Tobacco.org

• Decree good for Fiji, says minister  

FIJI continues to make progress in implementing the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), says Health Minister Dr Neil Sharma.

Speaking at the presentation of licences to representatives of tobacco importers and manufacturers in Suva yesterday, Dr Sharma said Fiji was the third country to ratify the WHO FCTC in October 2003 and the first developing country to do so. He said the government was committed to decreasing tobacco-related harm in Fiji and meeting Fiji's obligations under the convention.

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• Report of US ban on clove-flavoured cigarettes hits spice's price 

The cloves market appeared to head towards a crash following reports of ban on sales of clove-flavoured cigarettes by the US, which may lead to a sharp fall in its demand at a time when the crop in Indonesia is said to be a bumper one.

Meanwhile, the WTO Appellate Body on a formal petition filed by the Indonesian authorities against the US decision to the WTO in April 2010, decided on April 4 that "the US Law banning the sale of clove-flavoured cigarette to discourage children from smoking was unfair to Indonesia because menthol cigarette can still be sold in the US." . . .

Even though Indonesia has won the case against the US, export of its cigarettes might face a threat from the fact that "many countries have signed the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control under the WHO supervision," an overseas report said. Add to this Brazil is also reported to have banned cigar sales.

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WHO Policy Could Have Big Effect on Smoking Rates  

Global smoking prevalence set to fall only marginally by 2030 without concerted action 

World Health Organization anti-smoking program could save millions of lives 

Uzbekistan signs Framework Convention on Tobacco Control ($$) 

• Cigarette Smoking will Fall Just 1.7% by 2030 without Action, Study Claims  

Research published by BMJ Tobacco Control calculates that global "prevalence" (the percentage of the adult population that smokes) will dip by just 1.7 percent by 2030.

The study claims, on the other hand, that World Health Organisation measures could see a drop from just under 24 percent in 2010 to under 13 percent in 2030 if they are put into practice.

More than five million people die from smoking-related illnesses every year - more than the total toll of Aids, tuberculosis and malaria combined.

In the paper, titled The Potential Impact of Smoking Control Policies on Future Global Smoking Trends, researchers from the University of Michigan predict only a gradual decrease in smoking levels.

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• Southeast Asia turns up heat on smokers  

With Southeast Asia to be one community in 2015, anti-smoking campaigners are joining forces to turn the fast-growing region into a healthy area by trying to make life difficult for smokers.

Statistics from the Tobacco Atlas convinced them to make a serious move. Tobacco killed almost six million people last year, with Southeast Asia accounting for about 20% of global smoking deaths. The Asean region, comprising 10 member states of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, houses about 125 million smokers, or about one-third of its total population.

Realising that this growing health crisis needs tremendous attention and cooperation among all members and partners, a work plan on tobacco control was drafted based on the Asean strategic framework on health development between 2010 and 2015.

Its seven key strategies are protection from exposure to tobacco smoke, protection of tobacco control policy from industry interference, sustainable funding for tobacco control and health promotion, price and tax measures to reduce demand, stricter measures on packaging and labelling of tobacco products, advertising promotion and sponsorship, and strengthening networking and coordinating mechanisms on tobacco control among members.

The move was engineered by the Asean Focal Points on Tobacco Control, comprising a network of regional experts and representatives from each country.

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• VIDEO: ‘Ban on smoking boosts businesses’  

An anti-tobacco activist has revealed to RT the truth behind tobacco companies’ activities and cast doubts on businessmen’s fears that tobacco bans ruin their bars and restaurants.

Russia is soon to sign a document that will bolster its fight against smoking. It took 174 countries four years to finalize the "Protocol Against Illicit Tobacco Trade."

The document, due to be signed in November, seeks to protect the anti-smoking policies of signatory countries against the influence of tobacco producers.

"Russia has among the lowest taxes on tobacco products, and as a result, the highest smoking rates,” Matthew l. Myers, president of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, told RT. “Over 60 per cent of your males smoke. Since 1991, the number of smokers among young girls has more than tripled.”

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Plain Tobacco Packaging: A Systematic Review (PDF) 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This systematic review outlines findings from 37 studies that provide evidence of the impacts of plain tobacco packaging. The review was conducted following the publication of the March 2011 White Paper Healthy Lives: Healthy People which set out a renewed Tobacco Control Plan for England. One of the key actions identified in the plan was to consult on possible options to reduce the promotional impact of tobacco packaging, including plain packaging. This systematic review was commissioned to provide a comprehensive overview of evidence on the impact of plain packaging in order to inform a public consultation on the issue. . . .

Discussion

This review finds that there is strong evidence to support the propositions set out in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control relating to the role of plain packaging in helping to reduce smoking rates; that is, that plain packaging would reduce the attractiveness and appeal of tobacco products, it would increase the noticeability and effectiveness of health warnings and messages, and it would reduce the use of design techniques that may mislead consumers about the harmfulness of tobacco products. In addition, the studies in this review show that plain packaging is perceived by both smokers and non-smokers to reduce initiation among non-smokers and cessation-related behaviours among smokers. The review also found some evidence of public support for plain packaging, although the majority of the public opinion studies were conducted in Australia.

