Snus News & Other Tobacco Products: 2/27/11

Univera Healthcare report - teen smoking on the rise in Upstate New York..

March 7. 2011 - A new report issued Friday, March 4th by a local health care organization shows a rise in smoking among teens in upstate New York, mirroring a nationwide trend. Meanwhile, trends that once showed a decline in adult smoking rates have begun to level off.

“This is a disturbing set of findings because of its implications for the future,” said Dr. Robert Holzhauer, vice president and chief medical officer for Univera Healthcare, which prepared a fact sheet on cigarette smoking in New York. “Lives are shortened unnecessarily, and billions of dollars are spent to treat illnesses caused by this deadly habit,” Holzhauer added. “Those dollars could be better used to treat less preventable conditions.”

Univera’s report shows that nearly 15 percent of high school students in 2009 smoked cigarettes on at least one of 30 days prior to a survey, up from nearly 14 percent two years prior. In addition, 13.3 percent smoked more than 10 cigarettes per day over the survey period, an increase from 12.4 percent in 2007.

Smoking rates among New York state adults peak in the 18- to 24-year old demographic, at 28.7 percent.

Univera’s report also shows that approximately 815,000 adults across all of upstate — or 21.3 percent, a slight increase from previous years — are smokers, compared to 18 percent for the state and 17.9 percent for the nation. In Western New York, the rate is 20.5 percent.

Simply put, Univera’s report says “national, state and local data indicate that progress toward reduced smoking rates has stalled. Although U.S. adult smoking rates declined from 1998 to 2008, there was no significant change from 2008 to 2009.”

There is some positive news, the report says, noting that upstate New York adults are cutting back as the percentage who reported smoking every day dropped to 15 percent last year from 19.4 percent in 2000.

The report also lauds action taken to allow the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco manufacturing and marketing. It’s all in an effort to meet the objectives of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-sponsored Healthy People 2020, an initiative whose aim is to lower adult smoking rates to 12 percent.

Reference: Report says teen smoking on the rise, Staff Reports Niagara Gazette, 3/6/2011. Read more...

EcoTech Displays - collecting cigarette butts for future use..

Made from Recycled
Cigarette butts..
March 7, 2011 - EcoTech Displays, a company that has mounted hundreds of advertising-covered ashtrays outside bars and restaurants in New York has a goal to have raw material on hand whenever scientists figure out an economical way to recycle cigarette butts.

To this end EcoTech Displays has mounted hundreds of advertising-covered ashtrays outside bars and restaurants. All those filthy butts don't go in the trash, however. After a day of emptying ashtrays around the city, Gabbidon and his colleagues bring the filters to a warehouse in Staten Island and carefully store them away.

"It's our mission to make sure they don't go into the landfill and don't go into the water stream," said EcoTech's spokesman, Larry Dell, as he wrinkled his nose at bags full of about 26,000 sodden filters. "When you see it in this form, it really gets to you what a polluting substance it is. We don't want to add to the pollution."

Queens Assemblyman Michael DenDekker hopes to spur that industry by requiring them to be recycled in New York.

He has introduced a bill to set up statewide recycling centers for cigarette butts, with a penny-per-smoke deposit added to the cost of every pack - hoping that creates a financial incentive for people to collect and return them. "We have to look at it and see if it's feasible," DenDekker said.

According to Mr. DenDekker’s office, more than 176 million pounds of cigarette butts are discarded each year in this country (USA).

Reference: New cigarette filter recycling program can significantly reduce pollutants in local landfills by Adam Lisberg, NY Daily News, 3/6/2011. Read more...

Spain - hostelry sector to present 1 million signatures against smoking ban..

March 7, 2011 - Business owners in the hostelry sector say they expect to collect 1 million signatures in support of changes to Spain’s current legislation on smoking, which is double the amount which is needed to petition a debate on the matter by parliament.

Directly related news briefs:
February 22, 2011 - Spain - the govt is serious - smoking ban holding this time..;
Februaryu 14, 2011 - Spain - Spanish Hotel and Catering Association (FEHR) complains about loss of business.suiness..;
January 28, 2011 - Palencia, Spain - hotels and restaurants protest anti-smoking law..;
December 18, 2009 - Spain - hotel and catering industry protests plan to ban smoking next year...

The extended smoking ban in force since January 2 this year bans smoking in all closed public spaces, and the sector maintains it has had a serious effect on their business.

The Andalucía Hostelry Federation, the FAH, told Europa Press on Monday that, in Andalucía, the owner of the now-notorious Asador Guadalmina in Marbella has collected 150,000 signatures. And in Córdoba province, the owner of a business in Cabra who is also opposed to the law, has collected 70,000.

It’s understood the petition will be sent to Madrid at the beginning of March.

The sector in the Basque Country met to discuss the situation in Bilbao on Sunday, and say they are considering stopping selling lottery tickets on their premises in protest. Another move would be to close down their establishments on May 22, when municipal and regional elections take place in Spain.

They claim their income has dropped by 15% since the ban came into effect.

Reference: Spain's hostelry sector say they will present 1 million signatures against smoking ban, typicallyspanish.com, 2/28/2011.

