Friday 29 December 2017

Exposure to ETS from husband strongly impacts airway obstruction of nonsmoking women

A new study in Japan has signalled the need for tobacco control in husbands as the most important measure to prevent airway obstruction of nonsmoking women at home.

A higher proportion of non-smoking women who were exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) or second-hand smoke (SHS) from their husband had airway obstruction as compared to non-smoking women who experienced second-hand smoking from housemates other than their husbands, finds the study from Japan.

The study published in the International Journal of COPD surveyed 811 nonsmoking women aged 40 years or older. The participants answered structured questionnaires, including ETS exposure from their husbands and other housemates (parents, siblings and dependants), and performed spirometry. 

The women with any history of ETS exposure from housemates into three groups (A = husband, B = others and C = both of husband and others) and defined the control group as those with no ETS exposure from housemates.

Researchers Kazuaki Suyama, Ryo Kozu, Takako Tanaka, Yuji Ishimatsu, Terumitsu Sawai of the Department of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Science, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan collaborated for the study.

Source: Dovepress
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Wednesday 20 December 2017

Award-winning Kerala Teacher on #SayNO2Tobacco




 
Smt Shikha Payyambally,
Headmistress GHS Kodiamme
Kasargod

To participate in this campaign, please click here


പുകയിലയുടെ
മാരകമായ ദൂഷ്യ ഫലങ്ങളെക്കുറിച്ചുള്ള ബോധവൽക്കരണം ചെറിയ ക്ലാസിൽനിന്നും തന്നെ കുട്ടികൾക്കും കൊടുക്കണം. അതുപോലെ രക്ഷിതാക്കൾക്കും അധ്യാപകർക്കും ബോധവൽക്കരണം കൊടുക്കണം.

പാഠപുസ്തകങ്ങളിലെ സിലബസുകളിൽ പുകയിലയുടെ ദോഷവശങ്ങളെ ക്കുറിച്ചുള്ള കാര്യങ്ങൾ ശരിയായരീതിയിൽ ഉൾപ്പെടുത്തണം.

ജീവിതഗന്ധിയായ വീഡിയോകളിലൂടെ പുകയിലഉപയോഗത്താൽ രോഗികളായവരെയും, അവരുടെ കുടുംബാംഗങ്ങളെയുംനാട്ടുകാരുടെയും സാക്ഷ്യങ്ങൾ കുട്ടികൾക്ക് കാണിച്ചുകൊടുക്കണം.

പുകയില ഉത്പന്നങ്ങൾ പശ, പേസ്റ്റ് തുടങ്ങി ഏതെല്ലാം വിധം ഉണ്ട് എന്നതും ഏതെല്ലാം  രോഗങ്ങളിൽ ഇവ എത്തിക്കുന്നു എന്ന അറിവ്  കുട്ടികൾക്ക് മാത്രമല്ല രക്ഷിതാക്കൾക്കും അധ്യാപകർക്കും നൽകുവാൻ കഴിയണം.

ചെറിയ ക്ലാസുകളിലുള്ള കുട്ടികൾക്ക് ഫീൽഡ് ട്രിപ്പുകളിലൂടെ RCC, പ്രതീക്ഷ, BRC പോലുള്ള ഡി അഡിക്ഷൻ കേന്ദ്രങ്ങളിൽ  സന്ദർശിച്ചു രോഗാവസ്ഥയിലായ മനുഷ്യരെ നേരിൽ കാണാനും അവരുമായും അവരുടെ വീട്ടുകാരുമായി സംവദിക്കാനുള്ള അവസരങ്ങൾ ഉണ്ടാക്കണം.

പുകയില ഒരു സാമൂഹികവിപത്താണ് ഒരുവ്യക്തിയിൽ മാത്രം ഒതുങ്ങി നിൽക്കുന്ന ഒന്നല്ല. അത് കുടുംബത്തിനും മൂഹത്തിനും ബുദ്ധിമുട്ടുണ്ടാക്കുന്നു. 
രാഷ്ട്രത്തിന് ദോഷമാണ് എന്ന തിരിച്ചറിവുണ്ടാക്കുന്ന രീതിയിലുള്ള പ്രവർത്ത നങ്ങൾ അധ്യാപകരുടെ ഭാഗത്ത്നിന്നുണ്ടാവണം.

പുകയിലയുടെയും മയക്കുമരുന്നുകളുടെയും ഉപയോഗത്താൽ ചിന്താശേഷി നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ട ഒരു സമൂഹം ഒരു തലമുറ രാഷ്ട്രത്തിന് ദോഷകരമാണ്. കള്ളന്മാർ, കൊലപാതർ, എയിഡ്സ് രോഗികൾ ഉണ്ടാകുവാൻ ഈ ലഹരി വസ്തുക്കൾ കാരണമാകുന്നു.

