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viernes, 28 de junio de 2013

publimetro.cl - Chile - 27 de Junio de 2013

Lanzan Atlas Mundial del Tabaco que explica impacto que el cigarro tiene en salud

En el Centro de Extensión de la Universidad Católica de Chile, se efectuó el lanzamiento de la última versión en español del Atlas Mundial del Tabaco, el cual está destinado a poner de relevancia el impacto negativo de este vicio en todo el orbe a nivel económico, social y de salud pública.

Se trata de un trabajo realizado por la World Lung Fondation (Fundación Mundial del Pulmón) y la American Cancer Society (Sociedad Americana contra el Cáncer), que contiene información actualizada sobre el tabaco, su consumo y control, en un formato gráfico y de fácil comprensión.

Los datos contenidos en el Atlas se recopilan de múltiples y validadas fuentes, para asegurar que presenta una imagen global y precisa del problema del consumo de tabaco en el mundo.

Chile alcanza la tasa de prevalencia de tabaquismo más alta de América Latina. Las mujeres chilenas son las más fumadoras de la región. Alrededor del 40% de las niñas (entre 13 - 15 años) consumen cigarrillos, en comparación con el 28% de los varones de la misma edad. Alrededor de 14.000 muertes al año (hombres y mujeres) se relacionan con el consumo de tabaco en Chile.

El país tiene uno de los cigarrillos más económicos del mundo (clasificación 45 de los 170 países) en comparación con otras naciones de América Latina. En Chile, el presupuesto de lucha contra el tabaquismo es de aproximadamente un millón de dólares.

Durante el lanzamiento participarán el ministro de Salud subrogante, Jorge Díaz; Greg Bontrager, chief operating officer de la American Cancer Society; Peter Baldini, Chief Executive Officer, World Lung Foundation; Hana Ross, PhD, Atlas Author and Managing director, International Tobacco Control Research, American Cancer Society y el Secretario Ejecutivo del Foro Nacional del Cáncer, doctor Cristian Herrera.

Información publicada originalmente en: 

eluniversal.com - Ecuador - 28 de Junio de 2013

Ecuador listo para endurecer aún más normas antitabaco
Cuando están por cumplirse dos años de la aplicación en Ecuador de una restrictiva ley antitabaco, las autoridades estudian su reforma para sumar medidas como la prohibición de la venta de cigarrillos por unidades o de fumar en espacios al aire libre.

La Ley Orgánica para la Regulación y Control del Tabaco entró en vigor el 22 de julio de 2011 y los responsables de salud consideran muy satisfactorios sus resultados, lo que esperan que confirme un estudio que se realizará a fin de año sobre la reducción de la cantidad de fumadores, en especial los jóvenes.

Un año antes de aprobarse la ley, la prevalencia del consumo de tabaco se situaba en 22,7 por ciento, de acuerdo a cifras del Comité Interinstitucional de la Lucha Antitabaco (CILA), adscrito al Ministerio de Salud.

Una de las nuevas e impactantes advertencias gráficas en los paquetes de cigarrillos en Ecuador para disuadir de su consumo. Crédito: CILA

Según datos del Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo, en Ecuador, un país con 14,6 millones de habitantes, existen 521.220 fumadores, 91,5 por ciento de ellos varones. También indica que semanalmente se gastan más de 1,2 millones de dólares en tabaco y que cada fumador adquiere en promedio 17 cigarrillos.

Para Patricio Jácome, director del CILA, la ley constituyó un hito para la salud pública del país. “Nos permitió estar al día con el Convenio Marco (de la Organización Mundial de la Salud) para el Control del Tabaco”, que Ecuador ha ratificado, dijo.

Estudios internacionales colocan a Ecuador en el grupo de vanguardia de América Latina en cuanto a su control, junto con Argentina, Panamá y Uruguay. Brasil, Chile, México, Panamá, Perú, Uruguay y Venezuela también tienen una valoración positiva por sus esfuerzos en reducir el problema del tabaquismo.

En diálogo con IPS, Jácome confió en que medidas como el aumento de impuestos al producto, así como la prohibición de la publicidad y otras estrategias, reflejen una caída en el consumo cuando se complete el estudio.

Añadió que entre los mayores logros está la consecución de espacios 100 por ciento libres de humo. Actualmente, en el país no se puede fumar en ningún local cerrado, sea público o privado.

La ley prohíbe además la venta y expendio de productos de tabaco a menores de 18 años, así como su distribución en instalaciones como centros de cuidado infantil, instituciones educativas públicas y privadas en todos sus niveles, o establecimientos de salud públicos y privados.

Tampoco pueden distribuirse en farmacias, instituciones y escenarios destinados a la práctica del deporte y espectáculos deportivos, artísticos y culturales; instituciones y dependencias públicas, y espacios públicos y privados de recreación de niños, niñas y adolescentes.

Además, los productos del tabaco no pueden venderse o exhibirse en máquinas expendedoras automáticas, ni distribuirse gratuitamente con fines de promoción o emplearse incentivos que fomenten su compra.

El trabajo del Ministerio de Salud, a través del CILA, se centró estos dos años en la sensibilización, tanto de comercializadores como de consumidores. “No nos interesa sancionar ni cobrar multas, sino que se cumpla la ley, que tengamos esos espacios saludables, que la gente esté sana, que no fume”, aclaró Jácome.