Spain - related news briefs:
Spain - the govt is serious - smoking ban holding this time..:
Spain - Spanish Hotel and Catering Association (FEHR) complains about loss of business..;
Palencia, Spain - hotels and restaurants protest anti-smoking law..;
Spain - anti-smoking law goes into effect Sunday, January 2, 2010.;
Spain - new smoking ban goes into effect January 2, 2011 - how many jobs will be lost??;
Paper: Spain - cost of each pack of cigarettes up to $150..;
Spain - doctors call for tobacco sales banned in vending machine in bars and from kiosks..;
Spain - the Basque Governing Council gives green to the latest anti-smoking bill..:
Spain - ban smoking legislation wins unanimous support in parliament..;
Spain - tougher smoking restrictions not until 2011..;
Spain - Indonesia`s clove cigarettes popular in Spain..;
Spain - health minister believes society mature enough to accept total smoking ban..;
Spain - cigarette sales are up - so what else is new!!;
Spain - zero tolerence smoking ban this year or next??:
Spain - in June 2010 government will present a law to congress to ban smoking in closed public places..;
Spain - government postpones debate on tougher smoking legislation..;
Spain - smoking ban to be implemented on January 1, 2010 still being delayed..;
Spain - still some hesitation on total smoking ban for country..;
Spain - hotel and catering industry protests plan to ban smoking next year..;
Spain - hopes next year to expand ban on smoking in enclosed public places..;
Spain - impact of 2006 law banning smoking in public places..;
Spain - ready for expansion and enforcement of Anti-Smoking Act..;
Spain - ready for full smoking ban in public places..;
Spain - ban smoking public places - a lot of talk no action..;
Spain plans gruesome images on cigarette packs sometime in future..
Read more...

India State of Goa - stop sale of loose cigarettes and raise tobacco taxes..

March 7, 2011 - PANAJI: The National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE), a body spearheading the cause of tobacco eradication, has urged the Goa Government to increase taxes on different tobacco products and ban the sale of single cigarettes in Goa.

Goa (pronounced /ˈɡoʊ.ə/ ( listen); Konkani: गोंय) is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Goa is India's richest state with a GDP per capita two and a half times that of the country as a whole. Panaji is the state's capital, while Vasco da Gama is the largest city.

In his memorandum submitted to Chief Minister Digambar Kamat ahead of State's annual budget, Shekhar Salkar, general secretary of NOTE, argued that teenagers as well as the unemployed youth were more prone towards buying single cigarette as that was affordable for them.

He said there was a need to take steps to prevent the sale of loose cigarettes in the market as they did not carry any mandatory warnings as per the Supreme Court judgment.

The NOTE congratulated Mr. Kamat for helping Goa emerge on top of the list of States with least tobacco consumption, according to recent GATES survey published by the World Health Organisation and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. The NOTE had suggested a few steps to curb tobacco consumption. He said a ban on retail sale of cigarette would surely deter youths from buying a full packet of cigarette which was expensive for them.

He said that keeping in mind the recent increase in salaries in both public and private sectors, there was an urgent need to raise the tax levels by minimum 10 per cent on cigarettes, “bidis,” and “pan masala.”

Reference: ‘Ban sale of single cigarettes', Special Correspondent, The Hindu, 3/3/2011.

India - some related news briefs:
^*Chandigarh, India - a leader in tobacco control..;
^*India - Cancer docs take tobacco battle inside parliament..;
^*http://snus-news.blogspot.com/2011/02/india-to-introduce-anti-tobacco.html;
^*India - 80% of teenagers in metropolitan cities are addicted to smoking cigarettes..;
^*India - despite govt ban, sale and advertising of tobacco products is rampant around educational institutions..;
^*India - foreign cigarette companies could soon find it harder to sell their products..;
^*Maharashtra, India - collecting fines from anti-tobacco drive..;
^*India - health ministry formulating policy that is smokeless tobacco specific..;
^*India - celebs shy away from endorsing tobacco and liquor..;
^*Mumbai, India - students campaign to spread word on the dangers of tobacco products..;
^*India - cigarette/bidis companies resume tobacco production..;
^*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..; ^*India - 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...

Taiwanese authorities - price fixing of tobacco prices by distrtibutors affiliated with JTI..

Enlarge..
March 7, 2011 - The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) slapped fines totalling NT$21.9 million (US$741,995) on 31 tobacco distributors Thursday, March 3rd for conspiring to fix the prices of various tobacco products. It marks the first time tobacco dealers in Taiwan have been punished since the FTC was established in 1992.

The results of an investigation by the FTC show that the distributors, affiliated to Japan Tobacco International (JTI), held three meetings last May in which they decided to raise the prices of 36 products from June, including Mild Seven cigarettes, the prices of which were increased from NT$660 per carton to NT$680. [1 USD = 29.3557 TWD]

Also in the meetings, the distributors agreed to set aside NT$10 to NT$15 from every carton of cigarettes sold and deposit the funds in accounts they held separately in a Taipei City bank, as a form of insurance to make sure they all stuck to the terms of their price-fixing agreement, the FTC said.