പുകയില ഉത്പ്പാദനം നിയന്ത്രിക്കാൻ സർക്കാർ ശക്തമായ നടപടി സ്വീകരിക്കണം. നിയമം മൂലം നിരോധിക്കണം.

പുകയില ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്നതിന്റ്റെ നേർക്കാഴ്ചകൾ കുട്ടികളെ അതിന്റെ ദൂഷ്യങ്ങളെ കുറിച്ച് ബോധവാൻമാരാക്കി അതിനോട് No പറയാൻ പ്രേരിപ്പിക്കും!  അപ്പോൾ ചെറുപ്രായത്തിൽ തന്നെ ആരെങ്കിലും പുകയില ഉത്പന്നങ്ങൾ നൽകിയാൽ അവർ ദൃഢ നിശ്ചയത്തോടെ No പറയും!

Smt Shikha Payyambally is the recipient of the Kerala State Best Teacher Award for 2017. 
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Thursday 14 December 2017

Teens' smoking influenced by parents' habits: Study

Hence proved! Children whose parents smoke are more likely to start smoking themselves.

To understand the smoking habits of youth and their perception of smoking, the Department of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, under the aegis of Dr. Samir Parikh, conducted a survey among adolescents.

The team engaged and interacted with school going teenagers in order to assess the prevalent attitudes towards tobacco smoking.

1900 students were randomly chosen from six states, Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kolkata and Chennai, to be a part of the study.

They were asked to fill in a structured survey which contained 13 questions. The results were tabulated using statistical measures and revealed patterns from which inferences were drawn.

These inferences are of value because they can be used as evidences to formulate policy frameworks and regulatory mechanisms to control smoking among the adolescents.

According to the WHO, smoking claims the lives of over seven million people each year. Six million of these people die as a result of direct tobacco use; while around 8,90,000 victims are non-smokers who have been repeatedly exposed to second-hand smoke.

In 2015, the WHO recorded that across the globe, 1.1 billion people smoked tobacco. In India, 34.6% of adults (out of which 47.9% is males and 20.3% is females) are smokers. The absolute number of male smokers has grown from 79 million in 1998 to 108 million in 2015.

Key Findings of the Study:

• 89% teenagers agreed that if it's ok for their parents to smoke, then it's ok for them too.

• 87% teenagers believe that watching actors smoke in movies promotes smoking among the audience.

• 85% teenagers agree that it is okay to experiment with smoking at least once.

• 78% teenagers admitted knowing if anyone smokes in their school.

• 78% teenagers agree that celebrity figures featuring in anti-smoking campaigns would be helpful.

• 75% teenagers feel that it is difficult to say "NO" to their friends or peers when they offer a cigarette.

• 63% teenagers believe that disclaimers showing harmful consequences of smoking do help in its prevention.

• 53% teenagers think that smoking can help in reducing stress.

• 52% teenagers believe smoking helps increase concentration levels.

• 46% teenagers believed that they would begin to smoke in efforts to appear 'cool' and mature among their peers.

• 19% teenagers believe that talking to a counselor can help in preventing possible addiction to smoking.

Inferences:

• Media: Through its various platforms, media can play an important role in promoting or dissuading young boys and girls from smoking. Young minds are extremely impressionable and the media can play a pivotal role in encouraging risky behavior by making smoking seem stylish. Therefore, the need for media literacy needs to be highlighted amongst the youth.

• Peer Pressure: Peer Pressure can cause youngsters to pick up the habit of smoking at a young age. This is because there is a need to impress others and stay at par with what comes across as the latest trends in being 'cool' and 'fitting in'. Peer pressure can cause youngsters to engage in risky behavior without thinking of the consequences. Teenagers need to be counselled about peer pressure and how they can handle it in a positive and pragmatic manner.

• Parents: Parents need to take on a supportive role. They need to develop a trusting rapport with the adolescent. They must not be patronizing in their approach. Penalizing the child often doesn't lead anywhere either. Instead engaging with the adolescent is important so that he or she can take on the responsibility of seeking professional help and counselling to overcome their addiction.

• Professional Help: Professional help is irreplaceable, and addictive behaviours do not change abruptly, but through a series of stages. Support and motivation are a very important part of a successful recovering addict, and once a person has developed a dependence on a substance, there almost always remains a danger of relapse. Counseling in such a scenario for the recovering addict as well as the family is very useful.

Dr Samir Parikh, Director, Department of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, Fortis Healthcare said, "Understanding that there is a problem which needs to be addressed is the first step towards overcoming tobacco addiction. Smoking is plaguing the society and we are moving into an era where it is acceptable for younger age groups to begin smoking and engage in other risky behavior."

