El País. Madrid España, 30 de noviembre de 2012

El Gobierno sube los impuestos sobre el tabaco a las marcas más baratas

La medida también afecta a los puros y a la picadura para liar

Encarecerá más de 18 céntimos algunas cajetillas

El Gobierno subirá con efecto desde el 1 de enero de 2013 la fiscalidad de las marcas de tabaco más baratas. El grupo parlamentario del PP en el Senado ha introducido una enmienda por la que se eleva el impuesto mínimo a aplicar a los cigarros, cigarritos y cigarrillos. El incremento impositivo es de 18 céntimos por cajetilla de 20 cigarrillos, pero puede provocar unas subidas de precios algo mayores.

La enmienda del PP añade una disposición final a la ley de medidas tributarias que acompaña a los Presupuestos Generales del Estado que modifica el artículo 60 de la ley de impuestos especiales. En el caso de los cigarrillos se mantiene la tributación de un tipo específico de 19,1 euros por cada 1.000 cigarrillos y un tipo proporcional del 53,1% del precio.

La novedad está en que a partir de ahora se establece un mínimo más alto. Con la ley en vigor, la aplicación del tipo proporcional y el específico no podía ser inferior al tipo único de 119,1 euros por cada 1.000 cigarrillos. Con la nueva enmienda, el impuesto no podrá ser inferior al tipo único de 123,97 euros por cada 1.000 cigarrillos, lo que afecta a las cajetillas de 20 cigarrillos que se vendan por debajo de 3,95 euros. Además, se incrementará hasta 132,97 euros por cada 1.000 cigarrillos el impuesto para aquellas cajetillas que se vendan a un precio de venta antes de impuestos inferior a 188,50 euros por cada 1.000 cigarrillos, esto es, a las marcas más baratas.

En el caso de los cigarros y cigarritos, el impuesto mínimo pasa de 32 euros por cada 1.000 unidades a 34 euros con carácter general y a 36,5 euros para las marcas más baratas.

Asimismo, en la picadura para liar, el impuesto mínimo pasa de 80 euros por kilogramos a 85 con carácter general y a 92 para las marcas más baratas.

Tomado de:

http://economia.elpais.com/economia/2012/11/30/actualidad/1354276307_197587.html

20 Minutos.es, Madrid España, 30 de noviembre de 2012

La OMS pide a todos los países que adopten el empaquetado genérico para el tabaco

• La OMS aplaude la decisión del Tribunal Superior de Australia de dar por bueno el empaquetado genérico de las cajetillas.
• El próximo mes Australia será el primer país en vender cajetillas genéricas.
• La OMS recuerda que el tabaco mata a casi 6 millones de personas cada año.

Si el tabaco pudre y mata, su consumo debe estar ya no solo advertido sino estigmatizado. Eso pensaron las autoridades australianas cuando impulsaron el empaquetado genérico para las cajetillas de cigarrillos. El Tribunal Superior de Australia acaba de dar luz verde a la medida y la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) aplaude la medida.
Es una forma de contrarrestar las tácticas de marketing de las tabaquerasTanto que la OMS ha hecho un llamamiento al resto de países para que se sumen a esta decisión "histórica". "Con la victoria de Australia, la salud pública entra en un nuevo mundo de la lucha contra el tabaco", afirma la directora general de la OMS, la doctora Margaret Chan, para quien la medida "es una forma muy eficaz para contrarrestar las tácticas implacables de la industria del marketing".

El próximo mes Australia será el primer país en vender cajetillas genéricas en gris y verde oliva, pese al intento de "hacer fracasar esta medida" por parte de la industria tabacalera. La unificación va en línea de la estrategia desarrollada en la Convención Marco de la OMS para el Control del Tabaco.

El Tribunal Superior de Australia ha dado por buena la medida de regular el empaquetado genérico de las cajetillas de tabaco, pese a la presión ejercida por las tabacaleras en contra de esta medida.
Para 2030 el tabaco podría matar a más de 8 millones de personas al añoSegún Chan, el caso australiano ha sido seguido de cerca porotros países que están considerando medidas de control similares para combatir el consumo de tabaco.

El consumo de tabaco es una de las amenazas para la salud pública más prevenibles. El tabaco eventualmente mata a la mitad de las personas que los utilizan, lo que significa la muerte de casi seis millones de personas cada año. 

"Si los gobiernos no toman medidas enérgicas para limitar la exposición al tabaco, para el año2030 podría matar a más de ocho millones de personas cada año", concluye la directora general de la OMS.

Panorama. Caracas Venezuela, 29 de noviembre de 2012

Empresas de tabaco en EE UU deberán admitir en público engaños sobre los peligros de fumar
jueves 29 de noviembre de 2012 07:14 PM
Agencias / Atlanta



Una juez federal de Estados Unidos ordenó a las empresas de tabaco admitir públicamente, a través de anuncios y advertencias en el paquete, que han engañado a los consumidores estadounidenses durante décadas sobre los peligros de fumar.

La juez federal Gladys Kessler emitió su fallo este martes en uno de los pasos legales más recientes que establece responsabilidad en la acusación del gobierno de mucho tiempo contra los fabricantes de cigarrillos, informó CNN.

“Asegurando que los consumidores saben que (las empresas de tabaco) han engañado al público en el pasado en el tema del fumador pasivo además de poner adelante el hecho de que existe un consenso científico en este tema”, dijo Kessler, “los acusados serán menos propensos a intentar discutir en el futuro que este consenso no existe”.

Otras demandas sobre las etiquetas de cigarrillos están pendientes en la corte federal, parte de un esfuerzo federal y estatal de dos décadas para forzar a las empresas de tabaco a limitar su publicidad, y resolver miles de millones de dólares en demandas estatales y privadas sobre los peligros en la salud por fumar.

La juez, hace seis años, concluyó que las empresas de tabaco eran culpables de crimen organizado, y ordenó que pusieran etiquetas de advertencia y otro lenguaje en su marketing.