The distributors decided that the deposits could only be withdrawn after three months, and accountants were hired to supervise the distributors to make sure they deposited the money regularly into the accounts, the investigation revealed.

According to FTC spokeswoman Shih Hui-fen, the commission began a probe into the case last June after receiving tip-offs from informers.

The distributors were questioned in July as part of the investigation, prompting them to drop the prices of their products over the following months, Shih said.

References: Taiwan fines Japan tobacco firms for price-fixing
Source: Intellasia | Asia One, intellasia.net, 3/5/2011; Taiwan fines Japan tobacco distributors for price-fixing, By Hsieh Jiun-wei and Y.F. Low: "31 Tobacco Distributors Fined For Price-fixing", Text of report in English by Taiwanese Central News Agency website, reportlinker.com, 3/2/2011.

Taiwan related news briefs:
Taiwan - video clips surface with parents giving cigarettes to young children..;
Taiwan - seek publc opinion before implementing anti-tobacco measures..
;
Taiwan - soon smokers will need to carry ashtrays..;
Taiwan - cigarette consumption decreasing..;
Taiwan - smokers appear on TV cartoons, also sports programs and movies..;
Taiwan - plans to ban people from smoking while walking and riding motorbike next year..;
Taiwan - Taipei quit smoking booths around city..;
Taiwan - smoking ban takes effect - THESE PEOPLE ARE SERIOUS..;
Taiwan lawmakers fail to raise tobacco tax..;
Read more...

Cancer Research UK - Lung cancer rates have more than doubled for women over 60 since the mid-1970s..

March 7, 2011 - Cancer Research UK (CRUK) figures say the rate rose from 88 per 100,000 in 1975 to 190 per 100,000 in 2008, the latest year for which statistics are available. Lung cancers in men fell, and CRUK say this is linked to smoking rates. The proportion of male smokers peaked before 1960. But women had rising rates in the 1960s and 1970s, which would have an effect on those now over 60.

Overall, the number of women diagnosed with lung cancer has risen from around 7,800 cases in 1975 to more than 17,500 in 2008. Figures for men went from 23,400 over-60s diagnosed in 1975, falling to 19,400 in 2008, with rates showing a similar large drop.

The charity said 5,700 women over 60 were diagnosed with lung cancer in 1975, compared with 15,100 in 2008.

In the late 1980s, lung cancers in women in their 60s plateaued, and even started to fall. But they began to rise again in 2002. However cancer rates among women in their 40s did fall between 1975 and 2008.

Smoking causes around 90% of lung cancers, and CRUK wants more efforts to be put into anti-smoking measures.

Jean King, Cancer Research UK's director of tobacco control, said: "Around nine in 10 cases of lung cancer are caused by smoking and one in five people still smoke, so it's vital that work continues to support smokers to quit and protect young people from being recruited into an addiction that kills half of all long term smokers. "In particular we want displays in shops covered up so that young people are no longer being exposed to this form of tobacco marketing."

CRUK - Lung cancer - survival statistics.

Related.. Lung cancer patients who quit smoking double their survival chances..

Reference: Lung cancer rates have more than doubled for women over 60 since the mid-1970s, figures show BBC News Health, 3/6/2011. . Read more...

Middletown Ohio School District - tobacco products on campus prohibited..

March 7, 2011 - A revision of the Middleown Ohio School District’s smoking and tobacco policy has arguments on both sides of the issue. Matt Teleha, campus administrator at the Butler County Medical Center, backs Middletown schools’ revised smoking and tobacco policies, saying it promotes an overall healthier lifestyle for employees in influential roles.

The revised policies passed last week clarified that smoking was not to take place anywhere on school property — not just inside Middletown buildings. Theoretically, a staff member or parent attending a school event could previously exit the building to smoke outside or in their vehicles. This is no longer the case. Additionally, staff members are not to use smokeless tobacco products of any kind on school grounds.

Board member Chris Fiora was at odds with the policy change over staffers and eventually voted against it. It passed 4-1 on Feb. 28. He argued that if secondhand smoke is a non-factor — as is the case smoking alone — the board shouldn’t be in the practice of regulating school employees’ behavior.

Matt Teleha: “I would think young people would look to teachers to model,” he said. “I would say this is a very good thing.” Teleha added this makes financial sense for the district because those who lead healthier lifestyles generally boast decreased health premiums.

Board member Katie McNeil: “The bottom line is that we’re an educational institution,” she said. “We can’t be hypocrites here — the kids see right through you.”

Reference: School district’s revised smoking policy garners supporters, critics by Andy Sedlak, Staff Writer, Middletown Journal, 3/6/2011.

