Gruesome Photos on British Cigarette Packs..

October 1, 2008 - Starting today- October 1, 2008 - smokers in Britain (United Kingdom, UK) will be confronted with graphic pictures on cigarette packets, showing how tobacco damages health. The pictures, which show cancerous lungs and throats as well as rotting teeth, replace written warnings such as "smokers die younger" which currently greet smokers as they light up. The warnings will start today and will be compulsory on all tobacco products from October 2010.

The pictures are similar to those used on packets in other countries which have been credited with encouraging smokers to quit. Images are designed to shock people and emphasize the harsh health realities of continuing to smoke.

Around 10 million Britons smoke out of a total population of more than 60 million. A number of measures in recent years have aimed to cut the number of smokers. Written warnings on packs were adopted in 2003, and last year, the minimum age for buying tobacco was raised from 16 to 18. Smoking in enclosed public places was banned across the country from July 2007.

Recently, Health Canada it has been found cigarette packages would have a greater effect on smokers if the images covered most of the pack.

David Byrne, the European Union’s former commissioner for health and consumer protection has said, “People need to be shocked out of their complacency about tobacco. I make no apology for some of the pictures we are using.”

Related news brief: Britain to put picture warnings on ALL tobacco products...

Reference: Cigarette packs to carry graphic picture warnings, Breitbart.com, 10/1/2008 and British cigarette packs to show graphic warnings, Reuters, 9/27/2008.

Click on images to enlarge..
Read more...

Superior Court Judge clears the way for San Francisco's ban on tobacco sales at pharmacies..

September 30, 2008 - San Francisco's ban on cigarette sales by pharmacies will go forward Wednesday, October 1, 2008 Judge Peter Busch, a San Francisco Superior Court judge ruled today. Judge Busch ruled the city had a rational basis for enacting the ban and denied the Walgreens motion. Walgreens Co., which operates more than 50 stores in San Francisco, had asked for a preliminary injunction halting the ban, arguing it unfairly favors the larger stores. Attorneys for Walgreens claimed the first-of-its-kind prohibition violated equal protection laws and would cause irreparable harm to the company.

City attorneys had contended that the public trusts pharmacies as health-promoting businesses and that the sale of tobacco by drugstores "sends an implicit message that smoking is acceptable." Extending the ban in the future to big-box stores is under consideration, they said.

The ban has also been challenged in federal court by the Richmond, Va.-based tobacco company Philip Morris on grounds it violates the company's First Amendment right to free speech, by ending cigarette advertising and displays in stores.

Reference: Judge clears the way for San Francisco's ban on cigarette sales at pharmacies, Bay City News Service, MercuryNews.com, 09/30/2008.

Related news briefs: Philip Morris challenges San Francisco pharmacy tobacco ban..; Walgreen: San Francisco’s Tobacco Ban Is Unfair..; San Francisco - All Tobacco Products Banned in All Pharmacies..; San Francisco critical vote - bar tobacco sales pharmacies.. and SAN FRANCISCO Ban on tobacco at drug stores sought...

Click on image to enlarge..
Read more...

New Zealand More Evidence Needed to Ban Tobacco and Cigarette Displays..

September 30, 2008 - The Health select committee today released a report today calling for tobacco and cigarette displays to be out of sight in retail stores around New Zealand. But National Member of Parliament (MP) Jo Goodhew said its four MPs on the health select committee had voted against the ban because they believed "more robust international evidence" was needed. "We're not ruling it out, but we would like to see an evidence-based approach to this ... Some New Zealanders will see this as the nanny state butting in again."


Cigarette advertising has been largely banned for 20 years, except inside stores. Cancer Society chief executive Dalton Kelly - whose petition in support of a ban received 20,000 signatures - said children walking into the country's 10,000 retail stores were confronted by "a power-wall of tobacco advertising". Action on Smoking and Health director Ben Youdan said in-store displays were one of the last bastions of cigarette marketing. The displays that the committee seeks to ban, what are popularly called Power Walls - huge displays of cigarettes of every brand usually just behind the counter - have a powerful message. "Tobacco is not a regular product. It kills half the people who use it, yet for too long we have allowed these addictive and deadly poisons to be sold next to the milk and chocolates."

British American Tobacco - which sells three-quarters of cigarettes in New Zealand - said it "supported the views of many retailers who say a ban on the retail display of tobacco products will have a significant impact on the viability of their businesses". However, the report quoted the examples of Ireland and Iceland, which have banned displays, where there had been "no cost or minimal costs to retailers".

