Canada - health groups want similar action like Australia..

May 3, 2010 -


Cynthia Callard, executive director of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, says the move by Australia will hopefully blaze the trail for other countries, including Canada, to consider similar action.

Canadian health groups are calling on this country to follow suit after Australia announced it will force tobacco companies to use plain packaging with no logos or colours on its products. (Australia - tobacco tax increase now in force, next comes plain tobacco packaging..; Australia - plain packages on all tobacco products within 2-years..)

The move by the Australian government - aimed at reducing the amount of smokers and smoking-related deaths, and is to take effect in January 2012 - will see only health warnings displayed on cigarette packaging, with some prototypes displaying scenes of blackened lungs and teeth over the full surface area.

Callard: "It took a decade to get standard advertising out of the way." Yesterday after her group and the Non-Smokers' Rights Association issued a joint news release urging a change in Canada. "First came the television ads in the 1970s, but the billboards were only taken down in Canada between 2001 and 2003 ... and then the removal of tobacco packaging displays in retail stores in the last couple of years.

We all wait on the Finland - the government is finalizing tobacco control measures that will end the consumption of tobacco products by 2040..

Reference: Repackage cigarettes, groups say, Canwest News Service, The Montreal Gazette, 4/30/2010.

Read more...

Children - apartments - parents do not smoke but still exposed to secondhand smoke..,

May 3, 2010 - The research from the University of Rochester Medical Center is the first to examine whether housing type is a potential contributor to children’s exposure to cigarette smoke. It has been presented at the Pediatric Academic Society Meeting in Vancouver, Canada.

PAPER: Tobacco Smoke Exposure among Children Living in Apartments, K.M. Wilson, J.D. Klein, A.K. Blumkin, M.A. Gottlieb, J.P. Winickoff. Pediatrics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY; Julius B. Richmond Center of Excellence, American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, IL; Tobacco Control Resource Center, Northeastern University School of Law, Boston, MA; Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Saturday, May 1, 2010, Platform Session: Environmental Health (8:00 AM - 10:00 AM) Pediatric Academic Society Meeting in Vancouver, Canada, May 1-4, 2010 ABSTRACT..

Among children who lived in an apartment, 84 percent had been exposed to tobacco smoke, according to the level of a biomarker (cotinine) in their blood that indicates exposure to nicotine found in tobacco, and this included more than 9 of 10 African-American and white children. Even among children who lived in detached houses, 70 per cent showed evidence of exposure.

"We are starting to understand the role that seepage through walls and through shared ventilation may impact tobacco smoke exposure in apartments," said Karen Wilson, M.D., MPH, author of the study and an assistant professor of Pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Golisano Children’s Hospital. "We see that children are being exposed in ways we are not picking up, and it’s important, for their health, that we figure out where this exposure is taking place, and work to eliminate it. Multi-unit housing is one potential source, but a very important one."

The study analyzed data from almost 6,000 children between 6- and 18-years-old in a national database (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001-2006) to see if there was any relationship between their smoke exposure and their housing type. Apartment living was associated with a 45 percent increase in cotinine levels for African American children and a 207 percent increase for white children. About 18 per cent of U.S. children live in apartments, and many of these children are living in subsidized housing communities where smoking is more prevalent.

Wilson said many parents are trying to limit their children’s tobacco smoke exposure by not allowing smoking in their apartments, but they say they can smell tobacco smoke coming from other apartments or from common areas.

Reference: Kids living with nonsmokers still exposed to smoke, ANI, The Times of India, 5/2/2010.

A few related news briefs:
Buffalo - landlords must disclose to tenants whether they allow smoking..;
Scotland - smokers will be banned from fostering or adopting children, comments from Professor Banzhaf..;
Poor children are exposed to more secondhand smoke than their wealthier counterparts..;
Father's Day and Third-Hand Smoke..;
Read more...

Vermont - Green Up Day - 40th Anniversary - major culprit cigarette butts..

