British American Tobacco’s United Dreams of Europe

by Stan Shatenstein At the end of June, the Foundation for Future Studies (Stiftung für Zukunftsfragen) launched the online project, ‘United Dreams of Europe’ (www.uniteddreamsofeurope.eu), the goal of which was allegedly to offer “an insight into the European study of the same name to be published in autumn 2011. For this project more than 15,000 Europeans were […]

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November 16 – World COPD Day

Policymakers to prevent Europe from suffocating Estimated by the World Health Organisation to rise to the third leading cause of death by 2020, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is virtually unknown amongst not only the general public but also amongst many healthcare professionals in primary care. COPD cannot be cured,  which makes prevention, a timely […]

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PMI CEO Louis Camilleri says quitting “not that hard”

By Ruth Malone, Editor Tobacco Control Cancer nurse and University of California, San Francisco graduate student Elisabeth Tove Gundersen, a member of the advocacy group Nightingales Nurses attended the Philip Morris International shareholder meeting today in New York City and spoke about how difficult it was for her patients to stop smoking. CEO Louis Camilleri, […]

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E-cigarettes aren’t a solution — they’re part of the problem

I hesitated to share this commentary on the TC blog as I know anyone who questions the efficacy and safety of e-cigarettes is tarred and feathered as a “quit-or-die” prohibitionist before the “ink” even settles on the page. But, as many online commentators have discussed the perceived positive effects of recent e-cig promotion by celebrities, […]

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A proposal of effective complementary measures to WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control [FCTC]

Luka Solmajer, a tobacco control advocate and pharmacist from Slovenia shares his views on why the economic aspects of tobacco control need urgent action. ________________________ In the year 2010 over 5,000,000 people died because they were addicted to tobacco products. They lost on average 9 years of life and several more years of good health […]

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Tobacco Control publishing workshop in South Africa

By Ruth Malone, Editor When the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control was being negotiated several years back, I was among many others around the world who were impressed with the unanimity and power exerted by the African countries’ delegates. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is in many respects because of strong […]

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Turkish “Sponge” leaves hotline busy signals

By Stephen Hamill Online Communications Manager World Lung Foundation Leveraging a unique law that allows for free prime-time advertising for anti-tobacco ads, Turkey has adapted and launched the hard-hitting “Sponge” campaign, originally produced by the Cancer Institute New South Wales in Australia. The campaign, on both radio and television, is the first to feature Turkey’s […]

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Abuse of libel laws and a sacking: The gagging of public health experts in France

Success in tobacco control will not happen without public health champions speaking freely and honestly to the public. As professor Gérard Dubois explains below, there is real danger these voices are being silenced. ———– Gérard Dubois MD MPH Public Health. University hospital. 80000 Amiens. France As is happening in the UK, France is beginning to […]

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