Smokeless tobacco products not a safe option, won't help smokers quit (AHA)

"Smokeless tobacco products should not be used as an alternative to cigarettes or for smoking cessation due to the risk of addiction and return to smoking, according to an American Heart Association policy statement. Smokeless tobacco products such as dry and moist snuff as well as chewing tobacco may also increase the risk of fatal heart attack, fatal stroke and certain cancers, according to the statement published online in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. 'No tobacco product is safe to consume,' said Mariann Piano, Ph.D., lead writer of the statement and a professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Health Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The statement also addresses a controversy over whether smokeless tobacco product use is a 'safer' alternative to smoking. The idea that smokeless tobacco products are preferable to cigarettes is based in part on the Swedish experience where there was a significant decrease in smoking among Swedish men between 1976 and 2002 which corresponded to an increase in the use of smokeless tobacco"

Government of Canada encourages healthy living in Canadians through smoking cessation program

The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, has announced an important investment that will help encourage Canadians to quit smoking and lead healthier lives. Health Canada is providing just over $2.4 million dollars in funding to the Ottawa Heart Institute Research Corporation for a project that will assist hospital out-patients with smoking cessation. "The Government of Canada remains committed to protecting all Canadians from the proven health hazards associated with tobacco use," said Minister Aglukkaq. "Today's funding is a step towards ensuring we get Canadians the help they need to quit smoking." Funding from today's announcement will go towards a project entitled "Extending Tobacco Treatment Excellence: a National Dissemination of Systems". The goal of this project is to implement a smoking cessation program in 21 out-patient clinics that will provide advice to 15,000 smokers and facilitate best practices and knowledge sharing. The project will also provide training for 2000 health care providers on tobacco addiction treatment including the development of policies and training tools. Partners include the Vancouver Coastal Authority, Regional Health Authority B (New Brunswick) and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario

Saskatoon Health Region staff receive geographic information technology award

Some Saskatoon Health Region staff have been recognized as innovators in the use of geographic information system (GIS) technology in the health and human services fields. The recognition comes from a California-based company called GIS ESRI in Nashville, Tennessee late last year. The Communication Award for excellence in map presentation, visualisation and communication went to Saskatoon Health Region staff. The poster, Mapping the Availability of Tobacco Products to Youth in the City of Saskatoon, tells the story of using GIS to convert school health survey results into information that will help health officials develop policies for reducing tobacco use among middle school students. The study examined the locations of tobacco retailers near schools and used statistical analysis to identify potential correlations with student-reported smoking initiation rates. Maps displayed an overall view of the results. Left to right in the picture: Daphne Goodman-Eifler, supervisor, Tobacco Reduction Strategies; Tanya Dunn-Pierce, manager, Health Promotion Department and Tracy Creighton, GIS analyst, Public Health Observatory

ACHIEVE New London (USA)

"ACHIEVE New London, an initiative of Ledge Light Health District, Groton, CT, USA, is asking for the public's help in selecting community projects that will increase access to healthy food, increase opportunities for physical activity, improve chronic disease management and reduce tobacco use"

WHO launches new tobacco control effort in Africa

The World Health Organization is increasing its attention to tobacco control in Africa with the overall goal of preventing tobacco use from becoming as prevalent there as it is in other parts of the world. The focus of the programme will be on strengthening countries' ability to implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), the international health treaty that guides national efforts to counter the tobacco epidemic, and the establishment of a regional centre of excellence to support the development of countries' capacity to resist the spread of tobacco use. "Tobacco use is the most preventable cause of illness and death," said WHO Assistant Director-General for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health Dr Ala Alwan. "It kills more than 5 million people per year. Unchecked, it will kill more than 8 million people per year by 2030, with more than 80% of those deaths occurring in developing countries. Although tobacco use is less prevalent in Africa than in other regions of the world, that will change unless we act." Tobacco use is a risk factor for the major noncommunicable diseases - heart attacks, strokes, cancers, diabetes and asthma and other chronic diseases - which together account for 60% of all deaths. In the 46 countries of WHO's Africa region (AFRO), noncommunicable diseases are expected to account for 46% of deaths by 2030, up from 25% in 2004

Big tobacco will feel the burn with $50 billion lawsuit (Ontario)

"The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario applauds the Ontario Government for launching a $50 billion lawsuit that seeks damages for past and ongoing health care costs. This will finally hold the tobacco companies responsible for their duplicitous business tactics that has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Ontarians as well as placing an enormous strain on our health care system. In Spring 2009, Ontario joined British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba in passing legislation paving the way for law suits against tobacco companies, and the opportunity to form a strong multi-provincial coalition to ensure cost recovery and comprehensive settlements. Earlier this morning, Attorney General Chris Bentley filed a $50 billion lawsuit against the tobacco manufacturers. The lawsuit represents tobacco-related health care costs borne by Ontarians since 1955. Tobacco related health care costs currently total more than $1.6 billion a year in Ontario"

Smoking ban reduces heart attacks (UK)

