Tobacco kills one person every 10 seconds

EVERY 10 seconds, one person dies in the world from the use of tobacco, the Friday sermon warned Bruneians yesterday, as it highlighted the dangers of smoking in conjunction with the World No Tobacco Day which fell on Monday.

"Let World No Tobacco Day be a reminder of the bad habit of smoking, and let us take steps together to fight it," said the sermon, reminding Muslims in the country that the risks of tobacco products were not minor but could cause death, not only to the smoker but to others around them.

The sermon lamented that even though people knew full well the stark dangers of smoking, they just brush it aside as they continue using tobacco.

"The teachings of Islam remind its followers not to do anything that can bring about harm to their minds and bodies, and Islam forbids all food and drink that destroy and harm oneself, such as alcohol, pork, illegal use of drugs and cigarettes."

The sermon said that smoking or the use of tobacco products is one of the causes of diseases, such as cancer and diseases of the lungs and heart. It pointed to studies which have shown that the use of tobacco is the cause behind the deaths of four million people every year worldwide.

It added that because of the danger posed by tobacco, many countries including Brunei have laws to control the supply, sale, use and advertising of tobacco products.

The sermon emphasised the ban on smoking in public places, such as school and hospitals.

"This is to protect the public who are present in these areas from being exposed to cigarette smoke, apart from making sure our air is clean and nice to breathe for all."

Under the 2005 Tobacco Order, anyone caught smoking in a public place can be fined up to $10,000. Those selling tobacco products without a licence can be fined $10,000, and those selling products without the health warning can be fined up to $20,000 and imprisoned.

"A maximum fine of $10,000 can be imposed on those who sell tobacco products to those under the age of 18," said the sermon.

"This is appropriate because the youth and children are the generation that will continue our efforts to develop and make our country prosperous."

The sermon also warned against the sale of tobacco replacement devices such as "electronic cigarettes".

It said that while these products are better for one's health, their sale in Brunei is prohibited because it is an imitation of a tobacco product and a fine of $10,000 can be imposed if one is caught.

"If we take care of our health, Insya Allah we can avoid suffering from chronic illnesses and we can save money for the country," said the sermon.

"In 2008, the government spent $20.7 million on healthcare. About 51 per cent of that was spent for the treatment of illnesses, such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes. This does not take into account treatment for other ailments."

The sermon advised that in the effort to take care of one's health, we should take measures to avoid these diseases.

Public smoking bans effective for youth

Children and teens who live in counties banning smoking in public places have much lower levels of a secondhand smoke biomarker, U.S. researchers found.

Study leader Melanie Dove, who received her doctorate in environmental health at Harvard School of Public Health this year, said the team examined data from the 1999-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a cross-sectional survey designed to monitor the health of the U.S. population.

The researchers analyzed the cotinine levels in 11,486 non-smoking children and teens ages 3-19 from 117 counties, both with and without exposure to secondhand smoke in the home.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, found children living where smoking is banned at workplaces, colleges and stores had 39 percent lower prevalence of cotinine in their blood -- an indicator of tobacco smoke exposure -- compared to children exposed to secondhand smoke.

"The laws have been shown to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke among adults. Our results show a similar association in children and adolescents not living with a smoker in the home," senior author Gregory Connolly said in a statement.

Children who lived in homes with smokers exhibited little or no benefit from the public smoking bans, the study found.

IW's top 50 manufacturers range from makers of cigarettes

Can a company founded in 1760 still be relevant in 2009? For Lorillard Inc., the answer is yes. If one product has endured the test of time in the United States, it's tobacco. Despite public smoking bans, warning labels and health concerns associated with tobacco products, Lorillard's 2009 performance was strong enough to earn the No. 1 spot on the 2010 IW 50 Best Manufacturing Companies list.
The 250-year-old company spun off by Loews Corp. in 2008 posted revenue of $5.2 billion last year, representing a 24.5% increase over 2008, with a profit margin of 18%. Its flagship brand, Newport, generates more than 90% of the company's sales. Another tobacco company, Philip Morris International Inc., ranked No. 5 on the list. While the company's Marlboro brand continued to do well, its smokeless tobacco brand Copenhagen showed solid growth in 2009.