Concluida esa fase de sensibilización, la siguiente etapa sí incluirá un control sancionatorio, con multas y otros castigos a quienes violen la norma.

Hugo Bermeo, dueño de una tienda de víveres en el norte de Quito, cree que la campaña ha tenido efectos positivos. En su local, ubicado en una zona de gran afluencia juvenil, “disminuyó el consumo, especialmente de jóvenes y sobre todo de mujeres”, explicó.

Para difundir la ley se visitaron bares, discotecas, tiendas y todo tipo de negocios, con el fin de educar a los encargados de estos lugares. Además, se capacitó a los comisarios de salud de todo el país y ellos replicaron la experiencia en las diferentes provincias.

De esa forma, se establecieron estrategias conjuntas con instituciones como el Ministerio del Interior y la policía para facilitar el control, además de elaborar normas municipales que reforzaron las restricciones de la ley.

“Muchos municipios la han ido acogiendo y han avanzado más allá de la ley, por ejemplo Cuenca, Pimampiro y Urcuquí (en la región andina del país) han trabajado y han querido ir más allá, incluso declarando a los estadios libres de tabaco”, destacó Jácome.

Y más allá quiere ir ahora el CILA.

El Comité solicitará a la unicameral Asamblea Nacional legislativa en un plazo breve una reforma legal para declarar también a los parques y estadios deportivos como espacios libres de humo. Esto no se dispuso en 2011 porque “la sociedad ecuatoriana no estaba preparada para ello”, explicó Jácome.

También se planteará la eliminación de la venta individual de cigarrillos y la prohibición de que se expenda tabaco en un perímetro de al menos 100 metros de distancia de cualquier institución educativa.

Pero el mayor alcance que espera tener la ley es que la sociedad se empodere y sean los ciudadanos quienes reclamen el derecho a espacios saludables. “Creemos que en 80 por ciento se está cumpliendo con los espacios libres de humo y ahora sí seremos sancionadores”, dijo el director del CILA.

En la práctica, el cumplimiento es evidente en el transporte, mercados, hoteles, centros comerciales y lugares de esparcimiento nocturno, aunque algunos locales mantienen sectores demarcados para fumadores, lo que la ley no contempla.

A partir de ahora, estas y otras violaciones se sancionarán con multas crecientes y se cerrarán los locales rebeldes o reincidentes frente a la ley.

Para disuadir a los fumadores, otra gran herramienta es la inclusión de etiquetas sanitarias en las cajetillas de cigarrillos con mensajes impactantes, como las fotografías de una persona a la que realizan una traqueotomía, pulmones desechos o dentaduras podridas por la nicotina.

En el mundo, Ecuador se ubica en octavo lugar entre 198 países por el buen manejo de sus advertencias sanitarias, tanto por el tamaño como por la forma, según un reporte de octubre de 2012. Los primeros siete, por ese orden, son Australia, Uruguay, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Canadá, Mauricio y México.

El Informe Internacional sobre Advertencias de Salud en los Empaques de Cigarrillos, editado por la Sociedad Canadiense del Cáncer, resaltó el trabajo de este país andino, cuyas advertencias, gráficas y escritas, ocupan 60 por ciento de las caras principales de los empaques y, la información sanitaria, 70 por ciento del lateral derecho.

El CILA está por lanzar una nueva campaña con seis nuevas advertencias gráficas y medidas de sensibilización para evitar el consumo del cigarrillo electrónico que, según los expertos, es tan nocivo como el de tabaco. También se planean especialmente programas de capacitación para los estudiantes.

Además, la ciudadanía es invitada a reclamar su derechos y a quejarse del incumplimiento de la ley, a través del correo electrónico denuncias.tabaco@msp.gob.ec o por teléfono.

Herald.ie - Irlanda - 25 de Junio de 2013

Plans for plain cigarette packages could be up in smoke already

IRELAND'S proposal for plain packaging on cigarettes has irked World Trade Organization members.

The proposal, backed by Health Minister James Reilly, was top of the agenda of the Technical Barriers to Trade Committee meeting.

The WTO has 159 member countries and all are entitled to raise issues at the TBT committee.

Malawi and the Dominican Republic raised the issue and were supported by Cuba, Guatemala, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Honduras. Australia, New Zealand and Norway supported Ireland's proposal.

A spokesman for the Minister for Health said: "Dr Reilly understood from the outset that this measure would be bitterly opposed by the tobacco industry. He's prepared for the long haul and is determined to get plain packaging implemented."

news10.net - EEUU - 27 de Junio de 2013

Company defends Camel cigarette ads running in magazines targeted at youths

The American Heart Association, American Lung Association and several other health groups are asking at least two state attorneys to investigate a new Camel cigarette ad campaign.

The group says the Camel Crush cigarette ads ran in 24 magazines that target young people and may violate the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. The landmark agreement, among other measures, prohibits cigarette makers from targeting kids.

Reynolds American Inc. spokesman Richard Smith said that the company, which owns the Camel brand, believes the ads are in full compliance with the settlement. Additionally, he said the company reviews the readership data and analyzes the editorial content of the publications it advertises in to ensure it is focused largely on adults; it only advertises in magazines whose adult readership is 85% or higher.

The ad, which the health groups say appeared in magazines such as Sports Illustrated and People, promotes the company's Camel Crush brand, which a capsule in the cigarette's filter to release menthol flavor.