May 1, 2010 - Green Up Vermont is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year. April 18, 1970 was the very first Green Up Day. Vermont's annual statewide clean-up effort is still going strong, 40 years later, and happens on the first Saturday in May.

Vermont state workers getting a head start on Green Up Day were picking up all sorts of trash. "Mostly fast food wrappers, coffee cups and beer bottles," said Ernie Patnoe, the maintenance supervisor at Vermont's Transportation Agency. But they were ignoring some of the most pervasive-- cigarette butts. "We don't pick them up," Patnoe said. "It would take forever."

According to the Cigarette Litter Prevention Program, only 10 percent of cigarette butts are properly disposed of. And the public may be surprised by who funds the program-- cigarette maker Philip Morris.

"It's as bad as throwing trash on the ground," said Polly Thibault of Milton. "It's rubbish and it's trash. Whether you're a smoker or not, it's just respecting others and respecting our environment."

Denis Delaney of Montreal quit smoking after 60 years of lighting up. He admits he would toss his butts on the ground because he didn't think of it as littering. "Cigarettes on the street, I think it's like smoking itself. It's a filthy habit," he said. "But most people who smoke don't realize they're throwing butts away. It's just like lighting up, you do it automatically."

And some figure butts will biodegrade. But according to the Cigarette Litter Prevention Program funded by Philip Morris, about 95 percent of filters are made of cellulose acetate, a form of plastic that does not quickly break down.

City residents Shelby Fraga, 23, and Anna Kovaliv, 24, spent an hour working the short block of Church Street between King and Maple streets. “I’d say about 85 percent of the stuff we pick up is old cigarettes,” Fraga said. “And they take probably about 90 percent of our time. We’re not going to be able to get through everything we’d hoped to.” The diminutive cast-offs, frayed and sun-and-rain-bleached, hold up remarkably well in the rough-and-tumble cityscape. That’s because the most common ingredient in the filter is acetate cellulose, a plastic that resists decay.

Nicotine and combustion byproducts seep into the nearest patch of soil. Kovaliv noticed “pockets” of butts and filters: favored dump-sites for smokers. She had no theory for those spots’ appeal, but noticed that sidewalks in front of many businesses appeared to be devoid of litter in general.

References: Why cigarette butts top Vermont's litter list, Kate Duffy, WCAX News, 4/29/2010; Green Up volunteers pick buckets of butts, Burklington Free Press, 5/2/2010.

Read more...

New Zealand - increase in tobacco excise forced through Parliament by the Government..

May 2, 2010 - The New Zealand Parliament passed a law Wednesday, April 28th to raise the excise tax on cigarettes and tobacco over each of the next three years, which at the end of that period, is expected to increase revenue by NZ$205 million (149,076,006 USD) annually.

In a surprise move, the government forced Parliament to sit late into the night in an "extraordinary urgency" session, which allows the government to have three readings of a bill in one session, to pass the Excise and Excise-Equivalent Duties Table (Tobacco Products) Amendment Bill.

Excise on Tobacco: Proposed Changes

The law change increases the excise tax on cigarettes immediately by 10% and will increase it by a further 10% in each of the following two years, while there will be a 24% rise in the excise tax on loose tobacco immediately with further increases of 10% in 2011 and 2012, Associate Minister of Health Tariana Turia told Parliament.

The Treasury estimated that once the price changes were fully in place it would generate up to an additional NZ$205 million (149,076,006 USD) in revenue annually, bringing the total revenue from excise tax and goods and services tax on tobacco products to NZ$1.3 billion a year.

At present, about 21 percent of New Zealanders over 15 years of age are smokers. Tobacco use results in between 4,500 and 5,000 deaths a year, and is the single largest cause or preventable death and chronic illness in this country. The lifespan of those smokers who die early from smoking is, on average, reduced by 15 years. Smoking prevalence and consumption is higher among Maori, young people and people with lower socio-economic status.

Tobacco Tax Increase Places Retailers at Risk">Tobacco Tax Increase Places Retailers at Risk, Press Release: Association of Community Retailers, Scoop.co.nz, 4/29/2010.