La litigación había sido bloqueada durante años sobre el texto de estas etiquetas, pero Kessler dijo este martes que el lenguaje impulsado por el Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos era objetivo.

Se ordenó colocar “declaraciones correctivas” en cinco áreas diferentes, incluyendo: “Fumar es altamente adictivo. La nicotina es la droga adictiva en el tabaco” y “Cuando fumas, la nicotina en realidad cambia el cerebro; es por esto que dejarlo es tan difícil”.

Otro mensaje bajo mandato dice: “Una corte federal dictaminó que las empresas de tabaco acusadas deliberadamente engañaron al público estadounidense sobre el diseño de cigarrillos para mejorar la distribución de nicotina, y ordenó a esas empresas a hacer esta declaración. Aquí está la verdad: fumar mata, en promedio, a 1.2000 estadounidenses cada día”.

Otras áreas tratan sobre los peligros de ser fumador pasivo, y los falsos beneficios de los llamados cigarrillos “bajos en alquitrán” y “leves” comercializados por empresas que incluían a Philip Morris (un subsidiario de Altria Group, Inc.) y R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., y Lorillard Tobacco Co.

Un tribunal federal de apelaciones rechazó en agosto el mandato del gobierno hacia las empresas de tabaco para colocar separadamente imágenes gráficas en sus productos advirtiendo los peligros de fumar, con la mayoría diciendo que los requerimientos eran una violación a la libertad de expresión. Esas imágenes hubieran incluido un cadáver y pulmones infectados por el humo.

No fue claro si las empresas de tabaco apelarían a esta reciente derrota legal ante un tribunal de apelaciones estadounidense. No hubo reacción inmediata del Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos.

Tomado de:

http://www.panorama.com.ve/portal/app/vista/detalle_noticia.php?id=44615

ABC.es; Australia, primer país del mundo en impone las cajetillas de tabaco genéricas

Le invitamos a leer la noticia completa en la página del Diario ABC de Madrid, España a través del siguiente enlace:
http://www.abc.es/sociedad/20121130/abci-australia-cajetillas-tabaco-201211300921.html

Semana.com, Bogotá Colombia, 28 de noviembre de 2012

La justicia de EE.UU. obliga a tabacaleras a admitir que mintieron

MUNDOUn juzgado federal de EEUU determinó que las compañías deben emitir anuncios en los que admitan que mintieron sobre los efectos del cigarrillo.
Miércoles 28 Noviembre 2012

Un juzgado federal de EEUU determinó este miércoles que las compañías de tabaco deben emitir anuncios en los que admitan que mintieron sobre sus efectos y explicar en términos contundentes las consecuencias de los cigarillos para la salud.

La decisión de la juez Gladys Kessler forma parte del caso en que el Gobierno se enfrentó a las grandes tabacaleras, iniciado en septiembre de 1999. Las compañías implicadas son Philip Morris US, RJ Reynolds Tobacco y Lorillard Tobacco Company.
Kessler dictaminó en 2006 que las compañías violaban las leyes al engañar al público durante décadas sobre los peligros para la salud de fumar y les ordenó publicar mensajes correctores en varios temas: los riesgos para la salud por consumir tabaco, la adicción que genera y el hecho de que no hay ningún beneficio para la salud en fumar cigarrillos 'light'.

Las palabras exactas de estas declaraciones, sin embargo, estaban pendientes de un litigio interpuesto por las compañías de tabaco. Kessler dijo el martes que cada "mensaje correctivo" debía comenzar declarando que un juzgado federal determinó que las compañías de tabaco "engañaron de forma deliberada al público estadounidense sobre los efectos para la salud del tabaco y ordenó a estas compañías a realizar este comunicado. Ésta es la verdad".

Entre esas "verdades" se encuentran declaraciones como "más personas murieron cada año por fumar que por crímenes, sida, suicidio, drogas, accidentes de tráfico y alcohol combinado"; "las compañías de tabaco diseñaron los cigarros con suficiente nicotina como para crear y mantener adicción"; "cuando fumas, la nicotina cambia efectivamente el cerebro, por eso dejarlo es tan difícil".

AFP
Tomado de:
http://www.semana.com/mundo/justicia-eeuu-obliga-tabacaleras-admitir-mintieron/188890-3.aspx

RCN Radio: En 2013 enviarán nuevos mensajes en cajetillas de cigarrillo

Le invitamos a leer la nota completa en la página de RCN Radio a través del siguiente enlace:

http://www.rcnradio.com/noticias/en-2013-enviaran-nuevos-mensajes-en-cajetillas-de-cigarrillo-35130

Idea.es: Cajetillas de cigarrillos sin publicidad y todas del mismo color en Australia

Le invitamos a leer la nota completa en la página web de IDEAL.ES pulsando sobre el siguiente enlace:
http://www.ideal.es/agencias/20121130/mas-actualidad/sociedad/cajetillas-cigarrillos-publicidad-todas-mismo_201211300801.html

The Australian. Sydney Australia, 30 de noviembre de 2012

Anti-tobacco movement welcomes plain packs

From:AAP
November 30, 2012 2:56PM

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Anti-tobacco campaigners are welcoming the start of mandatory plain-packaging on tobacco products. Source:AAP


ANTI-TOBACCO campaigners are welcoming the beginning of mandatory plain-packaging on tobacco products from Saturday, but say there is still more that could be done.

Smokers were still lining up at checkouts at Woolworth's in Sydney's CBD on Friday, as Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek heralded the official end of what she called big tobacco's last advertising avenue in Australia - packaging.

She said the new olive-brown packaging on tobacco products, mandatory from Saturday, has already had some effect.

"I have had a few letters ... with smokers saying to me, 'Oh the cigarettes don't taste the same as they used to'," Ms Plibersek told reporters.

With tobacco companies reporting no changes to the pack's contents, she said it was proof the changes were having a "psychological effect".

"It's less attractive to smoke."

While the government wouldn't be sending, "storm troopers" around to police the changes on Saturday, big retailers like Woolworths and Coles - which sell 70 per cent of tobacco - reported being compliant, she said.