It is not the first time the Winston-Salem, N.C. Company has faced criticism for its advertising.

Reynolds was widely criticized for years for using its Joe Camel cartoon character as a means to make smoking more attractive to kids. It has faced several lawsuits over a number of its ads.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. decided in 2007 to suspend its print ads for Camel cigarettes under intense criticism for its advertising. The company continued to advertise other Camel products such as its smokeless and dissolvable tobaccos.

The company said that it believes the marketing of tobacco products should not be targeted to minors and that the cigarettes are made for and marketed to adult tobacco consumers.

While print ads for tobacco are banned in a number of countries, they are legal in the United States. Tobacco advertising is already banned from the radio, television and billboards. Tobacco companies instead have relied on direct marketing and other methods to promote their products.

Menthol flavored cigarettes have also come in for scrutiny. Critics say they appeal to kids because the flavor masks the harsh taste of tobacco smoke. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is studying the effects of menthol flavoring in cigarettes on public health.

USA Today

eluniversal.com - México - 28 de Junio de 2013

Vive México una epidemia de tabaquismo advierten

Información publicada originalmente en: 

hindustantimes.com - Hoshiarpur - India - 27 de Junio de 2013

Health authorities gear up to make Hoshiarpur tobacco smoke-free

With Hoshiarpur figuring on the list of 11 districts declared smoke-free by the state government, district health authorities have readied themselves to crack the whip on violators. Civil surgeon Dr Surjit Singh said that a mechanism had been set up to implement the ban on smoking in public places.

The government has declared Muktsar, Sangrur, Kapurthala, SAS Nagar, Mansa, Amritsar, Rupnagar, Gurdaspur, Fatehgarh Sahib,and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar besides Hoshiarpur as tobacco smoke-free districts on the basis of compliance study reports by Chandigarh's Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER). 

"We have sensitised other government departments also to follow government guidelines to implement the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) and to keep the district tobacco smoke-free. We would hold regular review meetings to check the implementation of rules," said the civil surgeon.

"The owner/proprietor of a public place would have to notify and display the name of the person to whom a complaint regarding violation can be made. If he fails to act on the report of violation, he would be liable to pay fine equivalent to the number of individual offences," he informed, adding that violation of the Act was punishable with fine up to Rs. 200.

The civil surgeon admitted that in the past, ban orders were not implemented in good earnest, but promised that from now onwards, no leniency would be shown towards offenders. He said that over the last two years, the department had challaned 2,323 persons and collected a fine of Rs. 50,880.

Información publicada originalmente en

cinemablend.com - EEUU - 27 de Junio de 2013

FDA Says No to Four Proposed Tobacco Products, Approves Two

On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration took a look at several new products the tobacco industry was interested in pushing into the marketplace. The occasion marked the very first time the government organization got involved with the regulation of cigarettes and other products, following the landmark 2009 passing of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. 

Six products were looked at during the FDA’s first run at bat. In a press release Monday, the organization announced that of the six products, only two passed and will eventually hit shelves. The FDA reports those two products are both from the Lorillard Tobacco Company. Additionally, both products are cigarette products, Newport Non-Menthol Gold Box 100s and Newport Non-Menthol Gold Box. While different from the Newport cigarettes already on the market, the FDA found those two products to be equivalent to tobacco products currently available.. The other four products did not meet the FDA’s qualifications and did not pass. 

It may seem like a long time coming, but it actually wasn’t all that long ago when a tobacco company first came out to explain that smoking is hazardous to the individual’s health and that smoking may cause cancer. The Liggett Group was the first to officially admit what everyone already knew, and that obvious reveal didn’t happen until March of 1997. Settlements and a whole lot of legal mumbo jumbo followed immediately afterward, which is probably a pretty good indication of why it didn’t happen sooner. 

In the years since, PSAs have explained the dangers of using tobacco products in graphic and horrifying detail, but until recently, legislation had not caught up. With passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, however, all new tobacco products will now need to prove they are “no more harm to public health” than what’s already on the market, which will be a big challenge for those products that “raise different questions” about public health. In fact, it shouldn’t come as a shock that the two products that passed were the most like what smokers have been buying for years. 

Some people are for tobacco regulation by the government, while others may not be so keen. The director of the Center for Tobacco Products wrote a pretty slick blog post on Monday that helps to explain the FDA’s regulation of products. As the man notes, passing products through does not mean that the product is FDA-approved, or safe for a person’s health. 

“It is important to emphasize that an SE decision does not mean that the agency considers a product to be safe, nor is it FDA-approved. The SE decision only means that a new product does not raise different questions of public health as compared to the predicate product.”

Still, the FDA doesn’t seem to be trying to bully the tobacco industry. Exemptions to the new standards can be made when a tobacco company opts to simply change an additive or other minor alteration to products already on the market. If you are a smoker, your favorite products aren’t going anywhere. However, if you had plans to start your own tobacco company, now is probably not the best time to try to jump into the game, as Nick Naylor would tell you.