He added, "This will only lead to the early onset of lifestyle related diseases and therefore we need to promote adequate training and empowerment of any caregiver who actively works with children to ensure that early identification and timely intervention take place. In order to wage a war against tobacco use, one must be fully equipped with adequate knowledge about how tobacco can affect the mind and body. The support system of anyone overcoming addiction must realize that the power of psychological dependence is extremely strong and can only be broken by taking small incremental steps over a period of time."

Source: ABP

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Wednesday 13 December 2017

Tobacco can cause many problems, cancer is only the beginning

By N Jayaram

Tobacco harms both the body and the mind. With more than 25,00,000 children and 12,00,00,000 adults using tobacco every day, the thriving tobacco industry has been taking the lives of more than a million people every year. Beyond causing lung cancer, tobacco has multiple destructive effects on one’s health and lifestyle. 

However, the larger mainstream discussions have not gone past the carcinogenic effects of tobacco, be it through the flash messages on TV screens or daunting pictures on paan packets for spreading greater awareness. The truth is that though cancer is one of the major consequences of tobacco consumption, several other comorbidities are not brought under the scanner. 

Some of the lesser known health hazards of tobacco consumption are listed below: 

.. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma, which could be hard to control 

.. Iron deficiency, caused by chewing tobacco 

.. Gradual loss of ability to smell and taste 

.. Could result in infertility due to harm to sperm 

.. Macular degeneration (retinal degenerative disease) which could lead to loss of vision 

.. Smoking leads to problems during pregnancy, such as babies born with a low birth weight, early labour, death of baby and cleft lip 

Tobacco consumption, be it in the form of smoking or chewing, could pave the way for chronic health conditions like COPD, common in today’s society. COPD refers to a group of diseases that cause airflow blockage and breathing-related problems. COPD induces emphysema (a lung condition that causes shortness of breath), chronic bronchitis and asthma in some cases. Smoking is accounted as the killer for eight out of 10 COPD-related deaths. 

In teenage smokers, there is an increased chance of developing COPD in adulthood as smoking doesn’t let the lungs grow. The initial symptoms of the disorder could be occasional shortness of breath especially after exercise, mild but recurrent cough, needing to clear the throat often especially first thing in the morning, which can be dismissed as a cold. Symptoms can worsen as the condition progresses and it will get harder to ignore since as a result of the complications associated with it, lungs could be completely damaged. Therefore, it is important to seek medical attention at the earliest. 

Chewing tobacco is very common in many parts of our country, especially in villages, despite a ban on the same. Chewing tobacco or tobacco products could result in iron deficiency, anaemia, and another largely-neglected disorder which could turn chronic in future: Cognitive decline in men is also an upshot of higher levels of tobacco consumption.

Passive smoking is proven to have adverse outcomes on the health of babies. Smoking habits in pregnant mothers could cause asthma in their newborns, or result in serious complications including stillbirth. Low birth weight in infants can also be chalked up to the fact that nicotine and carbon monoxide work together to reduce oxygen supply to the baby. In adults, the environmental tobacco smoker or passive smoker can suffer from diabetes and obesity. Smoking also weakens bone strength in humans, resulting in increased risk for osteoporosis and bone fractures. 

There have been indications that smoking decreases fertility in women, increases the frequency of menstrual abnormalities and decreases the age of spontaneous menopause. In males, it has been suggested that cigarette smoking negatively affects every system involved in the reproductive process. 

Tobacco can only cause harm to the human race. So, stay away, breathe clean and let the world stay healthy too. 


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Monday 27 November 2017

Tobacco hurts more than your lungs – it damages the communities that grow it

Eleanor Jew

The Kipembawe Division is hidden in the southern highlands of south-west Tanzania, a long seven-hour drive north from the city of Mbeya.

The scenery is stunning, yet when you look closer you can see that tobacco plants dominate agricultural areas, and the sound of trees being felled is a constant background noise. Just the word “tobacco” conjures up vivid imagery of death and disease, as depicted on graphic cigarette packets and through hard-hitting anti-smoking campaigns.

But tobacco’s impact starts long before it is found wrapped in a cigarette, and affects many more people than the estimated one billion smokers worldwide. Tobacco also impacts the health and well-being of the people who grow it and the environment where it is grown, often with devastating consequences.

My colleagues and I have recently published research demonstrating just how damaging it can be to the environment and communities in rural Tanzania. Most villages in Kipembawe don’t have electricity or mobile phone coverage.

There are minimal healthcare facilities, and water is obtained from wells and rivers. There are few crops people can grow to make money and the dominant one is tobacco, farmed by 86 per cent of the 196 households we surveyed. In Tanzania, 47 per cent of the population lives below the international poverty line and rural poverty rates are even higher, where most people are reliant on agriculture.

In Africa, tobacco cultivation is often associated with the presence of a dry tropical woodland called “miombo”, which dominates Kipembawe.

