UAE - very sad - 82% of students start smoking before 14..

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February 2, 2011 - A considerable number of United Arab Emirates (UAE) school students would already have tried their first cigarette before the age of 14, according to the data from a recent global survey. Tobacco use among school students at an early age remains a concern for health authorities as new data shows a quantum leap in the number of student smokers over the past five years.

In the UAE data projections show that 40 percent of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 15 are smokers, up from 24 percent five years ago, according to the Ministry of Health. (UAE - very sad.. 40% of teenagers between ages of 13 and 15 smoke..)

Preliminary data from a global survey obtained by Khaleej Times shows that 82.1 percent of the students (both male and female) in the UAE have tried their first cigarette before the age of 14 as compared to 39 percent (surveyed in 2005) who tried their first cigarette at the age of 13 or less. Male students were more likely to start smoking at an early age at 83.7 percent (39.2 percent in 2005) as compared to female students whose numbers stood at 79.4 percent, still a significant increase from the earlier 36.7 percent. However, the number of students surveyed in 2005 was 15,790 as compared to 2,581 in 2010.

The second Ministry of Health-backed Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) was conducted last year (2010) in government schools in coordination with US Centres for Diseases Control (CDC) and the World Health Organisation.

The first survey that was held in 2005 found risk-taking behaviour of youth to be alarming. Even then, tobacco use and smoking was found to be highly prevalent among the youth. In 2005, the number of students who smoked cigarettes over the past 30 days before the survey was conducted was 9.3 percent while 2010 data showed a marginal increase of 9.8 percent.

Nearly 60 percent of the students reported that people smoked in their presence on one or more days during the past seven days. The 2010 GSHS also measured dietary behaviour, hygiene, mental health, physical activity, protective factors, violence and unintentional injury of students in grades 8, 9, and 10. The survey results will help authorities formulate adolescent health programmes in the country. - WELL GET IT DONE ALREADY..

2010 GS -UAE Fact Sheet.

A similar survey conducted by the Dubai Health Authority in private schools showed that 71 percent of the students were cigarette smokers. The survey was conducted under the Tobacco Free Dubai (TFD) campaign between October 2009 and April 2010 and covered 2,457 students.

Dr Maha Ali Hassan, Project Manager of the initiative, said that following the survey, the initiative was taken over by the school health department at the DHA.
“Awareness activities will continue at the school level now,” she said. She also said that a number of smoking cessation clinics had been set up to help smokers quit the habit.

Reference: 82% of students in UAE start smoking before 14, Asma Ali Zain (asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com), KhaleejTimes.com, 2/2/2011.

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(United Arab Emirates) Read more...

Bhutan - Buddhist monk first casualty of a stringent anti-smoking law..

February 1, 2011 - A Buddhist monk could face five years in prison after becoming the first casualty of a stringent anti-smoking law in the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, which vows to become the first smoke-free nation. The monk has been charged with consuming and smuggling contraband tobacco under a law that came into force this month, the newspaper Kuensel reported on Friday, having been caught in possession of 72 packets of chewing tobacco.

Bhutan - strict tobacco control law went into effect January 1, 2011..

Bhutan, where smoking is considered bad for one's karma, banned the sale of tobacco in 2005. But with a thriving smuggling operation from neighbouring India, the ban failed to make much of an impact. The new law has granted police powers to enter homes, threatening jail for shopkeepers selling tobacco and smokers who fail to provide customs receipts for imported cigarettes. (More - Bhutan - police searching homes to finds contraband tobacco..)

'He can be charged with smuggling of controlled substances, which is a fourth degree felony,' a police official from the Narcotic Drug and Law enforcement Unit of Bhutan, who did not want to be identified, told the Bhutan Today newspaper.

A fourth degree felony can carry a sentence of five years. Smoking in private is not illegal, but as the sale of cigarettes is banned, smokers are restricted to 200 cigarettes or 150g of other tobacco products a month that can be legally imported. They must provide a customs receipt when challenged by police.

A student at a 400-year-old monastic school, the monk has not been publicly identified. He bought the tobacco from the Indian border town of Jaigoan, 170km south of the capital Thimphu and said it was for personal use. The 24-year-old said he was unaware of the new law, according to local media. He was carrying no tax receipt from the customs department.