Información publicada originalmente en: 

Europeanvoice.com - Washington - 27 de junio de 2013

Americans Strongly Back FDA Authority over Tobacco, Want FDA to Regulate Cigars, E-Cigarettes, Reject Efforts in Congress to Exempt Cigars from Regulation


Washington, June 27, 2013 /PRNewswire-US Newswire/ -- Four years after passage of a landmark law giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to regulate tobacco products, American voters strongly support the law and want the FDA to extend its authority to all tobacco products, including cigars and electronic cigarettes, according to an online poll conducted by the Mellman Group for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. They strongly oppose efforts in Congress to prevent FDA from regulating cigars. 

Key findings of the poll include: 

By a 76 to 14 percent margin, voters back the 2009 law giving the FDA authority over tobacco products, which included restrictions on sales and marketing to children. 

By a twenty percentage point margin (54-34) voters think the FDA should extend its authority to regulate all tobacco products, including cigars, pipe tobacco, and electronic cigarettes. After being shown pictures of a number of tobacco products that are currently not subject to FDA regulation, support for regulation of all tobacco products increased to 61 percent, with just 31 percent opposed. 

Voters overwhelming oppose (66 percent to 23 percent) legislation before Congress that would prevent the FDA from regulating large premium cigars. 

The Mellman Group conducted the nationally representative online survey of 1,002 registered likely voters designed to simulate the likely November 2014 general electorate. Interviews were conducted June 14-18, 2013. 

The 2009 law directed the FDA to immediately regulate cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and roll-your-own tobacco. It authorized the FDA to extend its authority to all other tobacco products, including cigars and e-cigarettes. The FDA stated its intention to do so in December 2010, but has yet to act. In recent years, tobacco companies have introduced a variety of cheap flavored cigars and other novel tobacco products that remain unregulated and clearly appeal to children. 

In the meantime, some members of Congress have introduced legislation to exempt certain cigars from FDA regulation. Public health advocates have opposed the legislation, arguing that all tobacco products are harmful and should be subject to science-based regulation to protect public health. 

Health advocates have also expressed concerns that some smaller, cheaper, sweet-flavored cigars that appeal to kids could also escape regulation under the legislation, and that any cigar exemption would invite tobacco companies to modify their products to avoid regulation. Tobacco companies have engaged in such manipulation before, for example introducing candy and fruit-flavored cigars to evade a ban on similarly-flavored cigarettes and increasing the weight of cigars to evade higher taxes on smaller cigars. (According to one recent report, by Bloomberg News, one tobacco company increased the weight of its cigars by adding a clay material used in kitty litter. 

"These poll results show that voters understand all tobacco products, including cigars, are harmful and should be regulated by the FDA to protect our children and the nation's health," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "The public wants the scientists at the FDA – not Congress, and certainly not the tobacco companies – to determine how best to regulate tobacco products to reduce the death and disease they cause. It is critical that FDA act quickly to regulate all tobacco products and that Congress not diminish the agency's authority." 

The poll also found that voters strongly support specific provisions of the 2009 law, as well as potential actions the FDA might take to reduce tobacco use: 

86 percent support requiring tobacco companies to disclose the ingredients in tobacco products; 

72 percent support requiring manufacturers to reduce the amount of nicotine and other substances to make tobacco products less addictive; 

79 percent support preventing tobacco companies from making claims that some products are less harmful than others, unless the FDA determines those claims are true and will not cause more people to smoke; 

80 percent support requiring tobacco companies to take measures, when scientifically possible, to make tobacco products less harmful; 

81 percent support requiring tobacco companies to inform the FDA any time they make changes to cigarettes and other tobacco products, including increasing the amount of nicotine; 

69 percent support requiring large, graphic warning labels on cigarettes to better convey the health risks of smoking (the FDA is developing new such warnings after the courts blocked initial graphic warnings issued by the agency); 

77 percent support requiring the removal of additives or ingredients that make tobacco products more appealing to kids. 

Full results of the poll, including a summary from the pollster and an annotated questionnaire, can be found at http://tfk.org/press_office/2013/2013_06_survey. The margin of error for the full survey is +/- 3.1 percentage points at the 95% level of confidence. The margin of error is larger for subgroups. The poll was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Información publicada originalmente en: 
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-poll-americans-strongly-back-fda-authority-over-tobacco-want-fda-to-regulate-cigars-e-cigarettes-reject-efforts-in-congress-to-exempt-cigars-from-regulation-213330701.html

The answer is plain - Campaign for plain cigarette packaging | Cancer Re...

jueves, 27 de junio de 2013

eldiario.es

España - 27 de junio de 2013
El Gobierno, sobre el tabaco en Eurovegas: "La máxima prioridad es la creación de empleo"

La secretaria general de Sanidad y Consumo, Pilar Farjas, ante la posibilidad de que se permita fumar en Eurovegas, ha afirmado que la "prioridad" del Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad es "la salud de los españoles", sin embargo entiende que, de plantearse un cambio en la Ley, deberán analizarse todos los factores como la creación de empleo, que es la "máxima prioridad para el Gobierno de España". 

"Los Gobiernos tienen que equilibrar siempre las decisiones, el ministerio tiene un objetivo y una prioridad que es la salud de los españoles", ha afirmado en una entrevista en Los Desayunos de TVE (en el vídeo a partir de 1:25:00), donde posteriormente insistido en que "el Gobierno analizará todos los factores que incidan en una apuesta que pueda generar empleo".