Reference: New Zealand Parliament Passes Excise Tax Hike On Tobacco by Simon Louisson (simon.louisson@dowjones.com), Dow Jones Newswires, 4/28/2009.

New Zealand related news briefs:
New Zealand - Christchurch prepares for meeting with tobacco select committee..;
New Zealand - biggest drop in smoking rates seen in a decade..;
New Zealand - Maori affairs committee continues to gather information..;
New Zealand - study quit-smoking products that are acceptabe and effective..;
New Zealand - smoking ban results in decrease in heart attacks..;
New Zealand - BAT attends Maori Affairs select committee meeting on tobacco..;
New Zealanders want cigarettes banned by 2020..;
New Zealand - Maori women - almost 50% smoke..;
New Zealand - more and more teenagers turned off by smoking..;
New Zealand - loophole in the law banning tobacco sponsorship..;
New Zealand - University of Auckland to go smokefree - 1st university in country..;
New Zealand - smoking ban in bars results in less smoking at home..;
New Zealand - study, tobacco displays leads to increase in youth smoking..;
New Zealand - graphic warnings cigarette maker selects less offensive images..;
New Zealand - Maori committee to investigate smoking..;
New Zealand - Tairawhiti Board wants tobacco sold only on prescription..;
New Zealand - health researchers calling on government to ban importation of tobacco..;
New Zealand - 1st trial ever of e-cigarettes..;
New Zealand - BAT reducing prices discouraging people from quitting..;
New Zealand - stop smoking campaigns NOT working..;
BAT awarded worst corporation in New Zealand..;
New Zealand - government may NOT support tobacco display bans..;
New Zealand More Evidence Needed to Ban Tobacco and Cigarette Displays..;
More evidence - tobacco displays increase the risk of teens smoking..;
Horror photos go on New Zealand cigarette packs..;
Country to Eliminate Smoking - The South Pacific nation of Niue;
Ireland to ban tobacco displays..;
Smokefree NZ within 10 years..;
By law, oral snuff cannot (but nasal snuff is allowed) be sold in New Zealand and can be imported only for personal use..


Read more...

Greece - another increase in tobacco taxes can be expected..

May 2, 2010 - Greece's finance minister outlined deep spending cuts and tax increases Sunday to free up a multi-billion-euro rescue by the International Monetary Fund and European Union, the first bailout for one of the 16 countries using the euro.

Taxes would also be increased, including further hikes on alcohol and tobacco. The top bracket of sales tax rising from 21 percent to 23 percent.

Euromonitor International- Tobacco in Greece: Contrary to the European trend of declining smoking rates, the smoking population in Greece is on the rise. Greek women are the heaviest smokers in the world, while Greek men hold the fourth place. In addition, Greece has one of the highest per capita consumption rates of tobacco products among EU Member States. Despite this, volume sales of cigarettes in Greece declined in 2008, as shrinking disposable incomes pushed more Greek smokers towards cheaper RYO products.

Click to enlarge..



Reference: Greece outlines harsh spending cuts before bailout by DEREK GATOPOULOS, Associated Press, 5/2/2010.

Some Greece related news briefs:
Greece - trusty kiosks to shut in tobacco tax protest..;
Greeks smoke in defiance of ban..;
Greece - latest attempt at a smoking ban failing..;
Greek Farmers Renew Bulgaria Border Blockade..;
E-cigarettes - scientists want more safety studies before use..;
Greece - to increase tax on tobacco and alcohol..;
Greece - smoking ban, re-examining the legal framework supporting it..;
Pregnant women exposed to passive smoke greater chance of child will have respiratory distress..;
Greek betting firm - July 1st smoking ban has resulted in a further fall in sales..;
Greece - will the July 1st smoking ban work??;
Greece - ban on smoking in workplace starts July 1, 2009..;
Greece starts anti-smoking campaign..;
Greece May Have the Highest Cigarette Consumption Per Person in the World...
(Hellenic Republic, Greek)

Read more...