Reference: Monk first to be charged under Bhutan smoking law , Agence France-Presse (AFP), 1/29/2011.

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More - Bhutan - police searching homes to finds contraband tobacco..;
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Raleigh, North Carolina - new ordinance prevents people from lighting up in parks..

February 1, 2011 - The new ordinance doesn't completely outlaw tobacco in city parks, on greenways and at city-owned venues; it only prevents people from lighting up. It also lets people smoke in city parking lots and anywhere in Nash Square and Moore Square downtown - both owned by the state.

Receptacles for cigarette butts and "No Smoking" signs will be placed in parks and other venues.

Directly related news briefs:
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Raleigh tried to ban smoking in some parks three years ago, but the city lacked the legal authority to do so at the time. A year-old state law that bans smoking in indoor workplaces now allows local governments to ban smoking in public places. (North Carolina (NC) - beginning in January 2010 fire safe cigarettes ( FSC), smoking ban in public places..)

Councilmen John Odom and Thomas Crowder voted against the ordinance, which takes effect in July, 2011.

"(The ban) will significantly reduce exposure to second-hand smoke for all park visitors," Laura Aiken, executive director of Advocates for Health in Action, said in a statement. "This change will also have the secondary benefits of reducing litter."

Reference: Raleigh bans smoking in city parks, Web Editor: Matthew Burns, WRAL.com, 2/1/201.

Some other North Carolina news briefs:
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North Carolina - may restore tax stamp to reduce smuggling..:
North Carolina - smoking ban forces smokers outside in the cold..;
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ATSA consultation meeting Johannesburg, South Africa, Feb 1-3, 2011..

February 1, 2011 - The last quarter of 2010 was marked by the end of projects funded under the African Tobacco Situational Analyses (ATSA), a two-year initiative to understand the critical determinants of success for tobacco control in selected countries south of the Sahara.

Over 100 tobacco control stakeholders are expected from February 1 – 3, 2011 in Johannesburg, South Africa for final consultation meeting aimed at capitalizing upon the main lessons learnt from implementing this research project.

The successes and lessons learned are revealing and critical to enhancing future tobacco control policy and program efforts across sub-Saharan Africa. And as tobacco control continues to evolve in Africa, it is also an opportunity to highlight present initiatives such as the African Tobacco Control Consortium and the WHO/TFI project on building institutional capacity for tobacco control in Africa, as well as new partnerships between the ACS and the University of Cape Town School of Economics and the University of Pretoria School of Dentistry and School of Health Systems and Public Health.

For more information please contact Amanda Newcomb at ATSA_Meeting@cancer.org.

The Agenda..
Read more...

Japan Tobacco Inc. to Launch "Zerostyle Mint" in Saitama and Chiba in Mid-March 2011..

February 1, 2011 - Japan Tobacco Inc. (JT) today announced it will launch smokeless tobacco "Zerostyle Mint" and its refill cartridges in Saitama and Chiba in mid-March, 2011. Also "Zerostyle Mint" will be accessible at duty free shops in Narita International Airport (Narita Airport) and Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport) in late February, due to consumer demand for purchasing "Zerostyle Mint" in airports and on board aircraft.

December 22, 2010 - Since the launch of "Zerostyle Mint" in Tokyo in May, 2010, the product has been raising consumer expectation from diverse areas with requests for sales area expansions and purchases. (Japan Tobacco (JT) Inc. to roll-out Zerostyle Mint at 4,000 retailers across Japan.)

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In order to promptly respond to consumer expectation, we will continue to aim for increases in our production capability and roll-out of "Zerostyle Mint" across Japan within the fiscal year ending March 2012.

Japan Tobacco Inc. is a leading international tobacco product company. Its products are sold in over 120 countries and its internationally recognized cigarette brands include Winston, Camel, Mild Seven and Benson & Hedges. With diversified operations, JT is also actively present in pharmaceuticals and foods.

Reference: JT to Start Marketing New Style of Smokeless Tobacco "Zerostyle Mint" in Saitama, Chiba and Duty Free Shops in Narita and Haneda Airports, Japan Tobacco Inc., 2/1/2011. Read more...