(video) Los desayunos de TVE - Pilar Farjas, secretaria general de Sanidad y Consumo

"Por tanto si se plantea, cuando se plantee, el Gobierno analizará todos los factores que incidan en una apuesta que pueda generar por el empleo, mientras tanto todo son conjeturas", ha añadido, dejando la puerta abierta "a escuchar las propuestas bien fundamentadas que puedan llegar".

Este martes, la Cadena Ser informó de que el Gobierno estudia ceder competencias a Madrid para permitir fumar en los casinos de Sheldon Adelson.

No obstante, ha querido dejar claro en reiteradas ocasiones que "hoy lo cierto es que la Ley que prohíbe el consumo de tabaco en espacios públicos está en vigor" y Sanidad trabaja para que se "aplique y garantice la salud de los ciudadanos"; y, por lo tanto, este debate es inoportuno teniendo en cuenta que "Eurovegas no existe hoy, en este momento, en Eurovegas no se puede fumar".

Respecto a la posibilidad de que se pase la competencia de esta materia a las comunidades autónomas, entiende que en estos momentos no es una alternativa recogida en el actual marco legal. No obstante ha reiterado que, como cualquier debate, es interesante "conocer y escuchar" las propuestas.

"Las hipótesis de futuro hay que analizarlas con propuestas concretas, en momentos concretos y con la justificación concreta, y eso en el momento que se plantee encima de la mesa, sí se plantea, será analizado como se analizan todas las propuestas que llegan al Ministerio de Sanidad", ha admitido.


Información publicada originalmente en: 

peru21.pe

Perú 27 de Junio de 2013
Consumo de tabaco influye en la artritis

El tabaquismo tiene diversas consecuencias negativas para la salud. Resulta obvio mencionarlo a estas alturas, ¿verdad? Sin embargo,* 6 millones de personas mueren cada año por culpa de este hábito.* Cada día, además, se descubren nuevos efectos nocivos.

En tal sentido, José Aguilar, médico y miembro de la Sociedad Peruana de Reumatología, considera que el tabaquismo es uno de los factores más influyentes en el desarrollo de artritis reumatoide. Este terrible mal, que suele aparecer entre los 20 y 40 años de edad, provoca inflamación y dolor en las articulaciones.

Fumar no causa artritis, ojo, pero sí aumenta el riesgo de padecerla, sobre todo si la persona cuenta con antecedentes familiares vinculados a esta enfermedad. Sin duda, otra razón más para dejar el cigarrillo.


Información publicada originalmente en: 

mayoclinic.com

EEUU 27 de Junio de 2013
¿Qué es el humo de tercera mano, y por qué es un problema?

Humo de tercera mano se considera generalmente que es la nicotina residual y otros productos químicos que quedan en una variedad de superficies interiores por el humo del tabaco. Este residuo se cree que reaccionan con los contaminantes comunes en interiores para crear una mezcla tóxica. Esta mezcla tóxica de humo de tercera mano contiene sustancias que causan cáncer, lo que representa un peligro potencial para la salud de los no fumadores que están expuestos a ella, especialmente los niños.

Los estudios demuestran que el humo de tercera mano se aferra al cabello, la piel, la ropa, los muebles, cortinas, paredes, ropa de cama, alfombras, polvo, vehículos y otras superficies, incluso mucho después de fumar se ha detenido. Los bebés, niños y adultos que no fuman pueden estar en riesgo de problemas de salud relacionados con el tabaco cuando se inhalan, ingieren o toca productos que contengan humo de tercera mano. Humo de tercera mano es un concepto relativamente nuevo, y los investigadores todavía están estudiando sus posibles peligros.


Información publicada originalmente en:

ammonnews.net

Jordania 27 de Junio de 2003
Winners of anti-smoking media campaign honoured

Journalists and media outlets should enhance their role in spreading awareness of the dangers of smoking, HH Princess Dina Mired, director general of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF), said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a ceremony to honour winners of the foundation’s anti-smoking media campaign that was launched in April, Princess Dina praised the active participation of journalists in the competition.

“We are happy about the positive participation of journalists in our campaign against smoking,” she said at the award ceremony, where HRH Princess Ghida Talal, chairperson of the KHCF board of trustees, awarded certificates to the winners.

Firas Hawari, director of the cancer control office at the King Hussein Cancer Centre (KHCC), said the number of smokers in Jordan nearly tripled over the last five years.

“Smoking has become a dangerous addiction for many, who, therefore, need medical help,” he said at the event. The nine winners said they were playing their part in spreading public awareness on the dangers of smoking.

Batoul Arnaout, winner of the most tweets and re-tweets on the dangers of smoking, said she had worked to combat smoking due to the damage it inflicts on the human body.

“Everybody has the right to live a healthy life, and studies show an increasing number of deaths among smokers,” she told The Jordan Times at the ceremony.

Noting that many fellow tweeps have interacted with her on the social media website, Arnaout said she worked regularly to educate as many people as possible on the dangers of smoking.

“I started tweeting on a daily basis for this competition a month-and-a-half ago,” she noted.

Arnaout, who also enjoys writing for this cause, said she “will always fight to prevent children from suffering the effects of smoking”.

The winner of the best news story in a local newspaper, magazine or website, Manal Qablawi, took on a key angle.

“The main focus of my story was the indirect involvement of children in smoking,” the Al Rai journalist told The Jordan Times.

Parents, Qablawi believes, should be role models for their children by encouraging a smoking-free environment.

