asks Supreme Court to hear appeal..);
January 6.2010 - The American Legacy Foundation said yesterday, January 6th that it will appeal a lower-court decision last week that would allow the state to use the tobacco funds in its two-year budget. The funds are what remain from the $10 billion that Ohio received from a 1998 settlement with major tobacco companies. (OHIO - American Legacy Foundation will appeal decision to allow state to use tobacco funds..);
December 31, 2009 - On Thursday, December 31, 2009 an Ohio three-member appeals court ruled the state can use about $230 million set aside for tobacco prevention for other purposes overturning a trial court's decision. The 10th District Court of Appeals said Ohio could spend the tobacco prevention money — which had originally been given to the Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation — on an expansion of health care for children and optional Medicaid services. (OHIO - appeals court rules state can use money set aside for tobacco prevention..);
August 11, 2009 - A judge ruled Tuesday, August 11th that state officials had no authority to divert $230 million from an anti-tobacco fund to balance the recently approved state budget. The ruling by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David Fais said the state cannot spend the funds, which were frozen after anti-smoking advocates filed a suit seeking to protect the money. (OHIO - judge rules money can not be diverted from anti-tobacco fund..).
Other related news briefs:
Ohio - Supreme Court rules in favor of R.J. Reynolds in Rolling Stones magazine multi-page ad..;
Ohio - state will provide NO funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs..;
Ohio - don't cut spending on anti-tobacco programs it will cost the state much more in the long run...
Outgoing Gov. Ted Strickland hailed the decision as a "great victory" for children's health in Ohio in a statement, even though Ohio Department of Job and Family Services spokesman Ben Johnson acknowledged that it isn't up to the current regime to decide whether the expansion of health care coverage for children will happen.
Instead, it will be up to Governor-elect John Kasich to decide whether $30 million of the money tapped to expand health care for an estimated 18,000 children will actually be spent that way. Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols did not return a call for comment. Additionally, no decision has been made by ODJFS Director Doug Lumpkin on what to do with $92 million of the funding that was originally intended for adult and children protective services, Johnson added.
A statement from Legacy (an anti-smoking group) President and CEO Cheryl Healton: "Sadly, Ohioans will pay an extremely high price for dismantling of the state's successful tobacco control foundation -- many with their lives," said "This decision will result in significantly more spending on the back-end with increased health care costs and lost productivity from sick smokers." The American Legacy FoundationReference: Ohio Supreme Court rules unanimously that state can snatch tobacco funds by Aaron Marshall, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12/23/2010. Read more...
Massachusetts - Anna Jaques Hospital jobs - if nicotine test is positive do not apply..
December 22, 2010 - Back in November 2010 it was reported as of January 1, 2011 Massachusetts Hospital Association (MHA) and its members hospitals will no longer hire users of tobacco products.
Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport requires job applicants to take nicotine tests. If they test positive, they’ll be rejected. If they quit smoking, they can try again six months later.
New Non-Smoking Hiring Policy at Anna Jaques Hospital - Effective November 18, 2010
Hospital spokesperson Deb Chiaravalloti says, “We believe as a health care organization we need to make sure we have a healthy environment for our employees and our patients. Smokers are not a protected class.”
Last year, the hospital prohibited employees from smoking in the designated fenced-off area outside the building. Next year, the hospital plans to ban smoking on the campus all together, even for patients and visitors.
Anna Jaques is the first hospital in Massachusetts to require nicotine testing.
Reference: VIDEO - Smokers Need Not Apply by Christina Hager, WBZ-TV, 12/21/2010.
Massachusetts - some related news briefs:
Massachusetts - Lorillard has to pay punitive damages of $81 million..;
Massachusetts - Lorillard loses lawsuit - did they pass out cigarettes to kids??;
Massachusetts South Coast - smoking among pregnant women far surpasses state average..;
Massachusetts - if states cover tobacco cessation treatment cost will smokers quit??;
Massachusetts Hospital Association - as of January 1, 2011 will no longer hire users of tobacco products..;
Cambridge, MA city counsel studying proposal to ban smoking in public parks..;
Boston Area - tobacco signs more plentiful in city's poorer areas..