Let's get the science-based evidence to the NZ Parliament's Health Select Committee so they can make the proper informed decision. New Zealand's Dr. Janine Paynter's work: More evidence - tobacco displays increase the risk of teens smoking... Also, 66 percent of adult New Zealanders support a total ban on the visual display of cigarettes, and support is even higher among non-smokers. (Under the counter initiative New Zealand, June 7, 2007, Tobacco Reporter.)

Reference: Tobacco sellers resist bid to outlaw displays by RUTH HILL - The Dominion Post, 9/30/2008 and Cigarette displays may be banned, ONE News, 9/29/2008.

Click on image to enlarge..

Read more...

Nicotine Dependence in Kids Exposed to Second-Hand Smoke..

September 29, 2008 - Scientists have a new warning for parents who smoke, as new research suggests exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS, passive, involuntary, side stream) may lead to symptoms of nicotine dependence in kids who have never before had a cigarette. A joint study among eight Canadian institutions found that five percent of kids who are exposed to second-hand smoke in their homes or in cars exhibit symptoms of nicotine dependence. The symptoms included cravings, feeling tempted to smoke when in the presence of others who smoke and having the feeling of being addicted to nicotine.

Paper: Matthieu Belanger et al., Nicotine dependence symptoms among young never-smokers exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke, Addictive Behavior, 9/2008. ABSTRACT

It was concluded SHS exposure in motor vehicles may be associated with nicotine dependence symptoms among young never-smokers. If replicated, this finding provides support for interventions that promote non-smoking in motor vehicles. Some facts on second-hand smoke's (SHS)effect on children.

Banning smoking when children are in the car is a no-brainer - even Philip Morris agrees. David Sutton, a spokesman for Philip Morris USA said the company believes the public "should be guided by the conclusions of public health officials regarding the health effects of secondhand smoke" and "particular care should be exercised where children are concerned." The majority of Canadians (82 per cent) say they support a ban on smoking in vehicles with children younger than 18 years of age, according to a national poll released today by the Canadian Cancer Society.

Reference: Second-hand smoke may cause dependence in kids, CTV.ca News Staff, 9/29/2008.

Related news brief: Maine - illegal to smoke in cars while children present.. and Vehicles Most Dangerous Space for Second-Hand Smoke Levels...
Read more...

U.S. District Judge clears the way for San Francisco's ban on tobacco sales at pharmacies..

September 28, 2008 - Philip Morris USA (PM), the nation's largest tobacco company lost the first round Friday of its federal court bid to block the city of San Francisco's upcoming ban on cigarette sales by pharmacies.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland late Friday turned down a request by PM for a temporary restraining order (on grounds it violates the company's First Amendment right to free speech, by ending cigarette advertising and displays in stores) that would have blocked the measure from going into effect Wednesday, October 1, 2008> as scheduled.

City lawyers hadn't yet responded to the lawsuit and were planning to file opposition to a temporary restraining order on Monday. But Wilken said in a two-page order that even without the city's opposition, Philip Morris' own papers hadn't shown the combination of likelihood of legal success and danger of irreparable harm needed for a temporary restraining order.Wilken wrote that Philip Morris's "unexplained delay in filing its application for a temporary restraining order until days before the enforcement of the ordinance belies its claim of irreparable harm. Wilken scheduled a hearing on whether to grant a preliminary injunction, the next step in the case, on Oct. 30, and ordered both sides to file further briefs before then.

Deputy City Attorney Vince Chhabria said, "The fact that the judge denied the temporary restraining order request without even receiving our opposition underscores the weakness of the argument that Philip Morris has a First Amendment right to sell cigarettes."

Reference: Judge Denies Philip Morris' Request to Block Pharmacy Ban (Ordinance Enacted By Board Of Supervisors Last Month) , NBC11.com, 9/27/2008.

Related news briefs: Philip Morris challenges San Francisco pharmacy tobacco ban..; Walgreen: San Francisco’s Tobacco Ban Is Unfair..; San Francisco - All Tobacco Products Banned in All Pharmacies..; San Francisco critical vote - bar tobacco sales pharmacies.. and SAN FRANCISCO Ban on tobacco at drug stores sought...

Click on image to enlarge..
Read more...