News dall’estero 12 marzo 2018
Convenience Store, 10/03/2018
One year after plain packaging, fears over slump in retailers’ tobacco sales yet to be realised
It’s been 10 months since the European Tobacco Products Directive 2 (EUTPD2) came into force on 20 May 2017 and since branded packs, 10s and flavoured tobacco were last stocked on the gantries of UK convenience stores. How are retailers faring now? The vast majority of retailers seem to agree that the initial problems associated with finding the correct tobacco brands on gantries have now tapered off as staff and customers alike have grown used to the new packs and planograms. For some, the legislation has provided an opportunity to redesign store counter layouts with many now reporting some positive outcomes such as better security and more profitable use of the key back wall space.
Somerset Live, 10/03/2018
Public health charity calls for smoking to be banned outside pubs, in parks and on beaches
The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) is pushing for the ban on smoking to be widened, so that it includes outdoor public spaces – including pedestrianised shopping centres, parks and beaches. It says that despite prohibition of smoking in many places and high profile campaigns to reduce the number that feel they want a cigarette, there are still over 10 million smokers in the UK – and many more who are exposed to their second hand smoke.
https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/news-opinion/public-health-charity-calls-smoking-1269000
Business MK, 10/03/2018
Employers must be clear on vaping policy, says employment law specialist
National No Smoking Day on Wednesday 14 March will see many smokers switch to vaping in a bid to kick the habit. While smoking in the workplace has been banned for over a decade, vaping falls outside of this legislation. Paula Bailey, Howes Percival partner and employment law specialist, says: “Millions of people in the UK now use e-cigarettes. Vaping and e-cigarettes fall outside of the legislation that outlaws smoking in the workplace, therefore it’s up to individual employers to decide on an approach which best fits their organisation.”
The Sunday Times, 11/03/2018
Scotland: Philip Morris funded study says 260,000 quitters needed to make tobacco-free goal
The first minister is on course to miss her target of a tobacco-free Scotland by 2034 unless about 260,000 people can be persuaded to kick their cigarette habit, according to a report funded by tobacco giant Philip Morris. It concludes that reducing smoking prevalence among adults to 5% or below is more likely to be met by 2044, a decade later than pledged by the Scottish government. A Scottish government spokesman said: “Quitting is the best thing a smoker can do to improve their health. Our new Tobacco Strategy will focus on addressing health inequalities and targeting smoking rates in the communities where people find it most difficult to quit.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/260-000-quitters-needed-to-make-tobacco-free-goal-sdcc26wd2
Medical Xpress, 09/03/2018
USA: Current tobacco smoke exposure doesn’t obstruct child airways
Current tobacco smoke exposure (TSE) is not associated with airflow obstruction among school-aged children, while prenatal smoking is associated with airflow obstruction in children with asthma, according to a study published in the March issue of Chest. Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City examined the correlation between current TSE and airflow obstruction. They wrote in the study: “Current TSE was not independently associated with airflow obstruction in school-aged children. Prenatal TSE was associated with airflow obstruction in children with asthma. Repeated studies into potential mediators and confounders of this relationship are needed.”
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-03-current-tobacco-exposure-doesnt-obstruct.html
Medical Xpress, 09/03/2018
A new study on smoking trends among doctors and nurses in New Zealand finds smoking has declined steadily within these healthcare professions
Researchers say this shows that very low smoking rates can be achieved in large occupational groups, suggesting that New Zealand’s Smokefree 2025 goal is reachable. “By 2013, just two per cent of New Zealand doctors were regular cigarette smokers, well below the New Zealand Smokefree 2025 goal of five per cent or less,” said lead author Professor Richard Edwards from the Department of Public Health. New Zealand nurses in general are also well on track to achieve the Smokefree goal figure, with nine per cent of male and eight per cent of females still smoking.” “We believe there is a case for developing targeted smoking cessation support for high smoking prevalence occupational groups, particularly those like nurses and teachers who have great potential to provide positive smokefree role models to patients, schoolchildren and within their communities. A good place to start would be to work with Māori nurses and mental health care nurses to explore their needs and develop appropriate smokefree interventions.”
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-03-doctors-nurses-prevalence-smokefree-goal.html
The Guardian, 09/03/2018
Australia: Secrecy over costs in Philip Morris plain packaging case stokes TPP fears
The Australian government is fighting to keep secret the amount it paid to fight a legal battle with the tobacco industry over its plain packaging laws. Philip Morris, a tobacco multinational, used a clause in a Hong Kong-Australia trade deal to sue the Australian government over its Gillard-era plain packaging laws. It eventually lost the case, but the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT) has since attempted to find out how much Australia paid to fight the case in The Hague. NXT is concerned the newly-signed Trans-Pacific Partnership – which contains similar clauses to the Hong Kong deal – could prompt similar actions against the Australian government. The new TPP has specific provisions that prevent tobacco companies from suing Australia over its tobacco control laws. But the Public Health Association of Australia, among others, fears the deal will allow other corporations to sue Australia. PHAA spokeswoman Belinda Townsend said: “While there are generalised protections for regulatory measures, and specific measures to prevent tobacco companies from being able to challenge Australia’s tobacco control measures, public health policies in other important areas are not excluded from being challenged.”