“When children help their parents in preparing argileh, when they bring their parents an ashtray or when they buy cigarettes for them, they see smoking as a normal part of their life,” she noted.

Other winners included Al Ghad journalist Muna Abu Soboh for best investigative report in a local newspaper, magazine or website; Jamil Samki of the Jordan Medical Pages Magazine for best feature story in a newspaper, magazine or website; and Aline Yousef from Roya TV for best televised report.

Nazih Qosous of Ad Dustour daily and Wafa Matalqah of the Jordan News Agency, Petra, and the Jo24 news website jointly won the award for best column.

Asmaa Raja of Al Balad Radio, winner of the best radio report against smoking, stressed the need to reinforce the Public Health Law that prohibits smoking on public transport, which is used by many Jordanians.

“Drivers do not abide by the law because they are not fined for smoking while driving,” she said.

“It is usually hard for passengers to ask the driver to stop smoking, especially when the latter sees traffic police officers smoking,” Raja added.

According to “The reality of tobacco control in Jordan” report, recently issued by the KHCC, Jordanians begin smoking at an average age of 11-12 years, although the law prohibits smoking for children under 18.

The report also shows that 61 per cent of Jordanian families include at least one smoker, 94 per cent of whom smoke in their houses.

Families’ average spending on tobacco and cigarettes reaches JD424 million annually, according to the report.

ua.korrespondent.net

Ucrania 25 de Junio de  2013 - 06 - 26
The FDA's Graphic Tobacco Warnings and the First Amendment


Rather than seek Supreme Court review of the D.C. Circuit's decision, the FDA opted to return to the drawing board and develop new graphic warnings. In the meantime, we are left with some important questions.

First, when do graphic warnings cross the line between trying to inform and trying to persuade? Does it depend on how “shocking” or how prominent they are? Two of the three D.C. Circuit judges thought that the images were designed to evoke an emotional response rather than to convey factual information. The dissenting judge cited the FDA's point that warnings more effectively communicate information when they elicit a strong emotional reaction. In addition, the images would provide information about risk when viewed in conjunction with their accompanying text. For example, the image of the man smoking through a tracheostomy accompanied the warning “Cigarettes are addictive” and would have illustrated the tenacity of nicotine addiction. In the dissenter's view, the images would have been acceptable without the cessation hotline number.

Second, must the warnings correct misleading impressions from the company's cigarette packaging or current advertisements, or may they also correct misimpressions from past promotional materials?

Third, if courts will not defer to the judgment of public health authorities about the need for disclosure mandates, what kind of empirical evidence must the FDA present in order to justify the use of graphic warnings?

Whatever the answers to these questions, companies today are better able to promote their products, and government is less able to promote health than was the case in the past. Ironically, early protection of commercial speech rested in large part on the need to serve consumers' welfare. In 1976, for example, the Supreme Court struck down a Virginia law that prevented pharmacists from advertising their prices for prescription drugs.5 The law especially hurt persons of limited means, who were not able to shop around and therefore might not be able to afford their medicines. Today, by contrast, courts are using the First Amendment to the detriment of consumers' welfare, by invalidating laws that would protect the public health.

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http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1304513?query=TOC&

fdlreporter.com

EEUU. 26 de Junio de 2013 
Fond du Lac, Ripon stores sell tobacco to minors

"willing to stay at 18, that would be wonderful.”

Avenel-Navara is hopeful a new tobacco ordinance would address some of the tobacco products companies try to market to kids, from flavored e-cigarettes to colorful tins of chewing tobacco and candy cigarettes.

“We want the ordinance to address all of these issues — from keeping little kids’ hands from these products,” she said. “Ultimately, we want them not to start smoking.”

Nobles County Administrator Tom Johnson said commissioners will not take up the tobacco ordinance at its next meeting, slated for Tuesday. Instead, because the ordinance would have the most impact on the city of Worthington, he wants to have discussions with city officials.

“Most of the burden falls there,”


news-medical.net

Minnesota - EEUU 26 de Junio de  2013
State tobacco tax increase comes Monday

Starting Monday, users of tobacco products will fork out more dough for their addiction.

That’s the day implementation of Minnesota’s newest tax — aimed at reducing cigarette smoking, counteracting tobacco marketing campaigns and improving the overall health of its citizens — begins. The tobacco tax increase passed by the legislature this spring boosts Minnesota’s tobacco tax from 28th to the sixth-highest in the nation, according to Paula Bloemendaal, tobacco control and policy coordinator for Southwest Health and Human Services.

At $2.83 per pack, Bloemendaal said the tax includes an already-implemented health impact fee of 75 cents. In addition, smokers will still need to pay Minnesota sales tax on their tobacco products — averaging about 35 cents per pack — as well as the federal tobacco tax of $1.01 per pack.


All of those taxes combined now account for approximately half the price of a pack of cigarettes. Starting Monday, the cheapest brands of cigarettes in the state will cost nearly $6.50 per pack, with most name brands in the $7 to $8 range.

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news-medical.net

EEUU 27 de Junio de 2013
UH receives NIDA grant to study transdiagnostic CBT to address tobacco cessation

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tobacco use continues to be the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. resulting in more than 440,000 premature deaths a year. An additional 25 million smokers will most likely die of a smoking related illness.