Lorillard claims not liable in a 2004 lawsuit by a former black Newport smoker..;
Boston, Massachusetts - next, ban smoking in all public housing..;
Boston, MA. - gets federal stimulus funding for obesity and tobacco prevention projects..;
Massachusetts - senate votes to license 3-totally no-smoking casinos..;
Massachusetts - City of Everett to ban tobacco sales in pharmacies..;
Massachusetts - may force retailers to display graphic warning signs of perils of tobacco..;
Massachusetts - jury rejects condo owner's lawsuit that realtor did not inform that neighbor smoked..;
Massachusetts - YOUTH - cigars and smokeless tobacco use surpasses cigarettes..;
Successful Massachusetts tobacco cessation program gets national attention..;
Massachusettes - lower income smokers giving up their nicotine addiction..;
Massachusettes - smoker loses job and then loses in federal court..;
Massachusetts - smokeless tobacco purchasers settle class action suit..;
Boston's ban on blunt wraps stands..;
Boston - NO Tobacco Products Sold - Pharmacies/College Campuses..;
Massachusetts cigarette tax jumps $1 per pack..;
Massachusetts (MA) Likely to Increase Tobacco tax..;
Massachusettes - Smoking ban drop in fatal heart attacks..;
Read more...
City of Devils Lake, North Dakota - outlaws smoking in all bars and restaurants..
December 22, 2010 - On August 1, 2005, North Dakota's smoke-free law went into effect. The law prohibits smoking in all enclosed areas of public places and places of employment, with some exceptions. A stand-alone bar, where only people and older are allowed, may allow smoking. A restaurant must be smoke-free, or can only
allow smoking in a separately enclosed bar area. A stand-alone bar, where only people 21 and older are allowed, may allow smoking. Local governments may regulate smoking more stringently than the state.
The Devils Lake City Commission outlawed smoking in all bars and restaurants that previously had been exempt from the state-wide ban on smoking in public places.
The vote Monday night, December 20th was 3-2, said Mayor Richard Johnson, who is a voting member of the commission. The change goes into effect July 1, 2011. “That gives them some time to prepare, with a smoking hut, or whatever,” Johnson said.
The vote follows an advisory vote taken during the general election in November when; 58 percent voted for such a ban, and 42 percent opposed it, Johnson said. The bars in the town of about 7,000 already had been on notice such a ban was likely and some are planning to build some structure to allow smoking in a separate area, Johnson said.
Reference: Devils Lake bans smoking in bars Devils Lake outlaws smoking in bars on 3-2 city commission vote. Rule becomes effective July 1 in city of 7,000 by: Stephen J. Lee, Grand Forks Herald, 12/20/2010.
Some North Dakota related news briefs:
Bismarck, North Dakota - lighting up in bars illegal after November 1, 2010..;
North Dakota - fire-safe cigarette law becomes effective on August 1st..;
Great Forks, North Dakota - extends smoking ban to bars and truck stops..;
North Dakota's Comprehensive State Plan to Prevent and Reduce Tobacco Use 2009-2014..;
North Dakota - statewide anti-tobacco plan to be released in July 2009..;
Read more...
California - latest tobacco ads debut..
December 22, 2010 - -California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS) Secretary Kimberly Belshé and California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director Dr. Mark Horton today premiered a series of new anti-tobacco television advertisements. The ads include a bold new approach in the fight against tobacco – focusing attention on its impact on the environment. In addition, the two health leaders shared the latest statewide trends surrounding tobacco.
“I am proud of the tremendous progress that California has made during the past 20 years,” said Belshé, “but our job is not yet complete because nearly four million Californians still smoke, and tobacco remains the No. 1 cause of preventable death and disease.”
ADs - undo tobacco everywhere..
As California enters its third decade of combating tobacco use, CDPH has created a series of new anti-tobacco television ads. The theme of the new ads include educating Californians about the progress the state has made, the challenges and importance of quitting smoking, the deceptive marketing practices of the tobacco industry, and the impact toxic tobacco waste has on the environment.
