On 29 October, Philip Morris Spain signed an agreement with the Spanish police to fund equipment including underwater cameras, night vision systems, and scanners for verifying authentication and tracking of tobacco products. The agreement also includes support during inspections and seizures of counterfeit products to assess possible illegal activities regarding the entire production and distribution […]
E-cigarettes and children: advocates walking on both sides of the street?
Post written by Prof Simon Chapman AO Follow Simon on Twitter: @simonchapman6 —- In a 2014 open letter to the WHO’s director general Margaret Chan signed by 53 researchers, it was argued “Controls on [ecigarette] advertising to nonsmokers, and particularly to young people are certainly justified, but a total ban would have many negative effects, […]
Nepal: report card on progress in tobacco control
Dr Pranil Man Singh Pradhan Department of Community Health Sciences, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur It has been four years since the Tobacco Product Control and Regulatory Bill was passed in Nepal and significant progress […]
An Australian perspective on tobacco control in the 21st Century
Neil Francey, Barrister at Law, Whitsunday Chambers E Haydn Walters, University of Tasmania; The Alfred, Melbourne; and Royal Hobart Hospital and Adrian Reynolds, Southern Mental Health and Statewide Services Tasmanian Health Organisation; and School of Medicine, University of Tasmania The Australian experience in recent years is that tobacco control measures should be viewed according to their […]
The problem with comparing meat and smoking cancer risk
The Guardian reports: Comparing meat to tobacco, as most news organisations who’ve chosen to report this have done, makes it seem like a bacon sandwich might be just as harmful as a cigarette. This is absolutely not the case. This Cancer Research UK infographic elegantly shows that while the evidence that processed meat causes […]
Southeast Asia: new tobacco tax index
The world’s first tobacco taxation index by a civil society organisation has been published by the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA). The report monitors implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Article 6 guidelines on price and tax measures. Southeast Asia is home to approximately 10% of the world’s 1 billion smokers and […]
Tobacco Carve-Out in TPP
While good news for tobacco control, it is important to note that other important health regulations are not likely to be given similar treatment. The necessity of a carve out for tobacco control shows that health laws are extremely vulnerable to corporate abuse of investor-state dispute settlement provisions. from Action on Smoking and Health Tobacco […]
Southeast Asia: Tobacco Industry Interference Index
Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) Tobacco industry interference in public health policy making continues to be a significant problem in ASEAN countries. This is the main finding of the recent report, Tobacco Industry Interference Index: 2015 ASEAN Report on Implementation of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Article 5.3, released last month by the […]
How to dramatically reduce smoking without banning tobacco sales
Micah Berman, Ohio State University Last November, the Board of Health for Westminster, a town in central Massachusetts, proposed prohibiting all tobacco sales – even e-cigarettes – in the town. Westminster’s three-person Board of Health said that the proposal was meant to protect the next generation from tobacco and nicotine products. The board expressed frustration […]
Kerala: India’s first tobacco ad-free state
Rema Sundar, Tobacco Free Kerala Kerala has become the first state in India to become tobacco advertisement free. This major milestone for public health in the country represents strong government commitment, a favourable policy framework, accountability, and engagement by various departments to achieve robust enforcement. The first step was successfully abolishing tobacco advertisements at the points-of-sale […]