"The ban on smoking in public places has triggered a greater-than-expected fall in the number of heart attacks, it has been reported. Early results of a study commissioned by the Department of Health revealed heart attack rates dropped by about 10% in England in the year after the ban was introduced in July 2007, The Sunday Times reported. Separate research found an even sharper decrease - 14% - in Scotland, where the ban was imposed a year earlier. Another study in Wales is expected to reveal similar results. The research into heart attack rates in England is being led by Anna Gilmore of Bath University. She said: "There is already overwhelming evidence that reducing people's exposure to cigarette smoke reduces hospital admissions due to heart attacks." John Britton, director of the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies at Nottingham University, said: "We always knew a public smoking ban would bring rapid health benefits, but we have been amazed by just how big and how rapid they are." Ellen Mason, a senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, explained why smokers and passive smokers have an increased risk of having a heart attack. She said: "Exposure to cigarette smoke induces rapid changes in blood chemistry, making it much more prone to clotting. In someone who has narrowed or damaged coronary arteries, smoke exposure can tip the balance and cause a heart attack." Other western European countries have seen similar falls in heart attack rates after smoking bans. Figures showed France had a 15% drop in emergency admissions for heart attacks after a year, while both Italy and Ireland had an 11% reduction" - Yahoo

Low levels of smoke raise risk of dying from heart disease, study shows

Just a few whiffs of tobacco smoke or dirty air can have a profound negative impact on your heart's health. Study results released today by the American Heart Association suggest that exposure to even a small amount of smoke - whether it's from your own cigarette or someone else's - greatly increases your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. The same goes for breathing in air polluted with carbon monoxide emissions. 'It doesn't require extreme exposure to have significant cardiovascular effects. Even passive exposures to ambient air pollution and secondhand smoke contribute to significant increases in cardiovascular mortality,' study author C. Arden Pope III, PhD, says in a statement

Shocking images deter cigarette smokers: WHO

"Cigarette packages should show graphic images of yellow teeth, blackened gums, protruding neck tumors and bleeding brains to alert smokers to their disease risks, the World Health Organization said on Friday. More than 20 countries, including Britain, Iran, Peru and Malaysia, already use visual warnings on their tobacco products, the head of the WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative said. "Although some people question the need for such pictures, the evidence is absolutely clear that they convince people to quit," Douglas Bettcher told a news conference ahead of World No Tobacco Day, to be held on Sunday. Bettcher pointed to a warning that read "smoking causes brain strokes" and showed blood oozing from a brain." - Reuters

Cigarette makers lose appeal in landmark case (USA)

A federal appeals court on Friday agreed with the major elements of a 2006 landmark ruling that found the nation's top tobacco companies guilty of racketeering and fraud for deceiving the public about the dangers of smoking. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington upheld requirements that manufacturers change the way they market cigarettes. The requirements, which have been on hold pending appeal, would ban labels such as "low tar," "light," "ultra light" or "mild," since such cigarettes have been found to be no safer than others because of how people smoke them. It also says the companies must publish "corrective statements" in newspapers and on their Web sites on the adverse health effects and addictiveness of smoking and nicotine - AP

World No Tobacco Day, 31 May 2009

"The theme of World No Tobacco Day 2009 is "Tobacco Health Warnings", with an emphasis on the picture warnings that have been shown to be particularly effective at making people aware of the health risks of tobacco use and convincing them to quit. More and more countries are fighting back against the epidemic of tobacco by requiring that packages of tobacco show the dangers of the product's use, as called for in guidelines to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control"

Years of heavy smoking raises heart risks

Highlighting the negative impact tobacco use has on cardiovascular health, researchers say that heavy smokers were 2.5 times more likely to die than their non-smoking peers during a 30-year study in Norway. The newly available research found that nonsmokers lived longer and experienced fewer incidents of heart attack and cardiovascular disease than smokers, especially when compared with heavy smokers (those who lit up at least 20 cigarettes a day). Smokers were also at greater risk of developing diabetes and strokes than nonsmokers, according to the study findings, presented last week at the EuroPRevent 2009 conference in Stockholm, Sweden.

Hawaii cigarette tax increase delivers victory for kids and taxpayers

Hawaii leaders have taken an important step to protect the state's kids and taxpayers from the devastating toll of tobacco use by increasing the state cigarette tax by 60 cents to $2.60 per pack on July 1 - giving the state the third highest cigarette tax in the nation. The state cigarette tax will further increase by 20 cents per pack annually in July 2010 and July 2011, reaching a total of $3 per pack. Governor Linda Lingle signed the cigarette tax increase into law Thursday. The Hawaii Legislature later today is expected to vote on overriding the governor's veto of legislation to also increase the tax on most other tobacco products, which would discourage kids from purchasing lower-taxed, cheaper tobacco products. Higher tobacco taxes are a win-win-win solution for Hawaii - a health win that will reduce tobacco use and save lives, a financial win that will raise revenue for critical state programs, and a political win that polls show is popular with the voters. - redOrbit

Judith Mackay wins BMJ Lifetime Achievement Award

"The Lifetime Achievement award goes to a tireless and courageous campaigner on behalf of patients and public health care. Professor Judith Mackay has been based in Hong Kong since 1967, and worked as a hospital physician until 1984.Then she started campaigning against the tobacco industry in Asia and was labelled 'one of the three most dangerous people in the world' by the industry five years later. She is a consultant to the World Health Organisation and was instrumental in developing the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which places governments under international obligation to implement tobacco control policies. Currently she works for the World Lung Foundation component of the Bloomberg Initiative to reduce tobacco use in low and middle income countries. She is truly a global leader in health care."

Smokeless tobacco use increases among boys (USA)

A federal agency said in a report on Thursday, the use of snuff and chewing tobacco by U.S. adolescent boys, particularly in rural areas, has surged this past decade. The use of this kind of tobacco increases the risk of oral cancer, heart disease and stroke. Just like cigarettes, it also leads to a nicotine addiction. According to the report by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, there is a 30 percent increase in the rate of smokeless tobacco use among boys aged 12 to 17 from 2002 to 2007. The use by adults has remained stable. The report estimated that 566,000 boys in that age group had used chewing tobacco or snuff in 2007. - redOrbit