Miombo woodland covers over 2.4m km² in Africa, but is undergoing rapid deforestation and degradation throughout its range. Both tobacco and miombo trees like sandy, slightly acidic soils. Unfortunately, these soils don’t contain many nutrients, and tobacco is one of the most nutrient-hungry crops there is.

This means farmers must clear more woodland almost every year to create new fields, because the land can only support one or two cropping cycles. For tobacco leaves to be preserved for transportation and further processing they must be dried or cured. This places another burden on the trees, which are used for fuel. In total, approximately 4,134 hectares of woodland are cleared annually within Kipembawe. This reduces biodiversity and the benefits the local environment can provide people, including carbon storage, firewood, building materials and fresh water.

Risks to farmers
But woodland clearance is just the start of the process. Throughout the growing season, farmers apply several rounds of fertiliser and pesticides to the crop, yet few farmers understand the risks associated with their use. During our time in Kipembawe, we didn’t see anyone using protective clothing or equipment, exposing farmers, families and labourers to harmful chemicals.

What’s more, despite regulations that aim to reduce the impact of fertilisers on water sources, the crops are often initially grown close to rivers so that the distance to carry water is shorter. This means the only source of drinking water for livestock can become contaminated, causing conflict between livestock keepers and tobacco farmers.

Tobacco companies 'use pricing tactics to keep smokers hooked'
Child labour within tobacco growing is a also well-known issue, and the main tobacco organisations have joined the Eliminating Child Labour in Tobacco Growing Foundation. But we saw children working in the fields, and evidence from primary schools indicates that children are likely to start working on their parents’ fields from around the age of 13.

While this has obvious consequences for their education, there are also severe health impacts. Green tobacco sickness is a form of nicotine poisoning that occurs when the tobacco leaves are wet and contact the skin. Nicotine is absorbed through the skin, and leads to fever, vomiting and dizziness. While it rarely results in death it can be extremely frightening to children, who are more susceptible to severe symptoms due to a lack of nicotine tolerance and smaller body size.

Little other choice
So why do farmers grow tobacco? Many people have few alternative ways to make a living and farmers can get a good price for top quality tobacco. This money can significantly improve the lives of the farmers, enabling them to pay school fees, invest in other businesses, and afford bicycles and solar electricity.

Some men spend their money during the weeks after harvest drinking in the local pubs and pop-up bars which emerge. Canny women brew home beer from maize, and make a roaring trade. But prostitutes also flock to the area around this time, raising the risk of STI transmission. HIV rates in Mbeya are the third highest in the country, with nine per cent of 15-49 year olds testing positive for HIV – four per cent higher than the national average.

Despite the 2005 World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and falling smoking rates, global population growth means total tobacco use looks likely to keep rising in the foreseeable future. But in Kipembawe, the deforestation associated with tobacco cultivation will ultimately make production unviable because there will be no fuel left to cure the crop.

This will leave the community without a significant source of income and a degraded environment. If people had other ways to make their living, it would help reduce the social and environmental burdens of tobacco production, but opportunities are limited. Tobacco production could be made more sustainable using alternative drying methods, reforestation, more efficient use of fertilisers and pesticides and land use management plans.
But extensive training and support is needed, and child labour must be eliminated. All of this will be difficult while there is such great demand for tobacco. So next time you think about lighting up, remember it’s not just your health at risk. Kicking the habit could save both trees and children’s chances.

Eleanor Jew is a researcher in conservation and agriculture at the University of Leeds. 

Source: Independent

This article originally appeared in The Conversation (theconversation.com)

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Thursday 16 November 2017

Train Children to Say NO to Tobacco






















Parents and teachers have a major role in equipping children to say no to tobacco, said ace violinist Balabhaskar here on Children’s Day, marking the launch of the social media campaign #SayNO2Tobacco.

The campaign #SayNo2Tobacco aims to protect children from tobacco use initiation by training them to say a bold No, and thereby create tobacco free schools and colleges in Kerala.

“I have never smoked or used tobacco in life, nor do I intend to. We need creative ways and responses to help children say no to tobacco and this is what the campaign aims at,” the youth icon noted.

The well-known composer also launched a jingle in Malayalam encouraging children to say no to tobacco. The jingle composed by Balabhaskar has been written by Joy Thamalam and rendered by artists Amritha, Prarthana and Janaki.

Dr AS Pradeep Kumar, Advisor, Tobacco Free Kerala spoke about how important it is to stop children from initiating tobacco use. “Only 2-4 per cent of smokers have been able to voluntarily stop smoking.  Parents should emulate a culture of not giving in to all demands made by children. In due course of time, this will help children also to say no to tobacco.”

“Easy availability of tobacco products near schools and colleges; peer influence and promotions through cinema are all temptations for the young to start use of tobacco products,” added Dr Pradeep, who is also the Senior Research Officer, Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies of Sree Chitra Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology here.