Meanwhile, a "majority" of small businesses were also ready for the changes.

"We have had some difficulties with companies like Philip Morris who have refused to take back non-compliant stock."

She said she had written to the company, calling on them to take back the products.

Protecting Children from Tobacco Coalition coordinator Stafford Sanders welcomed the changes, saying it should curb the number of young smokers, with the vast majority of people taking up the habit before they turn 18.

But while he said plain packaging was an "important part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce smoking uptake" there was still work to be done.

"We could reach virtually zero prevalence in 10 or 15 years if we were determined enough," he told AAP.

Among measures proposed was regulating the cigarette's contents by prohibiting tobacco flavourings and additives and reducing nicotine or introducing a "cutoff birth year", where retailers would not be permitted to sell tobacco to anyone born after that year.

"We are also concerned that the federal Coalition parties continue to accept tobacco company donations," Mr Sanders said.

"We have been urging those parties for a long time to end that relationship."

Ms Plibersek said the government was not thinking of regulating tobacco contents at the moment.

Professor Mike Morgan from the Melbourne Dentist School said the size of graphic photographs would also increase from Saturday, with the images set to take up 75 per cent of the packaging, rather than 30 per cent.

"We have a clear responsibility to inform the Australian community about the disastrous effects that smoking has on all aspects of health and this includes the role that tobacco has in causing oral cancers, throat cancers and gum diseases," he said in a statement.

Tomado de:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/anti-tobacco-movement-welcomes-plain-packs/story-fn3dxiwe-1226527467588

News Medical.com, Estados Unidos. 30 de noviembre de 2012

Smoking and tobacco-cessation campaign to be launched by Texas and Mexico institutions

Published on November 30, 2012 at 6:59 AM

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the National Institute of Cancerof the United Mexican States, and the Commission of National Institutes and High Specialty Hospitals joined forces today in Mexico City, signing an agreement to develop prevention and control programs to reduce tobacco use in the United States and Mexico, with a focus on Mexican and Mexican-American youth.

MD Anderson President Ronald A. DePinho, M.D., the Commission of National Institutes and High Specialty Hospitals Commissioner, Romeo Rodrίguez, M.D., Sc.D., and the National Institute of Cancer of the United Mexican States Director General, Alejandro Mohar, M.D., officially signed the agreement as a commitment from the institutions to create a comprehensive evidence-based smoking and tobacco-cessation campaign together targeting the Mexican population. Mexico’s Secretary of Health Salomón Chertorivski signed as a witness of honor at the ceremony.

DePinho says the collaboration is the first flagship project from the cancer preventionand control “platform” of MD Anderson’s Moon Shots Program focused on converting academic knowledge into effective anti-smoking strategies for the population in Mexico and across Texas. The unprecedented Moon Shots Program is an aggressive and milestone-driven effort initially targeting eight cancers with an end goal of dramatically accelerating the reduction of all cancer deaths. The platforms are supporting infrastructure, technologies or processes that will support all of the moon shots. Cancer control in the population is a major emphasis for the Moon Shots Program.

“This agreement will advance tobacco prevention and cessation efforts drawing on the experience and expertise of both partners, while providing new opportunities to develop more progressive programs, services, policies and initiatives for both countries,” DePinho said. “Although our initial approach is to start with Texas and Mexico, the overall goal is to develop a model that will scale for the United States and other Spanish-speaking countries around the world.”

The Mexico and Texas Tobacco Control Initiative’s intent is to contribute to legislative and policy initiatives and collaborate on clinical and community services and educational programs that can be implemented in neighborhoods, educational institutions, places of employment and public establishments.

Rising incidence of young smokers creates an adult problem


Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable cancer deaths, killing more than 1,200 Americans every day. According to the 2012 U.S. Surgeon General's report, 3.6 million American middle and high school students smoke cigarettes including one in four high school seniors. Every day, more than 3,800 young people start smoking and many will become lifelong customers, accounting for the 94 million current and former smokers in the United States alone.

The United States is not alone in this concerning epidemic. According to data published in the 2006 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Global Youth Tobacco Survey, 27% of youth – ages 13 to 15 – in Mexico City smoke. Of that same age group, 60% are exposed to second hand smoke in public places, and 46% are exposed to second hand smoke at home.



“Although we’ve developed several programs during the years to address smoking incidence, few projects are in place for tobacco control directed toward children. I believe this collaboration will help establish a stronger effort targeting youth, educating and protecting children, while ultimately lowering deaths due to smoking on both sides of the border,” Secretary Chertorivski said.

Combatting the tobacco industry’s marketing strategy with one of our own

Today, aggressive marketing campaigns from the tobacco industry are attracting a younger population of smokers and tobacco users. From enticing cigarette packs, fruit-flavored tobacco, electronic cigarettes and smartphone apps encouraging teens to smoke, the battle to prevent teen smoking and thus prevent health complications and diseases, including cancer, continues to be challenging.

“Comprehensive and culturally-tailored programs incorporating policy interventions, public education and tailored services are important factors in preventing smoking-related cancers,” said Ernest T. Hawk, M.D., M.P.H., division head and vice president of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences at MD Anderson.

Secretary Chertorivski said they will start with integrating established MD Anderson programs in Mexican communities and the educational system, such as ASPIRE (A Smoking Prevention Interactive Experience). The web-based smoking prevention and cessation program for children and teens launched a Spanish-based curriculum just last year.

“We must not only deliver services that help control cancer, but also inspire parents, educators, legislators and many others to help us stop this disease before it starts. Prevention and early detection of cancer are the future,” DePinho said.



Source: MD Anderson

Tomado de NEWS MEDICAL.COM en:

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20121130/Smoking-and-tobacco-cessation-campaign-to-be-launched-by-Texas-and-Mexico-institutions.aspx

Carta al editor: South Jersey Times, New Jersey Estados Unidos, 30 de noviembre de 2012

Letter: It's about time tobacco companies are ordered to tell the truthPublished: Friday, November 30, 2012, 3:21 AM Updated: Friday, November 30, 2012, 3:22 AM
 By South Jersey Times
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To the Editor:

This letter is in regard to the article which appeared on Page B-6 of Wednesday’s edition of the South Jersey Times, “Judge orders tobacco companies to say they lied.”

