ASH Daily News for 07 September 2007
HEADLINES
British Medical Association calls for pack ban to reduce teenage smoking
Teeth whitening up since smoke ban
New York: Graphic Victorian anti-smoking advertisement is creating waves
Australia: Health groups echo New Zealand call for smokefree future
British Medical Association calls for pack ban to reduce teenage smoking
The British Medical Association wants to make it harder for teenagers to start smoking. Doctors have called for 10-packs of cigarettes and tobacco vending machines to be banned to tackle teenage smoking.
The British Medical Association's Scottish Council said the measures were needed to ensure that tobacco was harder for young people to buy.
The plan includes introducing a licensing scheme for shops selling tobacco similar to that already in place for alcohol retailers.
The BMA said that most smokers begin in adolescence, with evidence suggesting that the younger someone starts smoking, the less likely they are to give up.
Young people often buy cigarettes from vending machines because of the lack of age checks or they buy packs of 10 because they are cheaper.
The BMA proposals also include a ban on cigarettes being displayed at the point of sale in shops, and for long-term investment in preventing teenagers taking up smoking, and helping those already smoking to give up.
The Scottish Government is to raise the legal age for buying tobacco from 16 to 18 next month.
Dr Andrew Buist, a member of the BMA's Scottish Council, said further measures are needed to be introduced for the age increase to be successful in cutting the number of young people taking up smoking.
He said: “The age increase is only one step in reducing young people's access to tobacco. We must do all we can to stop youngsters getting hooked in the first place. Addressing these two issues would significantly reduce the availability of cigarettes to young people.”
Dr Buist said evidence suggested that the existing age limit for tobacco sales was not always properly enforced by retailers, which raised questions as to how effectively the age increase would be policed.
He added: “Only through a multi-faceted range of measures will we be able to tackle the biggest preventable cause of death in Scotland.”
Welcoming the proposals, a spokeswoman for anti-smoking group Ash Scotland said: “It can't just be education - you have to cut off the supply.”
“You have also got to make sure there are services available to young smokers to help them stop smoking as soon as possible.”
Source: BBC News, 07 September 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/yvcwld
Teeth whitening up since smoke ban
The number of people having their teeth whitened has increased since the smoking ban came into force.
The British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (BACD) said there had been a “marked increase in demand for whitening treatments since the ban was introduced on July 1.”
BACD board members reported the rise, with some practices seeing the number of people opting for treatments increased by up to 40%.
On average, respondents noted an increase of 12%. Teeth whitening is the most popular cosmetic dentistry treatment, followed by white fillings, veneers, crowns and bridges.
Christopher Orr, a dentist and BACD president, said: “It appears people are smoking less now due to the ban, so it is not a surprise that many would like an improved smile to go with their better health.”
“Once they reduce or even stop their consumption of cigarettes altogether, people notice the visible damage done to their teeth and for the first time feel confident enough to do something about it.”
“Patients also realise that the cost savings of giving up smoking means they can treat themselves to a cosmetic procedure, which even offers an anti-ageing effect.”
A previous BACD survey found that four out of five people were unhappy with their smiles and up to a fifth concealed their teeth in photos.
Source: The Press Association, 05 September 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/2qbotz
New York: Graphic Victorian anti-smoking advertisement is creating waves
The television commercial, which shows a fatty blockage being removed from the carotid artery in a patient's neck, was given an M-rating when it was launched in New York earlier this year.
The New York Post has described the advertisements, which will run during televised sporting events, as “among the most shocking things ever seen on American TV.”
“The most graphic scenes on television these days are not about sex they are a new set of anti-smoking ads that have begun to air during sporting events,” a Post columnist wrote on its website.
Suzie Stillman, acting director of Quit, said she was pleased with the response.
“We are delighted the quit smoking messages have had an impact in New York, given many would assume American television viewers are fairly unshockable by now,” Ms Stillman said.
She said the commercials were graphic and confronting, but were a real representation of the consequences of smoking.
Source: Herald Sun, 07 September 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/3bae7y
Australia: Health groups echo New Zealand call for smokefree future
The National Heart Foundation of Australia, The Cancer Council Australia and Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) have supported a call by their New Zealand counterparts for a smokefree New Zealand by 2017.
Representatives from the Australian health organisations said they welcomed and applauded the establishment of a vision for a smokefree New Zealand.
Maurice Swanson of Heart Foundation said “We share their objective that one day smoking will be history.”
Subject to an appropriate level of commitment from the Australian Federal Government, it is possible that Australia could be smokefree within 10 years.
To this end, we urge the next Federal Government to allocate two percent of the revenue from tobacco tax to support the implementation of Australia’s National Tobacco Strategy, including the re-establishment of the National Tobacco Campaign.
Anita Tang, Chair of The Cancer Council Australia’s Tobacco Issues Committee, said a comprehensive national tobacco strategy included a range of measures that evidence showed would substantially reduce smoking rates.
With almost one in five Australians smoking, there is a clear need to do more to reduce the serious risk of death and disease caused by tobacco use, she said.
Source: MediLexicon, 06 September 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/yp69en