In putting together IW's eighth annual 50 Best Manufacturing Companies list, IW ranked IW U.S. 500 manufacturers based on financial performance over the past three years in revenue growth, return on equity, profit margin, asset turnover, inventory turnover and return on assets. Securing the No. 2 spot is Western Digital Corp., which is the second-largest hard-disk-drive manufacturer in the world.
Revenues for 2009 were $7.5 billion with a profit margin of 6.3%. Last year, the company expanded its offerings as it entered the enterprise market segment.
The No. 3 spot belongs to high-tech company Apple Inc. In its fiscal 2009 the company grew revenue by 12.5% and realized profits of $5.7 billion. Helping the bottom line were the 20.7 million iPhones sold in 2009.

While tobacco demand is still strong, in 2009 many consumers turned to healthier products, such as natural beverages. Those healthy habits helped Hansen Natural Corp. earn the No. 4 spot on this year's IW 50 list. Hansen, which manufactures natural beverages, grew revenue 11% to $1.1 billion in 2009. The company also acheived a profit margin of 18% and achieved a return on equity of 48% in 2009.
Representing the growing alternative-energy market is First Solar Inc., a manufacturer of photovoltaic modules. Holding the No. 10 rank, the company, with manufacturing facilities in Ohio; Frankfurt, Germany; and Kulim, Malaysia; reported net income of $640.1 million for 2009 with a strong 65.8% revenue growth. As income grew so did capacity, which reached 1,228 megawatts in 2009, an increase from 716 megawatts in 2008.

New Tobacco Regulations to Take Effect

As the first anniversary of the signing of the Tobacco Control Act approaches, several key provisions of the law that gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate tobacco products are set to take effect.

On June 22, new restrictions that include a ban on terms such as "light," "low" and "mild" in all advertising, packaging and marketing of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products will be enacted, John R. Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society, said during a Thursday afternoon news conference. In addition, packages and advertising of smokeless tobacco products will have new and larger warning labels. A similar rule for cigarettes will take effect in 18 months, Seffrin noted.

Also starting on June 22, tobacco companies will no longer be allowed to sponsor cultural and sporting events, distribute logo clothing, give away free samples or sell cigarettes in packages of less than 20 -- so called "kiddy packs."

At the same time, a nationwide law will prohibit the sale of tobacco products to anyone under 18, Seffrin added, and selling tobacco products in vending machines will also be banned except in areas restricted to adults.

"The American Cancer Society, along with the broader public health community, fought the tobacco industry for more than a decade to get this historic legislation passed," Seffrin said Thursday.

Tobacco products still account for 20 percent of all deaths in the United States each year. Thirty percent of those deaths (440,000 people) are from cancer, Seffrin said.

"So if we get rid of tobacco, we drop cancer deaths in America by 30 percent," he said.

But the tobacco industry continually recruits new smokers, Seffrin added. Every day, 1,000 children become addicted to tobacco, and almost 4,000 children try their first cigarette, he noted.

This is clear evidence that the tobacco companies continue to target children, Seffrin noted. The industry spends $34 million every day to "addict new young smokers, and keep current smokers from quitting or to mislead the public about the harms of their products," he said.

Seffrin said the new law, which has already banned candy and fruit-flavored tobacco products, will go a long way to curbing these practices.

"Given its track record, the tobacco industry is unlikely to comply willingly and fully with the spirit of the law," Seffrin said. "Indeed, just two months after the law was signed several tobacco companies filed a lawsuit seeking to block several key provisions from taking effect."

There are three categories of restriction on tobacco companies that will become law on June 22, Gregg Haifley, tobacco control advocate and associate director for federal relations at the American Cancer Society, said during the teleconference.

"One category is an effort to get at stopping the deceitful practices of the industry. A second area is to give better information to consumers, and a third area is to address many of the strategies the industry uses to target youth," he said.

The American Heart Association (AHA) said in a statement that it "wholeheartedly supports the FDA's efforts to enforce the law and move swiftly to implement several critical provisions including those taking effect on Tuesday, June 22, the first anniversary of the law."

And, the AHA added, "these new rules will support the association's goals to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by the year 2020 and reduce heart disease and stroke death rates linked to tobacco use."

Bill Phelps, a spokesman for tobacco company Philip Morris U.S.A., a division of Altria, said that "it is important to keep in mind that we supported the legislation that gave the FDA this authority."

"For these specific provisions we are in compliance, and our factories have switched over to making compliant packages, and in many cases they are already on store shelves," Phelps added.

Greek inflation at 5.4 pct in May

Greece's statistics agency says inflation in the debt-ridden country stood at 5.4 percent on the year in May, a sharp increase as the government implements austerity measures that include higher taxes on consumer goods.

The jump came after a 4.8 percent gain on the year in April.