Some of the program’s accomplishments include:
* A 42 percent decline in adult smoking prevalence from 22.7 percent in 1988 to 13.1 percent in 2009;
* A 42 percent decline among Asian/Pacific Islanders, and a 41 percent decline in smoking for both African American and Latino adults;
* More than 1 million lives saved both of smokers who quit and of young people who chose not to start smoking;
* $86 billion in health care costs saved; and
* Lung cancer declining more than three-times faster in California than in the rest of the nation.
Each year, more than 100 million pounds of cigarette butts are discarded in the United States. They are, by far, the most-common trash item found on beaches and roadways. The many toxic chemicals found in cigarettes are released into the environment when butts are discarded. Cigarette butts are made of cellulose acetate, a plastic that does not biodegrade and can remain in the environment for years.
Reference: State’s Latest Tobacco Ads Debut, Business Wire, 12/20/2010
Read more...
California - smokers continue to kick the cigarette addiction..
December 22, 2010 - As of last year, California had seen a 38% decrease in smokers since 1990, when public health officials created the California Tobacco Control Program, funded by Proposition 99. The smoking rate is expected to decrease to 12.6% this year, close to the national goal of 12% by 2020. Only Utah reports a lower rate of smokers.
The percentage of California adults who smoke has continued to drop more than the national average, according to new data released Monday, December 20trh by state health officials. Still, deep disparities exist depending on gender, education, income, ethnicity and region. Overall, Californians remain significantly less likely to smoke than people in the rest of the country, with 13.1% of adults surveyed statewide saying they smoked last year compared with 21% of adults nationwide. The rate was even lower in several Southern California counties, including Los Angeles (10.4%), Orange (10.9%), Ventura (11.8%), Riverside and San Bernardino (each 12.7%), according to a 2008 telephone survey.
Men still smoke at higher rates than women, 14.9% compared to 8.4% as of 2008. College graduates smoked at less than half the rate of those without college degrees, about 6%. Among households with an income of $150,000 or more, about 8% smoked, while about 20% living in households earning less than $20,000 smoked as of 2008. About 12.7% of whites smoked as of 2008, compared to 14.2% of African Americans, 10.2% of Latinos and 8.1% of Asians as of 2008.
"We have saved billions of dollars in healthcare costs that have been averted," Kimberly Belshé, the state's secretary of Health and Human Services, said Monday at a news conference near downtown Los Angeles to release the figures and display the state's latest anti- smoking advertisements. Still, she said, "these prevalence rates also tell us we have more work to be done." (California - latest tobacco ads debut..)
But rates within the state vary, in some cases widely. Many rural counties had rates of 17% or higher, including Lake (31.6%), Tehama (22.8%), Tuolomne (21.9%) and Humboldt (17.7%). Northern and eastern parts of the state have seen the least decline in smoking since 1990.
Roughly 13 percent of residents in San Francisco are smokers, about 10 percent of the population of Los Angeles and 11 percent of San Diego smokes.
Reference: The state's percentage of smokers drops faster than the national average. Gender, income and other factors affect results by Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times, 12/21/2010.
Read more...
Japan Tobacco (JT) Inc. to roll-out Zerostyle Mint at 4,000 retailers across Japan.
December 22, 2010 - Since the launch of "Zerostyle Mint" in Tokyo in May, 2010, the product has been raising consumer expectation from diverse areas with requests for sales area expansions and purchases.
In response to those requests, we have decided on advance roll-out of "Zerostyle Mint" across Japan from the beginning of January 2011 through estimated 4,000 retailers excluding those located in Tokyo and Kanagawa where the product is already available. The decision follows our increased production capability through production increases in a manufacturing base established in November, 2010.
JT's Zerostyle Mint - related news briefs:
Japan Tobacco to expand Zerostyle Mint distribution..;
Japan Tobacco, Inc. Zero Style Mint, company says it is selling well..;
Japan Tobacco - sales begin on new smokeless tobacco product..;
Japan Tobacco - "Zerostyle Mint" - new smokeless product...
