Smoking rampant among pregnant women in Alberta..

December 27, 2008 - A new report that shows a startling number of women in Alberta smoke while pregnant provides a clear warning sign the province's approach is falling short, a University of Calgary researcher says. A recently-released 2005 Alberta Health and Wellness study examined 28,484 samples from pregnant women randomly selected from 50,599 serum samples used for a province wide bio-monitoring test from January to December 2005. The concentrations of cotinine measured here indicate that many pregnant Albertan women were smokers at the time of their blood sample collection, particularly in the youngest women examined and in northern Alberta.

According to the study, between 25 to 32 percent of former and current smokers lit up regularly during their most recent pregnancy. The national average is 19 to 22 per cent. This, despite a provincial government strategy to reduce 2000-01 smoking rates in pregnant women from 32 per cent to 12 per cent in 2010-11.

It found that the levels of cotinine--a nicotine metabolite and marker of cigarette smoke exposure-- were unusually high among expecting Alberta women, particularly those in northern Alberta and younger than 25-years-old. The findings in northern Alberta, including formerly-separate Aspen, Peace Country and Northern Light health regions, were especially alarming, according to the report.

Dr. Shabih Hasan, a professor in the department of pediatrics at the University of Calgary faculty of medicine who researches the effects of tobacco exposure during pregnancy. "There is an enormous price to pay for this. We have not made a dent." The risks of maternal smoking during pregnancy are well-established, Hasan said. Lighting up while pregnant has been found to harm the fetus and is linked to increased risks of stillbirth, spontaneous abortion, premature delivery and higher rates of sudden infant death.

Reference: Smoking rampant among pregnant women in Alberta by Jamie Komarnicki, Calgary Herald, 12/26/2008.

Related news briefs: Tobacco a threat to pregnant women and children in developing world..;
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Hong Kong - public smoking ban - smoking rooms??

December 27, 2008 - The Hong Kong (population 6.9 million) smoking ban in public places came into effect on January 1, 2007. The ban covers most public areas, including restaurants, offices and karaoke lounges. It also extends to outside areas with swimming pools, beaches and the larger parts of public parks now designated as smoke-free. Anyone caught lighting up in a banned zone faces a maximum fine of HK$5000 (£326, USD645).

The ban does not yet include nightclubs, bars open to those aged 18 or above, mahjong parlors, bathhouses and massage establishments, such venues have until July 1, 2009, to implement the law. With a little more than six months before the smoking ban is to be enforced the government is entering the final phase of a study of smoking rooms that may offer bar owners a way around the curbs. A number of Asian and European countries have placed restrictions on smoking but still permit smoking rooms to operate.

Officials are examining a 40,000-US-dollar smoking room partly funded by British American Tobacco at a Hong Kong bar to see if exemptions should be granted to bars with hi-tech facilities. The tobacco company claims the room removes and recycles smoke fumes safely and argues that it could save bars with high percentages of smoking customers from going bust.

However, the city's leading anti-smoking campaigner Anthony Hedley told Monday's (12/22/2008) South China Morning Post that allowing smoking rooms would be 'nothing short of a scandal.' The Hong Kong government will make recommendations to legislators on whether or not to allow the smoking rooms in a report early in 2009,

Reference: Hong Kong smoking ban startscarterersearch.com, 1/2/2007; Smoke-free Hong Kong may allow hi-tech smoking rooms in bars, monstersandcritics.com, 12/22/2008.
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Taiwan lawmakers fail to raise tobacco tax..

December 26, 2008 - The Legislative Yuan (the Parliament) Monday, December 22, 2008 failed to pass any hikes in tobacco taxes, despite a wide range of proposals.

Lawmakers filed varying proposals to raise the current NT$10 (0.303USD) tax per packet of 20 cigarettes to NT$15, NT$20 or NT$40 (1.212USD) to discourage smoking, but because they failed to reach a consensus, the topic of higher cigarette taxes was referred to further negotiation. Ruling Kuomintang legislator Chang Shuo-wen proposed a hike to NT$40 while rejecting allegations he was trying to sabotage any rises. He said smaller increases would not work if the aim was to discourage smoking altogether.


Some lawmakers pointed out a contradiction in the government’s plans for the hike. “The country sells tobacco, but also bans tobacco,” said KMT legislator Lee Hung-chun, calling on the government to sell the


Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation - state-owned manufacturer and distributor of cigarettes and alcohol in Taiwan.


Lawmakers did agree on tougher measures against cigarette smuggling and on forcing the Department of Health to spend at least 6 percent of revenue from the tobacco tax on cancer prevention work.