Some Ohio related news briefs:
OHIO Supreme Court in an unanimous decision - governor could legally snatch funds originally intended for anti-tobacco programs..;
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco confirms Camel Dissolvables being pulled from all 3-test markets..;
Ohio - R.J. Reynolds will no longer test market dissolvable tobacco products here but will add more cities next month ..;
Cuyahoga County, OHIO (where Cleveland is) cigarette use lowest in state at 15%..;
Port Clinton, OHIO - may have highest incidence of cancer in nation..;
OHIO - smoking ban should be strengthened NOT weakened..:
Ohio - Supreme Court rules in favor of R.J. Reynolds in Rolling Stones magazine multi-page ad..;
OHIO - Supreme Court to hear the appeal in its case seeking to preserve tobacco funds..;
OHIO - smoking complaints have dropped each year since the start of smoking ban..;
OHIO - judge stops collection of fines against a bar accused of allowing customers to smoke..;
OHIO - Legacy Foundation asks Supreme Court to hear appeal..;
OHIO - American Legacy Foundation will appeal decision to allow state to use tobacco funds..;
Ohio - enforcement of existing smoking ban a must..;
OHIO - appeals court rules state can use money set aside for tobacco prevention..;
OHIO - judge rules money can not be diverted from anti-tobacco fund..;
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..;
Ohio youth are using cigars and smokeless tobacco products and it is a continuously growing problem... Read more...

Georgia - tobacco tax possible increase - now at 37 cents per pack..

March 7, 2011 - Georgia lawmakers are considering an 84 percent increase in the state’s tax on cigarettes. Smokers say it’s way too much. Health advocates say it’s not nearly enough. The proposed increase, from 37 cents to 68 cents per pack, would raise the state’s cigarette tax from the lowest in the Southeast to among the highest.

“We don’t think that the 31 cents goes far enough,” said Dan Curran, spokesman for a coalition that includes the American Heart and Lung Association and the American Cancer Society. “Raising the tax by $1 would bring in more than $354 million for the state in one year and the tax would still be below the national average of $1.45.”

The state’s cigarette tax has stood at 37 cents since 2003, when the Legislature voted to raise it from 12 cents. In January, the Special Council on Tax Reform and Fairness for Georgians released a set of proposals to remake the state’s tax code, including a jump in the cigarette tax. The council proposed a 31-cent-per-pack increase, which it said would generate an additional $114 million in tax revenue.

The 11-member tax reform council spent months considering the cigarette tax and other issues, said member Gerry Harkins. “The way we were looking at it was to find a [tax] rate that wasn’t the highest among the surrounding states, and something that wasn’t the lowest,” he said. “We wanted to be somewhere in between. Something that wouldn’t hit the retail establishments too hard.” “We looked at tobacco for a long time,” Harkins said. “We also considered that tobacco use does have a health cost, but it wasn’t our purview to tell the Legislature how to use the funds.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the health costs caused by smoking total $7.18 per cigarette pack sold in the United States. And the CDC estimates that smoking cost the U.S. economy $96 billion in 2009, the latest statistics available.

Georgia taxpayers spend about $550 each year per household in subsidizing health care costs for smokers, according to Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, who supports the tax increase.

He said that Georgia’s current rate is the fifth-lowest in the nation, and the health care costs of smoking put an unfair burden on nonsmokers. “I look on this increase as a user-fee for smokers, not a tax,” Stephens said. But he’s not certain that it will pass. “Most of my colleagues will look on it as a tax increase,” he said.

Representatives from both the Georgia Tea Party and the Tea Party Patriots weighed in on the tobacco tax issue, and they are against it.

Cigarette tax per pack

A pack of cigarettes costs about $4.50 in Atlanta, depending on the brand and where you buy the pack. In New York, the state tax alone is $4.35, and in New York City, the total cost of a pack can exceed $9.

Federal excise tax $1.01 per pack

State excise tax:
Top five (per pack: New York $4.35, Rhode Island $3.46, Connecticut $3,
Washington $3.02, Michigan $2.52.
Bottom five (per pack): Alabama 43 cents, Georgia 37 cents, Louisiana 36 cents, Virginia 30 cents, Missouri 17 cents. (Sources: National Conference of State Legislatures, nyc.gov, AJC research)

Reference: Plan boosts cost of smokes Cigarette tax jumps 84 percent in proposal by Rich McKay, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 3/6/2011. Read more...

Department of Justice - tobacco company defendants indeed violated the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)...

Judge Gladys Kessler..
March 6, 2011 -

PM USA has "serious concerns" on Justice Dept.'s proposed "corrective statements", CSP Daily News, 32/25/2011.

Tobacco companies should admit in product warnings that they deceived the public about the dangers of smoking and manipulated their products to increase addiction, the Justice Department said Wednesday, March 2nd. The department, in the final phase of a long-running court case against leading tobacco companies, released a series of statements that it wants cigarette makers to publish about the dangers of their products.

In total, the department proposed three pages of statements that it wants the industry to publish. Many of the proposed statements essentially require the tobacco companies to say they deceived Congress and the public.

The Justice Department's submission Wednesday offered the language the agency wants included in those statements.The release of the proposed statements had been delayed because the government and the industry disagreed about when the information should be made public. Kessler ordered the information be released on Wednesday. The companies will have a chance to lodge legal objections to the government's proposal.

Background:
The Justice Department on Monday, February 1, 1999 asked for 20 million to launch its civil lawsuit against the tobacco industry. Attorney General Janet Reno said most of the money would be used to pay for 40 attorneys who would press the civil case, seeking recovery of federal funds used to treat tobaccorelated illnesses. Other officials said 5 million would be for the expected cost of expert witnesses. The Justice Department's long-running tobacco case dates back to 1999, when the Clinton administration alleged that nine tobacco companies and two related trade associations engaged in a 50-year conspiracy to deceive the public about the dangers of smoking. A nine-month trial took place in 2005.