The product has caught on since its introduction in May this year and, though it is still available only in Tokyo and Kanagawa, its production capacity has had to be increased. Indeed, the company has said that it will continue to increase capacity.
From January 1, 2011 Zerostyle Mint and its cartridges will be made available through about 4,000 retailers nation-wide.
Although it is often referred to as a ‘snuff’ product, it is like a smokeless cigarette containing a cartridge of tobacco and flavors. It is shaped like a cigarette, though with a mouthpiece.
Reference: New Style of Smokeless Tobacco "Zerostyle Mint" Rolled-out Across Japan at a Limited Number of Retailers, JT Press Reelase, 12/21/2010.
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U.S. FDA files new appeal in e-cigarette lawsuit..
December 22, 2010 - The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday, December 20, 2010 filed a petition to ask the entire U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (DC) Circuit to hold a new hearing and review the FDA’s appeal, which was rejected December 7, 2010 by a three-judge panel.
The three judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in their opinion said the FDA can only regulate e-cigarettes as a tobacco product. The ruling means the government can oversee the marketing of the products, not restrict their sale. (Federal Court of Appeals - e-cigarettes - rules against the FDA..)At issue is how the FDA should regulate a nascent (coming into existence; emerging) industry whose products have caught on with thousands of smokers who are seeking an alternative to their daily habit. E-cigarettes are battery-powered tubes that turn nicotine-filled liquid into a vapor mist.
The appeals panel upheld a January ruling by a district judge, who granted a preliminary injunction to the e-cigarette distributors who sued the FDA. (U.S. FDA appealing a federal judge's ruling on e-cigarettes..)
On Monday, the agency asked the full appellate court to reinstate a stay of the preliminary injunction, pending its request for a rehearing of the case. In its court papers, the FDA argues that the three-judge panel’s decision “rests on a clear error of law and will undermine” objectives that were laid out by Congress when it passed legislation in 2009 that empowered the FDA to regulate tobacco products for the first time.
The e-cigarettes industry’s annual sales are estimated at more than $100 million.
e-cigarettes = electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS)
Reference: FDA Files New Appeal in E-Cigarette Lawsuit, Tobacco World, 12/22/2010.
Read more...
Cyprus - increase in price, just one approach to deter smokers..
December 22, 2010 - Just around 10 days ago the parliament in Cyprus rushed through a tobacco tax increase with immediate effect, in order to stop retailers profiteering by stock piling supplies until the increase was announced. The increase will bring about an additional €31 million (40,572,922.64 USD) in taxes for the Government and has been called the 'health tax'. The total revenue from tobacco taxes will now be around €210 million (274,905,651.53 USD). Consumers will see an increase on a packet of cigarettes of around 40 cents with rolled tobacco costing an extra €1.27 (1.66 USD) for a 50 gramme packet. It has been suggested that the extra revenue should be used to finance anti-smoking campaigns. (Cyprus Increase Tobacco Tax, guide2cyprus.com, 12/14/2010; House rushes through tobacco tax hike by George Psyllid, Cyprus Mail, 12/11/2010)
Anti-smoking campaigners are hopeful that last week’s 20 percent increase in the price of cigarettes will finally push the 29 per cent of the population who smoke regularly into quitting. Stelios Sikallides, executive secretary of the anti-smoking lobby of the Anti-Cancer Association Cyprus, "“Of course it will affect smokers as international studies show that, without a doubt, as the price of cigarettes increases, consumption decreases.”
Although cigarettes have gone by between 40 to 60 cents a packet, prices here are still far cheaper than elsewhere in Europe apart from Eastern European countries such as Poland, which has the cheapest cigarettes at €1.85 (2.42 USD). More along Cyprus’ price range are countries such as Portugal at €3.40 (4.45 USD) and Greece at €3.12 (4.08 USD). Ireland has the most expensive cigarettes at around €8.21 (10.74 USD) and England at ?6.29 for a standard pack of 20 cigarettes.