How wonderful it was to read this article about the U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ordering tobacco companies to publish corrective statements that they lied about the dangers of smoking and that they disclose smoking’s health effects, including the death on average of 1,200 people a day.

This, I feel, has been a long time coming, but am extremely happy that it’s finally made it!

I lost my beautiful mother to smoking at her young age of 55 years old and I saw how she suffered so much by this addiction. It was painful to me to watch as she would go into coughing spells so bad and couldn’t hardly catch her breath after the spells. I know she hurt other parts of her body by these, also.

She tried so hard to quit, and even with the help of doctors, nothing worked. She was in pain for many years. She never complained about any of this, but we all knew how it was. The hardest part of her so-called life of smoking was to have to visit her in the hospital and see her attached to all those breathing machines until her heart finally gave up. I don’t think I’ve ever shed that many tears in my entire life by standing there watching all of this. It was a real nightmare! No one should have had to suffer the way she suffered.

Of course, the manufacturers of all this mess weren’t going to say a thing about the sneaky doings that were being done to keep people addicted to smoking. Why should they as they were fattening their pockets by all of this? I really thought every human being had a conscience, but I was wrong. All these people of this lying, deceiving, scheme should be personally punished.

Gee, who knows, these companies could have even had their own “Think Tank” and greased people’s hands who could think of the better way of selling more of their products and faster. This is a reminder of those hidden, unspoken laboratories that do the unthinkable things to both animals and human beings in the name of science. These inhumane experiments have been going on for far longer than one can imagine and I don’t think they’ll ever be shut down.

It just sickens me right to my very core of my being. If those scientists are so into their works, why don’t they jump up on one of those cold slabs and donate their healthy bodies all in the name of science? Money, money, money has always, and I’m very sorry and sad to say, that this has been the name of the game. I’ve heard that money is the root of all evil. I guess this is the proof in the pudding, one might say.

I would like to personally say “thank you” to Judge Gladys Kessler for standing her ground and insisting the right thing be done about all of this deceit. I think she’s a woman of much honor and bravery. We should have more people out there like her. (God bless you, Judge Gladys Kessler.) If this action would have taken place a long time ago, maybe my mother would still be here instead of in her grave.

Oh, one more thing. Isn’t fraud punishable by prison terms?


HELENA
MALASCALZA
Carneys Point

Contact the South Jersey Times at 856-935-1500 or at tsnews@southjerseymedia.com
Tomado de:
http://www.nj.com/south-jersey-voices/index.ssf/2012/11/letter_its_about_time_tobacco.html

Consumer Affairs Estados Unidos. 30. de noviembre de 2012

Tobacco companies must put more graphic warnings on cigarette packs

It's been a six-year battle, but consumers could finally be seeing graphic warnings on cig boxes11/30/2012 | ConsumerAffairs


By Daryl Nelson

ConsumerAffairs' culture and lifestyle reporter, Daryl Nelson has written for Readers Digest, Townsquare Media, AllHipHop.com and a number of other online and print publications. Read Full Bio→


I remember the first few times I bummed around Europe as a wannabe bohemian type in my twenties, and noticed how different things were from the United States.

From the food to the people, from public transportation to the type of night life--places like Germany, England and Holland for example, are always nice places to visit when you want to get an entirely different scene.

Probably one of the first differences I noticed during those trips was how looser the social scene seemed to be. People drank and smoked freely with little judgment or dirty looks, and both the health enthusiast and the tobacco enthusiast seemed to coexist quite harmoniously.

But although there seemed to be less judgment towards smokers in Europe, I also noticed how different some of the cigarette packaging was.

The cartons showed photos of what a lung looks like after years of smoking, or had the words “Smoking Kills” in big bold black letters across the box. It really caught my attention.
Smoking kills

Well, U.S. consumers will now be seeing similar warnings on cigarette cartons, as a judge just ruled that tobacco companies have to come clean about how harmful cigarettes truly are.

This concludes a six-year battle between U.S. courts and cigarette makers after a judge ordered companies to put graphic warnings on cigarette boxes that covered at least 50 percent of the carton, just like cigarettes sold in Europe.

Judge Gladys Kessler, who presided over this case since 2006, said tobacco companies have done an extremely poor job of reminding people what the effects of smoking really are, while also doing a wonderful job of marketing cigarettes like they're not highly addictive.
Admit their lies

The ruling also says that companies must let the public know that deceptive advertising was used to lure them in, so consumers should soon see new ads from cigarette makers that suggest they've been dishonest.

But aside from the new ads that people will possibly see, having cigarette boxes pop up with graphic labels will definitely be a big visual change for consumers. Also, the new packaging could have an even bigger impact on future smokers, as younger generations will only know of cigarette cartons that contain such warnings.

Unless tobacco companies appeal the judge’s decision, cigarette cartons will show warnings like, “Smoking kills on average 1,200 Americans everyday,” “Nicotine is the addictive drug in tobacco,” “When you smoke, the nicotine actually changes the brain, that’s why quitting is so hard” and “Cigarette companies intentionally designed cigarettes with enough nicotine to create and sustain addiction.”

The warnings would be a much more specific statement than the warnings that are currently placed at the bottom of cartons.

In a previous appeal, tobacco companies said that such warnings violated their free speech.

But whatever the main reason was for cigarette companies putting up such a fight in court, Kessler said these warnings have to be put on boxes because they're factual, and for that reason alone consumers should be constantly reminded.

“By ensuring that consumers know that [cigarette makers] have misled the public in the past on the issue of secondhand smoke in addition to putting forth the fact that a scientific consensus on this subject exists, defendants will be less likely to attempt to argue in the future that such a consensus does not exist,” Kessler said.

Will it work?