Justice Department officials acknowledged the 20 million likely would be just a down payment on the case, which could take years to settle.

In his State of the Union address last month, President Clinton announced his intention to sue cigarette makers. But this is the first official indication of the size and cost of the governments planned effort. The lawsuit is intended to recover smokingrelated medical costs incurred through Medicare, Veterans Administration and military base hospitals, Native American medical programs and the Federal Employee Health Benefits program. Federal officials refuse to speculate about how much they may seek from the tobacco industry. They have not yet decided when, where or how they will initiate the legal action. Justice Department lawyers have only begun to explore potential legal approaches.(Justice Department wants 20 million to sue tobacco industry, CNN USA, 2/1/1999.

Judge Gladys Kessler serves on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She was appointed in July 1994. She was the judge who presided over the The U.S. Government's racketeering case against Big Tobacco.

The case lasted six years, and after 9 months of trial, hundreds of depositions and thousands of exhibits, on August 17, 2006, Judge Gladys Kessler ruled that the Government had proven its case and found that the tobacco company defendants had indeed violated the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

Judge Kessler ruled that:

* Defendants knew for fifty years or more that cigarette smoking caused disease, but repeatedly denied that smoking caused adverse health effects. Defendants publicly distorted and minimized the hazards of smoking for decades.
* Defendants concealed and suppressed research data and other evidence showing nicotine is addictive, and withheld information about their internal research on addiction, from the American public, the government, and the public health community, including the United States Surgeon General. The Defendants acted this way to maintain profits by keeping people smoking and attracting new consumers, to avoid iability, and prevent regulation of the industry.
* Defendants falsely denied that they can and do control the level of nicotine delivered to smokers to create and sustain addiction.
* Defendants falsely marketed and promoted low tar/"light" cigarettes as less harmful than "full flavor" cigarettes to keep people smoking and sustain corporate revenues.
* From the 1950s to the present, different tobacco companies using different methods have intentionally marketed cigarettes to young people under the age of 21 in order to recruit "replacement smokers" who would ensure the future economic viability of the Tobacco Industry.
* Defendants publicly denied, while internally acknowledging, that secondhand tobacco smoke is hazardous to nonsmokers.
* At various times, Defendants attempted to, and did suppress and conceal scientific research and destroy documents relevant to their public and litigation positions.

In May, 2009, a U.S. federal Appeals Court upheld Judge Kessler's racketeering verdict. All three judges on the panel affirmed that evidence showed that the U.S. cigarette companies had systematically lied for decades to hide the dangers of smoking, and were guilty of fraud and conspiracy to mislead the public. (U.S. appeals court agrees tobacco companies lied by Diane Bartz, Reuters, 5/22/2009.

Tobacco Cos. Ask Judge to Dismiss Racketeering Case Say Family Smoking Prevention & Tobacco Control Act eliminates need for court oversight, CSP Daily News, 3/7/2011.

Reference: DOJ Wants Tobacco Companies To Admit Their Deception, by Brent Kendall (brent.kendall@ dowjones.com, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES,

Some related news briefs:
February 22, 2010 - U.S. federal govt and 3-cigarette makers asked the Supreme Court to review racketeering verdict..;
May 22, 21009 - U.S. appeals court fines tobacco companies lied..; Read more...

NYC Mayor Bloomberg making the case for banning smoking at city bus stops..

South Korea - lung cancer patients taken tobacco suit to the Supreme Court..

March 4, 2011 - A group of lung cancer patients who claimed long-time smoking was the cause of their illness have decided to take a “tobacco suit” to the Supreme Court after losing two previous legal battles.

The Seoul High Court said Wednesday, March 2nd that the plaintiffs comprised of six cancer patients and 25 family members filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, claiming that KT&G, the largest cigarette maker in South Korea, should be liable for compensating the patients.

On Feb. 15, the Seoul High Court upheld a lower court ruling that rejected the claims for compensation. But at the same time the court recognized the cause-and-effect relationship between smoking and lung cancer in line with the first verdict in a case filed against KT&G. (South Korea - appellate court upholds lower court ruling rejecting claims of compensation for smoking lung cancer patients..)

The dispute over whether the tobacco firm is responsible for compensating the patients dates back to 1999 when the six and their family members filed a damages suit against KT&G and the government, demanding a 307 million won ($274,000) settlement.

Reference: Tobacco suit heading toward Supreme Court, The Korea Time, 3/2/2011.

South Korea - some related news briefs:
South Korea - One out of every 10 female high-school students smoke cigarettes habitually..;
South Korea - appellate court upholds lower court ruling rejecting claims of compensation for smoking lung cancer patients..;
South Korea - more tobacco control measures to be implemented - wants positive results by 2014..;
South Korea - govt serious about getting smokers to quit..;
South Korea - charge enough for cigarettes smokers will quit..;
South Korea - BAT Korea launching Dunhill Nanocut 1 mg, next week..;
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...
(passive smoking, environmental tobacco smoke, ets, involuntary smoking, sidestream smoking)
Read more...