Studies conducted in England on the increase of price on cigarettes versus consumption rates, however, show that expensive cigarettes do not necessarily deter smokers. In 1994 cigarettes in the UK cost around ?2.50, with price hikes reaching ?4.00 by 2000. According to statistics by the Office for National Statistics (ONS)in Britain smoking incidence fell a measly 5 percent from 1994 to 2006. [1 USD = 0.764462 EUR]
Like Cyprus, France is another nation of cigarette lovers. France’s serious move to ban smoking came with a 20 percent increase in cigarette prices in 2003. Apparently the rise in prices was driven by a government concern to lower smoking levels a lot faster than they were actually dropping, and the need to fill an 8.5 billion dollar shortfall. However, surveys say that attitudes only truly changed after the 2007 ban that prevented smoking in work places and other public buildings. Cigarettes currently cost €5.41 (7.08 USD) in France.
In September, Japan introduced a 40 percent tax hike, their biggest increase ever. Their most smoked brands will increase from around €2.70 to €3.63. Like many other governments their aim is to make people give up and according to surveys 60 percent are thinking of doing so. (Japan - with tax increase, after first month three of five quitters still smoke-free..)
But talking to smokers themselves, it’s by no means clear that the price increase is enough to make them seriously consider stopping altogether. “The increase won’t deter me because I would just find other ways; I would start smoking roll ups,” said Constance Hughes. “It would depend on how much a person smokes though.” “It won’t make me quit but it’ll make me decrease the amount I smoke, although I have actually stocked up,” said Tonia Solea. “It will probably hinder teenagers though because they don’t have that much money.”
Cyprus - some MPs claim smoking ban to severe...
Reference: Are price increases enough to deter smokers? by Natalie Hami, Cyprus Mail, 12/19/2010.
Cyrus related news briefs:
Cyprus - some MPs claim smoking ban to severe..;
Cyprus - end of 1st month smoking ban working..;
Cyprus - starting January 1, 2010 blanket ban on smoking in all public spaces..;
Cyprus to tighten smoking ban starting January 1, 2010..;
Cyprus - kids being exposed to high levels of passive smoking..;
Read more...
PAPER: men who screen negative for lung cancer are a bit less likely to try to quit smoking..
December 21, 2010 - Dutch researchers have found that men who screen negative for lung cancer are a bit less likely to try to quit smoking than men whose scan is inconclusive and requires follow up.
The findings in the European Respiratory Journal add to the debate over whether patients will perceive negative results in a lung cancer screen as a license to smoke or a chance to quit.
A U.S. study out last month suggested imaging the lungs of heavy smokers with a special type of CT scanner could catch cancers early and reduce individuals’ risk of dying from the disease by 20 percent compared to ordinary X-rays. Caught early, lung cancer can be cured surgically, but it causes vague symptoms and usually is not diagnosed until it has spread. Globally, lung cancer kills 1.2 million people annually, and it will kill 157,000 people in the United States this year, according to the American Cancer Society.
Still, 300 smokers would have to be screened to save just one based on the U.S. study, and it is unclear if the scans, at about $300 each, will be cost-effective. The screens also come with a high rate of false alarms, raising questions about the risk to people who undergo unnecessary medical procedures as a result.
For the new study, Carlijn M. van der Aalst of Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, and colleagues tapped into data from an earlier trial on lung cancer screening.
PAPER: The impact of a lung cancer CT screening result on smoking abstinence, C.M. van der Aalst (c.vanderaalst@erasmusmc.nl), R.J. van Klaveren, K.A.M. van den Bergh, M.C. Willemsen and H.J. de Koning, European Respiratory Journal published online before print December 9, 2010, ABSTRACT..
That trial included a third test outcome, “indeterminate,” in addition to negative and positive for patients with small lumps in their lung that might be scars or tumors. Patients with such inconclusive results were referred to another CT scan a few months later.
At a two-year follow-up, the Dutch researchers found men who had tested inconclusive tried to quit more often than the group with negative results, with 1.9 attempts versus 1.5. Nine percent of men in the negative-results group reported prolonged abstinence, compared to 12 percent among men with inconclusive results. The difference was not statistically reliable, though, and might have been due to chance.