The discussion about hiking tobacco taxation is coming amid preparations for the launch of a newly amended Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act on January 11. Under the new rules, smoking will be banned in all indoor workplaces staffed by at least three employees. Smoking will also be illegal in public indoor areas such as passenger waiting rooms and entertainment areas such as tea rooms, KTV parlors, and bowling alleys. The ban also covers some outdoor public areas such as train station platforms, swimming pools, school campuses and sports stadiums. The new act stipulates fines ranging from NT$2,000 (60.59USD) to NT$10,000 (302.95USD) for offenders.

Anti-smoking campaigners say the habit and its related diseases cost the National Health Insurance Bureau NT$30 billion in extra expenses a year. A 2005 study found from the public health and financial perspectives, the increase in this excise tax on tobacco to the Taiwan government will have significant effect in reducing cigarette consumption; it would also generate additional tax revenues - ABSTRACT.

Reference: Taiwan Legislature fails to raise tobacco taxTaiwan News, Staff Writer, 12/22/2008.

Euromonitor International: Tobacco in Taiwan. There are currently more than 4.5 million smokers in Taiwan, and that about 20,000 people die from smoking related illnesses every year. A pack of cigarettes can cost as little as NT$40 (US$1.3). (DOH (Department of Health) to push for NT$10 cigarette tax price increaseThe China Post, 10/22/2008)

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Young adolescents exposure to tobacco ads and cigarette smoking..

December 25, 2008 - Researchers have found that children and young adolescents remain vulnerable to cigarette advertisements. The research team noted that "initial exposures to cigarette advertising (and the positive portrayals of smoking contained therein) should increase youths' willingness to experiment with cigarette smoking."

Under pressure to curtail marketing to children, tobacco companies have claimed they've refocused their marketing tactics to simply persuade adult smokers to change brands.

Team analyzed the psychological effects of cigarette advertisements and how such commercialization impacts children and young adolescents. The study showed that the youngest kids did not typically focus on brand meanings for any of the ads – tobacco or otherwise. For cigarette ads, this was still true for the vast majority of kids in fifth grade," Merrie Brucks, one of the co-authors said. But when a child was able to pick up on the brand name in a cigarette advertisement, the likelihood of being susceptible to smoking grew by 182 percent.

Based on their findings, the team supports "the policy of preventing children from exposure to any form of cigarette advertising," said Brucks. Citing concerns for children around the globe, the World Health Organization this year called for a ban on the advertisement and promotion of tobacco products.

PAPER: Freeman D, Brucks M, Wallendorf M, Boland W., Youths' understandings of cigarette advertisements, Addict Behav. 2009 Jan;34(1):36-42, ABSTRACT.

Reference: UA Research: Cigarette Ads Still Affect Children by La Monica Everett-Haynes, Arizona University Communications, 121/23/2008.

Some related news briefs: Youth exposed to smokeless tobacco ads despite settlement…; More evidence - tobacco displays increase the risk of teens smoking..; Cigarette retail marketing practices increase the likelihood of youth smoking..
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STOP the Release of Dissolvable Tobacco Products..

December 25, 2008 - In January 2009 R.J. Reynolds Tobacco will start test marketing in 3-cities the first dissolvable tobacco products by a major company. Each product in convenient user-friendly dosage form containing amounts of the nicotine to render the user a slave to this addictive substance for many years to come. Public Health Professional are concerned.

The Camel Dissolvables Products: Sticks (twisted) can be placed in the mouth like a toothpick or broken into a pieces that are placed between the upper lip and gum, where they dissolve after 10 minutes; Orbs, which is a pellet (like placing a candy in your mouth) that lasts about 15 minutes and film Strips for the tongue, which dissolve after about 3 minutes. Flavors - Strips will come in fresh mint flavor and Sticks in Mellow; Orbs will be available in both flavors.

David Sutton, spokesman of Altria Group "We've been very pleased with the consumer response" to Marlboro Snus, says, which owns Philip Morris USA. This is NOT true - snus sales in the U.S. are around one percent of smokeless tobacco sales. Reynolds with Camel SNUS continues to flood the market with free cans of Camel snus. One of many examples: Have a Free can of Camel Snus. Sutton says smokeless is a "growing category" with sales rising 6%-8% annually. He says cigarette sales are falling 2%-3% each year.

Sara Troy Machir, spokeswoman of Star Scientific says, Teens like risk-taking behavior and a tablet, unlike a cigarette, won't lure them. If the tablet doesn't lure them how about the other dosage forms: the toothpick with flavor to mask the taste of the tobacco or the film strip it's just like a Listerine strip to enhance your breath.

Reference: Tobacco 'orbs' melt in mouth by Wendy Koch, USA Today, 12/24/2008.

A few related news briefs:We must stop the launch of dissolvable tobacco products..; Reynolds America moving ahead with dissolvable tobacco products..; STOP - the Proliferation of Flavored Tobacco Products..; R.J. Reynolds Dissolvables - it looks like candy.. and Snus News & Other Tobacco Products: STOP - the Proliferation of Flavored Tobacco Products..
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