The statistics agency's figures released Tuesday show inflation was fueled by spikes in prices on alcohol and tobacco products, which jumped by 16.9 percent compared to May 2009, and a 20.3 percent increase in transportation costs.

The government sharply raised taxes on alcohol, tobacco and fuel this year, as part of a package of austerity measures that released a euro110 billion ($130 billion) package of rescue loans from the International Monetary Fund and other European Union countries that use the euro.

Man dies in flat on fire, cigarette blamed

A small-time film scriptwriter died of suffocation after his bed caught fire in his rented Versova flat in Andheri (West) on Monday morning and police suspect the fire was caused by a cigarette butt he had forgotten to put out.

Noticing smoke coming from the flat, neighbours of scriptwriter Savio Rodriguez (37) opened the door with the help of the house-owner.

Rodriguez was rushed to Cooper Hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Senior inspector Suresh Nalawade of the Versova police station said, “Rodriguez was hailing from Goa and stayed alone in a flat at the third floor of Royal Apartments on Yari Road. He had been staying there for the past six months.”

“The neighbours could not even enter inside for some time as the smoke was very thick. They saw Savio lying on a couch in the hall. His bed was completely burnt and he had suffered some burn injuries on his hands and face. We suspect that he died because of suffocation as burn injuries found on his body were not severe,” said a police officer of the Versova police station.

The Future of the Tobacco Industry

The tobacco industry and its products (primarily cigarettes) has caused the premature deaths of over 13 million people in the United States since the 1964 Surgeon General’s Report which concluded that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer. Those health professionals, who are familiar with these statistics, and with the great lengths the industry has gone to to try to cover them up, have little sympathy for the industry’s current decline in the U.S. Many want nothing more than the annihilation of the tobacco industry. This is all the more understandable for those people who have seen patients and loved ones suffer and die from a smoking-caused illness. Some may feel that the tobacco industry and those in it do not deserve to continue to make money from such a deadly business.

It is quite appropriate that the emotions evoked by these aspects of the tobacco industry inspire many public health professionals to strive harder to oppose everything the tobacco industry does. However, these emotions may also cause some in public health to take their eye off the ultimate goal, which is the reduction of tobacco-caused harm. It is an unfortunate fact that the tobacco industry is not only a legal business; it is a very profitable one that has existed and gained in power and influence since the very birth of the United States.

Through that history and those massive financial resources the tobacco industry has been able to have enormous influence on elected and appointed public officials, continuing to this day. In addition, the dramatic increase in both federal and state cigarette taxes over the past 15 years has led to a situation in which the states have become dependent on those taxes as a source of revenue to balance their budgets. Recently total state revenues from tobacco taxes have been in the region of $20 billion per year.

Meanwhile, tobacco companies have a duty to maximize profits for shareholders. They are not going to stop selling cigarettes just because it would be good for public health.

This situation is part of the reason why I believe the best strategy for public health is one that forces/encourages the tobacco industry to morph from an industry that predominantly sells products that cause the premature deaths of half of its consumers (cigarettes), to one that sells products that do not cause lung cancer or respiratory diseases at all.

I believe the most practical way for this to happen is for tobacco companies to switch their focus away from cigarettes and towards other less harmful tobacco products such as smokeless snus tobacco. This is more realistic than total annihilation of the industry, partly because it would allow the companies to remain in business as tobacco companies, and for governments to continue to tax these products in order to balance their budgets.

Contraband Smokes ( and mirrors) in Canada

As if the RCMP in Canada doesn't have their hands full these days between busting marijuana "Grow-Ops" in BC and protecting politicians to the tune of almost $1 Billion dollars at the upcoming G8 & G20 Summits...now they have to wage a war on "contraband" tobacco too!I feel something is amiss in the CBC article I've attached to this story. There seems to be no mention in the article of the part First Nations play in the illegal tabacco game.

Is this intentional on the part of CBC? Are they being too politically correct in not mentioning the flow of "untaxed" tabacco from First Nation reserves into the marketplace?Aside from the health issues, both the tabacco industry AND Government are missing out on billions in lost revenue. Well...perhaps not the industry per se...but the small retailer suffers a great deal from loss of sales. Many convenience stores are being forced to close due to the unrestricted flow of illicit tabacco. BUT..this is a monster the Government itself created by granting tax free tabacco to First Nations people on their reserves. The inherent poverty on many of these reserves have lead to the present profitabilty for natives to use their status for fiscal gain. Who could blame them?Please read the attached CBC article I have posted in conjunction with the information below....