To address this problem and further research in the area, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded a $675,000 grant to Michael J. Zvolensky, the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Distinguished University Professor in the department of clinical psychology at the University of Houston (UH) and Peter J. Norton, associate professor of psychology at UH. Zvolensky and Norton will serve as co-principal investigators "Augmenting Smoking Cessation with Transdiagnostic Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) for Smokers with Anxiety," a study that will examine whether a "transdiagnostic" cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), a model that allows therapists to apply one set of principles across anxiety disorders, can improve smoking cessation for anxious smokers.

"Despite interventions like nicotine replacement therapy and national advertising campaigns on the consequences of smoking, people in the smoking cessation and addiction field noticed the rates of tobacco use had stabilized, but the rates of tobacco addiction weren't any different than they were 20 years ago. We had treated all the easy people. Those left were the complicated cases with something else going on," said Zvolensky.

"What we know from our research is that people who smoke often have anxiety and other mental disorders and vice versa. Existing treatment plans for smoking cessation have not addressed anxiety and stress disorders in any formal and meaningful way."

Norton notes one of the biggest problems in helping anxious people quit smoking is that many people smoke cigarettes to calm their anxiety or reduce stress. By combining an evidence-based anxiety disorder treatment and smoking cessation program, Norton and Zvolensky expect to be able to help people quit, and stay quit, by reducing their anxiety, one of the biggest barriers to quitting smoking.


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nytimes.com

EEUU.  26 de Junio de 2013
In First, F.D.A. Rejects Tobacco Products

The Food and Drug Administration announced on Tuesday that for the first time it had begun exercising its power to regulate cigarettes and other tobacco products, an authority it was given under a 2009 law supported by President Obama.

The Food and Drug Administration gained authority over cigarettes and related products through a 2009 law.

Agency officials said they had authorized the sale of two new products — both of them Newport cigarettes made by the Lorillard Tobacco Company — and rejected four others. The law forbade them to name the rejected products, they said.

Before the law, cigarettes were manufactured without any federal regulation. Instead, states decided where and how tobacco products would be sold, but had no authority over the ingredients they contained. Now, the F.D.A. is deciding which new products can be sold. In addition to cigarettes, the agency’s authority covers loose rolling tobacco, chewing tobacco and snuff.

The agency can reject cigarettes and other tobacco products that its scientists believe pose public health risks above and beyond comparable products already on the market, a sharp departure from past practice, when tobacco companies could change existing products and introduce new ones at will.

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edenprairie.patch.com

EEUU -  Junio 26 de 2013
Hennepin Technical College Goes Tobacco Free July 1

A new policy banning the use of tobacco on the Eden Prairie and Brooklyn Park campuses of Hennepin Technical College goes into effect July 1. 

This is the third post-secondary school to go tobacco free as a result of funding and technical assistance provided by Hennepin County through the Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP 2.0). 

Under the new policy, smoking, tobacco use and tobacco sales (including the use or sale of smokeless tobacco products and electronic cigarettes) will be prohibited on property the college owns, operates or leases. The policy applies to all students, faculty, staff, administrators, outside contractors and the general public. Tobacco use will be allowed inside enclosed private vehicles that are parked in the college’s parking lots.

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chinadaily.com

Shenzhen to get tough on tobacco sale to minors

Tobacco sales to minors may result in fines of more than 30,000 yuan ($4,858), as Shenzhen People's Congress, the city's top legislative body, sought public input for a draft amendment on anti-smoking at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress on Wednesday, New Express Daily reported. 

According to a survey, 61 percent of people support fines of more than 20,000 yuan ($3,238) for tobacco sales to minors, while Shenzhen People's Congress sought comment through questionnaires. 

The report recommended that "liability of the seller" needs to be modified, and fines for sellers of tobacco to minors should be at least 30,000 yuan ($4,858). 

In addition, the report recommends setting a three-year grace period on limiting smoking areas. 

The report recommends a standard enforcement body, and an institution that can assist the police in enforcing the law.

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bangkokpost.com

Bangkok - 27 de Junio de 2013
Officials defend new tobacco labels


The Public Health Ministry insists a ministerial requirement for tobacco firms to enlarge warning labels on cigarette packaging is lawful. The ministry followed proper procedures and regulations regarding...


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europeanvoice.com

27 de Junio de 2013 Europa
Split over tougher rules on tobacco

Member states and MEPs are on a collision course over proposed rules to strengthen tobacco controls in the European Union. On Friday (21 June), health ministers voted to slightly water down the European Commission's proposal on tobacco rules. But MEPs want tougher rules that go further than the Commission's proposal. 

Ministers removed from the Commission's proposal a ban on slim cigarettes. However, they said these cigarettes should be sold in normal-sized packets to reduce their appeal to young people.

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miércoles, 26 de junio de 2013

eluniversal.com. México, 26 de Junio de 2013
Piden subir edad legal para consumo de tabaco y alcohol

Especialistas abogan por que el gobierno eleve a 21 años la edad legal para el consumo de tabaco y alcohol

Ante el incremento en el uso de drogas por parte de jóvenes, las políticas gubernamentales deberían de considerar la posibilidad de aumentar la edad legal para el consumo de tabaco y alcohol en México de los 18 a los 21 años, consideraron especialistas. 