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• Plain tobacco packaging : A systematic review  

This systematic review outlines findings from 37 studies that provide evidence of the impacts of plain tobacco packaging. The review was conducted following the publication of the March 2011 White Paper Healthy Lives: Healthy People which set out a renewed Tobacco Control Plan for England. One of the key actions identified in the plan was to consult on possible options to reduce the promotional impact of tobacco packaging, including plain packaging. This systematic review was commissioned to provide a comprehensive overview of evidence on the impact of plain packaging in order to inform a public consultation on the issue.

The report begins with an introduction that briefly describes how tobacco marketing and packaging have been regulated to date, and outlines the origins of plain packaging as a potential policy measure. A contextual section discusses how tobacco packaging has evolved and its multifunctional role in promoting tobacco products.

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) proposes that plain packaging would have three benefits: it would reduce the attractiveness and appeal of tobacco products, it would increase the noticeability and effectiveness of health warnings and messages, and it would reduce the use of design techniques that may mislead consumers about the harmfulness of tobacco products. The review aimed to examine all available current evidence on the effects of plain packaging in these three areas. It employed systematic review methodology and examined studies from 1980 to the present day. The review focused on primary research but did not put limits on study design. Some systematic reviews include only randomised controlled trials of interventions, but we were aware that this type of evidence cannot exist for plain packaging as plain packaging has not yet been implemented in any jurisdiction. The review therefore looked at all feasible study designs. We searched 21 electronic databases from the fields of health, public health, social science and social care. For the databases, a comprehensive search strategy was developed and tested. We also searched websites, Google Scholar and the tobacco industry's legacy library. We carried out citation chasing and contacted experts to find further studies. Studies were managed by EPPI-Reviewer 4.0, the EPPI-Centre's online review software.

A total of 4,518 citations were identified following initial searching, and after screening and quality appraisal 37 studies were included. Data were extracted from each of these to inform a narrative synthesis organised around five main headings: appeal of cigarettes, packs and brands; salience of health warnings; perceptions of harm; smoking-related attitudes and behaviour; and barriers and facilitators to the introduction of plain packaging.

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Ecuador Details  

India’s Anti-Tobacco Crusaders make Impact on Global Fight for Smoke-Free Lives  

-- India is currently the world's second largest consumer of tobacco

-- Smoking will soon account for 20 per cent of all male deaths and 5 per cent of all female deaths between the ages of 30 and 69 here

-- Over 6,00,000 Indian men aged between 25 and 69 years die of smoking-related illnesses each year

India's tobacco-related health problems were in focus at the recently concluded World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH)

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• How ACTA stinks of Big Tobacco  

Should an industry that causes five million deaths per year be given any say in drafting public policy?

From the outset, Big Tobacco has been one of the driving forces behind the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). To my astonishment, this crucial nugget of information has been generally overlooked in the debate on this controversial accord.

Shortly after he became chief executive of British American Tobacco (BAT) in 2004, Paul Adams attended a conference on counterfeiting hosted by the World Customs Organisation in Brussels. In his speech, Adams argued that counterfeiting affects cigarettes more than most other products. Counterfeiting "erodes brand values and product integrity," he said.

Adams then made a risible inference that BAT is an ethical company, whereas counterfeiters lack scruples. . . .

BAT is part of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which was intimately involved in the ACTA negotiation process. In 2008, the ICC's Jeffrey Hardy sent a memo to the EU, United States and other governments drafting the agreement. ACTA was necessary, he wrote, because "intellectual property theft is no less a crime than physical property theft." . . .

From his Paris office, Hardy has been striving to prevent the introduction of similar measures in Europe. He has, for example, urged John Dalli, the EU's health commissioner, not to propose plain packaging in a planned revision of the Union's tobacco legislation (Dalli has pledged to publish new anti-smoking recommendations by the end of this year).

So what's going on here? From the available evidence, it appears that Big Tobacco is undertaking a multi-pronged offensive to preserve its ill-gotten gains. One of the most harmful industries in human history is not only pretending to be concerned about public health; it is posing as a defender of intellectual property rules that are nominally designed to stimulate creativity and innovation. . . .

More than nine million people with HIV in Africa, Asia and Latin America lack access to the medicines they need. By 2030, eight million will die from tobacco use throughout the world, if present trends continue. Hollywood, Big Pharma and Big Tobacco have joined forces to sell ACTA. Why should anyone buy anything from that toxic alliance?

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• Delay in Law to Implement Pictorial Health Warnings: Attorney General’s Department to be blamed? 

The Minister of Health Maithripala Sirisena stated that the law to be implemented on ‘Pictorial Health Warnings’ had been already recommended and submitted to the Attorney General’s Department and action would be taken to implement them as soon as they are received from the AG’s office.

The Minister stated so during a discussion held recently between the Presidents of Cancer Care Association and Jeewaka Foundation when they submitted written requests to the Minister asking for speedy implementation of this law.

The Minister who completely agreed to implementation of this law said “we have already submitted our recommendations, the delay is with the Attorney General’s Department and requested to contact AG’s office and ask why the delay is. “

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