However, the researchers found some hints that the more inconclusive test results a man had gotten, the more likely he was to be smoke-free. Prolonged abstinence climbed from 11 percent of men after one indeterminate test, to 16 percent after two or more inconclusive results. The researchers said this increase might reflect a teachable moment to encourage smokers to quit.
“More research is needed to investigate the opportunities of lung cancer screening in current as well as former smokers to promote health risk-reducing behavior change and to prevent relapses and to investigate what the most cost-effective approach is in this screening population,” they write.
References: Lung cancer screen: a license to smoke?, Author: admin, Reuters Health, 12/18/2010; Negative Cancer Screen Means More Likely To Smoke; redOrbit, 12/19/2010.
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Bulgaria - smoking restriction checks begin after January 3, 2011..
December 21, 2010 - Bulgaria has one of the highest smokers rates in the EU at some 39% of people declaring themselves daily smokers, topped only by Greece at 42%.
The Health Ministry further informs that despite the fact the order is effective beginning December 19, the checks of health inspectors for violations will begin after the Holidays, on January 3, 2011. The postponing of the checks gives an opportunity to owners of restaurants, coffee shops and bars to take advantage of the 2-week gratis period and provide the necessary walls, tight-closing doors and good ventilation equipment. The requirements will affect all smoking spaces inside commercial and administrative buildings, railroad stations and airports as well.
Owners of coffee shops and restaurants with less than 50 square meters have the right to decide themselves if the establishment will be a smoking or entirely non-smoking space. In case smoking is allowed, individuals under the age of 18 would not be admitted as they are banned from smoking in all indoors spaces.
In larger establishments, at least 50% of the space must be dedicated to non-smokers.
In night clubs, smoking will be allowed at all times regardless of how large they are. Open-space coffee shops and restaurants inside shopping malls are becoming non-smoking facilities.
Owners face fines for inadequate ventilation and lack of signs designating the non-smoking sections and the smoking ban for those under 18.
Bulgaria - smoking ban beginning January 1, 2011 - do they know which smoking ban applies??
Bulgaria - WHO upset with Bulgaria's weakened smoking ban...
Fines for owners range from BGN 500 (334.80 USD) to BGN 10,000 (6,694.87 USD). Individuals, who violate the ban, would also face fines, but only if they agree to provide their ID card.
References: Public Space Smoking Ban Checks in Bulgaria to Begin January, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency), 12/21/2010; Public Space Smoking Ban Becomes Effective in Bulgaria, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) 12/19/2010.
Bulgaria - related news briefs:
Bulgaria - PMI to introduce their own Marlboro 10-pack cigarettes..;
Bulgaria - health minister will work for implementing full smoking ban in public places..;
Bulgaria - tobacco growers seeking more subsidies..;
Greece/Bulgaria - governments opposed to WHO's attempt to ban blended tobacco..;
Bulgaria - tobacco companies back effort to reduce illicit cigarette trade.;
Bulgaria - Mayor of Town of Kyustendil - non-smokers should pay less for health insurance..;
Bulgaria - smoking ban beginning January 1, 2011 - do they know which smoking ban applies??;
Bulgaria - Director of the Customs Agency announced Bulgaria ranks 1st in Europe in seizure of contraband cigarettes..;
Bulgaria - smoking rate down, knowledge of dangers of tobacco use gaining..;
Bulgaria - another tobacco tax increase in the draft 2011 budget..;
Bulgaria - confusion over which public smoking ban is in force..;
Bulgaria - WHO upset with Bulgaria's weakened smoking ban..;
Bulgaria - weakened smoking ban, just added minors can't be in disco clubs after 10pm..;
Bulgaria - final vote delayed on weakened smoking ban..;
Bulgaria - weakened smoking ban, second reading..;
Bulgaria - commission tightens smoking ban a little..;