South Korea - One out of every 10 female high-school students smoke cigarettes habitually..

March 4, 2011 - One out of every 10 female high-school students smoke cigarettes habitually, ringing alarm bells at schools and with parents in search of an effective way to discourage young women from picking up the habit.

According to a study by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHSA), Wednesday, March 2nd the smoking rate among female high-school students stood at 10.2 percent in 2009, up from 2.4 percent in 1992. The rate of female middle school students rose to 5.1 percent from 2.8 percent over the same period. Smokers are defined as those lighting up at least once a month. About 7.4 percent of adult women were found to smoke regularly in 2009, up from 5.1 percent in 1992.

“I am pretty positive that more young women smoke in reality than the official statistics indicate because many are reluctant to publically admit they are smokers. Also, an even larger proportion of female students now smoke cigarettes than in 2009,” a KIHSA fellow Suh Mee-kyung said. Suh said female adolescents are easily influenced by outside factors, stressing that if they are encouraged by teachers, parents, friends and anti-smoking campaigners, they are more likely to quit before reaching adulthood.

“The government first needs to introduce a monitoring system to understand how and where young female students learn to smoke cigarettes, in order to draw up an effective anti-smoking policy. Additionally, it should be made much tougher than it currently is for them to purchase cigarettes,” the fellow said. She added a nationwide full-fledged anti-smoking campaign should be launched to increase the awareness among adolescents of the cigarette’s negative effects on their health.

Meanwhile, the study found a strong correlation between female adolescents’ tendency to smoke and parents’ wealth, occupation and education. The lower the socioeconomic background of the parents, the more likely their children will smoke.

Japan - similar news brief - females
Japan - study shows the promotion of menthol cigarettes to women had increased the rate of female smoking even as men smoked less..

Reference: 1 in 10 female high school students smoke cigarettes by Lee Hyo-sik (leehs@koreatimes.co), The Korea Times, 3/2/2011.

South Korea - some related news briefs:
South Korea - appellate court upholds lower court ruling rejecting claims of compensation for smoking lung cancer patients..;
South Korea - more tobacco control measures to be implemented - wants positive results by 2014..;
South Korea - govt serious about getting smokers to quit..;
South Korea - charge enough for cigarettes smokers will quit..;
South Korea - BAT Korea launching Dunhill Nanocut 1 mg, next week..;
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...
(passive smoking, environmental tobacco smoke, ets, involuntary smoking, sidestream smoking)
Read more...

Menthol Cigarettes - alter the menthol concentration so cigarettes will not be so appealing to young smokers..

March 4, 2011 -

FDA TPSAC - Menthol Draft Report - two draft chapters released..

FDA TPSAC - Draft Report - Menthol May NOT Raise Smoker's Risk..

According to the information provided there is insufficient evidence to show that menthol increases smoke inhalation, exposure to nicotine or disease risk. However, the draft report did say that menthol may mask the harshness of smoking and could be more attractive to young smokers.

As pointed out when following the growth of menthol cigarettes altering the concentration of menthol can help target certain consumers.

Growth of Menthol Cigarettes..

The Growth of Lorillard's
Newport Cigarettes..

The FDA has a few things going for it to slow the black market in mentholated cigarettes:
See - U.S. Menthol Cigarettes - FDA can we expect any marketing change?? Read more...

Venezuela - canceled smoking ban in public places..

Coat-of_Arms..

March 3, 2011 - CARACAS -- Venezuela’s Ministry of Health has annulled by decree an anti-smoking law which would have prohibited smoking in public places and offices of work a day after it was published. By contrast to the US, Canada, Europe and Asia, Venezuela is one of the few countries that still allowed smoking in a wide variety of public places, restaurants, bars, nightclubs and stadiums.

A day after the anti-smoking law was printed in the Official Gazette, the annulment resolution was published in the Official Gazette. All laws must be published in the government's Official Gazette to be official. The text read: “to declare the absolute annulment of the resolution of environments free of smoke identified by number 014 and the date of February 24.” No motive or explanation was given for the sudden annulment.

Sources at the Ministry of Health have not given out any official or non official statements as to the reasons for annulling a law which, in addition to banning smoking, would have mandated the obligatory posting of signs indicating: “This is an environment 100% free of tobacco smoke by resolution of the Ministry of Popular Power for Health.”

It wasn't until 2005 that the Venezuela government forced the tobacco companies in Venezuela to print highly visible health warnings on the front of all cigarette packs with texts containing explicit evidence about the different hazards caused on the body due to tobacco consumption.

In 2007, the Venezuela Health Minister was forced to resign after causing a public uproar by saying that the country was considering banning tobacco production, comments he later retracted. Health Minister Erick Rodriguez had told a local radio station that "not even producing tobacco nor cigarettes" would be allowed under new regulations the government was contemplating, saying: "Anyone who wants a cigarette should bring it from abroad." May 15, 2007 - Venezuela to End Domestic Tobacco Output, Health Minister Says by Guillermo Parra-Bernal, Bloomberg.com, 5/25/2007)

Venezuela's tobacco industry generates thousands of jobs and is one of the biggest taxpayers in the country. According to some industry surveys, as many as half of Venezuelans smoke.