As part of this campaign, Tobacco Free Kerala requests teachers, parents, doctors, students and all concerned citizens to share opinions and thoughts on ‘How and When Children should Say NO to Tobacco’. The campaign is also a platform to share experiences on ‘How and When You Said NO to Tobacco’.

S Jayaraj, State Coordinator, Tobacco Free Kerala welcomed the gathering. Students from Paadashala – an after-school child care in Trivandrum also participated in the event.  

Here's how you can participate in this campaign







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Wednesday 1 November 2017

Govt proposes regular scrutiny to enforce curbs on tobacco sale

In a blatant violation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, vendors are openly selling tobacco products to minors within a radius of 100 yards of educational institutions in the national capital. After a program evaluation under the National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP), the ministry of health and family welfare has now proposed regular scrutiny for compliance of the act across the country.

A study of randomly selected 100 educational institutions was conducted December 2015 in Delhi by the epidemiology division, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), National Tobacco Control Program, Directorate General Health Services (DGHS), ministry of health and family welfare along and World Health Organization (WHO).

Activities related to Section 6 of COTPA around educational institutions, such as the sale of tobacco products within a radius of 100 yards, sale of tobacco products to and by minors, and existence of display boards prohibiting sale of tobacco products were observed using Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled tablet computers preloaded with maps and Open Data Kit software.

“We accessed compliance of Section 6 of COTPA around educational institutions in Delhi. Among the 100 educational institutions surveyed (53 government, 47 private), tobacco products were sold at 43 outlets within a radius of 100 yards of 27 educational institutions. No outlet had a display board prohibiting sale of tobacco products to minors,” said Rajesh Yadav from NCDC.

“One outlet sold tobacco products to minors during the period of observation, but sale of tobacco products by minors was not observed. Only 38% of educational institutions displayed board prohibiting tobacco sales; private educational institutions were significantly less likely to display signs prohibiting tobacco sales than government educational institutions,” he said.

The study has also been published in the latest issue of International Journal of Preventive Medicine. Although COTPA (2003) and the NTCP have been in existence for many years, health ministry officials said studies from around the country have shown poor compliance of laws for tobacco control in previous years.

Studies in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka and Bihar reported sale of tobacco products within a radius of 100 yards to be in 46%, 57%, 50%, 65%, and 62% of educational institutions, respectively, in 2012-2013. Non-existence of the statutory display boards prohibiting sale of tobacco products outside schools in the states of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, and Bihar was reported in 78%, 98%, 82%, 71%, and 93% of educational institutions, respectively, in 2012-2013.

“Similar periodic surveys are required to enable regulatory agencies to enforce COTPA in letter and spirit to control tobacco use,” Yadav said.

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of disease and premature deaths globally and in India. Tobacco related diseases account for an estimated 6 million deaths globally and 0.8-0.9 million deaths in India each year. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey, India (2009), shows that nearly 35% of adults use tobacco, and the average age at initiation of daily tobacco use is 17.9 years.

Source: Livemint
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Friday 20 October 2017

Hardcore smokers are softening over time

Cigarette smokers with high levels of psychological distress are often heavy smokers, and thus identified as a “hardcore” group who are less willing or able to quit than other smokers. However, a study by UC San Francisco researchers shows that over the course of 19 years, from 1997 to 2015, this hardcore group smoked progressively fewer cigarettes per day and tried to quit in increasingly greater numbers, along with every other group of smokers in the United States.

“Even though they smoke more than the general population, smokers with high psychological distress have been smoking less and trying to quit more, as the overall level of smoking has decreased,” said Margarete C. Kulik, a postdoctoral fellow with the UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education (CTCRE) and the lead author of the study. “This shows that with effective tobacco control policies, even hardcore smokers will soften over time.”

The study, published on Oct. 10, 2017, in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, draws on data from the U.S. National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) administered annually by the U.S. Census Bureau. Current smokers were asked how many cigarettes they smoked per day and whether they had tried to quit smoking for one day or longer in the past 12 months. Based on answers to the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, which is included in the NHIS, smokers were assigned to one of three categories: no distress, moderate distress and serious psychological distress. Responses from a total of 118,604 smokers were analyzed.

The researchers found that from 1997 to 2015, cigarette consumption declined significantly among all three groups. Among the no distress group, cigarettes smoked per day decreased from 16.3 to 11.2, while cigarette consumption in the high distress group decreased from 19.6 to 14.5. The proportion of smokers who reported trying to quit increased in all groups and was highest among those with serious distress.