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rotativo.com. México, 26 de Junio de 2013
Aprueban reglamento contra exposición a humo de tabaco en Tonalá

El ayuntamiento de Tonalá aprobó la creación del Reglamento para la Protección contra la Exposición al Humo de Tabaco, que contempla sanciones económicas y administrativas contra quienes violen la nueva disposición.

El gobierno de Tonalá informó que el propósito es proteger la salud de la población tonalteca, en especial a los no fumadores.

Detalló que el nuevo reglamento contiene cinco capítulos, 31 artículos y cuatro artículos transitorios, en los que se prevén sanciones severas contra quienes no lo respeten, sean responsables o propietarios de establecimientos comerciales, así como clientes.

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savannahtribune.com. EEUU, 26 de Junio de 2013
Hit Tobacco Out Of The Park Night

The Coastal Health District and Savannah Sand Gnats are once again partnering for “Hit Tobacco Out of the Park Night” on Saturday, June 29. The day will begin with the Coastal Health District Healthy Heart Home Run 5K Trot at 8 a.m. 

To register, go to www.fleetfeetsavannah.com/home-run-5k. 

Packet pick-up will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, June 28, at Fleet Feet Sports located at 3405 Waters Avenue, and from 7 to 7:45 a.m. on Saturday, June 29, at Historic Grayson Stadium. 

Pre-race registration is $25. On-site registration the day of the race will take place from 7 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. and cost that day will be $30. Part of the proceeds will benefit the Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council. 

That evening from 5 to 7 p.m., representatives from the Coastal Health District will provide information about the Georgia Tobacco Quit Line and local smoking cessation classes; blood pressure screens and information about avoiding high blood pressure; demonstrations on different exercises you can do at home; and information on healthy eating.

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health-e. EEUU, 26 de Junio de 2013
Foetal exposure to tobacco smoke tied to hearing

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http://www.health-e.org.za/2013/06/26/foetal-exposure-to-tobacco-smoke-tied-to-hearing/
health-e. EEUU, 26 de Junio de 2013
Thirdhand tobacco smoke damages human cells

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stuff.co. Nueva Zelanda, 26 de Junio de 2013
Disquiet at tobacco money donation

KNZB received $145,000 from BAT last year, and $165,000 in 2011. The anti-litter group's next-biggest donor, supermarket conglomerate Foodstuffs, gave $70,000 over the same two-year period. Other sponsors include Resene, Fonterra and the Justice Ministry.

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dutchnews.nl. Alemania, 26 de Junio de 2013
'Tobacco spies' will enforce new law on smoking age

A team of 45 young 'tobacco spies' will be employed to check tobacconists and supermarkets are enforcing the new legal age limit on smoking, junior health minister Martin van Rijn told parliament in a briefing on Wednesday.

The government recently agreed to raise the age limit from 16 to 18 at the behest of the EU.

The youngsters, aged between 18 and 23, will visit tobacco outlets and if they are sold cigarettes or rolling tobacco will alert inspectors from the food safety body NVWA, Van Rijn said.


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thejakartapost.com Bangkok - Tailandia, 26 de Junio de 2013
Network launches road map for tobacco control

An anti-tobacco network launched a road map on Monday that they hope will accelerate Indonesia’s ratification of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) put forth a decade ago by the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Indonesia is one of the 10 countries which have not ratified the FCTC. Therefore, we think it is necessary to make a road map on controlling tobacco in Indonesia as a guide for the public and officials who want to participate in preventing the risks of cigarettes,” chairman of the Indonesia Tobacco Control Network (ITCN), Kartono Mohamad, said on Monday.

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businessweek.es Bangkok - Tailandia, 26 de Junio de 2013
Tobacco sellers to fight Thailand's tobacco rule


Tobacco giant Philip Morris and more than 1,400 Thai retailers will sue Thailand's health ministry over a rule that would nearly cover cigarette packets with smoking warnings, a tobacco trade representative said Wednesday.

The regulation scheduled to take effect Oct. 2 requires that 85 percent of space on the packets' front and back be dedicated

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fda.gov. EEUU, 26 de Junio de 2013
FDA announces first decisions on new tobacco products through the substantial equivalence pathway

For the first time since the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 gave the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco products, the agency has authorized the marketing of two new tobacco products and denied the marketing of four others through the substantial equivalence (SE) pathway.

Under the law, one way manufacturers can legally sell a new tobacco product is to establish that their product is substantially equivalent to a valid predicate product already on the market. The FDA works to ensure that any new tobacco product authorized through the substantial equivalence pathway will not present more harm to public health than the product with which it was compared.

“Today’s historic announcement marks an important step toward the FDA’s goal of reducing preventable disease and death caused by tobacco,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “The FDA has unprecedented responsibility to protect public health by not allowing new tobacco products under FDA’s authority to come to market without FDA review.”

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europapress.es Madrid - España, 25 de Junio de 2013
Victoria dice que el debate no es si el tabaco es bueno, sino dónde se puede fumar

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businessweek.com. Bangkok, 26 de Junio de 2013
Tobacco sellers to fight Thailand's tobacco rule


Tobacco giant Philip Morris and more than 1,400 Thai retailers will sue Thailand's health ministry over a rule that would nearly cover cigarette packets with smoking warnings, a tobacco trade representative said Wednesday.

The regulation scheduled to take effect Oct. 2 requires that 85 percent of space on the packets' front and back be dedicated to warning messages and images, some containing graphic pictures of lung cancer patients.

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