Bulgaria - Bulgartabac buyer may be chosen by end of year..;
Bulgaria - prime minister not happy with giving tobacco growers subsidies..;
Bulgaria - to loosen smoking ban to start June 1, 2010..;
Bulgaria - finance minister comments may be good news for tobacco farmers..;
Bulgaria - parliament debates proposal to water down smoking ban..;
Bulgaria - majority of all Bulgarians - 78% are against the smoking ban delay..;
Bulgaria - every increase in excise duty on cigarettes consumption goes down..;
Bulgaria - grace period over, increase in tobacco tax starts Thursday, April 1, 2010..;
Bulgaria - Italian authorities arrest 2-Bulgarians smuggling cigarettes..;
Bulgaria - tractor trailer loaded with contraband cigarettes seized in Ancona, Italy..;
Bulgaria - cigarette consumption down, cigarette tax collection up, seeking funds for technology to intercept contraband goods..;
Bulgaria - justifying why smoking ban won't go into effect on June 1, 2010..;
Bulgaria - Citigroup chosen as consultant for sale of Bulgartabac..;
Bulgaria - ruling party may delay smoking ban until 2011..;
Bulgaria - Finance Minister Djankov, "Less Smoking Is Good for Economy..";
Bulgaria - govt to weaken full smoking ban to be effective June 1, 2010..;
Bulgaria - do producers support contraband cigarettes??;
Bulgaria - sale of Bulgartabac coming - selection of a consultant..;
Greek Farmers Renew Bulgaria Border Blockade..;
Bulgaria - leadership of tobacco fund to be replaced..;
Bulgaria - illegal trade in cigarettes will reach 40% of total trade in 2010..;
Bulgaria - limits on personal imports of tobacco products from outside the EU..;
Bulgaria - European Commission authorizes payment to tobacco producers for 2009 crop..;
Bulgaria -two cigarette smuggling attempts busted on Serbian border..;
Bulgaria - price of cigarettes increases..;
Bulgaria - Bulgartabac stays in the economy ministry, sold by middle of 2010, starting price 100,000,000 euro..;
Bulgaria - tobacco producers propose Bulgartabac transfer..;
Bulgaria - government, tobacco growers reach subsidy agreement..;
Bulgaria - start of steps leading to the privatization of the state-owned cigarette monopoly Bulgartabac..;
Bulgaria - police hold smoking protest over lack of bonuses..;
Bulgaria - police busts major cigarette contraband ring..;
Bulgaria - Bulgartabac Holding” will be privatized in 2010..;
Bulgaria - MPs Impose Hefty Fines on Cigarette Sales Violators..;
Bulgartabac Chief - cigarette tax increase as of January 1, 2010..;
Bulgaria Bulgartabac Holding Sells 23% of Shares to Mutual Funds..;
Bulgaria - more than 70% of smokers want to quit..;
Bulgaria - cigarette taxes going up each year except 2011..;
Bulgaria - chair of the economic committee in parliament disapproves of planned raise in excise duties on cigarettes..;
Bulgaria and others - smoking ban, increased cigarette taxes, smuggling..;
Bulgaria - Cigarette excise duties will be increased next year..;
Bulgaria - cigarette contraband, government loses BGN 920M yearly..;
Bulgaria - one third of the tobacco products sold are illicit..;
Bulgaria - new government to speed-up Bulgartabac sale..;
Bulgaria - Fake Victory Light cigarettes..;
Bulgaria's tobacco monopoly may be up for sale..;
Bulgarian lawmakers vote to ban smoking in all publc places from June 2010..; Bulgarian tobacco company Sofia-BT exports increase by 541 percent..;
Does Russia own Bulgaria's tobacco monopoly, Bulgartabac..;
EU percent of adults smokers -highest Greece 1 , Bulgaria 2.. - lowest Slovenia..;
Bulgaria - 1 in 3 youths smoke / half of pregnant women smoke..;
PMI training Bulgarian custom officers to stop cigarette smuggling..;
Philip Morris International (PMI) was truly happy they had been back in the Bulgarian cigarette market for a year and had already had 6.8% of market..;
WHO FCTC Protocol to Prevent Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products Won't Be Completed Until End of 2010..;
WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008..;
Bulgaria Enters 2009 with Cigarette Prices Hike...
Bulgaria is marking Tuesday, November 10, 2009, the 20th year since the internal coup at the Bulgaria;
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