“The finding that there were more quit attempts among smokers with the highest levels of distress might reflect the fact that although these smokers are motivated and willing to quit, they may need more help quitting successfully,” said senior author Stanton Glantz, UCSF professor of medicine and director of CTCRE. “This indicates that we should be encouraging our mental health providers to treat tobacco dependence along with other problems. Contrary to popular belief, treating nicotine addiction does not complicate the treatment of other substance abuse or mental health issues and in fact has been shown to improve outcomes among people in substance abuse treatment and recovery. Even smokers with the greatest psychological distress can be reached and helped to quit.”

Glantz added that the new findings, combined with earlier research that also showed softening among the general population, “seriously challenge the tobacco industry’s position that ‘harm reduction’ products such as e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn products are the only way out of the tobacco epidemic. These products are premised on the unproven assumption that there is an intractable hard core of smokers who cannot be reached using established tobacco control policies.”

The study was supported by funds from the UC Tobacco Related Disease Research Program and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education specializes in tobacco control research focused on policy change, smoking cessation, nicotine addiction, health disparities in smoking, novel tobacco devices and tobacco marketing. It also houses the Truth Tobacco Documents Library, a rich resource of previously confidential tobacco industry documents.

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Monday 16 October 2017

FSSAI asks states to strictly comply with SC ban on sale of gutka containing tobacco

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has directed all states to strictly comply with the Supreme Court order banning the sale of gutka and pan masala containing tobacco or nicotine, saying some states were violating the order.

“It has come to the notice of FSSAI that the prohibited substances i.e. gutkha and pan masala containing tobacco and/or nicotine as ingredients are available for sale in some states and union territories despite those states having issued notifications banning the same,” said Rajesh Singh, director (regulatory compliance division), FSSAI, in a letter to the commissioners of food safety and officers-in-charge of food safety of all states and union territories. 

According to the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on sales) Regulations, 2011, issued by the FSSAI, under the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006, tobacco and nicotine shall not be used as ingredients in any food products.

The ministry of health & family welfare in December 2016 had issued a complete ban on the production, promotion and sale of food products containing tobacco and nicotine as ingredients across India. These included gutka, pan masala, zarda and tobacco-based flavoured mouth fresheners.

The move followed a Supreme Court order of 23 September 2016, banning chewing tobacco products. While Bihar, Karnataka, Mizoram, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh have issued orders in compliance of the apex court’s order, several states are yet to follow suit, officials at FSSAI said.

The apex Court had also directed the statutory authorities and secretaries (health department) of all states and UTs to file their affidavits on the issue of total compliance of the ban. The manufacture, storage, distribution and sale of gutka and pan masala containing tobacco or nicotine or any other products with these ingredients is prohibited.

Tobacco use is the foremost preventable cause of death and disease in India and globally. As per the Global Audit Tobacco Survey—India (GATS) 2010, over 200 million Indians consume smokeless tobacco (through chewing for instance), making the burden of mortality and morbidity from these products very high in India.

Available evidence suggests that India has the highest incidence of oral cancer in the world.

Source: Mint
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Tuesday 10 October 2017

Ban tobacco products outside schools: PIL in HC

The Delhi High Court today sought the response of the Centre and city government on a PIL seeking to enforce a complete ban on sale of tobacco and cigarettes near educational institutions in the national capital.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar also issued notice to the governments education department and all civic bodies here, directing them to file their status reports on the allegations raised in the PIL.

The bench said "it is a really important issue" and asked the authorities to place their stand before it by the next date of hearing on January 30 next year.

An NGO -- Doctors For You -- moved the court alleging that despite a ban on the sale of tobacco products near educational institutions, one can easily find a number of shops selling such products near schools in the city in violation of the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) 2003.

As per section 6 of the COTPA, sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products within a 100-yard radius of educational institutions is deemed illegal.

The plea said the "sale of tobacco products within a 100 -yard radius of educational institutions is prohibited under COTPA. However, the norms linked to this Act are being openly flouted by vendors."

Seeking enforcement of the Act, the petitioner has sought a direction to the authorities to ensure that all the schools are "tobacco free".

It said there should be "no availability" of tobacco products in the campus and a committee should be set up to monitor compliance of the Act.

The NGO has also sought a direction to the education department to ask the schools to display information in and outside their premises like "no smoking area" and "smoking is an offence".

The petition said the authorities concerned should ensure that "tobacco products and its ancillary products are sold from registered/authorised shops and in compliance with the provisions of the COTPA."

It said that the Centre and the Delhi government shall ensure that there is no sale of cigarettes, beedies, cigars and any other tobacco products in single stick or loose. 

Source: India Today
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Saturday 7 October 2017

Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar may soon have to display anti-tobacco warnings

Digital streaming services like Netflix, Hotstar and Amazon Prime may soon have to display messages and warnings during scenes showing use of tobacco products.