Why is there no mention of First Nations in the mainstream media article?Contraband cigarettes becoming a national normPaul McLaughlin TorontoNo question, I was slightly nervous. After all, I was about to commit a criminal act. "Got any cheap smokes?" I asked a scruffy guy sitting in a grungy coffee shop on Toronto's Queen Street. I approached him after watching him brazenly counting a large wad of cash in a place that seemed filled with lost and desperate souls."How much do you want," he asked, nonchalantly."One pack."

Figure. Plastic baggies of 200 cigarettes, often without health warnings, can be purchased in most major cities for as little as $8-$10. Photo by: CMAJ "Three bucks," he said, a bit more than a third of what a pack of 20 cigarettes would have cost me in a store. He fished the untaxed contraband out of an inside pocket in his dirty raincoat.The entire brief transaction was conducted in plain view of the coffee shop staff and about 20 customers. Neither the buyer nor I made any effort to camouflage what we were doing.Called DK's, the cellophane-wrapped red package had "Manufactured by King Enterprises, LLC Akwesasne Mohawk Territory" embossed on one side and a health warning from the US Surgeon General on the other.King Enterprises, located on the US side of the Akwesasne Reserve (which straddles Ontario, Quebec and New York state), is licensed by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council to sell cigarettes in the US domestic market only.

Its license specifically states "exclusive of Canada."Although cheaper than a latte at Starbucks, my deal was no bargain compared with the one Cynthia Callard, the executive director of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, obtained on a recent trip to the Tyendinaga Reserve, near Belleville, Ont. "We bought 200 cigarettes [the equivalent of 10 small packages], in a plastic baggie, for $8, as opposed to about $80 in a store."It's clearly become extremely easy to buy contraband tobacco on the streets of Canada's major cities. The coffee shop where I shopped was just 4 blocks from the Eaton Centre, in an area known for drugs and prostitution. I was directed to the dealer by way of a simple inquiry on the street.There's also no doubt it's become a nation-wide phenomenon. RCMP customs and excise unit Sargeant Jim Power says contraband tobacco sales have surged in Newfoundland and Labrador.

In November 2005, an extensive police operation dismantled a sizable cigarette contraband ring operating mainly in Quebec and Western Canada. Large quantities of tobacco and manufacturing equipment were seized during 80 raids that took place in Vancouver, Calgary, Hamilton, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières and Montréal. A 2006 study by Imperial Tobacco — Tobacco Product Illicit Trade Phenomena — found that approximately 1 in 4 cigarettes smoked in Ontario and Quebec were illegal.In late April (at press deadline), a coalition of 70 organizations launched a campaign to convince various levels of government to implement a crackdown on contraband tobacco, including stiff measures designed to curb the production and sale of cheap cigarettes on native reserves (see page 1569).Inexpensive cigarettes can be readily obtained by all and sundry on First Nations' territory, although, lawfully, only residents of the reserve and status Indians are entitled to purchase them. Occasionally, cigarettes available on reserves are professionally packaged and contain standard health warnings. But usually they come in clear plastic bags."Since 2001, we have seen a 1700% increase in the number of tobacco products the RCMP has seized," says Superintendent Joe Oliver, director of the RCMP's customs and excise program, who's been investigating smuggling since the early 90s. "In 2001, we seized around 29000 cartons. Last year, we seized 502000."Although law enforcement agencies are primarily concerned about tobacco smuggling from a criminal perspective, particularly the involvement of organized crime, they're also concerned about the potential health impacts from access to inexpensive cigarettes, says Power.

Yet, whether contraband cigarettes might be more dangerous, because of the potential inclusion of unknown substances (Box 1), is almost a non sequitur to the experts. Smoking any kind of cigarettes, contraband or otherwise, is hazardous, Callard says.The unchecked expansion of contraband cigarette sales has meant an economic windfall for smoke shops on First Nation reserves such as Kahnawake, Six Nations, and Tyendinaga Reserves. $6 contraband cigarettes
It is a commercial strip unique in Canada. On a short stretch of highway crossing this Mohawk reserve, one smoke shack after another beckons with signs advertising the low price of $6 for a plastic baggie holding 200 cigarettes.

Some shops opt for such native-inspired names as Wigwam and Bear's Claw; Another Dam Cigarette Store pokes fun at the proliferation of the businesses. Even the computer store offers a daily special on cigarettes.

The unchecked expansion of contraband cigarette sales has meant an economic windfall for this community of 9,000, just across the St. Lawrence River from Montreal. An RCMP report published last week said there were 125 known contraband smoke shops in Kahnawake in 2006 -- more than anywhere else in Canada -- with new locations opening all the time.