But will these kinds of warnings really encourage people to stop smoking or not start smoking at all, or will the warnings have the same impact as the surgeon general warnings, which seems to be none?

In a recent study conducted by the University of South Carolina, researchers found that warnings placed on cigarette cartons can have a significant impact on consumers, namely graphic images that show what smoking cigarettes over long periods can actually do.

James Thrasher, professor at the university and lead author of the study, said photos register much better with consumers, compared to warnings that are just in writing.

“We found the more graphic the image, the more credible, relevant and effective smokers saw the warning,” he said. “Our study suggests that more graphic warnings would have a bigger impact on smoking than text warnings.”

“Smoking is highly concentrated among people with low levels of education and low income, and those groups are the ones that have the weakest response to text warnings," added Thrasher. "With pictures, you can increase their understanding of the risks of smoking in a way you can’t with text."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 45.3 million people are cigarette smokers in the United States, which equates to 19.3 percent of all adults. In addition, 21.5 percent of those smokers are men and 17.3 percent are women.

Cigarettes are also the No. 1 cause of preventable deaths, says the CDC.

Tomado de:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2012/11/tobacco-companies-must-put-more-graphic-warnings-on-cigarette-packs.html
Email Daryl Nelson Phone: 800-351-3140
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IOL News Estados Unidos. 29 de Noviembre de 2012

Tobacco firms ordered to admit lies
November 29 2012 at 11:50am
By David Ingram



Washington - Major tobacco companies that spent decades denying they lied to the US public about the dangers of cigarettes must spend their own money on a public advertising campaign saying they did lie, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.

The ruling sets out what might be the harshest sanction to come out of a historic case that the Justice Department brought in 1999 accusing the tobacco companies of racketeering.

US District Judge Gladys Kessler wrote that the new advertising campaign would be an appropriate counterweight to the companies' “past deception” dating to at least 1964.

The advertisements are to be published in various media for as long as two years.

Details of the campaign - like how much it will cost and which media will be involved - are still to be determined and could lead to another prolonged fight.

Kessler's ruling on Tuesday, which the companies could try to appeal, aims to finalise the wording of five different statements the companies will be required to use.

One of them begins: “A federal court has ruled that the defendant tobacco companies deliberately deceived the American public by falsely selling and advertising low tar and light cigarettes as less harmful than regular cigarettes.”

Another statement includes the wording: “Smoking kills, on average, 1 200 Americans. Every day.”

The wording was applauded by health advocates who have waited years for tangible results from the case.

“Requiring the tobacco companies to finally tell the truth is a small price to pay for the devastating consequences of their wrongdoing,” said Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, an anti-tobacco group in Washington.

“These statements do exactly what they should do. They're clear, to the point, easy to understand, no legalese, no scientific jargon, just the facts,” said Ellen Vargyas, general counsel for the American Legacy Foundation, which is known for its “Truth” advertising campaign that began in 2000 and was credited with curbing smoking by the young.

The largest cigarette companies in the United States spent $8.05 billion in 2010 to advertise and promote their products, down from $12.5 billion in 2006, according to a report issued in September by the Federal Trade Commission.

The major tobacco companies, which fought having to use words like “deceived” in the statements, citing concern for their rights of free speech, had a muted response.

“We are reviewing the judge's ruling and considering next steps,” said Bryan Hatchell, a spokesman for Reynolds American Inc.

Philip Morris USA, a unit of Altria Group Inc, is studying the decision, a spokesman said.

A spokesman for a third major defendant, Lorillard Inc, had no immediate comment.

The Justice Department, which urged the strong language, was pleased with the ruling, a spokesman said.

Kessler's ruling considered whether the advertising campaign - known as “corrective statements” - would violate the companies' rights, given that the companies never agreed with her 2006 decision that they violated racketeering law.

But she concluded the statements were allowed because the final wording is “purely factual” and not controversial.

She likened the advertising campaign to other statements that US officials have forced wayward companies to make.

The Federal Trade Commission, she wrote, once ordered a seller of supposed “cancer remedies” to send a letter on its own letterhead to customers telling them the commission had found its advertising to be deceptive.

“The government regularly requires wrongdoers to make similar disclosures in a number of different contexts,” Kessler wrote.

Early in the long-running case, the Justice Department hoped to extract $280 billion from the companies to pay for a smoking cessation program and other remedies.

It later dropped the demand to $14 billion, and then Kessler ruled she could not force them to pay for such a program at all.

When Kessler first ordered the advertising campaign in 2006 - setting off six years of debate on the wording - the statements were to run on major television networks, on cigarette packaging, as full-page newspaper ads and on corporate websites.

The idea was to “structure a remedy which uses the same vehicles which defendants have themselves historically used to promulgate false smoking and health messages,” she wrote then.

But in the years since, “the types of media in which defendants convey commercial messages of this nature have changed dramatically,” Kessler wrote on Tuesday.

Perhaps, she added, the ads should also be in the online versions of newspapers.

Analysts who follow tobacco companies declined to comment on Tuesday's ruling, saying it would be hard to estimate the impact of the court-ordered advertising campaign until all of the details are known.

Vargyas, of American Legacy, is expecting a drawn-out fight.

“The tobacco companies will appeal absolutely everything,” she said.

The case is USA v Philip Morris USA, et al, US District Court for the District of Columbia, No 99-cv-02496.

Separately, tobacco companies are battling in court with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over the warning labels on tobacco products. The FDA has proposed new graphic warning labels - one of which includes a photo of a man with a hole in his throat - that companies consider a free speech violation. - Reuters

Tomado de:

http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/tobacco-firms-ordered-to-admit-lies-1.1432888#.ULjBW6woN8E

The Telegraph. Sydney Australia, 30 de Noviembre de 2012

Australia's new plain packaging 'makes cigarettes taste worse'

Australia's new plain packaging for cigarettes – which becomes mandatory from Saturday - have been branded "disgusting" by smokers who say they make the cigarettes taste worse.
By Jonathan Pearlman, Sydney

6:43AM GMT 30 Nov 2012



The new packets, which are blank aside from gruesome health warnings, have been filling shelves for the past two months as part of the toughest anti-tobacco measures in the world.