The health ministry has written to the telecom regulator to issue an advisory to online movie and TV programme streaming companies to comply with anti-tobacco rules and display messages and warnings during scenes showing tobacco products or their use. The letter came after the ministry observed violation of anti-tobacco rules by these companies.

“While the rules are well implemented in films screened in movie theatres, the films and TV programmes streamed using internet like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, Voot and Hungama among others are ‘not fully compliant’ to these rules,” the letter from the ministry of health and family welfare to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) stated. 

As per the rules, all films and TV programmes, while displaying tobacco products or their use, are required to run anti-tobacco health spots of minimum 30 seconds at the beginning and middle of the programme, the letter further said.

Also, the rules mandate display of anti-tobacco health warning as a prominent static message at the bottom of the screen during the period of display of the tobacco products or their use in the television programmes.

The letter also mentioned that they are also required to submit a strong editorial justification explaining the necessity of display of tobacco products or their usage in the film to the Central Board of Film Certification.

An audio visual disclaimer on the ill-effects of tobacco use in the beginning and middle of the film or television programmes is also necessary. They should be of minimum 20 seconds duration each, the letter stated.

The Union health ministry notified the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce,Production, Supply and distribution) (second amendment rules) 2011 and 2012 to regulate the depiction of tobacco products or their use in films and TV programmes.

Earlier this year in February, noticing that television programmes were breaking rules under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), the Union ministry along with the ministry of information and broadcasting had said that they are planning to put in place a mechanism to monitor telecast that display tobacco products or their use.

Source: LiveMint


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Tuesday 3 October 2017

Clinical psychologists call for creating a brand of tobacco free educational institutions in Kerala

Image result for tobacco free educational institutions
Clinical psychologists of Kerala attached to the Indian Association of Clinical Psychologists (IACP) have called upon the Government to make tobacco free educational institutions a brand in the state. Parents should be able to send children to educational institutions without any apprehension of their falling for dangerous tobacco use at a tender age, they aver.

In the wake of the recent Global Burden of Disease Study that said smoking killed 7.1 million in 2016, the 600-member-strong IACP-Kerala feels that the state can be a worthy example to the rest of the world by creating a brand of tobacco free educational institutions. It has called for a combination of measures including enforcement and stakeholder involvement to achieve this public health-friendly goal.

Dr Sany Varghese, President of the Association said, “In our day-to-day clinical practice, we are witness to unfortunate cases of children going astray following addiction to tobacco use. Criminal tendencies and even suicidal tendencies are reported in some students.”

Licenses of shops selling tobacco products near educational institutions should be cancelled to cut out supply of these products, Dr Sany pointed out.

Association Secretary Dr Gitanjali Natarajan said, “Youngsters have told us how they sneak in tobacco products to schools without the knowledge of their parents and teachers. What initially starts as an entertaining pastime, many a times ends up in loss of youthful years to disease.”

Dr S.Satheesh Nair, Former President of IACP Kerala and President of Government Clinical Psychologists Association noted, “Parents should inculcate a culture of asking children how they spend their pocket money. Tobacco free educational institutions are a must if the future of our state and country has to be rid from the life-long burden of tobacco-induced maladies.”

The President also extended a helping hand to educational institutions that need counselling support to wean off youngsters hooked on to tobacco use.   

Photo Courtesy: Asianetnews
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In 9 years, over ₹16 crore collected in fine for public smoking

Nine years after the implementation of rules against smoking, which came into effect on October 2, 2008, ₹16,99,05,469 have been collected by the government as fines for violating the norms.

This, as per information given to the Parliament by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

According to the data available, challans were issued to and fines collected from 12,74,638 people during the period from April 2013 to March 2017 for violating Section 4 of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA, 2003), i.e smoking in public places.

Warning signs
The law defines ‘public place’ as any place to which the public has access, whether as of right or otherwise, and includes all places visited by the general public. Boards containing the warning ‘No Smoking Area — Smoking Here is an Offence’ has to be displayed prominently at the entrance of public places.

Fines were also collected under various other Sections, including illegal advertising/sale around educational areas. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently issued a notification banning the use of hookah services in dining areas. It also issued a letter to all State Chief Secretaries of the State on developing a mechanism to provide permission/authorisation through Municipal Authorities by making a provision that retail shops authorised for selling tobacco products cannot sell any non-tobacco products.

COTPA rules
“The COTPA, enacted in 2003, is applicable to the entire country and is aimed at discouraging the consumption of cigarettes and other tobacco products by imposing progressive restrictions and to protect non-smokers from second-hand smoke. The implementation of COTPA is best done when the system/mechanism is institutionalised,” said a senior official in an anti-tobacco advocacy group.

Prohibition on smoking in public spaces and all forms of direct/indirect advertisement, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products, ban on sale of tobacco products to minors and within a radius of 100 yards of educational institutions, and mandatory depiction of specified health warnings on all tobacco products are the major provisions of COTPA.

