ASH (Action on
Smoking and Health)
News from around
the world
Smoking and Health)
News from around
the world
Smoking news articles are supplied by ASH (Action on Smoking and Health UK).
Thank you. More news at www.ash.org.uk
Thank you. More news at www.ash.org.uk
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All possible effort is made to provide accurate and up-to-date information, but no responsibility is accepted for errors or omissions. No person should rely on
this publication without obtaining professional advice and confirmation. Any error and omission should be reported immediately.
New campaign launched to stop people smoking
A new campaign to persuade smokers to quit is being launched in the North-East. Dubbed
The Big Quit Club, it aims to build on the success of the smokefree legislation.
It will offer smokers support in their attempt to give up smoking, along with the chance to
enter competitions and win prizes.
The initiative has been given new impetus by figures published yesterday which show that
more than a year after a similar ban was introduced in Scotland, there has been a 17 per
cent drop in heart attacks.
The North-East has the highest proportion of smokers (28 per cent) in England, and more
cancer, heart disease and chronic illness than anywhere else.
The Big Quit Club campaign will involve all of the region's local NHS Stop Smoking Services
and will include radio campaigns encouraging people to join the club.
Radio stations will also offer daily competitions with prizes, and celebrities and experts will
talk about the importance of quitting.
Local stop smoking services will also run extra drop-in sessions, where smokers can go
without an appointment.
Dianne Woodall, a tobacco control worker for County Durham and Darlington NHS, said
smokers who signed up and used a proven aid such as nicotine gum, patches, inhalers or
lozenges were four times more likely to succeed than by willpower alone.
Ailsa Rutter, the director of Fresh, Smoke Free North-East, said: "The 17 per cent drop in
heart attack admissions, as well as a 40 per cent reduction in exposure to secondhand
smoke is excellent news.
"We anticipate similar improvements in public health in the North-East in the months ahead."
Source: The Northern Echo, 11 September 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/2aozw8
A new campaign to persuade smokers to quit is being launched in the North-East. Dubbed
The Big Quit Club, it aims to build on the success of the smokefree legislation.
It will offer smokers support in their attempt to give up smoking, along with the chance to
enter competitions and win prizes.
The initiative has been given new impetus by figures published yesterday which show that
more than a year after a similar ban was introduced in Scotland, there has been a 17 per
cent drop in heart attacks.
The North-East has the highest proportion of smokers (28 per cent) in England, and more
cancer, heart disease and chronic illness than anywhere else.
The Big Quit Club campaign will involve all of the region's local NHS Stop Smoking Services
and will include radio campaigns encouraging people to join the club.
Radio stations will also offer daily competitions with prizes, and celebrities and experts will
talk about the importance of quitting.
Local stop smoking services will also run extra drop-in sessions, where smokers can go
without an appointment.
Dianne Woodall, a tobacco control worker for County Durham and Darlington NHS, said
smokers who signed up and used a proven aid such as nicotine gum, patches, inhalers or
lozenges were four times more likely to succeed than by willpower alone.
Ailsa Rutter, the director of Fresh, Smoke Free North-East, said: "The 17 per cent drop in
heart attack admissions, as well as a 40 per cent reduction in exposure to secondhand
smoke is excellent news.
"We anticipate similar improvements in public health in the North-East in the months ahead."
Source: The Northern Echo, 11 September 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/2aozw8
Study links nicotine exposure to hardening of arteries
New research shows that nicotine from cigarette smoke even with low-nicotine
cigarettes, may promote hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), which makes
heart attacks more likely.
The new study focuses on mice, not people. However the researchers say the
findings may help explain why smoking is a risk factor for heart disease.
"The best thing to do is give up smoking, says Daniel Catanzaro, PhD, of Cornell
University's Weill Medical College, in a news release.
The mice exposed to smoke from cigarettes with higher levels of nicotine
developed more plaque buildup in their arteries than the mice exposed to smoke
from low-nicotine cigarettes.
But the mice exposed to smoke from low-nicotine cigarettes still had more plaque
buildup in their arteries than mice not exposed to tobacco smoke.
"While our study seems to suggest that low-nicotine cigarettes are safer than
higher-nicotine cigarettes, we also know that smokers adjust their smoking habits
to maintain their levels of nicotine," Catanzaro says in a news release.
"In other words, if you switch to a low-nicotine product, you will probably increase
the number of cigarettes you smoke, or change the way you smoke to get more
nicotine out of each cigarette," he explains.
Source: WebMD,14 September 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/2bn8pp
Australia: Victoria considers new proposals to reduce youth smoking
Under a new Victorian proposal to reduce youth smoking, underage smoking will be outlawed and
parents banned from lighting up in cars with children.
Nationals MP Damian Drum signalled in state parliament that he would introduce a private member's bill
to reduce the number of young smokers.
The bill, to be tabled early next year, would make smoking illegal for under 18s and introduce penalties for
minors caught smoking.
Under existing laws, it is illegal to sell cigarettes to anyone under 18 but minors are not penalised for
smoking.
Mr Drum said a hardline stance was needed to protect children, who were currently fed mixed messages
from law-makers about smoking.
"We say that smoking is bad for you and we ban them at places like schools, but then we turn a blind eye
if they want to have a smoke down the street.
It's not good enough and we need to do better," he said.
Mr Drum said, "While many people would regard banning smoking in cars with children as common
sense, this needed to be reflected in the law."
"We have an obligation to our young people to protect them from the harmful side effects of passive
smoking and there is widespread community support for such a ban."
Mr Drum said smoking among adults had virtually halved in the past 20 years but Victorian teenagers
aged 16 to 17 were not giving up fast enough.
"Cigarette smoking is the biggest cause of preventable deaths in Australia and we owe it to our children
to do everything we can to stop them from taking up the habit," he said.
Source: The Age, 04 December 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/2w45oz
Under a new Victorian proposal to reduce youth smoking, underage smoking will be outlawed and
parents banned from lighting up in cars with children.
Nationals MP Damian Drum signalled in state parliament that he would introduce a private member's bill
to reduce the number of young smokers.
The bill, to be tabled early next year, would make smoking illegal for under 18s and introduce penalties for
minors caught smoking.
Under existing laws, it is illegal to sell cigarettes to anyone under 18 but minors are not penalised for
smoking.
Mr Drum said a hardline stance was needed to protect children, who were currently fed mixed messages
from law-makers about smoking.
"We say that smoking is bad for you and we ban them at places like schools, but then we turn a blind eye
if they want to have a smoke down the street.
It's not good enough and we need to do better," he said.
Mr Drum said, "While many people would regard banning smoking in cars with children as common
sense, this needed to be reflected in the law."
"We have an obligation to our young people to protect them from the harmful side effects of passive
smoking and there is widespread community support for such a ban."
Mr Drum said smoking among adults had virtually halved in the past 20 years but Victorian teenagers
aged 16 to 17 were not giving up fast enough.
"Cigarette smoking is the biggest cause of preventable deaths in Australia and we owe it to our children
to do everything we can to stop them from taking up the habit," he said.
Source: The Age, 04 December 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/2w45oz
By the way, in New South Wales you can report
anyone you see throwing rubbish (especially
cigarette butts) from their vehicle to 131555 giving
time, date and location of incident plus 3 ID marks
e.g. registration number, colour and make of
vehicle, type of vehicle, etc.
anyone you see throwing rubbish (especially
cigarette butts) from their vehicle to 131555 giving
time, date and location of incident plus 3 ID marks
e.g. registration number, colour and make of
vehicle, type of vehicle, etc.
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