Despite legal battles and claims of "dirty tricks" by tobacco companies, all cigarettes in Australia must now be sold in drab olive packets featuring macabre images of sick babies, dying cancer sufferers and diseased feet, eyeballs and lungs. Smokers' advice groups have reported being inundated with calls from angry smokers who say their cigarettes now taste "pathetic" and "sickening".


Joe Xia, who owns a busy convenience store just outside Sydney's Chinatown, said the packets are "disgusting" and have been annoying customers who dislike the new warnings.


"People still smoke – now they also complain," he told the Daily Telegraph.


"Nothing will stop them from smoking. But it is hard at night-time. People come from the pub and they see these packets and they get irritated."


The claims that the taste of cigarettes has worsened prompted tobacco firms to deny the product has changed.

A spokesman for Imperial Tobacco Australia, said people who smoked its cigarettes "can be assured that our high quality products will remain the same".

"Packaging has never been identified as the reason people choose or continue to smoke," she said.

The measures, if successful, are tipped to trigger an "olive revolution", with similar laws being considered in Britain, Canada, New Zealand, China, France, India, South Africa, Norway and Uruguay.

But tobacco firms have fought hard to try to combat the changes, including pursuing various legal actions and declaring the new measures will increase the black market.

The Gillard Government has staved off a High Court challenge and accused the firms of using various tricks to try to flout the laws.

The health minister, Tanya Plibersek, said two manufacturers had tried to make the cigarettes appear more "sophisticated" by stamping the paper with watermarks featuring travel destination codes such as AUS, LDN and NYC. The firms have reportedly agreed to remove the watermarking.

Health experts believe the changes will help to save lives and reduce smoking rates. Studies have shown people, particularly youths, are less likely to take up smoking when the packets are not shiny or colourful.

Professor Simon Chapman, from the University of Sydney, said the packets were designed to prevent smoking among future generations who will never have seen "lovely packaging". He has called for further measures, including requiring smokers to be issued with licences which would cost an annual fee and restrict people to 50 cigarettes every two weeks.

But the new packets have confused shopkeepers who can barely find the small writing on the packets to distinguish between different brands.

Othman Moussa, who has run a tobacconist in Sydney's Darling Harbour for 24 years, said he knows the layout of his cigarettes shelf and can still find specific packets. But he says if he takes on new staff "it will be a real mess".

"The main problem for me now is that it is very hard to sort out the deliveries," he told the Daily Telegraph. "It takes three or four hours to read each brand and separate them – it used to take ten minutes."

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Police uncover Australia's biggest credit card fraud 29 Nov 2012


Clarke's Ashes challenge to Cook 28 Nov 2012


'Britain to Australia in four hours' with new engine 28 Nov 2012


Australia declares convicted murderer innocent after 80 years 28 Nov 2012

Tomado de:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/9713249/Australias-new-plain-packaging-makes-cigarettes-taste-worse.html

Mail On Line UK desde Australia, 30 de noviembre de 2012

Gruesome images of mouth tumours and gangrene: How every cigarette packet on sale in Australia will look from tomorrow
Law bans the use of logos, brand imagery, colours and promotional text
All tobacco packaging will be brown with the brand name barely visibleGraphic health warning will cover at least 85% of all tobacco packaging

By SUZANNAH HILLSPUBLISHED: 10:21 GMT, 30 November 2012 | UPDATED: 12:32 GMT, 30 November 2012
Australia will tomorrow become the first country in the world to strip all tobacco products of branding - leaving just standardised packs covered with graphic health warnings.

The new law bans the use of logos, brand imagery, symbols, other images, colours and promotional text. 

Cigarette packs and other tobacco products will now all be the same dark brown colour with the brand written in small simple text under a health warning covering at least 85 per cent of the packaging.




Graphic: Examples of the new packaging now mandatory for all cigarettes sold in Australia

Images of example cigarette packaging were today launched ahead of the law coming in tomorrow.


They show sufferers of tongue cancer, peripheral vascular disease and lung cancer.


It is the latest drastic measure to try and get smokers to give up in Australia which already has one of the world's lowest smoking rates.


More...
Smoking harms your brain as well as your body: It leads to sharp decline in mental ability, warns study
Supermarkets agree to end discount 'cons' that tempt shoppers with bogus claims of savings
Cold call complaints rocket in the past year as people object to abandoned marketing calls


The government hopes to deter young people from starting smoking with the new packaging after research found that if people have not started smoking by age 26, there is a 99 percent chance they will never take it up.
Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said: 'Even from a very early age, you can see that kids understand the message that the tobacco company is trying to sell through their branding.'

Australia has banned TV advertising, sports sponsorship and demands sellers hide cigarettes from view.




Showing the risks: The new health warnings take up 85 per cent of a cigarette packet





Cigarette products can no longer show any type of company branding - including logos, symbols, images and colours

But some experts claim that companies can still advertise their products to a younger audience through online marketing.


Becky Freeman, a public health researcher at Sydney University, said: 'If you are a tobacco marketer and you've only got this small window left to promote your products, online is the compelling place for you to be in.


Ms Freeman noted an increase in 'average Joe' reviews of brands on social media sites such as Youtube, Twitter and Facebook.


She added: 'We have to ask, is that just a private citizen who really loves Marlboro cigarettes and they've gone to the trouble of making a video, or is there a marketing company involved?'


The industry lobbied hard against the laws with tobacco firms claiming they would boost black market trade, leading to cheaper, more accessible cigarettes.


Spokesman for British American Tobacco Australia, Scott McIntyre, said: 'There will be serious unintended consequences from the legislation. Counterfeiters from China and Indonesia will bring lots more of these products down to sell on the streets of Australia.'