As per the Section 12 of COTPA, any police officer, not below the rank of the sub-inspector can take action against these violations.

Source: The Hindu
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Tuesday 19 September 2017

Tobacco chewing commuters on Lucknow Metro's radar

In the City of Nawabs, security officials deployed at the Lucknow Metro stations are on a task to sniff out tobacco from commuters and have weeded out over 20 kg tobacco products in the first two days of its launch.

Metro passengers in the city have been trying various tricks to smuggle tobacco and related products inside coaches.

"The passengers, who are in the habit of carrying tobacco products, are not ready to give up and try to smuggle it pan masala and other products in their pockets, socks and belts," a security personnel deployed at the Charbagh Metro Station said.

In the first two days of its launch, Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) security collected over 20 kgs of tobacco and related products.

"During frisking while entering Metro premises, Metro officials were able to collect approximately 20 kg tobacco and other related items like pan, pan masala, cigarette etc. from commuters," LMRC MD Kumar Keshav said.

The confiscated items will be handed over to the municipal corporation for disposal.

"I am very thankful to commuters for their cooperation in frisking and keeping the metro clean. Lucknow Metro is a green and environment friendly public transport and it is our duty to keep it clean. The efforts of LMRC and public will definitely help in keeping metro a clean public transport," the MD said.

Of the total eight stations, six kgs of tobacco products were seized from Charbagh followed by Transport Nagar, where four kg of tobacco products were seized.

Source: Times of India
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Monday 18 September 2017

Ensure zero tolerance towards tobacco use, engineering colleges told

Engineering colleges across the nation have been asked to show zero tolerance towards consumption of drugs, smoking and using tobacco related products.The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has given strict instructions to colleges to be zero tolerant towards such activities. In a circular issued recently, colleges have been asked to organise campaigns by using NCC, NSS and other voluntary groups.

AICTE has warned colleges to keep an eye on students with such habits and initiate immediate action against them. “Not just at the college campuses, we have even asked colleges to be vigilant at hostels where students from other countries reside. More than the campus, hostels are vulnerable to such activities,” said a senior official of AICTE.

In case of such incidents reported at the campus, then the colleges must submit report to the AICTE along with details of students indulged in such activities. “Considering the seriousness of the case, the colleges can also file a police complaint. It is not just to punish those who indulges in such things, it is also important to know the source of the drugs,” said an AICTE official.

A few days after the circular was issued, a drug abuse case was cracked in Karnataka. Udupi district police have detained six students of Manipal Institute of Technology  at Udupi. Police have conducted medical examination of the students and filed a case. AICTE has also sought a report from the institute.

‘No room for junk food too’
AICTE has also asked engineering colleges to create awareness about junk food. “We cannot ignore the ill effects of junk food on our health. It causes obesity. So, we have asked institutes to regulate the food available in canteens,” an AICTE official said.

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Monday 11 September 2017

Youth more likely to discourage than promote smoking among peers

Young people more often discourage smoking among their peers than encourage it, new University of Otago research suggests.

Around half of 14-and 15-year old New Zealanders have carried out at least one behaviour during the past year to discourage smoking, most often by telling their peers that smoking is bad for their health; to stop smoking; that they do not like smoking; and that smoking is a waste of money.

By contrast, fewer than one in ten 14-and 15-year olds did something to encourage smoking among their peers, most typically by giving them a cigarette or offering to share a cigarette. The findings come from a new Otago study published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.

The Study used survey findings from the 2014 Youth Insights survey of 2919 Year 10 students from 142 high schools throughout New Zealand.

The study's lead researcher, Dr Louise Marsh, says the Tobacco industry often uses the argument that smoking among young people is due to peer pressure.

"Our findings suggest that there is considerable promotion of non-smoking in the opposite direction.

"This was the case even among young people who reported smoking. It was also encouraging that Māori and Pacific young people were more likely to discourage smoking than young people from other ethnicities," Dr Marsh says.

Those students who discouraged smoking were also more likely to report exposure to anti-smoking messages from a range of sources including classes at school, smokefree events and smokefree adverts. This is positive in that it indicates the spreading of smokefree messages throughout the community might influence young peoples' desire to be "agents of change", and to spread their own smokefree messages.

US research based on the Truth campaign has shown the effectiveness of "peer-to-peer" influence in reducing tobacco smoking among young people. In New Zealand, the Health Promotion Agency's Stop Before You Start campaign has helped shape social norms around non-smoking."

Our findings demonstrate that a lot of informal youth-to-youth health education is already happening in NZ. This could be extended to engage young people as active ambassadors of Smokefree 2025," she says.


More information: Louise Marsh et al. New Zealand adolescents' discouragement of smoking among their peers, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health (2017). DOI: 10.1111/1753-6405.12698 
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