No More Tobacco

Pfizer Foundation Awarded Grants To Support Cancer And Tobacco Control Worldwide… Medical News Todayreported that, the Pfizer Foundation, a charitable organization established by Pfizer Inc, a research-based pharmaceutical company, declared a $33m USD multi-year program to support public health programmes to address the emerging global challenges in cancer and tobacco control. Pfizer said it has entered into partnerships with 15 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in 26 countries, including Algeria, China, Japan, Italy, Brazil and Argentina. view original article

Officials Run Ads Encouraging Movie Rating Change if Film Has Smoking…The New York Daily News reported on February 20 that state health officials think smoking in movies is like nudity and violence and should carry an “R” rating. The state Health Department is spending $800,000 – including placing full-page ads in The New York Times and Wall Street Journal Tuesday – on a campaign to change the way movies are rated when actors light up. Years ago, stars like James Dean, Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant puffed away, making the cigarette habit look cool, but the film industry has been under pressure in recent years to cut down on glamorizing the addiction. view original article 

The Global Tobacco Threat…The New York Times reported on February 19 that the governments of low- and middle-income countries have not followed through on a treaty meant to reduce the influence of the tobacco industry.  Three years ago, an international treaty took effect that was designed to help developing countries resist aggressive marketing by big tobacco companies. The idea was that if a large number of countries committed themselves to the same tobacco control policies — including bans on all advertising and promotion — they would be better able to resist pressure from multinational tobacco companies and their own domestic tobacco sellers.  Unfortunately, the governments of low- and middle-income countries have not followed through. With tobacco use declining in wealthier countries, tobacco companies are spending tens of billions of dollars a year on advertising, marketing and sponsorship, much of it to increase sales in these developing countries.  A new report issued by the World Health Organization, with financial help from Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s foundation, offers the first comprehensive analysis of tobacco use and control efforts in 179 countries. It notes that tobacco will kill more people this year than tuberculosis, AIDS and malaria combined. It warns that unless governments do more to slow the epidemic, tobacco could kill a billion people by the end of the century, the vast majority in poor and middle-income countries. view original article

China Aims For National Chain Of Anti-smoking Clinics… China will survey the smoking habits among key sectors, including doctors and teachers, in 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities as it works towards establishing a national network of anti-smoking clinics.

The goal is to have at least one outpatient facility in each province, where smokers would be offered a combination of medical and psychological treatment depending on their nicotine dependence. view source

Since the population of China is so large, this is likely to benefit 100′s of millions of people. An excellent step towards a smoke-free world.

Sheraton Hotels Protect Workers And Guests In Decision To Go Smoke-Free…originally reported by Medical News Today…Starwood Hotels & Resorts has announced its Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton Hotels will make its 8,000 smoking guest rooms in 300 hotels and resorts smoke-free by December 31, 2008. Sheraton follows its sister brand, Westin, which was the first hotel chain to become smoke-free in January 2006.

Following is a statement from John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society, on the Starwood Hotels announcement:

“Today’s decision to make the Sheraton and Four Points Hotels 100 percent smoke-free will remove a major threat to the health of all Sheraton’s guests and workers. In the United States alone, secondhand smoke is estimated to cause 35,000 to 45,000 deaths from heart disease and 3,000 deaths from lung cancer among nonsmokers each year. Former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona said it himself in June 2006: there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke…” view source

Clean Air For Kids Campaign Scores A Win in Canada The Lung Association praised the B.C. government for being the second province in Canada to announce that it will introduce legislation to ban smoking in cars where children are present. This marks the first “win” since the Association launched its national campaign to end smoking in cars with kids.

“This is a great day for all of us concerned about preserving the respiratory health of our children,” said Nora Sobolov, President and CEO of The Lung Association, “I congratulate Premier Campbell’s government on taking this decisive step and urge other provincial governments to do their part to deal with this public health priority”.  view source

A wonderful step to a smoke-free world.

One Million Tobacco Deaths A Year In India During The 2010s… Medical News Today reported Friday that India is caught in the midst of a catastrophic smoking epidemic, which is causing one in five of all male deaths in middle age and will cause about one million deaths a year during the 2010s. Seventy percent of these deaths (600,000 male and 100,000 female) will be between the ages of 30 and 69.The findings are from the first nationally representative study of smoking in India as a whole. The research, a collaboration between India, Canada and the UK, is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study found that, among men, about 61 percent of those who smoke can expect to die at ages 30-69 compared with only 41 percent of otherwise similar non-smokers. Among women, 62 percent of those who smoke can expect to die at ages 30-69 compared with only 38 percent of non-smokers. This means that smoking accounts for most of the difference in premature deaths between men and women in India. view source

Smoky Bar Triggered Deadly Asthma Attack…Reuters Health reported on February 11 that, according to the reports of researchers, a woman in her late teens died from an acute asthma attack triggered by secondhand cigarette smoke shortly after arriving at her job as a waitress in a bar in Michigan. They said it was the first reported case of an immediate death caused by secondhand smoke. “She didn’t have any other possible known causes of death,” said Dr. Kenneth Rosenman, a Michigan State University professor who oversees three state public health surveillance systems. Cigarette smoke is known to trigger acute asthma attacks. “We know that particulate levels from secondhand cigarette smoke in bars like this reach sufficient levels to set off an asthma attack,” Rosenman said. He said the woman was a student who had a job at a fast-food restaurant, and worked a second job as a waitress at the bar. “She was perfectly fine when she went to work,” Rosenman said in a telephone interview. “After about 15 minutes, she had an acute asthma attack and collapsed on the floor. The autopsy clearly indicates she died from asthma,” said Rosenman, who would not disclose the woman’s name or the precise place and time of her death for privacy reasons.
For the full story: click here.

Best Days To Quit Smoking… We often go about random tasks, that are not routine, like quitting smoking, very arbitrarily. Maybe there is a better alternative. While leafing through a Farmers Almanac, noticed was the fact that they have a list of the best days of the month to do these random tasks, astrologically. Included was the best days of the month to quit smoking. 

BEST DAYS TO QUIT SMOKING IN FEBRUARY : 2, 3, 20, 21, 22, 23, 29 

If you know someone on the fence about quitting, let them know about these days, maybe it will help them kick the habit. It could very well save a life.