Tobacco in Venezuela..

Reference: Venezuela Cancels Smoking Ban A day after a smoking ban is promulgated, it is annulled by Mark Friedman, Latin American Herald Tribune, 3/3/2011.

Related news brief:
PAPER: smoking prevalence high in seven Latin American cities.. Read more...

Bulgaria - Bulgartabac 2010 profit 16.5 times larger than it was in 2009..

March 3, 2011 - Bulgaria's state cigarette maker Bulgartabac Holding, which is about to be privatized, completed 2010 with a net profit of BGN 20 M (14.3 M USD)

The company's financial performance was announced in a statement in which its management also said that the profit "confirms the consistent trend of positive financial results."

Bulgartabac's 2010 profit is 16.5 times larger than it was in 2009. The consolidated income from cigarette sales grew 22% year-on-year.

In 2010, 80% of the produce of Bulgartabac Holding was exported, compared with 53% in 2009, and only 31% in 2008.

In addition to its growing exports, the Bulgartabac Holding Group occupies 37% of the Bulgarian domestic tobacco market. 3.5% of Bulgartabac's income for 2010 came from the sales of tobacco leaves.

The Bulgartabac Holding Group features two cigarette plants – Blagoevgrad-BT and Sofia BT – and a tobacco processing plant, Pleven-BT. As a result of the good financial results, in the fourth quarter of 2010, the shares of Bulgartabac Holding gained 54.77% on the Sofia Stock Exchange, Sofia-BT – 66.04%, Blagoevgrad-BT – 30.26%, Pleven-BT – 40.03%.

Bulgartabac's improved financial results have been announced just as the Borisov Cabinet is preparing to privatize the company. About a dozen strategic and financial investors have declared interest in the privatization of Bulgaria's state cigarette producer Bulgartabac Holding, according to Economy Minister Traicho Traikov.

Unofficial information reported in the Bulgarian media says that the bidders seeking to purchase Bulgartabac include companies from Bulgaria, Greece, and South Korea.

Bulgartabac, whose state management has been questionable in the recent years, is being put on the privatization table after its privatization has been mulled for years.

In January, Finance Minister Simeon Djankov reiterated earlier announcements that Bulgaria's government is determined to go ahead with the planned sale of the country's tobacco company, the biggest military plant and the minority stakes in electricity distributors. (Bulgaria - about a dozen investors declared interest in the privatization of Bulgartabac Holding..)

The sale of Bulgartabac Holding AD, Sopot-based Vazovski Mashinostroitelni Zavodi or VMZ, and the minority stakes in the electricity distributors have been said to be a must-do task in 2011 due to the sorry performance of the state-owned companies.

The Economy Ministry revealed in January that the consultant Citibank has made preliminary inquiries with about 100 potential strategic and financial investors from around the world with respect to Bulgartabac's privatization in order to make sure that all "serious" investors that are not aware of the sale of the Bulgarian cigarette company.

According to the Ministry, there is a sufficient number of companies interested in the privatization of Bulgartabac because it is an attractive asset even in a time of crisis.

The Economy Ministry said it wants to find a buyer for Bulgartabac by the summer of 2011.

In spite of declarations in April 2010 that Bulgaria's Privatization Agency hoped to complete the sale of state-owned cigarette monopoly Bulgartabac in 2010, no such deal went through by the end of December 2010.

The consultant for the Bulgartabac sale, Citigroup Global Markets Ltd, was picked by the Bulgarian government in February 2010. (Bulgaria - Citigroup chosen as consultant for sale of Bulgartabac..)

The two less profitable cigarette plants of Bulgartabac holding – in the cities of Plovdiv and Stara Zagora – were sold in 2009 through the Sofia Stock Exchange – for BGN 31 M and BGN 18 M respectively; the holding still owns the two larger and more consolidated factories in Sofia and Blagoevgrad as well as a number of commercial brands.

Reference: Bulgarian Tobacco Giant with BGN 20 M Net Profit before Privatization, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency), 3/1/2011.

Bulgaria - some related news briefs:
Bulgaria - about a dozen investors declared interest in the privatization of Bulgartabac Holding..;
Bulgaria - according to CEO of Bulgartabac cigarette prices may not change in 2011..;
Bulgaria - advisory board for tobacco will be established..;
Bulgaria - Bulgartabac - sale should be completed by middle of 2011..;
Bulgaria - rightist SDS party - each EU state should set own excise duties..;
Bulgaria - tobacco contraband..;
Bulgaria - cigarette excise revenue down this year..;
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...

West Virginia - tobacco tax hike died in committee after some Senators tried to tie it to OPEB and insurance coverage for autistic children...

March 3, 2011 - A plan to pay down the state's retiree benefit obligations was snuffed out by lawmakers Feb. 28 after Senate leaders tried to tie it to an increase in the state's tobacco tax and mandating insurance coverage for autistic children.

Directly related news brief:
West Virginia - the worst of the worst - talking about a tax hike on tobacco products..