Dr Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: 'It’s important to remember the scale of harm caused by tobacco. It’s the single biggest preventable cause of death from cancer - causing more than a quarter of all cancer deaths and killing around six and a half million people in the UK over the last 50 years from cancer and other tobacco related diseases.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2240872/Gruesome-images-mouth-tumours-gangrene-How-cigarette-packet-sale-Australia-look-tomorrow.html#ixzz2DiSxjkbD
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Tomado de:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2240872/Gruesome-images-mouth-tumours-gangrene-How-cigarette-packet-sale-Australia-look-tomorrow.html

El Tiempo, 27 de noviembre de 2012

Cajetillas estrenarán duras imágenes sobre daños del cigarrillo

Por: REDACCIÓN ELTIEMPO.COM | 5:18 p.m. | 26 de Noviembre del 2012

Las nuevas advertencias sanitarias deberán estar en todas las cajas desde el 21 de julio del 2013.

El Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social dio a conocer las seis nuevas advertencias sanitarias o pictogramas, sobre los daños que causa el cigarrillo, que deberán contener todas las cajetillas que se vendan y distribuyan en el país, a partir del 21 de julio del 2013.

La decisión se tomó con base en la resolución 3961 del 21 de octubre del 2009, expedida por el Ministerio para dar cumplimiento a lo estipulado en las leyes 1109 del 27 de diciembre del 2006 (mediante la cual Colombia adhirió al Convenio Marco para el Control del Tabaco de la Organización Mundial de la Salud), y la 1335 del 17 de septiembre este año (conocida como la Ley Antitabaco).

De acuerdo con las recomendaciones de la Organización Mundial de la Salud, estos pictogramas deben ser cambiados al menos una vez al año, para que las personas no se acostumbren a las imágenes y no se reduzca la efectividad de los anuncios, es decir, reducir el consumo de tabaco.

Los nuevos pictogramas hacen crudas alusiones a tumores de seno y riñón, problemas vasculares, daños en los huesos, disminución en la calidad del semen y abortos.

Según Fernando Ramírez, subdirector de Enfermedades no Transmisibles del Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social, "estas imágenes las seleccionamos por medio de grupos focales con hombres y mujeres fumadores y no fumadores, quienes escogen las que les producen mayor impacto y recordación. La idea es desincentivar el consumo de cigarrillo".

El funcionario recordó también que es obligación de las tabacaleras contarle a las personas los riesgos a los que se exponen cuando consumen sus productos.

El Ministerio viene elaborando algunos estudios acerca del impacto que generan estas fuertes imágenes en la población. "Un gran porcentaje de personas nos han dicho que gracias a los pictogramas se han enterado de los riesgos y las consecuencias que tiene para la salud consumir tabaco", puntualizó Ramírez.

REDACCIÓN SALUD
En Twitter: @SaludET

Tomado de;

http://www.eltiempo.com/vida-de-hoy/salud/imagenes-en-cajetillas-de-cigarrillo_12401882-4

Tropicana Estéreo. Bogotá Colombia, 27 de noviembre de 2012

Las fuertes imágenes que acompañaran las cajetillas de cigarrillos en el 2013

| 27 de Noviembre de 2012

Con crudas imágenes que impactan a la comunidad por los efectos adversos como cáncer o malformaciones físicas que implica fumar, el Ministerio de Salud  aprobó los nuevos pictogramas o imágenes que aparecen en al cajetillas de cigarrillos, para desincentivar el consumo de tabaco en el país.
Algunos ciudadanos que vieron los nuevos pictogramas aseguran que de sólo verlas se les quita las ganas de fumar, que son muy realistas a las“secuelas del cigarrillo”, pero otros aseguran que para dejar el cigarrillo se necesita más que una imagen.

Las imágenes que empezarán a circular a partir de enero del otro año irán acompañadas con leyendas como “fumar disminuye la calidad del semen”, “fumar causa cáncer de riñón”, “fumar causa aborto” o “fumar causa cáncer de seno”.

La campaña que para muchos es efectiva, para otros sólo aumenta el morbo, pues “pese a ver la consecuencias en imágenes, sólo saben de la gravedad cuando les pasa a ellos mismos”.
 

PARA VER TODAS LAS IMAGENES CLIC AQUÍ

Caracol Radio: Las crudas imágenes que acompañarán las cajetillas de cigarrillos en 2013

Cajetillas de cigarrillos llevarán estas fuertes imágenes para instar a dejar de hacerlo

Vea las nuevas advertencias sanitaria para Colombia en el siguiente enlace con la página de La FM de RCN Radio:

http://www.lafm.com.co/imagenes/instituto-nacional-de-cancerol/27-11-12/cajetillas-

La Fm Colombia. Bogotá, 27 de noviembre de 2012

Gobierno agregará fuertes imágenes a las cajetillas de cigarrillos

Read more: http://www.lafm.com.co/node/126322#ixzz2DXfYpwHY

Se trata de seis pictogramas con imágenes y textos muy fuertes para desincentivar tal práctica.

A través de seis fuertes imágenes que empezarán a salir en las cajetillas de los cigarrillos, el Instituto Nacional de Cancerología intenta desincentivar dicha práctica.

Las imágenes que irán en las cajetillas llevan los mensajes Fumar daña los huesos, Fumar causa aborto, Fumar causa cáncer de mama, Fumar causa cáncer de riñón, Fumar disminuye la calidad del semen y Fumar causa problemas vasculares.

Previamente, otras imágenes también indicaban que Fumar causa aborto, Fumar causa infarto cerebral, Tus futuros pulmones (acompañado por una pipeta de oxígeno), Fumar causa impotencia sexual, Fumar causa problemas oculares y Tú escoges el aire que respira (acompañado por la imagen de una niña con asistencia respiratoria).

Se espera que las cajetillas tengan estas imágenes desde 2013.

Read more: http://www.lafm.com.co/node/126322#ixzz2DXfcpmOc

Kien y Ke, 27 de noviembre de 2012

“FUMAR CAUSA CÁNCER DE SENO”

Publicado 10:41 am, noviembre 27, 2012

El Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social dio a conocer las imágenes que aparecerán en las cajetillas de cigarrillos durante el 2013. A través de fotografías impactantes, donde se evidencian enfermedades como el cáncer de seno y riñón, problemas cardiovasculares y daños en los huesos, se pretende disminuir el consumo de tabaco en el país. También habrá pictogramas relacionados con el daño en los huesos, la calidad del semen y el aborto.