Shop owners can be seen driving Mercedes and Cadillac Escalades, and the Grand Chief boasts cigarette sales have eliminated unemployment. Nationally, the illegal trade is worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year, according to the RCMP.

But the business comes with a significant cost. The cut-rate cigarettes make smoking affordable for children both on and off the reserve. The head of Imperial Tobacco Canada cited evidence last week that as many as 70% of the cigarette butts found in some Quebec schoolyards are illegal. Governments are losing out on $1.6-billion a year in taxes. And even Kahnawake Grand Chief Mike Delisle, while defending the Mohawks' right to sell tax-free tobacco, acknowledges that the lure of easy money has attracted organized crime to his community. "The infiltration now of outside influence and forces and organized crime -- gangsterism as they call it --it really can't be denied," Chief Delisle said in an interview.

The Mohawk police force, known as the Peacekeepers, are seeking out these elements "to have them disposed of from our community," he said.

Kahnawake smoke shops aren't worried about tough enforcement talk
That apparently is not enough for the RCMP and federal Public Security Minister Stockwell Day, who have announced a new push to stop the trade in illicit cigarettes. The Minister singled out Kahnawake as well as the Six Nations and Tyendinaga reserves in Ontario as particular hot spots. In the smoke shops of Kahnawake last week, nobody was too worried about the tough talk from Ottawa.

"It's none of Quebec's business or Canada's business. We don't bother them," said one seller, who insisted on anonymity. "They're supposed to stay in their canoe and we stay in ours, and we don't cross over." Like others in the trade, he predicted that any enforcement action by outside police would end badly. "There's no tension right now, but if there is, there are going to be funerals on both sides, off the reserve and on the reserve."

The 1990 Oka crisis, which left one provincial police officer dead at nearby Kanesatake and prompted a lengthy Mohawk blockade of the Mercier Bridge next to Kahnawake, is never far from authorities' minds when considering how to tackle crime here.

Two years before Oka, an RCMP raid on Kahnawake tobacco vendors led to 17 arrests and the seizure of $450,000 worth of tobacco products. It also triggered a 29-hour armed standoff when, in retaliation, Mohawks blocked highways through Kahnawake.

Since those clashes, the cigarette trade has been left to grow unfettered. Cuts in federal and provincial tobacco taxes in 1994 temporarily reduced demand for contraband, but it has surged back as taxes returned to previous levels.

Contraband cigarette sales have topped 50 million cartons per year
In 2006, the RCMP seized a record 456,333 cartons across Canada. That was a 16-fold increase from 2001, but still a tiny fraction of last year's estimated illegal trade of 50 million cartons. Some of the cigarettes are being produced in facilities on Kahnawake, but the RCMP says most come from illicit manufacturers on the U. S. side of the Akwesasne Mohawk reserve, which straddles the borders of Ontario, Quebec and New York State.

"These cigarettes come from different manufacturing operations, ranging from small ad hoc operations to fully equipped manufacturing plants involving serious organized crime groups," the RCMP's Contraband Tobacco Enforcement Strategy says. It adds that an estimated 105 organized-crime groups are known to be involved in the illegal tobacco trade nationwide and notes "a growing disregard for the law and escalating violence within the contraband tobacco trade."

Federal and provincial governments have no business trying to regulate native tabacco sales
John Stacey, the owner of Kahnawake Tobacco Manufacturing, said the federal and provincial governments have no business trying to regulate the native tobacco trade, even if almost all his customers are non-natives. "Everything we do, they want their cut, and they want us to ask permission. That's not the rules over here."

Mr. Stacey has carved out a niche among the scores of other Kahnawake smoke shacks by hiring employees who speak French, the mother tongue of most customers.

He portrays the Mohawk tobacco trade as deeply rooted and integral to the Mohawk identity. "Indians and tobacco are like oil and Arabs," he said. "To us the plant is sacred." He also cautions against police intervention: "Maybe they should think twice before coming in. We're ready to defend our right."

Mr. Delisle, the Grand Chief, recognizes that something needs to be done to control the current tobacco free-for-all. At the moment, anybody on the reserve can open a smoke shack and sell cigarettes.

Rules, he said, would have to be set and enforced by the aboriginals themselves. He talked of creating a Mohawk regulatory body to patrol the industry and said he is in contact with other aboriginal communities about co-ordinating efforts.

"If [outside governments] have identified now for 25 years that the majority of the problem rests in First Nations territory, why can't they formally understand that the majority of the answers must rest in First Nations territory as well?" he asked.