The Senate Finance Committee voted 9 to 8 against passing a bill to shore up the state's other post-employments benefits program , or OPEB, after committee leaders amended it to include a tax hike for cigarettes and other tobacco products. They also amended it to require insurers to cover the cost of treating children with autism. The amended bill would've set aside $6 million annually in Medicaid funding to help the state-run Public Employee's Insurance Agency come up with the additional money needed to provide coverage.

All three have been hot-button issues during the current legislative session. Monday's (February 28, 2011) single vote might have been the death blow for all three, although lawmakers have until Wednesday to pass bills from one legislative chamber to the other.

Sen. Brooks McCabe, D-Kanawha, was disappointed lawmakers rejected the financing plan for OPEB he had championed but felt it was really the tax increase the other committee members were turning down. “My opinion is it was not a vote against OPEB,” he said. “It was a vote against the funding source.”

The state is currently facing $8 billion in unfunded OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits) liabilities over the next two to three decades. McCabe has put forward a plan to stabilize that debt over the next five years to give the state Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) Finance Board breathing room to come up with a solution.

A major part of that plan was using the tobacco tax hike to fund annual payments of $50 million to OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits) over 20 years.

State cigarette taxes would increase from the current 55 cents a pack to $1.55 a pack. All other tobacco taxes would increase from 7 percent of wholesale price to 50 percent.

The money generated by the increase would be used for a host of health-related programs, not just OPEB. Tobacco-prevention programs, in-home services and the West Virginia University School of Public Health would have received additional funds.

Public health advocates also believe that higher taxes will convince more people to quit using tobacco.

As for insurance coverage, West Virginia is among the states that do not mandate that insurance companies cover treatment for autistic children, which can run as much as $30,000 a year, if not more. Insurance companies say passing such a mandate would raise rates for everyone.

There were no clear signs about what the defeat of the bill meant for all three issues. The House of Delegates has already passed its own insurance mandate for autism, but it still must pass the Senate. A similar tobacco tax hike is working its way through House committees but has yet to come to the floor for a vote. And there is nothing like the OPEB bill in the House.

Reference: Tobacco Tax Hike Rejected by W.Va. Senators by Walt Williams, WBOT.com, 2/28/2011.

WVA related news briefs:
West Virginia - the worst of the worst - talking about a tax hike on tobacco products.;
West Virginia (WVa) - Mid-OHIO Valley Health Department a healthy place to be..
U.S. Supreme Court Won't Question West Virginia Tobacco Suits..;
West Virginia another Camel SNUS test market.. Read more...

WHO warns Southeast asian nations rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer and diabetes..

March 3, 2011 - The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries against rising cases of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer and diabetes, saying the burden of NCDs will be worsening in the future, local media reported here on Thursday.

The UN agency said Indonesia is facing compounding burdens from both NCDs and communicable diseases.

Samlee Plianbangchang, WHO regional director for Southeast Asia, said on Wednesday that most NCDs could be prevented or eliminated by early detection, good diet, exercise and access to treatment. "If one family member is ill, it can draw other family members into a downward spiral of worsening health and unrelenting poverty. Many countries will face difficulties in allocating budgets for NCDs unless they begin re-prioritising their efforts and funding," Plianbangchang was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying, adding that effective control of NCDs would be cheaper than treatment, both for governments and families.

In 2005, the WHO found that NCDs accounted for 54 percent of the 14.7 million annual deaths in South East Asia, with cardiovascular disease as the number-one NCD (28 percent). According to the WHO, of all deaths cause by NCDs, 22 percent were in Southeast Asia, the Jakarta Post reported.

The WHO estimated that the region would see an increasing number of deaths from NCD, estimating a 21 percent increase between 2006 and 2015.

In 2008, the WHO found that breast cancer and lung cancer were the top NCDs. The 2008 report showed that 36.2 percent of breast cancer cases were found in Indonesian women younger than 40, and 29.8 percent of lung cancer cases in men younger than 30.

The Global Adult Tobacco survey, conducted between 2008 and 2010, showed that Indonesia ranked first among Southeast Asian nations in smoking prevalence among adults with 65.2 percent of men and 4.5 percent of women. According to the WHO, the top risk factors causing NCDs are the between 8 percent and 26 percent of adults who do not get physical exercise as advised by physicians, the 250 million smokers in Southeast Asia, around 80 percent of the citizens do not eat enough fruits and vegetables and obesity among children and teenagers. Health minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said that the percentage of deaths from NCDs in Indonesia in 1995 was 41.7 percent. In 2007, the figure was 59.5 percent, according to the Basic Health Research conducted that same year. She added that strokes accounted for 15.4 percent of the deaths, the highest cause of death by degenerative disease. Endang said the ministry covered 60 percent of the provinces for NCDs as the ministry also focused on communicable diseases in certain regions. "But we realise we need to carry out preventative measures for NCDs before it's too late. I have asked the related division to make simple leaflets on how to cut the consumption of salt, sugar and fritters," she said.

Reference: Indonesia warned on rising degenerative diseases, Intellasia | Xinhua, intellasia.net, 3/5/2011. Read more...

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