Tomado de:

http://www.kienyke.com/confidencias/fumar-causa-cancer-de-seno/

Mercadodedinero.com.co, Bogotá Colombia, 27 de noviembre de 2012

Fumadores lo pensarán dos veces antes de consumir cigarrillos

Martes, 27 de Noviembre de 2012 15:03 Miguel Fernando Contreras

El Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social hizo públicas las imágenes de las campañas contra el tabaquismo que por ley deberán tener las cajetillas de cigarrillo en cumplimiento de la Resolución  3961 de 2009 que establece los requisitos de empaquetado y etiquetado del tabaco y sus derivados.

Los pictogramas de las advertencias sanitarias 2013-2014 se desarrollaron cumpliendo con los estándares de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS), de acuerdo al Convenio Marco para el Control del Tabaco (Cmct), el cual establece que todas las personas deben estar informadas de las consecuencias sanitarias, la naturaleza adictiva y la amenaza mortal del consumo de tabaco y de la exposición al humo de éste, obligando a contemplar en el nivel gubernamental apropiado, medidas legislativas, ejecutivas, administrativas u otras, con el fin de proteger a todas las personas de los efectos nocivos del tabaquismo.

Según la Resolución 3961 de 21 de octubre de 2009 del Ministerio, se establece que los empaques y etiquetas del tabaco y sus derivados que sean comercializados en el país, deben tener frases de advertencia y pictogramas en las superficies de cada una de las dos caras principales, ocupando el 30 % del área de cada cara.

 

 Tomado de:

http://www.mercadodedinero.com.co/Salud/fumadores-lo-pensaran-dos-veces-antes-de-consumir-cigarrillos.html

BBC Mundo, 26 de noviembre de 2012

Fumar "pudre" el cerebro


Redacción

BBC Mundo


Lunes, 26 de noviembre de 2012

Fumar "pudre" el cerebro dañando la memoria, el aprendizaje y el razonamiento, además de los daños físicos que causa, afirman científicos británicos.

El estudio llevado a cabo en el King's College de Londres, que involucró a 8.800 personas de más de 50 años, mostró que la hipertensión y el sobrepeso también parecen afectar el cerebro, aunque en menor grado.

Contenido relacionado
El humo de segunda mano afecta la memoria
El ejercicio detiene el encogimiento del cerebro
¿Fuma y tiene 30 años? Aún puede prevenir el riesgo de muerte temprana

Los investigadores afirman que la gente necesita estar consciente de que los estilos de vida pueden dañar la mente además del cuerpo.

El estudio fue publicado en la revista Age and Ageing (Edad y Envejecimiento).

El equipo de científicos estaba investigando el vínculo entre la probabilidad de sufrir un infarto o evento cerebrovascular y el estado del cerebro.

Para ello recogieron datos de la salud y estilo de vida de un grupo de personas mayores de 50 que fueron sometidas a pruebas cerebrales, incluido el aprendizaje de nuevas palabras o nombrar todos los animales que pudieran en un minuto.

Todos los participantes realizaron las pruebas nuevamente a los cuatro y ocho años después.

Los resultados mostraron que el riesgo general de un infarto o evento cerebrovascular estaba "significativamente asociado con un deterioro cognitivo" entre aquellos que estaban en el mayor riesgo de mostrar el mayor deterioro.

También encontraron que había "una asociación consistente" entre fumar y obtener las calificaciones más bajas en las pruebas.

Corazón y cerebro



"El deterioro cognitivo a medida que envejecemos puede convertirse en demencia, así que desencadenar los factores que están vinculados a este deterioro puede ser crucial para encontrar formas de prevenir ese trastorno"


Dr. Simon Ridley

Uno de los investigadores, el doctor Alex Dregan, afirma que "el deterioro cognitivo se hace cada vez más común con el envejecimiento y para un número creciente de personas interfiere con el funcionamiento y bienestar diarios".

"Hemos identificado un número de factores de riesgo que podrían estar asociados con el deterioro cognitivo acelerado, todos los cuales pueden ser modificables".

Y agrega: "Necesitamos hacer a la gente consciente de la necesidad de llevar a cabo cambios en el estilo de vida debido al riesgo de deterioro cognitivo".

Los investigadores no saben cómo ese tipo de deterioro puede afectar a la gente en su vida diaria. Tampoco están seguros de si una reducción temprana en la función cerebral puede llevar a trastornos como la demencia.

El doctor Simon Ridley, de la organización Alzheimer's Research UK, afirma que "las investigaciones repetidamente han vinculado fumar y tener una alta presión arterial con un mayor riesgo de deterioro cognitivo y demencia, y este estudio apoya esa evidencia".

"El deterioro cognitivo a medida que envejecemos puede convertirse en demencia, así que desencadenar los factores que están vinculados a este deterioro puede ser crucial para encontrar formas de prevenir ese trastorno".

"Estos resultados destacan la importancia de cuidar tu salud cardiovascular a partir de la mediana edad", agrega.

Por su parte la organización Alzheimer'sSocietyafirma: "Todos sabemos que fumar, la hipertensión, los altos niveles de colesterol y un alto índice de masa corporal (IMC) son malos para tu corazón. Esta investigación apoya la enorme cantidad de evidencia que muestra que fumar puede ser malo también para tu cabeza".

"Una de cada tres personas de más de 65 años desarrollará demencia pero hay cosas que la gente puede hacer para reducir su riesgo".

"Comer una dieta balanceada, mantener un peso sano, ejercitarse regularmente, controlarse la presión arterial y el colesterol y no fumar pueden hacer una enorme diferencia", agrega.

Los que fumaban tuvieron las calificaciones más bajas en las pruebas cerebrales.

Tomado de:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/noticias/2012/11/121126_salud_fumar_pudre_cerebro_men.shtml